“All right, I’m going to the gym to teach a class. I’ll call you in a little bit.”
I shake my head. “Thanks. I think I’ll be just fine.”
He throws a hand up as he walks out.
~*~*~
I bolt straight up in the middle of the night with my heart pounding and I’m soaked from sweat, another nightmare. I can feel the guy’s breath on my face, the knife slicing my face. I hear him talking. Sometimes in the dream I don’t get the gun pulled in time. I remember the words he spoke to me.
After a week, I was allowed to go back to work. Huck has come by to check on me almost every day, but it’s as if he’s scared. He always hugs me or gives me a small kiss, never more. It’s been three weeks since the attack and they’re doing the benefit for my mom this weekend.
Mack told me he spoke with Pavel and he acted as if he barely knew me. He did say that I was his employee for several years and that I had a crush on him, but it was nothing more. He didn’t know why someone would be attacking me and saying it was for him. The asshole said that before I left, he’d suspected that I’d started using drugs and finding out now that I was working at a strip club, he was probably on the right track. That I’d probably made it all up to cover a deal gone bad or something.
I hate him, I don’t know why I could ever be so naive as to think that he loved me. I was nothing more than a toy. Something he could buy and play with. He’s a selfish asshole and I hope the karma bus catches his ass in the middle of the road.
That’s what brings me to this road trip today. I’m confronting him face to face. He’s going to respect me once and for all. I’m also meeting his wife for lunch before I meet with him. I’ve asked her to keep it private. I owe her this, woman to woman.
Pulling into the outdoor café on Miami Beach, I see Theresa waiting for me at a small table.
Making my way through the tables of patrons, she sees me and waves me over, smiling.
Standing to greet me, she hugs me. “Chelsea, it’s great to see you.”
“Theresa, how are you? You look wonderful,” I say, motioning to her flat stomach. She doesn’t even look like she’s had one child, much less three, and one of them only a few months ago.
Her eyes light up. “Thank you, I’m feeling wonderful. What brings you to see me?”
I sigh, taking a sip of water from the glass that was already set on the table. “Theresa, there is no easy way for me to say this. I am a horrible person.” She looks at me with confusion written on her face. “I was having an affair with Pavel for almost six years. When it started, he told me you two were going through a divorce and that you wouldn’t leave. I was young and stupid. As the affair went on, I guess I was desperate enough to let him control the situation and believe the lies he told me. The day you walked in his office pregnant, when he’d told me you weren’t involved anymore, it hit me like a slap of reality.”
She’s sitting here letting me talk. “As it happens, that’s the night my father called to tell me that my mother had cancer. I decided to go home. I told Pavel it was over, but he’s finding ways to ruin my life now. I’m interested in a great guy who I think really wants something with me, but I need this business with Pavel finished, but he won’t let go. A few weeks ago, a man attacked me, did this to my face,” I say, pointing to the spots still healing on my face, “and broke my nose. I shot him and killed him, but he wanted me to pass a message along to Pavel. That he owed him money for a job or something.”
Her face finally shows some expression, I just can’t make out what it is. “Oh my God! I’m glad you’re okay. I hate that you had to kill someone. I can’t say I’m surprised about Pavel. Trust me, the wife always knows. You’re not the first person, but thanks to your honesty, you will be the last. As far as divorce, Pavel was the one who would never go for it. Our marriage was more of a business arrangement by our fathers. You coming forward will give me grounds to get a divorce and get everything that’s owed to me. Don’t mistake my lack of caring for weakness, you and I will never be friends, but we can certainly be on the same side of this issue.” I’m trying to figure out what she’s thinking, but it’s like she gives nothing away. Her face is almost void now. I guess she really feels nothing. At least nothing toward me, except maybe pity. It’s almost eerie how calm she is.
I look at the table. “I really am sorry.”
