by Penelope Sky
“We still have him as a client, and he’s still fighting. So, nothing has changed.”
“And if your business isn’t growing, then it’s slowing. Those are your words, Damien.”
“Just let it go.” The damage was done, so it was time to move on.
“You want me to let it go?” He pointed his finger into his chest. “No, asshole. You’re the one who needs to just let it go.”
9
Annabella
Weeks passed after my conversation with Damien, and I didn’t hear from him. I was so angry with him for what he did, but after we talked, my rage evaporated like a pot of boiling water. I blew off all my steam…and then let it go. Knowing I did mean something to him made me feel better…but also worse.
But now that door was closed forever, and it was time to move on.
So, that was what I did.
Next time I saw him, I would be calm about it, practically indifferent. I would try to look at him as just a friend…not the sexy hunk who used to be in my bed.
After I finished work, I drove home. When I woke up that morning, Liam was still in bed because he was out late the night before. He said he had business to take care of, and since I was giving him a clean slate, I believed what he said.
I left my coat by the door, relieved to be in the warm house after feeling the cold weather against my skin. My boots were pulled off, and I left my purse and keys on the table in the walkway.
Liam was in the kitchen, the sound of him moving pots and pans on the stove reaching the entry. “Baby?”
One of the things I loved about Liam was his work ethic. Sometimes he cooked dinner, sometimes he did the dishes, and sometimes he did the laundry. I never had to ask him. He didn’t expect me to do it because I was the woman in the relationship. It had always been that way, even when we were married the first time. “What are you making?” I turned the corner and saw him scoop the pasta onto two plates. “Ooh…chicken parmesan.”
“Hungry?”
“You know I’m always hungry.”
He set the pot back on the stove then kissed me, his arm resting across the deep curve in my back as he pulled me in. “One of the things I love about you.” He kissed my forehead before he pulled away. He carried the plates to the main dining table, where he almost never sat.
I sat across from him and placed the cloth napkin in my lap. “Looks good.”
He was already eating, cutting into his breaded chicken and placing a large bite in his mouth. He was in one of his gray t-shirts, his loungewear. He leaned over the plate and continued to demolish his food. “How was your day?”
“Good. Same as always. Yours?”
“I worked out and did some laundry.”
“What time did you get home last night?”
“Two, I think.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin and kept eating.
“And how was that?” I tried not to pry, but I was curious why he needed to go out so late.
“I met Damien and Hades at a bar to talk about business.”
The mention of his name made my heart race a little, but I forced my pulse to calm down. “Why did you need to meet so late?”
“Because we have a business idea, and they wanted to discuss it right away.”
“Oh?” Now I was attached to Damien in many ways, and I would probably continue to see him for the foreseeable future.
“You’ll never guess who Damien is seeing.”
The sentence made me go rigid, and I couldn’t hide it at all. I gripped my fork and stopped eating, suddenly sick.
“I don’t know her last name, but her name is Charlotte. She’s the biggest model for Barsetti Lingerie. I’ve seen her on billboards and in shop windows for a few years now. I’ve never seen Damien with a woman before, and I was starting to wonder if he was gay.”
He was definitely not gay. “And they are serious?”
“No idea. But she was all over him like he was god’s gift to women or something.” He chuckled then kept eating.
Of course, she was…because he was god’s gift to women. I didn’t want to hear about Damien’s personal life anymore, so I changed the subject. “What was the business they had in mind?”
It must have been serious because he stopped eating. He placed his silverware on the plate, covered in marinara sauce. “They suggested I go back to death fighting.”
My heart spiraled down to my feet—for two reasons. “They encouraged you to do that?”
He nodded.
Would Damien do that to me? He told me I should ask Liam to quit fighting altogether, and then he turned around and told my husband to do something that could claim his life. “Both of them?” I just couldn’t believe it. Maybe Hades would do that because it was just business, but would Damien stab me in the back like that?
“Yeah.”
If Damien were sitting there with a model dragging her tongue across his neck, then he must be on board with it. That hurt in a way I couldn’t explain. We’d agreed to be friends, but would friends do that to each other? “And you said no, right?”
He stared at me for a long time, his eyes shifting back and forth as he looked into mine. “I said I had to ask you first.”
Dinner was forgotten, and my rage kicked in. “You already know what my answer is going to be, Liam. Why even bother?”
He sighed quietly. “Baby—”
“Don’t fucking baby me,” I hissed. “No. My answer will always be no. Why would you even want to do something like that? Put me through something like that?”
He didn’t match my emotion and stayed calm. “Baby, I only have a few years left, and this is what I’m passionate about—”
“Killing people?” I asked incredulously.
“It’s not about killing people—”
“When you asked me to be yours again, you said you would do anything for me. When you asked me to marry you, you said you would be the best husband you could be, that you wouldn’t fuck this up again. So why—”
“I meant that—”
“Shut your fucking mouth. I’m talking.”
