Thrust: Bad Boy Racing Romance (Fastlane Series Book 2) (27 page)

“Don’t give me that, Marco. I deserve better than some bullshit story from you. I…”

“This isn’t bullshit, Dani!” he screamed, his voice cracking. “Jesus fucking Christ, at least give me a chance to explain myself. You called me up, leaving me not one but two,
long
, accusatory messages. Did you ever think, even for a single second, that you weren’t the only one being victimized by Serena?”

I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out. Marco took notice of my hesitation.

“That’s what I suspected,” he began, exhaling what seemed like a sincere breath of relief. “Just give me five minutes. That’s all I need. Let me explain my side, because Serena is not to be trusted.”

“Hang on…” I replied, covering the receiver and looking at Chloe.

Chloe shrugged.

“What’s going on?”

I shook my head, inwardly cursing myself for even considering his offer.

“He says…” I began, my voice trailing off.

Chloe lifted her arms skyward.

“What?”

Before I said anything, I muted the phone.

“Marco wants to talk. He wants me to give him five minutes.”

Chloe nodded and shrugged at the same time.

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“Like, does he sound sincere?”

Honestly, I couldn’t tell any more. Truth and deception used to be clear lines in my mind. But now it seemed like everywhere I turned, the things I thought made life stable, didn’t anymore.

“Chloe, I really… I just don’t know.”

“Okay,” she said, nodding her head. “Well I mean, let me ask it another way. Do you want to hear what he has to say?”

I looked away from her, swallowing hard and trying to disguise my hurt. Of course I wanted to hear what he had to say. Even though our time together had been short, it was still the most exciting relationship I’d ever had. Who in their right mind would just throw that away without even listening, if only for a few minutes?

While I considered her question, Chloe answered it for me.

“Dani, do you need some privacy?”

I swallowed hard again.

“No. Whatever he has to say, I want you here with me.”

Chloe stood, walked over to me and we hugged.

“I’ll be right here,” she said, pulling away from me.

I nodded and lifted the phone into my line of sight, taking Marco off mute before bringing it to my ear again.

“Okay,” I began, nibbling on my lower lip. “You have five minutes.”

“Thank you, Dani. This whole explanation won’t take me more than three.”

Exhaling, I leaned against my kitchen counter. Chloe walked across the room and sat on the couch.

“Are you married to her?” I whispered, unwilling to wait for him to give me the answer.

He didn’t hesitate.

“Yes.”

“Jesus!” I yelled. “How could you? How could you do such a thing, Marco?”

Chloe snapped her head in my direction.

“Hey!” he exclaimed, interrupting me. “You said I had five minutes to explain. Remember?”

Shaking my head, I closed my eyes.

“Okay.” I replied, exhaling. “Just… whatever.”

“Yes,” he began, his voice carrying an air of sincerity. “Serena and I are married. But, there’s a lot more to the story.”

“Four minutes and forty-five seconds…” I muttered.

Marco breathed heavy, sounding aggravated. But the truth was, I didn’t care. It took every ounce of resolve I had not to hang up on him.

“Okay, look… Serena and I have known each other since we were very young, probably since our early teens. Have we hooked up? Yes. Off and on for many years - which leads me to the marriage. It was a couple of years ago, just after my rookie season. We were in Italy and I was just blowing off some steam. We had too much to drink, one thing led to another, and we found a priest willing to marry us.”

I cut him off.

“This is how you’re convincing me? Do you realize how ridiculous you sound right now, Marco?”

He didn’t acknowledge my question.

“
As I was saying
, Dani, we found a priest who was willing to perform the ceremony. Almost as soon as it happened, I realized what a stupid mistake I’d made, and ever since, I’ve been working with my attorneys to get the marriage annulled. Serena has been resisting the entire time. It’s a long complicated story, but the marriage is close to being dissolved.”

Marco paused and I remained silent, still not sure what to make of his story.

“The simple fact, Dani, is that Serena is grasping at straws, and her attorney knows it. It’s nothing more than a bluff.”

While he spoke, I began to walk towards my bedroom. I reached up and closed my eyes, rubbing my forehead with the tips of my fingers. Halfway down the hallway, I responded.

“Well, I was in that meeting today, Marco and let me tell you… It sure didn’t seem like a bluff. As far as her attorney, my bosses, and the firm's attorney are concerned, your marriage to Serena is valid.”

“I understand, Dani. I’m just telling you that she’s bluffing. I’m sorry for what’s happened and I…”

Entering my bedroom, I interrupted him.

“You’re sorry?” I began, pacing back and forth. “You did hear my message. Right? You understand that I was
fired,
and my career is
over
, don’t you? Apologies aren’t going to do anything to help me, Marco. I’ve lost everything, and it’s all because of your secrets.”

“I wasn’t trying to keep secrets from you, Dani! You aren’t listening! As I explained, the divorce is nearly final. Everything that's happening right now is Serena’s own doing. Frankly, I’m shocked at what’s happened. I never would have expected something this drastic from her. I’m very sorry for what’s happened, for not telling you about it. And I promise, I will make this right. You have to trust me. I need to have it out with her, once and for all.”

