by Marni Mann
“Seriously?” Brea said.
“Yes. Seriously. I have to make a choice…” Brea shook her head and reached for my hand. I knew what she was going to say, what she wanted me to do. But this wasn’t up to her, and it wasn’t up to Anna. This was on me, and I had to do what was right. I had to do what was best for me. For my future.
“Whatever it is, doll,” Anna said, “you have my support.”
Brea nodded sharply. “Mine, too. Always.”
I turned away from her and took a deep breath. “Then I choose…”
SEVENTEEN.
DEREK
HAYDEN POURED two fingers of vodka into a short tumbler and slid it across the counter toward me. Then she poured the same in a second glass and kept it for herself, holding it up in the air. “A toast,” she said, “to finally catching that bastard.”
I clinked my glass against hers and downed the booze. “Are you going to tell me how we’re going to do that, or are you going to keep me in suspense all night?”
She stared at my empty glass and placed hers next to it. “You’ve heard the term ‘ambulance chaser’, haven’t you?” I wasn’t stupid. I nodded. “Our firm doesn’t employ one because we don’t need to and it’s a practice we don’t believe in. I’ve met several over the years, none who I thought I could really trust or do the job we need, but I met one recently who I thought could handle it. I hired him and hadn’t heard a word from him until yesterday morning.”
“You hired him through the firm?”
“No. I did it privately.” She picked up her glass again and drained the drop that was left. “I guess the timing must have been right…because we got lucky.”
Fucking Tamra was something I could live with; I had done it for my family and I would do it all over again. I didn’t want any of that burden on Hayden; I wanted her hands to stay clean. Her involvement could have gotten her disbarred. It didn’t sound like she had done anything illegal, but the look on her face and the tone of her voice told me she wasn’t happy.
“What did he find?” I asked.
“There’s a construction worker who was hurt at Randy’s jobsite not too long ago. He’s a long-time employee…still is.”
It made sense now why Hayden didn’t sound happy. If he was still employed by Randy, it must have taken some persuading to get him to swing. I was sure that involved cash. Hayden’s hands were dirty now.
“There are more workers, Derek—many more…names that he’ll eventually give me.”
I ran my fingers over my beard as I processed it all. “He paid their medical bills, didn’t he?” This was so fucking layered. “He gives them money to keep quiet.”
“I think so.”
“They’re bleeding him dry; that’s why he’s out of cash.” I remembered some of what Tamra had said in the motel room: Randy had been acting crazy lately, scrambling to buy anything he could get his hands on. He’d used her commission to pay points to his lender. He was stretched so thin financially; it was difficult to believe he was still in business. But I knew what helped him stay afloat: the shoddy construction, the cheap materials, the quick turnaround for permits and inspection.
“I’m going to bury him, Derek.”
“Has he hired your firm?”
“We’re working out those details right now.”
There were many details, I was sure of that—some Hayden would eventually share with me, others that she was legally bound not to divulge. I wanted to hear it all. The man had ruined my family…every detail mattered.
“Does he know your affiliation?”
“No.”
“Jesus, Hayden.” I poured myself another shot of vodka and slammed it back. “Do you think he’ll change his mind when he finds out?”
“One thing has nothing to do with the other.”
I set the glass down and tried to calm the pounding in my chest. She was the attorney, the one who knew the law, but it didn’t take a moron to know this case—and our affiliation—wasn’t typical. “Are you sure about that?”
She sighed. “Let me get him signed with the firm and get his statement documented. If it comes up then, I’ll deal with it. But I honestly don’t know why it matters. He wants restitution for his pain and suffering and so do I. We’re after the same thing, brother. I won’t be leading the case—I can’t, legally—but I’ll be watching from the background with a hand heavily involved.” I poured her another shot. “This is only the beginning. We’re going to pull inspection records; we’ll find offshore accounts if he has them, every person he has ever given money to or taken money from. It’s going to be an extremely long and painful process for him. His entire world is about to explode.”
My phone vibrated from my back pocket. On the screen was an email from Will, telling me he had spoken to Julia and she was happy to hire Tamra for her real estate team. I wanted to hear more about that conversation, but it would have to come later. I clicked off the screen and set my phone on the counter.
“You know once this all starts, you’re going to be questioned and you’ll have to testify,” she said. “You’re going to have to give a detailed account of that entire day.”
“I know.”
“And because you have all the industry contacts, you’re going to have to put me in touch with them.” She moved to my side of the counter. “This is going to take a lot of time, Derek. I have to know you’re as invested in this as I am.”
“Don’t question it. You know I am.”
We’d promised each other we’d stay focused until we found a way to take Randy down…that had included not getting involved in a relationship—something I hadn’t even considered until Frankie. Before she confirmed my single status, I needed to change the conversation. Better yet, I needed a break. “Bathroom,” I said, “I’ll be right back.”
