Marked (Marked #3) (4 page)

“She’s pissed.” A voice to my right spoke just as my hand gripped the doorknob to Maya’s room. With my hand on the metal, I paused and turned to look at Simon. He was leaning against the opposite wall, arms crossed over his chest, and a—dare I say—proud look on his face.

“Tough shit.” It was not my intention to sound like an insensitive jerk, but what was done was done. No do-over or take-backs. “Did anyone get her food?” I changed the subject. “She was starving when I bumped into that piece of shit.”

Nodding, he pushed off the wall and came to stand beside me. “Esther took care of it after a frantic Miranda called Mathew and Linda. She’s been working on calming Maya down, but her stubbornness rivals yours. No one knew anything concrete, just that Brian,” he spat, “was in the building and that you had left with a detective. By the way, nice job on the asshole—last I heard he was swollen and more than black and blue.”

Ass held out his fist, and I bumped it with my own. I tried to keep the amusement out of my tone. “How much does she know?”

“Enough to have thrown her sandwich across the room and then attempt to get up.” Simon grimaced a bit at the memory. “The action jostled her, she cried out in pain, and had to be sedated to keep her in place. In other words, you are fucked, my friend.”

“How bad did she hurt herself?” Running a hand down my face, I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. These last few days had taken their toll on me. Felt it down to my bones. I was exhausted; no fight left in me. Fighting with Bitty was the last thing I’d wanted to do.
“Well...”

“Bad.”

Shoulders slumped under the weight of the pressure, and I leaned my head against the door’s frame. “Fuck.”

“Hey, stop.” Simon placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. My boys knew me, had my back always. They were dealing with every bit of this and felt as if they too had failed her. “That son of a bitch had it coming, Talan. Any one of us would’ve done the same, including an annoyed Mathew, who’s pissed he missed the fun. Angry father and all that jazz.”

Nodding, I let his words sink in and prepared for war. “You have such a way with words, fucker.” For a second the tension in that corridor lessened, and he released a snort.

“You’re one to talk, boss.”

“Fuck off, young grasshopper.” Then I turned the doorknob, and my smile fell—schooled my features into a more neutral expression. I could only pray while I pushed it open and walked inside, that she would understand. “Hello to you all.” The people within the room fell silent, eyeing Maya and me, as if waiting for some type of an explosion.

Esther’s smile was beaming with approval, her eyes soft. “Hey, slugger.”

Beside her, my Bitty huffed out an “Unbelievable,” but I ignored her for the time being.

“Thanks for picking up her food...did you get Miranda’s too?” Another few steps in, and I stood at the foot of Maya’s bed. Our eyes hadn’t met, but I could feel her anger from where I stood.

“Yeah, and the stubborn woman tried to pay me too.” Esther rolled her eyes as she walked past me and toward the other side of the room. Discreet she was not. “Told her
her
money was no good to me.”

At this, I laughed. “She tried to pull the same shit with me.”

“You aren’t the only ones. I bought her a coffee two days ago and she tried, but I just walked away.” Linda added her two cents in. My eyes snapped to hers, and I watched as a tear rolled down her cheek. Just as quick as it came, she wiped it away.
Thank you
, she mouthed, and I gave her a subtle nod.

“Is everyone going to keep ignoring the bullshit he pulled? You fucking promised me, Talan.” Bitty’s voice cracked, a sob erupting from deep within her chest. “Why?”

“Maya, you need to calm down.” Mathew came over to the bed and wrapped his arms around her. “He was protecting you—”

“Protecting me? Bullshit!” she yelled out, hands pushing her father away. Frozen, we all stood there watching as her tiny body shook with her cries. He let her go, shocked by her outburst, and looked over at me with a worried expression on his face.

I’d gone mute.

“Sweetheart,” Linda cooed while pushing a few strands of hair off Bitty’s face. She’d taken the spot beside her daughter that Mathew had vacated. “What do you mean?” As she spoke, he’d come to stand beside me, almost standing guard between us. “Why is it bullshit?”

“You don’t know him like I do.” Soft, those words were spoken low, but the anger within her still simmered underneath. “It was all that male ego crap. He couldn’t help himself. Had to prove a point—”

Each word that passed through her lips was like a punch to the gut. Was that how she saw me? Like a wild animal with no common sense, just his pride to lead him? After all the love I’d showered her with—the pain I lived through every single time I saw her on that fucking bed.

“Are you motherfucking kidding me!” A deep growl filled with hurt erupted from within my chest. I took a step forward, and she flinched. Mathew saw this and placed his hand on my chest.

Our eyes met, and he shook his head at me. “Talan, she—”

“Hit a nerve, tatt boy? Truth hurts, doesn’t it?” Her taunt was the straw that broke this asshole’s back. Mathew’s arm fell from my chest as I took a few steps back. Muscles coiled tight, I clenched and unclenched my hands while I stared her down, let her see what her words had accomplished. A small part of me was done.

