Married to the Bad Boy

by Vanessa Waltz

  The phone shakes in my hand. I don’t know what to do.

  What do you want?

  Meet me here. Now.

  The text has a map pointing to a motel outside of town. The hair rises on the back of my neck.

  No fucking way I’m meeting you there.

  Then enjoy prison, I guess.

  A shock of cold horror runs through me like a rippling wave. Prison. Either he could link the gun that shot him to me, or Tony.

  I just want to talk.

  I don’t believe that for a second.

  How stupid do you think I am? I’m not going anywhere near you.

  I wonder if the guards will let me in the cell with you if I bribe them.

  My lip curls as I stare at the screen. Fuck you. I am not going to jail, and neither is Tony. I won’t be lured into a trap.

  In the living room, I peel back the curtains and stare into the white streets, heart hammering. What should I do?

  I could meet him.

  I could kill him.

  My heart seizes at the thought. I know I’m capable. I’ll do anything to save Tony and my baby. And I owe him.

  Just look at him. Look at what you cost him.

  My heart breaks when I look at Tony’s sleeping, exhausted body. He’s been shot, and he’s had one of his molars ripped out all because of me. Rafael’s too smart to be tracked down, but maybe I can do the work for them. For fuck’s sake, I don’t want to rely on anyone anymore. I was Daddy’s girl, but I’m not anymore. I’m not just Tony’s wife, either.

  I’m Elena, and I can handle this piece of shit.

  I look at Tony, almost wishing he was awake so that he could stop me from leaving. My heart slams against my chest as I gather my purse and slip out the door, locking it behind me.

  * * *

  My footsteps echo hollowly through the mostly empty parking lot. A dirty, dingy motel lays in front of me.

  It’s dangerous. I know that, but I’m also familiar with Rafael’s moods. Now that he actually thinks he’s the father of my child, he won’t hurt me.

  Too bad I have no problem hurting him.

  I knock on the door, legs shaking as the blinds ripple near the window. The door cracks open and I stare into the nozzle of a gun.

  I knock on the door, legs shaking as the blinds ripple near the window. The door cracks open and I stare into the muzzle of a gun.

  “You’re alone?”

  A sliver of a man shows through the door.

  “Yeah.”

  “Good. Get in.”

  The door swings open and Rafael beckons me from the darkness. I hesitate, wavering on my feet, and he reaches forward and yanks me inside. The door slams shut and my back hits the solid wood as Rafael presses his angular body into mine, his hot, greedy lips at my neck. Hands touch my waist and a surge of vomit rises up my throat. I shove his chest hard and he stumbles backward.

  “Don’t fucking touch me.”

  Rafael doesn’t look as coked out as he has the last few times I’ve seen him. He wears a white tank top and dark-blue jeans, the bandage visible behind the shirt. A pained look crosses his face. For a moment I think it’s remorse, then I notice the way his hand flies to his shoulder. I realize I shoved him where his wound was. Good.

  “You wanted to talk. So talk.”

  That dangerous, calm look falls over his face as he corners me, close enough so that I can see every bit of stubble on his cheek. His lips are inches from mine, and his eyes are clear. They’re filled with deadly calm.

  Oh God. I don’t like this.

  “Let me tell you what’s going to happen if you don’t do what I say. I’ll tell the police who shot me, and after a short trial, you get a couple years in prison. Long enough for you to give birth there.”

  Where the fuck is this going?

  Horror slowly fills my chest as a creeping smile spreads over his face. God, his smile used to make me glow. Now it just makes me sick. His fingers touch my frozen cheek, then my neck.

  “They’ll take the baby away from you soon as it’s born. It’ll be ripped from your arms.”

  It’s like a gray cloud rolling over my head. I’m cast in a black shadow. Rafael seems to glorify my despair.

  “Then I establish paternity for the kid, and I take it away from you.”

  “No.”

  It’s like a whisper. It barely passes from my lips, but Rafael hears it. His fingers brush over my bottom lip.

  “Yes.”

