“Goddammit,” he curses. “This is fucking nuts. Why would I sleep with the old hag when I’ve got you, Amie? You’re the one always turning me down.”
“Old hag, am I?” screams Mrs. Collins. “That’s not what you said last night when you were down on your knees eating me out.”
“You’re paying me twenty-five grand per sex act. I’d say you were Beyonce for that kind of cash,” Marks says scornfully.
I give a chin nod in King’s direction for him to take out the trash. He walks up behind Marks and slams the butt of his gun against the man’s head. The detective crumples to the floor. Mrs. Collins lets out a piercing wail. “Oh no, baby!” she yells and runs to Marks’ side, forgetting all about her act.
Amie bursts into tears.
“Mr. Collins, I think you should tend to your wife.”
The man gets to his feet. “Yes, I suppose I should.” He heaves a deep sigh and rounds the sofa. “Come on, Karen. We need to sort all of this out.”
“Eugene, I was just swept away by the moment. He seduced me. You have to understand.”
“I understand it all,” Mr. Collins replies. There’s weariness in his voice and resignation. The lack of fury surprises me. Mrs. Collins allows herself to be led out of the suite while King hauls the unconscious detective away.
I reach for the tissues and shove the box in Violet’s direction. “I’m sorry,” I say quietly.
“For what?” Amie blows her nose noisily. “It’s not your fault my mom’s a slut and my fiancé is a prostitute.”
“Is this all in the report?” Violet asks “I never read it because...I guess I was scared.”
“Not all of it. I received confirmation last night from a police informant that Detective Marks had never been involved in any undercover work at any point. He doesn’t work for the state police. He’s still a beat cop in a town two counties over.”
“That explains why he was gone a lot,” Amie says bitterly. “He said he had work so I barely ever saw him.”
“He probably was working.”
“Some of the time. The rest of the time, he was getting paid to sleep with my mother. I can’t believe she did this to me.”
“It’s going to be all right,” Violet murmurs but when our eyes meet, we share a wordless agreement that Amie is going to be hurt for a very long time.
Chapter 12
Violet
I lay my head on Amie’s shoulder. We’ve been sitting on the beach for over an hour now enjoying the shade and cool breeze. It’s bittersweet having her here. I wish her visit could have been under different circumstances instead of the sadness that brought us back together. I’ve missed her so much. Growing up with sisters meant that I always had a friend. Amie and I have always been close. I grab her hand and hold it, wishing I could take away whatever pain she’s feeling.
“He’s not worth it. I know that’s not what you want to hear right now but it’s the truth. You deserve a man that treats you like a queen.” She deserves to be treated like Victor treats me. Amie is beautiful on the inside and out. The thought of some jerk making her feel unwanted makes me sick to my stomach. I can’t even think about what my mother has done in this situation. I focus my anger on Detective Marks and push my mother’s disgusting behavior to the side. My mother is a battle for another day. One I’m not sure any of us will care to have. Amie squeezes my hand as she allows the tears to continue to flow down her cheeks. She’s always so strong. It hu
rts my heart to see her like this.
“I love you, Violet. I’m so sorry that your life has been uprooted for all of these months because of some scam that Mom and Daniel tried to pull. I feel like an idiot.”
I squeeze her hand that I’m still holding. Amie was always the one to comfort me when we were younger and I want to give her that now. Seeing what kind of men are out in the world makes me even more grateful that I have Victor. Many people will say our relationship has moved too quickly, but I know that I can trust him and he will do anything for me. He always has my best interests at heart.
“You didn’t do anything wrong to feel bad about, Amie. Besides that, I’m happy here now. It was hard when I first arrived but then I made friends. Victor also changed things for me.” That brings a small smile to her face. I hate that my sister is hurt but it did make me find Victor.
“So. You and I am Sokolov are a thing huh?” I nod my head and we both burst into laughter. Once we catch our breath Amie continues to talk. “He seems so serious except for when it comes to you, Violet. As soon as you entered the room his eyes softened. I hope someone looks at me one day the way he does you.”
“You will find it. It comes out of nowhere.”
“I don’t think Sokolov can come out of nowhere.”
I snort a small laugh. The man is big. Unmissable. He not only takes up a lot of space, you can feel his energy without even seeing him. You know he is there. Just like I know he’s standing about thirty yards behind my sister and me keeping a watchful eye on us.
“You didn’t love him.” I lift my head from off her shoulder to look at her. “It would hurt more if you did. I don’t think I’d be able to breathe if Victor was out of my life,” I admit. That single thought would be devastating. I don’t know how I lived without him before. “Real love is everything and I know you’ll find it. There’s no way some man isn’t going to blindside you. Trust me. It happens. A lot around here, actually.”