Marc pressed his lips together because, to him, it did make sense. Bailey was confused about his feeling for him. The man had lost Brendan, his brother, when someone had placed a bomb under his car. Brendan had not only been Bailey’s brother, but he also had been Bailey’s best friend and confidant.
Then, Bailey had fallen in love with Marc, only to learn that he was an assassin. It wasn’t every day that something like that happened. Then, he learned that his father is a mafia boss, head of the notorious Delossantos Family.
Then, Bailey found out it was Marc who had murdered Fabian, Bailey’s twin brother. Then there was Robert, Bailey’s eldest brother, who wanted him dead because he was afraid that Bailey would become their father’s successor. Plus, someone blew up the flower shop and Bailey’s apartment that was above the shop. And last but not least, someone had sent him a dead cat. Yep, the man had been to hell and back, so that he had lost it wasn’t that strange.
Could it have been Alec who had sent Bailey the dead cat? Marc didn’t have an answer because the Alec that he had seen in the barn had been a total stranger. What had gotten into Alec that he had faked his own death, only to appear three years later, after Marc had met and fallen in love with Bailey. The hatred in Alec’s eyes had thrown Marc off-kilter. What had happened that Alec hated him so much? Could he aim and pull the trigger, killing Alec, if push came to shove? Marc honestly didn’t know. What he did know was that he wouldn’t let anything happen to Bailey. Marc only hoped that he didn’t have to shoot and kill his former lover.
Bailey flinched when a dove, sitting on the branch above him, took flight. It was then that Marc knew just how on edge Bailey really was. He looked up when he heard Byron’s car pulling up the driveway. Marc didn’t want to leave Bailey, but he didn’t want to discuss the dead cat with Bailey present.
“Baby, I need to talk to Byron.” Before Marc could finish, Bailey jumped to his feet. “I’m going with you,” he whispered. How could Marc say no to that? “Let’s go inside,” Marc said as he put his hand on Bailey’s lower back and guided him onto the back deck and through the sliding doors inside the house.
Byron looked in question at his brother. It was evident that he wasn’t sure if he should talk about the dead cat in front of Bailey. “You can talk about the dead cat because it doesn’t make any difference; the damage is done,” Bailey softly said. He wondered if he would ever lose that smell. Even the thought of the awful-smelling dead cat made him nauseous again.
Byron cut a lemon in half and held it under Bailey’s nose. “Inhale the scent; it will make you feel better,” Byron said. Bailey wasn’t sure about the lemon, but he would do everything to lose that horrific odor that still seemed to attack his sinuses.
Bailey closed his eyes and sniffed the lemon. It took a couple of minutes, but then the nauseating smell disappeared. “The lemon neutralizes the nastiest odor’s, like fish. So, I hoped that it would help you neutralize the pungent smell that has nestled in your sinuses,” Byron explained. Bailey rewarded Byron with a small smile. “Thank you; it worked,” he said.
“I wonder who sent you that package,” Byron said. “I think that I know who sent it,” Bailey replied. And he wasn’t sure if he should point the finger at Alec. After all, he didn’t have any evidence that it had been Alec that had sent him the dead cat. “I think it was Alec. He really hates me,” Bailey finally said.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, baby,” Marc began carefully. Bailey frowned, but when he didn’t say anything, Marc continued. “I don’t think that it was Alec that sent you the dead cat.” “And why is that?” Bailey asked in a sharp tone. Byron glanced from Marc to Bailey, but he wisely held his tongue. Byron knew better than to come between two lovers or choosing sides. So, he went into the kitchen instead. He didn’t need anything from the kitchen, but he didn’t want to be too far from his brother and Bailey.
“Are you defending him?” Bailey whispered, and even though it was whispered, Marc could hear the anger in the man’s tone. “Baby, I’m not defending Alec. I just can’t see him doing something like that. Sending you this package is the doing of a maniac, an insane person. A psychopath,” Marc said, as he tried to reason with Bailey, but the man was getting angrier by the minute.
Bailey knew that this time, he couldn’t permit himself to leave the Blake residence because then he would be a sitting duck. That Marc took Alec’s side, let Bailey know that the man still had feelings for his ex-lover, his deranged, psychopath, ex-lover.
Chapter Forty
“I want to be alone for a while. I’ll be in the orchard, just so you know where I am,” Bailey said, turned around, and left. Byron came into the living room again and frowned. “Well, you screwed that up royally,” he said. Now it was Marc’s turn to frown. “Me? What did I do? Bailey just wants some peace and quiet, that’s all,” he replied.
“You hurt Bailey, that’s why he went into the garden, alone, even though he’s scared to death, and he doesn’t wish to be alone,” Byron said. “For such an intelligent man, you are so stupid sometimes,” a serious-looking Byron added. “I don’t understand. What did I do?” Marc scowled.
“You took Alec’s side over Bailey’s; that’s what you did. And by doing so, you hurt Bailey’s feelings big time. Imagine if the shoe were on the other food. How would you feel if Bailey defended his not-so-dead lover of six years? And if that’s not bad enough, Alec will come after Bailey just to see you suffer. You said yourself, Alec is a stranger, that you didn’t know him anymore. So, why defend the man? You would only do that if you still have feelings for Alec.” Byron’s voice softened when he said, “That’s how Bailey sees it.”