“Cox,” Simon called my name, and I was caught off guard for a second. When did he come inside the room? I barely acknowledged him, just a subtle tilt of my head to let him know I’d heard him. “Hey, man, let’s get out of here. Take a…”

Holding a hand up, I asked him to stop. “No. Let her talk.”

“Listen to him, son,” Mathew interjected while Linda looked at me sadly.

“You want me gone?” Laughter, a crazed and anguished sound left me, and his eyes widened. “Fine, but not before the spoiled brat behind you hears the truth…understands that the world doesn’t revolve around her wants and desires. That I am a motherfucking man; someone dominated by more than just what’s right and wrong. Emotions and logic don’t mix, and that as a man that loved his girl with every fiber of his being, he did what he had to in order to protect her.”

A pain-filled gasp left her while tears ran down her face. “Loved…”

Unbelievable. After everything I just said, that was all Bitty focused on.

“Son, she doesn’t know,” Linda begged, her face contorted into a painful expression. This had been hard on all of us, but her parents needed to let their daughter come to terms with what had happened. That everything was far from fine. “Please, let us talk with her…explain.”

It was due to my respect and love for her parents that I remained calm, that I didn’t tell them to fuck off. Maya needed to realize that danger was something that surrounded us. Lived next door. The world was a fucked-up place filled with people that held no qualms about taking a life— her own had already been attempted on—and still, she fought against the reality of it all.

“Have it your way. I’m out.” Turning around, I signaled an angry-looking Esther and Simon to follow me. We were almost to the door, my hand poised on the handle, when Esther turned around and charged back over to Maya’s bed.

We weren’t able to stop her and at this point, I didn’t want to.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Furious, she pointed at a shocked Maya while glaring her down. “That man has been through hell and back for you…because of you. For just a second, put yourself in his shoes. Imagine calling his phone and having some cop answer, telling you that he was attacked, unconscious and lost so much blood…”

“Esther, let us handle—”

“No, Linda. Quit placating her.”

Walking closer to her friend, Esther leaned forward once in front of her and kissed her cheek. “You’re acting like a bitch, chicky. Not cool. He loves you. Don’t push him away over your own made-up version of the truth, because I can tell you right now that you are wrong.”

“Promised me,” stubborn woman hissed out while her friend just shook her head.

“Would you stand by and let him be hurt?” Ding. Ding. Ding. Esther had hit the proverbial nail on the head, and the small smirk on her face told me she knew so.

“Of course not!”

“Then why do you place those demands on him? I’ve never seen a grown man cry the way he did—full of rage and despair when you wouldn’t wake up. Never left your side no matter how much we begged him to take a moment for himself. Selfish, he is not, Maya. Right now, that title belongs to you.”

“Enough,” Linda snapped, coming to stand beside her daughter like an angry momma bear. “Esther, now is not the time to pick fights. Please, just go and come back after we’ve talked to her.” I get it. She was scared. Fuck; all of us were in a sense, but continuing to cover up the truth was helping no one. Most of all, the confused woman on that bed.

“Linda,” Esther spoke softly, “I love you like a mother, but you aren’t helping. What happened affected us all, and she needs to realize that those responsible have not been caught. Well, Brian has been, thanks to Talan.”

“Esther…” Maya sniffed, voice hoarse as she spoke. “What do you mean, thanks to Talan?”

“All this could’ve been avoided if you’d just told her, Mom.” Esther then focused her icy glare on my Bitty. “He was here. Right outside your room when Talan found him trying to gain entry. The idiot wanted to talk to you.”

“What!”

“Sweetheart, calm down.” Mathew tried to soothe her, but she just batted his hands away.

“He was here?” Esther nodded, and I literally saw the fight leave her body. Sagging back against the bed, Maya trembled and cried. “I didn’t know.”

Every male instinct within me demanded that I go to her. Give her the comfort she needed from me, but my legs refused to move. Couldn’t even talk. Everything she’d said had cut deep, too deep for me to be anything more than distant at the moment.

I had to get the fuck out.

Simon, who’d been quiet all this time, walked over to his girl and pulled her toward the door. Once near, his eyes met mine and nodded toward the exit. “Let’s go.”

Without another glance toward her, I turned around and walked out of the room and down the hall. Away from Bitty and the pain she’d caused me.

The last thing I heard was a pain-filled cry of, “Don’t go.”

“Well, that was fun,” Simon mumbled, his hand on Esther’s back, guiding her as we made it past the hospital’s main entrance. Beside him, his girlfriend shook her head, while I continued to ignore the world around me. So many thoughts filtered through my head and lingered.

Was this how Maya really felt about me?

How she saw me?

