Chapter 37: Smart Girls Wake Alone

Marley

My brain isn't working quite right. I don't remember Arabella exiting the car. One minute she's there and the next she's not. When I ask Bodie, he tells me we dropped Bells and Mason off at his mom's.

After the third time I ask Bodie where Darius is, and he reminds me that he's spending the night at Will's, Bodie diverts the limo to an ER.

An hour later, they have concluded...pretty much nothing about my confusion. I might have hit my head during the fall and have a mild concussion, or I might simply be overwhelmed from the trauma, but either way they think I'll be fine.

I get crutches and a brace for my ankle sprain, but when we arrive home, Bodie carries me inside. I hold on tight to his neck, breathing him in as he takes the stairs. I feel ok when he's touching me, but I feel a little panicky when he's too far away.

Which is why I don't protest when he sits me on the bed, rifles my drawer for the Sublime t-shirt I never returned to him, and crawls behind me to unzip my dress.

"Why do we keep doing this in all the unsexy ways?" I was going for a joke, but my voice breaks like a sob.

He slides the spaghetti straps off my shoulders and puts the t-shirt over my head as I struggle to wiggle out of the tight dress. When I kick it away, Bodie pulls me sideways into his lap and tucks my head beneath his chin.

"Because loving someone isn't always sexy," he says quietly.

I start to cry then. I'm not even sure why. If it's because he sort of said he loves me, or because I nearly died, or because I'm exhausted and hurt all over, or because of all of it, I'm not sure. I just hold on tight to him and cry.

He says nothing else. He simply rocks me slowly. When the storm of my sobs passes, he tries to tuck me in bed. I won't let go of him. I wrap my arms around him tighter.

"Stay. Make this better," I whisper into his chest.

He smooths my hair and kisses my temple. "You don't mean that."

I meet his eyes. "I do. There's nothing like almost dying to put your life in perspective."

"Marley—"

"We've lost so much time, Bodie. If you want me, then I want you too."

He squeezes his eyes shut, his face twisted almost in pain. A tear falls, but he wipes it away and shakes his head. "It's not about what I want, baby. It's about what's best for you. And Darius."

"You're what's best," I whisper.

Panic is starting to rise inside me as I feel him pulling away, though he hasn't moved an inch.

"Fuck. I told Darius I wouldn't do this." His voice sounds broken as his hands tilt my head.

"Do what—"

He kisses me tenderly.

Caressing my lips, coaxing my will, floating my soul.

He kisses me the whole time he moves us to the center of the bed and maneuvers us deep beneath the luxurious covers.

He lets me unbutton his shirt. He pulls me close against his warmth, but when I fumble with the fly of his jeans, he stills my hands. "No, baby. Just sleep. I promise you, I'm going to make everything okay, and then we will have all the time in the world."

"But—"

His mouth finds mine. Our lips press softly, mostly in stillness, occasionally one of us surrendering to passion because we can't get close enough or deep enough.

I don't feel my headache or my throbbing ankle.

I just feel Bodie. I feel safe and loved.

The man kisses me to sleep.

When I wake to the bright light of midday, I struggle to sit.

Riley is sitting in the corner chair, unshaven, bleary eyed and gray, pinching his nose and apparently struggling to read something on his laptop.

He smiles at me bleakly. "All right, then?"

I scrape back my hair. "I...I think so."

"I'm glad." He rises slowly. "Kat's downstairs, making you some breakfast. I'll send her up to help you get showered and dressed. Darius is with TJ, but he's raising hell to see you. It's up to you who you want to see privately before we begin the public damage control."

"Damage control?"

"Yes. I'm afraid there's a bit of work to do today. The police want a statement and...well, Moran's on the warpath."

"Why?"

"TMZ has picked up the entire story of the drive-by. There is insinuation that Bodie was the target of a gang retaliation. The implication being, of course, that Bodie would have to be an active gang-member of a rival gang to prompt such violence. Of course, they are ignoring the much more plausible explanation that it was just a random drive-by."

"What?" I ask stupidly, but my brain is already putting pieces together that I couldn't process last night, and rejecting the scenarios Riley is proposing.

Last night was not a random drive-by.

The shooter didn't fire into the line of waiting clubbers. They didn't target the paparazzi.

It was not retaliation, either. Even if there were bangers in the line, the gunfire didn't start until the van rolled past the queue.

The shooter aimed at me.

Because I was the target. Anyone that knows me knows it's my job to be wherever Bodie is. And Bodie was having a very public night on social.

Last night was an assassination attempt, and it's so obvious who ordered it. My heart starts to hammer at the thought that surely Bodie knows this, too.

"Where is Bodie?"

He takes his glasses off and tosses the computer on the carpet. "Gone. He chartered a private jet this morning. The flight plan was filed for the Philippines."

"What!?!?"

"There's more," Riley sighs. "He took Arabella with him. I understand his reaction to leave the heat, but he can't shout down the bad press on this by posting shots of him and Arabella on another vacation."

My brain is firing rapidly, trying to understand why Bodie would leave the country. Why he would leave me when I'm scared. When I am vulnerable.

When I have a target painted on my back.

Oh god. I can think of only one reason why Bodie would flee the country right now. A reason Riley is obviously missing. He really is off his game, he's not seeing this situation clearly at all.

"I need my phone," I say, fighting the panic.

"You can try, but I don't think he's going to answer you, love." Riley is resigned as he pulls my small clutch from the dresser and fishes out my phone.

"Can I have some privacy please?" I mutter, thumbing my contacts with a shaking hand.

