Chapter 10
She didn’t think she’d ever recover from these personal assaults. It felt like the last couple years had been nothing but blow after blow after blow. But coming to meet Jerry for coffee, that was the pinnacle of pain. To think how he had felt about their relationship, their marriage, after all these years. And to know he’d been right was something she would never forgive herself for. She should never have married him. She should have broken it off a long time ago—but then he should have too.
But to think this asshole in the photo was trying to stir the pot and to imply she’d been unfaithful in any way and that Jerry would actually meet him, believing such a thing, was devastating.
But even all of that was nothing to the pain she felt when Talon had glanced over at her and had asked her about the truth. She was frozen. And angry. And she wanted nothing to do with anyone right now. And yet she was caught, pinned inside the booth by Talon who faced Jerry, with Laszlo a curious onlooker. And she knew there was nothing she could say to convince these men who had already questioned her morals.
She turned to stare out the window, refusing to say anything else. She didn’t know what the conversation was about anymore. She wasn’t listening. She just shut down.
When her phone rang, she stared at it restlessly. She didn’t even know the number. She finally hit Talk. “Hello?”
“Having fun?” said a lighthearted voice on the other end.
“It depends what you call fun.” She frowned as she tried to recognize her caller. “Who is this?”
“Well, maybe you’d like to see the photos your ex-husband’s telling you about now.”
She stiffened, her gaze going to Jerry. “How do you know I’m visiting with my ex-husband right now?” She could feel Talon and Laszlo snapping to attention.
“I have my ways,” the caller mocked.
She turned the phone on Speaker so everyone could hear the conversation. Jerry’s jaw dropped. He went to open his mouth, but Laszlo slapped a hand over it.
“What do you want?” She just wanted this all over with—all of it. “You want me dead? Then shoot me. Take me out of the equation. I don’t give a shit.”
“Wow. You know that’s no fun. Kicking a dog who’ll fight back, well, that’s one thing, but kicking a dog already down, who doesn’t do anything but whimper and lie there waiting for the next blow? That almost makes you an abused wife.”
She snorted. “No, he’d have to care to do that.” She stared into Jerry’s angry eyes. “He’s too busy blaming me to look at his own failings. Whatever. You don’t have any photos because they don’t exist. If you created anything, they’re just altered by Photoshop and can be disproven. Who gives a crap?”
The man on the other end chuckled. “Wow. You really are despondent, aren’t you? Suicidal yet?”
“No. Is that what you’re hoping for?” she asked with a note of interest in her voice. “Can’t say in all the years I was married to a man who didn’t give a shit about me that I became suicidal. I highly doubt I would be now. Chad’s been gone for a year. Did you have something to do with his death?”
“No, but an associate did. Money will buy you anything.”
She froze. “You’re the one who paid for his murder?” She stared down at the phone, anger vibrating throughout her entire system. “Why?”
“Well, to hurt Talon of course. And, of course, Talon is sitting right beside you.”
But Laszlo was no longer around. He’d disappeared from sight. Talon stayed right beside her, although he nudged her away from the window.
“Why do you hate Talon so much?” she asked, wishing she knew who she was talking to.
“Maybe it’s not about hate. Maybe it’s about making him suffer.”
“Maximum pain?”
He chuckled. “That’s a very good phrase. I like that. I’ll have to use it.”
“Why, because Mouse died? So you go around and kill anybody close to him? What kind of a man are you?”
“A vindictive one,” he snapped. “And you don’t know jack shit.” And he hung up.
She held her hands out to see them shaking. She immediately clasped them together and shoved them into her lap. She stared at Jerry who gazed at her in horror.
“What the hell was that?”
She shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. Go back to your nice little life, you and your house of lies you’ve built.”
He stared at her. “You really think I didn’t love you?”
“No, you didn’t love me,” she said sadly. “You loved the thought of having a wife and how we would have that perfect family. But you chose me for the exact same reasons I chose you. Because it was comfortable. Because you didn’t want to get hurt. Because your first wife died from cancer and it tore you apart. I was the replacement. But I was a healthy replacement, an easy replacement, one who didn’t ask much of you, one you didn’t have to worry about feeling too strongly for. And, when we got divorced, it was easy to blame me. But you never once looked at your part in it. Marriage is a two-way street. And, yes, I didn’t show up fully, but neither did you. Now take a hike. I’ll be happy to not have to see you again.”
She watched as he almost bolted from the restaurant. She had no idea if a bullet would end up in his forehead, and she hated to admit it, but, at that moment, she didn’t care. And that wasn’t good either. The caller was right about one thing: she was pretty despondent. Some things about her life were difficult, and, if she could find a way out of this nightmare, she’d take it in a heartbeat. If there was a bullet out there with her name on it, she wasn’t terribly upset about that either.
She stared out the window and didn’t have anything more to say.
Talon wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tucked her up close. “Obviously it’s been a very tough day.”
She snorted. “You think?”
“We can’t leave just yet. Laszlo’s checking outside.”
She shrugged. “Whatever.” She felt more than saw his sharp gaze.
“What happened to the fire and spice in the girl who I left behind?”
“Well, when you hate yourself enough, it doesn’t really matter what happens to you because nobody else can hurt you more than you’ve already hurt yourself.”
“What do you hate yourself for?” he asked with outrage. “You’re incredible. You’ve done so well. You’re bright and intelligent, and you’re beautiful.”
She lifted deadened eyes and turned to him. “I chased you away. That’s what I hate myself for.”
Talon felt like a knife had seared through his heart. But he could see the truth laid bare in her eyes. The pain that she’d never quite dealt with. The well of hurts she’d stuffed deep inside. And the self-loathing she’d lived with all these years.
He muttered, “Jesus,” and tugged her tighter into his arms. He sat there, just holding her against his chest, half on his lap, half off. They were in a restaurant, a public place, definitely not ideal. He knew she wouldn’t totally break down. But he wished she’d do something. Today had hurt her, slicing off little layers until she’d been exposed for who and what she really was. He suspected she’d always known but had done her best to hide it because how did one live with all that for others to see?
She straightened after a moment and called the waitress over. “May I get more coffee please?”
The waitress came and filled her cup. Clary pushed her phone toward him. “Can you trace that?”
“Chances are it’ll be a burner phone.” He accepted her change of topic to put distance between them, at least for now. He pulled out his own phone and sent a text. He did something to her phone, but she had no idea what. And she didn’t really care.
Laszlo slipped onto the bench across from them. “No sign of him.”
“But he was here, right?” Clary asked.
“Unless it was a wild guess. Did you tell Jerry that Talon and I would be with you?”
She shook her head. “No, I just arranged to meet him here at the restaurant.”
“So then we have to assume somebody saw us arrive. Likely followed us here.”
She nodded. “He’s always one step ahead, isn’t he?”
“Often that’s the way it is.” Laszlo gave her a slight smile. “But they don’t stay that way. They do make mistakes eventually.”
“He did this time too,” she said.
“Why is that?”
“Because he didn’t deny what I said about Mouse. And you guys need to tear apart Mouse’s life one stone at a time until you find out who this person is.”
Both men nodded.
“Agreed.” Laszlo looked at her cup. “You ordered another coffee?”
She stared down at it.
Talon studied her face. “If you don’t want it, we can leave.”
She nodded. “I just want to go home.”
Worried about her, but hoping to get back to his laptop where he could continue with what he needed to do, Talon nodded. “Come on. Let’s go.”