Page 16 of Broken Mercy
The ice is spilling.
“Shit!” I leap up and start brushing at myself. There’s a big wet mark on my dress. “Ah, crap, what the hell! Of course now it looks like I?—“
By the time I look up, the stool across from me is empty.
Brenden’s gone. I’m stunned, not sure what to think, as I look around the kitchen.
No sign of him at all, like he’s a ghost.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I whisper to myself, fetching a dry towel to clean myself the best I can. The staff girl from earlier is sympathetic and directs me toward a fan. I stand in front of it until the spot dries enough that I don’t look like I’m incontinent.
All the while I roll what he said around in my head.
Brenden gave me the lighter… which means he broke into my house…
And was in my room while I was sleeping.
He’s insane. That’s the most invasive, psychotic thing I’ve ever heard. Who does something like that?!
I’m buzzing with energy, head still pounding, when I go back to join the party. Riley finds me and seems concerned. “You disappeared for a while. Are you okay? I’ve been trying to find Brenden too.”
“Don’t worry, we already had a chat.”
“Really?” She seems delighted. “I figured he ditched us.”
“I think he did, but I ran into him first.”
“That’s great. Are you two getting along?”
No. Not at all. Not remotely.
“Good enough,” I say with a sigh.
CHAPTER 6
BRENDEN
“Riley, what the hell are we doing here?” I stand outside a nice townhouse in the Fed Hill neighborhood. A big, fat,FOR SALEsign is plastered out front.
My sister bustles up to the lock box, enters the code, extracts a key, and lets herself in the front. “Touring!”
“I don’t need to—“ But she’s already gone.
I groan and look over my shoulder. I could get in my car and drive home. She probably wouldn’t even notice for a few minutes. But if I did that, I’d never hear the end of it, and honestly it’s easier to go inside and figure out what this is all about.
Even if I’d rather throw myself off the roof.
“Spacious,” Riley says, her voice echoing from the back of the house. “Roomy. Light. Great bones.”
“It’s a town house, Riles.” I run my fingers along the wall leaving dark smudges. The floors are hardwood, recently refinished, andI’m pretty sure the trim is all original. I find my sister with her head shoved in a cabinet at the back of a nicely updated kitchen. “Why are we in a house right now?”
“Because you’re getting married.” Her voice is muffled. She pulls herself out with a satisfied nod. “Good bones.”
“Riles.”
“It’s a nice yard in the back. Three bedrooms, so room to expand. Two and a half baths. Very good area of the city, close to all the good stuff. She’ll love walking around the paths in the nearby park and the schools are actually decent. Though I bet you’ll send the kids to private.”
“Kids?”
