Captive

Chapter Twenty Two

It took a moment for Bret to register that she was no longer speaking, her soft, quiet voice had seemed to fill the room, her story filling his mind with images he didn't want to see. The thought of her being drugged, held against her will by a man who very clearly had a world of issues was painful as he recognised that he too held her captive, he too had hurt her. White hot guilt went right through his body, making his ears fill with a rush of air, his mouth dry and his eyes  sting.  Perspiration broke out on his forehead as he listened to her describe the last days of her captivity with Jason Turner and suddenly unable to bear it any more he got to his feet and walked out of the room, heading outside, needing some air. The evening air was cooler than it had been during the day and he inhaled great gulps of it as he tried to steady himself, hearing her sobbing inside but not knowing if she would want him anywhere near her. He could tell himself that he had not been cruel to her but he knew that when Shawn kissed her he had accused her of being a whore, he had slapped her face and it wasn't the only time he had used harsh words. How many times had he threatened to whip her? Small wonder she had gone white every time given that that man had whipped her, left scars across her chest that he had seen and he now suspected he would see the same on her back if he looked. Tears filled Bret's eyes and he did nothing to stop them as his guilt overcame him. He deserved to be miserable for what he'd put her through; he couldn't justify it even to himself any more. Her father's sins were not her sins but he had made it so that they were. He had forced her into his employ, his home, made her sign a contract that curtailed her freedom and gave him the right to put his hands on her. Even if he'd had no intention of actually hurting her though he'd allowed her to believe he would. The nights she had woken him screaming made sense now and he wondered if him holding her in his home had added to those nightmares, if it had provoked the awful memories that he could now understand why she had buried them so deep.

But then another thought occurred to him; she had said there was a reason she no longer wished to be in the UK. Rubbing a hand over his face and making a concerted effort to calm himself Bret headed back inside.

"Why can't you go back to the UK?" he asked, his sharp tone cutting across the room where Kane was now holding his sister tenderly while Mark was pacing furiously, his green eyes flashing with acidic fury. Both brothers looked at him as he spoke but Juliet answered quietly.

"Because Mum took him back. Edward came back."

"Then he has broken the deal he made with you," Bret said. "You should go to the police, tell them what happened. They'll open a new file, lock the prick away..."

"No," she said, quietly and all three men stared at her incredulously.

"You're just going to let the fucker get away with it?" Mark demanded and Juliet flinched a little at his tone, as Kane rubbed her back, comforting her.

"I can't face the questioning, the cross examining, not being believed. And then a court case. It would destroy Mum and no doubt me as well. I just want to leave it in the past."

"Fucking bullshit!" Mark exploded, but Kane shook his head at him.

"Whatever you need Juliet," he said. "We're here for you, all of us, ok? Me and Mark and Bret." She glanced up and only then did she look across at him, her green eyes searching his face for a moment before she bowed her head miserably at whatever she had seen there. Her hand moved to her chest and she rubbed at it, the gesture so achingly familiar that it brought a fresh wave of guilt over him.

"Do you need your pills?" Bret asked and she shook her head.

"Can't have any more just yet," she replied softly, but she was clearly in some discomfort. He knew that stress always made it worse and closed his eyes on another wave of guilt as he thought of the stress he had put her under. She dropped her head against Kane's shoulder and heaved a big sigh, looking suddenly exhausted.