AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Now that we’re alone, spill.” I took a sip of water.
Brynn leaned back, her gaze narrowing in on me. “You can’t repeat what I’m about to tell you.”
I frowned. “Not even to Holden?”
She shook her head. “If it’s true, it would put him in danger.”
“Shit. You’re serious, aren’t you?” I wrung my hands in my lap. I wondered if it was too late to revoke the question.
“As I said, I’m not a hundred percent sure that this information is true, but I tend to believe the person who told me about it.”
I nodded, holding my breath while I waited for her to continue.
Brynn leaned forward, and her green eyes darted around to make sure we were alone. “Tim doesn’t make his money from financials. He’s an illegal weapons dealer and he’s extremely dangerous.” Her voice was so soft I almost didn’t hear her.
I leaned against the edge of the table, my mind swimming from what she’d said. “How sure are you, Brynn? Who told you?”
The door opened again, and our waiter dropped off our mimosas. “Thanks.” I immediately picked up mine and downed half of it. “I’ll need another one.”
I grinned sheepishly at the waiter, who suppressed a chuckle and said, “You got it.”
As soon as the door closed, I returned my attention to Brynn.
For the first time since I’d met her, she looked terrified. Dammit. This was way more serious than I thought. Thank God Catherine kicked that monster out of her house. She was safer without him. Catherine and Holden definitely deserved better than that piece of shit. The other part of me reeled in my heavy judgment. I’d always tried to base my opinion on fact and not hearsay. What I knew for a fact was that Tim was a sleazy bastard who had attempted to rape me. But a weapons dealer was on an entirely different level.
Brynn’s face paled and she took a drink of her mimosa. “My father told me.”
I froze. “Do Tim and your dad run in the same circles?”
“Sometimes. They play golf and attend the same get togethers, fundraisers, and that type of thing, but they don’t hang out as friends anymore. Things changed about five years ago.”
“Do you have any idea what happened between them?”
Brynn drained her drink, then wiped her mouth. Oh shit, this is going to be big.
“I’ll tell you, but please don’t repeat any of this. I swore I would take this to my grave.”
I reached across the table and took Brynn’s hand in mine. “I swear.”
“I caught my father and Tim Alastair together. As in, naked together.”
My mouth hit the floor, and I released her, smacking my forehead with my palm. “That is not what I thought you were going to say!”
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t what I had expected to see either.”
“So, no one else knows?” I tucked my dark hair behind my ear as I studied her expression. Pain, loneliness, fear. I wanted to hug her and tell her everything would be okay, but I couldn’t say that to her when I didn’t believe it myself.
“No. Not my mom, not Catherine, and definitely not Holden. It would ruin our families, River.” Tears welled in her eyes.
“I’m so sorry. That’s a really lonely place to be.”
The waiter entered the room again with more drinks, and we placed our food order. Even though we were talking privately, I appreciated the waiter interrupting. We needed a break from the intensity of the conversation.
“Now that I’ve had a nanosecond to process what you said, did your dad tell you before or after you caught them?” Her answer would tip the scale for me in one direction or the other. Rumor or most likely the truth.
“After, which made me wonder if Dad was just angry with Tim, or if he was warning me. When I caught them, I agreed not to tell their wives but only if they didn’t see each other again. I have no idea if they did or not, but I felt like I needed to say something that might make it too risky for them to be together.”
She raised her hand in the air and said, “For the record, I don’t care if they’re in love or just lovers, but they’re married and have families. That’s what I have a problem with. If you’re single, then do what the hell you want.”