I try Bodie first, and Riley is right, he doesn't answer. I thumb a second contact with bright fear blooming in my chest.

"Well, well, well. I didn't expect to hear from you of all people today,"  a deep, ironical voice says.

Relief floods me to hear Daemon's voice. I was terrified that Bodie staged his own retaliation last night.

"I suppose you didn't expect to hear from me ever again."

He laughs. "I got no clue what you are talking about, but as for me? I had a near miss last night, girl. Bodie is a brave fucker, I gotta give it to him. Didn't seem to care at all that five guys drew on him, fully prepared to blow him away, when he walked into the pool hall at 3am and put a gun to my head."

"He was just returning the favor," I hiss.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Daemon says breezily. "But don't worry, Bodie and I smoothed over our differences. After all, we are still business partners, you know. And he's doing valuable work for our business ventures right now."

"What the hell are you talking about, Daemon?"

"You don't need to worry your pretty little head about it. All you need to know is that Bodie and I are finally seeing eye-to-eye. He's finally on board with the mutual opportunities our arrangement provides."

I say nothing. I don't believe that at all.

"While we are finally having a reasonable conversation, there's something else I want to say to you, Jasmine. I think it's finally time for me to accept that Darius and I are never going to have the father-son relationship I had hoped. Too much time has passed, and to be honest, the boy thinks of my brother as his father. I'm not going to fight you anymore on visitation with Darius. He and I...are never gonna vibe. I'm gonna leave him to TJ. Of course the boy can always come to me in need."

I can't believe what I'm hearing. Daemon tries to kill me, then Bodies threatens him, and now he's just...reasonable?

"You'll have to forgive me if I don't believe a goddamn word you are saying," I spit. "The gunfire you ordered is still ringing in my ears."

"Be careful with those accusations, Sweetheart. You don't want to find yourself in trouble with Sixmob again, when your rockstar has paid a high price to clear your slate with me."

"What does that mean?"

"You should ask him. When he gets back from his business trip."

I have a terrible feeling about this trip.

"When will that be?" I ask.

"Oh, well, let's see...he said something about needing to be back in LA in three weeks time, so I'm sure he will be back before then."

"From the Philippines?" I probe.

He laughs. "Sure, if that's what he said."

"Cut the shit Daemon," I hiss. "What is he doing? Looking for a high-volume drug supplier?"

"Jasmine, I don't know what kind of fantasies you weave in that head of yours, but we are in legitimate business. Our landscaping business is doing so much volume we are expanding into equipment sales for other subcontractors in the field. Bodie is looking into some foreign manufacturers, is all."

"A drummer in a rock band is suddenly qualified to check out lawnmower plants in the Philippines?"

"You should have more faith in him. I certainly do."

"I'm hanging up now."

"Oh. Jasmine. There is one more thing. I want you to hear it from me first. I'm getting married."

I laugh. "Right."

"It's true," he says solemnly.

"To who?"

"I think you know her, actually. She works with Shay. Dana Teague."

"Isn't she the student nurse that Shay took under her wing when her parents died in the car crash? The one she helped settle the insurance and sell her parents' house? The little girl that didn't even know how to write a check?"

"Well, she's not a little girl. She's twenty now."

"She's a child, Daemon! You're forty-three years old!"

"Love doesn't see age, Jasmine."

Oh my god. Maybe love doesn't see age, but I'm sure Daemon sees all the zeros in Dana's bank account from the insurance payoff. Plus there's the fact that the girl has no family, no one to tell her what a bad idea marrying Daemon is.

"What does Shay say about this?" I hiss.

"Shay is happy for us, because she knows her place. She's loyal to our family," Daemon retorts.

I snort. If Shay's holding her tongue, it's not because she knows her place, it's because she's got the good sense not to antagonize Daemon.

Christ, maybe if I had more sense, I wouldn't have nearly been gunned down last night and Bodie wouldn't be god knows where, doing god knows what right now.

So I try to hold my tongue and be civil. "When's the wedding?"

"It's just a small affair next month. Dana wants it quick, before she starts to show."

"She's pregnant?"

"Yeah, we're excited. It's what I always wanted, you know. To be a husband, and a father. To build something."

"Did you tamper with her birth control, too?" Shit. It just slips out before I can help it.

"There you go again. Being so...difficult. You really ought to take this pass Bodie has bought for you, Marley. Keep your fucking mouth shut. Stay out of my business. And don't come anywhere near Dana with false accusations like that."

Ohhhhh. So much makes sense now. Daemon has a new Dime and a new baby on the way. Last night, trying to have me killed? He was just tidying up his loose ends. My chest feels tight with the worry that he now considers Darius a loose end, too.

With a lot of effort, I force out more civil words. "Daemon...I'm sorry. I don't mean to be...hostile. I mean, we still have a child together. I know Darius is in a difficult place with you right now, but sometimes he's the same with me. He's a teenager, you know. Things might be different one day. Especially if he sees you're a good husband to Dana, a good father to his half-brother or sister..."

"You want to cut the shit, Marley? Here's the deal: Darius has no fear from me. He's my blood even if he refuses to have a relationship with me. You, on the other hand...should be very grateful that rock star you are fucking has valuable connections."

"With equipment manufacturers," I whisper hoarsely.

"Yeah, that's right," Daemon laughs, as he hangs up on me.

I scream and throw the phone across the room.

What the hell is Bodie thinking?

He promised me he would make everything better.

This is not better.

This is so much worse.

How could he just walk away like this?

And take Arabella with him?

Oh Bodie, where are you? What are you doing? What are you thinking? How could you leave Marley this way?