The Innocent Liar (27 page)

“How you holding up?” Mike clapped a hand on his shoulder as he walked with him into the living room.

“I’m fine. How was your Christmas and New Year’s?”

“Better than yours.” Mike smirked as the men stood and shook hands with him. Tom and Mike went way back, and Sam was more than familiar with Mike too.

The women returned, and soon, his house was all aflutter with noise and commotion. He caught himself smiling as he watched them. Sam kept touching Brianna, and as he watched, Sam caressed a soft kiss across Brianna’s cheek. When they caught him looking, Sam laughed.

“Mind your own business, Eli.”

“Sorry. It’s just kind of…I don’t know…gross. You’re a bit geriatric, you know?”

Sam hit him upside the back of his head playfully. “I’m sixty-five.”

Brianna laughed, rubbing Eli’s shoulder for a moment as she passed by him. He was trying to keep his mood light, but no matter how hard he tried to let go of his worry about Brynn for even one minute it just seemed to cloud and weigh everything down. He forced himself to smile when it was appropriate, but the concerned eyes that were usually looking back at him said he wasn’t pulling it off that well. But he kept plugging away, waiting.

Chapter Forty-Eight

B
rynn’s eyes were closed, but she wasn’t sleeping. It was daytime, and there was just very little to do. It was Monday if she recalled, and she was getting anxious. She knew the next day was a deadline of sorts; she’d been told as much by Mark, but that had been days ago. She’d simply been alone for too long. She spent New Year’s Eve watching a small little television that they let her have. She was pretty sure they weren’t actually supposed to give her one, but when the Chief of Police showed up with the small unit tucked under his arm, he looked at her for a moment, smiled kindly, and then entered her cell.

“Your boyfriend is getting on my last nerve, and he’s going to be very lucky to get through this without getting himself arrested.”

“Sorry. He can be—”

“Demanding? A horse’s ass? Unreasonable?”

“Yes. I was also going to say controlling and stubborn.”

The chief looked at her as he leaned over the small desk, plugging the TV into a small coaxial jack, and he chuckled.

“He just cares about you. I get it.” The chief stood then, smiling down at her. “Doesn’t mean he isn’t annoying the hell out of me. Happy New Years, Brynn, for what it’s worth.” She was alone again moments later, and that was her last visitor for the day.

Now it was Monday, her eyes were closed, pretending or maybe just hoping she could actually sleep when she heard the clink of the cell door being opened.

“Up you get, young lady.”

“Hi, chief. How are you?”

“Well, I haven’t spent so much time at the jail in a long time, but if I’m not here, Eli will basically sit outside my office stalking me, and frankly, I’d rather be here than deal with him. So…” Well, that was leading if nothing else.

“So…what?”

“Afraid I’m going to have to kick you out. Tax payers are tired of supporting your ass, and since there are apparently no more charges against you, and you no longer have a warrant out for your arrest, I can’t actually keep you here.” He grinned, and her eyes popped open wide in shock.

“What? Really?”

“Can’t speak to the specifics, though I’m sure your Free Brynn Kitritch Fan Club can fill in the gaps, but you’re a free woman. Your lawyer is waiting in the lobby, so we better get a move on. Here’s your clothes, a couple forms for you to sign, and you’re a free woman. Glad to be rid of you, frankly.” He winked as he tossed her the clothes she’d worn in there, and fifteen minutes later she was being led out to the lobby.

She was panting as she stood by the large heavy steel door, waiting for the guard to buzz her out. The chief stood at her shoulder, eying her curiously. The moment she heard the buzz on the door, she squealed, and she bounced where she stood as the door slowly moved. The chief just chuckled.

And then Mark’s smiling face was there waiting for her. Before the door was even fully open, she ducked around it. She stood staring at Mark for a moment. She was having a hard time believing she was finally free—not just free from jail, but free from it all. Could that even be possible? She’d almost given up thinking it could. She started crying as she stumbled to him, and he hugged her warmly as she thanked him over and over again.

“I was thinking a surprise was in order. Eli and company have no idea the charges have been dropped. I got the call from Salt Lake when I was halfway here and decided to keep that information to myself. Ready to have some fun?”

