Chapter 112 Reckoning at the Gate
Briar's POV
I dialed Julian's number with steady fingers, though my pulse hammered against my ribs. The phone rang twice before his voice came through, rough and tired.
"Where are you?"
"Almost at your home. At the estate entrance." His voice was hoarse.
"My home?" I bit out. "Don't make me sick."
There was a pause, then a soft exhale. Marcus or Diane had probably sent him to play peacemaker.
"Wait there. Don't move."
I hung up and told the driver to pull over at the outer grounds near the abandoned garden shed. I got out and walked through the knee-high grass until I found a rusted iron shovel half-buried in the dirt. I pulled it free, tested the weight, and tossed it in the trunk.
"Drive to the main entrance."
Ten minutes later I was walking toward Julian's black Bentley with the shovel gripped in both hands, and Selene was growling low in my chest. My eyes burned gold at the edges.
The car was parked under one of the old iron lampposts. Through the tinted windows I could see Julian's silhouette slumped against the driver's seat, his head tilted back like he was sleeping.
I raised the shovel and swung it hard into the driver's side window.
The glass spider-webbed with a crack that echoed through the night. Julian's head snapped toward me and his eyes went wide. I swung again and the window shattered completely, spraying safety glass across the leather interior.
He stared at me through the broken window with those ice-blue eyes, his face pale and expressionless.
"Get out," I said, pressing the pointed end of the shovel against his throat.
For a moment I thought he might refuse. Then he reached for the ignition and the engine roared to life. I realized what he was about to do a second before he threw the car into gear.
I dropped the shovel and walked directly in front of the Bentley, planting myself in the middle of the drive. The headlights pinned me in their glare. I heard the engine rev once before Julian slammed on the brakes.
The car stopped less than three feet from where I stood. Through the windshield I could see his body jerked forward from the momentum, his hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel.
He killed the engine and got out slowly, one hand braced against the car door. When he was fully upright I swung the shovel into his chest with everything I had.
Julian made a choked sound and doubled over, his hand flying to his ribs. I knew from the way he moved that the injuries from our last encounter hadn't healed yet.
"This one is for helping Montgomery set up my grandfather's company."
His face went through several emotions—shock, then panic, then that careful blankness sliding back into place.
I swung the shovel at his knees and he went down hard, catching himself on his palms. I stood over him with the shovel raised.
"This one is for putting my grandfather in the hospital. You should be on your knees begging for his forgiveness."
Julian looked up at me with blood on his lip and his eyes gone red. "Forgiveness? What do I have to apologize for? You're the one who should be sorry. You and Lucian—" His voice broke. "I took care of you for so long. How could you do this to me?"
I laughed and it sounded harsh. "Took care of me? You destroyed my family's company first so you could swoop in and save it. You wanted me grateful and dependent."
I kicked his leg hard, then swung the shovel at his shoulder. "Don't you dare touch me with those filthy hands!"
Julian's control snapped. He lunged up and caught my wrist, yanking me forward. Then he spun us both and slammed me against the Bentley, his body pressed against mine.
"Can't touch you? I've touched you plenty. Or did you forget?"
I brought my knee up hard between his legs and when he doubled over I drove the shovel into his ribs three times in rapid succession.
"You think I'm still that scared girl you could push around? Don't ever try to come near me again!"
I was breathing hard and my hands were shaking, and the words came out before I could stop them. "I'm disgusted with myself for ever feeling anything for you. Even for a second."
Julian went completely still. The fury drained out of his expression and left behind something raw and wounded. His hand came up slowly, and his voice came out soft and broken.
"When?"
I slapped his hand away.
I swung the shovel one last time and caught him across the spine. Julian went down face-first onto the gravel and I stood over him.
"This isn't even close to making us even. So you better watch your back, because we're not done."
I threw the shovel down and turned away. After a few steps I walked back and planted my boot on his spine, pressing down hard. "Bastard."
Then I walked away for real.
Halfway to my car I caught movement in my peripheral vision—dark shapes ducking behind the hedges. I'd noticed a car following us earlier. Someone had been watching this entire encounter.
