Legally Bound 2: Against The Law (6 page)

Marcus rushed back to her and cupped her face. He let out a bitter laugh. “Tell me you are joking. You never said anything about leaving before. You can’t leave,” Marcus started to feel sick.

Rita leaving didn’t just mean she would be away from him. It meant she would be away from him and putting herself in danger. He’d never considered the chance that she would leave him or work for her family. He wanted to take care of her, protect her, and provide for her.

“No, I’m not joking. I leave with Marie tomorrow night after the party,” Rita murmured.

“I don’t understand. I thought we were happy. You know I love you, don’t you? Why would you do this?” His brows furrowed as he looked down at her in confusion.

“Yes, I know you love me, but we just want different things. I can’t keep hiding the way I feel about you. If we can’t be together and take things to the next level then I think it’s best that I leave,” Rita answered.

“So let me get this straight. If we don’t have sex, you’re leaving me,” Marcus snorted.

Rita shrugged her shoulders and looked down at her fingers she was fidgeting with. Marcus was in a state of shock. He couldn’t believe his ears. Never in a million years did he think he would be in this kind of conversation and certainly not on this side of it.

Rita bent and picked up her bags. She looked up at him through her lashes. She knew this was wrong, but she had to get him to understand they couldn’t keep hiding. She was counting on his promise to always come for her. This would work because all her life Marcus had been there. He always showed up when she needed him and when he realized that she needed him now, all of him, he would come for her.

“Goodbye Marcus,” Rita breathed and turned to leave.

Her feet felt like lead weights were in her shoes as she stepped over the threshold. Something in her belly loosened and she felt like she wouldn’t see this apartment again. She had just caused a major change in their relationship, but there was no turning back now.

Marcus stood staring at the door in disbelief. What just happened? This was not the night he had planned. When it hit him that everything he had planned for just walked out of the door, he snapped into action.

He ran to his bedroom for a shirt and his shoes. He dressed quickly and grabbed his keys from his dresser as he rushed for the door. It was then that he smelled the bread burning. Cursing under his breath, he went to pull it from the oven and shut everything off before rushing out of the apartment.

His first thought was to run after Rita, but he couldn’t take the chance of someone seeing them argue. His gut churned at his other option. It was the last thing he wanted to do but with each unanswered call, he made to Rita’s phone he knew it was his only option.

She was being unreasonable and if she would have let the night flow naturally she would have seen how much she meant to him. He knew she wouldn’t be able to share it with anyone, and she wouldn’t be able to wear his gift, but it was his intention to propose to her.

He’d bought the ring a month ago. He was just waiting for her birthday. He wasn’t a fool. He knew their secret relationship made her question how he felt often. Knowing she was throwing them away was cutting him to the quick.

Marcus wasn’t sure how he made it to his destination. He was on automatic as he pushed through the doors of the house in search of the only person he knew that could keep this disaster from happening to him.

A quick glance at his watch told him the dining room was where he wanted to be. He walked in to find his mother and father seated at the table dining together. They both looked up with beaming smiles for him that quickly turned into looks of concern.

“Marcus, dear is everything alright,” Minnie asked.

“Where is Marie,” Marcus asked tightly.

“Rita is having boy troubles she went to comfort her,” James answered.

Marcus nodded then took a seat. “I need to talk to you dad,” Marcus sighed heavily.

“What is it son?” James asked placing his knife and fork down.

“I…I need your help,” Marcus started. He knew he had to come clean or lose Rita. “Dad you have to request someone else to Marie’s personal detail.”

“I don’t understand,” James said in confusion. “Thomas and I both have wanted Rita to follow Marie if she made this decision to go to school overseas. We were leaving the decision up to Rita after the loss of Raquel, but I know we both were hoping she’d come around.”

“Dad it can’t be Rita. Please, I’m begging you to find someone else,” Marcus’s words were full of raw emotion he was having a hard time controlling.

“But it is all set they leave tomorrow evening this would be such short notice. Rita really is the best recruit, she is highly trained, and she and Marie are the best of friends. Marie has no idea that Rita is in her detail. You know how Marie gets trying to slip away from the guys, with Rita with her I will sleep better. Where exactly is this concern coming from Son?”

James studied his son closely. He hadn’t seen him this stressed looking in quite some time, if ever. Marcus was always the son with a laugh and a smile on his face. It was unlike him to look so wary and anxious.

“Dad,” Marcus said to his hands resting on the table. “I…I can’t let her go,” Marcus muttered.

“Oh dear,” Minnie said with a small smile. “I wasn’t sure before but I see it now.”

“See what love,” James looked at his wife puzzled.

