by Lee Savino
“The bruises on her neck say different,” Marcus couldn’t help growling.
Waters frowned. “An unfortunate miscommunication with my men. It was never my intention for any harm to come to her as long as our business concludes on good terms.”
Every word coming out of Waters’ mouth only made Marcus feel more murderous. He shoved the briefcase and it slid down the long shiny table. It stopped only inches from Waters’ hand. Marcus watched Cora stare as the man opened it and checked the multiple stacks of large bills. The tension in the room heightened as Waters closed the briefcase, locked it and handed it off to one of his men.
“You’ve delivered, I’ve delivered,” Philip waved a hand at Cora. “Now, we talk. We will be nothing less than civil; you have my word.”
Marcus barely stopped himself from scoffing out loud. “That held weight up until the moment you took my wife. Now, your word means nothing to me.”
“It meant something to your father.” Waters folded his hands in front of him, his expression respectful.
“That cash is for Cora’s safe return. It has nothing to do with our business arrangement.”
“And yet I don’t think of it as a ransom, but as you settling up the debt you owe me.” The temperature in the room plunged to subzero as Waters continued. “The original terms of our agreement was that we’d deliver the first shipment and receive payment. Instead, in return for our delivery, we received nothing but a formal governmental inquiry into our behavior in international waters.”
“Terms changed when the police seized the shipment. You agreed to the change.”
Cora sat up straighter, obviously realizing Waters was referring to the night with AJ on the docks. The last time Marcus had failed her and put her life in danger.
“Yes, and then we reviewed things more carefully. We planned that meeting for months. You assured me there would be no trouble. I can only assume you or your silent partner didn’t do your job.” Philip Waters paused and took a deep breath. Cora’s bowed head and her shoulders hunched as Waters grew angry beside her. Marcus had to de-escalate this and fast. He didn’t want Cora any more traumatized than she already was.
“The events of that night were…regrettable,” Marcus said, keeping his voice calm and taking back control of the conversation.
“And your responsibility,” Waters insisted.
“I am willing to accept the blame.” Marcus inclined his head, allowing Waters the point if only to drain the tension level in the room. Still, he couldn’t help a caveat. “At least, until I know more about what really went down that night.”
“That’s all well and good,” Waters said, his impatience rising to the surface again, “but we’re receiving new reports that worry us. There’s evidence that the shipment in question has already been distributed, without us getting a cut.”
What? What was he talking about?
“There’s been no distribution—not by my men.”
“Someone is selling it, because people are buying a drug that sounds a lot like ours. If anything, this advance release proves how popular the drug will be.”
Marcus narrowed his eyes. “What do you want, Waters?”
“You have one week to prove the drugs are in your custody and you’re back in control of distribution. If not, I will be forced to find other investors and distribution channels. I’m sure you agree it’s in our best interest to find the best partner who can deliver.”
“There’s only one player who can deliver in the New Olympus market. You’re looking at him.” Marcus stared Waters down, but the big man shrugged. His large fingers, bare but for his onyx ring, drummed the table.
“I’m being courted by a few others, and one group is especially eager. I’m notifying you out of courtesy, because if we choose to use them, the money they make off this deal may fund an incursion into your territory.”
Sharo spoke for the first time, but not to Waters. “He talking about who I think he’s talking about?” he asked the room in general, his deep voice echoing.
“I am, in fact,” Waters said. “If you can’t provide me with what I want, I must seek other partners. And they very well maybe your sworn enemies, the Titans.”
Cora’s eyes widened just a fraction but otherwise she stayed still.
Marcus kept his face bored. Few knew of his wife’s connection to the Titans—that she was Demi Titan’s daughter—and he preferred it stay that way. “The Titans haven’t been in this market for over a decade. I should know. I drove them out.”
“And they’re anxious to use their prior knowledge to rebuild.” Philip spread his large hands as if to say, What can I do?
“You don’t want to deal with them any more than we want to,” Sharo said.
“On the contrary, they don’t hold a grudge against me.” Waters was playing with his onyx ring again, twisting it.
“Give them time,” Sharo said, his voice heated.
Marcus took over. “They won’t be satisfied with letting you rule the water. They want it all.” Back in the day, the Titans (secretly led by Demi) had been ravenous for power and territory at any cost. Now that she was back in charge, she would suffer no challengers if she had her way. “And they don’t operate by a Code. One day you’ll want out, and you’ll regret ever doing business with them.”
“Given that you’ve been negotiating in bad faith, I’m not sure that I can trust a word you say.” Waters looked at Marcus. “Your father was honest. I’d hoped more of his son.”
Marcus glared the man down. “This meeting is over. You have your money. Give me my wife.”
Waters nodded, rising. The men down the table did too. Cora remained sitting, the gun still on her. “I’m sure you have enough courage to take on me and the Titans. But think of the price you might pay.” He looked pointedly at Cora.
He dared threaten Cora to Marcus’s face? On top of all he’d already done? He was a dead man walking.
“Let her go,” Marcus ordered darkly.
Waters tossed a key on the table. “Free for the taking.”