I walked to the powder room on the other side of the kitchen and shut the door behind me, gripping the edge of the sink. I’d get her whatever connection she needed; I’d help her research. I’d give a statement and tell the attorneys what I heard that day on the jobsite…what I saw. I’d testify in court. I’d play nice and let the legal system punish Randy for what he had done. But goddammit, I didn’t want to give up Frankie. Not for my sister, not for anyone. But that was what it would take, and I knew she would ask it of me.
I stared at my reflection, trying to make sense of it all. I looked tired, haggard. My beard needed trimming, and I needed some sleep. Frankie’s pussy would be keeping me up again all night. My dick twitched at the thought of that, at what she would look like when I walked into her room, the sheets lying over her delicious body. How she would taste when I slowly ran my tongue over her clit, rewarding her for the head she had given me today.
That fucking mouth.
There was no way I could give that up.
When I came out of the bathroom, Hayden was staring at the phone in her hand. She quickly tucked it behind her back when she saw me. “I wasn’t completely honest with you the other day, Derek.” I eyed her glass; she had poured more vodka since I’d been gone. “Frankie Jordan and I have a bit of a past.”
“Don’t go there, Hayden.” I didn’t know where this had come from, but I didn’t like it.
“No—you’re going to hear this.” She paused. I knew she was reading my expression, testing my level of anger. This was difficult for her, and I wanted to make it easier, but I didn’t think I could. “Reed Reynolds was a stranger, who I knew nothing about, when I met him at the bar. We went back to his place—a condo, I later learned, he no longer lived in because he had moved in with Frankie and was just too lazy to sell it. We were in his bed when she came in. She was out of breath, upset, tousled.” Her voice started to soften. “His bed is on a platform several feet higher than the rest of the room, a set of stairs surrounds it.” She sipped from the glass. “She grabbed his arm and, when he reacted, he pushed her. I don’t think he meant to. It happened so fast…and it was dark.” I felt something coming. Something I didn’t want to hear.
Something that would hurt me worse than it was hurting her. “She fell down the stairs, Derek…she screamed. When Reed turned on the light, Frankie didn’t move. She just laid there on the hard floor, gripping her stomach like she was in pain, but nothing came out of her lips. No words, just tears…so many tears. I don’t know how long she stayed like that, ignoring us, completely frozen, but it felt like an eternity. And when she finally sat up, there was blood—so much of it, running down her legs…and I knew.” Oh fuck, no. “When I tried to help her to her feet, she wouldn’t let me. I offered to take her to the hospital and she said no. She wouldn’t accept Reed’s help either. She just wanted to leave his condo. And we let her.”
I wanted to reach for the vodka, but I didn’t. I wanted to smash every piece of furniture in her kitchen, but I didn’t do that either. I tried swallowing the knot in the back of my throat and breathed. “Say it, Hayden.”
“She miscarried their child on his bedroom floor. Because of Reed. Because of me.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you told me she’s just your realtor and I believed you. But why would your realtor send you this?” Her hand was now in front of my face, holding a phone that I quickly realized was mine. I’d gone to the bathroom so fast, I had forgotten it on the counter. The screen showed a text from Frankie:
I know you were planning on coming over tonight, but something has come up and I have to cancel. I won’t have my phone on me, so if you call or text back, I won’t get it. I’ll explain everything to you in the morning. xoxo
I took the phone from her hand and slipped it into my pocket. “I’m not talking about this with you.”
“Tell me something…do you receive hugs and kisses from every woman you do business with?”
“Hayden—”
“Because it looks to me like something is happening between you two. I felt it when I saw her at your townhouse, and I feel it now.”
Goddammit, I didn’t want Hayden to find out this way. Now that she knew, I didn’t know how to fix it. And there was certainly no fixing her history with Frankie. The truth about that night at Reed’s condo was much worse than I thought. All of it was…including the way my sister was looking at me right now.
Frankie’s text was bothering me, too. Hugs and kisses? That didn’t sound like her at all…if anything, it sounded like Brea. But why would Brea have Frankie’s phone…and why would she be sending me texts on Frankie’s behalf?
All of this was a fucking mess. I needed to get to the bottom of things. But first I needed to find Frankie.
“Listen, Hayden—”
“Now you want me to listen to you, brother? Now you suddenly have something you want to tell me? Why, Derek?” She threw her glass on the floor, shattering it. “Why?”