  He can’t do this to me. An image of my swollen self, pacing the small cell of a prison cell haunts my mind. Giving birth in prison, and almost immediately having a nurse rip the child away from my arms.

  He can’t do this.

  “It’s not even your baby!”

  He raises his eyebrow, smile trembling. “Are you sure about that?”

  No, I’m not. As much as I want the baby to be Tony’s, as much as I hope that it’s his, I’m not completely sure.

  It’s a horrifying image. As far-fetched I think his plan is—it still stabs my chest like a knife. I force myself to keep calm, to make myself seem like I really believe this shit. He’ll drop his guard, and I’ll get him. Somehow.

  The room echoes with my shuddering gasps. I slump against the door, pretending to lose all strength in my limbs. Rafael wraps an arm around my waist, and I’m terrified by his warmth.

  “I don’t want to do this to us, Elena, but I will get what I want.”

  “You can’t do this to me.” I beg him with my eyes. “Please.”

  But everything he’s done soared beyond any kind of usual evil.

  I’ll kill you.

  “You’ll leave Tony, or you’ll never see your kid again.”

  “Leave Tony?”

  Leave the man I love? He must be insane if he thinks I’m going to actually go through with this, but inwardly I rejoice. He might as well have handed his head on a silver platter.

  I’ll go to Tony, sure. I’ll tell him exactly where you are.

  Rafael has the balls to grin at me. It’s a wide, self-assured grin, not unlike the one Tony gives me, but so undeserving. He’s such a piece of shit. A worm. A parasite unworthy to stand on the same ground as my beautiful, brave husband.

  Rafael’s sinewy arms wrap around me, pulling me against his chest. I ball my hands at my sides, holding them rigid as he wraps me inside his poisonous embrace.

  “We belong together.”

  “We really fucking don’t.”

  “I understand why you left, but it’s different now. I’m off the coke.” His lips hover right over my ear, just close enough to make me shiver violently. “I’ll be a good father to our kid, and I sure as shit won’t let another man come between us.”

  I let tears slip down my cheeks, and Rafael wipes them away greedily.

  “No—I don’t want—no!”

  He grabs my jaw firmly as he plants his lips against my jaw. “I won, Elena. Just accept it.”

  I won’t accept it.

  The police in Montreal are not going to give a shit about a suspect for attempted murder if I’m in New York. They’d have to extradite me, which could take weeks. He’s out of his mind.

  “You need to break up with him, and you need to make it convincing.”

  I screw up my face, pretending to be devastated. “I won’t!”

  He forces my jaw forward, so that I’m facing him. “Then I call the police right fucking now and they haul your ass to jail.”

  “This whole plan of yours makes no sense. Once they find out that you—you’ve coerced a member’s wife, they’ll kill you. Vincent will kill you.”

  “Not while this baby is mine.” He growls in my face, reflexively grabbing my belly.

  I slap his hand away, and he gives me an extremely offended look.

  “I’m not yours to touch anymore. Keep your fucking hands to yourself.”

  Within seconds his hand curls in my hair and he wrenches my neck hard, twisting my arm behind my back, making me cry out in pain. D
eep loathing burns through my eyes as I look at Rafael’s twisting grin. I hate how easy it is for him to make me surrender. I struggle in his grasp, but it’s useless. I’m no match for years and years of hardened brutality.

  “These fucking tits.”

  He lets out a growl like a rabid animal and gropes my breast, his hand twisting my hair. The ugly violation boils my blood, but I’m powerless to stop him. He slides under my shirt and slips underneath my bra, mauling my sensitive flesh.

  “Stop—please, stop!”

  He lets me go so suddenly that I stumble to the floor. Immediately I wrap my jacket around myself. Rafael’s cruel laughter rings in the small room.

  My fear makes him laugh.

  “What’s the matter, hon? You used to like it rough, remember? You used to beg for this.” He grabs his cock and gives it a squeeze, and I turn away with a look of revulsion.

  “Touch me again, and I’ll scream.”

