Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Monica
I drive back to Emily's house in a daze. I don't know what to do. I can't tell Em anything. She's bound to go into labor if her blood pressure rises, and I need both her and Nate to keep the girls safe. How can I keep them safe?
I'm weirdly relieved to see Liv's car in Em's driveway when I pull up. In case Marcus is watching, I grab my belongings calmly out of my car and focus on walking steadily to the front door. If he's been in the house, who knows if there are cameras, microphones, or what. I don't know what to trust. Is my phone safe, or has he rigged that? Who fucking knows.
As I walk into the room, I hear laughter from the kitchen.
"Mon? That you?" Em calls.
"Yeah, I'm here," I respond. I can hear my voice trembling slightly. As I walk into the kitchen, both Liv and Em turn to look at me .
"What happened to your lip?" Liv asks. Em's eyes narrow when I don't immediately respond. She begins to open her mouth, but I shake my head subtly.
"It's nothing," I say hastily as I approach them at the island. "Been chewing on it, I guess. I'm stressed."
"Why are you stressed?" Liv asks.
"Just got a lot going on with work," I answer.
Emily reaches out and covers my fist with her hand and squeezes, I look up at her, and she nods. She mouths, 'Marcus,' and I nod. I reach around to grab her hand and squeeze it. I know she is reading my mind.
"I don't feel like cooking tonight. I need queso," Em announces. Liv bursts out laughing. "What? When you're this pregnant again, I'll cater to your wants, too."
"Please. You want queso when you aren't pregnant. What's your excuse then?"
"It's spicy cheese. I don't need an excuse. But right now, I need the queso. Y'all coming?" Emily asks as her eyes widen comically as she stares at Liv.
"Liam gets off work in about an hour. I'm sure he'll want to meet us there. You want to see if Harper, Owen, and the boys want to come?" Liv asks as she begins typing on her phone.
"On it," Em says as she grabs her phone.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I see it's from Liv in a group text with the girls.
Liv: Did he do that to you?
Me: Yes.
Liv: Liam is gonna be furious.
Me: He told me not to get the police involved.
Em: Fucking piece of shit.
Harper: What did I miss?
Liv: Mon walked in here with her lip all bruised and bloody. Marcus, the douche, did it.
Em: Does Gabriel know?
Me: No, and we're not telling him. He told me he thought Marcus was a bad guy. I really don't want to deal with his 'I told you so.'
Harper: Gabriel would do that?
Me: I don't know. I'm just not ready to tell him.
Liv: What was Marcus planning? Where did this happen?
Me: He cornered me outside of my work today. I blocked his number, and he's pissed. Told me we have to meet tomorrow to discuss our relationship and how things are going to go from now.
Em: That bastard. You're not going, right?
Me: He threatened things, Em. He said he's been in here.
Em: HE'S BEEN IN MY HOUSE?
Me: Yeah. So I'm gonna go and see what he says.
Liv: Liam is on board with dinner tonight. We'll get his opinion on things.
Me: I'm going to go rest my eyes for a few minutes. I'm getting a headache. Wake me up when everyone is ready to go.
I look up and see both Liv and Em nod at me. They knew immediately why I wasn't comfortable with talking. If Marcus has been in here, he might have planted a listening device. I can't let him know I've told the girls anything.
As I'm stretching out on the bed, my phone dings with another text.
Liam: I'm going to kill him.
Me: I swear I've told you not to text me this shit. I don't want to be an accessory to murder.
Liam: I've texted that to you before? Oh, shit. Yeah. When I was dealing with the Zander bullshit.
Me: Yep.
Liam: Well, it's good to know you aren't too rattled right now since you're still able to get snarky with me.
Me: I guess. We'll talk tonight, okay?
Liam: Gotcha, crazy girl. We'll get this figured out .
I close my eyes for a moment before my phone dings again.
Unknown: I told you not to tell anyone, Monica. Change of plans. Meet me at the same bar in an hour. And unblock my fucking number right fucking now, or I'm taking Liam's kids too.
I feel vomit rise in my throat as I barely make it to the bathroom before emptying my stomach. Now he's threatening to take Liam's kids. He's obviously hacked my phone. I can't believe this.
I hear Liv grab her kids and leave, headed home to meet Liam. Emily loads up the girls to go pick up Jack from school. I take the opportunity to sneak out and drive to the bar Marcus told me to meet him at. He's already here, standing outside. I don't see his car.
"Glad you learned how to listen," he comments as I approach him.
"Where's your car?" I ask, looking through the parking lot for his older SUV.
