Chapter 23 #2
My mind was made up. I did what any good husband would do.
I'd had a general idea where Onyx disappeared a few times each month, but I'd held back from knowing the exact details.
There'd been a line clearly drawn in the sand, and I'd stepped right over it.
I hoped Nash was right and it was better to ask for forgiveness.
I swallowed thickly as I got out of my car and walked two blocks down before turning the corner.
The building loomed over me as I stood there, staring up at it.
We had a few runners on that side of town. I stared at it as if I looked long enough, the answer would come to me. I'd know what was happening with my husband.
I could turn around right now.
A mother and her two kids came out the door. Her gaze was filled with weariness as she ushered her kids closer and away from me.
"Mommy, he's huge."
The little boy pulled away from his mother and ran over to me. "Are you a giant?"
"Esmund, get over here right now." Her hands trembled as she reached for him.
I relaxed and smiled down at the kid. "I'm only half."
"Wow."
The mother ushered her kids away with a wavering smile on her face as they headed down the street.
I blew out a breath and headed up the three steps before opening the door.
The lock was clearly broken. I ducked my head, narrowly missing the doorjamb as I headed in.
The air in the building was stale and pungent with a multitude of smells leaking from the apartments.
I checked the number once more and made my way upstairs. The flooring creaked under my weight. Every crack in the wall or stain only made me more confused. The apartment wasn't a place I ever expected my husband to spend his time. Nothing about it said Onyx belonged there.
My knuckles rapped against the wooden door before I could question myself any further. I was already here and there was no going back. I steeled myself for anything. I was ready to kill whoever waited for me on the other side of the door.
A few minutes passed and there was no response. I knocked again, a lot heavier than before.
"Leave it at the door," a weak voice came from inside.
My head tilted to the side. It was a male on the other side, but I hadn't recognized his voice. When he didn't answer the door, I knocked again.
"Leave it!"
The door was thin enough I could knock it down with one or two hits with my full strength. I put that as option two if the man didn't come and open the door. My fist pounded against the wood, making it rattle in the doorjamb.
"What the literal fuck is your problem?" The door was yanked open. A very angry scrawny man—with platinum blond hair and soft features that were achingly similar to my husband’s—stood in the doorway. "You can't understand goddamn English?"
"Yes."
He craned his head back, his eyes widening slightly as he looked up at me. Anger shifted to fear as he took me in. They even had the same blue-gray eyes but his were red rimmed.
"Who are you?" His voice shook slightly.
"That's what I want to ask you."
His brows dipped as he looked at me with confusion. "You must be lost, I'm not buying anything you're selling." He slapped the door right under the apartment number. There was a No Soliciting sign. “Fucking read.” He went to close the door, and I moved quickly, shoving my foot in the way.
Shock waves of pain shot up from my foot to my knee. The man met my gaze, only to look up angrily at me.
"What is your problem?" His French accent wasn’t nearly as thick as Onyx’s when he got mad.
There were too many similarities and differences that I wasn't sure what to think yet. I needed him to answer some questions first. Depending on his answers, he might live or die at my hands. If I had to be the monster so that my husband was happy, I’d do whatever needed to be done.
His question went to the farthest back of my mind as I was hit with a pungent smell that made my nose hairs burn on contact.
"Is someone dead in there?" I looked down at the man who was a bit taller than Onyx. He had to be closer to six foot, unlike my husband who was a perfect five foot six.
"No." He looked away from me, pulling on the long strands of hair until they covered most of his face. "If you're here because of the smell, I plan on getting to it."
"I'm not, but proper disposal of a body is important."
"What?"
I shoved the door open and the smaller man was no match for my strength in the slightest.
"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
I walked into his apartment. There was trash in various corners, piled high.
One bag was leaking some strange liquid onto the tile flooring.
The place wasn't huge by any standards. It was a typical one-bedroom apartment in the rough part of New York City.
Amongst the trash smell, there was something familiar that was nothing more than a whiff in the air.
I headed for the kitchen right off the front hallway.
"Hey, the fuck is your issue? No one said you could come in. Get out," he grumbled behind me. "I will call the cops."
