Sophie Oak - Siren in Waiting

She pulled away, wiping her eyes with her hands. “I can’t tell you that. Just know that you’re not the only one who can screw up in a really huge way. Um, I had to marry Bryce, or he would have sent me to jail. Don’t ask me. I’m not going to bring anyone else into this. Just know that Bryce didn’t have anything to do with what I did. He didn’t force me to commit a crime. He just used it to his advantage.”

And Bryce would pay for that. Trev decided not to push his sister on her secret. He could figure it out. She could go on believing no one knew, but he would find out and protect her. “What’s your husband into?”

Her fists clenched at her sides. “I don’t know. I think it’s something bad. He doesn’t talk to me, you know. Look, at first, it wasn’t so bad. It really wasn’t. Bryce can be charming, and there was this odd part of me that wanted to make it work.”

Because Bryce had, in effect, “claimed” her. He could see how his sister had fallen for it. Leo was right. Deep down, Shelley was submissive. She was looking for a strong man to take care of her and empower her. Bryce was not that man. And the one man who might have been able to do that had just left. “Why do you have an account in the Caymans?”

“I have no idea. I swear to you, Trev, I didn’t know that account existed until Leo showed me. It’s apparently tied to my decorating business. I let him do my books. I’m not good with money. I just want to do what I do, you know? I thought about hiring Mouse…Beth to do the books, but Bryce threw a fit. He said he didn’t want to lose the money, that he could handle it. Actually Barry was the one who handled it before he died. That was when everything seemed to change.”

“Barry Bellows?”

Shelley nodded. “He was Bryce’s business partner for six years. They started the real estate company. Barry had family here. He’s the one who brought Bryce to Deer Run. They met in college. After Barry died, Bryce seemed to lose it. He’s paranoid. I’m not allowed to answer the phone anymore. He goes on long trips. Sometimes strange people show up at the house at odd hours of the night.”

“Like who?”

“Do you know a man named Nelson Hall? He owns a garage two towns over. I’ve seen him with Bryce several times. Bryce told me Nelson was going to do some upgrades on his Escalade. Really? At two in the morning?”

Trev closed his eyes. They had talked about the man earlier. He was the meth dealer. “Nelson Hall. Yes, I’ve heard the name. And he has a son named Austin.”

Shelley nodded. “Yeah. He’s in trouble with the law a lot from what I hear.”

Trev could guess what kind of trouble that was. A nasty pattern was being laid out. He just couldn’t figure out how his brother-in-law was involved. “Beth said Bryce had tried to buy her place.”

“I love that house. I actually talked to him about trying to buy it when Maudine was alive. There was talk that she would need the money for a nursing home, but Bryce said no. He didn’t want to spend the money. Then he flew into a rage when he got back from Austin and found out the house had been auctioned off.”

What had changed? He didn’t bother to mention to his sister that her husband hadn’t been in Austin. He’d flown to Mexico City.

Trev needed to talk to a few people, but he had a horrible suspicion. It still didn’t explain why Bryce would suddenly want Beth’s house, unless he just needed the money. But any money he would have gotten from the house would be months away. Bryce had talked about turning the whole place into a small shopping center. He would need to first buy the place and turn around and sell it, after getting through all the red tape of rezoning the property for business.

Shelley’s voice trembled as she spoke. “He hates you, Trev. You need to stay away from him. I don’t think he’s stable anymore. It’s why I had to send Leo away. I’m worried about both of you. Bryce was so angry when you came back into town. He thinks it makes him look bad. He’s obsessed with his perfect image.”

“Enough to kill someone over it?” If he discovered that Bryce was the one who sent Austin Hall into Beth’s house, nothing would stop Trev from hurting his brother-in-law.

“I hope not, but then, I don’t really know him at all. You know, I haven’t even slept with him in over a year. I’m just the doll he takes out and shows off. I hate him.”

He pulled his sister back into his arms. Trev hated Bryce, too. And he was going to figure this out. His sister was in danger. “You’re not going back home.”

“Have you listened to anything I’ve said?”

“Listened to and made a decision. You’re divorcing that asshole. You can stay with me and Beth and Bo for a while. I have some questions to ask. If I don’t like the answers, I’m sending you and Beth to The Club, and you’ll stay there until I deal with Bryce. Is that understood?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I know I haven’t earned the right to protect you. I know I left you high and dry for the majority of our adult lives, and it’s not fair that I’m coming in and dictating to you now. You did what you had to do to help our mother, but that’s over now. The medical bills are paid off. I’m going to get you out of this situation with your husband. I’m back now, and I’m taking care of things.”

Her face turned up to look at him. “The medical bills?”

“Bo’s paying them off, and I’ll pay him back in a year.”

“Trev…”

He wasn’t going to listen to arguments about this. “No. I won’t accept anything less. If I have to tie you up and force you to Dallas, I will. If I tell Leo everything you just told me, I assure you, he’ll help me.”

“I don’t think Leo Meyer will have anything to do with me again.” There was a sad longing in Shelley’s voice.

Trev wasn’t sure if there was anything he could do on that front. In the two years he’d known Leo, he’d come to realize that the former Navy SEAL was an unbelievably tolerant man, but once he was done, he was through. He felt for his sister.

“I’m going to sit down and have supper, watch the game with Bo, and deal with Beth. After that, I’m going into town for a few hours. I have some questions to ask. I expect you to stay with Bo. I expect you to mind him.”

She frowned. “I don’t know that I like the sound of that.”

“You’re my sister, but I’ll tie you up, too. Oh, I won’t treat you like Beth. I’ll leave your clothes on, but you won’t find the experience pleasant.”

“I don’t know that I like the new you.” But he caught a hint of a smile through her tears.

“Get used to it, sister.” He looked at her, his sister. No one else in the world knew what it had been like to grow up in their house. No one else knew how it felt to be loved by their parents. Each family’s existence was strangely individual, no matter how many events or emotions were universal. Only Shelley knew how their father had tickled them and called them “little bugs.” Only Shelley knew how their mother’s banana bread tasted on a cold morning. Only Shelley knew what it meant to mourn them. “I love you, sister. I failed our parents. I won’t fail you.”

The tears were back. “Oh, Trev, she knew. She knew you were in rehab. Let me tell you about the day I fell in love with Leo Meyer. It was a week after you accepted the deal from Curt Goff. You were still in the hospital under observation. Leo explained how hard detox could be on a body. He came to see our mom in the hospital. He sat down beside her, and he promised her that you would be okay. He swore to her that you were ready to change. When our mother died, she was so proud of you.”