Chapter 6 #2
I had little patience left. It went out the window the moment Onyx's name was brought up, and the idea of someone else having him was firmly planted in my head. Just thinking about it now, I wanted to go back to smashing his head into the concrete until it cracked and blood pooled around him.
"For your sake, I hope you don't have one of those stupid papers." I was at the end of my rope with the bullshit. There was no way in hell Onyx wanted a divorce, and if these so-called security guards kept up the bullshit, I was bound to lose my mind.
"Step away from Sullivan."
That didn't answer my question. I assessed him, noticing that he only had one firearm on him. I had at least three weapons on me at all times. He held the gun with an expert grasp. There was no denying that he probably practiced with it plenty of times, but had he killed with it?
I took a step back and then another. The little distance grew inch by inch until I was far away enough from the other man on the ground that his friend rushed to his side.
"Sullivan, you still with me?" He didn't take his eyes off me, and I made sure to stay still.
My lips stretched into a smile when no reply came from the man on the ground.
"Sullivan!" The other guard tapped him with his foot, his focus wavering as he tried to check on his colleague. "Hey, man, come on, you're just as big as him."
A single second was all it took. His gaze moved from me to look down, and I went in for the kill.
I drove my fists into his abdomen and broke his hold on the gun.
Slammed my elbow up into his nose, driving his head back in a sharp jerk motion.
I kicked the gun out of either of their reaches.
Most people took my size for granted, thinking because of how big I was that I was sluggish.
It always caught them off guard, and this man was no different.
His neck was nestled in the palm of my hand.
It would only take a second to drag him closer, place another hand on the top of his head, and snap the life out of him.
I lifted him by the front of his shirt until his feet dangled a few inches off the ground. His nose dripped a steady stream of blood, marking the pavement with dark crimson spots.
The guard coughed and sputtered, his hand lifted to rest on my wrists. "Mr. Auclair?—"
Hearing them call Onyx Mr. Auclair was something of a bother.
I couldn't quite figure it out for a while why it had bothered me, but as the realization dawned on me, I swore.
"Shit, I knew I forgot something," I said, cutting off the annoyance.
I still hadn't gotten our last names changed.
We hadn't had much time to talk about it, but I was hoping Onyx would become a Marino.
My family name meant something and it was a big deal,, but I was certain if push came to shove I could change everyone's mind if Onyx wanted to keep his last name. "Lucero Auclair?"
The guard tapped at my wrists, but instead of putting him down, I shook him slightly.
"It doesn't sound bad, right? Different, but you know how it is when you're in love."
He contributed nothing more than a few sputtering coughs. His counterpart was no better on the ground. In fact, he was probably the worst. Thinking about Onyx taking my last name or me taking his had instantly put me in a better mood.
"He—talk," the man stammered out.
"Huh? Would you talk in complete sentences?"
The guard's brows dipped and he glared at me even with a bloody face. He was giving me the same look my brothers did when they wanted me to catch onto something.
My head tilted as I thought, his face was growing more red by the second but he'd stopped fighting me. I lowered him back down to the ground in hopes of figuring it out.
He went to push my hand away, and I let him. It wasn't like I couldn't kill him if I wanted to.
"You're wanted upstairs," he coughed out. Rubbing his throat, the man took a healthy step away from me. "I don't get paid enough for this."
"Upstairs for what?"
"Are you an idiot?" The moment the words were out of his mouth, he took another step away from me. "Wait, shit."
I hadn't even moved and already he was trying to defend himself. His eyes scoured the ground in search of something as he spoke. "Mr. Au—Your husband wants to see you."
"Why didn't you open with that?" I picked up the discarded gun and handed it over. "This all could have been avoided."
The man stared at his weapon as if it had grown legs and eyes.
He slowly reached for it, but before he could snatch it from me, my hand closed tightly around the cool steel.
"This could have ended with your death. Next time, you won't have this chance.
" I stared into his eyes before releasing the weapon. "That one there is fired."
"You're not our boss."
"I'm married to him. I see either of you near my husband again and I'll rip your balls from your body and feed them to your mothers." I waved and hit a light jog across the street toward Onyx's building.
Unlike before, no one tried to get in my way.
In fact, most of them stayed clear of me.
The only people openly gawking my way were the receptionist and a few people who lived in the building.
I was used to people staring at me, but the moment I made it to the elevator, I saw why.
Blood decorated my clothes and face. Not enough that it looked like I murdered someone.
I knew what that was like, and depending on how it was done, I could either have a single speck or be drenched. I was in the middle a healthy amount.
I wiped at the blood on my face, grabbing an offered bottle of water before getting on the elevator and riding it up the Onyx's floor.
I made quick work of cleaning up what I could.
I hadn't exactly been home in a while, and a shower was more than likely needed.
My reflection was mildly better the more I cleaned up.
A quick sniff told me I absolutely needed that shower.
"This is really going to test my marriage." Hopefully, my winning personality had him overlooking this lapse.
The elevator chimed before the doors slid open.
There were three times the amount of security guards on the floor, standing outside the door.
I paid them little to no attention as I tugged at my shirt.
The drying blood had it stuck to my skin in an unflattering look.
A quick glance around let me know there wasn't a single guy on the floor nearly as big as I was.
There was no way I'd be able to trade clothes with any of them.
"How do I look?" I asked, stopping before opening the door.
I was met with nothing but silence. Just in case, I smoothed down my short hair, hoping not a single strand stood up. Nerves bounced around my stomach like I'd eaten a roll of Mentos and downed a two liter of Coke.
He's my husband . I shouldn't be so nervous.
I opened the door, scanning the place, taking in every soft decoration in his home.
From the plush white carpet to the baby blue and mint green pillows on his sofa.