She reaches across the table and touches my hands. “Chelsea dear, I remember when you came to work for him. You were shy and somewhat naïve. Trust me, I know Pavel can be charismatic and charming. It can be quite intoxicating to someone so young.” She lets go of my hands and I can tell that maybe she’s talking about herself a little. . “Now you’re a more experienced older person, you wouldn’t do this again.” I shake my head. “So let’s go fix your problem,” she says, standing up.
Twenty minutes later, we’re pulling into the dealership. I follow Theresa into the lobby. It’s like one of those scenes in a movie where everyone looks up and stares. She storms through the room as his new receptionist tries to stop us from going in. Theresa throws her hand up in the girl’s face. Slinging the door open, we march in and I slam the door behind us.
Startled, Pavel looks up. “What is this all about?”
Theresa stalks to the desk, “This is about the divorce you’re going to give me and the dealerships that I’ll gain out of it.”
He stands up. “What in the hell are you talking about?”
She calmly steps forward. “I’m talking about how you are a philandering son of a bitch. I’m talking about how you’ve been having an affair for over six years and I finally have someone to back me up on it. I’m talking about how this girl wants to move on with her life and you’re too much of a fucking greedy bastard to let her.”
He looks at me like he’s about to deny it. I storm forward. “She’s talking about how I had to fucking shoot someone who was sending a message to you. Then you acted like I was some sort of fucking school girl with a goddamn crush. You will give this woman everything she wants or I’ll make your life hell. I’ve already killed one man and I can damn sure do it again if you push me too far. I want you to leave me the fuck alone. Stay out of my life. Stop sending me flowers, finding out my phone number and starting fights with my friends.”
“Chelsea, please. You need help, it was never like that between us.” He turns to his wife, “Sweetheart, she’s been through some traumatic experiences lately. Please forgive her, I believe she’s on drugs.”
I could bite nails in half I’m so pissed off. “Oh, I’m screwed up. You’re about to see how screwed up I can fucking be.” I storm out of his office and hear them yelling at each other.
Everyone is staring again. “Get a good fucking look people!” I walk out to my car and get in. Cranking the car, I rev the motor. Slamming the car into drive, I fly toward the glass wall of the dealership and straight into the side of his office.
“What in the hell?” he screams at me once I get out of the car.
Theresa is laughing. I walk over to her, stepping on all of the glass, and hand her the papers from my glove box. “Here, this is the title to this car and as you’ll see, his name is the second on it. Also, if you’ll check the lease records for Regency Condos on Sunrise, he held the lease there for me. There was also a charge account at the high end shops at Regency. That should be all you need for your attorney. I’ll help you anyway I can.” I turn back to Pavel. “Fuck you, Pavel, stay out of my life.”
Walking out of the dealership, I pull my phone out of my purse and dial Huck.
“Hello?”
“I need you to come get me.”
“Sure. Where are you?” He sounds like he’s at the gym working out.
“Volkov Motors in Miami,” I say timidly.
“What the fuck, Chels?” he barks through the line.
“I’ll explain when you get here.”
CHAPTER 26
HUCK
Settling in for the five and a half hour dr
ive, my mind is all over the place. What in the hell was she thinking? I’m tempted to bend her over my knee and spank her ass when I get there. My phone pings.
CHELSEA: I got a room at the Hampton on A1A. I needed to decompress. Room 1212. I’m sorry you’re having to come get me. I just can’t bother my mom with another thing that’s my fault.
ME: It’s fine. I’ll be there ASAP.
Damn it. I ran out telling my brother briefly where I was going and that I’d be back tonight hopefully. Now I’m headed to a hotel to meet up with Chels, in the town her ex is in and I don’t have a clue what the fuck she’s doing down there in the first place. My stomach is in fucking knots and I can’t explain it.
Due to the fact that everyone on the turnpike drives 90 mph, I’m able to make it in a little over four hours. It looks like we’ll be spending the night. Good thing I keep a gym bag with a couple of changes of clothes in my truck. Going to the room number she gave me, I nervously knock.
“Chelsea, it’s me, open up.”
Nothing.
I knock again. “Chelsea, come on.”
