by Dawn Martens
“But you did leave. You still abandoned us!” Luca snaps.
“I saw you, trust me. I just didn’t ever approach, it hurt too much. I know me leaving and not contacting you again was a shit thing to do, but it was something I had to do. I had to get away from the hurt and anger I felt towards your mother, and you kids. I didn’t want to leave you guys, but at the time it felt like the only option I had. I was never going to be out of your lives forever. Work has been my top priority, and I couldn’t just leave a job to check in.”
“But mom said you could have, that you had plenty of time to see us or call us, you’re only a bouncer at a bar,” Luca says, looking confused.
I give him a small smile. “Thing is, I’m not a bouncer, or any of the other jobs over the years I said I had, I’m a cop. Have been since before I married your mother, and a damn good undercover one too. I was never allowed to reveal that in case of my cover being blown.”
Shayla snaps her eyes in my direction. “What the hell?” I raise a brow at her, and her dark skin pales. “You’re going after Matt, aren’t you?” she whispers. “That’s why you told the kids the truth.” She’s partly right.
I nod. “My team is on their way to his offices now. I already called Layla and asked her to meet me in an hour and to turn her phone off. I want to be the one to tell her how Matt and you destroyed her life.”
Her face is so pale, and she’s shaking so violently, I almost feel as if I should back away in case she barfs.
“So,” Luca speaks up after a few minutes. “Does that mean we have to call you Uncle Dray now?” he asks, looking disgusted.
I give him a small grin. “Yeah, kid.” I pull out my phone, bringing up a picture of Melissa and our daughter Mikayla, and hand it to the kids. “That’s my woman and kid.”
I watch the kids scroll through the photos and smile, Luca laughs when he comes to the picture of me covered in baby shit that Melissa snapped before helping me out.
I glance back to Shayla who looks angry and upset. I pull the papers out of my coat and hand them over to her. “Sign them, now. I will be filing them myself today after I leave here, and we’ll finally be done. Only reason I’m letting you keep the house is because the kids don’t need to be on the street. With my brother without a job, cash, and in jail, you won’t have money, so I suggest you get a job.”
“I’m not signing those. Yes, I screwed up by sleeping with Matt, but I love you, I’ve always loved you. You were my first.” I roll my eyes at her begging and even notice the kids staring at her as if she’s got a screw loose.
I shrug. “Don’t give a shit. You sign those, or I’ll make sure you’re arrested along with Matt.” I lean in close. “I know you were part of some of his shit, but I left you out so the kids wouldn’t be left with no one,” I whisper.
She gulps, signs the papers, and hands them back.
Once Laura and Luca hand me back my phone, we say goodbyes, and I promise we will keep in touch this time. I walk out and get in my car. That was hard, but I finally don’t feel like such a dick for just taking off anymore.
Chapter 7
Dray
When I walk into Chili’s, I spot Layla sitting with a glass of wine at a back booth. I walk over and sit across from her, giving her a slight scare. Layla isn’t as dark skinned as her cousin is. She’s also ten years older than Shayla, but you wouldn’t know that, only because Layla actually takes pride in herself. Today she has on a dark blonde wig. I don’t understand why she won’t leave the house with her natural hair. She always just says the frizzy mess she has isn’t suitable.
“Shoot, Dray, I didn’t even notice you were here yet, scared me,” she says with a small laugh, holding her hand on her chest. “I ordered for you. Told the waitress to bring your drink when you arrived and in about ten minutes’ food should be out.”
“Thanks,” I tell her. “Where’s your kids?”
“With my parents for the day.” She goes quiet for a minute. “Can I ask what this is about? You know I’ve always cared for you, I hated that you and Matt were no longer close.”
“Can we start eating first, then I’ll fill you in?” I just know if we talk before finishing our food, that there is a possibility neither of us will want to eat, especially since I’m about to flip her world upside down.
She nods and seconds later the waitress brings out our food. I finish way before she does, so I start in.
“Not sure what you know exactly about my line of work. But I’m a cop. A damn good undercover one, too.”
Layla’s eyes bug wide. “Really? I always thought you flitted around to just any job without really caring.” She winces when that comes out of her mouth. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound snotty about that.”
I wave her off. “Do you even know why I left Shayla?”
“My cousin never really said much, just that you got tired of having a ball and chain around your neck and didn’t want to live the monogamous life.”
I shake my head in disgust. “She cheated on me. Laura and Luca aren’t mine.”
Her hands fly to her mouth. “What? How did you find out? I can’t believe this.”
“Saw it with my own eyes, I was willing to forgive it, but then when Laura was in the hospital for that infection she had? I wasn’t a match. Matt was, he gave her a kidney. Got me thinking so I went and did a DNA test. She wasn’t mine, neither was Luca. I couldn’t forgive that, ever. So, I left.” Took me a good month to put it together. At first, I was thankful to Matt for saving my daughter, didn’t even pay attention after Shayla and I were proven not to be a match, but then after knowing that Shayla cheated on me once, the pieces of how Matt could be a match became clear.
“Who?”
I grab her hand and rub the top of it.
“Please no,” she whimpers, as if she knows who I’m going to say.