“Well damn,” Marc whispered because did he still have feelings for Alec? Marc wasn’t sure, he loved Bailey, but did he still love Alec too? “My advice? You need solace to do some serious soul searching. I know that you still are a bit shell-shocked at seeing Alec alive and well. And you might even still love him, even though the man wants you and Bailey dead.” Byron looked intently at Marc when he softly added. “When it concerns the heart, you feel what you feel. There isn’t a switch that you can turn off your feelings and be done with it.”
Marc had wanted to go after Bailey to explain that he only had feelings for him, but now he wasn’t so sure anymore. He had defended Alec. Why had he done that? Didn’t he want to see how insane Alec had become? Or, maybe the man always had been unstable, only he hadn’t seen it? Had he been so blinded by love that he hadn’t seen the real Alec?
Byron had forced Marc to take a good look at himself and see the truth for what it was. Only Marc didn’t want to feel anything for Alec anymore. The man had gone too far in faking his own death and then come after Bailey, just to see Marc suffer when he would kill him. Bailey could stay in the master bedroom; if he wanted, Marc would stay at the pool house, so he could get his feelings sorted out.
He hadn’t spoken to or seen Bailey after the man had disappeared into the orchard. Byron would see to it that Bailey was kept safe. Tomorrow, Keith would be home from the hospital. And in two days, the bodyguards and Mario would be released from the hospital as well.
Marc’s thoughts wandered off to Bailey and when they had made love for the first time. It was lovemaking; it hadn’t been just sex. It had been so different from sex with Alec. Now that Marc thought of it, there never had been any kind of real romance between the sheets. Alec always had been ferocious, almost feral. That knowledge hit him hard and made him nearly do a double-take.
Marc didn’t want to compare Alec with Bailey, but somehow he didn’t seem able to avoid it. Bailey was sweet, kind, and very sexy. Bailey had an innocence surrounding him, which Marc had found irresistible. Marc could lose himself in Bailey’s big green, trusting eyes.
Now, Alec was back from the dead, and he wanted Marc and Bailey six feet under. And Marc had to admit, at least to himself, that yes, he still had feelings for Alec. Marc was confused because he had never expected to see Alec alive and kicking. He had mo
urned the man for so long. That Alec had pulled a stunt like this told Marc how sick the man actually was.
So, why had he still feelings the man? Marc had asked himself that question over and over, but the assassin didn’t have an answer. What Marc did know was that he didn’t want to lose Bailey. Marc smiled when he remembered the first time that he had seen Bailey in his flower shop. The man had intrigued him from the very beginning. Only the thought of Bailey being Fabian had held Marc back from asking the man out on a date.
The front door opened, and Marc smiled as he turned because he expected Bailey; his smile disappeared when he saw Alec standing in the doorway. “Thank you for inviting me, darling,” Alec said, in a tone that Marc always had found seductive and sexy. However, now that same tone didn’t sound seductive and sexy at all anymore.
Marc just stared at Alec, waiting for the man to reveal why he was at the pool house. “What? Aren’t you happy that I’m not dead after all?” Alec said, and he seemed genuinely surprised by the lack of Marc’s enthusiasm. “Who are you? I don’t know you anymore. You’re not the Alec that I knew and loved. What happened? What changed that you hate me so much? I assume that you loved me before you came to hate me?” Marc questioned because he needed answers.
“I have always loved you, Marc, darling,” Alec paused and sighed dramatically. Marc didn’t say a word; he just kept eying his former lover. Alec moved closer until he was invading Marc’s personal space. He reached out and caressed Marc’s cheek. Marc just stood there, not really knowing what to do or how to react without irritating the man.
Marc knew that Alec’s feelings of, well, love, if one could call it that, could turn into a rage in mere seconds. Psychopaths were good at that. Marc didn’t have a weapon at hand because he had never expected Alec at the pool house.
“Oh, just so you know, Shauna is out on bail. Your father paid an ungodly amount of money because he couldn’t bear to see her behind bars. He is convinced that his little princess is innocent and that you are the scumbag who is framing her,” Alec said, smiling.
Marc didn’t smile; he wanted to know what Alec wanted from him because the man was up to something of that Marc was sure. “What is it that you want?” Marc said, and he had difficulty keeping his voice neutral. It was then that he knew that he didn’t have feelings for Alec. Hell, he didn’t even like the guy who stood in front of him. He was done with Alec Woods.
Now, Marc needed to keep Alec with him in the pool house for as long as possible. He didn’t want Alec to go after Bailey. “Are you ever going to tell me why you faked your death?” Marc began because he really was curious about the reason.
Marc saw, to his astonishment, that Alec smiled, and it was an evil one. What the hell? “You really don’t know, do you?” Alec whispered, and the smile, that evil grin from before, had disappeared. The man’s expression had turned into pure evil, which gave Marc almost the shivers, almost.
