by Melody Anne
“We’re good together,” he said, his hand in her hair, their bodies sated — for at least the next few minutes.
McKenzie said nothing. She was too afraid that this moment would end. Yes, they were good together.
But for how long?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
An entire week passed with no word from Byron. Great sex — then nothing.
McKenzie knew this was how it was going to end, but even knowing that didn’t help. Why should she be so upset? It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been through worse…a lot worse. She had been through hell and back a few times, and that a guy had used her for sex — great sex, mind you — and had then thrown her away shouldn’t make her feel as if she didn’t know which way was up anymore.
But each time she got a text message or the phone rang, her heart skipped a beat. What did it even matter? If he called or asked to see her, she would respond with an emphatic no. They were done. She wouldn’t be used by him. By anyone.
Sitting at her desk back at Seattle Accounting, trying to do her job, she listened to her phone ring and took several deep breaths before answering it. She didn’t care if it was Byron on the other end of the line, although she knew it wasn’t. And no, it wasn’t.
But no matter how many times she told herself this, she couldn’t get past the little ache in her chest each time it wasn’t him. Someday this would stop. Until then, she needed to just go on living her life.
She couldn’t take any more today. There was just no way. Deciding to call it an early day, she let Zach know she was leaving, gathered her purse and coat, and left the building.
It was a typical cool autumn day in Seattle — if any days or any weather could be called typical anymore — and the last thing she wanted to do at three in the afternoon was return to her empty house. She had loved that home from the moment she’d walked through its doors knowing it was hers. But now it was just another place where she was all alone.
When had being alone been a burden? She’d survived a long time on her own, and she really shouldn’t care, but after being with Byron — no matter how short a time it had all lasted — she was discovering she didn’t want to be alone anymore.
She walked down the street two blocks over to her favorite pub, or what she hoped could still be her favorite pub, now that it was tainted with memories of being there with Byron, and stepped through the doors. The familiar noise, smell, and feel of the place helped soothe her nerves.
She moved to the back, sat down, and soon placed her order. Routine. That’s what she needed. The more uniform her life was, the more she would appreciate it. Soon, she wouldn’t have to think about Byron at all. Her life would just go back to the way it had always been.
“I hope you don’t mind some company, sweet cheeks.”
McKenzie looked up with disgust as Nathan plopped down across from her.
“I do, actually. What in the hell are you doing here?”
“Awww, don’t be like that, love. I just wanted to visit,” he said, his weasel-like smirk in place.
“A smarter man would take a hint and stay the hell away when it’s obvious he’s not wanted around,” she said to goad him.
His eyes narrowed, but then he leaned back and smiled. The waitress came up and he ordered a drink before McKenzie could tell the woman he wouldn’t be staying long.
“I’ve missed you, McKenzie,” he said, reaching across the table and grabbing her hand before she could yank it away.
“I don’t know why you’ve decided to appear in my life again, Nathan. But you were the worst mistake I’ve ever made, and that’s saying a lot,” she said, “since I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I don’t want to be anywhere near you. I don’t want you around. If you can’t take a hint and disappear, then I guess the law will help you to.” She tugged against his hold, but she was reluctant to cause a scene in the bar, and he had to be well aware of that.
“I screwed up when you were younger. We all make mistakes. I think we could be good together, though, now that we’re both older and wiser,” he told her.
Bile rose in her throat when he caressed the top of her hand with his thumb.
“Are you listening to yourself? You drugged me and let a man rape me. That’s not screwing up. That’s assault,” she said. What a worthless excuse for a human being. She was flabbergasted.
“Look, I’m nearly broke, and I have nothing and nowhere to go. You’ve done well for yourself…” He shrugged, finally releasing her hand.
“Yes, I have done well, in spite of the way you treated me, of what you did to me, and what you planned on doing to me. I feel nothing but disgust for you — isn’t that obvious? — and I don’t ever want to have anything to do with you again. Leave me alone, leave this city if you have any sense, and stay the hell away from me,” she snapped.
“You are such a hypocritical bitch. Yeah, I may have drugged you for that first time, but you sure snatched up the money quick and spent it on who knows what, and then you opened up your own little whorehouse where you did the exact same thing that I did,” he said, his voice quiet but fierce.
“I did take the money, and I did run, to get as far away from you as possible. And I opened up that place to stop men like you from taking advantage of innocent women. The women I hired? I saved them; I helped them to have a better life. I don’t care what you do with your life, Nathan. I don’t care if you rot in the streets. You will never again take advantage of me, and you won’t threaten or blackmail me. Our time is done. If I see you again after today, I will simply call the cops. As you damn well know, I’ve done it before.”
She looked him in the eyes, knew she couldn’t back down. Men like Nathan needed a weak woman to survive; they needed easy prey to feast upon. She was no longer vulnerable, no longer weak. And now that he’d lost his power over her, he would cower before her and run away with his tail tucked between his legs.
And just as she’d expected, he slumped a little, defeat on his face. “You owe me,” he muttered.
“I owe you nothing,” she snarled. “Now get the hell away from me.”
