"What the fuck does it matter? Just stay out of my goddamn business. We clear?"
"What's all the commotion for boys? Everything all right in here? Gotta say, I knew you two would come to blows eventually, but I thought you'd last more than five minutes." Minnie says as soon as she steps into the kitchen.
"This fucking jerk off is trying to tell me who I can and can't fuck. I mean come on, is he for fucking real?"
"Who Anna? What's the problem with Anna, Mitch? She's a good kid. Sure she's obviously got a fucked up past, but I'm sure it's nothing on you two. Everyone's hiding from something, right?"
"That's the thing Min. He has no idea who she is and it's best for everyone if he takes a step back. Seriously. I'm not saying forever, just for now. Just until I know what's about to go down." Mitchell doesn't look at me. Instead, he pulls himself up and makes his way over to Minnie. Normally I'd be happy that the two of them are finally back together, but right now, I need to get out of this house and calm myself down before I say or do something that I can't take back.
"I'm done here. I've got shit to sort. Oh, and if you were wondering where I'd got to, then I was fucking held against my will by that fucking jerk-off who's got a problem with you, but don't worry about it, it's okay. Don't you worry yourself about it, I'll deal with it on my fucking own as usual."
"J, get back here now, goddamn it." Mitchell shouts and I know he isn't messing with his harsh tone. "What do you mean? What jerk-off?"
I pause for a minute, debating whether or not I should turn back around and give him the time of day after the way he's acted this morning. I guess he needs to know and I'd rather he found out from me and not when they actually come looking for him. One thing I've never been is a douche. Especially when it comes to the people who are close to me. I always have and always will do whatever I can to protect them and keep them safe. I step back into the kitchen and I can feel both Minnie and Mitchell's eyes burning into me.
"Fucking spill it, goddamn it."
"Dominic..." I begin but he's across the room faster than I can blink.
"Dominic came for you? When? Why am I only just finding this out now?"
"Seeing as though I only got back here in the early hours and I didn't even know you were here, I guess I've not had much of a chance to tell you."
"That can't be right. Are you sure it was him? One of my guys told me he'd been dealt with, that's why I let it drop."
"Well maybe you need to find another reliable source, because I shit you not, that bastard had me tied up for fucking days while he was waiting for you to be released."
"So where is he now? What happened?"
"Oh no, you're not going anywhere Mitchell Blake. You've only just got back. I'm not about to just sit back and watch you end up back there." I look over to Minnie and tears are already falling down her face. Now I wish I'd kept it to myself a little longer, at least until she was out of ear shot.
"You ain't gotta worry about me going anywhere, baby. There's only one person going somewhere and that's Dominic when I plant him six fucking feet under."
Anna
"Hey you. What are you doing here? I thought you'd be holed up with Mitchell for the foreseeable?" I call out as soon as I see Minnie walking through the doors of Temptation. We're not even open yet, so I thought here would be the perfect place to get some work done without any distractions, but obviously not.
"You'd like to think so, huh? What did I tell you about those Blake boys? Not one of them can stay out of trouble for long."
"Have you spoken to Jensen?" Maybe she managed to get more out of him than I did about his disappearance.
"I didn't really have a chance. But you were right. He didn't just up and leave Anna. Some guy that Mitchell knows came looking for him and Jensen ended up in the firing line. He actually ended up being a fucking pawn in this guys dirty, fucked up little game, but he managed to get out of there in one piece. Thank god. It could have been so much worse."
None of this sounds pretty good to me. I knew something wasn't right as soon as he didn't come back home, but I allowed myself to believe that it was my goddamn paranoia taking hold of me again. "Did he say who it was?" I ask eager to find out, silently praying that it can't be possible for my past to come crashing back into my life. But then if it's someone looking for Mitchell, then it has to be Dominic, or one of his guys.
"None of that really matters Anna. Like I told you before, you need to make sure you stay the hell out of this."