His eyes filled with anger, but he didn’t talk back.
“Why would you risk our happiness for that? You wanted me back for so long, so why don’t you spend your time with me? We could travel, we could join a bowling league, whatever the hell you want. What is with this impulsive need to do this? You threatened to go back to death fighting if I didn’t take you back. Now you have me, and yet, you want to go back anyway.”
He stared at me in silence. “Can I talk? Or do you want me to continue to shut my mouth?” he asked sarcastically.
“If you’re going to be an asshole, then yes, keep your goddamn mouth shut.” I got to my feet and slammed my plate down onto the floor, where it shattered into a million little pieces. I marched to the front door, put my boots back on, and then grabbed my purse.
“Anna.” Liam came down the hallway when he realized I wasn’t storming off to my bedroom. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”
“Out.” I flung the front door open.
He grabbed me by the wrist, twisted it, and then pushed me back against the wall.
I was caught off guard by the rough way he handled me, treating me like an opponent in the ring. I stared at him in shock. He’d grabbed me before, in sexual ways in the bedroom, possessively. But that wasn’t how he grabbed me now.
He seemed to understand he’d crossed a line because he pulled his hand away and stepped back.
I was so livid that I slapped him across the face. It wasn’t the way I hit Damien, violent and passionate. It was just full of rage, full of disappointment. My palm stung with the hit because I’d never hit him before.
He turned with the strike and clenched his jaw. He stepped back and rubbed his cheek, his eyes diverted because he couldn’t look at me. He was too enraged to say a word, to try to stop me from leaving. He turned and walked away, like being close to me was dangerous for both of us. He walked into the bedroom and sla
mmed the door so hard, the door cracked off the hinges.
I walked out and did the same—but the door didn’t break.
10
Damien
Charlotte was asleep beside me, the sheets wrapped around her naked body. She was stuck to me like glue, calling me all the time because she claimed she needed my body on top of hers. I was lonely, so I never said no. If it wasn’t her, it would just be someone else, so what difference did it make?
Hades called me. The phone vibrated on the nightstand.
I grabbed it and headed into the hallway so I wouldn’t wake my guest. “What happened?”
“Security at the Tuscan Rose contacted Sofia.”
“Okay…”
“Anna checked in thirty minutes ago. Paid for a room.”
I stilled at his words and stared at the windows that lined the hallway. It was dark outside, and since I was on the top floor, I didn’t get any glare from the streetlights outside.
“Since you enjoy sticking your nose in her business, I thought you should know.”
Liam must have asked her if he could return to death fighting. And she gave her answer…loud and clear. “Thanks…”
“Are you gonna go down there?”
That was my first impulse. Grab my coat and leave. But being in a hotel room with her alone… Nothing good could come from that. “I don’t know…”
“I can take Sofia instead.”
They were good friends, but the idea of someone else comforting her didn’t feel right. I wanted to be there for her, to be the friend I said I would be. “I’ll go.”
There was a really long pause. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Damien—”
“Nothing is gonna happen.” I wouldn’t do anything stupid again.
Hades let it go. “Alright. Good luck.”
11
Annabella
I ordered room service and ate it in bed.
Liam didn’t try to call me. He probably knew I wouldn’t answer if he did. It was best if we both cooled off and took some time apart. When I came to the Tuscan Rose, I didn’t know where else to go. I didn’t have a friend I could call to crash on their couch. Sofia came into my mind, but she was pregnant and happy with her husband. I didn’t want to interrupt their night. So, I came to my second home, the place where I spent forty hours every week.
A knock sounded on the door.
I quickly turned off the TV and stilled. It must be the maid for turndown service because no one had any idea where I went. Liam was strong, not smart, so he wouldn’t have figured it out. I quickly put on a robe because it would take too long to get back into my skirt and blouse, and I opened the door.
And came face-to-face with Damien.
I stared at him blankly because I thought I was dreaming for a moment. There was no way he was on the doorstep of my hotel room at ten in the evening. He must be a staff member who looked just like him.
But he wore the same jeans, same shirt, and the same leather jacket I’d seen him in before.
His eyes shifted back and forth as he looked at me, studying the surprise on my face. “Hades told me you checked in to the hotel.”
So, it was him. “And how did he know that?”
“He knows everything that happens in this hotel.”
I released my grip on the door and stepped back slightly. “That doesn’t explain why you’re here.” My breath probably smelled like the burger and fries I’d just devoured, along with the ice cream sundae. There might even be fudge on my face, but there was no way to check now. I was always uneasy when I was around him, but even more so now that I was caught off guard, wearing a heavy hotel robe.
“I wanted to check on you.”
My own husband didn’t try to check on me. He hadn’t called or texted. “Well, I’m fine…”
He stared at me like he didn’t buy the lie. He invited himself inside and let the door shut behind him. He glanced around the room and slid his hands into his pockets. “You and Liam aren’t getting along…”
“Something like that.” I moved to the small table with two chairs near the window and took a seat. My clothes were on the floor, and my boots had been kicked across the room. I didn’t have any makeup on either.
