Текст книги "Breaking Brandon"

Автор книги: Elizabeth Reyes

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Текущая страница: 16 (всего у книги 20 страниц)

“I know, right?” Valerie said, leaning in and lowering her voice. “Is he always this serious?”

They all turned to look at him just as he glanced their way, and Regina turned away quickly, hating how obvious it was they were talking about him.

Grace turned to Regina, lowering her voice as well. “He’s very handsome, Gina.” She leaned into what now looked like a little gossipy circle of women. “But is he as intimidating as he appears to be?”

Regina smiled, and if Sofia weren’t in that gossipy circle with them, she might be tempted to tell them just how intimidating Brandon had really been when she first met him. She hadn’t had the chance to gush about him to anyone but Janecia, and even then she’d been limited in doing so. He’d been by her side every night or within hearing range when she was on the phone, and the only time she’d really gotten to talk to Janecia was when they got together on their date nights. Even then, with him there, she could only do it when he happened to walk away for something or they excused themselves to the ladies’ room.

Her sisters didn’t know all the details either. She’d refrained from telling them too much before they had a chance to meet him for fear they might judge him unfairly.

With the men’s photo shoot over, they began to disperse, and Brandon started toward them. Regina was about to respond to Grace when Pat tugged at her arm. “We’ll have to talk later, Gina.”

“Yes,” Valerie said, glancing at Sofia then Gina and finally giving Bell a strange cautionary look. “He was always a little different. I’ll call you tonight, Isabel.” Regina didn’t even have time to make sense of what that might mean when Sofia pulled her aside. She glanced guardedly over Regina’s shoulder. “You still have my number?” she asked quickly. Regina nodded. “Call me, please, if you need to talk about anything. I mean it, okay?”

Before Regina could even respond, she walked away in a rush. Not a second later, Brandon was at her side. He stared at her for a moment, his eyes as cold as they ever got. “Something wrong?”

“No.” She nodded, still confused about Sofia’s bizarre behavior.

What would Regina possibly want to discuss with Sofia? Brandon? Hell no! The last thing Regina wanted was to hear Sofia’s explanation of why Brandon wasn’t good enough for her or, worse, details about that moment they shared long ago.

“Are you sure?”

Regina must’ve looked as befuddled or maybe even as annoyed as she felt because Brandon was staring at her as if expecting a better explanation for her sudden change in mood.

“I’m sure,” she said then turned to the girls.

Sarah and Valerie had already walked away, tending to their little ones, and Pat had been called away by her mom. Regina smiled at Bell and Grace, hugging them both good-bye again. Bell told Brandon once again how nice it’d been to meet him, and they finally made their way out of there.

As expected, the mood was a bit tense in his Jeep. Regina hadn’t decided if she’d wait for Brandon to admit that Sofia Moreno was his Sofie from his past or if she’d bring it up on her own.

To her surprise, Brandon got right to it. “Did it bother you?”

She almost blurted out yes! She absolutely hated that the beautiful sexy Sofia with the curves to die for and those annoyingly adorable dimples was the girl from his past. But she took a deep breath and thought it better if she asked him to clarify exactly what he was asking. Did it bother her that it was Sofia or his reaction to seeing her? She still wasn’t sure which was worse.

“Did what bother me?”

“That your ex pretended not to know you.”

Disappointed but glad she asked for clarification, she shook her head. “Not at all.” She was surprised that after everything else that had come to light today he’d think she might be concerned about that. That was the least of her worries. “I had a feeling he might. My cousin Claudia can not only be annoying she can be a real bitch. If he’s been with her long enough that they’ve gone into business together, I’m sure he’s seen that side of her already. He probably figured she wouldn’t be thrilled that he dated her cousin, even if it was a long time ago.”

“Does he still look the same?” Brandon asked, lifting an eyebrow but stared straight ahead.

If this day had gone any other way, Regina might be tempted to smirk at that. But she was fairly certain that Brandon knew just how insignificant seeing Ricardo today was. It had nothing on the strangling feeling of knowing they’d be getting to the topic of Sofia and he might admit to feeling more for her than he’d actually first admitted.

“He does actually,” she said as indifferently as she could, glancing out her window. “His hair’s a little shorter now, but aside from that, he’s still the same as I remember.”

“So what happens if she marries him and he’s around for years? You ever gonna come clean?”