"Oh, that piece of shit? That's not my car. I just drove that to get you to trust me. That's my car," he says as he points to a sleek blacked-out BMW. I'm horribly confused. Marcus works as a physician's assistant. No way he can afford that car. Before I can ask what's going on, his hand comes up and latches on to the back of my neck, and he pinches hard. "Let's go, Monica. I'll at least feed you first before we talk."
"I'm not hungry, Marcus."
"Well, I am. You can just fucking sit there, then."
He forces me into the bar and toward a back room. "Hey, Mitch, I want my usual. Make two. A whiskey, double. Actually, make it a triple. I'm celebrating."
"Got it, Nicky. "
"What are you celebrating, and who the hell is Nicky?" I whisper as his hand tightens on my neck.
"We're celebrating the future, Monica. The future between you and me. The future where you help me get everything I was promised. Everything that was coming to me before it all got fucked up. And I'm Nicky, you dumb bitch. Nicolas, actually. Can't believe you bought it that my name was Marcus," he muses.
I whimper as he pushes me down into a booth harshly.
"What do you mean 'before everything got fucked up,' Marcus?" I ask. I don't even see his hand lash out until I feel the incredible sting across my cheek.
"What the fuck? I just fucking told you my name is Nicky. So don't fucking call me Marcus again," he snarls.
"Okay, I'm sorry," I murmur. We sit in silence as he scrolls on his phone. When I try to do the same, he yanks my phone out of my hand.
"You must think I was born yesterday. You're not letting those little bitches know where you are."
"How did you know I talked to them?" I wonder.
"I'm not revealing all my secrets yet, gattino ."
"Did you just call me kitten?"
"Yes."
"Are you Italian?"
"Obviously," he snorts.
The food and alcohol arrive. Marcus shoves a basket toward me containing a burger and fries.
"Eat."
"I'm not hungry."
He slaps me again.
"Do as I tell you to, Monica."
My face is throbbing as I grab a french fry with trembling fingers and bring it to my lips. I can't even taste it. We eat in silence. Marcus requests another triple whiskey, and I watch as he guzzles it down. He's begun to mutter incoherently to himself. I hear words like 'respect' and 'honor,' then 'responsibility' and 'family.' I'm baffled.
"I gotta take a piss. You fucking better still be here when I get back, Monica," he says as he grabs both our phones and saunters out of the back room. I wait no more than thirty seconds before I dart to the door. My hand is on the doorknob as my hair is yanked harshly. "What did I just fucking say, you stupid bitch? God dammit, Monica! Can't you follow simple directions?"
He drags me back into the back room and throws me down, kicking me hard in the stomach. The wind has been knocked out of me as I curl around my stomach in pain. He rolls me over and stomps on my ribs. I'm trying to scream, but I can't find the oxygen. I'm wondering if he broke a rib. He grabs my hair again and pulls me to a standing position.
"I don't know what I did to make you so angry, Marcus," I stammer. He backhands me again.
"Of course, you don't, you fucking stupid bitch! Jesus! I had you exactly where I wanted you, Monica. It was fucking perfect, and you had to go fuck it all up and go after that other guy," Marcus snarls.
I'm confused.
There's no other guy.
Other than Marcus, I haven't gotten laid since I left Oklahoma. I mean, I've had a couple of instances with Gabriel where we've kissed, but I'm not telling him that. And me dreaming about Gabriel technically isn't cheating. Well, mostly. I cheated on Marcus in my dreams all the damn time, but I'm not about to tell him that.
"There's no other guy, I swear," I whimper. My voice doesn't even sound like my own. I've never been so scared.
Marcus stands over me, leering at me with disgust in his eyes .
"Your asshole boss, Mon. I know you're fucking him," he growls. My eyes widen in shock. Does he know?
"The hell I am!" I shout. My shout is strangled and nowhere near as loud as I can be. He's rattled me and hurt me beyond comparison today.
"Oh, come on. All the late working hours? The trip up to Boulder to that conference? That shit doesn't even exist. I'm not that fucking stupid," Marcus says, rolling his eyes.
"I swear to you, Marcus. I'm not sleeping with my boss," I tell him clearly.
"I can also confirm she is not sleeping with me, Marcus. Not for lack of hoping on my part, though," a deep voice announces from the doorway. My eyes whip to the entrance to see Gabriel leaning against the doorframe, his posture relaxed and composed. To anyone else, he looks completely relaxed. But to me, I can see the tension emanating from his body. His eyes are laser-focused as he takes in the scene. I have no idea how he even found me.
Within moments, Gabriel has Marcus subdued and has me cradled in his arms. I vaguely remember a conversation in his car before I passed out, but I can't remember what was said. Wait. Did I call him Daddy? Shit.