Trusting You (Second Chances #2)(66)
Closing his eyes, he sighed and placed his forehead to mine. “Unfortunately, no. You have no clue how hard it’s been not to go to his room and kill the son of a bitch. I almost came close when I saw him in the motel struggling to stand up. If it wasn’t for Mason I probably would have.”
My eyes went wide. “What did you do?”
He shrugged and pursed his lips. “Well, let’s just say he has a broken nose, and a few cracked ribs to go along with his head injury. He didn’t look so good after I was hauled out of the room.”
Silently, I breathed a sigh of relief. I was angry with Daniel, but I didn’t wish him dead. “Where are Claire and Mason?”
“Claire said she was going to sit with Daniel for a while, and Mason said he would be here shortly. What we all want to know is how come Daniel went off the deep end and fled. When I got that call from you and heard you struggling on the other end I about lost it. Claire was the one who found your smashed up phone in one of the bedrooms,” he explained.
I took a deep breath and sat up, pulling Brett with me. “You do realize it was the bedroom beside the study right?”
Brett furrowed his brows, but then after a moment realization set in and his eyes grew wide. He groaned and hung his head. “You and Daniel heard all of that, didn’t you? That’s why he took off with you because he knew he was busted.”
I nodded. “Yeah, but you forgot to mention that it was your dad you were talking to. I heard that part as well. I didn’t know he was one of the state senators.”
He looked away. “Yes, he is. He had always been in the running for some kind of political office. He’s also a very manipulative man, and when he found out about Daniel’s plans to sell homes on the vineyard my father saw an opportunity to reel me in. He made an offer to Daniel he couldn’t refuse, and if he did refuse he was going to make sure he regretted it.”
“Did your father threaten him?” I asked, wide-eyed.
“He did. He lied to me when I told him about everything that night. He already knew that Daniel had been stealing money from his investors. His proposal was for Daniel to make sure I took the project and if I didn’t he was going to expose him.” Brett laughed and shook his head, except his laugh was one of torment. “Now do you see why I want nothing to do with the man? He’s a money hungry parasite who will do anything for power and f*ck over anyone he can to get what he wants. His determination to get me to speak him almost cost me the one thing I care about most in this world. He can rot in hell.”
He got up from the bed and walked over to the window with his shoulders slumped. The clouds were gray just like his eyes, and the rain pouring down outside definitely reflected our somber moods.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered softly. “I know it had to be hard to see him again and to find out what he did. What happens to him now? Will he get in trouble for knowing about Daniel’s dealings and not reporting him?”
Brett scoffed, “Hell no. He gets to keep living life like nothing happened. He did agree to pay off Daniel’s debts in return for penance though.”
“What’s going to happen to Daniel?”
“I can answer that one,” Mason called out from the doorway. Claire followed him into the room with a huge bouquet of flowers.
She rushed over and set them on the table before wrapping her arms around my neck. “Oh my God, I’m so glad you’re safe. I had no clue Daniel was so messed up in the head that he would kidnap you. I think that threw us all for a loop.”
“How is he?” I whispered in her ear.
She sniffled and quietly replied, “He’s awake and he says he wants to see you.”
My heart dropped and I swallowed hard, barely able to breathe. Did I want to see him again after what he did? I shook my head and let the tears fall down my cheeks. “I don’t think I can see him,” I told her.
Pulling back, she wiped the tears from under her eyes and nodded. “I understand. He just wanted me to tell you.”
Mason sidled over to the bed and dropped something into my hand. It was warm from being in his grasp, and when I looked down, it was his mother’s watch that I’d lost in the woods. “I thought you might like this back,” he said with a smile. “You had us scared shitless when it traced to a set of woods. I was afraid we were going to find your body. It was the hardest hours of my life travelling up this way. Next time, don’t be stupid and try to escape when you knew we would be right behind you,” he teased.
Brett joined us by the bed with his arms crossed. “Hopefully, there won’t be a next time. You don’t have any more psycho ex-husbands out there do you?”
Snickering, I shook my head and held up my hands. “No more psycho exes. But what happens when Daniel gets out of jail. Surely, he’s not going to get life in prison for what he did, right?”
Mason sighed. “No, he’s not going to get life in prison which means he will get out one day, but it’s not going to be anytime soon. And when he does, he won’t be able to get within a hundred feet of you. If I was him I would rather stay in prison. He’s not going to have a life when he gets out and he knows it. He didn’t even fight back when Brett tried to basically kill him. But you did a pretty good number on him with the lamp.”
“I didn’t know what else to do,” I uttered sadly. I just wanted to forget the look in Daniel’s eyes when I bashed him in the head. It will always be a permanent mark on my heart.