Mark (The Mallick Brothers #3)

by Jessica Gadziala

  "Who is Barney?" I asked, brows drawing together.

  "Local forger. No matter. Just seemed like his level of work. Anyway. It looks like you and Mark might be a thing. So that means you're likely going to be dropping anchor in Navesink Bank."

  "I, ah, maybe," I hedged, feeling like I was on truly unsteady footing despite his casual tone.

  "You going to be doing that under your real name? Your brothers too?"

  Oh, God.

  Okay.

  Alright.

  I needed to, ah, remember how to breathe.

  And look for exits.

  And not get caught by one of the dozen or so cops and detectives moving around.

  "I'm going to assume that if you all do, that you will be hanging up your armed robbery hats."

  Holy shit.

  Okay.

  Worst possible case scenario.

  At least it was just me though, right? My brothers could all get out clean.

  "Relax," Collings said, tone calm, reassuring. "I'm not dragging you or them in for it. Way I figure it, no one has ever gotten hurt, and those stores do more harm than good all the way around. So long as it's over, I am willing to get rid of all the research I have done on this. And trust me, no one has even bothered to do half the digging I have so you don't need to worry about that." When I couldn't seem to get a conscious thought to form, let alone make my mouth move and get sounds out, he shrugged. "I know I'm not supposed to say that, but I have men in this town who viciously gang rape women. I have dealers who are handing out overdoses like candy on a school yard. I have a lot more important shit to focus on than you. So if you can tell me that you're retired, I can make it so you live here in peace. All of you," he added.

  I wanted to find a trap there.

  I wanted to see fake promises.

  But all I saw was understanding and sincerity.

  "We are all, um, exploring new career paths. I, ah, really seem to like gardening."

  He nodded at that. "Just don't start growing pot. I mean, for some reason that shit is still illegal around here. I don't want to be pulling you in for something so stupid after your rather illustrious and arrest-free career."

  I smiled at that. "No pot. I promise."

  "Good," he said, his whole face falling as he looked across the room toward the Mallicks. "I hope they can get through this. It's not looking good. Eli really fucked up, pounding on some politician's kid. He'd going down for this. There's no chance of him walking."

  Oh, God.

  My heart hurt for them all.

  I couldn't imagine hearing that news.

  "They're strong," I said, knowing it was true.

  "Strong, sure. But this is a blow. They won't be okay for a long, long time. I'm glad Mark will have you around," he said, turning to stick the coffees into trays, stacking them, and moving to walk toward the group that was getting way too loud, risking their own chance at a cell. "He's going to need you."

  I didn't know what that would mean. I didn't have experience with being needed outside my family. I didn't know if he would want me close, want some space, want to talk, want silence.

  But whatever he did want, I would give it to him.

  Because both Collings and I were right. They were strong, but this was the kind of blow that would leave permanent damage. I knew if it was King, Nixon, Atlas, or Rush in a cell, knowing he was going in for a dime, yeah, no. I would never recover from that. It would be a daily, constant, aching, bleeding, painful wound.

  I had just moved back over toward the waiting area as a group of cops and detectives moved the whole Mallick clan back toward it with me, when the door to one of the interrogation rooms opened.

  And out walked Eli.

  In cuffs.

  His head had been up, looking where he was going, until he caught sight of his family.

  Maybe I didn't know him well, but I knew that look well enough to spot it when I saw it.

  Shame.

  He was ashamed.

  Maybe that was why he hadn't called them, why he hadn't called an attorney. Maybe he thought he deserved what he was getting.

  "Eli," Helen called, her tone so pained that it made a shooting spread through my whole chest cavity.

  His eyes shifted to see his mother, his eyes going sad for a short moment before he seemed to pull some shield down over them, blocking everything out, making him look hauntingly empty.

  Then he simply shook his head at her, dropped his eyes to the floor, and followed the cops leading him into the back.

