Marked (Branded Book 3)

by Scarlett Finn

  That suggested Archer had been explicit with Tag about what he’d done to Damien. It took a lot for Tag to admit that Archer would go further, but now that he did, she understood that they could only rely on each other for so long.

  One day Tag would have a wife, and if Nya had turned her back on Archer and given Tag her all, she’d be cast aside with nothing when Tag met the woman destined to be his future.

  “Tag—”

  “We’ll probably always think each other are arrogant pricks,” Tag said. “But I have put you through a lot, Yorkie. A lot more than you deserve, especially in these last few months. We use each other as a crutch.”

  “That’s ok!” she exclaimed, clinging onto him with a sense of desperation in her heart. He seemed so calm, but this conversation felt so final. “We love each other, you and me. We have for so long… You were the only one I trusted and—”

  “You can always trust me and I’ll always be here for you. But you were right when you said that Archer was your future. I just need to find one of my own.”

  It must have been difficult for him to see her forging a path on her own and going into the arms of another man, trusting another man, relying on him more than she relied on her oldest friend. “I don’t—”

  “Archer won’t screw me over because he loves you,” Tag said. “I have to give him the same courtesy.”

  “Honor among thieves,” she whispered.

  “Something like that.”

  “So if there’s no Phoenix, and Lucas is in jail—”

  “Lucas isn’t,” he said. “Lucas wasn’t ever getting his hands dirty on the job. He’s pissed. At Shaw especially. But if Archer’s right that this is some sort of payback for what went down with the Hexam’s, then I can’t be around here. I sure can’t be worrying about revenge on Lucas; he’s got resources that I don’t have right now. One day I will. One day I’ll be back at the top, but right now Gio and I need to figure out what’s next.”

  “And what is next?” she asked. “You can start again here. You can—”

  “No,” he said. “There’s too many memories. Too many skeletons… You know, Yorkie, when I thought about going to Phoenix and starting something brand new, it was exciting. I got a real kick out of making plans and thinking about the possibilities.”

  “And they’re not possibilities that exist here? You’re still going to Phoenix?” she asked.

  Tag inhaled and shrugged at the same time. “I don’t know. We’re going to hit the road for a while, see what comes our way. I was real pissed at Gio for a while and he’s not too happy about all the shit I did when I was with Farrah. I just need a change of scene, you know?”

  Nya didn’t want to agree with him or understand. “You can’t leave,” she said. “I can’t—”

  “You can.” He smiled and put a knuckle to her chin. “You are like my little sister, Yorkie, and I will always be there for anything you need. But you’re Archer’s girl now, and he’s gonna take care of you right here. I’m gonna check in. I’m gonna keep my eye on him, I’ve told him, he’s not off the hook.”

  When she saw Gio approaching a few feet behind Tag with Archer and the others loitering at his rear, she clung tighter to Tag. “I’m not ready to say goodbye. I’m not ready to see you go,” she said.

  But he smiled and bent down to press his mouth onto hers. “I love you, Yorkie,” he whispered on her lips and pushed her hair from her face with two flat hands. “I’ll call you, ok?”

  She nodded, digging her teeth into her lip to try to stop the tears, but they were already flooding her face. “I love you too,” she whispered and her voice cracked.

  Tag dropped his arms and took a step back, putting only a foot between them, but she suddenly felt so cold. He must have felt Gio behind him because he moved to the side to fall into step with his partner and with one last smile, Tag walked away from her.

  Nya didn’t turn to watch him go, but she listened to his footsteps for as long as she could. They eventually faded into the melee of noise created in this public building with its cavernous, echoing halls.

  Archer was moving toward her with Derren and Kristof flanking him. Archer hated emotional women and she imagined that Derren and Kristof felt much the same because they all had their own experience with Ester. But this was so difficult. Tag had said goodbye to her on one of the happiest days of her life.

  Ester’s eyes looked so soft as she moved up beside Derren and Nya didn’t think before she rushed forward into the woman’s arms. “Oh, my daughter, shh,” she said, stroking her hair and holding her close. “You’re safe, my sweet, you’ll be ok.” Ester held her so tight and it was just what she needed, to feel that belonging. Her surrogate mother smelled so good, like comfort, and softness, and acceptance.

  Nya wept into her new mother-in-law’s shoulder until she felt a heavy hand on the back of her head. “Squirm?” Archer said.

  Forcing herself to sniff and straighten her shoulders, Nya tried to wipe her tears with one hand as she moved out of Ester’s arms. But when Archer turned her around, she didn’t see judgement or anger in his gaze.

  “You be kind now, Chase,” Ester said.

  Archer didn’t take his eyes from his new wife. “You want me to go get him?” Archer asked her. “We can keep him chained to the bathroom floor, you know, like a pet. We can feed him and I guess I can walk him a couple of times a month.”