Regina shook her head, feeling a little annoyed that he was focusing on this when there was something so much more pressing she wanted to get to. “I see her once or twice a year if that. We’ve never been close enough that I’d feel compelled to tell her. Besides,” she said, turning back to him, “he’s a very inconsequential part of my past, someone I hadn’t even thought of until the other day when Pat called. We went out one summer, and when it was over, it was over. He wasn’t anybody that made a real difference in my life.”

She stared at him, waiting for a reaction to that. He had to know what she was trying to imply. After today, there was no doubt in her mind. The entire summer she’d spent with Ricardo had nothing on that one moment he and Sofia had shared so long ago.

“Good to know.”

That was his only response, and they were quiet for a while. Was he really not going to address the Morenos and their sister? It wasn’t as if it were something she was looking forward to discussing, but it would kill her wondering why—if Sofia still meant something to him.

She waited for what felt like a very torturous, long, few minutes for him to say something more about today. Anything. She could get creative and somehow bring it back to subject of his unexpected reunion with these people, but he said nothing.

Deciding she wouldn’t bring Sofia up specifically, she didn’t want to beat around the bush for too long, so she sat up straight and went with something close. “So that was interesting, huh? Bet you weren’t expecting to see all your old friends from back when.”

“They’re not old friends, Regina,” he said, staring straight ahead as he drove. “I told you about my neighborhood when I was growing up. I didn’t have friends. And you heard what your brother-in-law said. We didn’t exactly get along.”

Shrugging that aside, Regina reminded him of one thing. “Romero seemed excited about seeing you again after all this time. And everyone was very cordial.” He continued to stare straight ahead and said nothing, so she continued. “The girls said you were handsome but thought you looked a bit intimidating.”

They came to a stop, and Brandon unclenched his hand on the wheel then clenched it again tightly. He finally turned to her. “Is that right? What else did they say?”

His chilly demeanor confused her. Was it possible he didn’t realize she knew who Sofie was? Shouldn’t she be the one feeling a little perturbed about his reaction to seeing her? That after all these years he was obviously still feeling something for her.

“Valerie said you were always different.”

The light turned green, and he was back to staring straight ahead. “Valerie is Alex’s wife, right?”

“Yes,” Regina confirmed. “The petite blond one.” He chuckled dryly, continuing to stare ahead, and Regina peered at him. “What’s funny?”

He lifted a shoulder. “Before today, I don’t remember ever exchanging so much as a word with her.”

Regina watched as his jaw clenched, still confused why he was acting this way. “And that’s funny?”

“Yeah, it is,” he turned to her, but there wasn’t a trace of humor in his eyes. “Because she knows as much about me as I do about her.” Bringing his attention back to the road, Regina noticed how he clenched the wheel again. “Not a goddamned thing.”

Clearly the fact that Valerie would make such a harmless remark was offensive to him. But Regina wasn’t buying that this is what had him all worked up, and it made her insides wild with jealously. As much as she tried to calm herself, she couldn’t help but just put it out there. “Sofia said you’re a good guy.”

Instantly, it felt as if the air had been sucked right out of that Jeep, and they both sat there in suffocating silence.

Chapter Twenty-One

Brandon

The phone rang, and without looking at who it was, Brandon sent it to voicemail. He had a feeling the moment he realized what he was in for today that before the day was over someone would get to Regina about him and Sofie, but he hadn’t expected for it to be her.

“You asked her if I was?” he said, staring straight ahead because he didn’t dare look at her.

He could feel her eyes digging into him. The whole time he’d been stuck standing up there taking those damn pictures he’d seen her with all the yentas and wondered what they were filling her head with. That Sofie would say he was a good guy surprised him. If he weren’t so paranoid about all of them, maybe he would have been glad instead of suspicious.

“No. She just brought it up all on her own,” she said then added. “It actually came out of nowhere.”

He fucking knew it.

His phone rang again. This time he looked down to see who it was, but he didn’t recognize the number, so he sent it to voicemail again.

“Out of nowhere, huh?” he said, pulling onto the freeway exit. “What else did she say?”

“Is there more . . .?”

She stopped before finishing, but the sound of uncertainty in her voice made his heart speed up, and he turned to her. “More what?”

“More to you and Sofia you didn’t tell me?”

Looking in her worried eyes now for as long as he could before he had to look back at the road, he didn’t see any anger or distrust—just apprehension.

