Page 57 of Impossible Rapids

Shawn still held the phone to his ear, but he glared at the lawyer. “I’ll explain. Trying to kill me I could forgive, but hurting Julie is inexcusable. I’ll make sure you never see daylight again.” His voice was as cold as Julie had ever heard it, and she’d heard it pretty chilly.

“But … Julie,” Brandon lost his bravado and whimpered, staring at her as if she’d help him. “I … I … was set up by Lucas and Arianna. It was all an elaborate ploy they forced me into.”

The policeman helped him into the car and shut the door.

Julie relaxed a fraction. Brandon had been caught. She’d thought he would run, but he must’ve believed his men had gotten away with her, Shawn had been killed in the car bomb, and he could keep faking his innocence and be the one who controlled all that money.

Shawn hung up with Franz and turned to her. The police milled around them, but their men were allowed to pick up their weapons. They all eased closer, forming a protective circle around her and Shawn, but Shawn only had eyes for her.

“Unnasti,” he murmured. “You’re okay.” He wrapped her up tight and kissed her tenderly.

Julie clung to him. “Franz?”

“He’s fine.” He kissed her forehead. “Ah, Jules. There’s so much I have to tell you, so much to explain.”

A cold, hard knot formed in her abdomen. He did have a lot to explain. He and Mercedes had lied to her. To protect all that money.

She yanked away from him when all she wanted to do was hold him close. He’d come for her today, but if he cared for her, how could he blatantly lie to her?

“I know,” she said, staring into his blue eyes. “Your marriage to Mercedes was a fraud.”

Shawn swallowed. “We had to protect you.”

“Really? Or did you have to protect the Belle fortune?”

“Julie. It wasn’t about the fortune for me. I had to prove that I was unselfish. That I would put Franz and Mercedes first. For Grayson. I pledged to Grayson to take care of them and I couldn’t put a target on your back. Do you understand?”

She stared at the man she loved. He’d lied to her, kept things from her. She understood. She understood that Franz, Mercedes, and Grayson would always come first for him. He’d made that pledge long ago. She didn’t blame him, but it was clear that though he’d saved her, he had never put her first, not even confiding in her, trusting her with his secrets.

Her heart was his, but it was broken.

Chapter

Seventeen

Shawn didn’t know how to reach Julie and somehow prove that she came first for him. She withdrew from him further with each passing moment. Throughout the police questioning, reuniting with Franz, and getting back to the mansion, she kept her distance. It was hard to blame her. One heroic act didn’t undo hiding the truth of his and Mercedes’s relationship and marriage from her. He’d put Franz and his loyalties to Grayson and Mercedes first. He’d been protecting her, but he doubted she’d see it that way.

Franz wanted to hear every detail and then he shared that the judge ruled in their favor on everything. Even better, Brandon Wallace tried to pin everything on Lucas and Arianna, who’d promised him a hundred million if they succeeded in getting the fortune. They were arrested and through their testimonies, one of Lucas’s men’s testimony who’d gone undercover to work with Brandon and keep an eye on him, and computer trails Brandon’s assistant was able to find to cover her, the police were convinced Brandon had plotted to get all the money for himself if Lucas and Arianna failed to kill Shawn and the judge ruled in Shawn’s favor.

They had plenty to talk about as the three of them ate an early dinner and rehashed details, but Shawn could tell Julie was upset, and who could blame her? They’d hidden the truth of his and Mercedes’s relationship for years. It had become second nature to him, and he’d promised Grayson and Franz. He’d wanted to prove how unselfish he could be, but it was no excuse. Julie should have come first. He wanted her to come first. How could he prove that she did, or would it always feel like too little, too late? His chest felt tight, and he rubbed at it. Fear of losing Julie overwhelmed him.

Franz kept eyeing the two of them, and Shawn hoped he’d play wingman, but instead he shocked him by saying, “I’m going to escort Julie home and have Paul and Brett watch over her.”

They all stood as Julie protested, “I still need guards?”

“Of course you do,” Franz said before Shawn could interject. “You’re the love of billionaire heartthrob Shawn Holister’s life. You’ll be a target, sweet lady.”

Shawn and Julie’s eyes widened at that proclamation, but she said nothing and Shawn didn’t know what to say. Franz escorted her away from the table.

“Wait,” Shawn begged.

Julie glanced back at him.

“Can we talk this out?”

“It’s …” Julie shook her head. “I need some space.”

She strode for the garage. Franz hurried to keep up, and Theo followed them.