“Yes, he won’t be getting out of jail for a very, very long time. You are as safe as you can be.”
“Thank you.”
Brody comes over and wraps me in his arms. “I told you I would save you,” Brody says.
“How? How did you convince the police?”
“I planted a recording device in the gun,” Noah says.
“You were able to record our entire conversation?” I ask.
Noah nods.
“We knew you would run if we couldn’t find another solution to save us. So, we used it to get the evidence that we couldn’t find on our own.”
“If you guys wouldn’t mind, we would like to question each of you individually. That’ll help build our case against Gabe,” one of the police officers says.
“Sure,” Brody says, slightly pulling away from me. He leans down and firmly kisses me on the forehead. “You’re safe now. To live your life however you want.”
He walks away, following one of the officers. And Levi does the same, following another officer out. Leaving me and Noah by ourselves in the condo.
“You okay?” Noah asks.
“I will be.”
“Good. Will we be seeing more of you around Detroit now?”
I shake my head as I stare at the back of Brody’s head. It could be one of the last times I ever see him. “I don’t think so.”
Noah watches Brody turn the corner out of the condo. “I lied. Just so you know.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, he’s not a prick. He doesn’t date countless women and multiple women at the same time. He’s hardly dated. And he sure as hell doesn’t go around, fucking women willy-nilly. He’s a nerd with a big
heart. He will love you with everything he has if you let him have that chance. He won’t hurt you. He’s one of the good guys.”
I tuck my hair behind my ear. “He’s hurt me before.”
Noah narrows his eyes. “You need to ask him about that.”
Is it possible that Brody is a good guy? That he won’t hurt me?
I run after Brody. “Wait!” I shout.
Brody turns around and gives me a giant smile. I run to him.
“I don’t trust men. I know you don’t have to guess why. My mind says I should run far away and never let anyone into my life again. But my heart wants something more. My heart thinks you might be a better man than I give you credit for. But I need to know, why did you hurt me in the Bahamas? Why did you text me a picture of you and that woman? Why did you fuck her?”
“Because you needed something to take away the pain. I never had sex with that woman. I just got her to pose with me to make you hate me. It seemed to be what you needed. Just like how you needed rough BDSM-type sex. I’ve never done anything like that in my life. I had no idea what I was doing. I just Googled and made it up as we went along.”
I chuckle.
“I’ve never owned an animal. I’ve never wanted kids. I live a completely different life than you. We don’t like the same music or the same movies or the same drinks. But I do know one thing. I love you, Skye. I love that we are different. I love that we can grow together and learn to become better people because of each other. I want to learn what it means to love animals. I want to know what it’s like to have kids with you. I want to marry you and live happily ever after with you. I want everything with you.”
“So, you’re not a dick?”
He shakes his head.