“Why? Did she say there was?”

“Was there?”

His fucking phone rang again. It was the same number from before, but he’d be damned if he were answering it now.

“No, there wasn’t.” he said nearly through his teeth. “Now answer my question, Regina. Did she say there was?”

He turned to face her again, and she was peering at him now. The suspicion was undeniable now. “Why?” she asked, the uncertainty she’d spoken with earlier replaced with a more demanding tone now. “She didn’t say anything else, but is there something you’re thinking or worried she might’ve?”

Brandon gripped the wheel even tighter. His heated pulse was thrumming in his ears. “She didn’t? Did someone else?”

His brain raced, trying to remember if Regina had been alone with Alex or maybe Eric. Had the girls fed her any bullshit about how things had gone down between him and Sofie?

Once again his phone rang. Fuck! He was in no mood to talk to anyone right that second. He could barely contain the heat rising within him, enough to keep the conversation he was having with Regina under control.

Looking at his phone, he saw the same damn number on the screen again.

“Is that the same person calling again?”

Brandon nodded unable to even look at her at that moment. Thoughts of what someone might’ve told her inundated him. But the fact that she was sitting here questioning him with obvious distaste was what really pissed him off.

“You should answer it,” she said. “It might be important.”

Only because he thought giving his mind a break from his infuriating thoughts might help him calm, he hit the button on his earpiece. “Hello?”

“Brandon. Oh my God, I was about to give up and just call Regina. Is she with you?”

The female voice was familiar, but he couldn’t immediately place it. “What? Who is this?”

“This is Pat,” her sister said. “I didn’t want to call Regina because I don’t want her to freak. She plays it off pretty well, but I know when it comes to Daddy she just might. He was unconscious when I got my mom home.” Pat’s voice suddenly broke. “We have no idea how long he’s been out, but he was rushed to the hospital. They think he had a heart attack. I’m just getting here now. Is she with you?”

“Yeah, she is,” Brandon said, glancing at Regina, who was looking out the window.

Feeling the fear suddenly overcome him, fear of seeing Regina freak out replaced every ounce of anger that had started building just minutes ago. Suddenly, he couldn’t care less about any of that.

“Can you please bring her to Mission Hospital?” She rattled off the information about where it was. Then her voice broke again. “Don’t tell her he was rushed here, okay? Just say he wasn’t feeling well so we brought him in. We’ll tell her when she gets here.”

Brandon hung up and turned to Regina, dreading his next words to her. Her brow was arched a little too high, and he knew her interest in the phone call was zero—she was still thinking about whatever it was she’d been told about him and Sofie.

“That was Pat,” he said, and her expression changed immediately. “Your dad’s not feeling well, so they took him to the hospital.”

“What?” The panic was immediate. “That was Pat?” she asked, instantly digging in her purse. “Why did she call you?”

Brandon had no answer for that. He wasn’t even aware Pat had his number. “I don’t know, babe,” he said, reaching his hand out over her knee to try and sooth her. “She just said he wasn’t feeling well. Relax. It might not be anything.”

Regina’s hands were already beginning to shake as she dialed her sister.

“Pat!” she said. “What happened? What’s wrong with Daddy? And why didn’t you call me?”

She was quiet for a moment as Brandon jumped back on the freeway. He listened to her trying to get more out of Pat, but it sounded as if Pat wasn’t giving her much. “What do they mean you don’t know? What was he complaining about? Was something hurting him? Is he running a fever?”

As casually as he could, Brandon stepped on the accelerator. Talking to Pat seemed to have calmed her some, but apparently she wasn’t satisfied because she called her sister Bell as soon as she hung up.

Brandon listened quietly without saying a word, and he was glad she took his hand when he reached out for hers. Her hand still trembled a little, but it wasn’t shaking like when she’d first pulled her phone out.

“Are you sure you’re not keeping anything from me, Bell? Pat said she tried calling me first, but I had no missed calls, yet she called Brandon four times in a row.”

Glancing at the clock, Brandon wondered how long her dad had been out before Pat and her mom got there. He didn’t want to even think it, but if it had been a massive heart attack, her dad might already be dead. He’d hate to think of what Regina might do—how’d she’d react—if they got there and he was gone. Ever since she’d told him about her family not knowing a thing about her breakdown in New York, she’d reiterated how important it was that they never see that side of her. For whatever reason, it was something she was completely ashamed of. And worst yet, she was still insisting she didn’t need her meds.

