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Marey shot her an evil look. She deserved it. She was so damned confident and sexually wicked now that she should be burned at the stake.
“Women like you were stoned a hundred years ago, Ella,” she reminded her with aloof distain.
“That was two hundred years ago, dear,” Ella pointed out, toasting her with her glass. “Aren’t you glad we were born during a much more sexually aware time?”
“You do not want me to answer that right now,” she sighed wearily, staring back at her friend with a mixture of irritation and fondness.
“Answer me, Marey,” Ella demanded softly. “I won’t leave you alone until you do. ”
Marey sighed in resignation. “Hell, I don’t know. Maybe I’m just as perverted as the rest of you. ” Ella shot her a disapproving look. One Marey ignored, just as she always had.
What the hell was she supposed to say? That jealousy just didn’t come into it? She was smarter than that. Friends lasted forever, men didn’t. Besides, she knew that Ella would have never let Saxon touch her if she had known Marey was even the least bit interested in him. Being angry over it now was nothing short of ludicrous.
“Then what is your problem?” Ella lifted her glass, sipping at her wine as she watched her with those probing blue eyes of hers.
Ella had always seen too much. She had known when Vince was abusing her, when she had taken enough and was preparing to leave, when she began to fear for her safety because of his threats. They had known each other for years, their parents had been best friends, and despite their age difference, they had always been close. That bond of friendship had only strengthened as they became adults.
“Ella, you have to make James talk to him. ” Marey finished off her wine before leaning forward and extending the glass for Ella to refill. “He’s making me insane. He calls. Checks the house every night. And this morning, he had the nerve to show up demanding breakfast. He’s trying to take over. ”
“I see…” Ella nodded somberly. “This would be a problem. ”
“It’s horrible,” Marey snapped, furious at the gleam of laughter in Ella’s eyes. “I don’t want him there. James is going to have to talk to him. ”
“Vince made bail the other day, didn’t he, Marey?” Ella said then, her voice gentle, but knowing.
Marey leaned back in her chair, lowering her head to stare into the pale liquid that filled her glass.
Yes, Vince had made bail.
“That has nothing to do with it,” she whispered. “I’m not a coward, Ella. ”
But she was. She could feel that knowledge crawling through her mind, mocking her with the sterile, lonely life she led.
“I never thought you were a coward, honey,” Ella sighed. “Just frightened. And I never blamed you for that. But you have to fight back sometime. ”
Marey avoided her gaze, shaking her head as she swallowed past the lump in her throat.
“He would go after Sax,” she finally whispered. “Not me. ”
And she couldn’t bear the thought of that.
“And Sax is man enough to rip his face off,” Ella snorted. “Come on, Marey. Vince only whips on people who are smaller than he is and you know it. Sax would grind that little bastard into dust. ”
“Or Vince would hurt someone else, and frame him again,” Marey snapped. “Or do something to cause his brakes to fail, or any number of things that could end up destroying him. Dammit, Ella. ” She stared back at her miserably. “I can’t let that happen. Can’t you see that?”
“Vince is out on bail. Once he goes to trial, he’ll go to jail,” Ella pointed out.
“For how long?” Marey sneered then. “A year? Two?”
She sat the glass of wine on the table that separated their chairs as she rose to her feet. Crossing her arms over her chest she paced to one of the wide windows on the other side of the room before turning back to face her friend.
“I’ve grown used to being alone—”
“You’re full of shit,” Ella snapped. “You’ve grown used to hiding, Marey. Risking nothing and having nothing, and letting Vince terrify you. I won’t have James talk to Sax. ” She lifted her chin stubbornly. “I think he’s doing the right thing, and I think he’s the right man for you. So forget it. ”
“You’re such a bitch!” Marey snarled.
“Takes one to know one,” Ella snapped back childishly, frowning back at her mulishl