She felt nothing but contempt for this man. When he didn’t move immediately, she pulled out her phone. After that little incident at her house, she had a restraining order out on the man. And he knew it.
She started dialing the police and he immediately stood up. “Fine, I’m going,” he said, his voice almost a wail.
“And don’t come back.”
He just nodded and walked away.
McKenzie leaned back after he left. Her life was far from perfect, but she knew this was the last time she would see that man. He was weak and pathetic, and the second she’d shown him some real backbone, it was obvious that the scumbag would go away.
If only she could show so much backbone with Byron. If only she could tell him she wanted to be with him. That just wasn’t going to happen. It was over between them, and the sooner she accepted that, the quicker she would be able to heal.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Byron watched McKenzie leave her place of business, and before he could call out to her, she was around the corner. He followed, planning to talk to her. But before he was able to do so, she stepped into the small put he’d ate at with her and Jewell and sat down. He followed close behind, but his plans were thwarted when he ran into Tyler.
“What in the world are you doing here?” his brother said. “This is so not your kind of place.”
“I’m meeting someone,” Byron replied, watching McKenzie seat herself at the same table he’d joined her and his sister-in-law at.
“Well, have a drink with your little brother first. I haven’t seen you in a couple of weeks,” Tyler said.
“I don’t have time right now.”
“You don’t have time for your brother?” Tyler raised an eyebrow.
“Let’s meet tomorrow,” Byron told him, still staring over at McKenzie’s table. That’s when he watched a man approach and sit down. Fury flooded over him. It wasn’t as if
he hadn’t known she was a slut, but to see it firsthand made his stomach turn. “On second thought, I have time for a drink,” he said, and he took a bar stool next to Tyler. But he kept staring over at McKenzie’s table.
“What in the hell are you looking at so intently?” Tyler asked.
Before his brother could focus in on McKenzie, Byron distracted him. “I heard you’re seeing a new woman,” he said, and Tyler whipped his head around.
“Where did you hear that?” his brother asked.
“I have my sources,” Byron said. Then fury overmastered him all over again when the man sitting with McKenzie took her hand.
He wanted to go over there and stake his claim, tell this man, whoever he was, that McKenzie was his, and that he’d better keep his filthy hands off her if he knew what was good for him. But he turned away and focused on his brother instead.
It was better for him that he’d seen this, better for him to accept what she really was. He’d forced himself not to talk to her all last week, tried to tell himself he didn’t need or want her. But then, against his will, he’d found himself approaching her office building. He wanted her. It was as simple as that. If wanting anything, especially a woman, could be called simple.
“Did Blake say something to you?” Tyler asked him.
That caught Byron’s attention.
“What? So you can confide in Blake but not in me?” Byron was surprisingly hurt by this revelation.
“No, Byron, it’s not that. It’s just that Blake and I have talked some. He’s…I don’t know, he’s just so in love. Don’t you ever want that?” Tyler asked.
Byron’s gaze turned involuntarily back to McKenzie, who was still holding hands with the mystery man, and his heart flared. “No.” He said the word curtly at best.
“I think you’re lying,” Tyler told him. “I think you want it, but you’re afraid.” He sounded so sad.
“Don’t feel sorry for me,” Byron growled. “I can have anything I want. And if it were love I wanted, I would have it. In a heartbeat.”
“I don’t think so, brother. I think you’re afraid. Afraid because of what our mother was. But not all women are her.”
Before Byron could reply, someone approached. “I’m sorry I’m so late,” she said, stepping close to Tyler, a clear sign of possession.
“It’s not a problem,” Tyler replied. “I was talking to my brother here.”
“Oh, your brother!” she exclaimed, and she turned shockingly bright blue eyes toward Byron. “I’m Elena. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Before he could stop her, she leaned in and gave him a hug.
“What ever happened to handshakes?” Byron commented, and he watched a flare of hurt enter her eyes before she smiled through it.
“Sorry. I’m impulsive,” Elena told him.
“We’ll leave you to brood, big brother,” Tyler said. He stood up and put his arm around Elena, and they walked away.
So Byron had ticked off his little brother. That was nothing new.
He almost missed it, but the man who was sitting with McKenzie pushed back his chair, and that’s when he noticed the stress on her face. What in the world was going on? Was the man breaking up with her? Okay, she was going from one guy to the next, but Byron wasn’t satisfied to leave it at that. Things were over with him and McKenzie, but he still needed answers. As he watched the man walk out of the pub, he decided to follow him.
The guy didn’t make it far. About a block down the street he entered another bar and sat down. He ordered a cheap beer, piquing Byron’s curiosity even more. Byron sat down next to him and ordered a whiskey, noticing the guy looking at it like it was gold.
“Hey there,” Byron said in greeting as he downed his shot, and the man he’d targeted practically drooled over the drink.
“Hey,” he grumbled as he sipped on his cheap beer. The man didn’t look so good. What was McKenzie doing with a guy like him? He obviously had no money, so what good would the guy be to her?
“Looks like you’ve had one hell of a day. Let me get you a whiskey,” Byron said as he ordered another one for himself and one for the piece of crap next to him.
“Sounds great,” the man said, instantly perking up as the bartender set the glasses in front of them. Byron decided he needed to stay sober for this conversation, and he wanted the man drunk.
