Her One Mistake(73)

“Brian? What—?” I tried stepping away from him but there was nowhere to go as he’d trapped me against the front door. He must have gone down the side of the house and crept in through the back.

“What am I doing here?” he asked with his head cocked to one side. “Is that what you want to know? But where did you think I would be, Harriet?” He reached up and took a lock of my hair, winding it slowly around his fingers as he stroked it with his thumb.

I shook my head with the slightest of movements. My heart pounded, reverberating in my ears. He must have been able to hear it too.

“Maybe I should be asking what you’re doing here, don’t you think?” he asked. He tugged gently on my hair, and even though it wasn’t hard, I could feel its pull on my scalp. “Haven’t found Alice yet?” He gave me a smile that felt like a knife through my chest.

“Where is she?” I exhaled the question in one tight breath.

Brian smirked. “What a funny question.” His eyes traveled up to the top of my head as he tenderly stroked my hair. “How do you suppose I would know what’s happened to my daughter?”

“What have you done to her, Brian?” I cried. “Where’s Alice? Please, you’re scaring me.”

“I’m scaring you?” he snarled. His face contorted into the pained shape I had seen so many times. Every one of my questions was angering him more.

I wanted to turn away but I resisted the urge, keeping my eyes on him. “If you’ve done something to her . . .”

“You’ll what?” he snapped. “Because the funny thing is, you’re the one who’s done something to her, aren’t you, Harriet?” With a sharp pull on my hair, Brian twisted my neck down with it. The pain shot through my shoulders and up into my head. “You let me believe my daughter was kidnapped.”

“Is she safe?” I pleaded. “Just tell me she’s safe.” The pain had shocked me because Brian had never been physical—but then I had never seen him this enraged before.

“Oh, isn’t she here?” he said, arching his eyebrows, leaning back and casually looking around.

“Please, Brian—”

“Shut up, Harriet.” He took his other hand off the door and pressed his palm flat against my mouth. “Stop your questions. Don’t you think I have a few of my own?”

The sound of my breath was unbearably loud as I was forced to breathe through my nose. I didn’t know how long I’d have to endure his torment before he’d tell me what had happened to my daughter. Or how he had found me.

When he removed his hand, Brian gently took hold of my bottom lip, squeezing it between two fingers. “And stop biting your lip,” he said. “You’ll make it bleed.” He rubbed his finger across it and then let go of me and casually strode off, sitting down on the sofa.

He knew I wouldn’t run; he knew I’d follow him and sit opposite in the armchair because he had things I wanted to hear and, as always, Brian was in control.

“I never thought you had it in you, Harriet,” he said. “You took Alice and made me believe the worst.” He shook his head, the light reflecting the moisture in his eyes. “Why did you do that to me? I was nothing but a good husband to you.”

When I didn’t answer, he carried on. “But it wasn’t just you, was it? It was your daddy. Come back from the dead.”

“How did you—?” I stopped. “Where’s Alice?” I said again. It didn’t matter how he knew so much, finding out what he had done to my daughter was more important.

“What did I ever do to make you hate me so much, Harriet?”

“You ruined my life,” I said, turning my head so he couldn’t see the tears in my eyes. “You manipulated me and made me think I was losing my mind. You told me you’d take Alice away from me.” I couldn’t let him get away with it anymore. Not if he’d done something to her.

“No, Harriet. I never did,” he said firmly. “I would never do that.”

“You’re doing it now,” I murmured. “Please just tell me where she is.”

“I said if you ever left me I would find you, and look—” He gestured about himself. “I have.” He forced a smile that made him look incredibly pleased with himself as he clasped his hands together between his knees. “I won’t let you go, Harriet. I can’t ever let you leave me. I love you. I love you both too much for that.”

“No. You don’t love me, Brian,” I said.

“You, you think you’re so clever,” he snapped, his hands unclasping and waving in the air. “Trying to get one over on me. Well, look around you, my love. You’re not really, are you? Because I’ve foiled your plan and look where you are now. Sitting in this god-awful cottage with no clue what’s happened to your daughter.

“Did you hope I’d get arrested for it?” he went on. I shook my head as he snorted. “But you will now, won’t you, Harriet? They’ll lock you up for what you’ve done. I could have told you your stupid idea would never work.”

“Where’s Alice?” I asked him again. I knew by now I had no chance of fighting for my own freedom.

“Don’t you want to know how I found them?” Brian said, still ignoring me. “Your notebook. A little bit stupid,” he said, pinching his fingers together to emphasize the word, “to write so many things in there.”