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Markus’ ringtone came from her bag just outside the bathroom door. He was calling her again, something he didn’t often do in the middle of the day, particularly on court days. But it was getting late… and he was looking for her.
Sheer terror of losing him almost debilitated her. She waited until she heard the ding of the voicemail he’d left for her before she rushed to the shower, turning on the water as hot as she could stand it before stepping into the spray. She needed to hurry, clean up, and get the hell out of there. She didn’t want to call Markus back from the room in which she’d betrayed him.
Chapter Six
Tiffany
Tiffany pulled her cell phone out of her smock, checking to make sure she hadn’t missed a call from Bri for the hundredth time that afternoon. It was getting late, and to say she was worried about her friend was the understatement of the decade.
She should’ve never let Bri leave with Jake Davenport. Regret for not calling the police when she had the chance closed in on her as she finished blow drying out one of Brianna’s clients, which Tiff had been forced to take care of when her BFF had left her high and dry hours before.
After the customer paid and left, Tiff snuck back to the salon office so she could try to figure out what the hell to do. The final customers of the day were being taken care of by the remaining employees and it was getting late enough that the salon would be closing soon. There was absolutely no way that Bri could have been gone this long and not gone somewhere she shouldn’t have with her ex. The thought of Bri going anywhere with the abusive asshole infuriated Tiffany.
How could she do this to me? To Markus?
She was just considering calling Markus back for help when the cell phone in her hand rang, making her jump.
She didn’t even give Brianna a hello. “It’s about damn time you phoned in,” she answered angrily. “While you were out fucking around, your husband called here twice looking for you. Damn you for putting me in this position, Bri. I love Markus, and I hate having to lie to him.”
Only when there was a long pause on the call did Tiff worry that it wasn’t Bri at the other end of the phone. Did Jake have her phone?
“Brianna?” she said softer.
“I’m here. Please… what did you tell Markus?”
Tiffany’s anger started to dissipate, replaced with concern for her best friend. She didn’t sound good. She let out a long sigh before answering. “The first time I told him you were with a client and couldn’t be disturbed, but when he called back again saying he couldn’t reach you on your cell, I knew he wouldn’t keep buying that. Do you have any idea how much I hated lying to him and telling him that you’d left early to go to the gym?”
Tiff heard the sigh of relief at the other end of the line. “Thank you so much for covering for me, Tiff. That was a good idea about the gym. Did he believe you?” Bri’s voice quavered.
“Of course, he believed me,” she snapped. “He’s a great guy who has no reason to think I would ever lie to him. And for the record, I really resent being dragged into this shit yet again.”
Tiff could hear Bri start crying over her SUV’s speaker. “I’m so sorry, Tiffany. Truly, I am. You’re right, I’m a total idiot. I never should have left the shop today.”
Brianna hadn’t said it, but between the length of time she’d been gone and her current demeanor, Tiff had a pretty good idea what had happened. Still, she had to ask. “Did you get the evidence from him?”
Brianna’s ugly chuckle gave her the unwelcome news, without using words.
Tiff pressed on, asking the next burning question. “Did he hurt you?”
“He…” Brianna sighed again, her voice cracking as she filled Tiff in. “Not any more than he used to.”
“I don’t want to hear about it. You’re more than welcome to share the gory details of your sex life with Markus, but I prefer not to think of you and Jake together. It just pisses me off.”
“I’m so sorry Tiff. Markus left me a voicemail. I’m supposed to meet him for dinner downtown in just over an hour. I know I’m supposed to close…”
Tiff was annoyed. “Bri, I told you that Jason and I were planning on going out tonight. I was supposed to be out of here already.”
“I know… I wouldn’t ask, but Markus…”
“I hardly think being late is gonna hurt him even close to as much as it will if he ever finds out where you’ve been and who you were with. Markus is perfect. He doesn’t deserve this, Bri,” Tiffany stated the obvious.
“I know… this was stupid. I thought I could get the hard drive and just make my past mistakes go away.”
Tiff scoffed. “I told you not to go. He’ll never give you the hard drive. But you never think straight when it comes to Jake.” She hesitated, looking at the clock before giving in. “Go out tonight. Have dinner with your husband. Have a few drinks, get tipsy, and then you have to be honest with him about what it is you need that he isn’t giving you. You have to give Markus a fighting chance to fill the need that’s driving you to a creep like Jake.”
A long pause followed by a loud sniffle came through the phone before Bri answered. “I know I need to. Markus is the antithesis of Jake. I just don’t know how to tell him.”
Tiffany sighed. “I get it. I really do. Gentle certainly has its place, but we both know you need more than that.”
