Renegade: The Alliance Chronicles, Book Six

Chapter 20

Mark

"My feelings for you hurt. You're my best friend and taking it further can't happen."

—from "It Happens: When Friendship Turns to Love," by Dr. E. Rich

Fletch and Niang stare in our direction when Leslie and I re-enter the apartment. Maybe the looks come because she's glued to my side like a guard dog. I scan the room but don't see Liam.

"Where is he?" I ask of no one in particular.

"Restrained in the back," Fletch offers. "Catia is packing some things for her and Eugenio."

I ask, "You contact Winters?"

"Yeah. I explained as much as I could without giving too much away. He suggested the AR Embassy. Someone's coming to pick them up."

"Good." I lean against the wall. My mind is a million miles away. I'm still trying to reconstruct what happened to me, but I can't remember shit. Not knowing shit is ripping me apart. I'm so preoccupied with my thoughts that I don't notice Leslie isn't near me.

I slide to the floor, draw my legs up, and rest my head against my knees. How the fuck does a man do that to another man? What happens in the throes of passion is totally different. The pictures Liam showed me appeared posed—no affection between us.

The memory makes me sick to my stomach. Only a fucking ass would stress out over this shit. Big deal. Liam sucked my dick.

More than that happened.

Maybe that's the problem. Not my lack of memories. The man stole from me an experience I never wanted with anyone.

Liar.

I have to get my shit together. There was a job to do. Perhaps if I beat the shit out of the bastard, would it make things better?

"Mark?" Leslie crouches beside me. "Stop wallowing!" she commanded. "This shit will eat you alive if you don't work through it."

Sex?

Now?

Not interested.

"It isn't what you're thinking," she says and holds out her hand. "Come with me."

A knock at the door grabs my attention before I can Leslie anything.

"Time for Catia and her son to go," Niang announces. "Let them get out of here, and then we'll take care of this other situation."

§

We allow Liam the opportunity to say good-bye to Catia and Eugenio. The Embassy sent a team over to collect her. Fletch said they didn't want to take any chances with someone who was a key witness to a murder investigation. Intel Liam should have told us before we came to the apartment.

Niang opens the door to the room Liam's restrained in.

"I thought you were better than this, Carter," Liam shouts. His arms are secured behind him. Someone even restrained his feet to the chair legs.

"And I thought you were a decent man. I guess we were both wrong," I reply, entering the room.

Leslie pushes me into a corner. "Give me a minute with him. I promise I'll leave something for you."

I glance over at Liam. For a minute, I pity him. The moment passes quickly.

Stepping into the hall, I pull the door shut behind me.

The sounds of flesh pounding flesh, not in a pleasurable way, come from the other side of the door. Regardless of what happens to Liam, his actions change me. I never looked forward to wailing on someone for the fun of it. Every brawl I ever had served a purpose. Usually some dumb punk asked for the fight.

And now?

Now, I just want to beat the shit out of the man in that room. I want to punch Steve Winters in his smug face for setting me up. I hadn't been on base long enough for Liam to know anything about me.

Thanks to those men, I don't like myself much at that moment.

§

Thirty minutes later, I return to the room. Leslie and Fletch stand in opposite corners. She's removing a cloth she wrapped around her knuckles. Splattered blood, like tiny red freckles, grace Fletch's forearms and hands.

The broken man in the center of the room pauses my breath. Why am I concerned? They beat the hell out of him. His handsome face is shades of purple and blue. One eye is swollen shut. The lips I enjoyed kissing are busted, and his nose is crooked. Blood, dripping from a gash on his forehead, covers his skin.

When I lift my arm, my hand shakes so badly. No matter how much I want to do it, I can't hit Liam.

My eyes dart from Fletch and then to Kapernecki. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. Being near Liam used to excite me. Now he makes me feel unclean, and no amount of soap and water can remove the sensation. I choke back the bile surging up my throat and walk out.

Kapernecki stops me in the hall.

"You okay?"

My eyes flash to meet hers. "I don't know."

She squeezes my hand. "Give it time. For now, the team needs to meet. Go over details, so we can finish the assignment."

"And do what? It's not like I have a home—"

Kapernecki places a finger on my mouth. "My offer still holds. You're more than welcome to come home with me. No expectations. Just two friends helping each other out."

"Humph. What could you possibly need help with?"

"Believe it or not, I wrestle with skeletons every day. Sometimes facing your demons is easier with someone who cares."

I can relate. I want nothing more than to talk to Asher.