She nodded through her tears, and then she waved to the chief as she followed Mark out of the building and into the crisp winter day. She hadn’t been outside in days, and she loved the cold air on her skin and the way it cooled her lungs as she inhaled deeply. She sat beside Mark in his luxury sedan. With every mile that took them closer to Eli’s house, her breathing became more and more shallow, her heart rate started to soar, and eventually, her mouth was so dry she could barely swallow.

When he pulled up, he sat for a moment looking at her. “It’s over, Brynn. The charges have been dropped, federal agents have arrested all four of the men, and there is one hell of a long list of charges lodged against each of them. You’re safe now.”

She nodded as she stared at his dashboard. She thought maybe she was in shock, and as she stepped from the car, she became certain of it quickly. Her hands trembled as she closed the door, and as she walked, her legs shook and her chest started to heave one jagged and lurching breath after another.

Mark followed her up the porch steps to the front door, and she entered. At first she thought the house might be empty, but then she heard voices from the kitchen. She looked at Mark beside her. She gasped on a sob that was almost impossible to contain. He nodded at her, and she led the way. When she rounded the corner from the foyer into the large open kitchen and great room, she just froze. They were all there. Every last person that had cared enough to help her.

No one seemed to notice her at first. Her mom, Donna, and even Beth were all busily moving around the kitchen, clanking pots and pans being stirred with spoons here and there. The three husbands sat at the dining room table playing cards, and Eli stood stoically at the large kitchen island, staring down at a newspaper in front of him. As she watched his chest heaved a deep and what she could only guess troubled breath, and as he exhaled, he shook his head subtly as though trying to let go of some unpleasantness.

She couldn’t seem to move from her spot, and as she watched them her tears started to fall. Her lips were pulling up as she smiled, but her tears kept trailing down her cheeks silently as she choked back the sound. When her mom’s eyes finally lit on her, she glanced away as though she hadn’t really registered Brynn at all, but then Brianna’s eyes bulged and snapped right back to where Brynn was still rooted in place.

“Brynn?” Her mom’s voice broke as she called to her, and then her hand clasped her mouth as she fell apart. Donna looked up and grabbed Brianna’s arm. When Beth noticed her, she smiled broadly before glancing at Eli. He was staring. For half a second she was almost hurt by the absolute impassiveness of his face, but then she glanced down to see the newspaper shaking against the countertop as his fingers trembled. By the time her attention had traveled back up to his face, his lips were parted and his eyes glossed over.

Before she knew what was happening there was a flurry of women hugging her, and the men were hovering around her, talking a mile a minute, but Eli was still silent. He’d managed to set the newspaper down, and was now standing just beyond the group that was clinging to her. He didn’t seem capable of much of anything at all but staring, and she hadn’t seen a smile yet, but as her mom clutched her up in her arms, Brynn fell apart, and she closed her eyes.

She listened as Mark told them exactly what he’d already told her in the car but with a few more details that were, for the most part, meaningless to her at this point. She was safe. The charges were dropped. She was finally free. But though she was listening, her eyes remained closed as she cried against her mother’s shoulder.

“Oh, my Brynn.” Her mom sobbed against her shoulder too, and it wasn’t until more than enough tears had been cried for a lifetime that Brianna finally let Brynn go.

When she did, Brynn found Eli once more looking at her.

His arms were folded on his chest, but his eyes were still glossy, and his mouth twitched slightly as he watched her. The very moment she moved toward him, his body leapt into action, closing the space between them and sweeping her off her feet and into his arms. “Oh, God, Brynn.”

She could feel his lips trembling against the side of her neck as he spoke, and she buried her face against his neck as she let her tears fall.

“I love you.” It was barely loud enough for anyone to hear but them, and when she repeated it back to him, he pulled away, finally smiling at her.

He kissed her as he lowered her to the ground, and as they all filtered slowly into the living room, she clutched his hand. He sat on the couch, and she slipped her shoes off before sitting beside him and pulling her feet up to her side. He wrapped his arm around her, and she snuggled into his side. She didn’t need to hear about what had happened, but the stories were told as she stared at the floor. She could feel his heart beating against her cheek, and eventually as the voices comforted and soothed her spinning brain, she let her mind shut down for a while as she stared in a stupor at the floor.

