Between Two Brothers

CHAPTER 17.

ISLA'S POV

The aroma of fresh herbs and sizzling garlic filled Mum’s restaurant, a small haven of warmth in the bustling London streets. I’d slipped away during my lunch break, craving the comfort of familiar walls and my mother’s knowing smile. After the charged chaos of the gala and the lingering heat of Dare’s kiss in the car, I needed space to breathe and to think.

I was wiping down a corner table when the door chimed. Julian stepped inside, his usual polished composure cracked with urgency. He scanned the room before locking eyes with me.

“Isla. We need to talk. Now.”

My mother glanced over from the kitchen pass, her brow furrowing. I gave her a reassuring nod and led Julian to a quiet booth in the back. “This better be important. I have to get back to the office soon.”

He slid an envelope across the table, his hand trembling slightly. “It’s more than important. This, is proof. Real proof about what Dare did in Spain.” His voice was low, intense. “Elena Voss wasn’t just a business arrangement. These are internal memos, emails. Dare signed off on the full charade—intimate dinners, leaked photos, even a staged ‘relationship’ announcement to seal the rival deal. He didn’t fight Victor. He embraced it. And these—” He tapped the envelope. “Show he knew about the lies being fed to you. He let me become the villain while he played the wounded heir.”

I opened the envelope with unsteady fingers. Documents that were timestamps. Signatures that looked damning. My stomach knotted. “Why are you showing me this now?”

“Because I care about you,” Julian said earnestly, leaning forward. “Not as a pawn in their game. I have a plan. A real escape. I’ve secured a position for you at a rival firm—discreet, but well-paid. We can get your mother set up somewhere safe, away from Blackthorne influence. I can help you disappear from all of this. From him, in particular.”

The offer tempted me more than Victor’s bribe had. Genuine concern shone in Julian’s eyes, mixed with that familiar possessiveness. But after weeks of being pulled between them, I saw the strings. “And what do you get out of it, Julian? Beating Dare? Or do you actually want me free?”

He reached for my hand. “Both. But mostly you. I want you to be safe, with someone who never abandoned you.”

Before I could respond, the restaurant door flew open with a sharp bang. Dare stormed in, again. His eyes blazing as they locked on our joined hands. His presence sucked the air from the room. Mum froze in the kitchen doorway. Why does he have to appear at everywhere I go?

“Get your hands off her now!” Dare snarled, crossing the space in long strides. He towered over the table, radiating fury. “Julian, I should’ve known you’d slither back here.”

Julian stood, refusing to back down. “She deserves the truth, Dare. The Spain files. The way you chose power over her. I’m offering her a way out that you never could.”

Dare’s gaze snapped to me, dark and accusatory. “Is this what you do behind my back? Meet him? Take his poison after everything?”

I rose slowly, heart pounding but voice steady. “Outside. Both of you. Now. This isn’t the place for your war.”

The three of us spilled onto the sidewalk. Tension crackled in the afternoon air. Julian tried one last plea. “Think about the escape plan, Isla. He’ll never change.”

“Leave,” Dare growled at him. “Before I make good on my threat from the gala.”

Julian shot me a final look and retreated, but the damage was done. Dare rounded on me the second we were alone, backing me against the brick wall beside the restaurant’s side entrance. His hands planted on either side of my head, caging me.

“You met him,” he accused, voice low and dangerous. “After the gala. After I poured out what Spain did to me. You let him fill your head with more lies and escape plans. Do you want out that badly, Isla? Do I disgust you that much?”

The jealousy burned hot in his eyes, mixed with raw pain. I pushed at his chest, but he didn’t budge. “Disgust? No. But exhaustion? Yes. I’m tired of being the rope in your tug-of-war. Julian showed me documents, Dare. Memos with your signature. You didn’t just believe the lies—you helped spread them.”

His laugh was bitter, pained. “Helped? Victor had me cornered. Signing those papers felt like survival. But you—you were the one thing that kept me sane in that hell. And now you’re listening to him, again?” Dare’s hand moved to my jaw, tilting my face up. “It destroys me, Isla. Seeing you with him, talking about escaping from me. It rips me apart every single time.”

The s****l tension ignited, again like gasoline on fire. His mouth claimed mine in an angry, possessive kiss—deep, demanding, all frustration and need. I kissed him back just as fiercely, hands fisting in his shirt as he pressed me harder against the wall. His body molded to mine, one thigh sliding between my legs, hands roaming possessively over my hips, waist, the curve of my breasts through my blouse. A low groan escaped him as I nipped his lip, the world narrowing to heat and anger and six years of unresolved longing.

We were devouring each other—his fingers tangling in my hair, tilting my head for better access, my hands sliding under his jacket to grip the hard planes of his back. The kiss turned frantic, heavy making out against the brick, breaths mingling, bodies grinding in desperate rhythm. I felt him, hard and insistent against me, the passion threatening to consume us both right there in the alley.

But I stopped it.

I shoved him back with both hands, chest heaving, lips swollen and tingling. “No. Stop.” My voice was breathless but firm. “I won’t be controlled by this—by your jealousy or your touch. You don’t get to kiss me like you own me every time you’re angry. I’m not a possession to fight over or punish. Know your place, Dare. Or I will take Julian’s escape plan.”

Dare stepped back, breathing ragged, eyes wild with a mix of desire and frustration. His hand raked through his hair. “You think I want to control you? Every time I touch you, I lose control. Spain broke me, believing you’d chosen him broke me more. And now you’re throwing escape in my face?” His voice cracked with raw honesty. “I hate what I’ve become. But I can’t let you go. Not again.”

We stood there in charged silence, the alley suddenly too small. My body still hummed from his hands, but I held my ground. “Then prove it without the anger. Without the possession. Give me truth instead of threats.”

His phone buzzed insistently. He glanced at it, expression darkening further. “Victor,” he muttered. He answered on speaker, voice clipped. “What?”

Victor’s cool tone filled the alley. “Darian. The board is pressuring for stability. Public perception after that gala scene is… concerning. You need to settle down, publicly. A suitable engagement. Someone who strengthens the name, not a distraction. Fix it, or I will.”

The call ended. Dare’s eyes met mine, the air hanging heavy between us. Victor’s announcement wasn’t just pressure—it was a new move in the game. One that could force everything to a breaking point.

Dare reached for me again, but I stepped aside. “We’re not done talking about this. But right now? I need air. And you need to decide what you really want.”

As I walked back toward the restaurant, heart racing, I felt the walls closing in. Julian’s proof. Dare’s passion. Victor’s demands. The escape plan tempted more than ever. But deep down, I knew running wouldn’t outrun the secrets—or the man who still held pieces of my heart.