18. Iris
18
IRIS
“Has everything died down?” Mikayla asks, catching me off guard.
“Everything?” I ask her, confused about what she means by everything.
“The Lucas thing. No sighting of anyone strange lurking around?”
I shake my head as I sip my mocktail. Brax isn’t coming over tonight, and I’m not going to risk drinking and being alone. Who knows what I would do if left to my own unconscious devices. “Nope. Nothing.”
Sandy leans back into the booth, twisting her martini glass between her fingertips. “Well, thank goodness for that. He’s officially in your past.”
“I thought he was before until he called me out of the blue. ”
“He’s a weasel,” Mikayla says, curling her top lip. “I never liked him.”
“Never?”
She never said a bad word about him when we were dating. She didn’t go out of her way to say good things, but she never said anything negative or that would give me pause when I accepted his proposal.
“Never.” Her voice is firm as she says that word. “There was always something off about him.”
“And Brax?” I ask her because she hasn’t said anything bad about him either, and now I’m wondering if she’s remaining quiet or if she truly likes him.
“Solid family. He’s kind. Good-sized penis,” she says.
I nearly cough out my drink. “Good? It’s more than good.”
“Okay… He’s well-endowed. Better?”
“It’s pretty.”
Sandy snorts. “No penis is pretty.”
“Decorated ones are,” I say quickly.
Mikayla’s eyebrows shoot up. “What? You never told us that little bit. What kind of decoration are we talking about?”
“He has a piercing.”
Mikayla swats my hand. “Bad girl for not telling us that earlier.”
“I didn’t know you needed to know everything about his…you know. ”
“We don’t need to know everything, but a piercing is crucial information,” Mikayla says.
“It is?” I ask.
She nods. “What kind are we talking about?”
I stir my drink, wishing it were alcohol at this point because talking about Brax’s penis with my friends feels like a situation where I should be thoroughly sauced. “Metal.”
Mikayla rolls her eyes and groans. “Well, no shit, but what kind?”
I shrug a shoulder. “I don’t have a clue about any of that.”
Mikayla abandons her drink and picks up her phone, tapping away on the screen. I glance at Sandy while she does that, and Sandy gives me a quick shrug.
“What are you doing?” I ask Mikayla.
She turns the phone screen toward me, and it’s littered with penises of all sizes, and each one of them has a different piercing. “Which one?”
It feels all kinds of wrong to be looking at so many, especially ones of people I don’t know. But my eyes catch on one that looks like Brax’s, and I point at it.
“Nice,” she says as a smile pulls at her lips. “Ampallangs are sweet.”
“Lemme see,” Sandy says, pulling Mikayla’s phone away from me. “Ooh. That’s hot.”
“Did you feel it?” Mikayla asks me.
“I think so. ”
“Did you orgasm while he fucked you?”
I glance around the bar, wondering if anyone can hear us. “Yes,” I admit.
Mikayla’s smile grows wider. “About damn time you found a man who can please you.”
“That one’s a keeper,” Sandy says, handing Mikayla back her phone. “He’s got a good family who seems to like you, solid job, and he’s good to you. What more can a girl ask for?”
“There’s more to relationships than that,” I tell her.
“Right. I forgot. He gave you an orgasm. Can’t forget that important nugget,” Sandy adds.
“He has my nod of approval. Something Lucas never had,” Mikayla says. “He better put a ring on it.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”
“Not every man is a shithead like Lucas, baby,” Mikayla says, pressing a few more buttons on her phone. “I got to run. I have a date with a hot fireman tonight, and he’s waiting on me a few blocks away.”
“This was your pregame?”
“Yes, Iris. That way, when I have two drinks with him, he won’t know I’ve really had three. I don’t want to seem like I have a drinking problem.”
“You put thought into it. Maybe you do have a drinking problem, Mikayla,” I tell her.
“I have a man problem. They’re different,” she explains as she leans over to kiss my cheek and then kiss Sandy’s. “You two have fun. I know I will.” She laughs as she strolls away from us and heads toward the door.
“You want to go? I’ll walk with you,” Sandy offers. “I’m over the bar scene tonight.”
“Yeah, I’m ready,” I tell her, fishing out two twenties from my purse and tossing them on the table because it’s my turn to pay.
Sandy talks the entire walk, telling me everything about the guy she’s seeing, who sounds like a complete douchebag, but she seems happy. That’s all that matters. The bar is only two blocks away from my place, and Sandy lives in the next building. Although it’s close, my toes go numb in my boots on the short walk. I fight through the frigid temperatures because it’s better than trying to find parking near the bar.
“Well, call me if you get bored. I’m just going to binge something.” Sandy gives me a kiss.
“I think I’m going right to bed. It’s been a long week.”
“The weather doesn’t help,” she says to me as I kiss her back.
“That it doesn’t.”
“Bye, babe,” she says as she takes a step away from me.
