by Trixie More
In four long strides, Ben was beside Ed, taking hold of his left arm. Derrick still had his hand on Ed’s right shoulder. Ed tried to shrug them both off, but he didn’t stop walking forward.
“You think I’m going to stop, Lloyd?” he said conversationally. “You put my wife in the trunk of a car. We both know what you did to me.”
Lloyd kept backing up, not checking behind him, eyes focused solely on Walker. “I’m sorry.”
“Fuck, you are,” Ed said, his tone of voice still calm and falsely cheerful.
For a moment, Ben felt like he was watching all this from far outside himself, the air in the alley primed with the intensity of Walker and Lloyd’s focus. Inside, Ben was numb. One question was on his mind and it had nothing to do with Sophia.
He felt Ed’s bicep tense as Doug glanced away from Ed. Ben shouted as Walker broke free and charged.
“Ed!” That was Dorothy from behind them. “Don’t!”
Walker had Lloyd by the front of the shirt and drove a fist into the guy’s face before Derrick could pull him off. All the while Walker was grinning like a lunatic, holding Lloyd steady.
“Ed! Let him go!” Dorothy was hollering.
“Gotta hand it to you, Lloyd,” Ed said. He shook out his hand while Doug spit blood on the ground between them. Ben grabbed Walker again and yanked him back.
“Eh? Why is that?” Doug wiped the back of his hand across his mouth.
“You were right.”
Lloyd’s eyes narrowed and Walker leaned in close. “You made me what I am.” Ed’s lips pulled back in a rictus that he might have been thinking was a smile, but from Ben’s point of view, it was a snarl. “So watch out.”
Walker gave Lloyd a hard shove and then, looking at Derrick and Ben said, “Fuck off, mates.” He turned, walking over to Dorothy, who was reaching her arms out to him. He let her put her arms around him and Ben watched them go back into the bar, Dorothy’s palm on Walker’s back, Walker stopping once to kiss the top of her head. Inside, Ben felt like he was made of lead.
“Time to go,” Derrick was saying to Lloyd. Lloyd had taken his shirt off and was wiping his face with it. The guy was built like a tank. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on him, and his chest looked like he lifted freezers for fun.
“Lloyd.” Ben couldn’t stop himself. “Why the hell didn’t you block that punch?”
Doug looked at him dispassionately. “Didn’t need to.”
“He could have broken your teeth,” Ben said, curious despite his loathing for the man.
“Maybe I deserved it.” Lloyd shouldered past Ben and tossed his shirt in the dumpster. He picked up a ball cap from the ground and put it in his back pocket. The guy’s back was just as ripped.
“Maybe?” Ben hesitated. “And Sophia? Did she deserve this?”
Doug looked him in the eye, the pale blue gaze calm. “Maybe.” Then he was gone, leaving Ben and Derrick staring after him.
Allison broke the silence. “That is one weird dude.”
Derrick turned and looked down at her. “Yep.”
The three of them turned to go inside. Lloyd might be a sick son-of-a-bitch, but Ben was thinking he wasn’t the only weird dude here today. Because after all of that, it wasn’t finding Sophia screwing around on him that was messing with his mind. It was the sight of Karito’s almost red hair and Marley’s smile that was eating him up.
Inconceivable that outside the little alleyway, the city was going on the same. The light had hardly changed, the ebb and flow of pedestrians was no more or less than it had been before they’d entered. It didn’t seem right, given the amount of carnage that had just occurred. Doug oriented himself and turned right, toward the front of the bar.
Christ, what had she been thinking? He ran a hand over his skull. His fingers were trembling, just slightly. It had to be her kiss, the euphoria of it, followed by the gut-wrenching understanding that for Sophia, he was toxic. Not only in the way he was always toxic, but in a foundational way. Leaving that alley with him would cost Sophia her family, and that was a price nobody should pay. Worse still, if she was willing to pay that price, he would hold that decision against her, hating her disloyalty to the man she lived with. Nothing good could come from this. The back of his jaw was tight, his chest felt like it was sinking into himself as if he were watching the markets tumble before his eyes.
