“Why don’t you go upstairs and let me sort this out.”
“Don’t you find it strange that there’s stuff here? And that there’s no food or sign of lifeupstairs?”
I’m glad she said it, because the thoughts running through my mind are telling me to get us the hell out of here.
Chapter 17
Eve
I’m so thankful for the stubborn, pigheaded man in the basement that insisted on coming with me. I wrap my arms around myself, hoping to tamp down the cold chill hugging me.
I was prepared to find a collection of high-heeled shoes and thongs. A sex room filled with an adult toy collection. All sorts of depraved thoughts race through my mind about Zana and what I’d thought she could’ve left here. I’d expected just about anything imaginable—except for what we found.
What was Brandon doing with children in the basement? My stomach clenches and spasms. I lean over the kitchen sink, heaving. I run the water to clean the bile out of the otherwise immaculate sink. I don’t want to believe my husband was a pervert or a child predator, but can I deny what I saw down there?
“I’m jumping to conclusions.” I try to convince myself in spite of the adrenaline roaring through my veins and the intense throbbing in my head.
With my hands holding on to the counter, I glance down and spot the kitchen drawers. I looked inside every cabinet, but I didn’t look in the drawers. One by one, I open them to find each empty. Standing in front of the last two, I’m ready to give up. I can’t. I know Brandon too well. There has to be something here. Some sort of explanation.
Then again, if I knew him as well as I want to believe I did, he never would’ve been able to lead a secret life. He wouldn’t have bought a house without my knowledge, and I sure as hell wouldn’t have gotten a message from his mistress. Unless... Could he have hired her as a maid? But what would she be cleaning in a house with no people, no furniture, and no food?
My hands tremble as I pull out the second to last drawer.Please find something. Please find something.I’m about to close it when I spot something all the way in the back. An envelope. I pull it out and see my name written in his familiar handwriting.
I breathe a little easier for a moment. If I was right about this, maybe I’m right that we’re misunderstanding what’s in the basement. We have to be. Brandon wasn’t the best husband. That’s a fact. And he might not have been father of the year, but he was an adequate father and a decent man.
Tate’s footsteps break through the quiet. He steps behind me and rests his hands on my hips with a feather-light touch.
“I deflated the mattresses and stuffed them in garbage bags along with the sheets. I wasn’t sure what to do with the stuffed animal and the other stuff.There were a few bottles of water and juice in the refrigerator. I tossed them too.”
I turn to face him, nod, and look down at the envelope in my hand. “Leave the other things down there.” I turn to look at the man helping me face the demons. “He left a letter.”
“You’re hoping for answers.”
I nod. “Whatever is in here might give me the answers I need.” Tate’s eyes trail off. “My reading it won’t change anything between you and me. But if I don’t... I need to know. If you want anything real with me, whatever that is, friendship, a romantic relationship, something in-between, I need to understand what went so wrong with Brandon.”
Tate pulls me against his strong, powerful chest and kisses the top of my head. “I’m trying to understand why that’s so important to you. I don’t yet, but I’m trying.”
I squeeze him, appreciating him more and more as the hours tick by.
“Do you want some time to read the letter?”
I shake my head. “I want to get out of here. I’ll read it later.”
SITTING ON MY BED,I look at the bouquet of flowers Tate had delivered after he left me at home. That’s after he stopped off to buy me flowers on the way. He’s an amazing man, and while I’m not sure what is happening between us, he’s becoming the best part of my day and an important part of my life.