  He made her laugh. Her husband sold it good. And it was only hilarious because if she said yes, he actually would chase Tag down and drag him back to the apartment to keep him as a pet. “Really?”

  He shrugged. “We’ll get used to the screaming,” Archer said. “And we have two bathrooms now, so I can still work in yours.”

  “Oh, Fella,” she said, lifting her arms to loop them around his neck. “Is there anything you wouldn’t do for me?”

  Nya didn’t notice the others drifting away, but they must have because she and Archer found themselves alone. “The only thing I won’t do for you, or anyone else, is hurt you,” he said. “If you want me to drag him back here, I will.”

  And he would, but she got pragmatic. “But you agree with what he’s doing,” Nya said as Archer swiped the tears away from her face.

  “I agree that without him around you won’t be in trouble as much. There’s less chance of you getting hurt,” Archer said.

  “More than that. You think it’s right for him. What did you guys talk about last night?”

  “Guy talk.”

  Nya didn’t know if that was a thing, but she wasn’t going to argue because whatever had been said, it worked. Tag was right, they didn’t like each other, but somehow they’d grown to respect each other. Tag was more emotional than Archer, just like her he often led with his feelings and thought things out later.

  “You think he’ll be ok?” Nya asked.

  “I’ll keep my ear out.”

  That did make her feel better because Archer would always be able to find out what was happening in Tag’s life, even if her friend wasn’t forthcoming. Still, hearing about it and taking action were two different things.

  “And if you hear there’s trouble?”

  “Depends,” Archer said and she had to grab his face to make him look at her.

  Yeah, that was exactly what she was worried about. “What does that mean? ‘Depends’ what does it depend on?”

  “It depends what kind of trouble,” he said. “I don’t like the guy. But we’re married now, Ny, so unfortunately the fucker’s just become my family.”

  Just when she thought her tears had dried, they started all over again. But these were a different kind of tears, these were the happy kind. There was no blood between her and Tag, but she loved him like a brother and Archer had just acknowledged the depth of that bond.

  “I can’t believe we’re married. I didn’t even know—”

  “Yeah, you’re not as smart as I thought,” Archer said, sliding into an unimpressed tease. “You really thought that Ester and
Derren would get married after all the shit they’ve been through?”

  “How do I know?” she asked. “Ester sold it! She made me talk to you about getting Derren to declare his true feelings!”

  “Yeah, he didn’t do any of that.”

  “I bet you all had a great laugh at my expense,” Nya said, pinching his arm. “You bastards.”

  “Hey, I’m bleeding for you, Squirm,” he said and she took a minute to examine his wrist again.

  “You’re some idiot,” she said. “I can’t believe you did this.”

  It didn’t matter how close she got to the wound or how much she prodded it, Archer never flinched. “I’m surprised it took me this long to do it,” he said. “When it’s healed, we’ll get it tattooed, just like yours.”

  “No laser treatment to have it removed as soon as we have our first fight?”

  His lips slanted. “Baby, our entire relationship is a fight,” he said, hooking his arm around her neck and turning to lead her towards the door.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “We have reservations at Louie’s,” he said.

  “We do? Like a party?”

  “Here’s how it will go… Ester’s gonna get drunk, she’ll fight with Derren who’ll take her home and probably fuck her just to shut her up. Kristof’s gonna make sure nothing kicks off, and that no fuckers sneak up on us. And I plan to do you hard in the restaurant restroom before taking you home for our wedding night.”

  He was probably bang on and she was excited to experience every second of the night ahead. “No honeymoon?”

  “We fly out tomorrow,” he said, leading her down the stairs towards the lobby.

  She hadn’t expected that, she’d been kidding. “Fly out where? I don’t have a passport.”

  Archer kissed the top of her head. “Sure you do, Squirm,” he said.

  “How in the hell did you—”

  “I know a guy.”

  Yep, of course he knew a guy. Archer always knew a guy. He’d managed to get her married without her realizing that was happening. Getting her a passport without her knowledge would be a breeze.

  Archer’s wife.

  She wasn’t just his girl, they belonged to each other. They wore each other’s brand. It was scarred into their flesh and the mark they left on each other was more than skin deep. They belonged to each other all the way to the core.

  Archer was in her blood just as she was in his. From now until the end of time they’d be linked in body, brand, and soul.

  Read on for an excerpt from:

  Excerpt from Chapter Four

  “Lose your groom?”

  Turning around, she saw Cliff and the camera closing in on her. “Uh, looks that way,” she said.

  “How do you feel?” Cliff asked, gesturing at her to sit down from behind the camera.

  Backing up toward the cushioned wicker couch, she looked down and then spread her hands on her dress without sitting. “The dress… can I crease the dress?”

