Page 96 of Madden
“It doesn’t matter now anyway. She’s gone. On her way back to NYC, I’m sure.”
“It does matter, even if you don’t see it now. You love her, and she loves you, and you can’t tell me if the roles were reversed, you wouldn’t want her to give you a chance to explain.”
I shake my head. “The roles wouldn’t be reversed. You see, the difference between the two of us is I’d never betray her to where it’d put me in the position to lose her.”
I guess I was wrong to think I could trust Brielle.
I thought we were a perfect match, but matches burn, and we went down in flames.
***
I stick around for dinner and catch the Miami Blaze play Chicago in the NBA playoffs. There have been a lot of rumors and speculation around the two teams with the ongoing beef between Jaxsen Wild and Crew Savage.
When the game is over, I thank Ivy and Brix for dinner and slip out, wanting to get home.
I’m surprised to see Abel standing in the entryway when I pull up. He pushes the button on the wall near the doorway to turn on the security system again.
“I’m sorry to hear about what happened with Brielle,” Abel says, ducking his head.
I shrug. “What can I say? I guess I know how to pick ’em, huh?” I try to laugh it off, but the ache in my chest makes it hard to breathe through.
He gives me a sympathetic pat on the back, and I motion for him to follow me into the kitchen. The only thing I need right now is something to help me numb the ache.
I hold up the bottle of whiskey, and he shakes his head. I guess it makes sense. At least one of us needs to have our wits about us in case of other incidents. Although I don’t think I have any more fight left in me right now.
I set down a shot glass and fill it up, tossing one back before filling another.
“You wanna tell me what’s goin’ on?” I ask, gritting my teeth when I slam the glass back on the counter.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you were waiting for me at the door like you have something you want to say. So let’s hear it.”
Abel nods. “Well, I got some good news and some bad news. The good news is, I talked to the surveillance company and they think they might be able to recover the footage. So even though they took all the hard drives, we may still have access to what’s on them.”
“All right, now what’s the bad news?”
“Well, aside from the fact Hanna has the hard drives and she’s still out on the run, doing God only knows what with them. I caught up with Brielle while she was packing up her things to leave, and she said a camera she had with her was missing. She seemed pretty distraught over it, wouldn’t tell me any details, just said there were some private photos of the two of you together.”
“Dammit.” I grit my teeth, dragging my fingers through my hair.
It’s one thing for the camera to go missing and have Hanna threaten to destroy me, but something about knowing those intimate moments with Brielle could be leaked online has anger surging through me.
Not to mention, she has footage of the two of us together in the house too.
Lord knows what she could do with it.
“I need you to get on the phone with the sergeant and figure out what the hell is going on and where they are at with finding her. What the heck is taking them so damn long?”
“I’ve been on the phone with them already, man. I talked to them right before Brielle left and assured her I’d let her know as soon as I heard anything.”
I turn back around, pouring myself another shot before taking a heavy swig directly from the bottle.
“Hey, hey,” Abel says, grabbing me by the shoulder and reaching for the bottle to stop me. “I think that’s enough for tonight.”
The emotions well up in my eyes, and I hate how this seems to be only piling more and more on top of me.
To make matters worse, the only person who could make it any better is likely on a plane traveling thousands of miles away, and who knows if or when I’ll ever see her again.