around me in a comforting way, but it can’t penetrate the strong feeling that engulfs every thought and emotion that rampage inside of me, wanting to scream, to do something!
Marcus was here. He kissed me. A serial killer was just here and I let him walk away.
“Gun, gun,” I sputter out the word and keep staring down the long hall. “Marcus was here,” I say although I don’t know how I get the words out. “He was just here.” With my trembling hand I reach out to Cody, but it’s useless. It’s his strong back that greets me, pinning me against the counter. The marble digs into my lower back as I try to breathe, to get a grip on the here and now.
The sight of Marcus shrouded in darkness in the corner, my name on his lips…
“He’s gone.” I push out the words. “I heard the door shut and he said he was leaving. He’s gone but he was just here.”
“Which way did he go?” Cody questions with his back still facing me.
“He’s gone,” is all I can say and again I reach out, my fingernails digging into Cody’s strong frame and my cheek slowly resting against the black leather of his jacket. I take in his warmth, his broad shoulders, his height and I try to cling to all of it. I try to reach normalcy again. The mindset I had before Marcus broke in and shattered my sanity.
Cody tries to move, to do something, presumably sweep the place, but I don’t care what. I need him here. I need him close to me. “Stay. Please, please.” I have to swallow the harsh ball that lingers at the back of my tongue. “Please don’t move.” My plea is a whisper and I feel myself losing it. He can’t move. I just… I just need a moment.
“What did he do to you?” The question holds an air of its own darkness, a threat of what Cody would do to him. Cody turns ever so slightly to face me but still his eyes keep hold of the back hallway.
“Nothing,” I lie in a quickly hissed answer. Why did I lie? Why hide the truth? Shame runs down my spine with a chill that rolls down my body and I find myself pulling away. My arms cross over my chest as I slip backward.
“What did he say to you?”
“Nothing,” I repeat, feeling the spiked ball grow in an attempt to suffocate me. “Wait, no, no, he left information. He left it.” My own story confuses me and I can imagine what it does to Cody. He doesn’t answer for a moment, a long moment and I finally come back down from wherever I was, grounding myself and getting ahold of what happened. My eyes open slowly and I rest my head on Cody’s chest. My lashes brush against the jacket while I’m staring at nothing, but seeing everything.
“Did you see him?”
Shaking my head against Cody’s chest doesn’t give him a quick enough answer. He turns fully, granting me his full attention as his arms wrap around my waist.
He kisses my hair and his body heat lingers, warming me slowly. Yes, this is what I need.
“Did you see him?” he repeats his question and I finally pull back, crossing my arms in front of me, the ghost of this reality still very much present.
“No,” I say and shake my head again. “But I know it was him. It sounded like him and he knew things.”
“What kind of things?” Cody’s tone shifts. It’s no longer comforting and it seems his interrogation is starting.
With his gaze narrowed and on me, I remember what happened. “He said he knew who left the note. A hired man from Brass. And he left the proof. He also said one of Taylor’s men is in Brass’s pocket.”
“Shit,” Cody sneers the curse, apparently believing Marcus instantly. “Taylor’s crew is gone,” he says and nods at his own decision, shifting his weight as his hand rubs the back of his neck. It’s his tell when he knows shit has gone south and we have to pivot tactics. He truly does believe Marcus. With his eyes pinned on me, he repeats, “Taylor’s crew is gone and I’ll hire a new one. I know the firm. Consider it done.”
It’s hard to swallow, seeing the devotion and commitment Cody so obviously has to keeping me safe. My heart refuses to stay where it’s supposed to, beating wildly. I don’t have long before the