Page 13 of Dane

Ten minutes later, I followed Ethan out into the hall. A door opened on the other side and Brielle emerged. Her eyes were dry, but there was a vacant look in her gaze I didn’t like. She’d fucking checked out. Whatever the other woman had said to Brielle had upset her visibly, but she held herself together. For the moment.

Brielle stood in the hall for a long minute, silent. Then she glanced at me, and I saw how lost she really felt.

“Lana said I shouldn’t leave the building,” she said. Her voice didn’t tremble, instead there was no inflection whatsoever in her voice. “She said if I had questions I should clear them with Knight, and if anyone from the bank or law enforcement contacted me I should refer them to Lana. I have her number now.” She didn’t seem to know or care who she spoke to. I got the feeling she was simply listing off the new definitions to her life. “I should check in with Hannah before I move around the compound, so someone knows where I am at all times.”

“You’re not on lockdown,” I said.

She blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“Lana’s advice is exactly that. Advice. You’re not under arrest. The doors work, your key works, nobody’s going to chase you down.” She let out a whimper, like that was her worst fear. “I’m just saying,” I added, “nobody’s going to lock you in.”

She shook her head. “I know. It’s --” She seemed to search for the right word, then sighed. “It’s easier if I don’t think about it too much. Besides, you make it sound like I have a choice.”

“You do. Every minute you’re here, you get to pick what you do next. You don’t owe me anything. You don’t owe any of these people anything. You did what you came to do.”

She looked at me then. “I don’t know what’s going on, but Mr. Sutton will absolutely kill me if he finds me. I’m surprised he hasn’t already.”

I paused before taking a slow step toward her. I honestly didn’t know if she was fully aware of what she was saying or who she was talking to. “What do you know that you’ve not told us, Brielle?”

Blinking rapidly, she finally focused on me. For the first time, I saw a stirring of temper in her eyes. A fire sparked before she could snuff it out. “Doesn’t take a genius to figure out the man who robs the bank he runs is desperate.” She met my gaze boldly this time. “You don’t shit in your own house. Which means, whatever Mr. Sutton is into is something he wouldn’t hesitate to kill for. And I’ll be first on the list once he realizes I’m gone. Which, it looks like he’s located me, so here I am.” She gave me a snarky, fake smile and for some reason, my legs nearly gave way in relief. Brielle showed more life in the last ten seconds than she had since she first got here.

“You knew the danger, yet you came here anyway?” I wanted to make sure I understood the whole situation and, with her temper starting to break through, I thought maybe I could get some honest, heartfelt answers from her now.

“Yeah, Dane. I came here anyway. I’m a liar and a horrible person, but wanted you to have what I dug up on the bastard because I thought you deserved to know what he did to you. I also wanted to apologize to you and make whatever amends I could. With my grandmother dead, I have no one else depending on me. So yeah, I took a chance coming here. What I didn’t intend to do was bring more trouble to your door, so it seems I was destined to ruin your life.” Two tears overflowed and spilled down her cheeks, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“Brielle,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm and non-threatening. “No one is asking you to leave. In fact, I want you to stay. I want you in the compound where you’ll be protected.” I had no idea what to do. How to make this better for her. The only thing I could think of was to take this one thing off her plate. Maybe Ethan had been right. I didn’t think this woman had made a decision solely for herself in the last twelve years.

She considered that, looking up at me in confusion. “You really want me to stay.”

It wasn’t a question, but I answered anyway. “Yeah,” I said. “I do.”

“Why would you want that? All I’ve done is make things harder for you.”

“You think so?” I tilted my head. “You’ve made things harder for me?”

“Well, yeah. I should have just let well enough alone, I guess.” Her shoulders hunched, like she wanted to make herself smaller.

That was it. I stepped into her personal space and gently cupped the side of her face. She flinched but turned her face up to me. Tears swam in her eyes, making them shimmer like amber. I stared down at her, caught in a snare of my own making. I did my best to breathe through the sensation of falling before I did something really fucking stupid. Like kiss her.

“You listen to me, Brielle,” I said harshly. At least, that’s what I told myself. In reality, it was probably more of a husky whisper. “You are proving to be much more than I thought. In fact, you might be one of the bravest people I know. So, I’m telling you now. I want you to stay in the compound. In my home. And I want you to stay here so me and my family can protect you.” I paused and took a breath, and my thumb brushed over her cheek without my consent. This was so fucking dangerous -- for both of us -- but I couldn’t seem to stop the Alpha male roaring inside me, demanding I protect the woman beside me. “Ethan pointed out something to me I already knew but refused to admit to myself. Do you want to know what it is?”

Eyes wide and focused squarely on me, Brielle nodded. “Yes.”

“He reminded me that you’re the only innocent person in all this mess. The only thing you did was go to work. Yeah. I took the fall for the whole thing, but I knew I was doing something wrong. If it turned out to be a bigger wrong than I wanted to risk, I should have made better choices. None of that is your fault.”

Right before my eyes, Brielle’s eyes glistened again, two more tears overflowing. Then the woman who’d braved an unknown, deadly threat in order to set the score right with me, to fucking apologize to a man she didn’t know because it was the right thing to do, let loose a broken sob.

The next thing I knew, I’d pulled her into my arms, holding her tight to keep her from shattering. The joke was on me, though. I was the broken one. Not her.

Chapter Seven

Brielle

The next morning, I took the lift down to the common room. The scent of brewing coffee tickled my nose and I followed the scent. In the large kitchen, Hannah looked up and smiled warmly at me.

“Come join us, Brielle,” she said. “Coffee’s fresh. Help yourself.”

“Thanks,” I said with a grateful smile. “This is exactly what I hoped I’d find.” I poured a cup and took the seat she’d indicated.