  “Are you going to stand all night?” Cliff asked. “You’ll have to sit down for dinner.”

  “True,” she said. “If there’s a seamstress around, some of the layers are detachable.”

  “Continuity,” Cliff said.

  Damn that word. She exhaled and sank down, but lost most of herself in the skirt. Shoving it down, she stretched out her legs to point her toes, but it didn’t matter to the camera because the operator crouched to film up at her.

  “Are you trying to get a shot of my underwear?” she asked, pushing the air out of her skirt.

  “Looks like you’re sitting on a cloud,” Cliff said, glancing at the image on the top of the camera. “So forgetting the production stuff, how do you think the day went?”

  “Oh God,” she said. “Like a comedy of errors.”

  Cliff smiled. “Can you remember to repeat the question in your answer and… you know… try to stay positive, you just got married. Smile.”

  Sick of hearing that word, she was tempted to sink back, but still felt the bulk of the dress getting in her way. “I think the day went well,” she said, wondering when she’d become such a convincing liar.

  “And your groom, what do you think of him?”

  Trailing her eyes toward the courtyard and then the other way to the building, that was attached to this room by a set of open double doors, she wondered where he’d gotten off to and what she could say about him that was positive. “I think my groom is… funny.”

  Yeah, he was funny, great at cracking jokes, not so great at being where he was supposed to be. “And what do you think he thinks of you?”

  Of her? How was she supposed to answer that question when they’d exchanged so few words? “He thinks her feet hurt.”

  The camera turned as they all did toward the double internal doors, Trick emerged from the dimly-lit bar beyond carrying two glasses of what had to be some kind of dark liquor. Sauntering over, Lyla expected him to offer her one of the glasses. But he didn’t. He tossed one measure into his throat quickly followed by the other.

  Crouching, he shoved the empty glasses onto an end table then dropped to his knees beside her and tucked a hand under the end of her dress to circle her ankle with his hand. Relief made her exhale when he pulled off her shoe. Her head fell back when he slid the other off.

  “Way into a woman’s panties, start by taking off the shoes,” Trick said.

  Horror made her head snap back up, but he was talking into the camera, not to her. His hand slid up the front of her leg as he rose to slide onto the couch beside her. Leaning over her, Trick let her skirt gather against his arm as his hand slid up over her knee.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, her lungs getting tighter.

  “Getting to know you,” he murmured and leaned in.

  Planting her hands on his chest, Lyla gave him a hard shove and put space between them. Glancing at the camera before she looked back at her groom, she tried not to freak out. “I don’t think that’s what they meant.”

  “They meant whatever we want them to mean,” he said and tried to kiss her again.

  “I’m not ready to… I can’t kiss you,” she said, her eyes popping toward the camera and the other silent men in the room.

  “Just ignore them, babe, you focus on me.”

  His hand went higher when he tried once again to kiss her, but she wasn’t giving in. “Our families are right out there,” she said. In a glass room with other men was one thing, but outside the glass were their families and colleagues who would be making their way up to the hotel for dinner soon.

  Trick sniggered, his eyes heavy as he focused on her lips. “I wasn’t gonna take you all the way right here… But if that’s what you want, Mrs. Strickland, that dress will give us all the cover we’ll need… you slide on over into your old man’s lap.”

  Sitting back, he slouched and patted his thighs with both hands, which gave her the ability to sit up and try to regain some composure as she straightened out her dress. “I think, Mr. Strickland, you need to hold your horses and think about bringing a girl a drink before you put your hand up her dress.”

  “Liquor!” Trick announced, slapping his knees and sitting up straight. “My second favorite thing to do with a girl. We’re not so opposite after all, are we, sweetheart?”

  He leaned in and kissed her cheek so fast that she didn’t even realize it was happening. And she was still gaping at Trick when Cliff spoke. “Ok,” the assistant director said on a laugh. “We’ll cut it there. You guys have five minutes before we’re coming to get you… enjoy it.”

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  Also by Scarlett Finn

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  STANDALONE CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

>   GETTING TRICKY

  REMEMBER WHEN…

  THE BRANDED SERIES

  BRANDED

  SCARRED

  MARKED

  THE KINDRED SERIES

  RAVEN

  SWALLOW

  CUCKOO

  SWIFT

  FALCON

  FINCH

  THE EXPLICIT SERIES

  EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION

  EXPLICIT DETAIL

  EXPLICIT MEMORY

  RISQUE SERIES

  TAKE A RISK

  RISK IT ALL

  GAME OF RISK

  HARROW DUET

  FIGHTING FATE

  FIGHTING BACK

  MISTAKE DUET

  MISTAKE ME NOT

  SLEIGHT MISTAKE

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