The Marked One (The Marked Series Book 1)

by Chevoque

  “Aaliyah, I came early to see how you were doing. Dr. Ramadan and Professor Li are both amazed by you. So I thought I could see if you have settled in, and then go to our dinner directly from here.”

  She looked perplexed. “But I wanted to get a little more…dressed, I guess.”

  “You still can. I’ll take you home and help you free this guy, then you can get ready, not that it is necessary, but then I can see where you found this fat rat.”

  “He isn’t actually that fat. Part of his genetic modification was aimed to allow a better chance of survival, so he just has more muscle…” She paused. “You meant in general, to see where I live.” She looked a little embarrassed, and he loved how she turned completely shy.

  “I’m glad to see you are happy here,” he said honestly.

  “I can’t thank you enough, Tristan.” It was the first time she had called him by his name without correction. For a moment both of them just stared at each other. She checked her watch and said, “Uhm, should we go? I’m sure the boss won’t mind.” There was no pretence with her, and it was refreshingly different from what Tristan was used to.

  Soon, they were heading out to his car and she looked at it with her mouth hanging open. She looked intimidated. “That’s a Maserati Ghibli.”

  Something in her wide eyes shifted, as if it only now clicked how different they were. “Are you sure you want to see where this guy and I live?” she asked as he held the door open for her while he held the rat’s cage. “It is quite dodgy. Your car might be stolen. Maybe only your wheels? I don’t know how people here steal things, but in SA, your rims would so get stolen.”

  He frowned at her. “It can’t be that bad.”

  She made a throaty chuckling sound. “Oh, are you in for a treat.” When she was settled in the car, he placed the rat cage onto her lap. It was the oddest picture he’d ever seen. She cooed at the rat, and the thing looked like a pet enjoying the attention, as it made its ratty noises.

  “So, uhm…which area would you say is your favourite in the city? I’ve been here a while, but haven’t explored much, if any,” she asked when he got in.

  He smiled. “I pretty much like this area. Highland Park. My house is close to where we are now and it just has a nice location to start a family. There are great parks and gardens in the area, the zoo is close by, and the schools are pretty good.” He caught her reaction. “That was a little strange for conversation.”

  Aaliyah made an awkward sound. “I just never really thought of stuff like that.”

  There was a long silence, but he noted that she hadn’t seemed awkward about what he had previously said. While he realised how strange it must have sounded, she was instead smiling sweetly. She seemed desperate to hide, as if she was entertaining the notion of what he had said would have been wrong.

  He, himself, had to stop his thoughts from running wild on dreams far too early to have in their relationship, so he continued the conversation. “You said that you haven’t explored the city much, but you must have been to some of the landmarks like The Duquesne Incline and Point State Park? Or seen a Pittsburgh Penguins or Pirates game?” She smiled shyly. “Honestly? You haven’t done any of that?”

  “I really want to do all those things sometime, especially see Point State Park, but I guess I’ve always imagined that the first time I go, it’d be when my father visits or to make an important day memorable.” Her voice sparked up when she spoke of her father.

  “Why haven’t you explored the city? There is so much…I’m sorry. I—”

  “No, it is exactly what I imagine you are surmising.” He heard her let out tiny sigh. “It is a habit. I try staying where crowds and stares are fewer. Even covered up, I still feel ill at ease.”

  “You shouldn’t feel like you need to hide.” The words slipped from his mouth.

  Surprisingly, she agreed. “I know. I’m trying though.” They looked at each other for a second and smiled. “Going to Point State Park is probably a thing here, right?”

  He smiled. “Pretty much. I think there is even a rule that if you are serious about someone, that you take them there on a date. Or to at least one sports event and then have sammiches.”

  “I’ll be checking out for that date then.” She closed her eyes in embarrassment. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just…”

  “It is a date. I’ll take you on a true Pittsburgh date sometime,” he said to stop her and as she turned her head away to hide her blush, he could tell how much the idea had pleased her. The rest of their ride was shared in comfortable silence.

