Chapter 27
Luna
I took some time off work to be with Marco.
I wanted him to get used to everything again, and being home with me.
So far, I think he loves the apartment, but sleep doesn’t come so easy for us now.
He has nightmares. Bad ones. To the point he wakes up and scares the shit out of me.
We’ve talked to Damion about it, and he thinks Marco needs to talk to someone, but he won’t. Not even me, and that hurts.
Just like now. His eyes are wild as he looks anywhere but at me. He’s like a caged animal who has nowhere to turn.
“Marco, please. Look at me.”
“Do you know what I went through in there? For you?” he screams as my heart shatters. I already called Damion to come over because I couldn’t get a handle on him right now.
“You know what I did for you, Marco. We both lost something, a piece of ourselves.”
“You killed, Chula. Mine was worse!”
“What happened?”
“You called my brother?” He snaps at me when Damion steps into the room. Marco runs his hands through his hair, tugging at the ends before he looks at Damion and back to me. “We’re doing this as a group, then?”
“Doing what?” Damion asks him.
“Talking about what happened to me. You’ve both wanted to know since I got home, right?” he asks, looking between the two of us. Hurt lances my heart. I don’t know what he went through, but I can guess, judging by the nightmares and the way he reacts to things.
“We don’t need to talk about this right now, Marco.”
“Did you know?” he asks, looking at Damion and then me. I’m confused. I don’t know what it is he’s talking about.
“About what?”
“Rafe? Did you two know?”
“Know what, Marco?” I ask him now. I don’t know what it is he’s talking about right now.
“That he was our half-brother,” he says. My stomach cramps. There’s no way.
“How do you figure?” Damion asks him now. He turns to his brother and looks at me, really looks at him.
“One of the guards gave me paperwork. Turns out our dad got around a lot. Rafe was conceived here in New York before the bastard ran to wherever the hell he is now. Rafe’s mom moved to Chicago with her family.
” I can’t listen to this. Tears fall down my cheeks as I rush to the bathroom and throw up.
I expect Damion to come in, but it’s Marco instead.
He reaches for my hair and pulls it back while I throw up.
“You couldn’t have known.”
“He raped me.” His hand tenses in my hair, tugging a little harder.
“That’s why he’s dead.”
“He was your brother,” I repeat.
“He wasn’t shit! Get that shit out of your head. That isn’t why I told you that. I needed you to know that I fucking killed my own goddamn brother for you, Chula. That’s how deep my love for you runs.” A shiver runs down my spine as he grabs a cloth and passes it to me.
“I don’t know what to say,” I whisper.
“There’s nothing to say. If that motherfucker were around now, I’d kill him again.” I wipe my face and stand as he releases my hair and steps back. Damion comes into the doorway and looks between us.
“I have people looking into it.”
“Why? I saw the paperwork,” Marco reminds him.
“Just to be sure. I don’t want you feeling some kind of way over this if it’s a lie.”
“It’s not a lie, Damion. I know it. I can feel it.”
“Is that what’s been bothering you?” Damion asks him. Marco shakes his head and motions for me to come out of the bathroom. We walk back out into the bedroom, and I sit on the edge of the bed while Damion takes the chair.
“This shit isn’t easy for me. In fact, I debated even telling you about it.”
“You don’t have to,” I remind him. He smiles over at me, but it’s a sad smile.
“Yeah, I do. I need you to know why I am the way I am now.”
“How are you now?” Damion asks as he looks between me and Marco.
“I’m …”
“He’s rough. But it’s nothing, I don’t mind,” I blurt out. “He barely sleeps.”
“Rough how?” Damion growls.
“He doesn’t hurt me if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I was raped.” His words ring through the air and slam into my chest. A gasp escapes my throat as bile once again fills my throat. Damion makes a move to come toward Marco, but he throws his hand up and steps away.
“No. No. Don’t you come over here touching me, Damion. Don’t try to hug me or pat me on the back,” he tells him.
“I’m just trying to be your brother, Marco.”
“Well, don’t. Not right now. Let me finish.”
“Go ahead,” he tells him, motioning for Marco to go on.
“When I first went in, I was a target. They saw the new guys come in, and it was like a fucking feast for them. I was raped and beaten. Beaten more times than I care to count,” he says as he instinctively reaches up and runs his fingers over the scar on his face. “I joined up with a gang inside.”
“What?” Damion snaps at him. My hand comes up to cover my mouth because I can’t believe that he’d do that, not after everything else that happened.
“I needed protection. Where the fuck was I going to get that from?”
“Another fucking crew, Marco? And a prison crew at that? What the fuck were you thinking?” Damion roars this time.
“I was thinking how I wanted to live! I was thinking that I wanted to see my girl again!” He yells back at him. My heart couldn’t beat faster than it is right now. It’s hammering against my ribs, and all I can think is this is my fault.
“I should have run,” I mumble under my breath.
“Don’t start that shit,” Damion yells at me. I climb off the bed and pace the room, running my hand through my hair.
“I should have fucking run! He told me! You told me to, Marco, and I sat there like a goddamn fool!” I scream louder this time.
But this time it isn’t Damion that moves.
It’s Marco. His hand wraps around the back of my neck, and he jerks my face closer to his.
I can feel his breath as it dances along my heated face.
“I warned you to stop saying that shit. What happened, happened. It wasn’t your fault.”
“You’re stuck with another crew, Marco!”
“I’m not stuck with shit!”
“What do they want you to do?” Damion asks him, but his eyes are on mine.
“They want one kill. That’s it.”
“What? No,” I tell him.
“I can’t not do it. They have ties outside the prison, Chula.”
“This is so fucked up. If you get caught again, you’ll never get out!” Damion roars as his hands fist at his sides. I shake my head. There’s no way. No way that he can do this to me. He can’t leave me. Not again.
“You promised me. You said you’re never leaving me again, Marco.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Chula. I’m here. I’ll always be here.”
“You can’t know that. Not if you’re out killing someone. Don’t do this. I’m begging you not to do this,” I tell him as I reach up and grab his face in my hands. “Please, Marco. For me.”
“I don’t have a choice.”
“Yeah, you do. Be with me, Marco. Choose me.”