Page 41 of Duress (Birch Falls #3)

DANE

“ S hit, I think Bryce just got home.” Everly’s words make my blood run cold. Bryce is already home. That will make getting her away from him trickier, but I can’t just leave her there with a murderer.

“Everly, listen to me—” I say, trying to warn her.

“He’s home. I have to go. Don’t come over.” Her hissed whisper is the last thing I hear before she ends the call.

Don’t come over? The hell I won’t. Pressing down on the gas pedal, I speed through the streets of Birch Falls in a race to rescue the woman I love.

After my conversation with Hugh, I went back to all the notes I had taken while digging through Bryce’s files and started putting the pieces together.

The familiar names clicking into place as I realized the depth and breadth of Bryce’s manipulation to keep his involvement in my dad’s death a secret.

I knew Bryce wasn’t above blackmail and currying favors to help his criminal buddies stay out of jail, but knowing he’s capable of murder sent panic surging through me for Everly’s safety.

Minutes later, I’m pulling into their driveway, Bryce’s silver Mercedes parked out front like the most pretentious harbinger of bad tidings.

Seeing the expensive new car mocking me as I climb out of the nearly two-decade-old Corolla my dad bought me when I got my first job reminds me just how much he stole from me.

Not just my dad, but all the missed opportunities I could have had if my life had been different.

Anger flares under my skin, hot and vicious.

I storm through their front door, letting it slam against the wall, my desperate fury guiding me.

I don’t know what I am going to do or say to Bryce.

All I know is I can’t leave her here with him.

“Everly!” I scan the open foyer, looking for any sign of Bryce or Everly.

I see Bryce’s leather overnight bag sitting at the foot of the stairs.

A muffled thump and pained whimper from the second floor sends me rushing up the stairs. “Everly, are you okay?”

Bryce meets me at the top of the stairs. His arms are crossed over his chest, a smug look on his face. “Little brother, what brings you?—”

My fist slams into his face, sending him staggering back against the wall, cutting him off. The only words I want to hear out of his mouth are a confession.

“You killed him! You fucking killed him you son of a bitch!” I am on him, landing blow after blow on his stupid fucking lying face.

My vision is red with anger. The only sound I hear is the thud of my fist slamming into his face.

Nothing exists right now except for my hatred for my brother. “Why? Why did you do it?”

“Dane!” Everly’s startled cry reaches me the same time she does.

I feel her soft hands wrap around the arm that is cocked back and ready to swing.

“Dane, stop! Please!” She lands on her knees next to me on the plush carpet, forcing me to look at her.

What I see does not lessen the urge to kill my brother pumping through my veins.

Dark bruises are forming on her neck, her eyes red-rimmed and her face red from crying.

Bryce groans under me, stunned and semi-unconscious from the beating I just gave him.

“Did he hurt you?” I cup her face gently, but my voice is a dangerous, low growl. I don’t care if I go to jail for killing him. He doesn’t deserve to live.

“Dane, you have to stop. You can’t kill him. You’re too good…” Her pleading softens something in me, breaking through the anger. Slowly I lower my arm and climb off Bryce’s limp form on the ground. Focusing my attention on Everly, I scan her face looking for any more signs of injury.

“Are you okay, baby?” Her eyes widen at the endearment at the end of my question, like she’s surprised I’m concerned for her.

She nods, but the way her face crumples and fresh tears shimmer in her eyes betrays the strength she’s trying to broadcast. Tugging her into my chest, I stroke her hair gently, ignoring the throbbing ache in my hand from where I used it to punish Bryce.

“I was coming to get you. You can’t stay here. He’s dangerous.” Everly leans back so she can look at me, a confused wariness on her face. “He killed my dad.”

Her eyes go wide in fear, and her mouth pops open in shock when she hears the last part. “H-how do you know that?” I can feel her body tremble, fear consuming her as she realizes how dangerous her husband truly is.

“I found the medical examiner’s report in his desk. My dad died from an injury that couldn’t have been caused by the accident, and Bryce was the last person to see him alive.”

Another wet moan gurgles out of Bryce’s limp form as his head lolls side to side weakly.

“No proof…” The words are a barely audible mumble, but enough to let me know I haven’t punished him nearly enough.

My body tenses, ready to rain more hell down on him.

I feel Everly go rigid in my arms as she processes the revelation.

“W-was with…Everly.” Bryce lips part in a gruesome, bloody smile, mocking me.

“Wasn’t I, darling?” His hand slides across the carpet and grips her thigh, leaving a bloody hand print on her pale skin.

Everly jerks at his touch and flings herself backward, out of my hold and crawling away from us both, a panic-stricken look on her face.

“She’s my alibi…” Bryce makes like he’s going to sit up so I lean over, pushing him back down, my hand wrapped around his throat. The urge to squeeze until I crush his trachea is almost too strong to ignore.