“Bye, girly pop.”
She laughs as she turns her back, heading home.
I stay on the sidewalk, waiting for her to make it to her building before I head toward the entrance of mine. A girl can never be too careful, especially when it’s dark outside.
The doorman to our small building isn’t in the lobby to greet me. Sometimes he disappears into the storage room to find a package or to take a quick break from the monotony of sitting by himself for hours.
I opt for the stairs instead of the elevator to get to my third-floor apartment, wanting the exercise and because I don’t entirely trust the old elevators in the building either.
The Christmas wreath I haven’t taken down yet is crooked on my door, and I push it a little to the side to make it right again before I unlock the door.
When I step inside, I’m blasted by the hot air against my cold, exposed flesh. I sigh, wishing I could live somewhere tropical because my body wasn’t meant for the cold.
I get one arm out of my coat before I hear, “Don’t scream.”
In a situation like this, I’d like to think I would scream. That my voice could wake the dead. But when faced with a fight-or-flight-mode situation, my entire body locks up like I’m frozen.
Lucas steps out of the dark kitchen into the soft light of the living room from the few lamps I left on. “I needed to talk to you.”
I touch my chest, trying to get my heart to calm down once it starts to beat again. “What are you doing here?” I ask in a rush as I tear off my coat and let it drop to the floor. I don’t bother taking off my boots because I may need them to run. At least I still have that much sense left in my head.
“I need a place to hide out.”
“And that’s my problem, because?” I ask him, lifting my chin as I cock my head.
The balls on this guy. A man who shattered my heart. He wants me to do him a favor when all he’s done is bring misery into my life.
“Nowhere else is safe for me.”
I remember a time when I thought Lucas was my safe place and person. Boy, how I was wrong. Even now, he’s more worried about his life than making sure I keep mine.
“You’re not staying here.”
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out, seeing a message from Brax.
Brax: I’m off early tonight. My brother took over. I’m headed to your place for the night. Halfway there.
“Whoever it is, don’t answer them,” Lucas says like he’s somehow the one in control.
“Fine,” I tell him, because I know once Brax gets here, all hell will break loose.
All I have to do is keep Lucas talking without him laying his hands on me. He doesn’t look quite like himself. His eyes are sunken in, and his clothes are disheveled. Gone is the businessman I fell in love with. It was all a facade to hide the ugly underneath .
He never physically hurt me before, but the man standing in front of me in no way resembles the person he was before.
Now, he is running for his life. And when someone’s back is against the wall, anything is possible.
I need to remain calm, something I’m not always good at, and keep him far enough away from me so that I don’t freeze up again.
Brax is coming. He’ll fix this. He’ll protect me.
“It’ll only be for a few days,” he says to me, pulling me back to the favor he somehow thinks I’ll be willing to grant him.
“No, Lucas. You’re not my problem anymore. You made sure of that a long time ago. You’re on your own.”
Lucas stumbles back into my favorite recliner and sits as he looks up at me with pleading eyes. When we were a couple, that look got him almost anything he asked for, but now…nope. “Do you want me to die?”
Oh. He’s tugging on the heartstrings, thinking I’m the same girl he asked to marry him. She died a long time ago and doesn’t care one bit about the hole Lucas dug himself into.
“Were you doing this shit when we were together?” I ask, remaining by the door.
“What shit?”
“Borrowing money from gangsters, Lucas. Don’t play stupid. ”
He runs his hand through his hair, making the wild mane look a bit crazier. “No.” He exhales and hangs his head. “Maybe.”
I sigh, hating that I didn’t see all the signs back then. I could’ve saved myself a lot of heartache if I hadn’t been so blinded by my love for him.
“What the hell did you need two million dollars for?”
He lifts his head slowly, and there are tears in his eyes. Do I think they’re tears of remorse? Absolutely not. He’s worried about his life, but he had no problem coming here and putting mine in danger…again.
“I fucked up.”
“Well, duh. But how?”
“I lost all my client’s money and needed fast cash to make the problem disappear. I thought I could make it all back by shorting the market, but I was wrong.”
Wrong is an understatement.
What a dumbass plan.
“How did you lose their money?” I ask to keep him talking.
“Same way I lost the two million,” he whispers.
I roll my eyes. The man I once thought was so smart is really as dumb as a box of rocks. That’s what my dad would say about him if he heard this stupidity.
“Give me until tomorrow at least,” he continues to beg. “I need one good night’s sleep, and then I’ll be gone forever. Your new boyfriend doesn’t even have to know I was ever here.”
He’s about to get a rude awakening when Brax shows up. Hopefully traffic isn’t bad or there isn’t an accident on the Kennedy. “Only one night?”
Lucas nods. “Only one.”
He looks so hopeful, I almost feel guilty that his excitement won’t last long. But I need to keep him calm until Brax shows up. “Fine. One night and then I never want to see you again.”