My phone vibrated, and I reached for it in my pocket. I needed a chance to breathe, to think of what I was going to say to Hayden, and reading the text message would give me that. But when I saw the first line, I knew I wouldn’t be getting the break I wanted. From where Hayden was standing, she was able to see the screen and, from the sound of her gasp, she was reading it, too:
Frankie will always be mine. So will her womb. She’s just waiting for me to put another baby inside it. Mine…not yours, asshole. You can keep that whore of a sister who’s the worst fuck I’ve ever had. She’s nothing but a cunt, anyway. Game on, motherfucker. —Reed
When Reed had come to Frankie’s condo and I had mentioned Hayden to him, I didn’t say she was my sister. Frankie hadn’t either. That meant he had researched me…and he had probably figured out that my last name was different than hers.
Goddammit.
I slowly looked up, watching the emotion fill Hayden’s face. “Oh my God, Derek…” I wished she hadn’t seen that text. She was a strong one, but this situation was rough on her…and on Frankie.
Game on?
I gritted my teeth together. “I’m going to fucking kill him.”
No, it was game over.
To be continued…
UNBLOCKED:
EPISODE 4
MARNI MANN
Seattle, WA 2015
COPYRIGHT 2015 MARNI MANN
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Edited by Steven Luna
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to similarly named places or to persons living or deceased is unintentional.
PRINT ISBN 978-1-5137-0131-8
EPUB ISBN 978-1-5137-0152-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015910683
To Adam Bodendieck
for making this possible—
for making them all possible.
Thanks for being a part of this journey.
ONE.
DEREK
HAYDEN’S EYES FILLED with tears. She wasn’t just hurt by the text Reed had sent me; there was anger in her expression, too. That bastard had no fucking right to call my sister a cunt. Hayden didn’t know he was engaged when she went back to his condo that night, or that he’d gotten anyone pregnant and was expecting to be a father.
He was the cunt for cheating on Frankie.
“Please don’t kill him,” she said. “I don’t represent capital murder cases, and I really need you around.”
Reed was a pussy. I could take him down without losing my breath. But if I smashed his face in, the only place I’d end up was in jail. And he’d win. So I’d play his little game like his text had goaded me into, but I was playing it for real. I was giving Frankie the control to choose who she wanted. He’d get nothing but silence from me, and it would eat him up from the inside and do more damage than my fists. It would make him question when I was planning to make my move.
He may have been pretty and polished, but I had strategy on my side.
“All right…I won’t kill him,” I said. “But if he mentions you again, I will set him straight.”
“I can live with that.”
“Can you live with my connection to Frankie?” She wiped her tears, then crossed her arms. Before Reed’s challenge had appeared on my phone, Hayden was waiting for me to explain why I hadn’t told her about my relationship with Frankie. Her reaction was the reason our feet were surrounded by shattered glass. “I know you’re angry about it.”
“Clearly.”
“I would have told you when the time was right.” I understood why she was mad, why she felt betrayed. But now she needed to understand where I was coming from. “I fought my feelings for her until I couldn’t anymore. And until I really understood what those feelings were, I couldn’t tell you what was happening between us. Finding out about your history with Reed made it even harder.” Admitting this to Hayden was as crucial as admitting it to Frankie. The difference was Hayden knew about my ex; she knew I had sworn off any type of relationship after Taylor had walked out. Frankie didn’t. “I care about her, Hayden.”
“I can’t believe this.”
She turned around and tried to walk away. I reached for her, gripped her shoulders and pulled her closer. “Listen to me. Please.”
“Stop saying that.”
I continued to hold her until her eyes met mine. “If things go further with Frankie—”
“When they go further…”
I smiled, acknowledging the attitude she was throwing at me. “If they do, we’ll figure out a way to make things work between you t
wo.” Fuck, I hoped that was true. I didn’t just want the women in my life to get along; I needed it. Randy had caused enough drama and fighting and goddamn tears among my family. There wouldn’t be any more.
“Brother, I just told you I was the reason Frankie miscarried her baby. How can you possibly believe that she can be in my presence without wanting to kill me? Last time she told me to fuck off…next time will be much worse.”
Frankie had mentioned that she’d acted out when she’d seen Hayden. Considering what had happened, it was no surprise.
But Hayden had a point. Telling me what went down at Reed’s condo was a story I’d never forget. It was almost as difficult as when I’d explained what had happened at Randy’s jobsite. Both had resulted in death. Both impacted me in a different way.
“She told you to fuck off because she thought we had just hooked up. She didn’t know you were my sister.”
She shook her head. “That’s not the only reason she told me to fuck off.”
“I’ll talk to her. Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m not worried about it, Derek. I’m worried about you. You’ve never kept anything from me that I know of…except this. It’s making me wonder what else you might be keeping from me.”
I made her face me so I had her full attention. “You know me better than that.”
“I thought I did. But the Derek I know would never get into a relationship and screw every bit of focus we have just months before we nail the bastard. I’ve worked way too hard and we’ve been chasing him for way too long to lose this momentum, or to let Frankie ruin this.”