Page 86 of Written with Regret (The Regret Duet 1)
“Mind if I join you?” he asked.
I forced a smile and waved a hand to the Adirondack chair beside me. “Please do.”
He kicked his long legs out in front of him as he sipped on a beer. “I don’t like it.”
“What’s that?”
He stared off into the distance, refusing to look at me as he spoke. “This thing. You. Caven. You coming back thinking you have any right to that little girl. I don’t like it. Any of it. But most especially, I don’t like you.”
Ohhhhh-kay. Blunt. To the point. Rude as hell. But it definitely explained the eerie glares.
Straightening in my chair, I turned to face him. “I know it’s an unusual situation, but I swear to you that I’m not here to—”
“My brother’s got a fucking bleeding heart. He’s been carrying Malcom’s shadow like a noose around his throat for a lot of years. He’s a strong man. A good man. But one mention of Watersedge and he’s on his knees.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as his dark gaze turned my way.
“There are people out there who might think to take advantage of that.”
“I can assure you—”
He once again spoke over me. “Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Not you, I’m sure. So, that being said, I hope you don’t mind that I did some digging into your past.”
A surge of panic blasted through my system, but I showed him nothing. “No. Not at all. I totally understand. He’s your brother.”
He leaned toward me, one side of his mouth hitching. “I didn’t find much.”
Relief fell like raindrops over the fire of my anxiety. “Sorry to waste your time. I guess I’m a pretty boring person.”
“Nobody’s that boring.”
“You’d be surprised.” Ready to find Caven and then immediately start dry-heaving, I started to push out of my chair, but his hand wrapped around my wrist, stilling me.
“I’m sorry to hear about your sister.” He grinned. “Must have been hard to lose her, what with you two being twins and all.”
My pulse spiked as I attempted to yank my arm out of his grasp. “I think losing a sibling, twin or not, is always devastating. But thank you for your condolences.”
His fingertips bit into my skin as he refused to let go. “You want to know something I learned about twins when I was looking into your boring past?”
Adrenaline hit my system like a bolt of lightning illuminating the night sky. “What I want is for you to get your fucking hands off me.”
“Identical twins have the same DNA.” His arrogant grin grew. “But different fingerprints. Isn’t that some shit?”
I tugged at my wrist again. “Let me go or, swear to God, I’ll scream for Caven.”
He gave me a rough pull toward him, the arm of the chair painfully digging into my side as my panic swirled to a new high. “No, you won’t. See, I’ve got a theory on you, Hadley Banks.” His eyes flared wide, that slimy smile never faltering.
I held his unwavering stare. “Is your theory that I’m going to have you arrested for assault if you don’t let me go right fucking now?”
He shrugged and casually released me. “I’m a cop. I know a scam when I see one.”
I stood up, rubbing my wrist, and backed toward the door. My chest was heaving, and my heart was in my throat. “You might want to talk to your brother before showing up here to rescue him from the clutches of a woman you know nothing about. I have more than enough money to ever need to scam a single cent off your brother.”
He set his beer on the ground and then stood up, keeping his distance this time. “Now, that I’ll agree with. Which honestly was the most confusing part of all. But while you may have money, you don’t have much else. After losing your sister, you don’t even have a family left. Let me ask you this: Why didn’t the police find your prints in Caven’s apartment?”
I stood up straighter. “I don’t know.”
“I mean, you were there that night, right? Or at least somebody with your DNA was there that night, because Rosalee exists.”
Curling my lip, I shook my head. “We’re done here. I get that you’re trying to be a protective older brother and look out for Caven. But putting your hands on me and making wild allegations is quite honestly sick.” I turned again, starting for the door, but he stopped me in my tracks.
“Your sister, Willow, died in a car accident in upstate New York. At the time, her home of record was Puerto Rico.”
“She was visiting—”
“A friend. I got it. A buddy told me your girl Beth Watts was hysterical when they delivered the news. Apparently, you and your sister had been staying with her for a few days. You two got into an explosive argument where you both flew off the handle and then took off like bats out of Hell. Explain to me how Willow died on the exact route she would have taken to get to the cabin you two shared. Meanwhile, you, Hadley, flew back to Puerto Rico.”