“I’m sorry.”
“Fifteen years I’ve wasted on that ass, and he was cheating the whole time, wasn’t he?” She asks me, the hurt and anger clear in her voice. I don’t really know what more to say to her about this, so I grab some papers out of my jacket, hand them to her and continue, “That’s everything I have on Matt. As we speak, he’s being arrested. I wanted to be the one to tell you this, not have you find out from the raid.”
Tears fall down her face. “I’m sorry, Dray. I should have known all this. I should have seen it. How can I be so stupid?”
I get out of my seat and go to her side, pulling her in for a hug. “Not your fault. I’m the ass that let it go on this long myself.” I let her cry onto my shirt.
“Well look at this. Melissa dumped you at the altar because you had a wife, and now you’re with someone else. Didn’t take you long, did it, you fuck face?” I look up to see Cori glaring down at me.
I clench my jaw. I always liked Cori, and she always liked me, but now she hates me more than she seems to hate her own mother. “It’s not what you think.”
Cori snorts. “Bullshit, you’re nothing but a whore. I’m glad Melissa is gone, miss her like hell, but if this is what you’re doing, I’m glad she and Mikayla are away from you.”
I gently move Layla and stand up, grabbing Cori by the arm. “What do you mean she’s gone?” I ask, panicked. She can’t be gone. I need her.
She throws my hand off and glares. “Just what I said, dipshit. Gone. G-O-N-E Gone. And if her father has a say in it, you’ll never get near her again.” With that she gives me an evil smirk and walks away, carrying bags of takeout.
I run after her but she’s quick. She gets into Blake’s car and they take off the second they see me jogging toward them. I yell at them to stop but knowing they won’t, I finally give up.
I walk back into the restaurant and sit back down, my head in my hands. “Fuck!” I snarl. If she went with Hangman, I’ll never be able to get close to her.
“You have a child?” Layla asks. I almost forgot about her.
I nod. “Yeah. I was about to get married to the love of my
life, and then Shayla walks in screaming about how we’re still married.” She’s about to say something when I cut her off. “Do you have a place to stay?”
She nods. “Of course. My parents will let us stay with them for as long as we need.” She gives me a smirk, “I had a feeling he was doing something shady for a long time, but I put it off, because I’m a woman. You know women can be irrational, looks like I didn’t have any reason to be, should have followed my gut.” I reach across the table, giving her hand a squeeze as she continues. “I’ll be taking Matt to the cleaners. And now all his money and companies will be mine, since I have proof of infidelity plus the prenup he signed. Since my father gave him all his start up, well, that ass will be homeless.” She gives me a wink with that.
Shit, this isn’t good for Laura and Luca. They’ll have nothing, especially since Shayla is too lazy to work.
“I’ll be talking to Shayla, too.”
“About what?”
“About having the kids come live with me. I’ll give her a nice big cheque, and I know she’ll hand them over. They’ll have a loving home with me. I can’t fault them for being my bastard of a husband’s children.”
There goes my worry. I know Layla and her family will take good care of those kids. She’s a better person than I am. I left because I couldn’t see at them everyday, not when every time I looked at them, I saw my brother staring back at me.
“You can keep all those papers; they may help you fast track the divorce.”
I give her a hug, tell her to keep in touch and head home, calling my boss again.
“Spurl.”
“Dray again. Forget sending me to a different department, I want a transfer to the Saint John Police Force the minute you can make it happen.” I click off before he can respond. Do I want to move to the other side of the country? No, but Melissa is there with my daughter. I have no fuckin’ clue how long it will take me to win her back, and if she ends up wanting to stay there? Well, I’d do anything for her. Even live in a shit city.
Chapter 8
Melissa
Cori texted me a picture of Dray with his arms wrapped around another woman. A woman I didn’t recognize, and she was not his wife. “He sure gets around,” I mutter, tears forming in my eyes.
I hear Mikayla shouting in her room, “Up. Up. Up.” Wiping the tears that leaked out, I go and get her up, changing her diaper and playing with her on the floor.
“Want to watch Frozen, baby girl?” I ask her, smiling. She’s addicted to that movie and I can’t seem to get her to watch anything else. The damn movie is on repeat almost every day, and it’s doing my head in, but it keeps her happy. The only time I actually enjoyed this movie was the first time I watched it, and then just the other day when I caught my father singing along with Mikayla when he didn’t realize I was done with my shower. He tried to be big scary biker dude with me, threatening me not to say a word, but I just laughed in his face. It’s something I might not let him live down.
She grins and screams, “Elsa!”
I chuckle. “Okay, baby, let's go put it on.”
Getting her set up in the living room with Frozen blasting away, I go into the kitchen to tidy up. Carson told me not to worry about the mess, that he’d get people over later to clean the place, but I may as well do something with my time.
I start thinking back on the times Dray and I had. Maybe I should have just resisted him more. If I had, I probably wouldn’t be feeling the way I do now.
When he found out I was pregnant, he was there every single day trying to make things up to me. He just kept saying his headspace was fucked up and he wasn’t thinking properly the night we were together. He honestly didn’t even remember being with me.