Marcus was moving forward even as Waters left with his crew. Swiping the key, he knelt beside Cora to unlock the shackle.
“You alright? We gotta go.” He helped her up and hustled her to the far door. She trembled on his arm but he didn’t dare stop. Waters definitely had eyes and guns on them still. Once they exited the warehouse, they were immediately surrounded by Shades, but Marcus didn’t breathe easy until they were in a black SUV headed out of the parking lot.
More than anything, Marcus wanted to immediately send his men after Waters for daring to touch what was his, for making her tremble in fear. He wrapped his arm around Cora and pulled her close to his side. She didn’t resist at all, that was how fucking scared she was. Fury beat like an ugly creature with wings in his rib cage
Sharo turned in the passenger seat and looked back at him. “You gonna order the hit?”
Marcus glared at him. He knew better than to talk about business like that in front of Cora. Sharo nodded and turned back around front.
Marcus put two hands on Cora’s shoulders and bent his head to hers. “He touch you?”
She curled her hands around his and looked into his eyes. Gods, it was everything to touch her. To be this close again.
“No. He was polite, actually.”
She dropped her hands as he cupped her head, tilting it gently to study the marks those fuckers had made on her neck. His hand hovered over her pulse but he didn’t dare brush the bruises marring her skin. The beast in his chest roared.
“They’ll pay,” he growled. “I’ll make them pay for every bruise.”
“I’m okay.”
“They had a gun to your head.”
Cora bit her lip. “I think…I think he wanted this meeting to go well.”
Marcus’s mouth tightened but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t trust himself at the moment and he didn’t want to scare her any further. His family and Waters had long been allies but after to
day, they could be nothing but enemies.
Cora frowned and grabbed his hand. “It’s my fault.”
What was she going on about now?
She clutched his hand tighter. “I slipped my guard at the movie set.” Swallowing hard, she went on. “If I hadn’t, they’d never have been able to take me.”
Fuck but she was sweet. Too good for him, but he’d known that a long time now. She was looking down so he nudged her face up with a finger under her chin. When she still kept her eyes averted, he moved closer to her, pulling her legs over his lap. She resisted only a moment.
“Waters and me have been dancin’ a long time.” He shifted, lifting her into his lap. Maybe he was a bastard to use this to steal a moment of intimacy with her, but after getting Waters’ call and hearing she’d been snatched, he needed her close. Apparently she needed it too because she leaned into him.
He kept his voice soft as he murmured into her hair. “Taking you was his way of getting my attention. Now that he has it, we’ll see what he does.”
“So you’re not mad at me?” she whispered, so soft like she was aware of everyone else in the car and wanted only him to hear.
“Mad? No. But every time you run,” his arms squeezed her, “I get tempted to kidnap you myself and tie you to the bed.”
She swallowed hard and her breath hitched. Maybe because underneath her, he was getting hard. He couldn’t help it. Having her so close, her soft, delectable body finally in contact with his. Plus after the showdown with Waters and the relief of finally having her back safe in his arms—he was only a man.
She obviously felt it but she didn’t pull away. Sighing, she tucked herself under his chin, relaxing only when his arms slowly came back around to hold her. It was the most peaceful Marcus had felt in months. This was right. This was as things should be. Together, they watched New Olympus’s skyline loom closer.
When the car entered the city limits, she stirred. “Where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere safe—” Marcus started, and her body suddenly went stiff as she yanked away from him. “No, I want to go home.”
“We need to—”
“Don’t take me to the Estate.” She gripped the fabric of his shirt. “I don’t care where else you take me, just don’t make me go back there.”
Was this a clue as to what had happened that night? Had AJ actually dared to steal her off of Marcus’s own fucking family estate? But how? Marcus had interviewed the guards on watch that night a dozen times over. He gazed at Cora, waiting for her to give more away.
But she suddenly looked around as if realizing how still and silent the entire car had gone. She let go of Marcus’s shirt and looked out the window, shutting him out.
He wanted to press her. He wanted to know what had happened that night. But she’d been through another trauma and it would have to wait.
“Alright.” He ordered the driver to head toward The Chariot Club instead.
Cora looked back at him. “Okay. But once we get there, we’re going to talk.”
Twelve
Once there, Marcus guided Cora to a private room in the back. Usually he came here for weekly poker nights with his associates and key lieutenants. A spread of food lay on the long table, reminiscent of the one they’d left.
Marcus and Sharo left her for a moment to speak with Shades in low voices. They came back in and sat down.
Cora sat and waited. It felt like old times—Marcus off doing business while she waited for him.
She took a deep breath and decided she wasn’t going to wait anymore. When Marcus turned from speaking to his men, she was standing in the door, arms folded.
His eyes warmed as he approached her, but her next words stopped him cold. “What’s my mother up to? What’s happening with the Titans?”
She watched, fascinated, as the mask slammed down over his features. She was so used to seeing him unguarded with her that watching him face her like she was one of his enemies was novel. Fascinating, even.
He moved into her, herding her back into the room with his body. She let him, even sitting in the seat he pulled out for her.
