He spun around with his fist raised, his finger pointed. Anger crackled behind his gritted teeth, but he didn’t say anything. Nya saw the words in his eyes, there was something he wanted to say, she almost felt them lodge in his throat. He’d never shied from giving her a piece of his mind before. Maybe he was different with women when they became his exes, maybe he’d shut them down and shut them out for good.
Nya wasn’t going to give up without a fight. “What?” she asked, getting into his personal space. “Tell me, Arch, what is it? What is it you’re desperate to say to me?”
And he was. He had to be. There was no way he didn’t have an opinion on what had gone down. When she poked a finger into his arm, he grabbed it. Physical contact. The first they’d had for nine days. It was ironic that he was holding the same hand that he’d tossed away before slamming out of her apartment.
But he still didn’t speak. “You know we’re only over ‘cause you’re an idiot,” she said, taking a risk. Already she could see it paying off because his anger intensified. He’d only be able to take so much before he exploded. “You might be able to turn it off, Arch, but I can’t. I don’t feel any different. I love you. If you can so easily switch it off, like you’ve been doing these last nine days, then do yourself a favor. Go to Hex, tell him I’m a dumb slut from your past that you don’t give a fuck about anymore. Let him charge me whatever he thinks I owe.”
It made sense. Archer had done everything in his power to prove that they were through. He hadn’t called or tried to get in touch with her. He’d severed all ties. Even conversation with her when she showed up on his doorstep pissed him off, and he cut it off as fast as he could.
“You don’t owe him jack shit,” she said. “Anything he thinks you do owe was cleared by whatever the fuck went down in Columbia. You’re free and clear. You tell him to go fuck himself and make me proud of you. I got myself into this. I’ll pay the price for it.”
“No,” he growled.
“Why not?” While he still had one of her hands in his vice grip, Nya rested the other on his hip. “It’s no big deal if you don’t love me anymore,” she said. “If you don’t love me, you don’t care what happens to me.”
She wanted him to admit that he cared, but knew that he never would. “I gave him my word,” Archer said. “I won’t go back on that.”
“Before you broke up with me. You gave him your word before you ended our relationship when you still gave a fuck about me. Hexam has the club and Tag is mixed up with Farrah. I’m in it all the way, Arch, there’s no getting out for me. But you’re not bound by any of that. You’re not bound to Tag, Farrah, or this club. The only link you had to any of it was me. Getting rid of me might be the smartest thing you could’ve done.”
Clarity changed her thought process and she put her selfish desire aside. Lowering her hand, she was still in his grip, it took him a second to release her, but he did and let her back away until they were standing four feet apart like strangers.
“Shit, Archer,” Nya whispered. “It makes sense.” She despised the truth because it hurt. “Getting rid of me was exactly what you needed to do.”
The tension in his shoulders eased until he said, “You don’t know what he’d ask you to do.”
“I don’t care,” she said. “I got to watch that bastard die. It was worth it. That lowlife, pervert, piece of shit—”
“Hex could put you on a street corner,” Archer said. “He could send you to one of his downtown dens; you’d never see daylight again.”
As far as she knew, Hexam was a drug dealer, Nya didn’t know anything about his involvement in the sex trade. Although, being as widely-known and highly-feared as he was, she’d guess he was involved in many different enterprises.
“I’d be a useless sex slave and we both know it,” she said. “Guys would pay as much for my skills in the sack as they would for a day on the beach during a hurricane.”
He narrowed an eye. “Are you fishing for compliments, Squirm?”
She smiled. “You were easy to please. I think any client who pays to be locked up with a girl would expect some serious bang for their buck.”
He didn’t understand her confidence, it was written all over his face. Confusing him was something she enjoyed and it was nice to know she was still capable of intriguing him. “It doesn’t scare you that Hex could hurt you any second?”
“It terrifies me, almost as much as the idea of being tied to any bed but yours. But I have a choice, Archer.”
“He won’t give you one. If you’re thinking about running—”
“I’d suck at that too,” she said. “I’ve thought about this, you know, I’ve had a lot of time and you’re right. Hexam put me in that position because he wanted something to hold over me and he probably did it to manipulate you too. But Hexam can’t make me do anything against my will.”
“Yes, he fucking can.”
“No, because if he tries either of the things you just said, I’ll turn myself in.”
His expression blanched, it wasn’t confusion, it was shock. “You’ll what?”
“If it’s a choice between working in one of Hexam’s brothels, or twenty-five years in a cell, I’ll take the second.”
“You would hand yourself over to the cops?” he asked like the suggestion was just unfathomable.
To her, it just made good sense and it was practical to accept that one day it might have to happen. “What would you prefer, Archer? To be raped every day until you died or three square meals and a roof over your head? I don’t want to go to jail, but I’m not sorry for what I did, and if that means I have to do the time then I will.”
He sealed his lips and took a breath. “You’re a fucking mess and the most together person I know,” he said.
Going back to him, she laid her palm on his cheek. Those were the words he’d used when she asked why he loved her so much. “Tell Hexam you’re out. Fella, please. If you keep doing his work, he’s gonna get you too and he’ll own you forever.”