By the time they got to the hospital, Regina had calmed considerably. Talking to both her sisters had done the trick. She explained to Brandon why Pat had his number.

“She asked for it the last time I had brunch at my parents. She said it was just in case there was ever an emergency. You’d be the closest one to me, especially since I mentioned how often I spend the night at your place.” This seemed to embarrass her, and he actually smiled when she added with a whisper, “My mom and Bell have it too.”

As soon as they were out of the car in the hospital parking lot, he came around and cradled her face with his hands then kissed her. “No matter what, baby, you can handle this. Okay?” He looked into her still-frightened eyes as she nodded. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she whispered back, and after seeing the suspicion in her eyes earlier, hearing her say it with such sincerity was music to his ears.

* * *

Fortunately, her father was alive, but he was in surgery when they arrived. It almost felt as if Regina had gone numb. She didn’t shake or freak out when she was told that her father, in fact, had suffered a heart attack. He was in surgery to have three stents inserted and would need to have more surgery to have two more inserted on the other side.

The hysterical Regina who’d begun to lose it in the car when she was simply told her father wasn’t feeling well sat next to her mother the whole time, assuring her mom that her dad was going to be okay. Romero held Bell a few times when she’d broken down and cried, and Pat sniffled the whole time. Meanwhile, Regina remained composed and focused on keeping her mother calm.

At one point, Brandon followed her out into the hallway when she excused herself to use the ladies’ room and pulled her aside.

“How you doing?” he asked, looking into her almost glazed-over eyes.

She nodded, glancing away. “I’m okay,” she whispered. “He’s gonna be okay.”

“He is,” Brandon agreed immediately and then said the exact opposite of what he’d always been taught to believe. “It’s okay to cry, babe. If you’re worried or afraid, you can let it out.”

Shaking her head, she smiled weakly. “No, I’m fine.”

He let her go, and she rushed away to the ladies’ room. Brandon actually hoped she was going in there to cry. He knew hearing her dad was in surgery because he’d had a heart attack had to be terrifying.

I’ve never dealt well with loss.

Remembering her story about nearly using a gun to help her deal with the loss of her late husband, made Brandon squeeze his eyes shut. He shuddered to think of how she’d deal if her dad didn’t make it.

The doctors seemed to think they’d caught it in time and he was safe. They’d insert the stents tonight. He’d be monitored for a few days in the hospital, and then he’d see his regular doctor and be scheduled for the second surgery to have the other two stents inserted. The most severely blocked arteries were being taken care of tonight. And while the other two were more than seventy percent blocked, they still could hold off on those so he wouldn’t have to be out so long and they could keep the surgery less invasive.

Brandon was in awe the entire night of how well Regina kept it together. Even after the doctors inadvertently mentioned the ambulance ride to the hospital and Pat and her mother had no choice but to tell Regina the truth that he’d been rushed there in cardiac arrest, she stared at them in silence but didn’t lose it.

By the time her dad had made it safely out of surgery and they’d all gotten a chance to go in and see him, it was early morning. Only two people were allowed in the ICU at once, and Regina asked Brandon to go in with her. The moment she laid eyes on him, Brandon saw it. For the first time since they’d gotten there, her face scrunched up, and for as much as she tried, she had no control over her quivering lips.

“He’s gonna be fine,” Brandon whispered, hugging her and kissing her head.

She clung to him and, to his relief, finally cried against his chest. He slid his hands up and down her back and continued to kiss her head. “Let it out, baby. It’s okay. You’ll feel better.”

As she continued to cry quietly against his chest, Brandon almost resented the fact that her sisters were willing and able to cry openly in front of Regina and she felt the need to be the strong one. Why?

Brandon had never been a religious person. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d prayed. But seeing how long and how despondently Regina cried against his chest scared the hell out of him. Her dad had gotten through this, this time. Brandon was now actually praying he’d be fine after the next one.

Hiding the impatience, Brandon kept to himself what he was feeling as he watched Regina clean her face up. She’d refused to walk out of the ICU with any evidence that she’d broken down. He wanted to tell her Pat mentioned she knew Regina played it off, that she knew she could freak. She had the right to. This was her father—her daddy. Why couldn’t she be allowed to fall apart? But he knew this was not the time to argue about this, so he waited silently as she reapplied makeup and powdered her red nose.

