He Laughed While I Was Hit novel · Chapter 14 of 24

Chapter 14: Torn Up

"Forty minutes," I said.

"I counted every one." Brennan rested his chin on my hair. "I would have told you sooner, but you'd have forgiven me, and I hadn't earned it."

"I'm not forgiving you."

"Good."

I lay against his chest until the lantern guttered.

The power came back at six, all at once, with a hum and a blaze of white light.

We were still in the kitchen, half dressed and stiff from the stone.

He handed me his shirt and pulled on his jeans.

I put the shirt on and did not look at the island, because my face was hot.

At eight, a guard came to the kitchen door with an envelope.

"Courier from your lawyer's office, Mr. Doyle. Hand delivery, and he wouldn't leave without a signature."

"Put it on the counter."

The guard left.

Brennan went to the coffee maker with his back to me.

I read the cover sheet because it had my name on it.

It said: Exclusive Process License Agreement, Britta Solheim and Doyle Fresh.

My hands went cold.

I turned the page.

The agreement gave Brennan's company sole rights to my sterile-fill process across North America, and my name was typed on the signature line, with the date left blank.

Clipped to the front was a note in a lawyer's neat hand: As you asked on Saturday. Her termination clause stays in.

"Aurelio said you had a motive," I said.

Brennan turned around.

He saw what I held, and he did not look surprised.

"I asked for that on Saturday," he said. "After the photo went to the press."

"You asked for my license on Saturday."

"I asked for a shield. Rocco's lawyers say a judge can reinstate a license if the owner is declared unstable. They've got the miscarriage story, and they'll get a doctor." His voice was flat. "If the license is exclusive to a company Rocco doesn't run, no judge can hand it back to him."

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