Would I ever be more than just some egotistical asshole in her eyes?

I walked behind them as if on autopilot—nothing registered. Not the fact that it was pitch black outside, the typical Florida heat ever present. Not the long trek back toward the parking garage across the street, nor how I ended up in Simon’s Cutlass instead of on my Harley.

Time muddled into nothing. I hated the feelings that coursed through me as we drove through town and how it all started and ended with her, my Bitty. From the front, Esther reached out and turned down the volume on the car’s radio. Posture stiff, she turned my way and watched me for a few minutes.

Uncomfortable, I fidgeted in my seat and attempted to look out the window. It worked for about a minute, that was until she huffed and snapped her fingers in my face.

Without taking her eyes from mine, she spoke. “Babe, drop me off at home. You guys head on down to—”

“Not in the mood, doll.” At my reply, she pursed her lips and shook her head as if to argue. “Just want to go home.”

“Talan, you and the boys are going to go grab a bite to eat and talk. You might not want to, but you’re going to.” Her tone held finality, that “you’re doing it my way” tinge that grated on my nerves from everyone but my Maya. At the thought of her name, my heart clenched—that idiotic fucker got me into this mess to begin with.

Leaning forward, I flicked his ear hard and enjoyed the way he flinched. “Simon, tell your girl to mind her—”

“Yo, Lance. What’s up?” Fucker was already on the phone, ignoring my request to be left alone. When the hell did he grab the device? His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, hard and determined; they glared and dared me to argue. “Talan and I are heading to Hooters inside Bayside Marketplace…head over.” A pause and then a small nod. “How much time is it going to take until you finish the shading? Is Veronica there?”

“Fuck, I changed my mind. Take me to the shop.” At my request, he snorted and then merged onto the I-95 Expressway heading south. “Shop’s the other way, ass.”

In front of me, Esther’s shoulder shook while she tried hard to suppress her laughter. “He still thinks he has a say in the matter.”

“See what I deal with every day, babe?” I could hear Lance’s laugh through the line. “So how long?” He kissed Esther quickly on the lips and turned back to his conversation. That simple gesture hurt, not because I was jealous of them, but of how easy their relationship flowed. “Okay. That works. Have Veronica close the front and get things put away while you wrap it up…all right. See you in a few.” Simon hung up the phone and placed it beside him on the seat.

The car slowed down, evening commuters all at a standstill. At the outer edge of the right side lane, a police cruiser with its siren on full blast whizzed by us and toward what looked like an accident up ahead.

“Shit.” Slumping back in my seat, I laid my head back and looked up toward the ceiling. “Why in the blue fuck did you get on the I-95?”

“Because it’s the fastest way to get toward her apartment…” he trailed off, and I looked back down at him with a raised brow. “Should’ve taken US-1, huh?”

“You think?” I snapped. “Get off on the next exit and look for Biscayne, it merges past the downtown area. Take her home and then just drop me off at mine.”

“No.” Blood pressure rising, I ground my teeth together and tried to remind myself that none of this was their fault. Fists clenching and unclenching, I breathed in deep and let it out slowly. Nothing helped. It grew. Ate at me. “Be pissed all you want, Talan.” His gruff response brought me back to the present and I looked at him through the rearview mirror. Our eyes met. “When we get off at her house, throw a punch if it helps, but I am not about to let you go off and dwell on this bullshit.”

“I’m not dwelling.” I’d deny that shit to my grave.

“Right, because that vein on your forehead isn’t throbbing because you want to punch something? Or at the very least call Maya and ask her why she was such a bitch?” At Esther’s words, I laughed. The sound empty. Loud and boisterous: fake as all fuck.

“Look…” The phone rang, and I pulled it out of my back pocket. Her ring tone blared, and I ignored the impulse to answer and hear her voice. Was hard not to when Bitty’s face smiled at me from the screen. Again, it lit up, the song played, and for the second time that night, I let it go to voice mail.

Every fiber of my being hurt at having to ignore her, but it was for the best. In the emotional state I was in, I’d return the favor. Damage what we have, because no matter how upset I was, I loved her and that wouldn’t go away because of one disagreement.

If there was ever a moment to walk away and cool off, this was it, and I was running to get away.

“Are you going to answer that?” Esther asked with an all-knowing smirk on her face while her boyfriend laughed beside her.

“No.” I sulked.

“And are you going home?” If I didn’t love her, I’d strangle her.

“No.”              

At my reply, she smiled and turned around. “Knew you’d see it my way.”

“It’s certainly bullshit and something you don’t deserve, but I can see why she’d take it like that.” Lance ignored my questioning stare and took a bite out of his bacon burger. We’d arrived an hour ago, taking a seat at a table outside on the back patio overlooking the bay. Out of the way, secluded, and where we could talk without hearing the incessant high-pitched chatter of the girls inside.
The fact that it was a
hot night and the soft breeze outside felt good also weighed heavy on our decision to sit here.

