Falling for the Brother

Bruce raised a hand, and she thought he was going to hit her. She put her arms up to protect herself, but the blow didn’t come.

Instead, he strode away, swiftly, got in his car and squealed out of the parking lot.

Someone had to call the police. Put a 9-1-1 out on him. She looked at Miriam.

Mason pulled out his phone.

* * *

HE’D BEEN LEFT without a ride. Letting Bruce drive them to the park had gone against every instinct Mason had, but he’d been so focused on making up to his brother for the fact that he’d stolen away his only child, he hadn’t been on his game.

He’d nearly put both of the women he revered in danger.

Miriam’s abuser was Bruce.

Mason had been so certain earlier in the week and yet, now that he’d had confirmation, he could hardly believe it.

Not only had his brother been regularly abusing their grandmother, he was more mentally unhinged than even Mason had suspected.

He had to surmise that the only reason Bruce had made it on the force for so long was that he’d spent most of his working hours pretending to be something he wasn’t—with no direct supervision. He’d successfully closed cases that won convictions without actionable complaints. That was all the department knew.

Riding in the back seat of Harper’s SUV, he felt like something of a criminal himself. The one thing which he’d prided himself on had been his ability to put the puzzle together. But when it had mattered the most, he’d blown it.

He’d known his brother was a manipulator. A controller. And yet he’d left Gram there with him. Had left Harper with him before that.

Harper was getting Gram back to the Stand, where she’d be safe. Until Bruce was in custody, they were all at risk. Once they arrived, Mason was going to order a rental car. There was no way he was leaving any of the three females in his life until his brother was behind bars. Gram, Harper and Brianna weren’t going to be out of his sight if he could help it.

“You can’t back down on pressing charges, Gram,” he said from the seat behind her. “No matter how much you love him. No matter what kind of guilt attacks your heart.”

“I know.” Miriam reached over to Harper with her good hand. “We’re going to do it together, aren’t we?”

It was the first time that it had been mentioned, that Harper would be part of bringing down the man Brianna believed to be her father.

Whether Harper had recognized it before or not, it was clear that she’d been a victim of Bruce’s manipulation. Even her leaving him hadn’t prevented him from keeping a measure of control over her.

Harper glanced at Miriam, and then quickly back at the road. He’d noticed she’d been avoiding her rearview mirror since he’d slid into her car.

“Yes, we are,” she said now.

He had a feeling that the decision to help prosecute her ex-husband, even if it was only with testimony to add further weight to Miriam’s, had just been reached.

And that she had other decisions to make, as well.

Did he dare hope he might figure among them?

Did he deserve to?

It seemed obvious that Bruce’s initial breaking point had come when Harper had slept with Mason that night. His brother had responded by begging her to marry him. And what she’d said that day made sense. He’d done it as a way of making certain that Mason couldn’t have her. Couldn’t be with her.

Bruce always had to maintain control.

As Mason thought about it, he realized that everything Bruce had done in his entire life had been geared to that end. From how people looked at him, what they thought of him, how they treated him—he’d needed to control it all. Maybe because of his insecurity?

Maybe he’d truly loved them and the vulnerability that had caused had been too much for him.

Where that left any of them, he had no idea.

One thing he knew for sure, though. He had to let Harper figure that out for herself. She had to figure out her past—and her future.

She’d already lost too much of her life to a man’s manipulation.

* * *

MASON HAD BEEN pretty adamant about Harper and Brianna’s staying at the Stand overnight until Bruce was in custody. Police officers were on-site to take Miriam’s and Harper’s statements, and an official warrant was issued for Bruce’s arrest. No one knew if that would go easy, or if, knowing he’d lost all control of his life, he’d be on the run.