Chapter Forty-Nine

“B
rynn.” Eli’s lips vibrated against her temple as he spoke softly. She hummed. “Dinner’s ready. Are you hungry?”

She nodded, and when he stood, he pulled her up to her feet. Her eyes seemed distant, but he guessed she was just tired. She’d been in jail for a week after all. They were alone in the living room at the moment as everyone else was already in the dining room. It was what he truly wanted—to be alone with her.

He walked her to the dining room, and she sat across from him. The women had made vegetable stew, and since it had started snowing an hour before and was now a full on blizzard, the meal was perfectly timed. Nothing better than hot soup when it was cold and blustery outside. Brynn barely looked up as she ate. She wasn’t sullen as much as lost. She’d occasionally look around, and she’d smile, but the moment whoever she was smiling at had looked away, her face would fall, and she’d go back to staring into space.

It all left him feeling anxious and uncomfortable. She was struggling with something. He wasn’t necessarily surprised, given how much had happened, but he also couldn’t say he understood.

When dinner was over, everyone helped clear the table, and Brynn busied herself at the sink rinsing dishes. Eli studied her, trying to figure out what was going on inside her head but failing utterly. She excused herself to take a shower after that, and his gaze trailed after her. He gave her time, but after thirty minutes, he went in search of her. She was wrapped in a towel, standing before his dresser and staring down into the drawer.

He walked up behind her, resting his hands on the tops of her shoulders and kissing the side of her neck. Her hands touched her clothes that were folded neatly in the drawer where he’d put them. “Is that okay?” He’d assumed it was. It was what they’d talked about before she’d been arrested. He hadn’t thought there was anything at all wrong with cleaning out the loft and moving her in, but now…

His mind was going places he didn’t want it to go. What if after everything she’d gone through—the hurdles, the pain, the fear—she wasn’t sure anymore what she wanted. It could happen. Sometimes when enough variables were changed, they could alter the course of things. Had that happened? Had she come through all this just to realize she didn’t need him, want him? Maybe she just plain wasn’t ready.

His chest was tight as he waited for a response. When she nodded her head, she said nothing, and the tightness he felt constricted farther. It was barely a response at all. She turned from him, grabbing her flannel pajama pants and walking to the side of the bed. She sank down, sitting on the edge of the bed, holding the pants in her hand but making no move to dress. He sank down to his knees in front of her. He was becoming more terrified by the moment.

“Brynn, please talk to me. What are you thinking?”

She shrugged her shoulders as her eyes filled with tears. She wasn’t crying, and her face was slack as the tears sat on her lower eyelids, ready to fall at any moment. “I don’t know. Confused I guess.”

He closed his eyes as pain bit into him. “About us?”

Her eyes flashed up to him then in surprise. She shook her head, but then her eyes fell again. “I don’t even know who I’m supposed to be anymore. I should be happy, but suddenly, I feel like I don’t know who I am. It’s been so long since…since I was just a real person.” She shook her head in frustration as though she couldn’t make sense of it. “I feel lost, and I know I shouldn’t, and it makes no sense.”

He hushed her for a moment as he reached for her hand. “Brynn, you’re just tired—”

“No, I’m not! I’m…I’m…” She shook her head again. “Why do you love me?”

He looked at her stunned for a moment, but she gave him no time to respond.

“Who do you love? Do you know? I lied. I hid so much from you. You’ve found out things I never wanted you know. I just don’t understand. Why? Who am I to you?” Her face was pleading with him, and she looked utterly lost.

He grabbed her hands then, kneeling up directly in front of her. “Look at me.” Her focus raised slowly from her lap to him. “You’re my Brynn, my Fiona, my Fifi, Fido, Fluffy.” He tried to smile at her, and her lips pulled up subtly. “And I know you. You were never just a name to me. You were never one of your lies. The things that have happened in your life aren’t who you are. You are so much more than that.
I. Know. You.
And that’s who I love.”

Her lips pursed, and she nodded as her tears finally fell. “I’m just so tired of hiding. Or running, or being afraid. I should be happy, right? So why does everything feel so…weird?” She looked lost again, and it broke his heart.

