Page 25 of The Tycoon (The Douglas Brothers #1)

DOLLY

Staring at the front door to my apartment, I hesitate putting my key into the lock.

I barely slept at all last night, I’m a bundle of nerves to find out what Sam wants to tell me about Sutton.

I still haven’t heard from him, so that’s compounding my anxiety.

I’m trying not to dwell on it too much, I’m sure he had a very late night with the negotiations and wanted to crawl into bed as soon as he could.

Still, I would have expected him to have sent me a text, even if it was three in the morning.

He made me put ‘do not disturb’ hours onto my phone, he knows he wouldn’t have woken me up.

Pushing out a sigh, I pull back my hand for a moment to tug on the hem of my oversized tee.

I’m purposefully wearing Sutton’s shirt and sweatpants to visually signal to Sam that whatever he has to say won’t sway me.

That, and I didn’t want to wear anything too revealing.

I know how he feels about me, I don’t want to lead him on in any way, shape or form.

Jumping a little in place to let out some of my energy, I ready myself enough to shove my key into the knob.

Unlocking the door, I quickly force it open before I chicken out.

To my surprise, Sam is standing only three feet away.

Hunched over with his hands in the pockets of his pajama pants, he looks like he’s been chewed up and spit out.

His left eye is black and blue, as is his swollen jaw.

He gives me a lopsided smile that lifts his sutured cheek, the expression highlights his split lips and missing canine.

“Hey, Dolly.”

Gasping in shock, I throw my keys into my tote bag and step into the apartment. Closing the door, I lock it out of habit before clearing the space between us.

“Sam! What the hell happened to you?” I exclaim, pulling him into a hug.

I feel him stiffen, most likely from pain. Apologizing profusely, I let him go before looking at his wounded face.

“I’m sorry! Are you ok? What happened?” I ask.

Meeting my eyes, Sam’s smile drops. Taking my hand, he starts to lead me towards our small living room.

“You’re not going to like my answer, but you should be sitting down for all of this,” he replies, motioning towards the sofa.

Scrunching my face, I drop my tote on the coffee table. Taking a seat on our broken couch, I scoot over to give him room to sit on the cushion that isn’t torn to shreds. Now my anxiety is really spiking, I wish he would just spit it out already.

“Ok Sam, you’re really freaking me out.”

Sitting down next to me, he nods his head.

“Yeah, I know. And what I have to say will only freak you out more. But before I say anything Dolly, I want you to know that I really care about you. I always have, and I always will. No matter what, you have me, ok? And we can make it through anything together,” he says.

Licking my lips nervously, I blink at him while I absorb his words. I don’t care for how ominous he sounds. Make it through what together? I have no idea what he’s talking about, this is getting incredibly weird.

“Ok. Yeah, sure Sam. Now, can you please spit it out already?” I ask, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

“Uh, yeah. Ok. So, well. I’ll just come out and say it. I look like this thanks to your boyfriend!” he spits.

Taken aback by his statement, I huff a disbelieving laugh. Shaking my head, I reject his accusation.

“Yeah, right Sam. Sutton has been with me all week! Look, I know you’re…jealous…but this is pretty low. There’s no wa–”

“Dolly, I’m telling you the truth!” he says, cutting me off.

Centering his gaze upon mine, I watch a look of sincerity flash over his beaten face. Sam has done a lot of sleazy things, but he has never lied to me. The realization turns my blood to ice.

“It happened when you left the cafe. Sutton was there the whole fucking time. He came at me as soon as you left! Started screaming and carrying on…he threatened to kill me in front of the entire restaurant! Now, I’m an athletic guy, but you know I’m not much of a fighter, so I left to try to diffuse the situation.

Well, he followed me out and pulled me into the alley where he proceeded to beat my ass!

Punched me so hard he nearly broke my jaw, slammed my head against the wall until he knocked me out!

I mean, fuck Dolly, I lost a damn tooth, I have stitches in my cheek, and staples in my fucking skull! ” he exclaims.

Turning his head, he lifts his brown hair to show me.

Sure enough, I see three metal staples buried deep in his scalp.

My mouth falls open, my heart drops into my stomach.

It’s clear that Sam has been in one hell of a fight, but Sutton is so in control over his emotions.

