Secret Curves (Dangerous Curves Book 5)

by Marysol James

  “Christ,” Luke said softly. “How the hell did we all miss it?”

  Curtis shrugged. “Shit’s been going on around here lately, man, what with the Fallen Angels, and Jax’s wedding, and all the recent bar fights. Besides, she’s done her damnedest to hide it.”

  Luke stared at her baggy shirt, saw how it fell to almost her knees. “Her clothes, you mean?”

  “Yeah. When was the last time you saw Tessa in anything tight? When did you last see her body as it really is?”

  “Goddammit.” Luke was getting angry now. “What do we do?”

  “I’m not sure.” Curtis heaved another sigh; this one was one of relief that he had another ally. “I mean, I tried talking to her more than once, and you see how things are between us now.”

  “Yeah. Fucking sub-zero.”

  “You know it.” Curtis stared across the room at the drinking, laughing patrons, seeing none of it. “Gabi’s heating up some food in the staff room right now, and she’s going to try to convince Tessa to eat something, but she hasn’t had much luck in that. Tessa just tells her that she ate a big meal before arriving for her shift, or she’s allergic to shellfish, or she's lactose-intolerant, or whatever the fuck the excuse of the night is.”

  “Is Gabi going to push?”

  “We haven’t wanted her to, because we were afraid that Tessa would cut her out completely.”

  “Like you.”

  “Yeah. At least this way Gabi’s still inside.” Curtis paused. “But I think – I think I need to do more. I need to do something.”

  “Talk to Mac.”

  Curtis stared at Luke, startled. “Mac? Why? This ain’t his department. He’s a brain guy.”

  “Who cares if it’s not Mac’s fucking department?” Luke said impatiently. “He’s a doctor, Curtis, and he may know someone who can help Tessa. Even if he doesn’t, though, just having him back you up on all of this will show Tessa that you aren’t being an asshole and picking on her for no reason. If someone like Mac’s involved, that may shake her up a bit. Make her realize that a medical professional’s concerned.” He shrugged. “It may carry more weight than a bar waitress and a bouncer and a bartender freaking out, you know?”

  “Huh.” Curtis contemplated that. “Strength in numbers.”

  “Right. If it’s you, and Gabi, and me, and Doctor MacIntyre? Tessa may listen.”

  “Or she may lose her mind with anger. Quit, and disappear, and never be seen again.”

  “Maybe.” Luke saw Tessa glance at her watch, and then head to the staff room for her break. “But I figure we need to take that chance. Don’t you?”

  “Hell, yeah.” Curtis spotted Mac coming over to the bar now, and he squared his shoulders. “Yeah, we do.”

  **

  Gabi gave Tessa a smile that she hoped wasn’t as strained as it felt. She was going to sit the woman down tonight and make her eat… this was non-negotiable, and it was going to happen. What Gabi didn’t know was what the hell would happen next; she just hoped it was good.

  Though I highly, highly doubt it.

  “Hi,” Gabi said, and gestured at the second plate of food on the table. “I made extra pasta tonight for Aidan, but Luke fed him a burger, much to my annoyance. You want his share?”

  “Oh, no, thanks.” Tessa didn’t even glance at the plate. “I ate at home before I came here.”

  “Yeah, but that was hours ago,” Gabi said, trying not to sound combative. “We still have four hours to get through, and you look tired. Food’ll give you some more energy, yeah?”

  Tessa turned now, pinned Gabi with those green eyes. “What are you doing, Gabi?”

  “What do you mean?” she responded evenly. “I’m not doing anything.”

  “Yes, you are.” Tessa frowned. “All you do lately is shove food at me, and I’m pretty damn sick of it, actually.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You know how to make me back off?”

  “No.”

  “Eat something.”

  Tessa stood very still and stared at her. They’d been in this same conversational loop over and over again over the past few weeks, but something was different this time. Usually, Gabi made a few feeble attempts to get her to eat, and when Tessa said no, Gabi looked unhappy but she stopped asking. She seemed to be afraid of Tessa’s anger, worried about pushing too hard, and Tessa had taken advantage of that uncertainty every single time.

