I don’t want to get Laurel involved, though. If I show up there wanting things I walked away from the other day, I’ll have to explain why. Won’t I? I suppose I could confuse her. It’s not like she’s going to tell Rafe on me. I could show up at her door with a gun and she wouldn’t tell Rafe about it, provided I told her not to.
Hey, that’s not half bad. Laurel would have no fucking idea what’s happening, but at least if something happens and shit goes sideways, I got to feel myself in Laurel’s mouth one last time. Even if Rafe catches on that something happened, Laurel can’t be blamed for it under those circumstances. Anyone would tell her to cooperate under threat of duress, and while Rafe wouldn’t believe I would hurt Laurel, if I jump ship, he would believe I would trick her into believing I’d hurt her. I’m a crafty bastard when I want to be.
Confronting Marlena is probably more urgent than getting my dick sucked.
It’s the easiest out of all my decisions, so I head over to the apartment complex Rafe owns to pay her a visit.
Her greenish eyes register no small amount of surprise when she sees me on the other side of the door. “Hey, Sin.”
I smile. “Marlena. Can I come in?”
“Um…” She must sense that I’m onto her, because last time I stood on this doorstop, she wanted me to come inside. Now she’s glancing back in the apartment like she’s searching for an excuse to tell me no.
I save her the trouble, taking a step forward and pushing on the door. “I’m gonna come in.”
God, her eyes are expressive. She’s nervous, but she forces a smile and attempts to pick up where she left off. “I like it when you’re bossy.”
“That’s not gonna last long,” I tell her, shoving the door shut and turning to face her, my eyes hard. “Tell me why I’m here, Marlena.”
Fear jumps in her eyes and she backs up. Her gaze flits across the room briefly to a little table. I wanna know what’s over there, so I walk backward, keeping an eye on her.
Taking a few nervous steps forward, she says, “We could go to my bedroom and talk there.”
I check behind the table. I’m more than a little surprised to find a gun stashed back there.
Well, shit.
Just in case she’s more dangerous than I expected her to be, I straighten and stare at her. Then I pull out my own gun, because while I like to be cocky sometimes, I don’t like to be so cocky I get my ass shot.
Marlena gasps, backing up against the wall. Her hand shoots out and she reaches for the doorknob, but before she can throw the door open and run, I’m there, shoving it closed.
“Help!” she screams, before I get the door all the way shut.
Glaring at her, I say, “Now that wasn’t too fucking smart, was it?” Grabbing her by the hair, I yank her back, ignoring her yelp, and lock my arm around her neck.
“Sin, please,” she begs, her hands coming to my arm, trying to claw it away from her neck. I ignore her, leaning over to look out the window, make sure there was no one around to hear her. She continues to waste her breath. “I really liked you, Sin. I really do. Please don’t hurt me. I didn’t want to do it. She made me. I tried to talk her out of it. I told her it was too far. I swear to God, I never wanted to hurt Laurel.”
My blood runs cold, but she can’t see my face. Even if she could, I doubt she’d know I’m surprised, but I’m doubly glad anyway. “No?”
Her breath hitches and she shakes her head, still struggling pointlessly against my hold. “I didn’t. I swear to God.”
“Then why the fuck did you do it?” I’m vague, since I’m not entirely sure what she’s talking about, but angry, because she needs to think I do.
“I don’t know,” she wails. “Cassandra was so angry that Rafe got her pregnant. It ruined everything and she had to go with plan B. It’s over now, I swear. That was only when they thought Laurel came with Rafe. Now that Gio knows you like her, he’d never hurt her. I’m so sorry. We hoped you wouldn’t find out.”
“Cassandra’s fucking Gio, why the fuck did she care if Rafe knocked up Laurel?”
“Gio was just her insurance plan,” Marlena says, somewhat defensive. “She started fucking him so she had a back-up, but she doesn’t really care about him. She wanted to marry Rafe, but she doesn’t love him either.”
I’m starting to get a weird feeling here. “Who does she love?”
“Me.”
Oh, Christ.
Sighing, I tell her, “I’ve got some bad news for you, dipshit. Cassandra only loves Cassandra. Far as I know, she’s not even into girls. She’s using your dumb ass, just like she’s using them.”
“No, she isn’t,” she objects, spirited rather than afraid now, in the kind of brave burst that only afflicts the truly devoted as they defend their hero. Her hero sucks, unfortunately for her. “Cassandra only uses people because she has to. They both deserved it. They don’t even deserve to touch her, and they get to. She’s wonderful. She’s so smart and strong and…. Sure, sometimes she does bad things, but everyone does. She’s the most fascinating person I’ve ever met, Sin. I think you’ve misjudged her.”