  The closer they got to her place, the more he began to believe that it could actually get worse. It wasn’t truly a bad area. The people only made it look bad, and the numerous old and abandoned warehouses they were passing left him a little confused over their location.

  “There it is.” She pointed toward a small warehouse that seemed it might have been there since the settlers first arrived. It stood alone, as larger, newer warehouses seemed to also stay away from the unremarkable building.

  In the right light, after a proper cleaning outside and a lot of Photoshop, it might look pretty. His words contradicted his thoughts. “You can’t be serious, Aaliyah?” he asked, parking in front of the door. The area was quite abandoned. It had to be the crappiest part of the city; the nearby stench of the marina held a soft tone in the air, and the trains sounded closer than he could think of them in his mental map.

  “It really is beautiful…in its own way.” She smiled at him, and the fact that she looked content meant she believed every word she said.

  Not that he had doubted before, but this convinced him that she was different from every other woman he had dated in his life. He could actually imagine her not being a fan of what he had in store for their fancy date. As they got out of his car, he saw her looking back at him as she went to take the fat rat somewhere.

  “Do you want to help put him back in his semi-natural habitat?”

  “That I can’t miss.” He followed her to the pile of old, rotting boxes near another building, which seemed to have a few people living in it, or the clothes scattered about were just garbage. He was a little lost over what it all meant.

  She set the cage down, and he chuckled at how jumpy she was when she opened the small gate and allowed the rat to run away. “Bye, Gerardo.” He laughed. “He needed a name, especially if he and I are going to continue sharing bread…and oats. He likes that, apparently.”

  “You are kind of weird,” he said, cocking his head to the side as she passed him with an odd look and headed back to the dodgy warehouse. This was apparently her home. Opening the door, he could see some of the appeal as the setting sun’s rays came through the only window on the opposite side. She smiled at him as he stared. “Fine, I see it now…only a little though.”

  “I haven’t even shown you the best part.” She grabbed his hand, and it was clear she hadn’t realised how comfortable she was around him until she looked back. Sadly, she let go of his hand. “It is upstairs.” The confusion in her eyes was quite sudden, but he wordlessly followed her up, as the tension seemed to destroy the ease.

  He sensed she truly enjoyed being around him, but she was scared, uncertain, and most likely afraid of being hurt. Why, he couldn’t tell yet, but he prayed and hoped that if he was lucky, he would be allowed to get to know her and even her saddest memories.

  At the top, her bed was unmade and several photos decorated the wall. There was one of her as a young girl with her parents, a photo of someone he surmised was her mother, and her with another woman her age. Tristan thought she looked familiar but couldn’t place her.

  “I thought we were first going on a date,” he joked, never expecting the reaction he got. Her hand, which was reaching for the old door’s knob, fell to her side and fear faced him in the shape of her eyes.

  “Tristan, I hope you—”

  “No, God damn it, I’m so sorry. I was just joking.” He stepped closer and saw her bite her
lip in nervousness. “Aaliyah, I would never expect that.”

  She looked at him, her jade eyes shimmering, “Tristan, before we even think of this any further, you need to know that I’ve been hurt. Very badly, and if we…”

  He placed his hand under her chin to make her look at him. “You can trust me. I want to get to get to know you. I’m not here to play games, Aaliyah. I want something real with you and I think you do too.” Her lip trembled and he smoothed his thumb over the plump piece of flesh. “If that isn’t what you—”

  “I want to trust you,” she said, her little hesitation overshadowed by the hope in her eyes.

  He softly nodded and let his hand fall away from her chin. “So about this best part?” Her carefree smile was potent as she accepted his words and began to fight the door to open it. As she let him walk out first, he realized the view was easily the best he had seen, and he had been to all the best holiday destinations. He walked out onto the balcony and Aaliyah came to stand next to him.