"It's not that easy Minnie..." I say, almost letting slip that I could be the cause of this, but I stop just in time. There's a slim chance, and it's by far a pretty slim chance that this is completely different and I don't want to open up a whole can of worms for no goddamn reason.
"Anna. Seriously, stay out of it. The boys are big enough to handle it and it would only be stupid for you to willingly drag yourself into this mess."
"But what about Mitchell? Surely he'd want to keep his head down?"
"You're telling me. I've tried to reason with him, I've tried to make him see sense, but it's no fucking good. Once that man has his mind set up about something, ain't no one changing his mind for him. All I can do is hope and pray that I don't get a goddamn phone call later telling me that he's back inside."
"Is Jensen with him?" Oh fuck. None of this is good. I need to speak to Jensen, I need to try and persuade him to stay away if it is Dominic. But why would he listen to me?
"Hey ladies. Any news on Jensen yet?" I let out a disgruntled moan, unable to hide it at the sound of Boyd's voice. I don't know what it is, but something about him gets my back up whenever he is around. I never had a problem with him until he started acting like my goddamn body guard, but now? Now he grates on my every last nerve.
"All is well in the world of Jensen, my friend." Minnie says as he pulls out a seat next to her at the bar. "He arrived home safe and sound sometime this morning. I'm surprised you've not heard from him actually. You guys are like connected all the time."
"Ah I'm sure he'll call when he's ready. Right now I could do with a drink. Is he not calling in here today, then?"
"Probably at some point." I say. "Guys, I'm not being rude, but I'm gonna take this into the office. I need to finish it by the end of the week." I say and nod to the pile of paperwork spread out across the bar in front of me.
"No worries." Minnie smiles at me. "We can hold the fort here, ain't that right, Boyd?"
"We're not due to open for another couple of hours so I'm sure I'll be fine."
"Anna, were staying here. Okay?" I take one last look at Minnie's set face and head off towards the office. I can already tell that it's going to be another one of those days. Minnie is going to be watching me like a hawk, that's for sure.
After a few hours, the office door swings open and Mitchell walks in with Jensen.
"This right here is the office. Not many people come in here, but... Anna, what are you doing in here?" He asks, while looking at me with a mixture of surprise and lust. My body tingles just from looking at his perfection. This guy really is something else.
"Working, what does it look like?" I reply sarcastically. I'm still pretty pissed at him holding back from me this morning, but now I really need to speak to him and tell him what I think I know. "Actually Jensen, when you get a minute, I need to talk to you."
"Yeah, sure. Just let me give Mitchell the tour and set him to work and I'll be right back in."
"Actually. Why don't we all have a drink together first?" Mitchell asks while never taking his eyes from mine. "I'll have a beer and what do you fancy Anna?"
"Erm, I'm good." The look on Mitchell's face is confusing me. It's like he's weighting me up, yet this morning we were perfectly fine in the kitchen.
"J, grab her an orange. I think it's about time that we all sat down together to discuss a few things. Iron a few creases out that have appeared, if you know what I mean?"
Jensen looks just as confused as me, yet Mitchell continues to smile
directly at me. As soon as Jensen leaves the office, Mitchell walks right over to me and leans down. Now that he's in my personal space, I feel a little bit panicked.
"He's got no fucking clue who you are does he? You're fucking my brother and he hasn't got a fucking clue how dangerous that is. What are you playing at Anna?"
"What?" I ask, completely shocked at his outburst.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about."
"Listen, it's got nothing to do with you. When Jensen suddenly appeared in my life and took over my bar and my house, I had no fucking clue who he was. I had no clue, none whatsoever until last night when you appeared outside my house and turned my world upside down again."
"You wanna know where he's been these past couple of days Anna? He was fucking held against his will by Dominic. He thought he'd play with my little brother because of me, because of you, because of us."
My heart sinks at his words. A massive part of me knew that Dominic was a huge part in this. I knew he wouldn't let it drop, and now Jensen's involved in it all. "How..."
