Page 72 of Mex

Even if it seals off something inside me that I’ll never get back.

Desperately needing a shower, I take a towel and some clothes and walk towards the bathroom. I never leave my phone behind, so I tuck that under my arm, too. Once I’m in the bathroom, I close and lock the door just as my phone rings. Glancing down, I exhale as I see Marek’s number flashing across the screen. I haven’t even been gone long and he’s already calling.

“Shortest twenty-four hours I’ve ever seen,” I grumble, answering the phone.

“Relax, Acacia. I wanted to see how your progress with the club was going. We didn’t get time to discuss it.”

Turning towards the mirror, I stare at myself as I answer. “It’s going well. I provided them with the information you requested, and they’re now tracking Ivan as we predicted. They’re not going to bother you any further. I kept my word, as I said I would. The club has been dealt with.”

“And for that, you will be rewarded. I’ll speak to you soon, Acacia.”

Not giving me a chance to say another word, he hangs up the phone.

I slam mine down just as a pounding on the door has me leaping in shock. My eyes swing to it, and my heart immediately skips a beat. Someone is there, and whoever it is, doesn’t sound happy as the excessive pounding continues. Rushing over, I swing the door open to see Mex standing, staring down at me. His eyes immediately swing to my neck and there is a rage that fills his face that has me swallowing in fear.

“Youfuckin’ liar.”

His voice is pure ice as it hisses out between gritted teeth.

I know, even before he utters another word, that he heard me. He heard me on the phone, and now he knows that I have been working with Marek the entire time to keep the club away. It won’t matter what I try to explain, he’ll never understand, and I wouldn’t expect him to. I set out on this mission to make sure I was the only one who came out safe, I didn’t care what happened to the club in the process, but in the end, that wasn’t the case.

It isn’t the case.

I betrayed them, but I redirected them on a path that both benefited and protected them. They might never see it that way, and I know Mex certainly won’t. He won’t because he’s going to take this on a much more personal level, he'll see me working with Marek as the ultimate betrayal. Hell, it is, in a sense. I chose to work with the man I knew could do the most damage, to protect myself.

“Whatever you...” I begin, but he cuts me off because he lashes out, curling his fingers around my upper arm and hauling me out of the bathroom.

Stumbling over my feet, panic sets in as he pulls me down the hall, his rage so intense it’s terrifying. His strides are filled with purpose, and he doesn’t care if I fall, he will simply haul me up and keep dragging me with a determination that is terrifying. I have to at least try and explain this to him. I need him to understand.

“Mex,” I scream, trying to stop him. “It’s not what you think. If you’ll just stop and listen, I can explain.”

That has him stopping and spinning towards me so furiously, I jerk back. My hands tremble as he looks down at me with an expression that has everything inside me shrinking away from him. It’s filled with a hatred so pure, it’s heartbreaking.

“Tell me you haven’t been fuckin’ workin’ with Marek this entire fuckin’ time?”

I swallow, shaking my head as a tear breaks loose. I want to tell him I wasn’t, but I know that he’ll see right through me. If he would just hear me out... “I was, but...”

“Not to mention, you have been fucking him.”

I shake my head. “No... no, that isn’t...”

“Did he give you that?”

He shoves his finger in the direction of my neck.

Marek knew, he just knew what that mark would do. He is giving me my freedom, but of course it comes with a price...lose everything you love first.

“Yes, but...”

“Have you, or have you not, put his cock inside your body?”

His words hurt, and I stammer out, “Not since I’ve been with you.”

He laughs, but it’s so cold it scares me. “What about the other parts of him?”

Like his fingers.

I can’t deny it.

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