  The sunlight fell onto both their faces and when he looked at her, her head was held up to it as she sighed. “This is perfect,” she whispered. He took her hand, which was hanging at her side. She looked down at their interlaced fingers and softly tightened the grip before she looked at him with the most beautiful smile. “See, crappy things all have their own beauty.”

  “It is still not a very safe place,” he stated.

  She shrugged. “Gerardo will protect me.” She carried a teasing grin. He preferred the thought that he could have been the Gerardo, but for that matter to be discussed, she needed to trust him and they needed to get to know each other a little better. Even if he would give his soul to her in an instant, it was clear that people had treated her far too unkindly for it to happen so easily. “I’m going to go get ready.” She smiled and let go of his hand.

  He immediately felt the loss and warmth of her hand. He stayed outside a while longer, allowing her some privacy while he was quickly realising that his feelings for her were far too strong. And for someone like him, a man who had more than he needed, caution made him avoid most relationships, as he knew the women he had been with only wanted to make easy money. He drew his mind away from the thoughts, as his soon-to-be ex-wife’s betrayal tortured him for a second.

  Heading down the stairs, he heard the sound of the shower where the lockers, lining the wall, had a split. The realisation that Aaliyah maybe already trusted him a little more than expected made him feel more positive of what it meant for the relationship they would someday hopefully share.

  He sat waiting on the couch. It was an awful brown thing that could challenge the building’s age, but it was extremely comfortable and the view he had was excellent. So much so, that in a few minutes he became lost in his thoughts, and then Aaliyah was standing in front of him.

  Her perfect face was exposed with the natural beauty he’d wanted to admire all day, while her eyes only had little makeup, which emphasised how perfection should look. Her cherry lips curled. “Hallo.”

  He rose from the couch. “You look beautiful.” Her simple red dress was paired with brown boots, and he saw a soft shade of red shine in her dark brown hair as the light fell in behind her. “Oh, I found this.” He handed her a city map. “It is a few years old, so I suppose that it is the reason you were expecting my father, during your interview.”

  She smiled shyly. “Am I going to be demoted for using improper material to have researched the company?”

  He smiled at her. “Never, but I take Cookie isn’t someone you know. Well, I hope not.”

  She chuckled, looking down at the ad for a strip club at the back. “My landlady gave it to me, to help me get around the CBD. When I was at the university, I travelled with friends and getting to places was mostly campus-based.” Her gaze met his again. “I guess I should’ve looked at the date.”

  “Then meeting you wouldn’t have been as exciting.” It was partly a lie.

  Her gaze lowered, a sign she was feeling shy and it was something he truly found charming. “I suppose not.”

  “Are you ready for our dinner?” He needed to distract himself, because as much as he didn’t want to pressure her into anything, he still craved to taste her lips. To feel the warmth of her skin, which he was already addicted to. He wanted to make a connection with her that he knew he should have never even had on his mind.

  She walked to the cabinet in the kitchen and grabbed her handbag. “So what has Mr. Dennis-Patrickson planned for our dinner?” she asked as they headed for the door.

  “Ivan did what now?” He was in disbelief. He knew the man would do something to kill his charm. If it wasn’t going to be hard enough to convince Aaliyah his intentions were pure, he was going to need to prove to actually be a proper guy as well.

  “He told me that he would be planning our dinner,” she reported with a smirk.

  “He seems to be trying to make it easier for me with my decision in getting a new assistant,” Tristan countered.

  “Now, how am I to believe a man who runs a corporation would care to organise a dinner for a girl like me?” she teased.

  “I think your expectation of what I have planned is an overshot version of what you’ll be getting.”

  Her smile turned sweetly wicked. “Is that so?” He nodded with huge grin of his own. “Very well then, Mr. Gerardo. Shatter my hopes of being wined and dined like a proper lady.” She opened the door and let him walk through first, more excited that he was now sure she would appreciate the rather simple date.

