Colin’s heart ached at the thought. “I’m not sure why you feel you need to leave without any explanation, but I can assure you that whatever it is, you can tell me.”
By experience, he knew that getting angry with her or losing his temper was only going to aggravate the situation.
“I need to go,” she repeated. Her voice was flat and toneless.
He reached out to touch her, but she flinched away from him. Whatever she was struggling with had to do with him. Of that, Colin had no doubt.
“Sabela, take a breath and tell me what’s happened. I saw you an hour ago and everything was fine,” he said.
To give her some space, he took a step back. The last thing Colin wanted was to be overbearing or threatening. “Tell me what happened to change your mind and make you want to leave.”
Her chin came up then, and he saw the defiant look in her eye. “I spoke to my brother. I spoke to Trevor.”
Speaking to Trevor was the reason he’d asked her to refrain from reaching out through calls or texts or email. It had been an exercise in futility, simply delaying the inevitable.
The gig was up.
“What did Trevor tell you?” Colin asked quietly. He knew it wasn’t going to be good.
How was he supposed to tell her that he’d decided to leave the past where it belonged? She’d never believe him, even though he meant it.
“He told me enough to convince me I can’t trust you,” Sabela said.
Colin clenched his jaw. “What do you mean by enough? Tell me. I want to make this right.”
“You want to make it right?” Sabela asked. Her eyes flashed. “How are you going to make this right?”
“I’d tell you if you told me,” he replied. The words were a little sharper and a little angrier than he would have liked, but his stress was suddenly through the roof.
“He told me that you’re from Brent Grove, his old friend. The same old friend that tried to steal my brother’s girlfriend, Blanca. You were stalking them, weren’t you? You caused the crash somehow, didn’t you? I’m not dumb. I can figure stuff out, no matter what you think.”
Colin couldn’t believe what he was hearing. After all this time, he had hoped that Trevor would recognize how wrong he had been to interfere in Blanca’s life and her plans for the future. Colin had even thought that after what had happened between him and Sabela, Trevor would’ve been able to set aside his hatred if Colin could return the favor.
Instead, it appeared that Trevor was just as immature as ever and trying to put the blame on everyone else.
Typical.
“Obviously I wasn’t in the car with them when the accident happened, so that can’t be true,” Colin explained.
Sabela’s brow dipped in anger, and she glared at him. “I don’t even know who you are. You’ve told me nothing but half-truths, and now I find out that you knew my brother? What would have happened if I had stayed here with you? I want to know the truth. You’re up to something with me and my brother. And it’s not anything good.”
“You’re overreacting to something that happened a long time ago,” Colin said. “And Trevor isn’t as honest as he’d have you believe.”
“This isn’t about Trevor. It’s about you, Colin. You’re not honest. Admit it.”
“I don’t owe you my life story, but we can talk it through to make sure that you understand what really happened. Come into the lounge and we’ll talk about this like adults.”
She would never understand the depths of the hurt and betrayal that Colin had felt on the day Blanca died, but he would attempt to explain nonetheless.
“No,” Sabela said. “I’m scared, and I want to go home.”
He couldn’t let her leave, not yet. The price of keeping her here was the truth. And though Colin wasn’t sure that he was prepared to face it, he would try.
Because he wanted her more than he wanted to protect himself. He’d try, for Sabela.
Chapter Thirty-Five
THERE, IT WAS OUT IN THE open now.
She admitted she was frightened of Colin, or, more accurately, she was frightened of what he was going to say.
That morning had been magical, and caught in the moment, Sabela hadn’t regretted it in the least. Now, knowing what she knew, it turned her stomach upside down.
All of it was a lie. Every moment they’d shared together.
The ties to Trevor made it more than a coincidence that she was standing in Colin’s chalet in Switzerland. If Colin had been stalking her brother and his girlfriend four years ago, he had to be up to something now. Colin didn’t care a thing for her except for how he could use her.
It was horrifying to consider.
“He’s a manipulator, and he’s not a good person. Trust me on this one.” Trevor’s words kept repeating in her mind.
She had gone over all of it while looking for her clothes, and she had started to put together the pieces.
Colin had seen her that day of the lottery at Pinkie’s Diner. He had found out who she was and that she was in financial distress. It wouldn’t have taken much digging to find out that the reason for all of that was tied back to Trevor.
Trevor and Colin had a past, and it all had to do with Blanca, the girl that both of them had wanted and who had died in the accident. Colin had stalked Blanca before, and if he was angry about her death, it wouldn’t be a stretch that he might be seeking revenge on Trevor.
She had nothing to do with any of it, but Colin might be trying to use her against her brother. She was the fly caught in Colin’s spiderweb.
She had to break free.
It was so hard to believe that what they shared last night and all through this morning was really an act. The way Colin laughed, the way he listened and replied to her thoughtfully, and the way he opened himself up couldn’t have been an act.
Unless he was so far lost to his manipulations that nothing he did in life was sincere.
Unless he was an evil monster.
It was no wonder that he hadn’t brought any other women to Haberlin Chalet. No woman wanted to love a monster.
“I want to leave. Now,” she insisted.
“We’ve had this argument before, haven’t we?” Colin asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.
She could see the beast was rearing its ugly head again, and Sabela was inclined to believe that it was his true face.
How could she have been so blind?
“I don’t care if I have to pay you back in the next year,” she said. “I don’t care if you want to send me to jail for defaulting on a loan when I can’t make the payments. Take everything I have; it won’t get you much.”
“You aren’t being rational. Give me a chance to explain,” he said brusquely.
Something in her expression must have warned him off. He took a deep breath and spoke slower and with more aforethought.
“All I’m asking
for is for a few minutes to talk to you,” he said. “I think you’ve misunderstood a lot of things, and that’s understandable. There are two sides to every story, and I’d appreciate it if you could spare me a handful of minutes so I could share my side. If you still want to leave after we talk, I’ll have Bruno bring the car around, and you can go.”
Trevor had warned her about how he was a manipulator, and Sabela didn’t want to get sidelined from what she knew had to be true. His offer to explain his side of things was tempting, but she couldn’t give in.
“Why do you want to talk at all? I’ve figured it out, Colin. I’m not stupid.”
“I never said you were stupid.”
“You were using me to get to Trevor. Mission accomplished.”
Colin breathed out through his teeth and closed his eyes, collecting himself. “If you listen to what I have to say, and you still want to go, you won’t owe me a penny.”
“You can’t be serious.” Was his side of the story worth a quarter of a million dollars? Sabela set her jaw and looked him over from head to toe, assessing him.
It could be a trick … but maybe it wasn’t.
“The debt will be gone, and you’ll be free to do as you please. All I ask is that you stay long enough to let me explain myself,” he said.
Sabela searched his face. She wanted to believe that he was telling the truth. Walking out of Haberlin Chalet debt-free would change her life.
“I want it in writing,” she said after a moment’s consideration.
She wasn’t about to be suckered by Colin any longer. Determined, she dug a pad of paper out of her bag and handed it to him. The chagrin on his face was evident.
“I’m serious. I want you to write that I will not owe you any of the money you gave me, or I’ll walk into town if I have to.”
Colin scowled, but took the pad and scrawled a few sentences. A couple of pen strokes later, he tore off the top sheet and returned the pad to her.