I can’t visualize him making a scene in front of everyone at the cafe, let alone beating him into a bloody pulp.

His story isn’t making much sense to me.

This isn’t the Sutton I know, this isn’t the Sutton I’ve fallen in love with.

“Oh, God, Sam…I don’t…I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything, Dolly. This isn’t your fault. It’s fucking Sutton Douglas’ fault!”

Shaking my head incredulously, I’m unwilling to accept his truth.

My mind whirls with different possibilities and scenarios.

I know Sam is jealous, and jealous men do and say some pretty crazy things.

I mean, Sutton looked just fine when he came to pick me up that day.

He definitely didn't look, or act, like he had been in any kind of fight.

Although now that I think about it, he did have those odd stains on his shirt.

What was it that he said it was? Hot sauce?

Oh, God. I knew it wasn’t hot sauce.

My heart stops as my brain pieces things together, all the color drains from my face.

“Why…why would he do that?” I ask, my voice shaking at the seams.

Shrugging his shoulders, Sam scoots closer to me.

“He wants me to stay away from you, he’s jealous of what we have,” he replies.

Lifting a brow, I give him the oddest look.

Sutton has told me on multiple occasions that he still wants me to keep my friends.

I highly doubt he would alienate me from someone who is essentially my brother, especially in such a vile manner.

I’m honestly more disturbed by the fact that Sam seems to think that we’re more than friends.

“But there’s nothing between us, Sam! We’re just friends, and Sutton knows that! Sutton and I are together, he’s definitely not jealous!”

Clenching his injured jaw, his split lips pull into a deep frown.

I can tell he isn’t happy with my response, but I have to call it like I see it.

Sutton is not jealous of Samuel Hartley; he has no reason to be.

Sutton has everything Sam has ever wanted in life; money, status, me.

If anyone is jealous in this equation, it’s Sam.

“You don’t believe me?” he asks, his voice tinged in anger.

Pausing for a moment, I try to rein in my racing heart. He isn’t going to like what I have to say, but I refuse to have him accuse my Sutton of such a heinous act.

“Sam, you’ve been in a fight, there’s no doubt about that but…no. I don’t believe that Sutton was the one that beat you up. And I think it’s really shitty that you’re trying to hurt me like this. You can’t stand to see me happy, can you?” I ask.

Huffing a laugh, he reaches into the pocket of his flannel pajama pants. Shaking his head, he pulls out his phone.

“Oh, yeah, I’m the one trying to hurt you!

” he says, raising his voice as he tries to pull something up on the screen of his cell.

“Right. Ok. So when I got out of the emergency room after your fucking rich bitch of a boyfriend beat me up, my mom drove me back to San Antiono to take care of me. I’ve been there all fucking week, recovering from getting my head bashed against a brick wall!

Anyway, I felt a little alive last night, so we went down to River Walk.

Well! Imagine my surprise when I see Sutton fucking Douglas out on a date with some brunette! ”

Laughing at his story, I can’t help but roll my eyes. He’s being ridiculous, and I’m getting a little annoyed.

“That’s impossible, Sutton was tied up in negotiation meetings all night there’s no way it was hi–”

“Oh, yeah?” he interrupts, holding his cell up to my face. “Because this sure as hell looks like him to me!”

Moving my gaze to the screen, I reluctantly watch as a video plays. While dark, I can make out the image of a man that resembles Sutton sitting at an outdoor table. My mind automatically dismisses it, chalking it up to the painkillers he’s probably on.

“That’s not Sutton.”

“Keep watching, Dolly!” he all but yells.

Jumping slightly from the volume of his voice, I turn my attention back to the screen. It zooms in closer, revealing a clear image of what looks like Sutton’s handsome face.

“What the hell,” I whisper.

“Oh, just keep watching! You’re getting to the good part!” Sam barks.

Pressing my lips into a fine line, my stomach fills with razor sharp butterflies as I see a woman with long brown hair approach him. I only see her from behind, but I recognize her right away. There’s only one person in the world who was blessed with perfect hair and a slutty walk like that.

“Savannah,” I say under my breath.

“Oh, you know this bitch, Dolly?” Sam asks, tilting his head as he looks at me. “Yeah, of course you do! He would cheat on you with someone you know. He’s that kind of an asshole!”