“I hope you’re right,” she says. “I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”
“Tell Matty to pick something expensive,” I say. “And tell him happy birthday from me.” I hate that I’ll miss his birthday. It’ll be the first time since I moved into the Bishop house.
We hang up and I tuck the phone back into its hiding place behind my bed. I then walk out into the hallway where from the landing, I see Zeke with Angelique. They’re talking animatedly and I watch them together. He’s sweet with her. He loves her, it’s obvious. And she loves him.
A moment later he turns his gaze up to meet mine and I’m startled at being caught.
“Belle,” Angelique says, following her uncle’s line of vision. “Uncle Zeke just took me on an adventure. Look what I collected!” she holds up a bunch of yellow flowers. The same ones I’d used to decorate Nellie Bishop’s grave.
I clear my throat and walk downstairs, hoping the heat I feel in my cheeks isn’t obvious to them. I wonder if he knew I was up there all along.
“They’re so beautiful,” I tell her.
“They don’t really smell but I like them. I’ll take you to get some if you want.”
“Remember what we agreed, Angelique. You’re only to go into the woods with your father or me.”
“But Belle is a grownup Uncle Zeke.”
“Isabelle doesn’t know the woods like we do.”
Angelique looks over at me and I meet Ezekiel’s eyes and nod. “He’s right. I would hate for us to get lost.”
“There you are,” comes Leontine’s voice from around the corner. “Nina’s here. She’ll have dinner with us tonight. What do you think about that?”
“Oh! I bet she’ll like these too. I’ll give her some,” Angelique says and takes her grandmother’s hand.
Leontine studies us for a moment. “You two coming?”
When I turn to Ezekiel, he’s watching me. “In a minute,” he says, reading my mind.
“A minute,” Leontine says and walks away. I wonder if she’s closer to one brother over the other. I wonder what she thought of Jericho stealing Kimberly away from Ezekiel.
“Can I ask you a question?” I ask before I lose my nerve.
“Has your husband given you permission to talk to me?” I’m caught off guard by his question but a moment later, he grins. “All the better if he hasn’t,” he says and opens his office door to invite me in.
40
Isabelle
I haven’t been inside this office since that first night. I stand just inside the door and look around at the space. It’s different now with the waning evening light.
Ezekiel takes his seat behind the desk and watches me as I make my way to a chair in front of his desk. He leans forward, setting his elbows on the desk and steepling his fingers.
“Why did you say what you said the other day?”
He raises his eyebrows and I wonder if he’s forgotten.
“That if he hurts me, I can come to you.”
He shrugs his shoulders and leans back in his seat. “You looked like you might need a friend.”
I study him, try to figure out the dynamic between him and his brother. Try to figure out if he’s playing me. Using me somehow.
“Is it true you were with Kimberly before Jericho was?” I blurt out.
“Where did you hear that?”
I shrug my shoulder and wait for him to answer.
He grins, gets up and comes to the front of his desk. He leans against it, looking down at me. This is when I see the true similarity of the brothers. They have some physical things in common, yes, but it’s not so much that as their presence. All alpha male and power.
“What if I told you we shared her for a time.”
It takes me a minute to follow but when I do, I feel my throat go dry.
“She was with both of us,” he clarifies.
I’m not sure what I look like but the expression on my face makes his grin widen.
“Not what you expected to hear?”
“I…”
“Don’t worry, I don’t think it’s his intention to share you.”
I start to get up, but he shakes his head.
“Sit back down.”
“I should go.”
“Sit.” He walks to a side table and pours himself a drink. “Would you like something?” When I don’t answer, he decides for me and brings me a glass of whiskey. “You may need this considering the evening ahead of you.”
“What does that mean?” I ask and take the glass although the scent of it turns my stomach and I set it aside. I’ve been nauseous easily lately. Anxiety.
“Tonight is the auction.”
I nod.
“Well, I don’t want to spoil my brother’s surprise.”
I’m confused by this, but I’m still stuck on the other thing. “You shared her?”
“I know it’s unconventional, but many people do it, Isabelle. You’ve lived a sheltered existence if this is the first you’re hearing about this sort of arrangement. We’d shared women before Kimberly. But this was the first time one of us fell in love. Well two of them fell in love.”
Love. Jericho loved her. Of course, he did. It’s what this is all about.
“I bowed out at that point. The relationship was no longer appropriate.”
“The three of you?”
He nods and there’s something in his eyes that makes me pause. Had he loved her too?
“Do you blame him? For her death I mean?”
“Her murder.”
“Her murder,” I repeat uneasily.
“You’re a curious thing, aren’t you?”
“I just want to understand.”
“What would understanding this do?”
“I don’t know. What I do know is that your brother is keeping me here like a prisoner. I’m not allowed to leave. Not allowed to have a phone.” It’s true technically. “Not allowed anything.”
“If you could leave, where would you go?”
“Home.”
“The Bishop house?”
“I guess so.”
He tilts his head to the side, studies me. “Are you sure you’re welcome there?”
“What do you mean?”
He smiles, shakes his head. “And a phone.” He gestures to his cell phone on the desk. “Would you like to make a call?”
“That’s not… You know he’s restricting me.”
“And you’re here now because of what I said. You’ve come to me for protection.”
I study him now. Wonder at the game he’s playing. Wonder if I’ve made a mistake.
“Have you considered he’s protecting you?” he asks.
“From what? He’s the one I need protecting from.”
“I’ve seen how he is with you. I’m not sure if what you’re saying is correct. Jericho can be harsh but he’s loyal.”
“He’s unpredictable.”
“That too, but like I said, he is loyal. And he knows more about you than you realize.”