"Never mind how. We need to sit down and tell Jensen everything Anna. He needs to know, he deserves to know. I gave you one chance Anna. A chance to run and never look back. That's all you had to do. Run and keep your goddamn head down, but here we are and it's not just you in the firing line anymore. You better pray that nothing bad happens to my brother, because next time I'll be taking you down with me. He can fuck with me all he likes, but he sure as hell isn't messing with Jensen.
"I can't do that. There's no way that he can find out..." I know Mitchell is being serious and I don't blame him. How has all of this happened? I've been praying for Jensen to come back to me safely and now his brother has turned up and my life is being flipped upside down again.
"Find out about what?" Jensen's voice sends a shiver down my body. One of pure terror. As soon as he knows that I used to be involved with Dominic, he'll think I'm just like him and I took part in the fucked up shit that he did. He'll never want to look at me again and I know for a fact that this time, I'll lose him completely.
The office remains silent for sometime and I'm unable to look at either one of them. Instead, I idly trace over what I have already drafted on my papers in front of me. Wow, this is awkward.
"J, Anna's got something that she needs to tell you." My head snaps up at Mitchell's words and my eyes meet Jensen's. He looks a little lost and I've got no idea what I'm supposed to say to him. I can't believe Mitchell has just done that. Now that I know it was Dominic who captured Jensen, I know that I'll have to tell him everything eventually if not soon; but I wanted to do it on my own terms. The things that I'll need to tell him isn't something that I can just come out with. Jeez if I do it will all come out so wrong.
"You do, huh?" He asks while waiting for me to talk. "Listen, if it's about this morning then I get it Anna. Really I do, but surely we can talk about that later?"
My whole body begins to shake as I'm faced with destroying what could have been my future. My only one true chance of being happy. Yet, now I'm being forced to watch as it alls comes falling down around me. It takes me a little while to compose myself, and I take a long breath of air before I meet his eyes again. "It's got nothing to do with this morning. Well, I guess it does, but it's not why I went off on one."
"Okay, you know you're not making any sense right now don't you?"
"That's just the thing." I reply, but my eyes rest on Mitchell. "None of this makes any fucking sense. I wish it did, at least that way it would be goddamn easier for me to try and explain."
"Just tell him Anna. He needs to know." Mitchell demands. He's not playing fair. I get that Jensen needs to know, hell; now I need him to know. But Mitchell isn't being reasonable here, he's forcing me to come clean against my will and before I'm even ready.
"Know what? One of you better start taking and fast, because I'm going fucking crazy here. I've been through fucking hell and back these past couple of days and now I've got you two throwing fucking riddles at me."
"Jensen, I...." I try to get my words out, but nothing leaves my lips. My whole body has gone in to melt down. Shit, if I thought my life was bad with Dominic, then it's got nothing on what I feel like right now. I can't bear the thought of Jensen looking at me differently. Instead of passion and hunger in his eyes when he looks at me, they'll soon be replaced with anger and hate. "I can't do this. I'm sorry, I just can't."
I quickly gather my papers together in a rush and dart out of the door. I don't look back, I can't look back, because I know as soon as I see his face, I'll crumble. Now, after this I know things will never be the same between us again. I used to date the guy that tried to kill him for fuck sake. I'm the reason his brother did a stint in jail and I'm the reason his whole world is about to come crashing down. I know this, because Mitchell is going to tell him every sordid little detail. He gave me a chance to explain it all to him and I bailed. I lost my shit and bailed once again, but this time I didn't do it to escape the guy that I was with. I've done it because I'm too scared to lose the man that I love.
Jensen
"You wanna tell me what that shit was about?" I've got no fucking idea why Anna has just stormed out of the office without so much as a backwards glance and now Mitchell's sat next to me with his head hanging low. "I'm fucking talking to you, goddamnit. Answer me."
"Listen J, I don't really think it's my place."
