Getting the Edge: Betrayed Book 1 (11 page)

When Brandon woke up, the place beside him in the bed was empty.

Chapter Thirteen

Instantly, he climbed from the bed and searched the cabin; but he already knew the truth: she was gone.

Brandon really had not believed that after what they’d shared, she’d simply run again. How could he have been so foolish? Even more surprising was that she’d gotten away without waking him! The last thing he’d remembered, she was sleeping in his arms.

He dressed in record time and reached for his keys—only to find them gone.

“Well, hell,” he muttered beneath his breath. A glance at his watch showed that he’d only slept about four hours. Not that it really mattered, as he had no way to find her with no vehicle.

His cell phone was where he’d left it on the bedside table. Same for his wallet.
Well, at least you left me my ID,
he thought bitterly. It had been a long time since he’d used any credit cards, obviously, but he did have that and a debit card. It was likely that he could get hold of a car, at least.

It was unlikely she’d go back to her school, as she’d realize that would be the first place he’d check.

He turned on his phone and realized he’d missed a text message. He’d turned it off so it couldn’t be tracked. With a frown, he pushed the button to show the message.

I’m sorry.

Well, it didn’t take a genius to know that the message was from Mandy. His reply was terse.

Where are you?

There was no reply, not that he’d expected one. But, what she didn’t know was that he’d had a LoJack installed on his car a few years before. His Mustang was a classic. If it’d been stolen, he’d wanted to be able to get it back. He smiled as he called the company to get the location of the car.

The phone message had been left only an hour before, yet the car was less than a mile up the road.
What the hell?
He pocketed the phone, and left the cabin.

His mind whirled with the various possibilities. Had someone taken her? Or perhaps she’d abandoned the car and hitched a ride. That thought terrified him. They were miles from anywhere, and surrounded by woods.

Ten minutes later, breathing hard, Brandon saw Mandy’s head slumped over the wheel, as he ran toward the unmoving vehicle. The last twenty feet might as well have been twenty miles. He couldn’t tell if she was even conscious.

He hauled the door open. “Mandy!” Instinctively, he put his fingers on the pulse point in her throat, and sent up a prayer of thanks when he felt it.

Her head lifted, tears were streaming down her cheeks. “I couldn’t go.” Her voice broke as she looked up at him.

Brandon hauled her out of the car and pulled her into his arms. “God, you scared me, Mandy.”

She pulled back. “Why?”

“
Why?
You tell me you were forced to destroy our lives, and you don’t think I’d worry when you disappeared?” He wasn’t sure if the urge to shake her or kiss her senseless was stronger. He chose the kiss. His mouth pressed against hers hard. “Don’t do it again,” he said, giving her a small shake, too.

He pulled her against him and felt her body shake as she clung to him. “It’s going to be all right, Amanda. Let’s go get something to eat, then go back to the cabin to talk, okay?”

Many looked up at him with wide eyes. “Why aren’t you furious?”

His eyes narrowed. “I am.” But the relief was much stronger. He put his hands on her shoulders. “We’re in this together now. We’ll find a way to fix it.”

Brandon half-carried her to the passenger side of the car and opened the door. “In you go.”

Mandy slid in, but remained silent. When he climbed in the other side, he turned and looked at her. “Are you hungry?”

“Not really,” she admitted.

Brandon counted to ten mentally. “I am. Breakfast at the hospital was hours ago. We can go to a restaurant or find somewhere to order take-out.”

“Whichever,” she replied.

Brandon headed toward town instead of back to the cabin. Now wasn’t the time to get into a deep discussion with her. Not when he wasn’t even sure where to begin. They rode in silence to the small town. Brandon saw a small cafe, and pulled into the lot, then cut the engine before turning to her. “Come on, you need to eat.”

“I really wish you’d stop telling me what to do, Brandon.”

His eyes narrowed. “Don’t start.” Without another word, he climbed from the car and walked around to open her door. “Let’s go.”

With a glare, she got out of the car and walked with him into the cafe. He picked a table in the corner. It was a habit with him to be sure he could always see the doors.

When the pretty, young waitress came up to the table, Brandon flashed a smile. “Hi. We’d like two burgers and two orders of fries. Oh, and a couple of Coke’s, too.”

“Sure. I’ll be right back with your drinks,” the young girl replied.

“I really don’t feel like a burger,” Mandy said, glaring at him.

“And I really
don’t feel
like I care at the moment,” he retorted, taking a sip of his water. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“I told you—it’s not safe!” she hissed in a whisper. “Not for either of us.”

He sighed. “I told you we’d figure this out. If it’s really not safe, did you think running was the best idea? When you have no idea of who you can trust at this point?”

“It’s best if I just disappear again.”

Brandon shook his head. He didn’t even notice when the waitress put their drinks on the table in front of them. His eyes were glued to hers. “No, Mandy, it isn’t. I found you very easily. Do you think I’m the only one who could?”

She paled and he pressed his advantage. “I can keep you safe, Mandy. You know damn well that I was good at my job. There was no reason for any of this. It could have been over by now.”

Much as he’d promised himself he wouldn’t, he was letting his resentment through. He
did
resent what she’d cost him—even if she had thought she was doing the right thing.

“What do you want me to say, Brandon? Just take me back to the campus. I’ll get my stuff and disappear again,” she said. “If you go back and just lay low, everything will be fine.”

Brandon didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Will it? When was the last time you were anywhere without looking over your shoulder?”

He could see that she was going to say she hadn’t, but he saw the truth in her eyes before she finally answered him. “Two years,” she whispered, her voice breaking.

