Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“He was unarmed,” I mumbled, trying to piece the exact story together.
Mark nodded, watching my reaction. I knew what that meant, I didn’t have to be a lawyer to know which side of the law that put him on.
“But there was no guarantee he would get out,” I floundered. “He would have gone away for life, surely?”
“Are you sure?” Damien interrupted. “I’m studying law and let me tell you something, sometimes the criminals get away with doing very bad things. Life is not fair.”
“But he tried to shoot up a school,” I argued. “There is no way he would have gotten away with that.”
“And if he had played the insanity card?” Mark questioned softly.
“He would have gotten a few years in a mental facility but eventually he would have gotten out,” Damien informed me.
I got it. There were so many variables and there had been no guarantee at the time that Haven’s stepfather would have gone to prison forever.
Haven was still seated across the table, looking more withdrawn. I couldn’t imagine what she had been through, not just the multiple times her stepfather had tried to kill her, but all those years of abuse. And her mother.
How did someone carry on after something like that? But here she was in front of me, with the man in her life attentive to her every need. When she was upset, he held her hand, when she quieted, he reassured her with his touch, and when she needed support, he put his arm around her.
It made all my issues look like a picnic. It was grounding and put a lot into perspective for me.
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” I said to Haven. She withdrew her hands from the table.
“Mark saved our lives,” she responded. “Because of what he did… I’ve been able to try to live my life without fear.”
I nodded.
“We got our stories straight and told the cops Mark shot Grant in self-defense when he tried to attack him,” she added. “With no reason not to believe us, they never investigated it further.”
I digested that information quietly.
“The question is are you going to be able to keep our secret?” This came from her husband beside her.
There was no hesitation on my part. “I’ll never breathe a word to anyone.”
Damien held my gaze for a few moments, probably trying to gauge if I were telling the truth. “You understand that if this gets out, Mark will pay the highest price.”
I nodded. I had more to lose than him.
Mark had been quiet beside me. “I think it’s time to go.”
“Our visits are never long enough.” Haven rose.
When I stood, my legs felt a little shaky. Mark led the way to the front door.
“I’ll see you guys in a month,” he said, shaking hands with Damien and Chris before hugging Haven while I stood beside him.
“I hope next time Tracy will join you again,” Haven said, giving me a friendly smile, which was a lot coming from her.
“I’d like that,” I murmured. I was being allowed into a tightly knit group.
Mark was quiet when we started our trip back. I kept my mouth shut as well, not wanting to start a conversation with him yet. I wanted to wait until we got back to either his or my apartment.
When we arrived at his apartment, I was ready to say all the things that had built up in the car ride.
Not once did he touch me when he opened the door, or when we stood in the elevator. Was this his way of withdrawing from me? Even when we entered his apartment, he kept his distance.
“Are you going to talk to me?” I asked, throwing my purse onto the sofa before sitting down.
He studied me. “I let you in and now I need to know if you’re going to stay.” There was so much emotion in his voice.
“Does it look like I’m leaving?” I moved to him.
“Are you sure?” he asked softly when I put my hand to his cheek.
“Yes, I don’t understand why you would think that would change anything for me?” I searched his features, looking for something more. “You did something selflessly for someone else. She is lovely and I can see why you did what you did.”
For me it was that simple.
“You see them regularly?” I asked, remembering how Mark had mentioned it had been a month since he had last seen Haven.
He nodded. “Once a month.”
“On Sundays?” I questioned, having noticed some time ago that he missed a lunch at my parents’ place once a month .
He nodded again.
“Why would you think finding out about Haven’s stepfather would push me away?” I asked.
He moved back and I gave him the space he seemed to need, hoping he would open up.
“There was an incident when I was younger.” He quieted.
“What happened?”
He walked over to the window and stared at the city landscape. “Before high school, I went to a private school. Boys with too much money or power are never a good combination.”
I waited patiently, trying not to interrupt with more questions.
“One guy named Ethan was always causing trouble and bullying the weaker boys. Initially it started with the odd insult but began to build up until he and his group of thugs got physical.”