She looked up at Brandon from where she was sitting and smiled. “Is that good?”

“That’s perfect,” he said, reaching his hand out to her. “Let’s go.”

Regina stood, hurrying over to her father’s side one last time and kissed his forehead then shook her head and waved her hands in her already welling eyes.

“Stop, stop, stop,” she whispered to herself.

“You don’t have to.” Brandon finally addressed the issue, but she shook her head and walked ahead of him out into the hallway of the ICU.

On the way home, Regina explained that her Grandpa Boot was her daddy’s father. She also mentioned her father was the one who had labeled her the brave one early on. “My sisters were always so shy compared to me. Neither ever took chances, and while I wasn’t wild or anything, I did like having fun and trying things they never would. When I was younger and the boys would play baseball outside during the summer, I was the only girl who asked to play with them, and it was because of my dad’s encouragement. He said I was probably better than most of those boys, and he was right.” She smiled. “When I decided I was gonna go to school clear across the country, all my siblings stayed close by, and when I told him I was thinking of applying at Cornell instead of asking, ‘Why so far,’ like my mom did, he immediately smiled and said, ‘Good for you.’” She lowered her voice to an almost whisper as if there were anyone around that could hear her. “My sisters always refer to my dad as a bit cold and indifferent, but I never got that from him. Like with my grandpa, we always had a special bond.”

She was quiet for a moment, and Brandon turned to see if maybe she was crying again, but to his relief, she’d fallen asleep. Since she slept the rest of the way home, Brandon had plenty of time to ponder the day’s happenings. With Regina’s dad being in the hospital for what probably would be the rest of the week, Brandon was fairly certain any talk or even thoughts of Sofie and her family were the last things they’d be discussing in the coming days. As much as he wanted to know exactly what Regina had been getting at just before her sister called, he wasn’t anxious to feel what he’d begun to feel during that conversation. Infuriatingly, somehow his past with the Morenos was coming back to haunt him.

~*~

Regina

Walking into her parents’ dining room, Regina was surprised to see Alex and Romero there now too. When she’d stepped into the bedroom to see her dad almost a half hour earlier, only Valerie had been there with Bell.

Regina got the distinct feeling that whatever they’d all been discussing was cut short when they heard her coming. It was oddly quiet for a moment; then both Alex and Romero greeted her with Romero walking over to hug and kiss her. “How is he?” he asked.

Frowning, Regina shrugged. “Asleep now, but I got to talk to him for little while before he knocked out. He’s doing better, I guess.” She turned to Bell. “Why does he seem so listless?”

“Gina, he’s recovering from major surgery,” Bell reminded her, motioning for her to take a seat at the table with them. “You can’t expect him to be all chipper so quickly. Mom said the meds make him sleepy too.”

Regina frowned, taking the seat next to Bell and Romero across from Valerie and Alex. Bell poured her some coffee. “Thank you,” Regina said, reaching for the creamer and sugar. “How’s Mom doing?” she asked, turning to Bell.

She’d driven out to see her dad several times this week but hadn’t been there yesterday. Today was only her dad’s second day home. Her brother, Art, took their mom to the supermarket today while Bell and Regina stayed and watched over their dad. Pat was on her way as well. It’d been this way the whole time. Her mother hadn’t been left to deal with this alone even one day, but Regina still worried. Her mother had her own high-blood-pressure issues, and stress only added to it.

“She’s hanging in there,” Bell said, nodding as she sipped her coffee. “You know her. She’s like you, a real trooper during a crisis.”

Regina refrained from frowning, and after inquiring on whether her mom was taking her own meds, she reminded Bell she’d be willing to take time off if they needed her to come and stay with her parents for a few days. Bell assured her they had it all under control. Then Bell changed the subject to something Regina had given very little thought to all week.

“Did, uh . . .” She cleared her throat and glanced at Alex and Valerie. “Did Brandon tell you about him and Sofie?”

Him and Sofie. God, she hated how that sounded. She stirred her coffee, preparing herself to not sound defensive or jealous, though she was suddenly feeling both again.

“What about him and Sofie?” she asked then lifted a shoulder quickly meeting Alex’s eyes. “I mean I know way back something happened between them that didn’t exactly go over well with you, your brothers, and Eric since she was already with Eric, but I didn’t ask for details.”