That, and I was not in the mood to deal with the bimbos inside.

Tall and tatted seemed to be everyone’s type tonight. Our server especially, with her long, fake lashes and shirt three times too small—her fake breasts pushing against the fabric in an over obvious and needy way.

Hence the reason we were just getting our food.

“How do you figure that? You know I love the girl...” Simon took a bite of his own food before continuing “...but she jumped down his throat before knowing what went down. I call bullshit.”

“Exactly!” Lance pointed a greasy finger at me, and I pushed a bit away from the table. Last thing I wanted was to wear a bit of his food. “She doesn’t know. No one explained jack shit to her, everyone just expects for
her
to go along with the flow and not ask questions. It doesn’t work that way, man. Be honest with her. Talk to her.”

Taking a long pull from my beer, I finished it off and waved the waitress over for another round after catching her eye. “Are you suggesting that I just forget how she reacted? What she accused me of?”

Before he could reply, Mindy, our server, sauntered over—hips swaying and catching the eyes of plenty within the establishment. She didn’t do a fucking thing for me. It was the opposite; she was just another reminder of what I had with my girl.

“What can I get for you, sweetheart?” Batting her lashes, she leaned over and placed her arm around my shoulders.

Shit felt wrong:

Her look.

Her smell.

Her touch.

Every fucking thing was wrong.
She’d never come close to being a fifth of what my
Bitty was.

While my heart wanted to shove her off me, I gently took her hand and removed it. She pouted, and I shuddered. Reeking of desperation, she looked in need for a quick hard fuck.

“Don’t touch me,
sweetheart
,” I replied snidely, “My girlfriend doesn’t like anything that looks loose touching me. Keep it respectful. Your tits don’t do it for me.”

“What the—”

“I wouldn’t finish that if I were you,” Lance mumbled around a mouthful of food. He took a swig from his drink before looking up at her with an annoyed look on his face. “Now get us another round, and don’t come back unless we call you.”

With an angry huff, she stomped off toward the bar. Dumb chick. How hard was it for women to tell the difference between a man who’s interested, and one that doesn’t give a fuck?

“A few years back I would’ve called myself a pussy for saying this…” Simon slammed his bottle on the table, it cracked, and a group of businessmen sitting a little ways down looked over “…but thank God for our girls. These chicks have no class.”

Laughter bubbled out of Lance, and soon I followed. “Pussy indeed.”

“Fuck you, Talan.” His indignant tone caused me to snort, and Lance wiped tears from his face. We couldn’t stop laughing. Needed it after all the bullshit we’ve dealt with.

“I swear Esther has made me her bitch.” He grimaced, it quickly turned into a lascivious grin, and his eyes glassed over. Lance flicked him in the ear, and Simon yelped. “What the fuck, asshole?”

“That look on your face told us way more than we wanted to know. Keep that shit to yourself.”

“Make me.”

Lance smirked while pulling out his phone. “I could always call Esther. Let’s see what she has to say about all you shared.”

Pulling out mine, I pushed the phone’s recorder on and laid it face up on the table. “Do you two ever act your age?”

Instead of answering me, Simon turned to fully face Lance and smacked him in the back of the head. “This bullshit coming from the man that asked me to help him buy a pair of nipple clamps for his girl?”

“That’s because your girl told mine how much she loved them!”

Priceless. Pure gold. And I had every fucking word recorded. Payback someday would be a majestic bitch, and I would enjoy every second of it.

These two had a problem in over sharing, always have. Because of how close we all were, they saw it as the norm, while I didn’t. Some shit should be kept between a man and his woman: private.

“I don’t want to hear this shit.”

“Then let me distract you,” a high-pitched voice spoke close to my ear. Looking over my shoulder, I came face to chest with Mindy. “My break starts in ten.”

Enough. Why wasn’t this chick getting it?

“Back the fuck off. Not interested in your used pussy.” Maybe a small part of me felt bad because of how blunt I was being, but after everything that happened with Janice, I wasn’t taking any chances. My past mistakes had left Maya in a hospital bed bruised and angry. Scared.

My heart clenched at the thought of her. We were more than this. More than some petty argument. I loved her.

“Listen, asshole—”

“Is there a problem, gentlemen?” a man who looked no older than forty interrupted with a worried expression on his face. He wore a stark white shirt and a pair of simple black dress pants. The manager, I presumed.

“Yes, there is,” Lance piped up while I eyed the fucker. After the day I’d had, I was dying for someone to give me a good enough reason to throw another punch. “Is there a reason why your waitress keeps offering her pussy to a man who isn’t interested? Who’s told her
no
more than twice already?”

“What?” His angry eyes snapped toward a now worried Mindy’s. “Please repeat that once more.”