Page 78 of The Arrangement

“What are you doing?” Normally, the concern in his voice would give me pause. Not now, though. Not now that I knew what he really thought of me. “Marc, talk to me. I shouldn’t have—”

I whirled to glare at him. “No, you fucking shouldn’t. Enjoy your reenlistment. At least there you won’t have to worry about constantly rescuing me.” His mouth was hanging open when I turned back to the door and threw it open. “You can stay here until your leave is up, or you can go. I don’t fucking give a shit. Either way, I won’t be.” I stepped through the doorway, trying like hell to keep it together long enough to get far away from here and far away from the man who’d shredded my heart into mulch. I was halfway down the stairs when I heard the apartmentdoor hit the wall. At the sound of heavy footfalls coming fast, I quickened my pace, all but flying the rest of the way.

“Marc! Marc, wait! I didn’t mean it like that!”

I was a fool about a lot of things, but I refused to be one for him any longer. However he meant it, he’d said it, given voice to the truth, and thrown it in my face. I had a moment of panic when his thundering steps increased in speed and I couldn’t find my car keys. Finally, I spotted them hanging on a hook by the back door. I hadn’t put them there, which meant he had. Just another example of him saving me from myself, because I couldn’t be trusted to handle my life.

Then I was out the door, simultaneously unlocking and yanking the car door open. I tossed my bag into the passenger seat and cranked the engine. I stubbornly fought the urge to check the rearview to see if he was standing there and pulled out of the alley onto the main road.

Chapter 38

James

Oh God, what had I done? I’d been so worried about the asshole sheriff doing something to Marc, I hadn’t stopped to think about what was coming out of my mouth. Now he was gone, and I didn’t have the first clue where. He’d packed a bag, got in his car, and peeled out of here without so much as a backward glance.

I floundered with what to do. Did I go after him and force him to hear me? Did I give him a chance to cool off and hope he came back? The sheriff’s threats to arrest us for public indecency tempered any ill-advised notions of running after him. Besides which, he was driving, and I’d be on foot.

Lacking clear direction, I went back inside to deal with the somewhat more pressing issue of the gaping hole in the shop's front. Unfortunately, that required going back upstairs and finding my phone. My knee gave an unpleasant twinge as I hauled myself back to the apartment. I glared at the wet step thathad nearly taken me out and given Marc the lead he needed to get away.

Back in the apartment, I held my phone to my ear while I fished out an anti-inflammatory. There weren’t that many steps leading up, but it’d been more than enough to have my knee throbbing like a motherfucker. Realistically, I knew that the people I should be reaching out to were the insurance company, but that wasn’t information I had, so I went with the next best thing.

“Howl Stone Construction, Terrence speaking,” a warm, professional voice greeted me when the line picked up.

“Hey, Terrence, not sure if you remember me. This is James Gallagher—JD. We met a few weeks back in the French Quarter.”

“JD! It’s great to hear from you, man. Of course, I remember you. Rumi was tickled pink about getting to go to the flower shop. How are things?”

While it was great that he remembered me, I wished I had better news to share. “To be honest, things could be going a hell of a lot better.”

“Let me guess, that little storm we got did a number on the shop?”

I huffed an ironic laugh. “Not sure I’d qualify that monster as little, but yeah. The whole front is gone. A massive tree limb shattered all the windows. Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything left in the front that’s remotely salvageable.”

He let out a low whistle of commiseration. “That really sucks, man. How’s your buddy holding up? It’s his aunt’s shop, right?”

“His now, actually, but not great. He’s uh…”Pissed as hell at me, and rightfully so. I cleared my throat and pushed away thoughts that he likely never wanted to see me again, that I was over-stepping, and that I should probably just leave and sparehim the pain of having to deal with me. “He’s dealing with a lot. I figured I could at least get a jump on this for him.”

“Sure thing. How can I help?” Terrence's instant offer of aid had relief flooding my chest.

“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. You were the only person I could think of to reach out to. The biggest issue right now is the giant tree poking through the front and the massive hole it made.”

He hummed in agreement. “Yeah, we’ll need to get closed up ASAP before more damage is done from being exposed to the elements. How ‘bout this? I have some guys who’ve been asking for extra hours. I’ll give them a call and see how soon they can be there. In the meantime, I’ll add the job to the books and gather some plywood to seal up the front. Can you give me a rough estimate of the area we need to cover?”

“Probably looking at twenty by ten feet.”

“Wow, it really took out the entire front. Okay, I’ll get right on that and let you know. Is this a good number to reach you on?” he asked, and I heard the clack of a keyboard in the background.

“Yeah. This is my personal cell. Oh, and Terrence, could you bill me directly for any work done instead of the shop?” I added. Marc was stressed enough about finances, and I didn’t want him worrying about this on top of everything else.

“You got it. I’ll get your details for that later when I have information about the crew for you.”

I audibly sighed. “Thanks, man, you’re a lifesaver.” We said our goodbyes, and I focused on getting dressed.

I was tugging my shoes back on when yet another unexpected noise downstairs had me lurching to my feet. For a fleeting moment, I hoped it was Marc coming back, but I recognized that for the fantasy it was. Plus, it sounded too big to be a single person.

As much as I would have loved to race down the steps, my knee was having none of it. I’d be icing it for sure. Later, though, when I’d dealt with the latest catastrophe fucking up what had been a spectacular day. I was a hundred percent limping by the time I made it to the front of the shop and grimaced with each pained step. What I found immediately froze me in my tracks.

My anger spiked as my gaze landed on Brody Beechum Junior standing in the middle of Marc’s devastated storefront. “Oh, hell no. If you’ve come to be nasty, you can get the fuck out right now.”