Surrendered(51)

“Apparently it’s a video of you both dumping what appears to be a body.” I say quietly. Jane wouldn’t show me the video¸ but she must have it. Surely she knows that I’m not going to pay her five million without seeing exactly what I’m buying first.

“Lill’s.” Harry says quietly to her.

“I’m okay.” She mumbles. Shit, I don’t want to drag her through what is obviously some painful shit. This is why I wanted to deal with Jane on my own.

“I’m sorry Lilly. I wanted to save you from this. I thought I could deal with her on my own, so the court case would go away, and you would never need to know.” I try desperately to explain. She doesn’t respond, she looks in a state of shock. “Lilly.”

“What is she blackmailing you with?” She asks brusquely. She won’t look at me, instead she keeps her eyes fixed on the coffee table.

“She says that if I don’t pay her five million then she will tell the police what happened, and she will hand over her evidence. If I pay her, then she will hand over the evidence to me.” She hasn’t denied the murder. I guess I knew really, the second Jane made the accusation. I knew that there was a very real chance that they had actually killed him. I don’t care, in fact I’m glad they did. My only concern is for what killing a man must have done to a fourteen year old girl who had already endured immeasurable suffering and abuse. The more I learn of her story, the more in awe of her I am. How can someone endure so much?

“Why now?” Harry adds. “If she really had evidence, then why not before?”

“Because she couldn’t find us before.” Lilly whispers. “Think about it, she found us because she saw me in the paper with Theo, so she knew that Theo was with me and that he had money. He bought her off almost immediately for one and a half mil, and that was just to disappear. She leaves, but brings the charges against Harry. She fucking knew you would come after her…”

“The cash withdrawal…” I mumble. Harry looks at me questioningly. Lilly still doesn’t look away from the coffee table. “Miles tracked her down when she withdrew cash from a machine in Monte Carlo.” I explain. “It was too easy. If you were really hiding, you wouldn’t be so obvious. Then I brought her back here, giving her enough time to put the pieces in motion.”

“I fucking said we shouldn’t have let him pay her off.” Harry waves his hand in my direction. “We should have handled this ourselves from the off.”

“It’s not just about money…” Lilly says quietly.

I shake my head. “When she spoke to me about it she was almost hysterical. Honestly, I can pay her, but this is about more than money. I think she wants some kind of revenge. Which means that even if I pay her, she’s still going to submit that evidence.” I sigh. “The woman is certifiably insane. Oh, and for the record, I don’t care what you did or didn’t do.” I say to Harry. “Lilly told me about her past, and I’d kill that fucker myself if I had the chance.” Lilly’s eyes meet mine for the first time since I said I knew about Shane. “I’ve spent the last week trying to figure out how to handle her. I’ve had my guys on it, and depending on your story, I think I can pin the murder on her.”

“It was self-defence.” Lilly snaps. She looks away from me again and drags her hand through her hair. Her hands are shaking, and her face has gone a ghostly white.

“I know Lilly, I know. I need to know what happened.” I say as gently as possible.

“No, you don’t.” Harry says. “We don’t need your help.” He stands up abruptly and grabs Lilly’s elbow, pulling her to her feet. She looks shell shocked, unable to function or think for herself.

“Look, Miles thinks he can frame her for it. I can pin it on her, fabricate evidence…”

“And in doing so, you risk dragging Lilly’s past out into the public eye. No. We’re leaving.” Harry storms across the living room, taking Lilly with him. He’s angry and defensive. I don’t blame him. He’s spent his entire life looking after his sister, protecting her from all those that want to hurt her. He’s just trying to protect her again. The problem is, they’ve been running from this for eight years, and I just kicked the hornet’s nest. Shit, I need to fix this now.

Lilly glances over her shoulder at me and tries to pull her arm free of Harry’s grip. He doesn’t release her. His fingers tighten around her arm, and it makes me angry.

I step in front of her, placing myself between them. He still doesn’t release her. “Let go of her.” I growl.