A Life Earthbound (34 page)

Freedom, it seemed, had alluded her once again. Because she was quite certain that being holed up in a room, all but chained to a chair and suffering through a harsh and near violent interrogation was not considered freedom. No; it was a cage, a prison, and her mother and Burke had become her guards and her captors.

“We’ve talked to your…friends, Rhiannon, and they all claim they are innocent,” Serendipity said, pacing before her daughter, staring down her nose skeptically. “However, only two of them have relatively solid alibis, given by their girlfriends, which I am inclined to believe only because they were the least likely suspects to begin with.”

Rian and Jax, Rhiannon thought with a small sigh of relief. At least her mother and Burke would leave them be, for now.

“But Liam and Brogan have no alibis,” Burke grunted, stepping toward Rhiannon and glaring down at her, his face that had been so charismatic and friendly before now hardened and sharper than a steel blade. This was the true face behind his gallant, gregarious mask…the one she’d always known was lurking inches under the surface, ready to lash out when provoked. This was the man who conquered demons, the man who garnered unwavering respect from fellow Enforcers and the people of Euphora. This was the man who would spare no expense, and spare no means to find justice for his only son. His legacy, wasted.

Rhiannon shivered once, not wanting him to see just how terrified he made her. She remembered quite vividly what it had felt like to have Burke nearly choke the life out of her just hours earlier. And the bruises that were gradually blooming on her skin, in the shape of his fingers that had pressed brutally into her throat, were a wicked reminder of what he was capable of. She knew, without a doubt, that she was right to be scared of him.

“Which one of them did it?
Answer me!
” Burke roared, gripping her shoulders and shaking her, causing her head to whip back and spin with dizzying fear.

“Neither of them,” she gasped, trying to keep her expression neutral and her breathing even. She had to maintain control, at all costs.

“
Liar!
” Burke pushed away from her, clenching his fists, the urge to strike her flooding fast and eager through his system. But Thea would have his head if he laid a hand on her in that manner again. “If it wasn’t Liam or Brogan, then who was it?”

“I don’t know.” Rhiannon met his eyes, cold and determined, and repeated herself. “
I don’t know
.”

Burke shook his head, looking disgusted. “You know, girl, you sure are calm and collected for someone whose boyfriends are being accused of murder.” He began to pace around her chair, circling her as a new thought occurred to him. “Tell me, why did you decide to go for a walk outside the castle this morning? We’ve talked to everyone, and no one has ever seen you break from your usual routine to go for a walk so early in the morning before. Did you go out there because you knew what you’d find, and you wanted to be the one to break the news of what you had done?”

“
What?
” Rhiannon stammered, her mouth falling open in shock at his words.

“That’s right.” Burke stopped mid-step and leaned toward her, a gleam of triumph in his eyes. “You had the most to gain from killing my son, so you took it upon yourself to do the deed, didn’t you? You lured Michael onto Euphora last night, and you slit his throat the minute he arrived.”

Serendipity made a small gasping noise, her hand pressed against her lips, her eyes wide. “Rhiannon, how could you?”

“I didn’t do this!” Rhiannon insisted, shaking her head in disbelief. “I don’t even own a knife!”

“Perhaps now you don’t.” Burke tilted his head, eyes narrowing maliciously. “If I remember right, you do a lot of work in the kitchens; there are plenty of knives down there. Where did you go this afternoon? Somewhere to stash the murder weapon?”

“No!”

“So what, then? Were you considering running away, but then chickened out and came back?”

Rhiannon let out a shuddering, dubious breath, unsure this could really be happening. They really believed her capable of slitting a man’s throat? Of letting the blame fall on men who’d stood up for her, men who, in Brogan’s case, considered her a friend, and in Liam’s case, loved her? Not even she could stoop so low…

“Why would I kill Michael?” she asked, meeting Burke’s eyes and then her mother’s. “I may not have wanted to marry him, but I was going to go through with it because it made my father happy.”

“Rhiannon, you told me just the other day that you wanted to strangle Michael,” Serendipity said accusingly, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “And now you want us to believe that you are not capable of murder, when you yourself expressed an explicit desire to commit it?”

At a loss for words, Rhiannon merely shook her head, feeling utterly trapped. Her own mother believed her guilty…

Thea burst into the room, having just met with the Furies to discuss the lack of evidence found in the meadow. She glided toward the three of them, noting the pale shock on Rhiannon’s face, and the accusatory stares coming from Serendipity and Burke.

“Have you finished your interrogation, Burke?” Thea asked, looking disgusted with both of them.

Burke turned to look at Mother Earth, and all of the respect he’d had for her was clearly gone. He knew she would stand up for his son’s murderer, simply because members of the Council were virtually untouchable in the eyes of the law. Hadn’t Brock gotten away, time and time again, with purchasing demon weapons illegally? She would not let him arrest Rhiannon, not without tangible proof.

“Yes, Thea. We’re done.” He stood up straight, using all the control he could muster to not exact his revenge then and there. In time, hopefully very soon, he would see that Rhiannon paid for what she had done, because he was now convinced without a doubt that she had killed his son.