“Have you eaten?” He didn’t wait for an answer before filling a plate from the family style dishes on the table. “You need to eat.” He set the plate in front of her, full of chicken verdicchio. Her mouth watered; it did smell good.
Instead, she picked up her fork and pointed it at him. “You wanted me to talk to you. I’m here, listening. So talk. Tell me what I’m up against.”
She couldn’t be the girl who stuck her head in the sand anymore. She still wanted nothing to do with Marcus’s world. But it didn’t look like his world was going to let go of her so easily. If she was going to live in the light, she had to be aware of the shadows and how to avoid them.
Taking his own plate, Marcus sat next to her right, between her and the door. A slight smile quirked his lips. “And to think you were once a meek, country mouse.”
He started eating, arching an eyebrow and nodding toward her own plate. She wouldn’t get anything more out of him until he got his way, so she crammed food in her mouth. The second she did, flavor exploded on her tongue.
A moan of pleasure must have escaped her lips, because Marcus bumped her elbow intentionally, and she turned into the full on blaze of his smile. Her mouth nearly dropped open at the sight of it. Instead, she gulped down her food and mumbled, “It’s really good.”
“Two months without Gio’s cooking. You were due.” He rested his hand on her knee, which sent electric little tingles straight to her core. Her body fell into old habits whenever she was around him. Her eyes fell closed. She should move her leg away. And she would. In another minute. Or five.
Gah, what was wrong with her?
She pulled her knee away from Marcus’s touch. “Tell me about my mother.”
He let out a long-suffering sigh.
“I was gonna shield you from this—”
“Wake up, Marcus, it’s not working,” she said, a little surprised at her own forthrightness. Olivia’s bluntness was rubbing off on her. Marcus went still, a sign he was surprised, too. Cora put her hand over his, damning herself for the action because the electricity was back. Still, she didn’t let go.
“You’re not one hundred percent to blame. I’ve been trying to keep my head in the sand. But it’s not working for me anymore and I need to stop. What’s going on? I’m tired of being in the dark.”
“Waters put you in the middle of this,” Marcus growled. “He’s a dead man.”
Cora felt a chill; she knew all too well that he would make good on that promise. The image of AJ’s limp and disfigured body flashed through her head. And the sound of the wet saw as they prepared to cut him into pieces to send back to the Titans as a ‘message’. She’d never forget the sound of the wet saw cutting through the night air.
The food didn’t seem so appetizing anymore. She pushed her plate away, and taking a deep breath, she looked up and met Marcus’s gaze.
“I’m involved no matter what. Being married to you comes with a price. Not just late nights and hanging around men with guns, or the chance that I might get shot at while eating in a restaurant. I have to be a player too, and you’re keeping information from me.”
“It’s not your fight.”
“Marcus, what I don’t know will hurt me. I don’t know what to look for, I don’t know who the threat is. I don’t know who your enemies are.”
“You shouldn’t have to worry about those things.” The vein in his forehead was visible, a sure sign that he didn’t like what she was saying.
Too bad. It was the truth. He thought he could control everything but as much as he might like to pretend otherwise, he wasn’t a god. He couldn’t see everything at once, be everywhere at once.
“You treat me like a child, but I’m not a child. I’m a grown woman. You married a woman and I need to know what we are facing.”
“She’s right,” Sharo put in. Cora turned to him, blinking. She
never expected support from his corner. Marcus glared at him but the large man could take the heat. “She’s not reckless because she’s stupid. She’s just ignorant.”
“Thank you,” Cora told him and frowned. “I think.”
Marcus glared at them both. “Another reason I don’t want you involved. You get picked up by the cops, you can deny everything.”
She scoffed and tossed her hands in the air. “Marcus, I know Santonio has a stable of women. I know the DePetri brother’s run shipments of contraband up and down the coast. I don’t know what Rosco’s men sell on the streets, but my guess is they’d sell anything you want.”
He looked like he wanted to interrupt so she continued before he could, “We have dinner with them; they talk, and so do their girls. I’m not an idiot. I can put the pieces together.”
Marcus pushed his chair forward, getting right in her face.
“You don’t get my business. It doesn’t touch you,” he slammed a pointed finger on the table. “You stay clean.”
Maybe before, she would’ve felt intimidated. But not now. Not after all they’d been through together, the good and the bad and the ugly.
“No,” she shook her head vehemently. “You don’t get to make this decision for me anymore. I want to know. If you don’t tell me, then I never want to see you again.”
But he shook his head, too. Stubborn as ever. “You stay clean. My father always kept my mother out of it. When things got deeper, she had his back, but she only knew the surface.”
“And look how well that turned out for her!”
Marcus shot back in his chair as if she’d slapped him. She might as well have.
She cringed and ran a tired hand down her face. She was a horrible person to throw his mother’s death in his face like that. “Marcus, I— I’m sorry. I should never have—” She shook her head. “I can’t do this.”
She stood up, her chair shoving back, and ran for the staff bathroom. She couldn’t handle being in the same room as him anymore. It was too hard. This was all too fucking hard.