I pointed to a familiar baggie on the counter. "You won't unless you want them discovering this place."
The man rushed past me, nearly falling over to swipe the baggie off the counter and shoving it into his pocket. His face was red and blotchy as he glared at me. "You have no right to be here."
"You're not wrong. I shouldn't be here. He will be really mad at me." I opened the microwave and pulled out the tupperware dish I knew all too well. It contained the lasagna I made a few nights ago. I knew my mother's recipe from anywhere.
"Where did you get this from?"
The taller Onyx stared at the dish. "Why?"
"I made this."
As if realization dawned on him, the man groaned. "I knew that asshole didn't magically learn how not to burn food."
"Watch it," I warned. If he was talking rudely about Onyx, I didn't care who he was, I'd end his life.
He held his hands up. "My brother Louis brought it over. I'm guessing you're the husband I've heard so little about?"
Louis? My head fell to the side.
"I doubt he knows you're here. I can guarantee he never wanted you to know, let alone see, his pathetic older brother." He moved over to the chair, plopped down, and pulled one long leg up to his chest. His eyes looked even more sunk in since I first saw him. "Why are you here?"
"To help Onyx."
"And coming here is going to do that, how?
Are you going to put me and him out of our misery?
" His laughter was void of any humor as he rested his cheek on his knee.
"Well, the best way is for me to go ahead and die, but I'm finding it a little difficult at the moment.
Don't worry, I'll no longer be a burden to my brother one of these days.
Then he can finally go live his life with you and be happy. "
That didn't sound right. "You're his brother."
The man slowly blinked at me. "Yeah, a shocker, right? I'm older too."
I moved over to him and shoved his hair out his face before he could protest. I got a better look at him. "I can see it."
He yanked back like a scared animal. "Personal space."
A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. "You're family." I snatched him out of the chair and wrapped him up in my arms. He was as stiff as a board in my embrace but that didn't matter. "I have another brother. Wait, how old are you?"
"Put me down, you monstre géant.”
“Only Onyx is allowed to give me pet names.”
I placed him back on his feet as he glared at me. He rubbed his arms as if that would erase my hug. His brows were low as he took two steps away from me. "What is your problem?"
"Nothing. I didn't know what I expected when I came here, but I'm glad it's you." My shoulders relaxed and the tension in my stomach eased.
"Huh?" If it was possible, the man looked even more confused. A weird sound came from his stomach and bounced off the walls. His pale cheeks went a splotchy red before he jumped back and placed more distance between us. "Great, well, you saw me and now you can get the hell out. I was busy."
"No, I can't leave you like this. What kind of husband would I be? Let alone a brother." I smiled at him, grabbing the overflowing trash can and shoving everything down before tossing the lasagna. "My mom said no member of the family should ever go hungry."
"Look, your mom sounds lovely—hey, put that down, I'll clean it." He rushed past me to grab the trash off the counter. He grumbled as I moved to the next pile. There was a roll of trash bags buried underneath a few magazines. "Don't touch that, it's gross."
I snatched the plate covered in furry mold out of his reach. "Careful, inhaling this stuff can really mess you up. I'll dispose of it."
"This is gross.” He attempted to jump and take the plate out of my hand. His feet barely lifted off the ground before he gave up and glared at me.
“You two could have been twins. My sweet bella gives me the same look.”
“Qu'est-ce que Louis a bien pu se mettre sous la dent ? Je vais le tuer la prochaine fois que je le verrai.”
“Did you two grow up speaking French at home?”
He stopped reaching for the plate, and I was finally able to toss it in the trash.
“Our mom only spoke French, she didn’t care to learn English.”
Wow, this trip was already turning out to be well worth it. I had so many questions for him. I wanted to know everything about Onyx. I went to scoop up more trash, and Onyx’s brother shouted, trying to stop me again.
“It's my mess, I'll take care of it."
His stubbornness brought a smile to my face. "You two are definitely brothers." I moved past him and continued to clean up. "Do you have cleaning supplies here?"
"If I say no, will you leave?"
"No, I'll have some delivered to us."
He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, it's under the sink." His shoulders looked tight as he stood there. "I don't need your help."