  Then something happened that no one who had ever met Helen Mallick would think she was capable of.

  She broke.

  I barely knew her.

  But even as a relative outsider, watching that strong-as-nails woman crumble, literally losing the strength in her legs, having to be held up by her equally wrecked-looking husband, my eyes started to swim with tears for her.

  It seemed to prove too much for her sons too, as Hunter turned to Fee, Shane turned to Lea, Ryan reached for his phone to contact Dusty, and Mark turned to me.

  Then he wasn't just looking at me; he was walking toward me.

  I don't know if it was because he saw the tears and thought I needed him, or because he needed me, but the next thing I knew, I was crushed against his solid chest, his strong arms holding me so tightly that breathing was more like a wish and a prayer than a reality. Whatever it was, it felt right to be there for each other, to lean on each other, to draw strength from each other.

  My arms moved around his back, holding on just as tightly as his head pressed into the side of mine.

  "I can't do anything," he admitted, his voice harsh. "They're going to take him... and I can't fucking do anything."

  I closed my eyes tight, feeling the tears rush down my cheeks, only able to sympathize with the utter helplessness he was feeling right then. I had the distinct impression that the Mallick men were not used to feeling useless, helpless, completely out of control. And men not used to that must not handle the feeling well.

  "You can call your lawyer, right?" I asked, wanting to say something that wasn't some bullshit platitude he didn't need right then. Because it wasn't okay and it wouldn't be okay. I wasn't going to spoon feed him that fake crap. He deserved better than that. "I know he refused to call one. But call one anyway, right? Just because he's being stubborn doesn't mean you can't try to force his hand. He has to have an attorney to go to trial."

  "You're right," he agreed, pulling back slightly, looking down at me with a small amount of relief and more than a little purpose. His eyes softened as he released my hips to gently wipe the tears from my cheeks. "Thank you," he added, leaning down to give me a quick, distracted kiss even as he reached for his cell.

  While he talked, I took the coffees from Collings who gave me a knowing look, and started handing them out to those who were holding it together enough to accept.

  It was the better part of an hour later when Fee and Lea dropped into the seats on either side of me, all the men still huddled to the side, talking. Charlie had trusted things to his sons and had taken a very pale, very shattered Helen home to try to calm her down.

  "I can't," Fee said, shaking her head that was angled up to the ceiling as she blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears in. We all knew it was futile, and a second later, they started streaming too.

  Even though I had no experience at such things, my arm reached out and went around her shoulders as Lea reached across me to rest her hand on Fee's leg.

  "What do I tell the girls?" she asked helplessly.

  "You tell them," a male voice said from in front of us, unfamiliar, making us all shock apart and look up. It was then I realized that I did know the voice, though I had only heard it once before, in a big box store, when he had a gun pointing at Mark and me. Detective Lloyd, I think his name was. "That Senator Ericsson's son is a disgusting piece of wife-beating shit who we have never been able to take in despite a dozen domestic abuse calls from his mansion tha
t is paid for by tax-payer dollars. You tell them that their uncle stopped that bastard from putting his wife in an early, but likely very welcome, grave. You tell them that he is not the one who belongs in prison, but that sometimes bad people do win in life. You tell them that if they want that to change, they better get an education and start taking some of these positions of power away from these fucking scumbags. That's what you tell them. Minus a few 'fucks, maybe,'" he added a bit sheepishly.

  With that, and not a single thing more, the strange, elusive Detective Lloyd disappeared out the front doors.

  "Wow, I always thought he was a bit of a prick," Lea commented at the closed door, making both me and Fee snort before we realized how inappropriate that was.

  "Is it weird that I am relieved this wasn't work-related?" Fee asked, looking at us. "I mean, I shouldn't be. If it was work-related, all they would need to do is all go after the fuckface all at once until he agreed to drop the charges. Then it could all be over. But, for Eli's sake, I'm more, um, I don't know... relieved that he raged out for the right reasons? I guess that's what I'm trying to say."