At the corner, he hesitated, looking for two things—a sidewalk vendor and Sophia. Neither one appeared to be readily available. If he got lucky enough to find her, he’d prefer to have a shirt on. He’d be less conspicuous—after all, it was fall. He still wasn’t sure what he’d do if he did catch up with her. Follow her? Find out if she was okay? She was a grown woman. She certainly could get herself home.
The desire to explain himself to Sophia was foremost in his mind. He always felt better, rested easier when he had that root understanding. She should have that. He closed his eyes briefly, replaying that last moment before she stormed out of the alley. He could see her eyes widening, the hurt plain as day when he said she wasn’t coming home with him. The betrayal and rage on her face appearing as fast as a midday sell-off. He wanted to tell her that they would take her back, her family would forgive her and enfold her if Doug were out of her life right now, before anything more than a kiss happened. For fuck’s sake, all those people pouring out of the bar into the alley, family and friends, she had that. Of course, she did.
Sophia had the most precious thing on the planet, and he wouldn’t want her to risk that for him. Of course not. That would be...unacceptable.
He leaned against the building, waiting to see if she would emerge. Instead, it was Marley and her little girl. He watched as the curly-haired woman with the prodigious posterior came out behind them. All three headed to the shop next store to the bar, Marley waving off whatever the other woman was saying. The little girl got to the door first and with both small hands reached up to pull the door open, using her bodyweight in the effort. As she stretched back, she turned her face toward him, eyes round and lovely like her mother’s. She didn’t give him away though, and the trio disappeared inside.
He pushed off from the wall and crossed the street. There was no telling if Sophia had already left or not, so he eyed up the shops on the road and found one selling self-promoting T-shirts. He bought a hideous mustard-colored shirt proclaiming that he loved KoreaWorld Shops. With his new shirt on, stiff and scratchy, fold lines still entrenched, Doug headed back to Mastrelo’s, but he didn’t go inside. He’d seen enough of Sophia’s lover for the rest of his life. Arrogant golden boy. Even Doug could see of anyone in the alley, her lover’s interest wasn’t about the woman herself. Fuckin’ golden boy. He crushed down his dislike for the man. After all, she was with the guy.
His brain rebelled at the thought. That moment of violent dislike for Adonis boy, and his absolute conviction that they were all wrong for each other is all he could blame for his decision to go into Allison’s Kitchen. He turned to the door and, despite the wide-eyed disbelief on the faces of the women behind the counter, he yanked it open.
Chapter 12
Sophia didn’t stop to talk as she rushed past the bartender and out to the street before the Australian could get off an “Oy.”
Derrick, of all people, was judging her? Ben, she could understand, the poor guy got the raw end of the stick when it came to their relationship, but Derrick? And Doug? What the hell? Sophia’s brain swirled with anger and astonishment. He’d just rejected her, right in front of her family. She was good enough to kiss in an alley like a prostitute but not important enough to offer a place to bunk for the night? Humiliation surged through her. She literally had no idea where she was going. She could go up to her parent’s house, but she had no clothes, none of her stuff there. Marley might let her sleep on her couch, but that was all of her options. She would have asked Derrick to let her stay there but she had no stomach for it. She didn’t want to see any of them right now. Maybe never.
Her nose stu
ng, and she felt the beginnings of tears. All her life, she’d believed one thing—Derrick loved her. Her mother and her grandparents loved her and Derrick loved her. Right now, it felt like she had no one. Brushing at the dampness on her face, and searching her pockets for a tissue, Sophia carefully wiped below her lashes, trying not to smudge her makeup. She’d already walked two blocks on adrenaline and astonishment. Well, she had a credit card didn’t she? She got out her cell phone and did a quick search for a room. She could afford a week somewhere quiet, where she could get herself together. She booked a room and then made her way to a clothing store. She bought a tunic and leggings she could sleep in and a work outfit, dropped her coat off at a dry cleaner, bought a pint of ice cream, and some take out Pad Thai. That oughta do it.