“Baby, you’ve been through so much. Cut yourself some slack. Give yourself some time to figure out how to just be normal again.” She took a deep breath, and he leaned to her mouth, kissing her. “It’s no wonder you’re overwhelmed. You’re like a bird being freed from captivity. Have you ever seen that?” He spoke quietly against her ear, letting his lips tickle her.

She nodded.

“You think they’ll fly off and never look back, but they never do. They fly to the nearest tree branch, and then they freeze. It’s as if they can’t figure out how to be free.”

She was starting to look more convinced.

“They do just about anything but soar…at first. Because at first they’re scared. They need time to trust that the world isn’t going to yank them back again, time to understand that it’s safe enough to take that first step, but they
always
take that first step.” He pulled back, focusing on her eyes. “Give yourself time, okay?”

She nodded again, and then she smiled as she sniffed her nose.

“Do you still love me?” He hated the insecurity in his voice. He hated the rapid fluttering in his heart even more.

Her face suddenly looked shocked as though he’d smacked her. “Yes. Of course, I love you. I don’t question that, even if I feel a little crazy right now.”

His heart finally started relaxing again.

“Do we have to go back out there? I just want to stay in here. Will everyone be here tomorrow? Can’t I do the social stuff tomorrow once I’ve had a chance to sort my head out?”

“We can do whatever you want to do, and everyone will be here tomorrow, even Mark who’s sleeping in the spare room because he can’t get that ridiculous car of his out of the driveway.”

“Do you have that many spare rooms?” She was suddenly a bit lighter.

“Hate to break it to you, but your mom is shacking up with your dad. What kind of woman sleeps with the father of her own child? Craziness.”

Brynn’s eyebrows inched up as he spoke, and she had the most mischievous smile on her face by the time he was done talking.

“It’s like the adult version of
The Parent Trap
. It’s also kind of gross.” She was finally enjoying herself.

“Tell me about it. With all these geriatric folk shagging each other someone’s going to break a hip.”

She laughed then, and he pulled her mouth to his again, catching her lower lip with his teeth as she moaned quietly.

“Stay here. I’ll make the excuses, and then it’s just us for the rest of the night. Okay?” She nodded.

Making excuses wasn’t really that difficult. Mike and Beth were just standing to leave; thank God they at least had enough sense to drive an appropriate all-wheel drive SUV. Mark was camped out at the dining room table, clacking away on his laptop with paperwork spread out around him, Eli’s parents were yawning, and Sam and Brianna were standing as they yawned too. It was nine, and for a house of old people, it was well past bedtime.

“How’s she doing, Eli?” Brianna wrapped an arm around his waist, as he walked in.

“She’s okay. Seems a bit overwhelmed with everything, but I think she’ll come around.”

“Suppose she’ll mind if we hit the sack and see her tomorrow morning? I’m suddenly bushed. Think I’ve just been too upset and worried for too many days straight, and now that she’s home and safe, all I want to do is catch up on sleep.” She smiled at him, and Sam rubbed her shoulder.

“She won’t mind. We’re tired too, and she’s already curled up in bed.” Too freaking easy.

“Tell her good night, and we’ll see her in the morning.” He nodded and left the room, stopping in the kitchen to grab two wine glasses along with a corkscrew before he headed back down the hall. He ducked into his office to grab the cheap bottle of wine she’d bought him for Thanksgiving that still had his shitty little bow tied to it.

Brynn laughed quietly as he entered. She was still wrapped in a towel, and she’d abandoned the pajama pants at the foot of the bed. He set the bottle, glasses, and corkscrew on his nightstand before he climbed on the bed, and he reached for the still slightly damp towel. He pulled it from her body, tossing it to the floor, and then he pulled her body up against his.

“Someone told me once that bottle was nothing more than a cheap drugstore wine. I actually bought it at a liquor store, but it was cheap.”

“That someone was just upset with you.”

“Because I lied. I did a lot of that.”