He sat in the other chair.
“He told me about the death fighting.” I could barely look at him because I knew he was behind it. This fight had been caused by him…indirectly.
“I surmised.”
I crossed my legs and stared at the other wall, uncomfortable that we were alone together with a bed just a few feet away. There was no reason to be scared because Damien would never try to do anything again, but my thoughts went into the gutter on their own. “I lost my temper and screamed at him a bit…”
“Understandable.”
“I just don’t understand him…” I propped my chin on my closed knuckles and kept my gaze away from him. “He wanted me back so much, yet I don’t feel like enough for him. He says it’s his passion in life and I’m the one holding him back, but he was the one who said he would go back to it if I didn’t take him back…and now he’s trying to do it anyway.”
He was quiet for a long time. “Men want to provide for their families. They want respect, pride, credibility…something to make them look good in front of the people they care about. Hades doesn’t work at the bank because he needs the money. He does it because he wants to do something to feel productive.”
“But Hades isn’t risking his life.”
“I know,” he said calmly. “But there are a lot of women who would like a man like Liam, a man so strong he’d kill a man with his bare hands. A who’s built like a brick shithouse and earns millions with his strength. He probably just—”
“I loved him when he had nothing. I loved him when he was nothing. He doesn’t have to prove anything to me. If he wants a stupid bimbo to be impressed with the size of his biceps, he shouldn’t have married me.”
“That’s not what I’m saying, Annabella.”
I closed my eyes when he said my full name. He was the only person who ever called me that, and he said it the exact same way every time.
“He’s a man…and that’s how he knows how to be a man. That’s it.”
“Well, he has to choose.”
“He’ll choose you. No doubt.”
I opened my eyes again but wouldn’t look at him. “I don’t know… We both got so angry. I threw a plate on the floor and marched to the front door. He grabbed me and pushed me against a wall. I slapped him and walked out. He didn’t exactly fight for me.”
“He pushed you?” Now his tone was totally different, full of unmistakable threat.
“No. Not really. He just handled me in a way he’s never done before. He grabbed my wrist and pinned me to the wall. It was different…” I could tell Liam regretted it the moment it happened. “After I slapped him, he walked into the bedroom. He took himself away from the situation because he knew he was too angry to stay.”
Now Damien was quiet.
“I haven’t heard from him…”
“I want you to tell me if he ever hurts you.”
I finally had the courage to face him. I saw those green eyes that used to look into mine every day. They were more beautiful when he was provoked, when he had adrenaline and emotion in his veins. “He would never hurt me.”
He stared at me with the same intensity.
“He just was upset…more upset than I’ve ever seen him. Fighting is so important to him… I don’t get it.” I turned my body to face him head on, my legs under the table. “And after everything we’ve been through, I don’t know why he would do anything that might rip us apart. I told him I would give him everything, and I feel like he’s not doing the same.”
Damien leaned back in the chair and stared at me with his focused gaze. His hands rested on his thighs, and he slowly let the breath escape his lungs, his chest falling once his lungs were empty. That jacket looked nice on his shoulders, an
d the scruff along his jaw was thicker than it’d ever been. Did he stare at everyone like this? Or was it just me? “When we were in the bar, women were giving him the eye. Lots of them. He didn’t look at them once.”
I knew how attracted other women were to my husband. I knew they didn’t care about his wedding ring. He could fuck them while wearing it, they cared that little. “You hate him. So why are you trying to help him?” Damien was furious when I took Liam back and had nothing but bad things to say about his character. But now he’d completely flipped.
He still hadn’t blinked since I’d faced him. “Because you said you were committed to this relationship, that you were determined to make it work. I want this to work…because it’s important to you. You deserve a man who deserves you. I want Liam to deserve you.” He finally blinked, taking a deep breath as he did it.
I didn’t know what to say. It was a sweet thing to say, a selfless thing to say. When Damien said he would try to be my friend, he clearly meant it. He wanted me to be happy…even if it wasn’t with him. I didn’t understand why he suggested death fighting to Liam in the first place if he meant that, but I let it go. The silence was too loud for me to ignore, but I let it linger.
He continued to stare at me, hold my gaze like he was unafraid of the intimacy between our eyes. He eventually sat forward, his elbows moving to the surface of the table. He watched me with his green eyes.
“So…you’re dating a supermodel?”
He didn’t hesitate at my question even though it was probably awkward to be put on the spot like that. “I wouldn’t call it that…but yeah.” Our conversation about Liam was over, so he could walk out at any time, but he continued to stay.
I’d felt a jolt of jealousy when Liam told me. “Liam said she was all over you at the bar.”
He didn’t respond.
“We’re friends, right?” I whispered, surprised he didn’t give me a single detail.
“I don’t divulge details about the women I’m seeing.”