  But Gabi wasn’t backing down tonight, she was digging in, and Tessa suddenly knew that she had no choice.

  “Fine,” Tessa said airily, as if she truly didn’t care either way. “I’ll eat if it’ll get you off my case.” She held out her hand for the plate.

  “You’ll eat here,” Gabi said, that inflexible tone back in her words. “Here, at this table, with me.”

  “Fine,” Tessa repeated, and shrugged. She sat, picked up the fork. “Whatever makes you happy.”

  “I’ll be happy if you eat it all.”

  “Uh-huh.” Tessa rolled her eyes, and that was when she actually looked down for the first time. What she saw in front of her scared her almost to death.

  Good Christ, it was just so much food. It was more food than she’d seen all in one place, all at one time, in… how long? Weeks? Months? The pasta was piled high, and it was dripping with some cream sauce, and it was a goddamn bomb to her plans.

  Oh, my God. I can’t eat all of this. This is more calories on one plate than I eat in a week, in two weeks. If I eat this, I’ll gain weight… everything I lost this week, I’ll gain it all back!

  Panic crashed over her, huge and blinding, and she forced herself to stay calm.

  “Something wrong, Tessa?” Gabi asked quietly.

  “N – no.”

  “Good.” Those dark eyes were nailing her in place. “Eat.”

  There was no way out of this, so Tessa gritted her teeth. She forked up a bit of pasta, tried to find pieces with the least amount of fatty sauce on them. Carefully, as if the farfalle was covered in arsenic – which it fucking might as well be – she brought it to her mouth. She hesitated, then deposited the food in her mouth. She chewed, a grimace on her face.

  Urgh. So damn heavy… I can actually feel the oil and fat between my teeth.

  Gabi watched all of this with nothing but terror. What the hell had Tessa done to herself, that she was literally unable to eat a single mouthful of pasta without looking like she was being tortured? Suddenly, all Gabi wanted was for Curtis to come in here and drag Tessa to the E.R. They were at that point; Gabi was sure of it now.

  Tessa forced herself to swallow the food, then she forked up some more. She glared at Gabi.

  “Happy now?” she snarled in a voice so unlike her own, Gabi started.

  “Tessa…”

  “Shut up, Gabi,” the woman who looked like Tessa, but who was talking and behaving nothing like Tessa, snapped. “You got what you wanted.”

  Furious now, Tessa ate another bite, then another, then another. Her stomach protested at the onslaught of food and her throat tried to close up, but she was damned if she was going to give this bitch one more reason to do this to her again. If she managed to eat her fucking pasta, Gabi would have to leave her alone. Not that Tessa had any plans to ever speak to Gabi again in the future. Not after this betrayal.

  Gabi was silent and shaking now, just watching Tessa. It was a mission, she knew. Tessa was making a point – and she was ramming it down Gabi’s throat as forcefully as she was ramming the food down hers.

  Oh, God. We need to get Tessa some help… we should have done more, and way sooner. We made a big mistake, thinking that we could wait it out, reason with her. We waited way too long.

  Tessa shoveled the last mouthful in, chewed, swallowed. She felt sick from the cream and the carbs, but she was going to keep the food down
… at least she’d keep it down in front of Gabi.

  She stood up. “Happy now?”

  “No.” Gabi was near tears, but Tessa truly didn’t give a fuck. “Tessa… please. Please let us help you.”

  “I don’t need help,” Tessa hissed. “When will you understand that?”

  She spun and left the staff room. She was sweating and shaky, and she only had a few more seconds, she knew. Her body was rejecting the food big-time, but even if it weren’t, she’d still have to get rid of it. She’d worked too damn hard to lose control now.

  Tessa got to the bathroom, shot in to a stall, slammed the door. She made it just in time: she vomited violently, uncaring that other women were standing at the counter doing their makeup and chatting. All conversation stopped outside the stall door now, but Tessa didn’t even notice. She was on her knees in front of the toilet, one hand holding her hair back, the other down her throat.

  Get it out… get it all out.

