His face drops. “It’s not important.”

“The hell it isn’t! How did you know? And what was your father talking about when he said you got away with murder?” His voice still haunts me, the look on his face as he pointed the gun at me.

Brian sits down on the couch and buries his face in his hands.

“When I was eight years old, I woke up one night to get a drink of water. I saw the lit cigarette fall out of my mom’s hand and land on the carpet. I saw the few flames that started to rise and I thought about putting them out. Then I thought about what it might be like if they weren’t around anymore. If I didn’t have to live in constant fear and pain from their abuse. My father was passed out in the bedroom exhausted from beating the shit out of me earlier that night. Lying down on the floor by the door, I watched the fire grow. After it started to get bigger, I called 911. By the time they got there, the whole house was engulfed, I was lying on the floor when the fireman came in. He carried me outside but before he could go back in the roof collapsed. I let them die because I felt like if I didn’t they would eventually kill me.”

I walk over to him, sit down and wrap my arms around him.

“As far as I knew, my father died in that fire with my mother. I didn’t cry at all that night. Everyone said it was because I was in shock, but I wasn’t. In a way I was relieved. I escaped them.”

We sit there in silence. I have no idea what to say to him. He has been through more than I could ever imagine. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“I didn’t know what you would think of me, Jules. I killed them.”

My hand touches his cheek and he looks up at me. “I would have thought that you were a scared kid who didn’t know what to do. Who had no one to stick up for him and chose the path he thought was best.” He kisses me and pulls me closer to him. I lay my head on his chest and run my hand over his stomach. “Thank you for saving me.”

His hand tips my chin up so that I’m looking at him. “You saved me, babe, not the other way around. You saved me the first day I met you by showing me how amazing life could be if you let the right people in.”

I kiss him once more before laying my head back down. “How did you know where to find me?”

“I tracked your phone.”

I sit up and look over at him. “How did you do that?”

“Ryan ran a trace on it.”

I shake my head. “I hope that he is gonna be okay. It’s my fault he got shot. If I didn’t go there alone. If I would have just told someone… how did you know about the money that Dan owed.” When I look over at Brian he won’t make eye contact with me. What is he hiding? “Brian?”

“You need to drop the subject, Jules.” His voice is cold, and monotone as he responds to me.

“No, I’m not just going to drop it. Tell me what is going on! Stop hiding shit from me!”

He stands up and starts to pace the floor in front of me. “You shouldn’t ask questions that you don’t want the answer to.”

“I do want the answer.” I look him in the eyes letting him know that I am not dropping the subject.

“When I got back, I started to look into Dan. He was not the man you thought you knew.”

“Obviously, considering he owed that money to those people! Stop dancing around the damn topic and just tell me what is going on!”

“I found out that when he got out of college, he borrowed money from the Andre family, which is who you just paid. His parents were not as well-off as they wanted everyone to think and they couldn’t help him. He borrowed all that money to start his company, and to have money so that you didn’t get suspicious. The company struggled from the very first day and it went under about a month before he died. He was pretending to go to work each day while he tried to figure out how to fix the shit storm he created. Desperate times will cause people to do desperate things.” He looks up at me.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Can you stop with the vague bullshit?” I’m really getting tired of the push and pull that he is trying to do with me.

“It means that the day he was killed, your husband pulled your life insurance policy and your will. He took it to a fucking lawyer to see what he was entitled to. That night I waited for him to get home and went over to warn him that I knew what he was up to and there was no way I would let him fucking hurt you. When I walked in, he was getting his fucking gun. He was going to kill you and stage it as a home invasion!”

I gasp. No. It’s not possible. Is it? Dan knew about the money my parents had for me, and when we got married I made him the sole beneficiary. “How do you know this?” I whisper in disbelief.

“Because I confronted the mother fucker that night. He got cocky and started telling me his plan saying how I just made it even better because he would off me and make it look like I killed you.” Brian turns away from me. “He didn’t know that I grabbed my gun and tucked it into the back of my pants when I walked over. When he raised his at me, I shot him before he could follow through.”

He turns back to me and I’m in shock. Brian shot Dan? How? Why wouldn’t he have just went to Ryan with all this stuff? “There is no way. What about the guy they caught?”

“I had to throw suspicion at someone else. That guy is a damn pedophile who got off on a technicality. He deserves to be in jail.”

“Are you kidding me? You killed my husband, and framed some other guy for it? And then you started a relationship with me built entirely on fucking lies? I can’t take this. I need to leave.” I walk away but he grabs my arm, I yank it away from him. “Keep your damn hands off of me.”

“He was going to kill you, Jules! What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t just sit by and—“

“You could have gone to the cops! God forbid, you could have come and talked to me! That’s a crazy suggestion though right? Why would you tell me about things that are happening in my own life?” I walk away and out of the door.

“Jules!” I stop in the driveway and turn to him. “Please don’t go. I love you.”

I walk closer to him. “Love can’t live when it’s built on lies, Brian. You should have told me this, you should have trusted me enough to let me know. I can’t trust you. No matter how much I love you, it doesn’t mean anything without trust.”

I walk away and run to my house before the tears start to fall.

I pick up the phone. “Lacey, I need you to come pick me up.”

I can’t believe how badly Dan betrayed me and lied to me. He was going to kill me for money I would have given him had I known anything that was going on. Brian decided instead of coming to talk to me he would take the law into his own hands and kill my husband.

The pain is so bad that it’s like I can feel myself breaking apart. Each lie, each deception, each betrayal shattering a different part of my soul and my heart.

I survived this once.

I’m not sure I will this time.

Chapter Twenty Five

Brian

I watch the door to her house close as I slam the front door to mine. “Fuck!” I knew that when she found out she would leave. That there would be no way in hell she would stay with me after knowing what I did. Am I proud of my actions? No. But I sure as hell don’t regret them. I would rather have that asshole dead and Jules pissed off at me, than have let him hurt her.

I thought about going to her when I found out about his debt and his company, but I didn’t think she would believe me. We weren’t on the best terms and I doubt the conversation would have gone any better than the one we just had. The look of betrayal in her eyes got to me. The look of sadness when she walked away broke me.

This can’t be the end. I won’t let it be. I just got her back, we were in a good place. I hear a car outside and look to see Lacey at Jules’ door. She is holding onto her as they walk out to Lacey’s waiting car. Her face is red and blotchy, and I can see her shoulders shaking from the force of the tears still falling from her eyes. I caused that. I am the one who did that to her, again.