“I won’t turn my back on you.”
She’d wanted to know he still cared, but the words didn’t change their relationship status and being without him broke her heart. The ache that existed in her chest wouldn’t ease until he healed her by claiming her again. “I slept alone last night and the night before that, Archer… you already have. The worst thing I could ever have done to you was dump you and you got to doing it before I could. I have no chips to play.” She couldn’t influence or manipulate him. If he’d done what he did for her because he was worried about losing her, that fear was gone, they weren’t together anymore. “But your need to protect me is the same need that drove me to go with Hexam.”
He shook his head once. “I don’t accept that,” he said, retreating from her touch. “I can’t accept that, Nya. I told you straight not to do it. I told you if you did I’d take that as a betrayal.”
“How would I have lived with myself? Hexam made all these promises that nothing bad was going to happen, that I was going to get payback with the men I was desperate to see punished. He was offering me something I wanted anyway. He promised me he’d let me go. He promised me he’d take me home and let me leave alone. And you were the one who told me he was true to his word when he gave it. I trusted you, not him.”
Anger hardened his features. “So why did you keep saying no? If you were so goddamn sure you were going to be safe. You told me you kept saying no, why?”
Nya didn’t know what the point of this conversation was or if there was any chance of reconciliation. But as stupid as it sounded, she would rather spend the rest of time in this room arguing with him than another minute anywhere else without him.
“Because I didn’t want to upset you. I thought if I went you’d be mad that I’d taken the risk.”
“I would’ve been. I was. I am. You did it anyway.”
“I did it after he threatened your life and Tag’s. And I never made you any promises, Archer. Every time you told me to give you
up if I was asked, I told you I wouldn’t be able to do it. So why are you surprised?”
His brows rose. “That you disobeyed me? I’m not. I’m pissed that I let myself fall for you when I know exactly what you’re like.”
Offense made her exhale. “And what the fuck does that mean?” Folding her arms, she cocked a hip in expectation of his explanation.
“You’re emotional,” he said. “Maybe it was too much to ask you not to betray me, you were always going to. Everything you do is driven by emotion. You couldn’t give Tag up because of your guilt. Because you were stubborn. Because you knew you’d never be able to live with yourself if you just gave a simple address.”
“You or your buddies would’ve killed him.”
“And you,” he said, peering at her. “You never look out for yourself. You’re always looking out for someone else. If it’s not Tag, it’s Jamie, or my mom, and now me. Maybe I need to be with someone only occupied by their own interests like I am.”
A bark of a laugh made her gape at him. “You think you look out for number one? My God, Archer, you went to Columbia to bail out my friend—a friend you can’t stand—because you knew it would upset me if anything happened to him. You, right now, are standing here in front of me running errands for a man, resenting the shit out of it, and you’re doing it because you gave him your word. Which you only did to get my ass out of the fire.
“Your mom embarrasses you. She pisses you off and frustrates you. She’s everything you’re not. She’s loud and fun-loving, and careless and irresponsible. She’s nuts, promiscuous, and messy! But you never turn her away. You never judge her. You mutter about her and act as if she’s an inconvenience, but you pay every one of her bills, and let her stay with you whenever she needs to. And you punish every boyfriend that pisses her off, even if they don’t really deserve it!”
“This is who you think I am?” he asked. “Because I pay my mom’s bills and look after the pussy I’m fucking, you think I’m some kind of saint?”
The rising emotion got her blood pumping. “I know you’re not. I know you’ve hurt people. I’ve seen you do it. I’ve seen your anger, heard about your jealousy. But I won’t let you pretend to be some kind of demon. If that’s what you need to believe to get through the day, and help you do the job, then do that. But that’s not the man who shot me full of antibiotics to make sure my wound never got infected,” she said, holding up her wrist to show him her brand. “That’s not the man who pinned Bryant to a wall and scarred him for life for touching me when I said no.”
Nya didn’t know if she had moved or if he had, but they were in each other’s personal space again. Her brand was close to his lips and it got closer when he turned his head.
“You can get that removed, you know,” he said, curling his fingers around the back of her wrist to trace his thumb over the mark. “They can use lasers to reduce the scarring. It’s effective.”
Did he think explaining that would make her feel better? “Never,” she said, so protective of her scar that she was offended by the suggestion she might want to erase it. “You marked me as yours and nothing changes that.”
His ire leaped onto her. “Hexam isn’t the only one who keeps his word. I said we were through and I meant it.”
Because he was stubborn or because he figured she was trouble and he was better off without her. “I don’t care if you hate me or if you never lay a hand on me again. That brand tells the world where my heart is. Nothing will change that.”
He was so cool, but she couldn’t calm down. “That brand tells the world that you’re mine and you’re not.”
“I am,” Nya said. “Yours and waiting.”
He wanted to be mad and he was doing a good job of it. Nya could believe that he wanted her to disappear, but she rose to her tiptoes praying that he’d let go of his resolve. If he kissed her, the desk would be their next stop, and a tryst there would be all he’d need to remember that they belonged together.