"It's not your place, huh? You better fucking make it your place seeing as you were the one to bring whatever this shit is, up."
"Like I said before, you've got no fucking idea who she is do you?"
I look at my brother and take him in. I know he's itching to tell me something, but his riddles are driving me insane. "Does it really matter who she is? Scrap that, you seem to know a lot about her, so why don't you tell me who she is and why this is such a big fucking deal." It feels like a lifetime until he speaks again and when he does, ain't shit that could have prepared me for what leaves his mouth.
"She's Dominic's ex, J. Now do you understand?"
Mitchell's face remains impassive as he waits for my response. This has got to be some kind of fucked up joke. There's no fucking way a girl like Anna, my Anna, could be involved with a goddamn psycho like that. No fucking way.
"Bullshit." I spit out, still waiting for the punch line to Mitchell's fucked up joke.
"I wish it was, but it's nothing but the truth, J. I only found out when I saw her back at yours when I arrived. Then when I saw you both this morning I knew something was going down between the two of you."
"Why would she be with a jerk like that? She's well fucking rid of him, that's for sure."
"That's just it. Do you not remember anything in that goddamn pretty head of yours, little brother?"
"I'm not following." My fingers fiddle with the pen on the desk. I need something to distract me. I need something to keep my mind focused on so I don't lash out at the wrong person.
"That night at the raid, well the night that I got nicked for Dominic's shit. Well, I was only there because of Anna. I stopped by Dominic's house to arrange the next drop off and he wasn't home. Anna answered the door and told me to come in. Fuck, I'd only met her a couple of times but she was a hot mess. I don't know what he'd been doing to her, but if it was anything like those girls that he had then she needed to get out of there and fast. She begged and pleaded with me to get her out of the house. I tried to say no, knowing she was safe where she was and not messed up with his shit, but she looked so lost that I thought what the hell."
"Go on..."
"As soon as we arrived and Dominic saw her, he went mental. I mean completely bat shit crazy. I know he's always been a crazy son of a bitch, but this was on a completely different level altogether. I can't begin to imagine what was going through her head. Girls were everywhere, naked and sprawled out on the nearest available cock. Come to think of it, I think Dominic's was in someone's mouth at the time. I'll never forget her face. Never have I e
ver witnesses someone look so broken. I knew that I needed to get her out of there and fast, but she must have called the cops while I was trying to distract Mitchell."
"Why did you never tell me any of this?" I ask him. All I knew was that Mitchell had been caught up in a drug bust and everyone left him to take the blame.
"Listen, I never thought that I'd have to tell anyone the whole story. Not until I saw the way you was looking at Anna this morning. She's not a bad chick, J. I just think her getting involved with someone so soon after what she's been through might be too much. Especially with your track record."
"I've never met anyone like Anna before. She blows my fucking mind and just because she was with that psycho doesn't make me feel any differently about her."
"Well that's good to know. But how do you think she'll feel about being around you now that you know what she's been running from?"
"What does she need to run from? Dominic ain't gonna go near her again. I'll make fucking sure of it." I still need to make the prick pay for what he did to me. Now, throwing Anna into the mix makes me so fucking angry.
"Before he escaped like the little pussy that he really is, he made a beeline for Anna and tried to drag her with him. When she decided that she no longer wanted to be a part of his games, he lashed out at her. Full on punched her in the face as if she was a bloke and swore that he would hunt her down and anyone that got close to her. He promised to burn them alive J, and I don't doubt him for a second. I just knew I had to get her out of there and away from him. I had just enough time to give her some money and tell her to go and never look back before the cops arrived. Anna must have called them when everything was kicking off."
"Why the hell would she call the cops?"
"J, you're forgetting the most important part here. She may have been with Dominic, but he made sure she stayed out of that lifestyle. As long as she was at home with a meal on the table for him, he was a happy guy and she was obviously none the wiser."
Betrayal (Obsession Book 2) Page 8