“Dad, the boyfriend that Rita is upset about …I…I’m her boyfriend. I love her dad. I can’t let Rita go because I’m in love with her. I wanted to wait. In two years I would have asked for Thomas and Nate’s blessing. I just thought it would be better then, with the age gap and all. I wanted to propose to her tonight, but we would have kept it a secret like we have our relationship for the last year,” Marcus explained.

James sat back in his chair surprised. “And you saw this,” James asked Minnie.

“Oh darling, have you not seen the way he looks at her. Oh and the poor little thing lights up whenever he is around. She has been in love with our Marcus for forever,” Minnie laughed and gave Marcus a warm smile. “I figured something more was going on recently. It’s in their eyes.”

James sighed. “Well, it was her decision to go to Europe. I don’t know what to do here Son.”

“Dad she is just upset with me for not wanting to tell our families about us and because…” Marcus made a sour face. He couldn’t believe he was blushing. But this was awkward to explain to his parents. He was still baffled.

“Because I don’t want to take our relationship…um, further until I have everyone’s blessing to be with her. I want to wait and do things right with her, and she is tired of waiting. If I can stop her from leaving I can make her see reason,” Marcus pleaded.

James sighed and regarded his son for a moment. He could see the turmoil in Marcus’s face. He pressed his lips in thought as he let the information his son and wife just gave him sink in.

“Son, maybe this is for the best. If what you are saying is true maybe some time apart will be good to allow Rita to mature some. Give her a year or two out of the country with your sister and then you can go to her father,” James suggested.

“She can’t leave,” Marcus growled, and then sighed out his frustration. “Sorry dad, I just …I have a feeling in the pit of my stomach this is going to be bad. If she leaves, I’m going to lose her. I know it.”

“I’m asking you to trust me, Marcus. Have I ever let you or Rita down? You know she is like a daughter to me. I will have Thomas add another to the team to watch over Rita as well. Although from what I hear she is more than capable, but I understand it will help ease your mind,” James said reassuringly.

“If something happens to her…if I lose her, I’ve lost everything Dad,” Marcus murmured as he dragged his hands through his hair.

“It will all work out Son. I promise it will,” James said gruffly, hoping that he could keep his word.

Chapter 7

A year later

“
W
e’re a complete mess,” Rita said teary eyed to Anton.

“Yes Cara, we are,” Anton sighed. “But at least, we have each other.”

“I agree. It kills me that I can’t tell Marie what is really going on with me. It’s not like I don’t already have enough secrets I have to keep from her,” Rita sighed.

“To our secrets that are eating us alive,” Anton lifted his wine glass in a toast. “If only we could find a way to survive in the open with our secrets.”

Rita clinked her glass to Anton’s. Furrowing her brow as her mind wandered to the man she left behind over three thousand miles away, a year ago. He didn’t come for her. He didn’t even show up to her birthday slash going away party.

She could still remember watching the door for him the whole night. When she finally got up the courage to ask Marie where he was, she told her he had something important to do, and he wouldn’t be making it. He had gone to see Marie that morning to wish her farewell.

No goodbye, no I love you, return to me safely. Not a word from him to make her feel like he cared or wanted her back. She had been so sure he would come after her, but he didn’t. A part of her knew it was her fault; she was the one that left him, but there was still a part of her that was angry with him and hurt that he’d given up on them.

“I love him so much Anton. Why didn’t he come for me?” Rita sobbed.

“Oh my pet, I don’t know why that fool hasn’t come running after you. But in all fairness he has tried to call and text you,” Anton said soothingly.

“It’s not the same. A text that says I want to talk to you is not the same as saying I love you or getting on a plane to say I need you to come home with me,” Rita sniffled. “Instead, he has me followed like some little girl.”

“Well, we just have to figure out how to get him on a plane and my family off my back. Then we can both dance in the sunset,” Anton chuckled and downed his wine.

Rita gasped. “You’re a genius. Oh my God, Anton I love you.”

“Oh no Cara,” Anton groaned in his heavy accent. “I hate when you get that look in your eyes. This is going to be painful isn’t it, and I’m going to need the rest of this bottle to myself.”

Anton plucked up the bottle and started to drink straight from it as he stared at the mischievous grin on Rita’s face. He knew her all too well, Rita was about to change both their lives and there was no way he could talk her out of it.

~B
~

Marcus groaned into his palms as he stared at his parent’s house. He did not want to be here. For the last year, he did nothing, but go to work and try to focus on his cases then he would go home and drink his loneliness away.

He wanted to go after Rita months ago but each time his father told him to wait. He promised him that giving Rita some time was the best thing to do. Marcus was tired of waiting he wanted her home, and he didn’t care about waiting another year to tell everyone about them.

He was ready to make her his wife and start their lives together. Being without her for a year had gutted him. He missed her smiling eyes, her musical laugh, her loving words and the way she felt in his arms. He wanted his girl back so bad it hurt.

