Page 34 of Baratta's Darkness

“Yeah, man the first one that was delivered was a shot of her in the shower. That’s why she keeps the curtains closed now.”

We talk while he looks through the pics. I point out the ones that I knew the time or location of. I can’t put the Seattle pics in the timeline because I wasn’t part of her life then.

After going through the stack he let out a breath. “This is bullshit, why is this guy fixated on my sister.”

“From what I’ve put together, he met her before I did. Those first expo pics, I didn’t meet her until the expo was over. It was the last night; she was at a club with Lily and a few others. I originally thought Clint was there with her group, but now I am thinking he was watching me.

I was there looking out for Mr. Marcus. When his meeting ended I stayed with Fi. We hung out the rest of the night. Then in the morning we got separated by a stupid misunderstanding.”

“What kind of misunderstanding keeps people apart for two years?”

“I went out to get us coffee, but didn’t leave a note. Couldn’t find a damn pen, you would think a hotel room would have a pen. I didn’t want to wake her. When she woke up to find me gone, she packed her shit and ran for the airport. I got back to find her gone. I thought she didn’t want me. I didn’t know her last name, her flight numbers; I didn’t even know where she called home.”

“Man that sucks, my sister is special but she has been through hell. I’m going to give you a hard time though. I have to; it's a big bro code. As long as you take care of her, I won’t interfere. Just keep in mind you hurt her and you are a dead man.”

“I swear on my life. When she walked into that clubhouse, everything changed.”

“Timber mentioned to you about being part of the club?”

“Nah, thought about it for a minute but I’m nobody's grunt. That is what I would be if I prospected.”

“He told me you said that, so we had a different idea.”

“I’m listening.”

“What if we list you as a consultant? That would give you access to the club and club events, like the family barbecue. You wouldn’t get any voting rights or anything like that. We would just call on you if we need your particular talents.”

“I don’t know about that, I technically have two jobs. I run security for Tony Marcus and the government keeps me on-call as a specialist. No, I’m not telling you what I specialize in, don’t ask for that information. It could get your whole family dead.”

“Is Mr. Marcus going to call you out for jobs?”

“No, I’m going to tell you something that can’t leave this room. I’m not even sure if I have told Fiona yet. I have an identical twin brother. When I told Tony I was staying here, he called my brother in. My rep as his bodyguard is spotless, so as long as people believe it’s me by his side nobody is going to mess with him. Might make a couple trips a year to keep up with him, but I would ask Fi to go with me on those.”

“How are you going to support my sister? I can’t Imagine Mr. Marcus paying you not to work, government jobs pay shit.”

“I have enough money in the bank for ten lifetimes. Never had anyone to spend it on before.”

“Well think about the consultant gig, I’ve gotta go. The girls have been down at Bella’s for a while now. Miranda seems to forget she is pregnant. Sometimes I catch her doing the strangest things. Last night I caught her at the club house scrubbing tables down with disinfectant.”

“That’s not strange.”

“It is when it isn’t her job, I can’t keep her still. I practically have to hold her down to get her to go to sleep at night.”

“You aren’t doing something right if you can’t keep your woman in bed.”

“Bro, just wait until it’s your turn. She keeps jumping on my cock the way she does, she’s gonna break it clean off. I’m not telling you to knock up my sister or anything but damn, pregnant women are horny and demanding.”

I am still laughing when he leaves.

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