I bet it all smelled like Onyx. Like home.
I took a single step toward the couch with one single thought in my head to bury my face in a pillow and breathe.
"This way. He's waiting for you in the dining room," a man said, jerking me away from my thoughts.
I didn't just want to breathe Onyx in, I needed to see him, touch him.
There would be plenty of time to bask in everything that was his.
I followed behind the man. He was a little shorter than me by maybe an inch or two.
I was used to that, being seven-foot-two.
Most people weren't taller than me in our line of work.
I knew the instance Onyx was there; it was like my world lit up.
I went from seeing everything in muted tones to seeing in full color.
There he was, the man of my life, sitting at the table, his freshly manicured nails tapping at the polished wood impatiently.
His foot tapped under the table as he looked at his phone and then back up at the doorway.
He was about to look back down at his phone until our eyes connected.
Warmth and love erupted in the pits of my chest and placed my heart in a choke hold.
Onyx was up, and I opened my arms, fully expecting him to jump into my embrace. He rounded the table and stopped just out of my reach.
"What the hell did you do?"
"Don't worry, it's not my blood," I said happily.
He's so worried about me. This is why I love him.
"I know that. What happened to the guy that was supposed to come get you?"
"Think he said he was resigning or something like that. Or taking the other one to the hospital or whatever." I moved toward him with a smile on my face. I just wanted to hold Onyx again. "Why do you need them, anyway? You have me. I won't allow anything to happen to you."
The man who'd been standing right behind Onyx moved closer, not touching my husband but still too close. His eyes were trained on me. I could spot a man who'd killed before. It was like looking into a mirror. He said nothing, and I couldn't afford to write him off even in the face of Onyx.
I might have to kill him first.
Onyx started rapid firing French my way, and I almost wished I'd bought translator headphones. The only issue I had with them was the fact it would be a computer voice telling me what Onyx said; it would try to cover his sweet voice.
"I've missed you," I said.
Onyx glared up at me. Even in the face of his anger, I couldn't help but admire him. "You're making this harder on purpose, aren't you?"
"What?" I tilted my head. I thought I was doing a pretty good job at being his husband. Did I forget something important? I racked my brain for any answer and came up empty.
"Please have a seat," Onyx said.
I went toward his side, wanting to sit as close as possible.
I plopped down in the chair next to him, happier than I'd been in the last few days.
Only a few days married to him and I'd quickly became addicted to him.
To his grimace, his scent, his voice, to everything that made up Onyx Auclair, soon to be Marino.
"We need to have a talk because it feels like there has been a big misunderstanding between us," Onyx started.
"Do you want to take my last name or I take yours?"
"What?"
I thought about it more. "I'd prefer Onyx Marino but Lucero Auclair has an interesting ring to it.
And it's not like I'm the one taking over the family business, so me changing my last name isn't a big deal either.
Okay, that's settled, I'll take your last name.
" Yeah, I was sure I was making the right call, but then again, my mother would probably be upset.
"Unless you're willing to become a Marino. "
"Fuck no." Onyx scooted away from me. The distance made my skin crawl.
"I can compromise. As long as you're happy, I don't care." My family would just have to get over it.
The phone of the guard standing too close to us rang. He answered it, and his face soured the longer he listened. "Shit, how dare you?" The man stepped my way, but Onyx stopped him.
"Whatever it is, can't it wait?" Onyx asked.
"No," the man said through clenched teeth."This is a bad idea. I have to go check on my guys, but I'm leaving Lee and Summers behind."
The guard didn't look too happy but he didn't stick around long enough for my husband to say anything.
My chair scraped along the tile floor as I scooted it closer to Onyx, any distance was getting under my skin. His blue-gray eyes zeroed in on me. A shiver of delight raced down my spine at his attention.
"Did you miss me too?"
"No."
"That's okay, I miss this enough for the both of us. Are you almost done with work? We still need to house shop, or if you want, we could move into your place here."
"Or I could kill you," Onyx shot back. He stared into my eyes, not breaking eye contact for a second. "You know I can." Onyx pulled out a knife and aimed it my way. The threat was all too real. I knew he was more than capable of ending my life if he tried really hard.
I grabbed his hand instead of the weapon.
I didn't force him to drop it. Instead, I pushed forward, and pressure built as the sharp blade sliced into my flesh.
I didn't stop, and as Onyx went to pull away, I grabbed his chair and yanked him closer.
The blade pierced through my palm and out the back of my hand at a strange angle.
I curled my fingers forward, wrapping them around his.
"It's been so long since we held hands like this." I brought it toward my face and placed a chaste kiss on his warm flesh. My blood dripped slowly over him. The knife kept the wound mostly plugged.
"You're fucking insane."
"You're the most beautiful person I've ever met."
Onyx's plump, perfectly shaped lips parted and closed.
"Not only are you stunning, you're smart, and incredible at everything you do. The way you speak so elegantly and when you start speaking French, it's like breaking someone's neck. Utterly mesmerizing and impossible to forget."
"You don't know anything about me," Onyx shot back. He tried to yank away but I held on tighter, not willing to let him go.
"But I do. I'm the only person in this world who sees you, who knows you."
Onyx's eyes widened and he was up in seconds. His chair clattered backward. I was up and over the table in a span of seconds and dragging him into my arms.
"Careful, Onyx, your fear is just as enticing.
" I kissed his forehead and breathed him in while I could.
"You know, you really should fire this company.
They tried to convince me that you wanted a divorce by serving me papers.
The first few I laughed off, but it's now to the point I'm contemplating murdering them all.
" I let out a soft breath as the tension in my body bled out.
"I really did miss you. If we were ever to get a divorce, I might end up losing what little sanity I do have. "