I frowned.
“It’s not in my nature to stand by and do nothing. So, one day when a fight started, I got involved.” His shoulders were tense. “He hit me first so I retaliated. He hit the floor but he…never got back up.”
His voice was filled with regret. It hurt to hear it. This time I approached him but it was like he was still tightly gripped in the past.
“You never meant for that to happen,” I whispered, trying to understand the guilt and heaviness of what had happened.
“That didn’t matter to his parents. Their son was dead and I was the one who was responsible.
The circumstances were irrelevant. My parents made it clear that I had tarnished the family name and I finished the rest of the year being homeschooled while charges were brought against me, but because of my age and my family, it was swept under the rug without any permanent record.
Then I went to a public high school, as far away as possible from the high society that had judged me as no more than a murderer. ”
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I never fit in before and, after that, I stopped trying.”
I came up behind him and put my arms around his waist, leaning my head against his shoulders. His cologne filled me with a comforting warmth.
“It wasn’t your fault, it was an unfortunate accident,” I murmured, feeling his shame and guilt.
“It’s one of the reasons I gravitated to becoming a bodyguard. I liked the control I was taught and I knew exactly how much force to use without hurting someone like I had with Ethan. It gave me a peace I never thought I would ever have. If I kept the control, it would never happen again.”
I understood, even when I had issues of my own with his and my brother’s profession. “I’m sorry you have parents who didn’t know how to love you.”
I held him tighter. He turned to face me and held me. “When my parents couldn’t get over that, I didn’t think you would be able to see past what I did with Haven’s stepfather.”
Now I understood why he had believed it would be a deal-breaker. “I loved you before and I still love you now. None of what you have told me today changes any of that.”
His lips brushed my forehead in a feathered kiss. “I don’t deserve you.”
“Yes, you do,” I breathed. “You’re a remarkably brave man and I’ll be here to remind you.”
He looked down at me. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
His lips brushed softly against mine and I was lost in the touch of his mouth on mine. Nothing other than the two of us mattered in that moment.
For the first time in what felt like ages, we had nothing standing in the way of us and it felt so good. He deepened the kiss, making my toes curl .
“Remember all those things I wanted to do to you?” I whispered against his lips.
“I’m game.” He took my hand and led me to his bedroom.
I smiled knowingly at him when he closed the door and began to unbutton his shirt. I had never been so happy. I wanted to stay in the moment and savor every second of it.
It had been a couple of weeks of bliss, when I overheard Mark speaking to my brother on the phone.
“How long is the assignment?” he murmured, moving to another room to get more privacy.
I knew they weren’t really allowed to talk about their jobs, but I wanted to hear more.
Our relationship was stronger since I found out about Haven and Ethan.
I understood him more and I believed it helped me navigate the initial teething issues of our union.
Although I had worked as usual, Mark had been happy to tag along to spend time with me. This was the first time his work had been mentioned and an anxious knot settled in my stomach.
I had never been completely on board with his or my brother’s profession, but it had been easier to accept when it hadn’t really been happening. But he was in the room next door, talking about taking an assignment.
Knowing he was good at his job didn’t lessen the worry that something could happen to him. Look at what had happened to Matthew? He had been shot protecting Sarah. Just thinking of something like that happening to Mark stole the breath from my lungs and it was impossible to breathe.
Stop it, I admonished myself. Get a grip. He’ll be fine.
None of those words directed at myself stopped me from allowing it to play havoc with my mind or emotions .
It was about ten minutes before he reappeared in the living room where I had been anxiously waiting for him.
“Erm, what was that about?” I asked, trying not to sound as worried as I felt as I paged through the magazine I had been reading before, but none of the pages registered as all I could think about was what had been going on in his conversation with my brother.
“I have an assignment starting tomorrow,” he said, dropping to sit beside me.
“Tomorrow is Sunday,” I argued. We usually spent it with my parents.
“It’s only for a week.”
Seven days. That wasn’t that long.
He studied me, but when I wouldn’t look at him, he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “Are you going to be okay with this?”