Vendetta (16 page)

    
When Mark opened the door, he noticed how frazzled she really was. She looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights. “Come on, let’s go,” he helped her out.

    
“Captain Haddock wanted me to go get in that other car, but you said not to,” she was watching the police come out with bags of evidence. She nervously glanced at everyone.

    
“It’s alright. I just didn’t want you walking around, getting in the way or taking off, all vigilante style, like you did at the restaurant.”

    
Mark, still stone faced, helped her into the car.

    
“Oh,” she looked puzzled. “I guess… I was just a little jumpy, and maybe a little paranoid. I told him I had had one hell of a day. I hope he excuses my snapping at him.”

    
Julie knew she was rambling, but didn’t care. “I just want to get somewhere I feel safe and relax, you know? Like, take a nice hot shower and go to bed. Not that I would be able to sleep…but it’s the thought that counts right?” she laughed nervously.

    
Mark tried not to look at her. “Being careful or cautious isn’t the same as being paranoid. But, don’t worry about it. You did fine,” he said.

    
“I swapped your hotel for another one that they don‘t know about. They had you all set up and I made a last minute change to the reservation. Maybe I’m a little paranoid, too, but at least I‘ll know your safe,” he focused on the road.

    
“Thanks for looking out for me,” Julie said, searching his stoic face for a human reaction. But there was nothing. She didn’t even know what to say to him to make small talk. It seemed weird and awkward. “I appreciate it,” she said.

    
No… “You’re welcome”, or “No problem”… That would have been a good response, she thought.

    
She had never known until now, that stress and grief like what he’s experienced lately, could actually change the way a person’s face looked. He looked so uncaring, unfeeling. His eyes were hardened and dark. She had never imagined that he would ever look like this.

    
She also wondered if he blamed her for any of this. That’s what bothered her the most. But he had heard Nick’s confession, hadn’t he? He had to know that she didn’t have anything to do with this, let alone betray his friendship in any way.

    
What she didn‘t understand, if he knew all of this, why was he so cold and distant towards her? They were still friends, weren‘t they? But everything has changed now, she could tell. Maybe it was all too weird for him, to be friends with the wife of the man who killed his daughter, whether Nick had meant to do it or not. Who knows?

    
Was Nick telling the truth? Maybe he really WAS trying to kill Mark. She felt suddenly empty when she thought of that…of not having Mark in her life at all. As a friend or not, the idea of not having him there… was scary. What if Nick had succeeded? A sudden panic seized her stomach and knotted up in her gut. She couldn’t even fathom the possibility. Her deep thought was interrupted by the car jerking to a stop in a The Comfort Plus parking lot.

    
“I‘m going to walk up there with you and get you settled. No one knows what hotel or what room you’ll really be staying in. I used an alias to book your reservation. It’s under Mrs. Kadi Brown. Okay, Kadi?” Mark grabbed the bag that he had brought for her. “This is for you,” he shoved it towards her.

    
“Oh, thank you,” she said quickly.

    
She got out and tried to keep up with Marks pace. “Thanks for packing my things, and for the room…thanks for everything you’ve done for me,” Julie stuttered as they speed walked down the quiet hallway trying to find the room number. Mark stopped.

    
“Try your key,” Mark handed her the room key and stepped aside.

    
She swiped it and opened the door. Mark put his arm across her when she tried to go in. “What?” Julie asked.

    
“Hold on a second,” he whispered sternly. He drew his gun from the left side of his jacket.

    
Mark flicked on the table lamp and glanced around the little room, waving her in.

    
She walked into the darkened room, dropped her purse and fell on her back, onto the bed.

    
Mark walked over to the window and moved the curtain, letting in a stream of moon light.

    
“Everything’s fine Mark, don’t worry,” she rubbed her eyes.

    
“Don’t worry?” Mark repeated her.

    
“Is he searching the bathroom?” Julie thought to herself.

    
“You said it yourself. No one knows I’m here, but you,” she said lazily.

    
“Nick told Lucy that you overheard them talking in the office. Don’t you get it? You’re now a target. But you think you’re safe and you can just relax now, right? Seriously, what do you think is going on here? Some sort of High school bullshit? He said, she said?” he asked sarcastically. Mark put his gun away.

    
Julie sat up from the bed and propped herself up onto her elbows.

     “Umm
… I don’t really know, Mark! Why don’t you tell me what’s going on? It’s a messed up situation. But excuse me, if I don’t have the mental capacity for all of this shit like you do! Oh, and for the record, you’re handling it like a PRO!” Julie shot him a dirty look and gave him a “thumbs up”.

    
Mark glared at her. “You have NO idea what kind of people we are dealing with here! They’re killers, who have tracked me down and managed to infiltrate my life for YEARS, just to get to me and revenge Lucy’s piece of shit brother.”

    
Mark was fuming. He hated that she acted so clueless.

    
“Lucy is Leo’s sister?” Julie was surprised. “I had no idea.”

    
“There’s a lot going on here that you have no idea about. No one is safe, and that’s why I’m taking a little extra precaution with you. If they think you mean something to me, they will try to hurt you, or kill you. They‘ve already gotten to my daughter, what makes you think you’re so special?” Mark’s dark, icy glare burned into her.

