Love Me Anyway by Jennifer Probst

Chapter Thirteen

Jack duckedbehind a large oak tree and froze. The curtain at the window swished back and forth, but the house remained quiet. He studied the layout of the rustic cabin, set back deep enough in the woods to confirm his suspicion.

Bryce was a sick son of a bitch and it was time to expose him. The call to his mother had been difficult, but necessary. She needed to know the truth about his cousin. Instead of questioning him, she’d believed him immediately and gotten to work. Tracking down Bryce’s personal private investigator was key, and completed within a few hours. A heavy payoff and threats of exposure easily swayed the man to the switch sides. Now the web cameras were safely installed in the cabin, where Bryce had requested another woman be delivered tonight.

Jack was alone and had flown the PI back to England after he completed Bryce’s task. Jack needed to be the one to put his cousin in jail. He walked a fine line, and he wasn’t comfortable with it. He needed Bryce to cross the line into violence with the prostitute in order to get evidence on camera. This meant allowing a woman to be hurt. That sickened him, but at least this time Bryce wouldn’t follow all the way through with it.

He winced as the image on his phone revealed the woman half naked and accepting Bryce from behind. Jack looked away, the violence and lust on Bryce’s face too much to stomach. When he was spent, he directed the woman to suck him off, his fingers ruthlessly twisting her hair to deliberately cause her pain. When the woman choked, Bryce slapped her hard and made her start again.

Jack waited, controlling his urge to intervene as he watched the violence begin to escalate. He realized he was at fault for allowing his cousin to run rampant, never realizing the extent of his abuse. The detective had told him stories he only half believed. How could his cousin continuously hurt innocent victims? Why had no one talked or pressed charges?

But it was as bad as he’d been told. Bryce threw the crying, begging woman on the bed and tied her up. When the knife came out, Jack knew he had enough. The weapon allowed him to bump up the charges and crossed into severe criminal activity.

He raced to the door, used the key Peter had provided, then three sharp kicks broke the chain on the door. When he entered the bedroom, Bryce faced him, cool and calm, holding the knife to the woman’s throat. “Hello, cousin. Have you come to join the fun?”

The raw terror on the woman’s face affected Jack in a way he’d never forget. He knew if he hadn’t carried out this plan, Julianna would have been the one tied to the bed. He took a deep breath and deliberately remained casual. He kept his gaze on Bryce’s face and away from the knife.

“Is this how you relieve boredom now? By hurting innocent women?”

Bryce twisted his face into a grimace. The knife shook slightly. “Innocent? You mean a whore I paid good money for, to do as I wished? Women know exactly what they’re doing, including your precious Julianna. But I’ll be giving her a lesson soon. Screwing around with you when I told her I needed a virtuous wife. Let’s see how she lies her way out of that one.”

“You won’t be getting anywhere near Julianna again. The game is over. Put down the knife, Bryce, and let her go. This is between you and me now.”

The woman whimpered as the knife moved. A thick trickle of blood ran down her neck. She cried out and begged. Bryce smiled as if the sounds were sweet music. “Don’t think so. Hmmm, scenario may need to be changed. I’m not sure how you found my hideout, and something tells me you’re going to refuse my logical offer. Perhaps you’re more ruthless than I thought.

“What should we do? I know. I kill the girl and pin the crime on you. Your princely reputation will finally be ruined.”

Jack kept his voice steady. “We both lose then. I’ve got you on tape. Cops make things a mess. Murder has a long reach, even over to England. Ever heard of extradition?”

Jack watched as different scenarios flickered past the other man’s face. Jack judged the distance to the girl for an attack. How badly would she get hurt before he’d be able to tackle his cousin? Fuck, he’d never forgive himself for not moving sooner. She was a helpless pawn in Bryce’s sick game, and he needed to save her at all costs.

Little meows of terror leaked from her bloody lips and fear grabbed him in a chokehold. Jack searched for a clear plan to redirect the knife toward him rather than risk her injury.

“The evidence can be destroyed, or I can say it was fake. I already have a solid alibi. You don’t.”

“You bought one and so could I,” Jack said easily. His heart pounded and sweat broke out on his brow. How crazy was his cousin? Maybe if he distracted him with talk and got close enough, Bryce would jump at the chance to land a clean cut at him rather than the girl. “Listen, Bryce, let her go and we’ll make a deal. Or if you’ve got enough balls, come after me. Maybe then we’ll see who’s meant to be king.”

Jack held his breath as Bryce grinned.

The knife flashed.

A scream ripped from the woman’s mouth seconds before the blade sliced her throat. Jack lunged and suddenly the bloody weapon was pushed into his hands, staining flesh and the white fabric of his shirt a vibrant red.

He tore the sheets off the bed and pressed the cotton against the gaping wound. He dropped the knife on the floor and groped for his cell phone to dial 911, praying the woman lived and he hadn’t participated in her murder by trying to obtain evidence. He spoke the address into the phone and murmured soothing nonsense as he felt the woman shudder, shake, and then slowly still. He figured she’d gone into shock, so he kept the pressure on the wound and looked fiercely into wide blue eyes.

“Hang on. Don’t you dare leave me. I promise to get that son of a bitch if it’s the last thing I do, but I need you to stick with me. Are you listening? Be strong. Fight.”

She slipped in and out but he watched her battle to keep her focus on his face. Seconds felt like hours, and then the shrilling siren pounded in his ears, and there was a rush of emergency medical workers who pushed him aside and took over trying to keep her alive. Jack stood, dripping in blood, the knife at his feet, and watched them work. Then the sound of another siren pulling in front of the cabin, and two cops rushed through the door.

“Get down! Get down now!”

Jack hit the floor, hands on top of his head, as two cops trained their gun on him and cuffed him. His last image before things went black was not his cousin’s face as he used the knife, or the terrified look on the woman’s face, or the gushing blood.

It was Julianna’s face.