  She threw up four more times before nothing came up but clear liquid. Exhausted and weak, she flushed the toilet and then closed the lid, rested her arms on it. She took a few deep breaths, and thought about standing up.

  “Hey.” A woman’s voice right outside the door. “Hey, you OK in there?”

  “Fine,” Tessa responded, trying to sound it. “Just a bit of food poisoning, I think.”

  A pause, water running, and then a plastic glass of water was handed under the door. Tessa took it gratefully, and rinsed out her mouth.

  “You want me to get someone?” the woman said. “You work here… you’re Tessa, right? Maybe you want me to get Gabi or Kenleigh?”

  “No.” Tessa scrambled to her feet now, scared to death. “No, I’m fine.”

  “You sure?”

  Tessa opened the door, and tried to smile at the two customers standing there. “Yeah, I’m sure. Thanks.” On unsteady legs, she walked over to the sinks. She washed her hands, rinsed her mouth again. The other women watched her closely and exchanged glances.

  “Maybe you should go home,” one woman said. “You look really sick.”

  Tessa looked at herself in the mirror above the sinks and blinked. Actually, she did look sick. She was deathly pale, and under the fluorescent lights, the dark circles under her eyes were even more pronounced than they usually were. Her skin looked gray and flaky, and her hair looked stringy. It had started falling out two weeks earlier and she’d ignored it – but now she saw its loss clearly.

  Stunned and shocked at just how bad she looked, she stared at herself. She’d just decided to go get her makeup bag from her locker when the bathroom door opened. She glanced over and when she saw Gabi, Curtis and Mac standing there, she froze.

  “Ladies,” Mac said, his husky voice warm and sexy. “You mind stepping out for a sec? We need to have a quick word with Tessa.”

  “She’s sick, I think,” the one bitch tattled on her. “She was throwing up a minute ago.”

  “She said it was food poisoning,” said the second traitor helpfully.

  “Did she now?” Mac said. His voice was still calm, but his face was hard, and his blue eyes were nailed on Tessa’s face. “Well, I’ll check her out, yeah?”

  They nodded and stepped out, closing the door behind them. And there Tessa was, trapped in a bathroom with three people who just fucking refused to leave her alone. Quite literally backed in to a corner – they were between her and the goddamn door, after all – and with nothing to lose anymore, Tessa went on the offensive.

  “Fuck off, Mac,” she said. “This is none of your business.” She glared at the other two. “It’s none of anybody’s business.”

  “Wrong, sweet thing,” Mac said, his tone steel. “You’re way, way wrong. If you’re making yourself throw up, then this is absolutely our business. We’re involved, and there’s exactly jack-shit you can do about that, believe me.”

  Flabbergasted, Tessa stared at him. “Just who the hell do you think you are, Mac?”

  “I’m your friend. We all are.” Mac stepped a bit closer, but she moved away. Her back hit the wall, and she started to panic. Mac saw it on her face, and he became very careful, very gentle. “Let us help you, hon.”

  “I don’t need help.” Christ, how many times had she said this? Also, it was getting harder to breathe now, for some reason. “I don’t need anything.”

  “Tessa.” Gabi was in tears, Tessa saw. Oddly, she found that she didn’t care in the slightest. “Please let Mac take you to the hospital, OK?”

  “No.” She crossed her arms, and shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere except home. And I’m sure as hell never coming back here, I can tell you that. I fucking quit.”

  “Tessa.”

  Startled, she jerked her head up to meet Curtis’ eyes. God, the way that he’d just said her name… she was sure that in the whole of her life, nobody had ever said it so softly. That rough voice just caressed the two syllables, and she felt his caring as strong and sure as if he’d physically reached out and touched her.

  “What?” She struggled to sound removed and disinterested. “What, Curtis?”

  “You’re hurting yourself. Please, Tessa. Please stop.”

  She stared at him, really saw his pain and worry. She hesitated.

  “Baby,” he said. “You need to stop before it’s too late.”

  “I –” She shook her head as the truth came out of her, against her will. “I – I can’t.”

