CHAPTER-29
BACK TO THE WAY WE WERE
"Austin, wait!" I shrieked as I followed him down but my voice fell on deaf ears. And he was walking so fast, I couldn't keep up even though I was running.
I sprinted down the stairs with Austin in front of me and André on my heels. "What happened?" André asked.
"Stop him!" I almost yelled. Austin could be violent, that much I knew. And he didn't think when he was angry. And I didn't want him to go behind bars because of me.
We all marched down the stairs to watch Rossi standing in the living room with a shit eating grin. "Mr. Archer. I didn't know you were home too. If I had then would've invited Capo too."
Yeah, to invite his death, right?
"Austin, stop!" I gasped, out of breath. One second, I was trying to stop him, the next, his large frame slammed into Rossi's bulk and pushed him straight to the floor.
I stare in stunned silence as Austin smashed Rossi to the ground. Although Rossi was bigger, Austin didn't show a sign of backing off. He launched successive blows at Mark's face and abdomen like he was a punching bag. It took Rossi long seconds to gather his wits and hit back. He used his upper bulk to push Austin into the ground and fixate him with a knee to his stomach before he punched him over and over again.
Something twisted in my chest at the constant slaps of flesh against flesh.
But maybe it was not because of the violence. Maybe this was because of something else.
Nope. I was not going there.
Soon after, Austin took the upper hand. Their view wasn't so clear with them rolling on the ground, wrestling to get the upper hand.
I didn't have to see the blackness in Austin’s mood to feel it. It permeated the air like a suffocating, impenetrable smoke.
"Angelo, let him go!" André tried to pull Austin away but it was of no use. Austin was not only fighting Rossi, he was out for blood.
“Stop it!” I shouted when I was partially out of my stupor. “Stop!”
Neither of them listened. If anything, their punches and grunts became more violent. At this rate, they'd kill each other.
André was trying his best to pull Austin away when Romero, Scott and two other guards joined him and they finally managed to separate him but not before Austin punched Rossi in the face so he fell to the ground. When he pushed to his feet, obviously ready for another round, Scott pulled him away from Austin.
“Fucking bitch,” Rossi muttered under his breath while dusting his trousers. “Can’t see what’s so special about her.”
“What did you just say?” Austin was in his face in a second.
I stride to them and placed a hand on Austin's shoulder. “Let him go, he’s not worth it.”
Rossi gave a lopsided smirk that smeared the blood from his lips over his teeth. “Listen to your slut, Archer.”
Before I could see the gloom on Austin's face, I felt it.
No, I breathed it in the air.
It was there in the quick rise and fall of his chest. The clenching of his fists. The stiffness of his shoulders.
I stared up at him and gulp audibly.
His gaze was completely black again. It was like he could kill Rossi and not feel an ounce of guilt about it.
He started to push me away, but I blocked his path so my back was to his front and I was facing Scott. "Take him out, please. And make sure he's nowhere to be seen around here."
Scott nodded. And then dragged Rossi's bloodied body of the house with Romero and the other two behind him.
"I'll go and check," André said. I nodded.
"Asshole," I muttered under my breath. I turned around about to curse Austin, too, but I was transfixed by the slow, but clear lighting of his eyes.
The black had dissipated and was now replaced by his usual mesmerizing blue. The first few buttons of his shirt were undone showing off his skin.
Under the lights, his tanned skin contrasted against the white shirt. Due to his fight he had two bruises against his cheek and collarbone. His right shoulder was drooping to the side like he couldn't keep it upright.
Even in his dishevelled state, he still looked every bit the gorgeous bastard.
"Have you lost it? What is wrong with you? You could've killed him!"
His gaze penetrated mine. "That was the plan. Until you interrupted."
"I interrupted? Did you want to go to jail? He's a lawyer for God's sake. You couldn't have escaped it no matter what," I tried to be reasonable with him.
His nostrils flared as he leaned down towards me, "I don't give a flying fuck about who he is. He called my wife a slut. He had to pay."
My voice softened just a little. "And your wife doesn't want her husband to go to jail because of an asshole."