“If you touch her again, I will fucking end you.” Bryce grips my hand, desperation flaring in his eyes when he realizes he can’t budge my hold on his throat.

His face turns a satisfying, deep shade of red, bordering on purple.

I could just keep my hand here a little longer and put an end to all of this.

“Sheknew.” The strangled words that slip past Bryce’s lips make time stop. Everly lets out a gasp; my hold on Bryce’s throat goes slack. The only sounds now are his desperate choked gasps for air, mixed with his dark, bitter chuckle.

My gaze finds Everly’s. I stare at her, shock and disbelief holding my mind hostage.

She knew? No…no…there is no way. Everly sits there, frozen in place as a flurry of emotions play across her beautiful face one by one.

Shock, horror, resignation, until finally settling on remorse.

Dread settles in the pit of my stomach when I realize Bryce is telling the truth.

“Is it true?” The question comes out in a choked whisper as I force the words out. The idea that she knew the truth this whole time… The betrayal cuts deep. So deep I can feel it physically. I press my aching hand against my chest, where it feels like my heart is cleaving in two.

Bryce shifts, rolling on to his side, his laugh morphing into a coughing fit that sends blood splattering on the carpet. He pushes up to his hands and knees, shooting a vicious stare in Everly’s direction.

“I don’t know what you think you can prove, little brother, but I promise you if you open that can of worms, I am not the only one that will pay the price for it.

Do you really think you could turn my wife against me when she has as much to lose as I do?

What do you think it will do to our poor mother if you accuse her son of murdering her husband?

” Bryce wipes the blood dripping from his nose on his shirt sleeve, looking more annoyed than defensive about being accused of murder.

The mention of our mother gives me pause. Oh god… What would this truth do to her? She barely functioned for years after Dad died. If she found out her own son killed him…

Sensing my hesitation, Bryce presses on.

“Dane, I thought you were smarter than this. A man like me does not get where he is in life without knowing how to pull some strings. I’m willing to forget this little incident if you are.

You have no evidence supporting your ridiculous accusation, and you can’t compel her to testify.

Spousal privilege.” I shoot him an incredulous look.

He has truly lost it if he thinks I’m going to just drop this, even if it hurts to reveal the truth.

“He can’t compel me to testify, but I can volunteer to willingly.

” Everly’s voice is as cold and as sharp as the knife that feels lodged in my heart right now.

“I don’t care if I go to jail too. You manipulated me, and I am tired of carrying the weight of your crimes.

If I have to go to jail so Dane can have his justice, then I am okay with that.

I told you I was done with you. I meant it.

” Everly carefully gets to her feet, her body still trembling from the adrenaline surge of the confrontation, but her voice is strong.

The look she gives Bryce is as cold and unyielding as steel.

She shows no uncertainty in her decision.

“Dane, call the police. I want to report Bryce for assault and murder.” She doesn’t look at me at all. I don’t know how to resolve the conflicting emotions warring inside of me right now.

“You backstabbing little bitch!” Bryce lunges from his position on the ground, tackling Everly to the ground.

Her back knocks against a framed picture of them from their wedding on the way to the ground, sending the frame crashing down on top of them.

Shattered glass crunches under them as Bryce pins Everly to the ground, his hands wrapped around her throat in a deadly grip. “You’re going to pay for that!”

Bryce is lost to madness as he chokes her.

Everly’s hands flail around her, groping, searching for something to use as a weapon.

My mind finally catches up to what is happening, and I jump into the fray, knocking Bryce off of her.

We roll against the wall, my body pinned between it and Bryce as I hold on to him in a headlock with my legs around his waist. Out the corner of my eye, I see his arm rise up, with a long shard of glass clenched in his fist. Everly sees it too and rolls out the way of his strike just in time.

I do my best to hold on to Bryce, but he bucks and flails in my hold like an angry bull. His arm holding the glass shard swings wildly.

“Everly, run! Get away from him! Call for help!” I try to adjust my hold on Bryce to get better leverage to cut off his airway, but when I do, he swings his arm back, sinking the glass into my side, just under my ribs. Pain erupts where he stabbed me, causing my hold on him to go slack.

“Dane! No!” Everly’s horrified cry cuts through the blood pounding in my ears, muffling my hearing.

Bryce is up now, stalking after her as she frantically backs away from him.

I try to get up, but when I move the pain lances through me, immobilizing me there on the floor.

My side becomes wet and sticky from the blood pouring from the wound, and my vision darkens at the edges.

I lose track of Bryce and Everly as I focus on holding pressure on the wound, trying to staunch the bleeding.

“I’m going to fucking kill you!”

“Go fuck yourself, Bryce! I am sick of your shit!” There is a loud thud, a grunt, and then the sound of something heavy rolling down the stairs.

The last thing I see before I pass out is Everly’s angelic face as she kneels next to me, her trembling hands pressing down on to hold pressure as my hand falls away limply.

“Don’t you dare die, Dane. Stay with me. Please stay with me.”