Nothing.
I pull out my phone.
ME: I’m here where are you?
Almost immediately it pings back.
CHELSEA: Hotel bar.
I get back on the elevator and ride down to the hotel bar. As soon as I walk in, I see her sitting at the bar. She’s fiddling with her phone and doesn’t even notice me walk up. She seems flustered.
“If you wanted me to meet you in a hotel bar, all you had to do was ask nicely,” I say down by her ear.
She jumps, almost knocking her glass over. “Huck!” She spins around, I can see it in her eyes she’s drunk. “You scared me.” She shoves me in the chest.
I notice shot glasses lined up in front her. “How many of those have you had babe?”
“Enough,” she slurs.
“Enough to what? Put down a horse?” I say, sliding on the stool beside her.
“Enough to numb the pain,” she says, lying her head on my shoulder.
I kiss her on the head. “I think you’re done for the night.”
I motion to the bartender. “I need to get her check.” He nods, handing me a slip.
$90.00?! What the fuck?
I slip a hundred dollar bill on the counter and pull her up with me. “Hey, pretty girl, do you think you can walk to the room?”
She gives me a grin and then a nod. “Yep.” Stumbling a little, she steadies herself with the bar. “Okay. I got this, let’s go.”
I give her a little laugh as she clings to my arm while we make our way to the elevator. “You know, Huck. I’m a harlequin.”
“A what?” I ask, trying to make sense of her drunk rambling.
“You know a promis- promisc- a prostitute.”
“Are you trying to call yourself a harlot?” I ask, confused.
“Yes! That’s what I said. I’m a harlot, a slut, a prostitute,” she slurs out.
“Babe, you are no such thing. I do not ever want to hear you say that about yourself again,” I say sternly. What in the hell happened today?
“I let Pavel buy me. I’m no better than a hooker,” she continues as we make it to her room. The fact that she thinks that about herself pisses me off. I feel like going to kick that dick heads ass again.
Once we’re inside the room, I sit her on the bed. “Have you eaten anything?”
She shakes her head.
I grab the hotel phone and order a couple of burgers from room service. “I’ve got you some food coming.”
Her face makes a pained look right as she jumps up and runs to the bathroom. Collapsing in front of the toilet, she starts throwing up. I go in behind her and pull her hair up. “Do you have a hair tie or something?”
She nods, “In my bag on the bed.” Mumbling, she motions toward her purse on the bed in the room.
I rummage through her purse and pull out a black elastic band. Oddly enough, I can pull someone’s hair into a ponytail like a champ. This due to the fact that my mother was addicted to many things, she threw up a lot, so I’ve had more practice than I care to admit. The only difference is, for Chelsea I don’t mind. I want to take care of her.
I swoop her hair up with one hand and manage to put the ponytail in with the other. Wetting a washcloth, I wipe her face. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I think.” She sighs.
I grab some ibuprofen from the bottle I saw in her purse and fill one of the hotel cups with water. “Here, go ahead and take these.”
She takes them from me. “Thanks.”
I hear a knock at the door. Running over, I open it for room service. “Hey, man, you can just sit it down over there,” I say, pointing to the table. “Hey, could you have them send up a couple toothbrushes and toothpaste from the front desk?” I ask as I tip him.
He nods. “Yes, sir. I’ll actually bring it right back up myself.”
“Thanks,” I say, closing the door.
I walk back into the bathroom. “Do you wanna try to grab a shower?”
She looks up at me through hooded eyes. “Yeah, I think so.”
I stand her up and help in removing her clothes. Once she’s in the shower, I answer the door a few minutes later, getting the items I asked for from the front desk.
Once she’s out of the shower, she steps into the room wrapped in a towel. Seeing her wet body and knowing there is nothing beneath just makes me want to lick every drop of water off of her. Shaking the thoughts from my head, I hand her a T-shirt from my bag. “I know this will probably swallow you, but it looks like you don’t have anything else to wear. I figured you’d want to wear your clothes from today home tomorrow.” I grab one of the toothbrushes and the toothpaste. “Here, I got this from the front desk, I figured you might want it.”