I climbed into the car and told the driver to go. As we passed Julian's crumpled form, he was pulling himself to his knees, one hand pressed to his ribs. I looked away and stared at my reflection in the dark window.
The satisfaction I'd felt was already fading, leaving behind something hollow and cold. I watched the estate gates close behind us and felt nothing except tired.
When we pulled into the underground parking garage I told the driver he could leave. The garage was empty and silent. I sat in the back seat and stared at nothing, and Diane's words from earlier came back in a rush.
Giving you to Julian Sterling was the price for keeping everything else intact. You deserved everything he did to you.
I pressed my hands over my face and felt my shoulders start to shake. The tears came without warning, just silent sobs that felt like they were being ripped out of my chest.
"Grandpa," I whispered into the empty car. "Do you think I'm guilty? You wouldn't blame me for this, would you?" My voice cracked. "But I can't forgive myself. I can't get past it."
My body felt like it was being torn in two directions—rage at what they'd done to me and crushing guilt for what I'd become.
I curled into myself on the back seat and wrapped my arms around my knees. I knew Lucian was waiting for me upstairs. But I couldn't let him see me like this. He would worry. He would ask questions I didn't know how to answer.
Can't keep involving him. Can't let him get hurt because of me.
I lay down across the back seat and pulled my jacket tighter around myself. Just a few minutes, I told myself.
I was asleep before I finished the thought.
I woke up to the feeling of something soft covering me and something warm under my head. My hand reached out and touched fabric—a blanket that hadn't been there before. When I shifted slightly I felt it move.
My eyes flew open and I tried to sit up, but arms came around me and pulled me back down. Lucian's voice was soft above me.
"How did you end up sleeping here?"
I blinked up at him and realized I'd been using his thigh as a pillow. I reached back to rub the spot where my head had been resting.
"I didn't mean to. I just... fell asleep."
Lucian's hand came up to cup my face and his thumb brushed across my cheekbone. "You've been crying. What happened?"
I looked away. "You heard?"
"Yeah. I called you but it went to voicemail. I was about to go looking for you when I saw your car pull into the garage." He trailed off, and I knew he'd heard everything.
He'd heard me fall apart and he'd waited. He'd let me have my breakdown in private and then he'd come to sit with me while I slept.
My chest went tight. I turned in his arms and wrapped mine around his waist, pressing my face against his shirt. I wanted to tell him everything, but the words stuck.
Lucian seemed to sense my hesitation because his voice took on an edge I rarely heard—something firm and unyielding.
"I don't like being kept outside your walls like this. It makes me feel like you're far away from me even when you're right here." His hand moved to the back of my neck and his fingers tangled in my hair. "And don't tell me you don't want to burden me. If you're not going to burden me, who are you going to burden?"
I opened my mouth but he cut me off. "You were going to say you can handle it yourself, weren't you?"
I nodded against his chest.
"Of course you were." His hand tightened in my hair and then his mouth was on mine, hot and demanding. I made a startled sound but he swallowed it, one hand gripping my jaw to angle my head where he wanted it. His other hand slid under my shirt, pressing flat against the small of my back, pulling me closer until there was no space left.
When he finally pulled back we were both breathing hard. His mouth moved to my ear, voice low and rough. "So how exactly are you planning to handle me?"
My face went hot and I shoved weakly at his chest. "Don't twist my words."
Lucian caught my wrist and pressed a kiss to my racing pulse. "I'm going to twist all your words if that's what it takes. I'm going to be unreasonable and demanding and I'm going to make you tell me everything." He bit down gently on my neck. "I'm going to be tangled up in your life so tight you won't be able to shake me loose. Get used to it."
I laughed despite myself, the sound coming out breathless. My hand came up to touch the back of his head and I ran my fingers through his hair.
We stayed like that for a long moment, wrapped around each other in the back seat. Then I made myself pull back enough to look at his face, and I forced the words out before I could lose my nerve.
"I don't have concrete proof yet," I said quietly. "But I'm almost certain it was Julian who helped Devon set up my family."