Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
MERCER
“What exactly do you plan to do with her?” I leaned back in a chair, watching my friend.
“What do you think I’m going to do with her?” he growled. I took no offense. In the five years since the accident, his mood was often foul.
I put my feet up on his desk, ignoring the glare he shot my way. “She’s your wife now.”
He looked absolutely disgusted by that fact. “I’m aware, thank you.”
“So as a man with a wife…” I let the words hang, waiting to see if he would jump in, but his eyes glazed over as reality registered. “You have a wife now, Adam. That isn’t changing, so I suggest you get used to it real fast.”
“You think I don’t know that!” he snapped.
“What is the plan?” I urged him again. This was his mess, but I wouldn’t let him fall under the weight of it alone.
“I-I…” He ran his hand through his hair, causing the normally perfect style to flop messily to the side. “I don’t know. I didn’t think it through. It was an impulse. She belonged to them both, so I had to have her.”
“They are both coming for you,” I sighed.
“Let them. What do I have to lose now? It’s all been gone for years.”
“Well, aren’t you pathetic?” I called out his shit. I knew he’d been through a lot, dealt with more than I ever wanted to handle. But he couldn’t continue on this way any longer. He needed to move on. Maybe the situation wasn’t ideal, but it could work in his favor. Our favor. “What do you have to lose now? What about your new wife?”
“I feel nothing for my new wife,” he scoffed.
“You’ve known her for all of two hours, tops. How about you give it a little more time?” I reached forward, grabbing a handful of nuts out of a bowl. “Plus, this time is different.”
“How so?” He reached forward, taking the bowl and pulling it toward himself so I couldn’t reach them. Selfish bastard.
“You’ve got Ace and me. We’re here. We’ll protect her with our lives. I promise you that.” Ace wasn’t here, but he didn’t need to be for me to speak for him. We decided five years ago that we’d always have each other’s backs. Now would be no different.
“I can’t depend on you two to help me with my wife,” he huffed.
“Why not?”
He didn’t answer my question, instead waved a hand and moved on. “She’s young.”
“You’re not that old.” I smirked.
“At least ten years on her,” he pointed out.
“Actually, twelve. Ace grabbed her things from the church before he left.” I leaned back again after I delivered that blow.
“Jesus.” His hands went through his hair again. “I’m going to hell.”
“It’s not like you weren’t already going to be retiring there.” I cleared my throat, about to address something uncomfortable. “She didn’t have much. Her church bag had two changes of clothes. She’s about the same size as Elizabeth?—”
“No.” He cut me off before I could even suggest that he part with some of his former wife’s things.
“Okay.” I would not push it. I just thought, well, it had been five years. Five years of her things sitting out like a shrine. If he was going to have a wife, and he wasn’t getting rid of the stuff, then maybe she could use it. “We’ll have to get her some things. It will have to wait, though. I don’t think leaving the property is wise for at least a few days, especially not with her.”
“She goes nowhere.” His voice rose in anger, but not at me.
“That’s the plan, then? Treat her like a prisoner in her home? Because that’s what this is now. It’s her home.”
His chair squeaked as he turned, pretending to do paperwork when we both knew he was only trying to avoid the whole situation. “Until she learns who she belongs to, she goes nowhere.”
“Ah, so she is a prisoner.” I ignored his glare. “But I’m a little confused. Do you want her, or don’t you? Because the signals are a little blurred. One minute you say she goes nowhere, the next you’re acting like she’s nothing. Which is it? Do you want her protected, or do you want her gone?”
“I want you gone.”
I snorted. “Not going to happen. I promised you years ago I was here to stay, and I’m not letting you down now.”
“I assure you, it won’t be much of a letdown,” He grumbled, but I knew deep down, there was some sort of affection there. We’d been friends most of our lives. He was stuck with me.
I stood and stretched. “Dinner is at six, don’t be late.”
“It’s my house. I can come to dinner when I want to,” he argued. Always fucking arguing.
“Dinner’s at six. Your wife will be there. I would advise you to be there too, or else Ace and I will be forced to entertain her.”
“I guess you’re left to entertain her then.” He shrugged, but I saw the glint in his eyes, the jealousy over a girl he didn’t care about, except now, he did.
“I guess we will.” I strolled out of the room, leaving him to stew in the madness of his own making while I hunted down Ace and planned our next move. Because we needed a next move. We couldn’t allow him to shut himself in his office any longer. It wasn’t healthy. Forcing him to get that little bit of payback was hard enough, and we’d never predicted he’d have taken it this far. Never predicted he’d come home with a fucking wife.