“No, because he was hurt. He wanted to know every part of you, and he found out in the worst way possible just how much he didn’t know.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I wasn’t chastising, and you did what you thought you needed to. It was just a hard position for this control freak to be in.” He took a deep breath then. “Will you tell me someday what they did to you?” He watched her as she studied him for a moment, but she nodded. “I love you, Brynn, and nothing will change that.”

She nodded again, and she snuggled up close to him as his fingers started gliding over her skin. He could feel her muscles relaxing under his fingers, and every time he did something she liked, she’d hum in the incredibly erotic way she had. When his hand ran over the cheek of her bottom, she let herself roll onto her back, and he stared down at her.

He knew how to toy with her, and he ran the tip of his finger lightly over her skin, tracing around her nipple, letting it dip into her belly button, and then tickling over first one hip bone and then the other. Her stomach muscles twitched, and her muscles danced as he caressed along the top of her pubic mound.

“Is this what you want tonight?” He watched her eyes, waiting for a response. It was sure as hell what he needed after being away from her for a week, but he didn’t guess he knew yet exactly what she needed from him. When she nodded, he sighed. “Thank God. Keeping my hands off you could be a little difficult after the past week.”

She smiled, and she studied his face as he let his fingers wander and tickle across her skin.

He studied every spot on her body he touched. He gave
kid in a candy store
a whole new meaning, and he didn’t rush a single second of it. He rolled her nipples between his fingers, feeling the constriction of the peaks tighten with every passing second until they were hard little nubs, and she moaned quietly. When he released the pinch he was inflicting, he rubbed, and as the palm of his hand passed over her breast, he squeezed the perfect, generous handful of flesh. Her skin was red when he relaxed his hold on her, and then he traveled farther down.

Her stomach muscles clenched as he caressed and trailed his fingers over her lower belly. But it was when he finally reached the lips of her sex and parted them gently with his fingers that he got the reaction he was looking for. Her thighs trembled, she whimpered, and the wetness was not something she could hide. She glistened, and his cock pulsed at the glossy pink skin.

She breathed deeply as he stared at her, and when he glanced up to her eyes, she struggled to swallow. “Tell me what you want?” He knew it would make her nervous, but he also knew it would turn her on.

“What?” Her voice was quiet, and her cheeks were suddenly scarlet.

“Tell me.” He pulled his hand from her, and she groaned in frustration. He refused to look away as she took a shuttering breath.

“Your fingers?”

“Good choice.” He spread her lips again as he lay down alongside her body. He was close enough to kiss her, but he was going to make her wait. He caressed along the outside of her pussy as he spoke. “Touching is one of my all-time favorites with you. I love to feel your come, silky and warm on my skin.” He ran his finger through her wetness as she unleashed a moan. “Your clit is also quite a fun little thing to play with as well.” He ran the pad of his thumb over the hardened peak of nerves, and her moan became a desperate cry. “But you know my favorite?”

She shook her head as he looked down at her.

“This.” He pushed his middle finger deep into her body, and she quivered around him. “Just like that. I love to feel those muscles around my fingers. You’re so tight, and when I feel that hot, wet skin clenching on me, I fall apart.”

He enjoyed the feel of her trembling sheath as he nuzzled against her neck with his mouth, humming and moaning as she constricted around his finger. He nipped her earlobe, flicking his tongue against her skin, and then he pulled back watching her again. She looked like she was two seconds away from losing her mind, and when she grabbed his wrist between her legs, he smiled. “More?”

“More.” She could barely talk, and when he pulled out slightly, pushing another finger in, she cried out.

He started thrusting, letting his fingers sink as far as they could into her. She was as hot as he’d told her she was, and he loved it as much as he’d divulged too. All he could think about was how incredible it felt to make love to her.

He abandoned her body, standing quickly and undressing as she watched. “Roll over.” He watched her as his hand stroked his dick, and she complied. When she was on her stomach, he spoke again, “Now pull your leg up so I can see your pussy. She hesitated, but as he crawled back onto the bed, she pulled one leg up, opening up the view of her glistening lips. He pulled himself up beside her again and let his fingers touch what he wanted to feel. She was slick against his touch, and he moaned against her ear as he dipped his finger between her lips, sliding through her come. He started thrusting slowly again, and she started clenching on his fingers as they plunged.