Page 71 of Past Due

Chapter Eighteen

The sun had only begun to peek over the hills to the east when Besian’s taxi pulled onto Luka’s estate. He noticed the strange looks from the two guards at the gate but didn’t pay them any mind. He suspected everyone had heard about Marley and Andres by now. The less attention he paid them, the sooner everyone would forget about the time he stupidly tried to marry a woman who was too beautiful for him.

He paid the cab driver and stepped out of the car, stretching his aching back. His feet were killing him after all that aimless walking, and his stomach growled emptily. All he wanted was a shower, breakfast and sleep, but he had to deal with Marley first. It was like ripping off a bandage. Better to do it quickly, feel the pain and get over it.

The doors swung open as he approached, and Zec glared at him. “Where the fuck have you been?”

Taken aback by Zec’s aggressive tone, Besian said, “Walking.”

“Without your phone?”

He patted his jacket. “I turned it off.”

“You fucking coward!” Zec spat as he stormed closer. He shoved Besian hard, throwing him off balance and causing him to stumble. “If I had known you were going to have Drita do your dirty business for you, I never would have brought Marley back here.”

“Get the fuck out of my face!” Besian shoved Zec right back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Don’t lie to me!”

“I’m not lying to you!” Besian couldn’t make sense of what was happening. Behind Zec, inside the house, there was absolute chaos. Rina was crying and stomping around. Luka was begging her to calm down and stop shouting. Drita sat on the staircase and wept into her apron. “What the hell is going on in there?”

Zec grabbed him by the back of his suit jacket and hauled him toward the house. “Go in and ask Drita.”

When he entered the house, Rina took off her fluffy white slipper and threw it at his head. He ducked, but the second slipper hit its mark, smacking him in the face. “Hey!”

“How could you?” Rina snatched up the closest slipper and started to slap him with it. “She’s my friend!”

“Hey! Stop!” Besian had both arms up, guarding his face and head as Rina battered him with her surprisingly heavy slipper. His back stung from the blows, and he finally managed to wrestle it out of her hand. “Stop!”

“Rina!” Luka called her name. “Leave him alone.”

Rina picked up her other slipper and launched it at Besian before whirling on her brother. “You better take care of this, or else I will!”

Losing his cool, Besian shouted, “Will someone tell me what the fuck happened?”

“Drita heard about the man Marley was with last night at the club,” Luka explained.

“Not from me,” Rina shouted angrily. “Because if she had heard it from me, she would have known that we didn’t even see him until the last stop of the night! He was more interested in Stefana than Marley! And, if he hadn’t been such a good friend to Marley, going after her when she was gone so long, Stefana would have been raped and probably Marley, too!”

Drita wailed dramatically into her apron, and Besian’s stomach dropped. His anguish must have been clearly visible on his face because Rina threw her slippers at him again. “Are you kidding me! You did not accuse Marley of cheating on you!”

“I made a mistake!” he shouted back at his niece.

“A mistake?” She scoffed. “No, you blew up your best chance to be happy. Your pathetic, stupid ego was hurt because you saw Marley with a man who is younger and hotter, and instead of trusting her, trusting that she loves you, you decided to act like a little boy who found out someone else had played with his favorite toy!”

“Rina!” Luka shouted. “You can’t talk to him like that!”

“I just did, and I’m not taking it back or apologizing.” She headed for the stairs, glaring at Drita as she stomped up them.

“Where are you going? Get back here!” Luka ordered.

“I’m going to get dressed and go find my friend!”

“You aren’t going anywhere! You’re staying here until I say you can leave!”

Rina stopped at the second-floor landing. She launched her slippers at her brother who barely managed to dodge them. “I’ll go wherever I want whenever I want! I’m sick of your controlling bullshit! Living with you is like living in a prison!”

“Oh, this mansion is prison?” Luka snapped back. “The tens of thousands of dollars of clothes and shoes and handbags in your closet are a prison uniform? You’re ridiculous! I’m sick of your drama queen act!”

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