  For most of their drive, they were both quiet. Palisades singing “Sidney” felt too fitting for the situation, and he caught Aaliyah softly smiling to herself as she listened to the lyrics. When they arrived at Monterey Bay Fish Grotto, the valet took his keys, and Tristan saw Aaliyah already being awe inspired, as the view from the street level was more than one would expect.

  Leading her away, he caught her smile of appreciation and he enjoyed the sweetness she reflected. After stepping off the elevator, the view from the restaurant was a sight to see, as it was sunset and the light was catching on the buildings on the other side of the river.

  When they took their seats, he could tell that Aaliyah wasn’t enjoying the eyes on her. Some looked in wonder at her, as they recognised him, and others looked at her in disbelief of having her mark revealed, while with him. He couldn’t understand why they were judging her, when most of them clearly had plastic surgery to hide things none of them likely needed to be ashamed of.

  “Aaliyah,” he said, attempting to grab her attention, “look at me and ignore their stares.” She looked at him with slightly bewildered eyes, and then she let out a breath and nodded at him. In an attempt to distract her, he asked, “The town you grew up in, why did you move?” Her focus completely turned to him, and he saw her shaken expression. “I read it in the file Ivan found for me. I apologise. I realise it is overstepping, but I really want to get to know you.”

  She smiled shyly again, the smile he was already so fond of, and she looked down at her hands. Her long, caramel-toned fingers twined together, and when she looked at him again, her eyes held a great amount of sombre happiness. “The answer is one that…it is one of those things that are hard to talk about.” Her tone matched her soulful eyes.

  “Sorry, I just want you to forget the people and be here with me.” His words felt off, but he wanted just that. For her to forget the eyes he wished were looking at her in admiration rather than sick amusement, because he could only see the beauty.

  She thought for a moment, her perfect green eyes focussed on him and then she stared out of the windowed wall. It was luckily a clear evening and the beautiful city lights shone brilliantly, causing small sparkles to reflect on the rivers and in her eyes. He caught her tiny outlet of breath and hope lifted her lips in the shape of a content smile.

  Her eyes met his once more. “The town I grew up in, Cradock, it is a really small Karoo town with like a tenth of the population of Pittsburgh. So, whe
n my mother…” A soft quiver began playing on her lower lip, but she still looked content. “She got cancer. So moving to Port Elizabeth was a better option. Financially, for my father, and medically, for my mother. She said that the best part of it all was that I’d get a much better education.” Her smile surprisingly grew. “She made everything so simple, but I was also homeschooled by her up until then.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t…didn’t think it through.” He felt some of his own pain rising to the surface.

  “No, don’t be sorry. I obviously miss her and it felt unfair to lose her, but I have so many good memories that being sad wouldn’t honour her. The most important thing is that I shouldn’t remember the sad things.” Her eyes slanted as she seemed to see right through his mask. “You’ve also lost someone important?”

  As if sent by the heavens, the waiter finally brought their wine, but now Tristan felt reluctant to drink any of it. With the wine poured, he eyed the glass. He rarely drank anything apart from special occasions, as he’d finally gotten a handle on his problem. Still, the memories of Gabriella began haunting him. Her hazel eyes so frightened and then…nothing.

  A velvety hand touched his, and he faced the green pearls staring at him from across the table. “Tristan, you don’t have to tell me.” Her expression comforted him. “So the weather…crazy stuff?”

  He let out a small chuckle at her method of trying to distract him. In that small way, she had helped his mind away from the pain and back to their date. She smiled at him, clearly understanding his mind was fighting a battle with something he never felt could be won.

  He raised and clinked his glass with hers. “To odd weather patterns.”

  “To odd weather patterns.” She chuckled, took a sip, and let out a small moan. He assumed it was due to the wine’s great taste.

  As he took a sip of the Opus One meritage, the aromatic array of flavours danced on his tongue with brilliant cedar, plum, and tobacco tones, and he realised that these things were likely not what Aaliyah would ever be bothered over. It was somewhat a relief, as the type of women he usually dated were far from how he saw her.