“But he did tell you then?” Bell asked, sounding a little relieved, then gave Alex an I-told-you-so look.

Regina studied Alex’s strange expression for a moment then glanced back at her sister. “He’d told me about a girl in his past.” Regina thought about how Brandon said Sofia hadn’t even been a girlfriend. Yet she’d left such an impression on him. “He said it was someone he grew up around and later they’d had an experience. But it wasn’t until the baptism that I realized it was Sofie.” She turned back to Alex. “He had no idea either that I knew her or that he’d be running into all of you guys again.” She shrugged. “Like Romero said that day, ‘Small world, huh?’”

Valerie touched Alex’s arm, who frowned in reaction to Regina’s response. Then Bell spoke again a bit cautiously. “Did he mention what that experience had been exactly?”

Regina eyed Bell, feeling a little uncomfortable, especially given Alex’s reaction. Thoughts of Brandon and Sofia had lingered most of the week, but her father’s health had taken front and center in her mind.

“It’s been years, Gina,” Alex said suddenly. “I’m sure he’s a different guy now. And like I told Bell, as smart as you are, your judgment of character is likely spot on. I’m sure you wouldn’t get involved with someone unless you knew exactly what you’re in for. I wasn’t even gonna say anything, but it just didn’t feel right to not at least mention it.”

Regina peered at him curious now. “Mention what?”

Alex glanced at Bell as if it might be better if she told her instead of him. “Did he mention that he and Sofie’s brothers never got along?” Bell asked again, her tone a bit too cautionary. Regina was torn between being nervous or annoyed by that.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “He said something like that.”

The Morenos had always been sweethearts, as far as Regina was concerned. She didn’t want to tell them that she knew the main reason they’d been upset with Brandon was because they wrongfully blamed him alone for the indiscretion he and Sofia had had while she was already seeing Eric. From what Brandon had told her, Sofia had been just as willing. If they chose to be delusional about their sister’s innocence, that was one thing. She wouldn’t even go there unless she was forced to. But if they thought they were going to point fingers now and she’d sit there and allow it without defending Brandon, they had another think coming. So she braced herself for what Bell or Alex might mention to her next.

“Alex was just concerned because growing up it seemed Brandon’s character wasn’t always the most honorable,” Valerie explained, her tone as cautious as Bell’s, and now Regina decided it was annoying.

“It’s not even about the way he was when we were kids.” Alex shrugged. “None of us were perfect, and people grow out of stuff like that. It’s what happened later when he got back from the Marines after having been gone a few years. We all thought he’d gone on the straight and narrow and then . . .” He paused, and before he went on to say what Regina knew was coming, she interrupted because she didn’t want this to get ugly.

“He told me, Alex.” Regina informed him. “He and your sister shared a moment—a kiss—even though she was already with Eric.” She shrugged to show it was nonissue for her. “He thought they’d made a connection, especially since she allowed it.” She made sure she got that part in but wouldn’t harp on it. “He was wrong, and she admitted they’d made a mistake.”

“Honey, are you sure he didn’t have the faintest idea that you knew the Morenos?” Bell’s cautious tone was even gentler now. “That being with you would give him possible access to being around Sofia?”

“What?” Regina asked, completely insulted now. “No, of course not. He had no idea. When he told me about her, he mentioned her name, but it’s a common name. It never even dawned on me it might be this Sofia.” She turned to Alex now, attempting only for Valerie, her sister’s longtime friend, not to glare at him. “And there was no way he would know I had any association with any of you.”

“Sweetheart, I never said—”

“No one is accusing him of anything, Gina,” Bell interrupted Alex, touching Regina on the arm. “And Alex never once insinuated that this was the case, hon. It was just something that occurred to me just now.”

“Well, it’s not,” Regina said, no longer holding back her irritation.

She saw Valerie and Bell exchange glances, and then Bell took a deep breath. “Did he tell you that, even after he was warned to stay away from Sofie, he followed her to the beach to insist on talking to her? Then when she told him again that he needed to stay away, he showed up at their home, insisting on seeing her?” Bell asked with a wince. “That he was completely drunk and caused a huge scene just outside their home? And only after he’d been beaten pretty badly did he finally leave?”

Now Regina was stunned silent. She turned to Alex and Valerie. Both looked at her with sympathy. “Brandon stalked Sofia?”