She turned her face to the sinking sun. Her anger, white-hot and flaring had burned itself down to a smolder. Sophia knew she’d brought this on herself, but she wasn’t ready to face it yet. It was hard, this habit of thinking things all the way through. Even as she was making bad choices, she was aware they were terrible, yet she didn’t always stop herself. It was like being frozen even as a train was bearing down on her.
Her success in court and in the interrogation rooms at work was primarily based on her ability to see situations from other points of view, which meant she never entirely blamed anyone for anything. Except herself.
There’s no excuse for my behavior, she thought. But what about Doug? That one confused her most of all because she couldn’t find a thought pattern that he might have been working with when he said she wasn’t coming home with him. He said he wasn’t gay, or at least that she was his type. He was attracted to her. Why had he turned her down?
She was at the hotel, and now that she was calmer, she flinched at the price. Exhaustion won. She could change her mind tomorrow.
Tonight, the luxury of the room, muffling soundproofing and carpeting in the hallways were a relief. Sophia tossed her bag of clothes on the dresser, plugged in the mini-fridge and stuffed the ice cream inside, and went into the bathroom to wash up. She had a bit of emergency makeup in her purse, but her face wash was at home. She used the hotel soap on her face, forcing herself to look at herself in the mirror.
Was she as pretty as she’d been? The washcloth stilled against her cheek, and she stared into her own eyes, really looking.
Small lines were at the edges of her eyelids. Her skin, once perfect, had a few discolorations by her hairline.
Effects of pollution, I guess, and sun, she thought.
The washcloth started to move again, rubbing away her makeup and the day itself. In her palms, the water was lukewarm, and she splashed it over her face, rinsing the soap away. Then she buried her face in a soft white towel and started to cry.
As soon as Doug opened the door, the curly-haired woman started talking.
“Don’t think for a minute you’re coming in here,” she said, her voice confident and loud. She was already marching out from behind the counter, her face tight, white teeth flashing, lips lifted in a snarl. She was terrifying.
Doug raised his hands up beside his face, a gesture he hadn’t even made when they’d arrested him for having a woman in the trunk of his car. He stopped in his tracks, and moving only his eyes, looked to Marley.
She was grinning her ass off, and it took everything he had not to smirk back. Crazy curly woman was just frightening enough to keep him from actually doing it.
“Allie, can you watch Zach and Karito? Por favor?” Marley said sweetly.
“No!” Scary woman, who must be Allie, didn’t even take a breath before she answered.
Marley scowled. “Eh, crazy lady, I’m not askin’ you.”
The woman who had been his favorite waitress all through the wild years when he and Tommy were rolling in money and riding the rush of rapid day trading, and its white knuckle rides of ups and downs, came around the counter and stepped in front of Allie.
“I know this man. He’s my friend no matter what your friend says.” Marley straightened to her full height and gave Allison an I’m-not-messing-around stare. “I’m going outside to speak to him. You can watch the children.”
Allie held the stare for a moment and then said, “Fine, but stay where I can see you.”
Marley rolled her eyes.
“And don’t let Ben or Ed catch you. Hell and buckets! I’ve had enough of that!” Allison stepped back, and now, Doug could see a wobbly-legged toddler holding onto the side of the counter with Marley’s daughter standing behind him, her hands steadying the boy’s shoulders. Allison had one more demand. “And don’t take long. I can’t bring these two into the kitchen.”
Marley shrugged her shoulder with her trademark sensuality, lifting it gracefully and arching her eyebrows. Then she turned to him.
“Let’s go, big boy.” With that, she passed in front of him, pausing just enough that it was clear she expected him to get the door for her.
“He’s not a gentleman, Marley,” Allison called from behind him.
Bitch was the only label that came to his mind. That chick was a bitch on wheels. Who was the man who’d had the stones and the sheer crazy to marry her? He yanked the door open for his new best friend, proving Allison’s point. Marley tsked.
“You can’t let her get to you so easily,” she murmured as she passed. “She hasn’t even brought out the kitchen knives yet.”
