Page 21 of Under Their Protection

“Rowan Garcia. He is my boss and friend,” I answer.

“He do that?” he asks, pointing to the bruise on my arm.

“No, Isaac did.”

“Why?”

“You’ll have to ask him. My guess is because I caught him fucking my sister and I wouldn’t react and was leaving without saying anything to him,” I say.

“Why wouldn’t you talk to him?” he asks as he sets the knife down and looks up at me. Everyone is watching our exchange.

“Because there wasn’t anything to say. I put up with a lot from him. Once I had proof he was cheating, I was done. If I had a conversation, it would have just gotten nasty like our arguments always did.”

“People deserve a second chance,” Dad says simply.

“That wasn’t the first time he cheated. I just didn’t have proof until now,” I say. “Also, they came here together.”

“What proof?” Isaac barks at me.

“I know the owner of The Cherry,” I say to Isaac. The look on his face is a mix of shock and the same rage.

“What is The Cherry?” Mom asks me.

“It’s a BDSM-centered club,” I answer.

“How do you know what that place is?” she asks me.

“Because I’ve been there with Mia.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? You make a big deal over me and Harper and you’ve been cheating just like I thought you were?” Isaac says, raising his voice at me.

“I never cheated on you. Believe it or not, I can have friends without fucking them,Isaac. You were the one to go in there and fuck everything you got your hands on. I went to be with friends, and you also knew I was there every single time I went so don’t act shocked now,” I say.

“Who is Max?” Harper asks.

“A friend of mine. Why? Trying to fuck him but you want to see if I have any sort of attachment first?” I ask

“Anika Noelle,” Mom snips. I ignore her and stare at my sister.

“It’s okay, Mom,” she smiles. “Just curious if it’s the same one I subbed for last week.”

I laugh and look at Rowan who smirks and shakes his head. I didn’t think Max would stoop so low. “That’s a load of bullshit and you know it.”

“It’s not. I am pretty sure I’ve been his sub,” she says. I laugh again and pull my phone out.

“What are you doing?” Mom asks.

“Calling Max. If I am wrong, I’ll apologize,” I say simply. She nods in approval and Harper looks panicked again. She didn’t expect me to argue.

“Hey. Everything okay?” Max asks.

“Yeah, I just have a question. Were you at The Cherry any last week?” I ask.

“Yeah, I was up there almost every day to help Emma, Why?” he asks.

“Did you do any scenes?” I ask.

“Yeah. I had one with Mia on Wednesday. You already know this. What’s going on?”

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