  His eyes narrow and he digs a finger into the center of my chest. “You know what’ll happen if you make one fucking sound.”

  Make him think you’ve lost. You’ve done it before.

  My eyes lower from his and Rafael lets out a grunt, satisfied with my submission. This sudden surge of self-conscious introspection won’t last, that I’m sure of. He’ll go back to snorting lines and smacking me around.

  Only this time, I’ll be ready.

  Because the first chance I get, I’m killing him.

  The chair drags over the shitty carpet as Rafael pulls it out and sits down, stripping his white tank top from his shoulders. The bandage on his shoulder is soaked through, and he massages it with a tired look on his face. He beckons me with his finger.

  “What?”

  “Change my bandage.”

  I’ll change your fucking bandage.

  I step forward and rip the bandage from his shoulder, smirking as he lets out a sharp hiss.

  “What the fuck is your problem?”

  Are you seriously that stupid?

  The genuine surprise on his face makes me livid. “You’re insane, that’s my problem. This fucking plan of yours isn’t going to work. Tony is not going to let me go anywhere with you.”

  The slick grin on his face twitches as I slap the fresh bandage over his skin. He cocks his head, studying me. Then his hand shoots out, grabbing my wrist. I yank hard and then I twist my arm. He bends my wrist in a painful position and tears spring to my eyes. He pulls my body so that I fall over his lap. I cringe from the warmth of his chest and his hand snaking around my waist.

  “Then you better find a good reason to tell him to back off.”

  I try to get up, my abdominal muscles tensing against his powerful arm, but I fall back onto his lap. “Let me go!”

  “What the fuck is your problem? Why are you giving me such a hard time?”

  I want to scream.

  I dig my elbow in his wounded shoulder and he screams in pain, releasing me immediately. He stands up from the chair, a murderous look snarling his features. My heart stammers and I wonder what the hell I’m doing. Why am I provoking him? I forget all about my plan as rage bursts from my mouth.

  “I don’t want you! I can’t fucking stand you. For months, I was biding my time until I had a chance to leave. I took it and never looked back. You were the one who couldn’t fucking let go!”

  His muscles tense as he screams. “Because you don’t get to fucking decide when we’re over, especially when you are carrying my fucking kid.”

  “It’s not your kid!”

  He grabs my arms, his thumbs digging in hard enough to make me moan. He looks as though he wants to throw me against the wall, and I wait for it. His lips tremble as he bares his teeth like an animal, but he slowly releases me, breathing in deeply.

  “I won’t hit you because you’re pregnant.”

  “You’re a scumbag and you don’t deser—”

  My face whips to the side as a stinging slap burns my cheek.

  I fucking hate him.

  “I have no problem with slapping you around when you give me a smart mouth. That won’t hurt the baby.”

  “I’m glad you’re so confident.”

  This time I catch a blur of his hand as it hits me again, my eyes stinging.

  “Want another one, you stupid bitch?”

  His hand hovers above my face and I watch it, hating the weak part of me that makes me shake my head.

  * * *

  Crowds of people jostle me as I make my way through the mall. My eyes sift through them to find my husband’s face.

  So that I can tell him what I did.

  He’ll be furious with me. I spent the night under Rafael’s watchful gaze as I sat in the chair, refusing to occupy the same space as him.

  But now it’s over. I know exactly where he is, and I’ll point Tony in the direction. I stand there, brain abuzz with what I’m supposed to say to him.

  I watch him check his phone anxiously. He runs a hand over his face, looking stressed, and I feel a pang for the pain I’ve caused him. Then his eyes sweep over me, recognizing me. Relief floods his face and he gets up from the table. It melts away from the heat baking his skin. His jaw sets and he—there’s no other word for it—he looks pissed. My heart squeezes at the sight of him looking so upset.

  Tony’s sculpted arms grab me, and for a moment I think he’s going to throttle my neck, but he pulls me into his body. He holds me so tightly that my lungs wheeze, and his fingers curl into my hair as a sound I’ve never heard from Tony shakes from his chest.