“Thank you,” he breathes.
“The spare bed is made up. I don’t want to see you until the morning.”
He stands, wiping his palms against his pants. “Got it. I’ll get out of your hair.”
“And I want you gone before I get up,” I tell him, trying to play along and make this as believable as possible.
He nods. “I’ll be gone at sunrise.”
“Good.”
“It was nice to see you, though, Iris.”
“I can’t say the same, Lucas.”
It feels empowering talking to him in this way. There’s no softness to me. No hurt left. No tears of sadness for the ways he hurt me. He no longer means anything to me, and he can finally see that.
He gives me a sad, one-sided smile before he leaves me standing in the living room and heads into the spare bedroom, closing the door.
I immediately text Brax.
Me: Lucas is here.
Brax: WHAT?
Me: He was in my apartment waiting for me. He wanted a place to stay. I told him he could use the spare bedroom because I was too scared to kick him out, and I knew you were on the way. He’s in there now, and I’m by the door with my boots on, waiting for you.
Brax: I’m parking now. Don’t go near him.
He didn’t need to add the last part. I’m not about to go into the bedroom and continue having a conversation with Lucas.
The few minutes it takes Brax to park and come upstairs feel like hours. My heart leaps as I hear the ding from the elevator a few doors away.
I press my ear to the wood, listening for his footsteps, and as soon as he’s close, I open it. “Hey,” I whisper.
His face is nothing short of rageful, but I know it’s not aimed at me. “Is he in there?”
I nod. “Back bedroom.”
“Go down the hall or to the lobby. I’ll deal with him,” he demands in a tone I’ve never heard from him before.
I’m not about to argue. I want to be as far away from Lucas as possible because I know this will turn physical, given that Lucas is fighting for his life.
“Be careful,” I tell Brax.
He wraps his hand around the back of my neck, hauling me forward for a kiss. His eyes search mine for a brief second before his lips crash down on mine. “Go,” he murmurs against my mouth as soon as he breaks the too-short kiss.
I hate to walk away and leave Brax alone with Lucas. I have full faith that Brax can handle him, but what if Lucas has a weapon? It never even crossed my mind because the man I was engaged to never would’ve carried a gun. But this version of him may very well be willing to do the unthinkable to keep himself alive.
I don’t bother with the elevator, opting for the stairwell again. I haul ass down the steps to the lobby, coming to a stop when I rip the door open.
“Hey there, Ms. Iris,” the doorman says as his eyes study me longer than normal. “Something wrong?”
“No, Mr. Williams. I forgot to get my mail earlier,” I lie, and it slides off my tongue like warm butter.
“Gotcha,” he says, finally smiling at me like he always does.
But then I realize Brax is going to haul Lucas downstairs, and Mr. Williams is going to have a lot of questions.
“Mr. Williams, do you remember Lucas? ”
“Your ex?” he asks.
I nod. “He broke in to my apartment tonight, and my boyfriend is upstairs dealing with him. I don’t want you to panic,” I say just as he’s reaching for the phone, probably about to call the police. “He’s taking care of him and will remove him from the building. I just wanted you to be aware of the situation.”
“Do you want me to call the cops?”
I shake my head and walk up to his desk, leaning against it because my heart is going so fast I’m scared I’m going to faint. “No. We have it handled.”
“Do you need your locks changed? I can have that done for you tomorrow.”
“Please,” I say, hanging my head to take a few deep breaths. “He obviously still has a key because the door was locked when I got home tonight.”
“It’ll be done, Ms. Iris.”
I smile at Mr. Williams. He’s always been such a huge help, and I don’t think the building would be the same without him.
The elevator doors close in the lobby, and I know exactly where they’re headed. Mr. Williams and I stand in silence, staring at the spot where the doors will open and hopefully Brax will have Lucas under control.
“Come back here, Ms. Iris,” Mr. Williams says, motioning in my peripheral vision for me to get behind the desk. “We don’t know what’s going to be behind those doors. ”
Shit. He’s right. I assume Brax is going to have Lucas, but what if he doesn’t? What if Lucas runs out and Brax is nowhere to be seen.
I hold my breath as the elevator dings in the lobby and the doors slide open. Brax has Lucas over his shoulder, and he’s knocked out cold.
“I got him,” Brax says as I rush toward him. “I’m taking him out of here.”
“Where?” I ask.
“The less you know, the better,” he replies, leaning forward to kiss my lips.
His right eye is red and there’s already a bruise forming, but it looks like Lucas got the worst of it.
“Are you just going to dump him somewhere?” I push, wanting to know more.
“Something like that,” he whispers.
“Let me get the door for you, sir,” Mr. Williams says, rushing around his desk to grab the giant glass door to the building.
“Are you coming back?” I ask Brax before he has a chance to carry an unconscious Lucas out of the building.
“Hopefully,” he says without a second look.