Mark of Betrayal (Dark Secrets #3)(147)
Author: A.M. Hudson

On my finger, the bare skin where my ring was until Jason took it off felt cold and empty—a reminder that David and I were so far apart and that, worst of all, might possibly be separated forever. What would my life be without him now? How would I kiss him when I saw him next, knowing it would be one of the last times? How could he kiss me each time he came here, knowing that when he said forever, it was a lie?

“Hello?” a cautious voice called into the room.

The moonlight outlined a broad silhouette. I tucked myself into a smaller ball and hid my eyes when the light came on, blinding me.

“Ar?” Mike landed beside me, taking my face in his thick fingers. “Baby, what are you doing out here?” He looked behind him then. “Did you throw up?”

I nodded, clutching my hands to my stomach.

“What…how did you…what were you…?”

“I…I think I was sleepwalking.” I hid Arthur’s hanky under my arm.

He sat back on his heels, frowning. “Then why can I smell Arthur all over you?”

I took a quick breath and looked down at the shirt covering my otherwise naked body.

He looked too. “What have you done?”

“I…”

“Ara!” He stood up, hauling me to my feet by the arm. “What did you do?”

“Nothing, I…”

“You’re naked,” he said, running his hand up the back of my thigh.

“I didn’t do anything, Mike. I swear, I—”

“Bullshit!” he screamed, the veins in his eyes bulging. “Did you f**k him?”

“No.”

He walked away, running his hands over his head. “No. Nup, this doesn’t make sense. None of it.”

“Mike, please?”

He appeared in front of me, pinning my back to the ice-cold mirror. “What are you playing at, Ara? What are you up to?”

“Nothing, Mike. I honestly don’t know how I got down here.”

He studied my cheeks and my lips. “You’ve been crying.”

“I…I’m okay.” I reached up and wiped the moisture of remaining tears from under my eye.

“Wait.” Mike grabbed my hand, squeezing it so tight my fingertips pulsed with blood. “Where’s your ring?”

I looked at my hand then back at his fierce eyes.

“Where is your ring!”

“I…I took it off.”

“Why?” he said quietly, but an eruption of volume festered underneath. “Why would you do that?”

“It…” I couldn’t think. I couldn’t even remember when I took it off.

His fingers tightened on my arms, saliva leaving his lips, spattering all over mine as he screamed something in my face.

“Jason took it off me!” I wailed. “It looked wrong. My husband is supposed to be dead, Mike.”

“But he’s not dead.” He slammed me against the mirror again, cracking it under my spine. “He’s alive, and you’re down here, naked under Arthur’s shirt!”

I looked right into his eyes then, both of us seeing truths about each other we didn’t want to see, and my legs moved out from under me; I wanted to sink down and curl into a ball, but he held me up, leaning on my body with so much weight my lungs couldn’t draw a breath. “I didn’t do anything with him, Mike.”

“Bullshit!” He walked away again. I sat on the floor, looking at the exit then my best friend. “Ara, you can’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying. I…All I remember is getting down here and then I threw up.”

He appeared beside me, squatting, lifting my face. “If that’s true, then why are your clothes over there on the floor?”

I looked over at them, my lie falling apart before my eyes.

“You stupid little slut,” he said through his teeth and snapped his hand across my cheek.

I squealed, slowly touching my fingers to it, swiping my hair away from my lip.

“Do you know what this will do to him? Do you!” He grabbed me again, shaking me. “He will hate you, Ara. He will never touch you again, he—” His words stopped and he jerked backward, cool air rushing between us as he skidded into the wall across the room.

“Back down, or I will put you in a permanent state of vegetation!” Jason pointed at him, coming up out of nowhere.

Mike sat up, clutching his jaw, then stumbled to his feet. I saw the same shock I was feeling become present in his eyes; he looked down at his hands, and I turned away, burying my face in Jason’s shoulder as he squatted beside me.

“Baby. I’m sorry,” Mike said, and when I looked up again, he was gone.

“Ara?” Jason covered me with his jacket.

“I can’t do it, Jase. I can’t.”

“Can’t do what?”

“What kind of a person am I?” I whispered to myself. “I couldn’t even…I just couldn’t…”

I felt his hands on me, trying to comfort me, but my breath became too thin, my head swirling as the sound in the room rang through my ears in a high-pitched tone.

I opened my eyes and smiled, turning my head away. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” Jason jumped up from the chair by my bed and came to sit right against my hip.

“Like you’re really concerned.”

He stroked his thumb over my cheek. “He hit you.”

“It was a tiny slap,” I said, pulling his hand away. “And I kinda had it coming.”

“No.” He shook his head. “You’ve been through enough. He had no right to touch you that way. I will skin him alive.” He closed his eyes in emphasis of the word.

“I’m okay,” I said.

“But you shouldn’t be. You shouldn’t brush this off like it doesn’t matter, Ara. He is ten times bigger than you, and he—”

“I’ve got bigger things to worry about right now, Jase.” I rolled away, pulling the blanket up over my shoulder. “Just let it go.”

He swept my hair back, pressing his lips firmly to the side of my head. “I love you, Ara. I won’t let this go. But we’ll talk about it in the morning.”

“Jase?”

“Shh.” He tucked me in a little tighter. “Just sleep.”

“No.” I rolled over and shoved the blanket back. “Let it go. Mike didn’t mean to do that. He’s…I mean…look what I put him through. This was just the final straw, okay. He clearly can’t take anymore of…well, me.”

He sighed and turned away, lowering his head to his hands. “I understand that, Ara, probably better than you might think, but he’s not just your friend anymore; he’s head of security. No matter what you do or have done, he should have more self-control than to have slapped you.”