Caught by Emma Louise
Chapter Eight
“I’m telling you, man, she kicked my fucking ass.” A round of amused chuckles echo around the small conference room as I walk in and take a seat. We try to get the guys in at least once a week for a meeting, and today is one of those days. Crew is already seated at the head of the table, Felix and Gavin on either side of him. I’ve been out of the office for the last week, so this is the first chance we’ve had to catch up in a while.
“I’m running my usual route through the park,” Felix keeps recounting his story. “I see her standing there, so I go over to say hi. The next thing I know, I’m on my back seeing stars, and she’s a split second away from kicking me in the balls,” he adds, almost sounding wistful as he speaks.
“I always knew you were a pussy,” Gavin mutters to nobody in particular.
“Trust me, she might be small, but our girl can look after herself,” Felix adds, a look of admiration on his face. “Bro, it was fucking beautiful.”
“Why does it not surprise me that you getting your ass kicked makes your dick hard?” Crew asks, shaking his head in amusement.
“Getting my ass kicked by Darcey got my dick hard; get it right.” That gets my attention. Any time I hear her name mentioned, I’m like a fucking puppy for her.
“Darcey did that to you?” I point toward the fading bruise he’s sporting on his right cheek.
He nods at the same time he reaches over and grabs a sandwich from the tray I didn't notice in the center of the table. “She bounced my head clean off the floor.”
“Why?” I ask, fighting to keep the word from coming out as a growl.
“I already asked, and Felix filled me in, man. I’ll take care of it,” Crew chimes in.
“Take care of what?” I ask, feeling heat rise in me at the look he’s giving me. “What’s going on?” I ask, but nobody answers. The only sound in the room is the light rustle of the guys shifting restlessly in their seats. “Someone needs to start speaking.”
Felix clears his throat when it becomes obvious that nobody is going to answer my question. “Well…” he starts, shifting to lean his arms on the desk, his bulky weight causing the table to groan in protest. “After she took me to the ground, Darcey realized it was me. She apologized, then she broke down and told me why she went ninja on my ass.”
“And?” I snap, ready for this crap to be done.
“And it seems Darcey has gotten herself on some guy’s bad side thanks to her last job.”
“And that’s a surprise? What did she expect?”
“She has a kid.” Felix cuts me off, his words hitting like an unexpected kick to the gut. I knew she had a man, that was obvious after hearing her on the phone, but a kid? Fuck. “Her daughter was there when this douche ambushed her at some coffee shop yesterday. Poor kid was terrified.”
Frustration bites at me, and I refuse to look too closely at why I feel that way. “She has a kid, and she knowingly put herself in the line of fire by working a bullshit job like that?”
“She’s bruised from that motherfucker grabbing her by the arm.” The words explode from Felix as he pushes out of his seat, the energy in the room turning dark. “Her daughter is barely five years-old, and now she’s fucking terrified something is going to happen to her mom.”
“Again, how is that our problem?” Raw anger contorts my friend’s face, and I have to brace because I’m sure he’s about to vault over the table to lay me out at any minute. Part of me wants him to. I have enough anger of my own running through my veins right now, and maybe fighting this out with him will help us both.
Sensing that things are about to go to shit, Crew stands and puts a hand on Felix’s rigid shoulder.
“You’re a cold son of a bitch,” he says, not hiding the disdain on his face. Hiding the wince that I feel at my friend’s words, I keep my expression blank. I have to; I can’t let them see that Darcey is under my skin in any way. Crew keeps his penetrating gaze on me for a beat, trying to work out why I’m being this way. He looks away first and turns to speak to Felix. “I told you, man, we’ll make sure they’re good, okay?” Slapping Felix on the shoulder once, he moves back to take his seat.
Felix keeps his hard stare on me, though; he isn't ready to let this go yet. “She wasn’t just scared; she was fucking terrified.” His voice is pained, his eyes hard as stone.
“If you want to help her, you do it on your own time. Like I said, she isn't my problem. Her or the kid.”
“No. She’s my problem.” Darcey’s quiet voice is like a bucket of ice being thrown over me. “Like you said, it’s my own fault, right?” she keeps speaking, letting me know just how long she’s been there listening to us talking about her. Her voice is firm, but there’s a small wobble edging her words, belying how affected she actually is. The room is silent as she moves into the space, but there’s a malevolent energy that swirls around us. I don’t want to turn around. I don’t want to see her face. I know that seeing her in any kind of pain will make this situation too much for me to handle. I’m already hanging on by a thread here. She moves to stand at the edge of my vision, so I have no choice but to turn to face her. She stands with her arms crossed over her chest, but it’s her face that holds me captive. Her delicate chin is tilted up defiantly so she can glare me directly in the eye. She does nothing to hide the disdain pouring from her. Not that I can blame her, I’m being a dick. Unfortunately, this is just the way it has to be.
“Don’t worry, you’re the very last person I’d ever come to for help with anything,” she sneers, but I see the pain in her eyes. Worse than that is the fear that she’s fighting so hard to hide from not just me, but from all of us. Seeing her like this, fighting so hard to keep a hold on herself, has me wishing I could take back everything that’s been said in the last few minutes. I want to put my hands on her and drag her out of here so we can be alone. I want to force her to tell me who the fuck is a threat to her, so I can hunt them down and put a fucking bullet right between their fucking eyes. I want to make it so nobody ever gets the opportunity to put that haunted look in her eyes ever again.
But I can’t.
All I can do is watch as she struggles to maintain the vice-like hold she has on her emotions. Watch as the tears begin to build. Watch as she turns and all but runs from the room.