  "I don't think he's seeing it that way, unfortunately," Lea said, not trying to be a Debbie Downer, just being honest. "You know Eli. He goes into a downward spiral after he realizes he let the rage win out. Takes him a while to get out of the funk. I mean... we don't know how badly he hurt this wife-beating asshole," she went on. "His charge is only aggravated assault, so he didn't kill him. But was he close? I know seeing a man wailing on a woman was likely a trigger like he has never known before, so that wouldn't surprise me. Without one of his brothers to pull him off, this could have gone really badly really fast. That might be why he won't talk to any of us, wouldn't hardly look at any of us."

  "It will pass," Fee said, exhaling hard. "It always does."

  Lea nodded, but stayed silent, and I had the feeling maybe she thought differently. She just didn't want to bring the mood down. "Scotti," she said suddenly, making me jump, feeling like I had been more of an eavesdropper than a participant in the conversation up to that point. "Do you think Mark would be willing to take in Coop?" she asked, looking hopeful. "Fee can't do it with all the girls. Ryan and Dusty have the cat who hates Coop. Shane and I don't have a yard..."

  "I'll ask him, but I don't think he would say no."

  "Let us know, though. If Eli was picked up this morning, that beast has had free rein of his place for almost a day. He needs to be let out, fed, and have some serious damage control done at his place."

  "I'm sure it won't be a problem," I said, watching Mark. As if sensing my gaze, he looked over his shoulder at me, and the area around his eyes softened slightly.

  "Oh, I know that look," Lea said, smile warm.

  "That's a good look on a Mallick man," Fee agreed. "Though I like it a lot more on Hunter."

  "Has he told you yet?" Lea pressed.

  Confused, my brows drew together. "Told me what?"

  "That's a no," Fee answered, leaning forward to look at Lea on the other side of me.

  "Soon," Lea agreed.

  "That seems to be the pattern," Fee said with a nod and smile.

  Completely out of the loop, maybe even wondering if the stress had gotten to them a little, I stayed silent. In fact, we all did until the men finished talking to the man who came in at around five in the morning, looking fresh and handsome in a silver fox sort of way, in a fit black suit and sporting very classically handsome features.

  "That's Ellis. He's the attorney," Lea explained. "Best in the state."

  Well, there was that at least.

  Ellis talked to the Mallick men for all of ten minutes before moving to talk to a detective. It was at this point that the men finally turned back to us, then moved toward us as a unit. We stood as one as well, moving to our respective men.

  "They want to know if you can take Coop," I said as soon as the others moved away.

  "Of course we will take care of Coop," he answered, putting an arm around me, and pulling me close to kiss my forehead. "There's nothing more to do right now. Ellis needs to get in to see Eli, then he will get back to us. Right now, we should go get Coop, clean up Eli's place, and try to get some food or caffeine in us."

  No sleep.

  I wasn't surprised.

  I was pretty sure he had many sleepless nights ahead of him.

  But when we got to Eli's place, there was no Coop.

  In fact, there were no signs that Coop had been there in a long time. His leash was off the hook too. Like maybe he had been with Eli when he got pinched. "I'll have Rush go by the shelter," I offered as we drove back to Mark's side of town.

  He didn't fight me on it, insisting on doing it himself. I think the stress was getting to him. "I'll send you a pic from Eli to send to him," he agreed instead, then did just that.

  But Coop wasn't at the shelter.

  And despite countless posters, calls and visits to all shelters and vets in the area, he was nowhere to be found.

  We never did find out what happened to Coop until... well, that was a story for another day.

  And another woman.

  As for Mark and me, well, we went back to his place.

  And then we kept going back to his place.

  And I learned to call it home.

  EPILOGUE

  Mark - 2 days

  Aggravated assault did end up being the official charge.