He was barely functioning. He wouldn’t even be at his parent’s house tonight if it weren’t for Sam demanding he come to meet his girlfriend. Sam never brings women home, so this one must be special.

Marcus sighed to himself with the thought. He wanted to be able to bring the love of his life home and let everyone know what she meant to him. He felt like a fool for not doing so sooner. He should never have let her leave.

Marcus’s heart warmed to the voices of his family as he made his way to the family room. It had been too long since he spent time with all of them. Marie called him once a week, and he had to fight with everything he had not to ask her about Rita every time.

Marcus smiled at the thought of his last conversation with his little sister. She and Rita both landed part-time jobs in the fashion industry. Marie would be modeling, and Rita was going to be behind the scenes doing hair and makeup. Marcus was proud of both of them. No matter how much he wanted Rita home, he was happy if she was happy.

Marcus’s smile faded from his face as her brother’s words drifted toward him and became clear. His heart stopped in his chest as he stood in the family room threshold in shock. His eyes locked with his father’s looking for any sign of a joke being played.

“Hey, Marcus, you’re just in time. I was just telling everyone Rita’s news,” Nate said. “I’m not sure if it will be good news to me until I meet this guy, but she called today to tell dad and me that she is engaged.”

Marcus went from shocked to enraged. This could not be happening. How could she be engaged, they were in love, he was just giving her time. He was just waiting for her to come back to him.

“When do we all get to meet him,” Bobby asked, giving Marcus time to recover. He could feel his jaw clench.

Marcus looked to his father and gave him a hard glare. Not once had his father mentioned that Rita was seeing someone. James was getting weekly reports from the guard he had sent to watch over her.

Marcus knew that she was in school with Marie, she had a new car, she was living in the same apartment with Marie and recently one of Marie’s friends, Whitney had moved in with the two. He even knew Rita wasn’t too fond of Whitney. He also knew that since they were in Europe, she had dealt with two attempted attacks, both without Marie ever knowing.

Rita was indeed damn good at her job. Marie still had no clue her best friend was her bodyguard, but Rita was onto her own bodyguard after only two days. Earl had reported to James that Harris was one of their best stealth guards. Rita should have never picked him up on her trail.

Marcus was fuming, if she was seeing someone how did no one know about it. Marie had said nothing. Rita had agreed to let Harris continue to watch her back without protest, although she has given him the slip a time or two. Marcus wondered if that was when she was sneaking off to see this man she was engaged to.

“Dad,” Marcus choked out when he found his breath again. Nate had been filling them in on Rita’s call, but Marcus hadn’t absorbed a word he said.

“Marcus, son I almost forgot I have that file you were asking me about in my study. I wanted to point some things out to you before my old age sets in and I forget. Come, Son,” James said as he stood and started for his study.

Marcus felt numb as he entered his father’s study and closed the door behind him. He began pacing the length of the office as his father sat behind his desk. This couldn’t be happening it didn’t make sense.

“I thought Harris was keeping an eye on her. How could this have happened?” Marcus growled. “You said that I should wait, give her time. I listened to you dad, and now I’ve lost her. I should have gone after her. I shouldn’t have ever let her leave.”

“Keep your voice down Marcus. I know you’re upset, I have no idea what is going on. Nathaniel seems to be as surprised as we are. Harris informed me she was spending time with an old schoolmate Anton, but he didn’t think he was a threat,” James sighed.

“Well it looks like Harris was very wrong, doesn’t it,” Marcus bit out and cursed under his breath. “This doesn’t make sense. Rita wouldn’t do this. I know in my heart she wouldn’t do this.”

“Maybe it is time you go and find out for sure. Then you can get on with your life. You haven’t been focused for some time now.”

“You think… my heart is three thousand and some miles away dad. I should have gone after her way before this. Get on with my life,” Marcus snorted. “I don’t have a life without her.”

James hid his smirk. He knew Marcus was unfocused because of Rita, but he and Minnie also thought it was best for Rita and Marcus to spend this time apart. Rita has some growing up to do, even more so if she was indeed doing what he thought. He and his wife had been right all along.

James knew baiting Marcus would send him running to Rita, and this would settle things between them and get Marcus back into the game. All of his sons were headstrong and could be stubborn. Marcus needed to learn to handle Rita and not baby her if he wanted to spend his life with her happily.

If Marcus continued to treat her like a baby or the girl he once knew she would keep up these stunts that were driving him crazy now. James understood Marcus’s care for Rita’s age but she was a grown woman now, and Marcus needed to see that.

“So I guess this means you are going to Europe, yes?” James said coolly. He had already planned the transportation for his son when Thomas called in a huff about his daughter’s engagement.

“Yeah dad, I need to see her. I need to know this is real,” Marcus sighed and dropped into one of the chairs in front of his father’s desk. He placed his head in his hands and rubbed his temples.