Page 46 of Sexting His Son's Ex
I pause, spinning around to lift a sleepy brow at her. “Careful, you’ll break the wood and fall into whatever hell is below the staircase.”
She sips her five shot espresso caramel latte, shrugging while she drags her nails down the rail. “That’s fine. I don’t mind the heat.”
I chuckle, kicking open my apartment door and Marlow makes herself at home by throwing off her shoes and plopping on the bed.
She leans back against my mountain of pillows, staring at me so hard, it’s a little unnerving.
“What?” I set my drink down and do a simple style with my hair, an over the shoulder braid.
“Trying to figure out what you did last night is all. Every thought I have isn’t true because it’s something I would do.”
“Well, maybe you’re wrong. Maybe I did do it.”
“You went to a heavy metal concert and got fake blood thrown on you?”
I pucker my lips and rummage through my makeup bag. “You caught me. I totally crowd surfed too.”
A smile threatens to stretch her lips. “I knew it.” She tosses a small pillow at me, and I dodge it by swinging my hips left. “In all seriousness, what happened? I’ve barely heard from you the last two days.”
I apply a light coat of mascara, then toss it back into the makeup bag. “Well, you know I got a new phone number.”
“Mmmhmm,” she follows along, taking a long gulp of her coffee.
“And I didn’t give my new number to Santino. I ended it. There’s no way for him to find me. I did the right thing. What I was doing…” I hang my head ashamed. “It wasn’t okay. I can’t believe I did that just to get back at a guy who I liked enough but not loved. Not that loving someone gives me or anyone the excuse to do what I did.”
“You are so cute and naïve.” Marlowe stares up at the ceiling, disappointment and worry edging her features.
I spin around, holding a makeup brush in one hand. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know what I mean,” she scoffs. “I know you’re sheltered and you don’t get out much, but you have to know that there is no way in hell a man like Santino Salvati is going to let the woman he’s been talking to disappear without getting an explanation from her. You don’t think he can find a way to track you down?” She pushes herself off the bed, strolls over to me with a frustrating glare, then crosses her arms and leans against the wall nearest to me.
“You can’t be that oblivious to the way the world works, Jovie. You really can’t.”
“There’s no need to be condescending about it or rude.” I give my back to her, my eyes welling with tears from my own anger and embarrassment bubbling to the surface.
Angry because this is the rudest Marlowe has ever been to me.
Embarrassed because I know she’s right.
“Jovie, I’m not trying to be. I’m being honest. When he notices your phone is disconnected, he will go to every length to find you.” She grabs my shoulders and spins me around, giving me a slight shake. “Do you know how terrified that makes me? I know you don’t know much about him, but I’m not going to sugarcoat it for you, Jovie. You should be scared and I’m not saying that to scare you. I need you to open your eyes and take off the blinders. He is a dangerous man. He has murdered. He has killed. He has tortured. There are people who go missing every single day and their body parts wash up on shore. He is ruthless. His smooth tongue and charm is easy to take, forgetting what he is truly capable of. And before you say, ‘I’ll run away,’ no, you won’t. It isn’t that simple. Santino has connections all over the world. He is connected to other crime organizations we have never heard of or will understand. There is nowhere for you to go except to face the consequences whenever that may be. I’ll be here too. I’ll fight him for you if I have to.” She wipes away one of my tears that has fallen down my cheek.
Marlowe has always been braver than me. I admire her for that.
“But he will find you, Jovie. No matter where you go or what you do.” She snags a tissue from the counter, drying my wet cheeks and eyes.
I’ll definitely need to start over on my makeup by the way the tissue looks stained in black from my mascara.
“There are a few things that work in your favor though.” After she dries my face, she grabs my concealer, applying a small dot under each eye, then takes my beauty sponge to blend the liquid out.
I sit on the counter to get more comfortable. “What could possibly be working in my favor right now?”
She snags the brush out of my hand and rummages through my bag, plucking the blush compact out. “One, his son has a connection to you. Granted, it didn’t end on the best of terms, and it was his son’s fault, but Santino is a family man. He loves his sons. Hurting you would hurt Luca.”
“Huh, I didn’t think about that. I mean, I guess that’s better than nothing. I’ll happily take a waring.”
She dabs the brush into the light pink powder, dabbing gently on my cheeks to build the color. I’m left admiring the sharp winged linger she has. The points are so sharp, that they could easily kill. If they could be weapons.
“Second, he clearly likes you. I saw the way he looked at you at the restaurant. The man is smitten with you. The soft spot he has for you might end up being your saving grace. I don’t know anything for certain. I’ve been here a long time. I’ve heard and read a lot of things too much for them to be not true. Maybe he will forget all about the unknown person he was texting and moving. I could be overthinking everything.”