  “I was so fucking worried, Elena. I had half my guys out looking for you.”

  The worry in his voice throttles my heart. It’s torture. I bury my face in his chest without saying a word, inhaling the sharp spice of his deodorant. This is where I belong. It takes every effort inside me not to break down.

  “I’m fine.”

  He pulls away from me, his hands still holding my shoulders as sharp eyes scan my face. Can he see the tracks on my face?

  “You know you’re a shit liar, right?”

  “Tony—”

  “You left me in the middle of the night.”

  “I had to go.”

  Thick eyebrows narrow dangerously. “Lie again, and I’ll bend you over my knee right here.”

  An involuntary shiver runs through my body at the image of that. Tony seems to sense how it makes me feel, and a heart-stopping smile tiptoes across his face.

  “Fuck.”

  His thumb sweeps across my bottom lip right before he crushes his mouth against mine.

  He’s watching you right now.

  But right now I don’t care. I’m in Tony’s arms, and when I look at him I can’t help but feel that everything’s going to be all right.

  “I think you better tell me where the fuck you were.”

  He drags me to the table and we sit down together, his eyes never leaving my face. Fuck, I can’t breathe when he looks at me like that.

  Tony makes an impatient growl at the back of his throat. “You better start talking, or I just might make good on my fucking promise.”

  “Just hear me out. Okay?”

  Tears well up in my eyes, consumed with the vision of me behind bars. I swallow them down, trying to free that knot in my throat. Gentle fingers touch my cheek.

  “It’s him, isn’t it?”

  Tony’s eyes widen as it dawns over him. Fists clenched, he stands up from the seat and stares into the crowds of people. “Where is that piece of shit? I’ll kill him right now.” He looks around the mall. “Is he here, watching us?” His fist slams into the table separating us. “Talk to me, Goddamn it!”

  “He’s here. I lured him here for you.”

  I don’t expect him to be happy, but I expect him to be pleased, at least. His eyes are red-hot as they scorch through my skin. “What the hell were you thinking?”

  “Tony, you don’t understand. I can’t—we can’t—”

  He yanks me back down on my seat, his snarling face
right up against mine. People around us are starting to stare, and a man behind Tony gives me a concerned look. He digs his fingers into my hair.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  “I met him at a motel. He said I’d go to jail if I didn’t. I just wanted him to believe he had me under his control, so we could finally get rid of him.” My voice cracks as I finally break in half, folding in on myself.

  Tony’s eyes smolder as his lips tremble, white with rage. “You went to a motel with him. Alone.”

  I know what he’s thinking.

  “I don’t know what the fuck you were thinking—”

  “He says I’m going to jail, Tony. I shot him. I needed to do something.”

  I stand up again, hating how furious he is with me. He grabs my waist again and a flash of anger sears up my throat, which dissolves when he gives me that look.

  “Then why not fucking tell me about it? Why the hell would you go off on your own?”

  “I’ve already done enough to you.”

  It hurts me that he can’t see that I was only trying to save him from whatever hell Rafael has planned for him.

  “I can take care of myself, Elena.” His eyes smolder. “How dare you make this decision without me? We’re married, and that means you involve me in every fucking decision.”

  Tony looks somehow shadowed, even in the bright lights inside the mall. His black, flyaway hair hangs over his face, the stubble on his cheeks overgrown, but his eyes are cold. A chill emanates from them, and I wonder if I’ve crossed some boundary with him—if I’ve gone past the point of no forgiveness. He takes my face in his hands as my breaths quicken to short gasps that hardly give me any air.

  “I don’t know for sure if it’s yours. And if it isn’t, and if I’m in jail, then he gets custody—then he raises my kid.”

  “Elena, that’s a lot of ‘ifs.’ And it’s not going to happen.”

  “You c-can’t be sure.”

  “That baby inside you is mine and when I find him, I’ll make the bastard pay for everything he’s done to us.”

  “But, Tony—”

  “I don’t give a fuck what he told you. You should never have left the apartment. It was stupid to put yourself in so much danger.”