  “I know.” Curtis’ voice was so quiet, she barely heard it. “That’s why you need some help, OK?”

  “No!” Horrified at how close she’d almost come to admitting defeat, Tessa shouted the word. “Leave me alone!”

  “This ain’t you,” Curtis walked closer to her now, crowded her with both his body and his words. “I know you, baby, and you’re not really like this.”

  “I am,” she snarled. “I am like this, Curtis… I’m ugly and pathetic and weak and –” A massive wave of dizziness passed over her, and she placed her palms flat on the wall, looking to keep her balance. “And… and…” She lost her train of thought and blinked hard. White spots appeared in front of her eyes, and then blackness tinged the corners of her vision.

  “Tessa?”

  Curtis sounded way closer now, but she couldn’t see him. She couldn’t see anything. The dizziness was back, stronger now, more insistent, and she fought against it. Hopeless, though; she had no strength for this battle. Not anymore. The black wave rose all around her, rose inside her. It cut off her breath and she gasped for air. Her chest rose and fell weakly, and suddenly she was hyperventilating.

  “Tessa!”

  “Curtis!” Mac’s voice cut through her confusion. “Catch her, man!”

  Large, strong hands grabbed her upper arms as she fell forward, hard. That was all she knew before the black wave took her away, and dropped her smack in to the first peace that she’d known in months.

  In years.

  Chapter Five

  The first thing that Tessa felt was softness. She snuggled down in to it, loving its warmth and comfort. That was when she heard a familiar rasp – a very unwelcome one.

  “Tessa? You awake?”

  Her eyes popped open in utter shock, and she stared at the one person that she both longed to see, and loathed to see.

  Curtis. Damn him.

  “What…” She coughed, wondering why her throat was so dry. “Where am I?”

  “The hospital.”

  “What? I’m – what?” Tessa looked around now, and noticed the tube in her arm. “What the hell is this?”

  He poured her a glass of water and silently handed it over, then stood with his hands in his jeans pockets.

  “Curtis?” She snapped his name, ignored the water. “What is this?”

  “A feeding tube.”

  “A – a what?” Tessa goggled dow
n at it, totally stunned. “Get it out of me.”

  “No.”

  “Curtis…” She threw the water on the floor, reached for the tube. “Get it out or I’ll rip it out.”

  His hands shot out now and gripped hers. Tessa struggled, but it was useless, she knew. The man could undoubtedly subdue her with his baby finger and with almost negative effort.

  “Stop it,” he growled. “Tessa… stop.”

  “Fuck you,” she snarled back. “Get your goddamned hands off me or I’ll start screaming the whole place down.”

  “Go ahead.” His hands held hers tighter. “The second the doctor sets foot in here, I’ll get him to sedate you.”

  “What?” She was horrified. “You what?”

  “You heard me.” God, those blue eyes were cold. “I’ll tell him that you’re gonna rip out your tube and believe me, they’ll do what they have to to make sure that doesn’t happen. So go on, Tessa. Scream for help.”

  She slumped, defeated. “Let go.”

  This time, he did, though he didn’t move even one inch away from her. Frustrated, furious, she turned her back on him and laid down, facing the wall. She pulled the covers up and over her head and shut her eyes, willing hard for him to just go away and leave her alone. When she finally spoke again, her voice was as gray and cold and clinical as the room they were in.

  “I hate you.”

  Curtis froze, stared down at her back. She was stiff with anger, her body all hard angles and uncompromising planes. God, he missed her curves, her softness. He wondered if that Tessa was ever going to come back.

  “I don’t care,” Curtis said roughly. “You can hate me all you want.”

  “I will. Now get the fuck out.”

  He paused, sure that this was the last time that he’d ever see her. Once he walked out that door, Tessa was lost to him and he’d never get her back; he believed that with every inch of his body. Curtis never spoke more than ten words in a row if he could help it, but if he had anything to say to the woman, now was the time to spit it out.

  And I have a few things to say to the woman, that’s for damn sure.

  “I know you hate me, baby, but I love you,” he said quietly. “I love you, and I won’t let you do this to yourself. Not anymore.”