Page 41 of The Bad Brother
But I fucked her hard.
Hard enough to bruise.
I’m sure I left marks.
On her neck.
Her wrists.
Her breasts.
The insides of her thighs.
Those will be more difficult to explain. Probably earn me a set of handcuffs and a trip to the sheriff’s station in the back of Colt’s squad car because it won’t matter that I’m family. It won’t matter that his uncletook me in and made me one of them when we were kids. It won’t matter that Sloane is a creeker or that I’ve been spending the better part of two weeks trying to get rid of her. If she accuses me of assaulting her, Colt will do everything in his power to bury me. He won’t even think twice and I can’t even be mad about it because if our roles were reversed, I’d do the same thing. If a woman came to me and told me that someone had done to her the things I did to Sloane last night without her consent, I’d probably fucking kill him.
Convinced that was her plan—Ethan’s plan—all along, I sit on my couch and stare at my front door, waiting for Colt to knock on it with anopen the door, Jensen—we need to talkwhile I run through the whole thing over and over. Try to find a place where I might’ve misread her. Might’ve gotten it wrong, until the sun is up and I’m strung so tight I’m about ready to call Colt myself, just to get it over with.
Finally standing because I can’t take it anymore, I make my way back to the front door I slammed closed hours ago and open it. The hallway between Sloane’s door and mine is empty, the sweatshirt I pulled off her and tossed aside in my hurry to get her naked, the only sign of life.
Feeling like I’m destroying evidence, I push myself into the hall and snatch it up before I can stop myself. Not sure what to do with it, I look across the hall and through the open doorway to my apartment to see the stun gun I took away from her on the floor, just inside the door.
I tried to fight him off. I had my stun gun but he took it away.
Shit.
Striding across the hall, I snatch it up while telling myself I didn’t do anything wrong. That while it might’vestarted that way, it ended with Sloane moaning my name and, very willingly, coming on my cock.
Didn’t do anything wrong? You overpowered your neighbor and held her down while you practically forced her to hump your leg—there’s not a lotrightabout that situation, is there?
Half convinced that’s the way it actually went down, I find myself standing in front of Sloane’s closed front door.
Don’t do it, you fucking moron. For once in your goddamned life, leave well enough alone.
Ignoring my very loud and very pissed-off sense of self-preservation, I reach out and try the knob.
She didn’t lock it.
Don’t do it. Jesus Christ?—
Turning the knob, I push the door open and immediately see what set me off last night. What made me so angry. Reminded me that Sloane Merrick isn’t just a beautiful woman who is as attracted to me as I am to her.
Hanna’s things scattered across the floor.
Her clothes and shoes.
Lotions and shampoo.
The vibrator one of her girlfriends bought her as a gag gift for her bachelorette party. The same vibrator I watched her use on herself while she sucked my brother’s dick on camera.
Ethan never needed a reason to be cruel. He’s that kid with a stick, poking at an injured animal, just to hear it cry. When he sent me that video of him and Hanna, I thought that’s all it was. Just Ethan being cruel. It never even occurred to me that he did it for a very specific reason.
When my grandfather died, I’d been in prison and my request to attend his funeral was denied, due to the fact thatmy parents expressed that theywouldn’t feel safeif I were given a furlough. The week I was released, my grandfather’s attorney came here looking for me, per my grandfather’s instructions, with a letter.
Jensen–
I know this offers you little comfort now, but I know. I know you’re innocent and I know the kind of person Ethan really is. Olga explained everything. I can’t do anything about it now. All I can do is tell you I’m sorry, hope you’ll forgive me, and give you a little help to start a new life.
Your Grandfather
