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“Let’s go,” Harley whispered as she grabbed her box and ran from the room with me right on her tail.
We’d almost made it to the front door when a loud voice boomed, “Stop,” followed by the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked. We both came to a halt immediately and slowly turned around. The house was dark so I couldn’t see his face very well, but I did make out that he was indeed pointing a gun at us, so I lowered my eyes to the floor.
“Shit. Harley?” the guy asked. “What the fuck are you doing and what do you have in your hand?”
“It’s just a box of my stuff,” Harley replied, not sounding the least bit worried. “If you put down the damn gun, you can see for yourself, Brando.”
Brando? That name sounded familiar. When the light flicked on a man with tattooed forearms and tousled black hair stepped forward and I recognized him as the guy I’d seen with Mack the other night. Harley’s ex-boyfriend was Brando?
“Let me see.” Brando lowered his gun and grabbed the box from Harley. “Sorry, I gotta look. You know how it is.” Harley nodded as he ripped the tape off the box, then rifled around in the contents. I immediately thought it was strange. I didn’t know what he would be looking for, but I did know for sure that any man who felt he needed to hold his ex-girlfriend at gunpoint and then insisted on looking through her box was definitely up to no good.
From what I could see, the box contained picture frames, papers, and some sort of material with a cherry pattern. It was exactly what Harley said— items from her Gram’s house.
“See. Happy now?” Harley huffed and pushed Brando away from the box and began to reorganize the items so the box would close again. He moved away without much fight, then stood with his arms crossed, glaring at her. Just as Harley closed the flaps on the box, the front door opened and in walked Mack. He stopped midstep with one foot through the threshold and the other still outside. His eyes scanned the room as he assessed the situation. His gaze went from Harley to Brando and then to me. It was obvious by the way his eyes grew wider at seeing me that he was just as surprised as I was.
“Mack,” Harley said as she lifted the box into her arms and straightened.
“What are you doing?” he asked and narrowed his gaze at her.
“Getting my box.”
“So, this is it then?”
“Yep.”
“No coming back.”
“I don’t plan to.”
Mack’s expression was unreadable as he pushed the door open all the way and gestured his hands for Harley to leave. She threw me a look that meant that I should follow, but I was frozen in place at the exchange between the two of them.
Why did I feel like I was missing something big here?
Harley walked past Mack and spoke to him in a low voice, but I couldn’t hear. Mack hesitated before jerking his head into a nod. She placed a kiss on his cheek before stepping outside and into the darkness. My feet were moving, but I was unaware of who was controlling them. I was stunned by the scene before me, because I was one hundred percent certain that Mack was Harley’s ex-boyfriend, not Brando. This unexpected realization was like a knife to the gut. There were so many things wrong with this s
cenario, but as I tried to make my way past Mack he grabbed my hand gently.
“Jonna.” I stopped walking but kept my eyes to the floor. “Look at me.” Slowly I complied with his request, somehow hoping that my conclusion wasn’t true, because it hurt too much.
“You and Harley, Mack?” I asked, my voice coming out small.
“You didn’t know?” Disbelief flashed across his face, and I shook my head. “Jesus.” Mack looked to the ground and shuffled his feet from side to side. “Listen, we need to talk but now is not a good time.”
I nodded again, although I felt numb. There were so many things to digest. So many questions, so many emotions to sort out.
“I’ll come and pick you up tomorrow night, okay?” Mack stated, but I didn’t respond. “Say okay, Jonna.” I shook my head and shrugged.
“Mack, I don’t think I can?.?.?.”
“Catch the midnight ferry tomorrow night to the mainland, and I’ll be there to pick you up.” When I remained silent, he added, “Say yes, Jonna.”
“Bye, Mack.”
“I’ll be there tomorrow night waiting for you.” I didn’t respond and instead walked past him and out to the car just as Harley was closing the trunk and walking to the driver’s side.
“See, easy.” She grinned. “I’ll drive back. Throw me your keys.” I was in no mood to argue, so I tossed my keys to her and settled into the passenger’s seat. The entire way home all I could think about was how I’d made it my goal in life to know everything I could about Mack King, yet I failed to learn that he’d had a girlfriend for five years. And that girl has been working with me every day for the past month and a half, and never once did her face provide any sort of recognition to me. I looked over at her and she seemed so carefree as she hummed along with the radio. How could I ever tell her that I’d been fucking her ex-boyfriend. Suddenly, the idea of her learning that terrified me, and I didn’t think I ever wanted her to find out.
Chapter Eight