When he first told me that, it killed me. I’d finally given into him and he had fucked me brutally and beautifully. I never would have thought he was drunk, sure didn’t seem or act like it. When it was done and over, after the best orgasm I’ve ever had, he walked out without looking back. That hurt, I ended up going back out to the bar and getting pukey drunk, something that has never happened to me in my life. I never got hangovers or got sick from drinking too much, but that night I did.
As I was leaving I heard noises coming from the back alley, where we had just been hours before, and that's where I saw him. Screwing some blonde bitch, the same way he did me. I knew at that moment I would hate him forever.
Then weeks later my fears were revealed. I was pregnant with his child. Blake, my brother-in law went over and apparently had a chat with Dray, because the very next day, Dray was banging on my door demanding to speak with me. I’ve never seen a man apologize so much in my life, but he did it. I’d like to say I forgave him at that moment, but I didn’t.
I held a grudge. Sure, I let him come to all the doctors’ visits and ultrasound appointments with me, even let him buy me supper a few times at his insistence, of course. But I didn’t budge. I barely spoke to him. I was still so deeply hurt.
Then my hormones got the best of me and I forgave him. It was the two of us from that day out, until my wedding day of course.
Snapping back to reality, I realize I let the sink overflow and try to quickly get it cleaned up. Once everything is spotless, my phone chimes with a text.
Don’t wait up. – Dad
I don’t know how to feel about this because I don’t know him. Should I refer to him as my dad or Carson? Would it be weird for me to flat out ask him what he wants me to call him? Maybe I should just let it come naturally, whatever feels right at the time.
It took Cori a few months before she finally started calling Sam her dad.
**
I’ve finally got the house cleaned and put Mikayla down for the night after reading her two stories, so I decide to explore more of the house and see what the backyard is like.
I go downstairs to the basement, since when I walked in it looked like it was unfinished, but surprisingly, it’s just a giant man cave.
Pool table, check.
The biggest TV I’ve ever seen, check.
A fully decked out bar, check.
I wonder if he has the boys over often enough to use this stuff?
I see two doors off to the side and look in the first one, full bathroom. Nothing interesting. Basic. The other room is a giant laundry room. Don’t think I’ve ever seen one this big before, two washers, two dryers, a huge sink in the middle. What on earth does he need all that for? I’ll have to ask him later. I also notice there is a huge chest freezer and a stand-up freezer in this space too. I’m hesitant to open them, in case I find something I shouldn’t. Dead body, maybe? Opening the chest freezer hesitantly, I let out a sigh of relief when it’s just filled with food. Mostly bread, French fries and freezer meals. Shutting it I open the stand-up freezer, and see it’s filled full of meat. All in ziplocked freezer bags. Steaks, Roasts, stew meat, chicken upon chicken, hell, different kinds of pig too. He must buy from farms and cut this himself.
I know Moira does this, said it’s cheaper, but I didn’t think someone like Carson would do this.
I turn off the lights and head back upstairs to check out the yard. To say I’m shocked would be an understatement. Tori never told me how huge this place was. The backyard could easily fit another house in it. Looking over the huge deck he has, there is tons of grass space, even a playground that looks new, and a huge pool with a connecting hot tub. Hmm, I’m gonna have to talk to him about that, a fence is going to need to go up, so Mikayla is safe.
As I go back inside, I hear the doorbell go off. Frowning, I look at the time and see that’s it’s just after nine at night. Who could that be?
I smile politely when I open the door and the extremely skinny, pinchy faced, blonde woman standing there gives me a once over and then sneers. “What are you doin’ in my man’s house?” she demands.
“Um, excuse me?”
“You heard me, bitch,” she shouts. This woman is insane.
“Could you please lower your voice, m
y daughter is sleeping.”
“Daughter? That bastard got you knocked up? He just scrapped his bitch wife off, he’s supposed to be mine now.” She tries to get up in my face and I shove her back.
“Look, my dad isn’t home right now, but I can tell him you stopped by. Also, never ever, call Tori a bitch again, ever. She’s one of the best women I know, so you shut your mouth!” I snap.
She backs up, looking surprised. “You’re dad? I thought this was Hangman’s house.”
I roll my eyes. “It is, and he’s not here right now. So please leave.”
“Tell him April stopped by. We need to talk.”
This bitch, seriously?
“If he wants to see you, he’ll go to you, don’t come back here.” I slam the door in her face and lock it.
No wonder Tori left him if those are the types of women he bangs.
Flashback Chapter
First meet
Melissa
I’ve snuck into this club many times with friends, my sister Cori, or men I’m out on dates with. At first it wasn’t much of a thing for me, have a few drinks, dance, then leave. But a month ago, a new bouncer was added to the place. He goes by Monster, I can see why. Huge hulking black man that looks scary as hell. But damn if my panties don’t get soaked every single time I look at him.
Sure, I might have found myself a crushing on the guy, but I don’t think he likes me much. Every time I try to flirt with him, all he does is glare at me. Well, at least the last time he saw me anyways, the other few times he looked at me as if he wanted to eat me.
As I’m dancing with Morgan, a friend from school, a hand comes down on my arm. I’m spun around and stare up into the face of Monster. Shit, he looks furious.