The door opened and Jada burst in, shattering the intimacy of the moment. The girl’s glee dropped. “Oh, shit, sorry,” Jada said. “I guess I should’ve knocked. You guys could’ve been going at it in here.”
A few weeks ago maybe, not any more. “That’s ok, what is it?” Nya asked because she couldn’t curse the girl out.
“I just didn’t know if you were gonna cash out ‘cause the place is almost empty.”
So word had got out that they were trying to close up in record time. The other employees wouldn’t moan about that. Nya was going to ask for another minute. But Archer walked away and slipped out behind Jada.
Nya sighed. “I guess I’ll come and do it now.”
The whole time she was emptying the register, she was aware of Archer around talking to different employees, most of them security. The others might be asking questions, now that word was getting out that they were under new management.
Nya didn’t like the idea of working under Hexam; she’d worked under people like him before. Usually when they took over any establishment, they wanted to make it their own. They could be looking at something as simple as a name change, or something as complex as function change. Hexam could turn the place into a restaurant, although that would require getting new licenses and this probably wasn’t a neighborhood people would come to if they wanted to eat out.
He could turn the place into a strip joint or a tittie bar, or even make it an S&M club. Whatever Hexam decided to do, Nya was apparently staying put. Though she’d have to find out if that was voluntary or not. If she could get out, this might be a good time to hand in her notice. Let them do whatever they wanted with the club.
The staff began to ask if they could leave and when she looked around for Archer, she didn’t find him. He was gone. Her heart broke all over again. When they were together, he’d never let her walk out of here on her own. Any time he was here at the end of the night, he would always wait for her, no matter how long she took. They were going back to the same apartment building and he probably had his car.
Instead of doing the decent thing and waiting to give her a ride, he’d fucked off. Nya got her confirmation, they really were over. Archer was the adamant sort, the guy who’d insisted on walking every date back to their doorstep, and putting them into their home. He’d done it with her, but not anymore. Obviously he didn’t care whether she made it back alive.
This just meant she had to keep staff back while she finished her job, which she did as fast as she could. By the time Nya was walking out and locking up, she couldn’t remember any of the numbers she’d written down. She would have to recheck everything tomorrow.
Talking to Archer hadn’t resolved anything. She felt worse than she had before, not better. The life she’d built was falling apart. She’d lost her man, might be losing her job, and her best friend was distracted by the latest pretty face in his life.
Nya had to start taking responsibility and to stop feeling sorry for herself. Finding a purpose would be the only way she’d get through this. Except she didn’t know where to begin in figuring it out.
nineteen
Knocking on his door gave her butterflies. She hadn’t figured out if they were the good kind or the terrified kind, but it had been two weeks since their conversation in her office at Sizzle when he’d told her Hexam was taking over the club.
Archer had been back to Sizzle more than once, but he’d never uttered a single word to her. He spoke to security, but even in the times he’d been into the office, he always brought someone with him, stayed for as short a time as he could, and left before she could think about getting him alone.
His apartment door opened and just like old times, he was chewing on whatever was filling his mouth. There was nothing in his hands to suggest what it was. “Not today, Ny,” he said around his mouthful of food and tried to close the door.
Slapping a palm into it, she couldn’t let him shut her down. “Business,” she said. “I have business.”
Pulling the wad of bills fr
om her back pocket, she held them up at his face and he frowned. “What’s that for?”
“Rent,” she said. “I figure since you’re the guy who paid the landlord, I should pay you.”
He swallowed and crooked a brow. “This is your excuse to see me?” he asked. Swiping the bundle of bills, he dug his thumb into the crease, and began to count it. “I didn’t ask for rent.”
Nya lifted her shoulders as she slid her hands into her back pockets. “I know, but it feels right,” she said. “I can’t live in an apartment you paid for, using utilities you’ve covered, and not give you anything. I’m still watching your cable too.”
“I told you, no one’s paying for that,” he said, stuffing the money into his jeans. “Alright, see you around.”
He tried to close the door again, but she pounced forward, putting herself into the narrow gap between door and frame. “I need a favor.”
This got his interest because his brows went up and his mouth opened, but that may have been more to do with whatever morsel his tongue was trying to dig out of his teeth. “This is gonna be good,” he said, bringing his forearm to the frame again.
A female voice chirped from inside. “Ok, I’m going!”
Nya’s butterflies were replaced with lead. Archer kept a hand high on the door when he opened it to let the woman bounce out beneath his arm. Nya glared at the smiling woman and was shocked to see Ella, the woman who lived opposite her.
“Hi, Nya,” Ella said. “Archer, you’re amazing, thank you.”
She frolicked away down the corridor and Archer leaned out the door to watch her go, completely ignoring Nya who was standing with her arms folded, making no secret of her judgement.
Only when Ella was gone did she slap both hands onto his chest and give him a shove. “Are you fucking her?” Nya demanded to know.
“Maybe,” he said and his casual attitude infuriated her. He shifted his upper arm onto the door frame. “What’s the favor?”
She was too mad to discuss her reason for knocking on his door. “I want an answer. I want to know if you’re fucking her. I want to know if you’re fucking my neighbor.”
Scarred (Branded Book 2) Page 22