She takes it all from my hands. “Thanks, Huck,” she says as she returns to the bathroom.
I sit down and start uncovering our food. She returns with her hair now up in the towel and my shirt practically swallowing her.
“I don’t know if I can eat,” she says quietly.
“Come on. Get some of this bread and grease in your stomach, you’ll feel better. You probably didn’t eat enough for the amount of alcohol it seems you consumed.”
She laughs, sitting across from me at the small table. “No. I was supposed to have a lunch meeting but it went a little differently than I thought.”
I sit back in my chair and take a deep breath. “Now, would you like to tell me why I needed to come get you? Also, why I showed up here and you were drunk alone in a bar?”
CHAPTER 27
CHELSEA
Damn it. I know I need to answer him. Knowing I would have to do this is one of the reasons I started drinking in the first damn place.
“Well, I drove my car down here, but it kinda ended up in the middle of Pavel’s dealership,” I say, staring at the hamburger in front of me.
Grasping his chin with his hand and rubbing it, I can tell he’s getting frustrated, “How did that happen?”
I start out explaining my lunch with Theresa and how it just went from a civilized lunch to me putting my car in the office.
“So let me get this straight. You went and planned a lunch with his wife so you could out your affair with him. Then, she basically says she feels bad for you and the two of you end up going all bad cop, crazy cop on him at the dealership,” he says with a hint of amusement.
I nod, still trying to will myself to eat. “Yes. I don’t know, it’s like I snapped. I was so tired of his lies. He was still trying to say that it never happened, that I’m on drugs or mentally unstable. I gave his wife hopefully all she’ll need to rake his ass over the coals. And yes, I did it in a crazy make a statement kind of way.” I feel the blush creeping over me as I realize just how nuts my actions were..
He motions to the food. “You really need to eat.”
“I know. I’m trying to work up the courage.” I give him a small laugh.
“
So, now would you like to tell me why you were piss drunk when I got here?” he says sternly.
“I don’t know, I think everything finally caught up with me. Mom, Dad, Pavel, stripping, being attacked, having to kill someone and losing you.” I sigh. “I just needed to resolve something. You know he sent me flowers at the hospital? All the card said was ‘get well soon’”, I laugh sarcastically, “and then he denied everything with the cops. I just wanted it done. For good. When it was over and I had to call you, it was like a punch to my stomach. I went down there to have one drink and relax my nerves a little. Then, I got carried away. The more I thought about it all, the more I needed another drink.”
“I just wish you hadn’t come alone.” He stops as if something hits him. “Wait. Losing me? You haven’t lost me.” He reaches across the table, touching my hand.
“After the hospital, you pulled away. I felt like you were coming by to check on me out of obligation or something. I know you guys are set to do the benefit this weekend, but I really felt like I was losing everything. I just felt lost, abandoned and it hurt. I’ve felt so much emptiness over the past six years. Even though I was with Pavel, I was alone.” I feel a heaviness settling in my chest.
“I will admit, hearing his name and then to know the attack all had something to do with him…well, it really pissed me off. I wanted to kill him myself. I’m tired of him fucking with you even when he doesn’t mean to. To start with yes, I backed off because frankly, I was that angry and I didn’t want to freak you out. But then I realized that you were exhausted from all of it. Me, him, your mom, everything. I thought you just needed time to decompress or something.” He takes a bite of his burger and motions to mine.
I nod because my throat has a ball of tears stuck in it so big I can hardly breathe. I take a sip of the coke he ordered for me and then a bite of my burger, hoping it’ll push the emotions down inside of me.
We finish our meal in silence. Once we’re done, he looks over at me. “So what are you planning to do for a car now?” Then he kinda gives me a small chuckle. And there it is … the ease of me and Huck. Always able to speak freely and share anything, this is us.
Holding Huck's Heart (Marco's MMA Boys #3) Page 13