Page 89 of Always Mine
“I can’t summon Jesus, but legal services do happen to be my specialty.” The sneer in the tone gives him away. Arty pushes his way into the little group we’ve formed. This fucker is insidious. Like mold that thrives in dank and damp crevices and spreads stealthily, ruining everything in its path.
Three things happen at once.
The waitress snaps up towards Arty’s voice, and when she spots him, her face turns a ghostly shade of white, and the champagne flute drops from her fingers, shattering with a high-pitched crash.
The commotion forces AJ to look at the waitress. She looks vaguely familiar, and AJ confirms I must have seen her recently when he rushes to the waitress and grabs the tray from her trembling hand. “Lilah, are you okay?” She turns and rushes off, AJ following in hot pursuit, passing off the tray to another server on his way.
Sophia gasps in concern, taking in Arty’s split lip, the bruises marring the left side of his face, and what appears to be a broken wrist. “Arty, what happened to you?” With his glare fixed directly on me, he laughs mirthlessly. “Oh, you know, Sophia darling, just tripped over my own feet when I was out for a run.” He turns his glare in the direction AJ disappeared to. “Puts a whole new meaning on killer workout.”
“Who the fuck are you calling darling?”I think you need another black eyeis what I want to say. Sophia darts her eyes from him to me, unsure what to make of all of this.
“Marco,” Sophia chides with a reassuring hand on my bicep, before adding sincerely, “Well, I hope you mend up soon, Arty.”
Raf narrows his eyes at me, the wheels turning. Seb and Luca’s stance mirrors my own. Tense and on high alert.
“I’m sure it will all work out perfectly fine,” Arty says. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must find Arabella. Reserve myself some fine piece of art.”
I don’t miss the double play of his words. I grind my molars, but Luca steps forwards. “Don’t even think about fucking up her night. She’s worked too hard to pull this together.”
“Or what, hotshot?”
“Or you’re going to wish you never showed your battered face here tonight,” snarls AJ as he returns to the group.
Arty gives a wicked grin in response and walks away whistling. He’s up to no good. I can sense it.
A short time later, I leave Sophia’s side for the first time to use the restroom. I’m nearing the men’s when raised voices echo through the quiet. One sounds distinctly female and distressed and the other nasally and belonging to a male. I take a detour, following where they seem to be coming from. I notice a janitor’s cupboard with a sliver of light coming from underneath it. The voices grow louder as I get closer. I throw the door open to find Arty looming over a frightened-looking Arabella, who’s been backed into a wall.
“What the hell is happening here?” I snap.
Arty swings his head towards me, and I notice immediately from the wild look in his eyes that he’s high as a kite.
“Fuck right off, Marco,” he retorts. “This has nothing to do with you.”
I’m in no mood to converse or negotiate with a terrorist. I march straight in and grab him by the scruff of his neck. He laughs maniacally, zeroing in on Arabella. “Is this what you want, Arabella? For everyone to see how good you look strung out and on your knees for me? You just never know how these things anonymously end up all over the internet.”
Tears stream silently down Arabella’s pretty face now. I can feel the shame vibrating from her. Arty’s all but confirmed the suspicions I’ve had all along. She’s one of his victims. That’s all it takes for me to flip a switch.
I push him up against the wall and rear my fist back, ready punch him in the face and break his nose to pieces. Arabella’s frantic pleas break through the whooshing in my ears.
“Marco, please, please! He’s not worth it! If he goes out there bloodied in front of all the media, this whole event is ruined. This is my big chance to prove to my father I’m not a fuck up. Please.”
I lower my fist now, but I don’t let him go. “I better not fucking see you at the after party. If you show your face at Bella Donna tonight, I will finish the job good and proper.”
“I’ve got whiplash trying to keep up with whose rules we’re following, but if we’re going eye for an eye, I’d suggest you watch your fucking back.”
He thrashes against me to shrug me off, and I don’t put up a fight this time. “Don’t forget I have everything I need to drag your name and reputation through the mud, Arabella. Do not push me.” Then he legs it out of there.
“Did he hurt you?” I demand.
“I carry the hurt of his actions every fucking day,” she whispers.
“How do your brothers stand for this?” I softly prod.
“He sold them a very convincing story. Trying to prove otherwise requires me to unlock a lot of skeletons I won’t be able to put back.”
“Maybe it’s time to set them free,” I say gently.
“Please just keep this to yourself, okay? I just…I’m not ready to have this conversation with Luca.”
