Help Me Remember (Rose Canyon, #1)(82)

Isaac grins. “I thought you’d never offer.”

I didn’t offer, but I know my brother well enough not to push it. He did pick me up early to take me to work, so the least I can do is get him coffee. It’s so weird how, in the last few days, everything has changed.

I’m engaged.

I’m getting married to the most amazing man, and I haven’t told the best man I know.

Tomorrow is the big day. Spencer will pick me up, and we will go to dinner and tell them. Then we’ll let the rest of the rejects know. I really hope it goes well. I don’t want fists thrown, but I guess we would deserve it at this point.

Isaac is telling me about some new play he wants to run as we head to the front of the car when someone yells at us.

“I’m going to fucking kill you!” Bill Waugh yells as he storms toward us.

Oh, God. He looks pissed off, which means his wife told him about my visit yesterday.

“Get in the car, Isaac.” I turn to Isaac and try to get there myself. This man is crazy, and we need to leave.

His eyes go between the man, who is now running toward us, and me. “Brie?”

“Hurry!” I call back to him.

Bill told me he’d kill me if I reported my concerns. As a social worker, it’s my job to do that. The law is very clear. If I witness any signs of child abuse, I have to report it. I informed Bill’s wife last night that I was going to do so and if she and Myles needed refuge, to come to my office today.

Before I can get to the door, Bill’s hands are wrapped around my arms. He’s pulling me back. I stare at Isaac, willing myself to stay calm.

“You bitch. You think you can take my family? You think I’d let you get away with it? You think you have the power to do that?” Bill snarls in my ear.

I try to rip my arms free, but he tightens his grip. It’s painful enough to make me want to cry, but I hold it together.

“Easy, man,” Isaac says as he starts to come around the front of the car. “Just let her go so we can work this out.”

“Did you file the paperwork?” Bill asks.

“Yes. This morning,” I lie. I want him to think it’s already done. Killing me does nothing if he thinks it’s too late to stop me.

However, he doesn’t see it that way.

He shoves me backward, slamming my head on the frame of the car. I see stars, the world spins, and when I crumble to the ground, my head bounces off pavement. By sheer force of will, I keep my eyes open.

That’s when I see it. The sun glints off the metal barrel of the gun he pulls from under his jacket. Bill is going to kill me.

Isaac must’ve moved because the gun is now pointed at him. No. No. He can’t. He can’t kill him. Not when this is my fault. Not when I’m who did this.

“Stay the fuck back or I’ll kill you both.”

I can’t let him die. I have to save Isaac. I force myself to sit up, and the gun swings back to me. “You don’t want to do this,” I tell him, praying my words aren’t slurred. “Please, you can get in the car now and drive off. Nothing will change.”

“Everything has changed! You’re taking them from me! You’re taking my family, you stupid bitch! Now, I am going to take yours.”

Hot tears fall down my cheeks as I turn to my brother. I push up, needing to get in front of him, to protect him. He has Elodie and Addison. He can tell Spencer what happened. He can make him understand and get him through this. I can’t be responsible for my brother’s death.

I won’t.

“Brie!” Isaac yells at me. The ground is unsteady under my feet, and I have no idea what is up and down.

“I didn’t file it,” I try to tell him. “In my office.”

“You’re a fucking liar!” Bill roars and then something slams against the back of my head.

Blackness seeps around me, taking me into oblivion. I float until I hear the crack of a gunshot that’s followed by the sound of something falling beside me. In that moment, I know in the depths of my soul, he shot Isaac, and I hope I never wake up.



“Brielle!” Quinn is holding my shoulders, shaking me gently. “Brielle, you’re okay! It was a car backfire.”

I shake my head. “I saw it. I saw it all.” I force the words out between my labored breaths. “I saw who shot my brother. Get me back to Rose Canyon. Now!”





“You’re leaving?” Mom asks while I shove stuff into my bag.

“I need to go back.”

“To Spencer?”

“To everything. I remember, Mom. I remember it all. I need to get back.”

She helps me put more of my things in the bag. “You remember?”

“I saw the whole thing. I remembered the noises, the air, the cold, the sun, and the gun. I know who it was and why he came after me. I . . . I have to go.”

“Tell me,” she requests.

So, I do. I speak so fast, I trip over my words, but I get it all out. My heart is racing as I explain Isaac’s face and the sound of his voice as he tried to get to me. It’s all there. Every single thing I could see, hear, feel, smell. It’s not my mind playing tricks on me or changing details. It’s what happened, and I need to get home.

“What about your safety?” Mom asks.