    
Julie had reached her boiling point, and whether he deserved it or not… she was about to blow up on him.

    
“You know, you’re right. Your completely right, Mark! What the hell makes me so damn special, huh?” Her eyes flashed with hurt and anger. She felt her face and ears grow hotter. She stood up and faced him now. She didn’t care if her face was red and she was shaking like a leaf.

    
“Why are you even here? Why are you packing my bags and acting like my personal body guard, when you can’t stand to be around me? Yet, I’m supposed to sympathize with your bad attitude. This hasn’t exactly been a vacation for me either, you know! My friend’s daughter dies, at her birthday party of all days, a young girl that I LOVE dearly and thought of as my OWN! Then I find out, my “friend” has this crazy secret life, and that we’re all in danger!” Her breathing was short and gasping.

    
Julie began to frantically pace the floor. “To top it all off…I find out my estranged husband has been sleeping with another woman for damn near close to a year, and dumps me like yesterday’s garbage… oh and let’s not forget, that before he attempts to blow his head off in our bedroom…he tells me that he’s the one that killed Allie!” Julie yelled.

    
She threw her hands up in the air, like two white flags surrendering… to GOD.

    
Mark stood at the door with his hand on the knob looking at her, his face still emotionless.

        
“So, yeah…thanks to you, I now know how completely UN special I am!” she stated.

    
“YOU, the only friend I can trust right now, acts like I‘m a damn stranger, and won’t even look at me or talk to me unless you’re ordering me around or you absolutely have to! Don’t get me wrong…I completely sympathize with your entire state of mind, but damn it, Mark! Why do you have to blame me?” Julie cried.

    
“What? I never said anything like that. I don‘t blame you for any of this,” he stared intensely at her.

    
“I know that you do, Mark. I know that you blame me, on some weird level… for all of this.  Ever since you found out about Nick’s involvement, you’ve been nothing but distant and cold. I know that our “friendship” has taken a huge blow. I can feel it,” she tapped her chest hard, directly over her heart.

    
“I don‘t blame you for what Nick has done. Just get that idea out of your head,” Mark said quieter.

    
“Look, I do care about you Jule’s, you have to know that by now, very much. But now is not the time to discuss our feelings! Given everything that has happened, to both of us… neither one of us can trust how we might or might not feel. We’re grieving on all levels, and now is not the time to try to figure this out,” Mark turned the handle and opened the door to leave.

    
Julie spoke softer. “I know that you feel like you can’t trust anyone, and I totally get it. But if there’s anyone in this world that you can be sure of… it’s me,” her voice cracked.

    
Mark stopped in the door way and turned around to face her. His dark, hard stare focused on her, searching her eyes for a sign of validity. 

    
Julie had never in her life, felt more vulnerable than she did right then. Her eyes began to tear up and her bottom lip quivered as she felt her tough exterior softening.

    
Mark’s eyes burned into hers, as he stepped back into the room, and shut the door behind him.

                         
         CHAPTER 13

                      
            LETTING GO

     Mark rushed at her with such fierceness, that it stopped the breath in Julie’s throat. He reached out and grabbed the back of her neck, passionately kissing her firmly on her lips. His kiss deepened as she opened her mouth to kiss him back.

    
His lips were incredibly soft and his tongue was electric. Instant heat radiated through her body, melting away all her defenses. She has wanted him secretly for so long now, that it felt natural and only right to finally be in his arms.

    
Julie’s hands flew up and grabbed a handful of his thick, dark hair. She knew now, that he wanted to be with her just as much.

    
Julie began to peel back his leather jacket, off of his wide, muscular shoulders. She yanked down hard, hearing it thud as it hit the floor. His body pushed against her, backing her up to the bed. Breaking off the kiss for a moment, he took off his guns and set them safely on the floor. He quickly took off his shirt in one swift movement. Whatever emotional barriers he had that held him back before, were definitely gone now. All of the repressed anguish and sorrow that he felt was now being transformed into his insatiable need for her.

    
He ripped her sweater open and tossed it to the side. Mark grabbed a section of her buttoned blouse with his hands and yanked it open, not fumbling with them this time as the buttons scattered across the floor. Their hands were now intertwined in each other’s hair as they kissed feverishly. Tugging her head back slightly, he ran his tongue down the side of her throat. He opened his mouth wide and pressed it to her neck, biting down on her. The mixture of wet heat and teeth sent shivers down her spine, and spread across her entire body.

    
Mark ran his hands down the front of breasts, to her waist. He felt around for the top of her pants and unbuttoned them, sending them down her legs to the awaiting floor.

    
Mark hooked his fingers under the straps of her bra and gently pulled them down her shoulders, reaching around with one hand, he unhooked it, sending that to the floor as well.  He stood up straight, breaking the spell of their long, magnetic kiss.

    
Looking down at her face in the moonlight, he tenderly held the back of her head as he held her close. He paused to watch her breasts rise and fall with each breath she took. Julie’s body shook with anticipation.

    
“I have wanted you for so long… I just told myself it would never happen,” he whispered.

    
That’s when Julie saw it… that warmth, that softness in those gorgeous, hazel eyes that melted her every time. That look that she had come to love so much.

    
His tender expression changed to concern. “This is going to change everything, Jules. We shouldn’t go any further unless it’s what you really want.”