Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
“One day will be too late,” James counters. “I’ll be ruined by morning when the news breaks that my brother is a murderer.”
I press my lips together, searching for the right thing to say. Dane’s parents deserve ruin, but James doesn’t. In his own way, he’s suffered as much as Dane, but he was never able to escape. If Dane goes away for Stephen’s murder, James will have to deal with the fallout for the rest of his life.
And I will have to live my life without Dane by my side.
That’s not an option.
An idea sparks.
“What are you thinking?” James asks.
“I think I know how to save Dane, but I’ll need your help.”
3
DANE
“Idon’t want to see you either,” I sneer when my brother appears outside of my holding cell. “There’s nothing you can say that will change my mind.”
Years of resentment are etched into every taut line around his eyes and mouth. “I know. But maybe you’ll listen to her.”
He steps aside, and my stomach drops.
“You can’t be here.” My knuckles turn white as I clutch at the bars, as though I can tear them down so I can get to Abigail. The urge to throw her over my shoulder and drag her out of this place tenses all my muscles, but there’s nothing I can do.
As long as I’m caged, I’m powerless.
Her chin tips back in that defiant posture that transforms her into an imperious queen.
“I’m here because your brother made sure I could get in to see you,” she says, infuriatingly calm. “If you just listen to me, you can walk out of here.”
I gnash my teeth. “I will not let you take the fall for what I did.”
It’s madness that she might even think of sacrificing herself for me after everything I’ve done to her. Maybe our time in my family home warped her mind. Maybe I’ve broken my little dove without realizing it.
“Neither of us has to go to jail,” she reasons.
Her dainty fingers close around mine, so that we’re both gripping the iron bars to my cell. I didn’t realize how cold my hands were until she touched me.
“Your family can ensure—”
“No.” I recoil as though she’s thrown acid at my face. “I’m not accepting anything from my father.”
She reaches through the bars, grabbing my forearm before I can fully retreat. “Not your father. James is going to help you.”
My lips curl with contempt, and I glare daggers at my brother. He put her up to this. He’s putting her at risk.
“Get her out of here,” I seethe. “If I’m not guilty, they’ll look at her again. They’ll arrest her.”
He scoffs. “She’s physically incapable of inflicting that kind of damage on a man. The police have no evidence to hold her. Especially once I arrange for that drug-laced mug to disappear. There will be no motive or evidence to build a case against either of you.”
“I’ve already admitted that I did it.” I fling at him like the physical blow I so desperately want to deliver. “There’s nothing you can do to save me now.”
Abigail’s fingernails bite into my forearm, commanding my attention.
“If you tell the police that you only said it to protect me from arrest, your family’s lawyers will get your admission omitted from the record.”
My stomach sours with betrayal. “You of all people should understand that I won’t accept my family’s money and influence. I thought you knew me better than that.”
Her lips twist in a disapproving frown, as though I’m being unreasonable.
And maybe I am, but I’ll die before I accept a bail-out from my parents. If I do, they’ll hold leverage over me for the rest of my life. I’ll never submit to their control.
“I’m not asking you to accept anything from your parents,” she insists. “I know you won’t want to hear this, but James has done nothing wrong. It’s not his fault that your mom and dad tried to replace your sister with him. He was a child, just like you were.”
I scowl at him. “He’s not a child anymore.”
“No, I’m not,” he snaps. “And I’ve accepted a man’s responsibilities while you ran off to America. I have to be the heir now. You took that choice away from me. You’ve been free to live as you choose for years. You can be free again if you just listen to Abigail. Do you want to spend the rest of your life in prison?”
Abigail’s hold on my arm gentles, and she laces her fingers through mine. My fist loosens to accept her.
“Choose us,” she urges, her aquamarine eyes shining. “Be with me, Dane. I don’t want to face a future without you.”
Something twists painfully at the center of my chest. “I can’t risk it,” I rasp. “I won’t let them arrest you.”
She squeezes my hand in a pulse of comfort. “They won’t. James won’t let them.”