Brandon reached for her hands that were clasped tightly on the table. “Then we need to end it, Mandy. Can’t you see that?”

Before she could reply, the waitress was back with their lunch. “Can I get ya’all anything else?” she asked.

“We’re fine, thanks,” Brandon replied with a smile.

“Alrighty, then. Enjoy your meal.”

Once they were alone again, Brandon gave her a pointed stare. “Eat your lunch. Then, we are going to talk.”

“Fine!” she said, glaring at him. “God, when the hell did you get so bossy?”

Brandon grinned. Mandy rarely swore at all. “When you turned into a secretive brat. Eat!”

For the next few minutes, neither spoke. Brandon watched as she picked at her food. When he raised his brow, she picked up the burger with a glare and took a bite. He grinned, then. “Good, isn’t it?”

“It’s okay. A hamburger is a hamburger.”

“True, but when was the last time you sat down and ate a real meal?” It wasn’t really a question. She’d lost so much weight, he doubted she rarely ate a full meal.

“I eat!”

“Mandy, you lost a good ten or more pounds you didn’t need to lose. You’re going to make yourself sick if you don’t take care of yourself,” he insisted. “I plan on seeing that you eat three meals a day till you’re back to your normal weight.”

“I’m eating. Leave me alone,” she grumbled as she took another bite of the burger.

“Do you suppose you could try to look like you’re not sitting with a psychopath?” he asked when she’d finished her food at last. His was long gone.

“I’m terrified,” she whispered. “How can you not be?”

He chuckled, but it wasn’t a humorous sound. “Mandy, I’ve just spent two years in a cage. I’m free now, and I’m damn well going to make whoever is responsible pay. Period. With or without your help. I’m not afraid—I’m pissed off.”

“I told you already that I’d do whatever was necessary to clear your name,” she repeated.

“Great. Now, tell me how that is going to keep you safe?” he retorted, his voice harsh. “Aren’t you tired of running?”

She sighed. “You don’t understand.”

“Then explain it, Mandy. We’ve gone round and round on this. What aren’t you telling me?”

“It wasn’t just Grogen. There was someone else there that night,” she said in a whisper. “I didn’t think he saw me, and I didn’t get a good look at him at all. All I could see was a shadow.”

“I know—that’s why I kept you with me in the beginning. Tell me something new!”

“I—he told me that he was the one that killed my parents—that he’d cut their brake line so the car would crash,” she said, crying now. “And that if I didn’t make you stop investigating, that you’d be next.”

Before Brandon could even begin to process that information, the waitress was back at the table with a smile plastered on her face. “All done here, folks? Would ya like dessert? We have a nice apple pie.”

“No thank you,” Mandy said quickly. “Just the check.”

The woman placed the bill on the table. “Have a great day!”

When they were alone again, Brandon picked up the check and stood, then tossed five bucks on the table as a tip. “Let’s go.”

Mandy looked at him with wide eyes, but she stood and walked with him to the register. She stood silently while he paid the bill.

Once outside, Brandon walked in long strides for the car, holding Mandy’s hand tightly.
They’d killed her parents? God, it was no wonder she’d been so afraid.

He opened her door and waited for her to climb in.

Mandy shook her head. “I’m not going with you. We’re in town. I can get a bus back to campus.”

Brandon mentally counted to ten. Half her clothes were at the cabin—not to mention her precious computer she’d not wanted to leave in the dorm. “Oh? Got money for a ticket?”

With a glare, she got into the car, slamming the door hard.

Brandon was still shaking his head when he climbed into the car himself. “You know what you need, Amanda Wilson?” he asked, his tone conversational as he started the car.

“What?” she snapped.

“You need turned over my knee again—and you need spanked till you can’t sit down! Unless that’s exactly what you want to see happen, I don’t want to hear
one more word
about your leaving. Do you understand me?”

Brandon had the car started, but he hadn’t pulled from the lot yet. He waited to see if she’d answer him, and glared at her when she remained silent. “I said, do you understand?”

“Yes!” she hissed.

“Good.” He pulled out of the lot and headed back to the cabin.

The ride back was in complete silence. She didn’t say a word as she followed him inside the cabin again.

She stood in the middle of the living room. “Now what?”

“Now, you sit your cute ass on the couch and let me go clean up the glass in the bedroom. We were a bit distracted earlier.”

“I’m perfectly capable of cleaning up the mess,” she insisted, heading toward the kitchen, apparently indenting to get a broom.

Brandon shook his head and grabbed her around the waist. He tossed her over his shoulder and gave her a sharp smack on the ass before tossing her gently onto the couch. “Sit there and don’t be ridiculous. You’re hand was just sewn shut, remember?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, just went to the kitchen looking for a broom and dustpan.

When he came back out, she wasn’t on the couch. By God, he was going to bust her ass till she couldn’t sit down. He walked into the bedroom and saw her on her hands and knees, picking up shards of glass.

He stood still, just watching her haphazardly picking up blood-soaked pieces of glass. God, she was frustrating. “Stop. Now.”

He walked over and hauled her to her feet, then shoved her onto the bed after taking the piece of glass she held out of her hand. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Grabbing the broom, he walked over and swept up the remaining glass and tossed it into the basket. The blood, he’d worry about later. He should have thought earlier about covering the broken window with something. “I’m going to look for some plastic or something to cover the window. I’m amazed it’s not already full of insects in here,” he muttered, as he left the room.

Mandy sat where he’d pushed her, her hands clenched into fists. She ignored the pain of the cut on her had as her fingers pushed into it.

I can’t do this,
she thought bitterly. “I just can’t do this.”