  When I got home and saw the news, saw the leaked cellphone video of the attack, I was actually surprised they didn't bump it up to attempted murder. But given as the bastard was beating on his wife, they let it be at assault.

  Ellis had needed to wait a full day before Eli would agree to see him, and even then, Ellis said he barely got a handful of words out of my brother.

  I had the distinct, sick feeling that that was not an isolated incident, that something had changed in Eli, that he might never let any of us in again.

  Maybe it was premature to feel that way, but it was just the sensation I was getting. There was something about that look on his face when he walked out of the interrogation room. We all felt it. It was why my ma freaked the fuck out.

  Because that man, that empty shell of a man that was in those cuffs, that wasn't Eli Mallick. It was a different person completely.

  And maybe none of us were sure we would ever get the old one back.

  It was premature for that kind of thinking, but I couldn't shake it either.

  Through it all, through my pacing, my raging, my sleepless nights, Scotti had just... been there. She didn't nag on me to open up when it was clear I didn't want to. She didn't demand I hit the sheets and get some sleep when it was clear I needed it. She made food, but didn't beg me to eat. She just let me go through it, but was there for me when I dropped down on the couch, just completely empty. She curled in. She fucking held me.

  If I wasn't sure before, even through the stress and devastation, I knew it then.

  I loved the woman.

  Too soon? Maybe.

  But true nonetheless.

  Sometimes it happened like that.

  "I have no idea what you usually buy," she said, coming in the door with about fifteen bags in her hands and hanging off her arms.

  I chuckled as I stood and moved toward her to take most of the bags. "One trip, or die trying, huh?" I asked, kissing her temple. "I'll eat anything, babe. Thanks for hitting the store."

  "Thank Rush. He was the one risking a ticket for driving without a license," she said, smiling as she put her bags down on the island.

  "Are the rest getting in today?" I asked, knowing they had been talking about them coming back in light of the shit that went down with Collings, something she had kind of rambled on about as I had been pacing, figuring it was important information. And it was. And it was a huge weight off my shoulders to know she felt about a thousand percent more comfortable about staying with me.

  "Mhm," she said a bit absentmindedly as she started putting the cold items away. "I was going to,
um, meet them for coffee or something so we could catch up and..."

  "Have them over here," I cut her off, watching as she froze for a second before turning.

  "It's okay. We can meet somewhere. I know your brothers are..."

  "Coming over later, yeah," I agreed, nodding. We were trying to hash out how to get Eli to open up. "This is your place now too, Scotti. Your brothers are important to you just like mine are to me. No reason they can't all be here at once."

  It wasn't the biggest house in the world, but we would certainly all fit.

  "You're sure?" she asked, and there was no mistaking the excitement in her voice.

  "Positive," I agreed, reaching for her, and pulling her close.

  I was man enough to admit that I hadn't felt like anything physical since we got back after the station. I was too worked up, too all over the place, too angry at the world to think of anything like that. But with the fog clearing, with the acceptance of my own helplessness in the situation, there was no denying that I was getting some ideas.

  Those ideas would likely lead to the ice cream in the bag on the counter melting while I fucked her hard and rough until we were both too spent to do anything but curl up in bed after.

  That was exactly what did happen too.

  Scotti - 37 days

  I closed my eyes tight, wanting to block out the whole world, wanting to disappear, wanting anything but to see the look of utter devastation on the faces of the people around me.

  Because the trial was over.

  The verdict was in.

  And the sentence was handed down.

  It wasn't a surprise per se.

  The evidence had been damning. Eli's testimony had been robotic. The pictures of the so-called 'victim' in the hospital were horrific at best.

  It all added up to guilty.

  And he was guilty.

  We all knew that going in. We had hoped to gain sympathy from the testimony of the woman who had been getting such a bad beating from her husband that she had obviously needed plastic surgery after. But when she took the stand, all that came out of her mouth was defense for her husband, how he was a good man, how he didn't deserve such a brutal beating.