“Well, are you going to tell me?” Marc drawled. “Sit,” Alec commanded. Marc kept standing and didn’t move; he just looked at his former lover, his expression neutral. “Sit, please?” Alec said in a normal tone. Marc was surprised that the game they played so often still worked. If Alec wanted something badly, he always had to use the word, please. So, the man hadn’t forgotten, which was good.
Marc sat down in the chair by the window and gave Alec a questioning look. “Well? I’m waiting,” he said. Alec, once again, sighed dramatically. “Since you really don’t seem to know what you did to me, I will enlighten you.” Alec paused, then he said in an almost inhumane voice, “You shot and killed my brother.”
The silence that filled the room was deafening. Marc frowned because this was news to him; he wasn’t aware that Alec had a brother. No, Alec didn’t have a brother. “How is that possible? You don’t have a brother, Alec,” Marc replied in a conversational tone. “Of course I had a brother, and you put him in his grave, bastard,” Alec growled.
“Alec, don’t use that tone when you speak to me,” Marc warned. And it had the effect that Marc hoped it would have. He always said those exact words in the exact same tone he used now, when he needed to control Alec, to protect the man from himself. Sometimes, Alec had been a drama princess, and he often got a full-blown panic attack in situations he had created.
Marc was stunned that using those particular words in a particular tone still affected Alec. “Well, it’s the truth. You killed Charlie, and I can never forgive you for that. It means that you have to die, but before I kill you, I will let you watch when I kill Bailey,” Alec said. Marc looked into Alec’s eyes and didn’t see any emotion. Alec’s eyes were, well, dead. It was like the man had lost his soul or something. How had he been so blind that he hadn’t noticed? Like the time when he had bought Alec a puppy. The man had been so happy. However, a few weeks later, after Marc returned from an assignment, the puppy was gone.
Marc had asked Alec what had happened and where the puppy was now. Alec had answered that the puppy had died suddenly and that he had buried him in the garden. It was the same with the second puppy. Now, as he looked back, Marc connected the dots. Psychopaths constantly tortured and killed animals. That’s how it always started; when a child began to hurt animals, you could bet that they ended up a psychopath.
In this case, Marc didn’t know much about Alec’s family because he had never even met them. Now that he thought about it, had he been so blasé and self-centered? Marc had to admit that Alec had never introduced him to his family and that he, Marc, hadn’t cared. He had never asked after Alec’s parents or if the man had siblings. So, Marc automatically assumed that Alec didn’t have any family. Stupid, so stupid!
Chapter Forty One
Bailey yawned, stretched, and shook his head. Had he actually fallen asleep? Well, it seemed that way. He rose to his feet and was on his way to the house when he saw movement in the pool house. Bailey didn’t want to know if Marc was there, but the curiosity prevailed, and he slowly neared the pool house.
He crept to the window and listened. That was the voice of Marc and someone else. The voice sounded familiar, but Bailey couldn’t place it. The voices were muffled, so Bailey couldn’t hear what they were saying. Then he realized, with a shock, that he knew that voice. It was Alec!
It was all Bailey could do not to storm inside and confront the psychopath with what he had done. Bailey’s heart was hammering in his chest, and breathing became difficult. He crept even closer and saw that the next window was open. So, he carefully crept to the other window and listened.
“I always loved it when you talked to me like that.” Alec’s voice. “I remember.” Marc’s voice. “Did you really mourn me? Did you miss me and wished that I was still alive?” Alec’s voice. “Yes.” Marc’s voice. Bailey’s stomach turned at hearing Marc speak the words. The bastard still was in love with that psychopath. Christ, how could he have been so stupid? Bailey carefully retreated, and when he was far enough from the pool house, he ran.
“Whoa, not so fast. What happened that you ran like you’d seen the devil,” Byron said as he kept his hands on Bailey’s shoulders. “Yeah, well, I did see the devil. And if you want to know, he’s at the pool house right now,” Bailey seethed. “Okay, what happened, and who is at the pool house besides Marc because he’s not the devil,” Byron said, and the moment he spoke the words, he paled. “Shit!” “Yeah, shit!” Bailey echoed. “Is Alec with him?” Byron questioned. “Yep, the one and only,” Bailey snapped.
Byron stared intently at Bailey when he said, “You go back to the house, stay there and wait for me. Can you do that?” Bailey frowned but nodded. “Lucas should be there right now; tell him that Alec is on the premises.” Byron was still looking intently at Bailey when he added in a whisper, “Marc is in danger because Alec hates him. And for what it’s worth, my brother loves you, not Alec. If he had feelings for that man, they are gone now.”
“How do you know?” Bailey whispered, could he hope again? He wished that Byron was right; he prayed
that Byron was right. “I know my brother, and I see the way he looks at you. That man is smitten and in love. Trust me. Now, go and tell Lucas what’s going on at the pool house,” Byron urged while he gently pushed Bailey in the direction of the house.
Bailey ran into the house and called for Lucas, who immediately answered from the other room. “Where’s the fire, Bailey?” Lucas said, smiling, but his smile disappeared when he saw Bailey’s pale face. “What’s wrong, Bailey?” “Alec is at the pool house, and Marc is with him. Byron is there already. He told me to inform you,” Bailey said.
Assassins the Florist Book One Part One Page 23