So he ordered a few more rounds, quickly dumping his own in the potted plant sitting conveniently there next to him at the end of the bar. The guy didn’t even notice, he was so focused on his own drinking. And after about fifteen minutes, the man was thinking that Byron was his new best friend.
“My name’s Nathan,” he slurred.
“Great to meet you, Nathan. What has you in here before five?” Byron asked, as he held his hand up to order another round.
“Women!” the man grumbled.
“I hear you there. None of them can be trusted,” Byron said, to spur him on. The sad thing was that he felt this way. He couldn’t trust women.
Nathan’s eyes lit up as he found himself in the company of another woman-hater. Byron had to know what McKenzie was doing with this guy. It was making less and less sense.
“Seriously! You try to help out one of those bitches and they turn on you and stab you in the back,” the man spluttered, getting more and more worked up as he spoke.
Byron got him another drink.
“I’ve been there, man. I would love to put them in their place,” Byron said, but he felt sick even saying the words out loud. No, he didn’t respect women, but that didn’t mean he felt they should be abused. He had Bill to thank for setting him straight on that.
“Yeah, I was just with my bitch of an ex tonight. I helped her out a lot. I gave her the know-how to start a successful career, and how does she thank me? By telling me to get lost, and getting a damn restraining order placed on me,” Nathan grumbled.
This wasn’t what Byron was expecting at all. “Sounds like a typical woman to me,” is what he said.
“Yeah, typical. Screw that whore!”
“How did you help her?” Byron casually asked.
“I found her when she was young, real young, and innocent, you know?” Nathan said with demented glee in his eyes.
Byron instantly tensed. He suspected he wasn’t going to like what came out of this man’s mouth. “Tell me,” he said, and the man was too wasted to notice Byron was no longer quite as friendly as before.
“Yeah, she was just eighteen, all roses and kittens, though her little sister was in some sort of coma or something and it was messing with her head. All I had to do was play the role of her prince come to save her. She was eating out of my hands within a few weeks,” he said with a disgusting smile as he remembered back.
“Well, that doesn’t sound like anything new. All women will eat out of your hand if you rescue them,” Byron said, scoffing, as if the man was boring him.
That did the trick. Nathan obviously wanted to feel important, wanted Byron to see how much power he had. He was too drunk to realize that what he said next could land him in jail — if not dead when Byron’s fists connected with his face.
“So I worked for a man who had a special client list. His clients liked innocent young things. They paid a lot of money for them.”
“Sounds normal,” Byron said, though his stomach was turning.
“Well, my ex ruined my life! She deserved everything she had coming. She was evil, though she hid it behind an innocent face. She was also so damn stupid. It’s okay, though, because I showed her for the true whore she was, and the bitch had no idea what was coming for her. She wanted me, so why not give it up to someone else first for a lot of money? I knew I could have her over and over after that. I don’t mind sharing my cows, if you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Byron said, not sure if he could listen to any more of this.
“Well, the bitch got what she wanted, and then acted horrified when it was done, like she didn’t secretly want it. I know she did
. She was sure hot to trot, and she snapped up the money and then went running so fast I didn’t have a shot at catching her.”
“So how did you find her again?” Byron asked through clenched teeth as he motioned for the bartender to give the man another drink. He didn’t want any chance that he’d sober up now.
“She opened a whorehouse,” Nathan said.” I taught her how to do the tricks and then she opens a whorehouse and uses what I taught her to give herself a nice little life. Then the whore acts offended when I come back, acts like she didn’t want it. She don’t care that I have nothing. All she cares about is herself.” His shoulders sagged as he leaned against the bar, too drunk now to even hold himself up.
“That sounds tragic,” Byron said. He realized he wasn’t going to get anything else out of this man. What he really wanted to do was put his hands around Nathan’s throat and squeeze until the guy’s eyes bulged from his bloated head.
“Yeah, I didn’t even have a chance to taste her goodies, if you know what I mean, and even now they are some fine goodies. Dammit! I made her, so I should at least get to try a piece.”
Byron was done with the conversation. His head was spinning with what this man had said. Should he believe the story? Byron just wasn’t sure. That look of disgust and relief on McKenzie’s face as Nathan had walked away from her at the bistro was burned into Byron’s mind though. She hadn’t wanted this guy. But was it because he brought back her past? Or was it because he had hurt her feelings? He just didn’t know what to believe anymore.
Without another word, he paid his tab and walked away from the bar. He needed to talk to someone he did trust, and the list of those people was incredibly short.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Byron jumped into his car and headed immediately toward Bill’s house. He needed to have some of these cobwebs cleared from his brain. He was more confused than ever before, and there was only one person he actually trusted on this earth who had known his parents and his grandparents.
As he pulled up to the house, Byron couldn’t help but smile. It was a modest place, and he’d spent many long and lazy afternoons there as a child. When McKenzie had told him he didn’t know what it was like to be in a small place, he could have corrected her, but he’d chosen not to. There had been no reason for her to know that for a few years at least, he’d had a somewhat normal childhood in a modest home. A home that had been filled with love.
