“Brian, go inside and call the police,” I directed, hoping he could still function in the pain he was feeling.
“Let him up, Ryder,” Brian directed.
“Brian,” but he cut me off.
“Let him up,” he repeated, watching the man who lay beneath me.
Slowly, I rose but my eyes stayed on Ray. He may have been involved with Leighanne, but I didn’t know how stable he was emotionally. He had after all been threatening to kill Brian if he married Leigh.
Carefully, Ray stood brushing at his clothes as he straightened. Then he lifted his head and looked Brian directly in the eye. And there they stood.
The two men who shared Leighanne’s life and her heart. They stood face to face, judging the other, condemning the other, trying to understand the other. How odd it must have been to know that the man in front of you was loved by the woman who loved you as well.
“Who are you?” Brian finally asked.
“My name is Ray Thomas. I’m a director out in L.A.,” Ray answered quietly.
“How do you know Leighanne?”
“We met when she auditioned for one of my movies about three months ago. We had dinner afterwards and one thing led to another and she’s been flying back out to see me every few weeks ever since,” Ray explained, his eyes flashing anger that they had been forced to hide their relationship because of Brian.
“Why the threats?”
“I wanted you to get scared and dump her so she would come to me and stay. I wanted her and I was tired of sharing her with you. You can have any woman in the world. All I want is Leighanne. You have this bitch so you don’t need Leighanne anymore,” he said, waving a hand towards me.
Brian took a step towards him in my defense but I stepped in front of him. Then turned and slammed my fist into Ray’s nose. He stumbled back, grasping his face as he screamed.
“Watch your mouth,” was all I said.
“Where’s Leigh now?” Brian asked him.
“Back in L.A. She thinks I had to make a short run to New York,” Ray answered, glaring at me.
“What are you going to do now?”
“What do you mean? I thought you were having me arrested?” he asked, confused.
“Do you want me dead or do you just want Leigh?” Brian asked.
“I just want Leigh.”
“Then get out of my life. I’ll handle Leigh but you don’t mention this to her. If you break her heart, Thomas, I will hunt you down myself,” Brian warned.
“Brian,” I began, but once again he cut me off. He was crazy letting this man go. He couldn’t believe him. What if he came back, what if next time he really tried to kill him?
“Get off my property and I never want to see you again,” Brian said.
“Brian, please don’t do this,” I begged.
“Go,” he yelled at Ray. The other man hesitated only a moment before breaking out in a run away from us.
Then slowly, like a man in a trance, Brian turned and walked back into the house. I went after him.
“Brian, you can’t trust him. He could go straight to Leighanne, tell her everything. He could come back and really try to hurt you. Brian, you can’t just let him go,” I badgered.
“Stop!”
I jerked back at the sound of his voice booming through the house. The very tone scared me and I found myself stepping back in fear.
“Just stop, Ryder. Leave me alone. I need to think.”
Then he turned and walked into the house. I followed him down the hall and watched him pass the room where he had previous slept in my arms to walk into the one he shared with Leighanne.
That single act alone said more than all the words could ever say. He may have been mine for a few nights physically but his heart still belonged to Leighanne.
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