Marco sighed. “If you’d stayed away, it could still have happened, and you wouldn’t have been there in time to save her before he killed her.”
My stomach rolled again. It felt empty, and yet full of knives, and other sharp things, like I’d swallowed glass, broken glass.
“I’m twice her age. She deserves more than that. It’s not like we could have a future together anyway. I’m being selfish. I’ll get old on her, and she’ll realise she wasted her time on me.”
I felt Marco’s huge hand slap the back of my head, the unexpected pain a shock.
“Stop with that bullshit, Teller. None of that matters, if you’re the right ones for each other. Trust me, I’ve learned the hard way, that love comes for us when we least expect it. Sometimes, in the most bizarre of situations.”
He cleared his throat then. “I never told you how I met Lenore. It’s a fucked up story. Same as how Cass and the Bennetts met. I was sent to keep surveillance over Harvey, watch the little prick, while he was supposed to be working on getting their money together. He had a friend with him. She was doing fucking everything, while he sat there with his thumb up his ass, complaining about how this was all someone else’s fault. Even just from these glimpses of her, what I saw was this feisty, strong, powerful woman, who would move heaven and earth to help a woman in danger.”
I was stunned into silence. I’d never heard so many words come out of him before, and he wasn’t done yet.
“It was like being hit by a sledgehammer. I wanted her. Even just from those fleeting moments. One night, when they were both at her place, I got a call from Seb. Go and video what was happening in the flat. Something was going down, but they didn’t say what. I got up close, pushing open a window at the side of the room, and held the phone through it, so they could see and hear what was happening. How they didn’t see me, I… well, I guess they were too caught up in their argument.”
I frowned. I knew the basics of what had gone down, but now he was telling me the whole story. It offered me an escape from what my mind was focusing on right now, and I let it draw me in.
He sighed, running a hand over his neat hair. “I guess I figured they’d have a spat, she might slap him or something, and then they’d probably put it behind them. I didn’t find out until later that the fight was about him videoing her sleeping and stuff, without her consent. The asshole. Couldn’t help those vile instincts of his.”
Jesus. He was a sick fucker, that was for sure. I nodded, even though he was staring off ahead, and not looking at me. Had he forgotten I was even here?
“When he started trying to force himself on her, I couldn’t get in. Not from there. The Bennetts were yelling at me to get in there, and I just ran around the front and kicked the door in. I had to get to her before he hurt her. I was so afraid I would be too late. I knew her history. I knew she’d been raped before. The thought that someone who was her friend, who supposedly cared about her, could even consider doing that to her was just beyond me.”
Sadly, I knew exactly how helpless he’d felt in those moments.
“You got in though?” I prompted, hoping he’d finish the story, selfishly wanting my escape from my own reality to last a little longer.
He nodded, rubbing a hand over his face.
“I walked in there, and the bastard was dead on the floor, and she was just in shock. This fucking goddess of a woman, who was far too good for that nerdy little prick… she was just standing there… stunned. Thank fuck she’d managed to stop him, but I’ll always wish I’d been the one to end him. For her. To save her from having to do it. And I’d have fucking hurt him. Made him pay for days. Tortured every fucking inch of him, listened to his screams, and him begging me to stop. To kill him. That’s what he deserved. Instead, I did what I could to get the clean-up guys in, while she was in the bathroom.”
He looked like he was reliving the horror right now. He gripped the back of his neck with one hand, massaging it for a moment.
“I should have known. I should have realised she’d lose it in there. She didn’t respond when I started banging on the door. I had to kick it open, and fuck… of all the things I’ve seen, and done… that one moment was the worst of my life. She… there was so much blood. She’d cut her wrists. I thought she was already dead.”
Fuck me. I couldn’t even imagine that.
“It’s mostly a blur, but I know I called for an ambulance, because I didn’t want to waste time waiting for Jeffrey, when he’d probably just do the same. It would have been too late. We patched her up as best we could, while we waited for the ambulance. The clean-up team had the body bagged up, and most of them were cleaning, while one of them helped me, desperately trying to stop the bleeding before it was too late. When the ambulance arrived, I ran out there, with her in my arms. I didn’t even care about what was going on in her flat. All I cared about was getting her help. Saving her.”
He fell silent for a minute.
“Marco, you don’t need to tell me all this. It’s your business.”
He shrugged a shoulder, letting out a heavy breath. “I’ve never really talked about it with anyone. I couldn’t leave her side, you know? Like I needed to be the one to protect her. I mean, fuck… I couldn’t save her from him, or from having to kill him, but I damn sure wasn’t going to let her risk her safety again. I didn’t want her waking up alone either. I dropped everything, and stayed there. I guess I’m telling you this, because I need you to realise that we don’t always get the best start with the person we’re meant to be with, but it doesn’t mean that being with them is wrong. It just means that we have to work harder, to help them through whatever the fuck happens. I wouldn’t wish what happened to Julie on anyone, but I know you can get her through it, Teller. You and us. We’re all going to help where we can.”
I took a deep breath. “But aren’t we all the reason why she went through that? Do I have a right to be around her now? Do any of us?”
He shot me a glare, looking more like his usual self, all of a sudden.
“All of this is because of those fucking Clarke bastards; you do get that right? Harvey got in over his head, and made a bad decision. Borrowed money he had no hope of paying back, then he messed up everyone’s fucking lives in the process. Cass, by dragging her into something that had nothing to do with her, even if she ended up happier where she is now. Lenore, by dragging her into all kinds of trouble, and trying to rape her. Julie, by taking away her support network. And it’s because of all of that, that his bastard father even knew any of us existed. Without Harvey, he would never have come to town. Lenore would have been safe. Julie would have been safe. So you put the blame right where it fucking belongs. On those two bastards. All of this traces back to them.”
A voice came from the clinic doorway, interrupting us. “You fellas might want to hear this shit.”
We followed the Bennett back into the clinic waiting room, where the group of them were huddled around a phone.
“Nige, we’re all here, bruv.” The other brother said. I’m going to assume that one is Samuel. Don’t ask me why. It’s just a hunch, but I think I’m getting a feel for their mannerisms.
“Uh… well first, I’d like to say that I’m so sorry for my part in what’s happened. I can’t believe I didn’t find all of this earlier. It took some work, some fucking unpicking of all kinds of shit, but I am kicking myself for not finding it sooner.”