Page 56 of Primal
“You and I are not an item, Marco.” I match his narrowed eyes. “In case you’ve forgotten, you never wanted to put a label on it.”
“Ah, right, because this is all my fault,” he mocks, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. Even in his best suit, tie, shoes, and expensive watch, he looks like a child playing dress-up rather than a near thirty-year-old man. “You’re never blameless, are you?”
“What would I have blame for?”
“For fucking embarrassing me last night,” Marco hisses, voice dangerously low. “I guess a little dick is all it takes for you to forget your manners.”
If I didn’t need to contain my anger, this expensive wine would be all over his face and suit. Instead, I have to drink it and pretend I’m not burning up on the inside.
“What I do is none of your business,” I answer. “You embarrassed yourself by showing up uninvited.”
Marco laughs so loudly, he catches the attention of the table next to us. “Uninvited. Right. Because that’s all I am to the Godwins, isn’t it? Dirt beneath your shoes.”
“Dirt has a use, Marco,” I shoot back, sliding my finished wine glass onto the table. “What good is a police officer who won’t even look into a murder?”
“Fuck off, Fiora,” Marco seethes. His entire face contorts in anger and makes me sit back in my seat. I’ve seen so many of Marco’s emotions over the years. Pain after getting shot in the line of duty, sadness when a friend died in a shootout, but I’ve never seen this look. It’s full of malice and hatred—all directed at me. “Why would I help you? You have to offer something to get something in return, and since you’re used goods, you can’t do shit for me.”
Heat flames my entire neck and face. So that’s all I am to him? A trophy to be conquered, a pussy to be had? If only I had more wine because I want to drown my stupidity in cabernet sauvignon.
“I can’t get back all that time and effort I wasted on you,” Marco spits, swirling his wine around in his glass. “So, I might as well enjoy the spoils, huh?”
That’s rich, because I’m the one who wasted so much of my time and love on someone who only saw me as a means to an end.
“It seems we’re in agreement then. A waste of time,” I respond, dabbing my lips with my napkin. I already ordered appetizers for us, but I’m not in the mood to eat a meal with this asshole. “Enjoy it while you can.”
“Right, ’cause you got a bit of rich dick and suddenly don’t have time for anyone else anymore.” His laugh is as icy as the glare he gives me. “I should have taken you when I had thechance. At least gotten something for my troubles. But no, I had to keep you pure for Daddy. After all that, I’m not good enough for you and Daddy anymore?”
A few of the patrons around us whisper and stare, and I try to block them out. I guess this is why he wanted to have lunch here. He merely wants to embarrass me and my family in front of people who know exactly who the Godwins are.
“You’re a little slut, Fiora. That’s all you are. Giving blowjobs to the first man who shows you attention.”
Marco lifts his hand, and I instinctively flinch back. The murmuring grows louder around us, but it’s drowned out by the rush of blood to my ears. I stare at the open palm he has above my head with wide eyes. Is he going to hit me? His hand is shaking with rage, and he flexes his hand into a fist above the flower centerpiece. Oh my God, he’s going to punch me. He wouldn’t… would he? His reputation would be ruined, and he’d miss out on the promotion he’d been working so hard for.
But the absolute fury radiating off him is unmistakable.
After a few tense seconds, Marco lowers his hand and lets out a bitter laugh. “Hitting you would be an even bigger waste.”
“Do we have a problem here?” a man with a deep voice cuts in.
When I realize who it is, my fear becomes paralyzing. It’s one of my father’s men, who clearly just witnessed the entire scene. Shit, he’s going to tell Papa that I’m with Marco. That I just embarrassed the family. That people are talking about us. What if there’s a reporter here?
“No problem.” Marco straightens out his suit jacket and flashes a smile. “I was just leaving. You gonna be okay without me, Fiora?”
If my father finds out about this…
And if Braken finds out about this?—
Fuck, Braken can’t find out about this. At least not from anyone but me. This could look like something it isn’t.
I swallow down my fear of being in the middle of an explosive scene and nod once. I don’t bother with the usual response. I don’t think my voice would come out correctly if I tried.
Marco takes the time to drain the rest of his wine before he tilts the empty glass in my direction as a parting greeting. He stomps out of the restaurant to stares and whispers while I sit there in shock. My father’s man says something to me that I brush off. I must nip this in the bud before I’m dead by twilight.
As soon as I’m alone, I pull out my phone and for the first time ever, shoot a text to Braken.
I need to see you right now.
Chapter 30