Two hours later, I was knocking on the girl's door, holding her bag and a stack of clothing I took out of my own closet to hold her over. They’d be big, but there was nothing I could do about that. She was a petite thing. Beautiful, though I wouldn’t voice that out loud. I wasn’t sure how Adam would react if I did so. Did he want her? Did he not? The man couldn’t decide, and the battle that played over his face each time she was mentioned only solidified that.
I knocked twice, and the door remained closed. Twisting the knob, I opened it. “You awake?”
The room was silent. Too quiet for my liking. I stepped into the room, noting that the bed was still made. My stomach sank. Turmoil already threatening to take over.
Had she?—
No, I couldn’t allow myself to think of all the drastic things that she could have done. I wouldn’t. I was already too far in my head about this girl and her wellbeing to let the demons of my past surface.
“Bellamy?” I called, and from the ensuite, I heard a faint noise. I followed it, leaving her things behind before stepping onto the tile of the bathroom, looking around slowly as my heart pounded so fast that it was all I could hear.
Then I saw her.
Her slightly crumpled form was curled in a ball next to the toilet like she had been there the whole time she was alone. Maybe she had.
“Fuck,” I cursed as I went to her, instantly falling to my knees at her side. “What happened?”
She didn’t answer, only shook her head at me. Her big green eyes held all the secrets she refused to tell. She didn’t seem hurt, though, despite being in a ball on the bathroom floor. “Are you sick?”
Obvious question, no one hangs around a toilet if they aren’t. She gave a single nod before pushing, raising enough to lean her back against the wall.
“It’s probably the stress and the drive. You’ll be right back to your old self tomorrow,” I promised, even when all the warning bells screamed that was a lie. I pushed aside my doubts and leaned over her. “I’m going to lift you up, okay? I’m just putting you on the bed. I will not hurt you.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I can walk.”
“If you could walk, you would have done so in the last few hours you’ve been here,” I pointed out.
“Few hours?” Her brows scrunched together in confusion.
Shit. Had she blacked out? I took out my phone and sent Adam a text. There is something going on with your wife. Want to meet us in her room?
His reply was almost instant. Handle it.
Well, fuck. I hadn’t signed up for this shit. Hell, I hadn’t signed up for a lot of the shit life handed me, yet here I was.
I looked down at the girl, her eyes sunken. “I think maybe you’re dehydrated. How about I put you to bed, then I will get some soup and maybe some crackers for you?”
“I’m fine.”
“Little girl, if that was the case, you wouldn’t be on the bathroom floor.” I bent down and scooped her up, ignoring her objections. “Your husband is preoccupied this evening, so I think we can get away with canceling dinner at six. But tomorrow you better be at breakfast.”
She didn’t fight me as I carried her. In fact, she leaned in, her head nearly resting on my shoulder, and that simple act did something to my heart, squeezing it harder than I thought it would. How long had it been since I held someone like this? How long had it been since I allowed myself to?
She’s Adam’s wife . I knew this. But I couldn’t help but close my eyes for a moment and take in the warmth of her body as she aligned with mine.
At the bed, I used one hand to pull the cover back before placing her on the mattress. After she was snug with the surrounding covers, I spoke again. “I’ll be back.”
I didn’t wait for her to answer. I doubted she would anyway. I was still the enemy. She was still our captive. And it wouldn’t matter how nice I was to her. We’d never be friends. I shut her door on the way out, then went straight to Adam’s office.
One knock was all I offered before I twisted the knob. I didn’t care that he and Ace were mid conversation; I spoke over them. “That is your wife, and it’s your duty to care for her.”
“She’s fine.” He waved me off.
“She isn’t fine,” I argued. “I walked into her room to find her in a ball on the bathroom floor. She is on the verge of dehydration. She’s sick. And you don’t seem to care much.”
“There's been a lot of action today. A lot of death.” Adam leaned back in the chair. “I’m sure that’s got her nerves in a mess.”
“Sure,” I snapped. I would not be the one to address that fact that I thought it was more than just nerves. His mind was set. I could tell by the hardness in his jaw. He wanted nothing to do with her, didn’t want to help at all. “I canceled dinner tonight. Thought you’d be glad.”
“I wasn’t hungry.”
“Hm,” I responded sarcastically, “maybe it’s the nerves.”
His chair squeaked as he turned his attention fully toward me. “Do you have something to say?”
“What?” I looked around, pretending to look for people. “Me? No. I definitely don’t think my best friend is being a complete and total jackass.” I pushed off the doorframe. “If you need me, I’ll be the person getting your wife some soup and electrolytes.”
“Merc— “
I ignored him. Fuck him and his attitude. He got himself into this mess, and I couldn’t wait to see it all crumble around him. He may not like her now, but I gave it a month tops, and a woman’s presence in this place would soften him. His stubbornness was no match for a female’s, and I’d gladly watch the pieces of his exterior armor fall.