Without a word, Rhiannon went straight to her room, hoping for some time alone to figure out how in the world she was going to prove to her mother and to Burke that she was not a killer. The fact that this had turned on her was mind boggling enough. She had never so much as killed a bug, much less a human being! And to see the way her mother worked Burke up into a frenzy, feeding the madness in his grief stricken and vengeful mind, turning this on her own daughter without even a second thought.

It was disgusting. Downright disgusting.

Pushing open her bedroom door, she stopped mid-step as her eyes landed on Liam, who was laying unceremoniously on her bed.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him, carefully shutting the door behind her so no one could walk by and see him there.

He shot her a dark look. “I thought I was welcome to your bed now, Rhia.”

Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest, unsure what he was getting at. “Being welcome in my bed has gotten you into a lot of trouble. I figured you’d be inclined to stay away.”

“Bullshit.” He grunted, sitting up and glaring at her. “They can speculate all they want, but they’re wrong.”

“You didn’t kill him, Liam?” she asked in a murmured whisper, unsure why the words came to her. But she knew it had to be asked, especially since she herself was now a prime suspect…

“God, Rhia, no, I didn’t.” Liam got to his feet, approaching her with frustration and anger in his eyes. “I’m not stupid enough to think killing him would solve anything, which it obviously hasn’t.”

“Then if it wasn’t you, who was it?” she asked, matching his anger with her own frustration.

“Rian and Jax have no stake in this, no motive. And I imagine if either of them wanted someone dead, they wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave the body lying in plain sight,” Liam reasoned, running his hands through his hair. “So that just leaves Brogan.”

“No.” Rhiannon shook her head fervently, upset to even be speaking of it. “He wouldn’t do this.”

“He has motive, Rhia,” Liam began, watching her with narrowed eyes. “He’s liked you forever and he wouldn’t want to see you married off to some prick like Michael. Plus he has access to weapons; weapons he knows how to use. He’s a born and bred soldier, Rhia, that’s what the Furies do. He knows how to kill. And maybe he left the body there to make a statement.”

“How dare you,” she managed, angry heat rising up to color her face as she jabbed at his chest with her index finger. “You’re no better than they are if you start accusing people without even knowing them! Brogan is a good person, kindhearted and caring, more than you could ever know. He’s my friend, my dearest friend, really, and I won’t stand by and let you think for one minute that he would do something this vile in my honor.”

He reached out and gripped her wrists, holding her in place, his eyes boring into hers. “If it were Brogan doing the accusing right now, would you defend me so passionately, Rhia? Or do you reserve this fevered devotion for him alone?”

“Screw you!” she spat, struggling against his grip to release herself. When he let go, she glared at him, her hair falling over her face and her chest heaving with indignation. “You chose a horrible time to suddenly get jealous about Brogan, Liam.”

“I’m just considering all the angles,” he told her, tucking his hands in the pockets of his jeans, his eyes hard as stone.

“Fine, you want to consider all the angles? Then consider the idea that maybe
I
did it. Because that’s what Burke and my mother think, and you seem so ready to jump on the accusatory band wagon.”

Liam’s mouth fell open and his brow creased with disbelief. “Are you serious?”

“Would I lie about that?” she managed, feeling her anger fizzle at the look of horror in his eyes. “Burke accused me because I wouldn’t name one of you as the murderer, and then my mother brought up how I told her the other day that sometimes I wanted to strangle Michael to get him to shut up. That was enough to convince them that I’m a killer.”

“Damnit,” Liam cursed, mostly without feeling now as he sat back down on the bed, his head in his hands. “What a nightmare.”

She stayed by the door, unsure what move to make next. All she knew was it was probably best for Liam to disassociate himself from her, at least for now. It was the only way she could protect him and the others.

“I think you should go,” she told him, fighting to keep her voice level, controlled and distant.

“What? Why?” He glanced up at her, confusion and hurt in his eyes.

“It’s best if I handle this alone. It’s my burden to bear.” She watched the anger flash over his face and felt sorry for it. But she couldn’t let him, or any of the others, fall victim to Burke and her mother’s madness. Let them focus all their attention on her and away from the others. Eventually the truth would come out and she would be exonerated. But until then, she wouldn’t let the others face any more of Burke’s wrath. It just wasn’t fair, not when Michael had been her burden, not theirs.

“You would push me away, now, when you’re accused of goddamn
murder
?” Liam shot to his feet, incensed. “I thought we were past all of this?”

“Time will tell just what happens between us, Liam. Until then, I want you to lie low. Don’t give them any reason to suspect you any more than they do now.”

“I won’t just stand by and let you take the fall for this all on your own. Who do you think I am?”

She was silent for a moment, considering his words, knowing exactly who he was. She had always known, hadn’t she? “You’re a hero, Liam. But I’m telling you right now that I don’t need you to be mine.”

“Unbelievable,” he muttered, shaking his head at her, the sting of betrayal haunting his eyes. She felt her heart shudder at the sight of it, and shrink into hollow darkness as he spoke again. “It must be lonely up there on that pedestal, Rhia.”

With that, he pushed past her and left the room, slamming the door behind him. She stayed where she was, unable to do more than let out a shaky, unsteady breath.

It was lonely, she thought. But at least she would be the only one to fall when the time came.