Doug chuffed out a bit of a surprised laugh. The deep dimples in Marley’s cheeks flashed. He’d always liked her, and a wave of affection rose up inside him. This woman had been his waitress back when he’d been so full of himself, richer than his wildest dreams. Five years ago, he could never have predicted that his world would have become so small that this woman was one of only five people he might count as knowing him.
“Why are you talking to me, Marley?” he asked. They were standing at the far side of the windows, away from Mastrelo’s. She started meandering down the street. He could hear Allie knocking on the glass of her shop. Behind her back, Marley flipped Allison the bird and put a little sway into her hips.
“We had some good times, you and me,” she said. She tucked her arm through his.
“You mean, I left you some good tips,” he said. Marley’s very pretty mouth turned down. She tugged on her neon orange T-shirt.
“And I always brought you the best cuts of meat, the fattest shrimp, and the biggest slice of cake.” Marley had her eyebrows raised and her chin up high. He loved that about her. She was always one hundred percent on her own side. Good for her.
“Seriously, Marley,” he said.
“I’m talking to you because it’s my turn to be nice,” she said, slanting a glance at him. “When I needed help, you were there.” She shrugged. “I don’t forget that.”
He frowned. “What?”
“You helped me when I needed it most.”
“I did?” He waited.
She flung an arm in the air, a bangle bracelet sliding almost down to her elbow before it reversed course to her wrist. Even her jewelry was animated. She started ticking off on her fingers. “You made me your only waitress. I got all those tips. Two, you tipped me like a crazy person. Three, you gave me the name of the landlord.”
Doug wracked his brain, vaguely remembering scribbling some name on one of his business cards and handing it to her.
She nodded at him. “Yes. I got the bes’ rent ever from that man. He saw one look at your name and he treated me like a queen.” Marley hesitated. “It did go up once you, you know...”
“Went to jail?”
“Right.” She returned to her finger folding. “Four, when I was pregnant with Karito, you wrote me a check. A very big check. You told me to put it in my pocket, that it wasn’t a tip, and not to tell anyone.” Marley looked at him, and to his astonishment, she was crying. Round, brown eyes shining with unshed tears, her nose reddening. He wasn’t sure what to do with her. He hesitantly reached out, his palm hovering over her shoulder. Should he pat it?
&n
bsp; Marley solved the problem by grabbing his unsure hand and pressing a kiss to it; her eyes squeezed shut, lashes wet. She let it go, and the feeling of her mouth on his skin was as strange as a new language.
“You remember that check?”
“Honestly?” he asked. “No. I wish I did, just because it makes me an asshole to not remember something so important to you.” He felt his face warm. It took him a moment to recognize and label the feeling. Shame.
“It’s alright, Mr. Lloyd. I remember.” she said, understanding on her face, a small smile on her lips.
“Was I with anyone?” Surely someone had influenced him.
“No. You were talking to your sister, I think, on the phone, at the table. That used to drive Angelo crazy.” Marley smiled.
“Can you do me a favor?” he asked.
“I’m already doing you one,” she said cheekily. “But okay.”
“Will you call me Doug?”
“That, I can do,” she said. “I have one more thing to tell you. This you did without knowing it.”
“I don’t remember most of this,” he said, bemused.
“When I was in the hospital, having Karito, that money you gave me is what paid for that. She didn’t come out easily. She didn’t do anything easily and she still is the same. They needed to cut me.”
Doug felt his insides tremble at the idea. “Cesarean?”
“Yes. It sounds so easy if you just say that. I say they cut all my stomach to get that girl out.”
Well. When she put it that way, he wanted to shake her hand, wish her well and get the hell away from her. It sounded horrifying. Chicken, he thought. If she could live it, I can hear it.
“I’m sorry.”
“Is fine now. I got over it. But, here’s what you did, you didn’t know,” Marley stopped walking. “I kept that card of yours, with the name of the landlord, and it said what you wrote—’Mr. Pierson, this card belongs to Marley Araya. She is extremely important to me and I expect to you treat her accordingly. Yours, Douglass Lloyd.’ Thas what you put on the card, Doug. You remember?”
