Page 39 of Claiming Liberty
He’s pissed. I can see it in the hardness of his usually relaxed expression and the darkness in his eyes. But his voice is calm. His fists don’t clench like mine do, and his lip doesn’t curl.
“You lied to me, you son of a bitch,” I snarl, taking a step toward him. “Prudence wasn’t a junkie prostitute. She was just a girl. Youkidnappedher.”
Sawyer removes his hands from his pockets and bites his bottom lip in frustration as he looks up at the stars. He lets out a bitter laugh and shakes his head before meeting my eyes. “You know, I find it highly ironic that you’re the one callingmea liar when that’s all you ever. Fucking. Do.”
He starts to circle me like he’s a fucking tiger or something.
I turn to watch him. “Don’t change the subject,” I spit. “How long have you been bullshitting me about the manor whores? How many of them did you force here?”
“You always believe what you want to believe, Angel. Do you want to know the truth?” he asks, almostyells, as he flings his hands up. “Fine. She wasn’t a junkie prostitute; she was someone’s pain in the ass they wanted gone. She didn’t come here willingly. I bought her. No, I didn’t tell you that,” he grinds out the words, pausing his circling. “Because I knew you’d play this high and mighty card like you’re somehow above it all.”
“I would never—”
“Don’t fucking tell me you’d never do shit!” Spittle flies from his mouth, and he gets in my face. “You areten timesas ruthless as I am. If this was your business, you would do worse.” He closes his eyes and rubs his temples like he’s trying to center himself.
I get the strong urge to shove him off the porch, but I stay still, every muscle in my body coiled, taut. I never thought he’d admit to this. One half of me is furious, and the other is struck.
“There,” he says, his voice even. He opens his eyes. “I told you the truth. Your turn.”
His eyes drill into me like he expects me to fess up to something. If it’s Lib he wants to know about, he can go to hell.
“You need to let Prudence go,” I say instead of feeding in to whatever it is he wants. “This isn’t how things were supposed—”
“Where’s Jasper?” he asks, his voice still level but his eyes are smoldering, almost manic.
My eyes narrow with confusion. “What?”
His lips lift into a pinched smile before he grabs my shirt and jerks me to him. “Where. Is. Jasper?”
I shove him away and take a step back. I’d be pissed if he wasn’t starting to make me nervous. He’s acting like he’s losing his fucking mind. “How the hell am I supposed to know?”
He barks out a laugh and presses his hands to his cheeks. “I swear to God, if you don’t tell me where he is, I’m going to lose it on you.” The way he says this under his breath makes me wonder if he’s talking to himself. He drops his hands and turns around like he can’t stand to look at me. Several seconds pass as I search my brain for some recollection of what he could be talking about. The last time I saw Jasper… I can’t even remember.
Why is this so important? If he thinks I’m done discussing the women, he’s—
“You’re my brother, Angel,” Sawyer says, cupping his hands behind his back, his head tilted up. “I love you. I would kill for you. But if you killed Jasper and can’t even tell me about it… I don’t know what that means for us.”
I tilt my head. “What are you talking about? I didn’t kill Jasper.”
Sawyerhumphsand slowly spins to face me. “Did you killLiberty?”
I stand, stone-faced, not bothering with the lie when it doesn’t come out quickly enough.
He knows. He’s probably known the whole time.
Did he…
My eyes widen, and my lips part. There’s a stutter in my heart that almost knocks me over.
“Did you send Jasper to Spain?” I ask, barely above a whisper. I take a step toward him. “Is that why you think I did something to him? You had usfollowed?”
Sawyer’s face is hard, giving me my answer just as I gave him his.
Jasper followed us … which means he knew when I let Lib go.
Tiny pins prick my face, and my knees buckle. I fall onto the porch, my hands grinding against rough brick.
I can’t breathe.