I stopped in place, chewing on my lip.

“What about the video, Marco?”

I heard him swallow hard through the receiver.

“I don’t know anything about it, other than what you’ve told me. I’ll get to the bottom of it just like everything else, Dani. I promise.”

When he finished speaking, I exhaled, disgusted by all of it.

“I feel like your promises aren’t worth very much right now, Marco.”

“That’s understandable,” he replied, his tone soft. “If I were in your situation, Dani, I would probably feel the same way. All I’m asking for is a chance.”

Every fiber of my being told me to just end it and get on with my life, no matter how difficult the prospect might have been at the time. It seemed that for every second I spent on the phone listening to his voice, a little piece of me died. Each word he spoke was like a knife, cutting into my soul. I felt lost, unable to make a decision knowing full well whatever one I did make would only lead me to more pain.

My voice choked. “I-I don’t know who to trust anymore, Marco.”

With that, I lowered the phone away from my ear. When I did, I could hear him still speaking, begging for me to give him a chance. I couldn’t,
wouldn’t.

I hung up.

MARCO

“Shit!” I exclaimed, pulling the phone away from my ear.

I looked down at my other hand, opening my palm and glancing at the small camera I found inside of the strong box. I’d wanted to reveal the discovery to Dani, but until I had a chance to confront Serena about it, it would only make things worse.

For the moment, it looked like Dani was all but done with me. If there was any hope of turning the situation around, I had to handle Serena and do it right away.  I looked at my cell phone again, swiping it on.

“Take it easy, Marco,” I muttered, scrolling through my contacts until I found her number.

After dialing her number, it rang a second later.

“Marco! My love,” Serena answered, her voice carrying a sickening sweetness. “I wondered when you might be calling.”

Every word from her lips dripped into my ear, like poison. I heard it in her tone – she thought she’d won. I would never give her the satisfaction,
ever.
Even so, she had a knack for pushing my buttons, and if there was ever a time to put a stop to her manipulative behavior, this was it.

“Why would you be wondering when I was going to call, Serena?”

“Oh, Marco, I don’t see any reason why we have to pretend. That slut was only after one thing. We both know it. I was only doing what a good wife should.”

I chuckled under my breath. I don’t suppose I should’ve expected anything else from her.

“I’ve got something in my hand, Serena,” I began, flipping the small camera in the air like a coin. “Would you like to guess what it is?”

“Our marriage certificate?” she said, giggling with soft laughter.

“No, not exactly,” I replied. “I’ll give you one more chance.”

Serena exhaled.

“This conversation is boring me, Marco. Don’t you think it’s time for us to talk about our reconciliation? Especially now?”

Ignoring her, I continued.

“It’s a camera, Serena.”

“So? What does it have to do with me?”

Extending my arm, I pinched the tiny device between my thumb and index finger, looking at it.

“I’ll have to hand it to you, Serena. Something like this… it’s pretty clever and
way
beyond anything I’d ever imagine you being capable of doing.”

She didn’t bite. At least, not yet.

“Marco, unless you want to tell me what you’re talking about, I don’t have time to play these silly games with you.”

“No,” I began, closing my fingers around the camera once again. “You’ve moved well beyond game playing. Haven’t you? You’ve gone straight into destroying people’s lives.”

Serena scoffed.

“I don’t have to sit here and be insulted, Marco. I have no idea what you mean. Whose life have I…”

I squeezed the hand holding the camera, nearly crushing it.

“You lied to me!” I yelled.

Fear crept into her tone.

“I would
never
lie to you, Marco, not after all these years. How can you say such a thing to me?”

I didn’t bother to suppress my disgust.

“It’s easy. When I asked you if you looked in the strong box, you told me you didn’t. That was a lie. Do you know how I know?”

Serena sniffed with defiance.

“It’s because I just got off the phone with Dani. Apparently, you went to her office in New York, posing as my wife…”

She interrupted me.

“I am not posing!” she screamed. “We are married, Marco!”

Ignoring her, I continued, picking up where I left off.

“Not only did you misrepresent our relationship and your claim to my inheritance, but you humiliated a perfectly innocent woman in the process. Because of your insane jealousy, not to mention a complete disregard for my privacy, you used the camera I’m holding in my hand to film us having sex and attempted to entrap her with the evidence.”

Serena cackled hysterically. The good news was I’d heard her laugh so many times over the years, I knew exactly the meaning behind it.

“And, that’s only half of it, Serena. I am only going to ask you this one time. So help me, if you lie to me, I will destroy you.”

Serena fell silent for a moment before responding.

“I’m not going to be threatened by you, Marco. I’m hanging up.”

“If you do, Serena, then I promise you, you will regret it.”

She remained on the line.

“When you planted the camera, Serena, and don’t bother denying it, did you look around inside of the strong box?”

She cleared her throat but didn’t answer.

“Serena,” I warned. “This is no time to play games with me.”

“Marco,” she began, slowing down her words. “I don’t know what you're talking about. I don’t know anything about a camera. And I certainly don’t know anything about what was in your strong box. I already told you that I didn’t look inside of it.”