A muscle ticked in his jaw as he clenched it. His eye twitched. And then he straightened to his full height and tried to step pass me but I blocked his way.
"Where are you going?" I was not letting him go outside right now.
He rubbed his jaw, "I'm not going to kill him if that's what you're worried about. "
"But--"
He shook his head like he was tired of all of this. "Go to your room, Eva. Rossi won't die. At least not today." And then he left.
And I was left wondering what the hell just happened.
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Back to my room, I was lying in my bed, staring at the ceiling when the door of my room barged open. I almost yelped when I saw my husband standing at the threshold still in his dress shirt and pants. It was almost midnight and he still hadn't changed.
What was he doing here?
"Austin?" I whispered into the darkness.
But instead of answering, he walked into my room like owned it, which he did by the way, but he didn't come to me, he walked over to my closet, took out my suitcase and started packing my bag.
What the hell? I walked to stand behind him. "Austin, what are you doing? Where are we going?"
"Not we, you are going. Back to Seattle," he responded while he shoved my clothes in the bag. I was a little taken back.
He was sending me back? Was he...was he ending everything? Suddenly the thought of leaving him didn't settle right.
"Why?" I whispered.
"David is back early. He and André will accompany you. André also has the key to your new apartment so he'll take you there once you land. I also talked to Gavin. He'll provide you with money you need for now."
He dodged my question. "I didn't ask you that."
Silence.
He zipped my bag and closed my closet. "You have ten minutes until the jet leaves." Austin informed.
I fisted my hands. "I'm not leaving until you tell me why." He wasn't gonna get rid of me that easily. At least I deserved an answer.
Austin stared at me with a blank expression. His eyes were dead. "You should be happy, Eva. Isn't that what you wanted. Out of this marriage. You wanted to leave me."
He was right. Isn't that what I wanted? Then why...why wasn't I happy?
"Are we," I cleared my throat, "are we filing for a divorce?" My voice was just above a whisper. He didn't answer.
The bruise on his face had started to turn blue. I glanced down at his fists, his knuckles busted and covered with dried blood.
"Ten minutes," he reminded me again. And then he started to leave. No way that was gonna happen. I gripped his hand to stop him. "Answer me, Austin. Don't walk on me."
He turned to face me, "No. We're not filing for a divorce. You're leaving just for now. I'll leave for Seattle in two to three weeks as well."
"Why not now?" I asked.
"Work." That's all he said.
He started to leave again but I didn't let go. I didn't know why I did that. "Then why can't we go together?"
He growled like he was irritated and then pulled me to him and slammed me against the wall and caged me in with his arms.
"What the hell do you want, Eva? Just tell me what do you want. You try to push me away when I come close to you and when I push you away from me you ask me why can't we be together. Just be specific about what you want!" He slammed his hand beside my head which made me jump in my spot. His left eye twitched again.
Well, fantastic question, Mr. Archer because I myself didn't know what I wanted.
"Tell me why you left with Gienna," I kept my voice soft.
His jaw clenched. "Gienna, Gienna and Gienna!" He growled in my face, "Why does she have to come between us every fucking time?!"
I gulped but my voice was still low, "That's what I'm asking, Austin. Why does she have to come between us? Why did you leave with her when you...when you could've stayed with me."
His eyes went back and forth from my lips to my eyes. "Did you ask me to stay? Even once? How will I know what you want, Eva when you won't tell me? Hmm?"
I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. Because he was right. Again.
"Would you have stayed if I had asked?" I asked quietly. He licked his lips as he leaned close to me, close enough that our nose touched and his gaze was fixated on my lips. "What do you think?"
Suddenly my mouth went dry. And my breathing deepened. Austin was close, close enough to smell and feel but he wasn't kissing me.
Why wasn't he kissing me? I licked my lips too and he gulped audibly at the action.
"I-I don’t know," I answered his question. Austin didn't say anything, instead leaned closer until his lips brushed my jaw and just when I took a sigh of relief that he was finally going to kiss me, he pulled away and stood out of reach.
"They must be waiting for you. Come fast." And then he took my suitcase and left my room without another word. I slumped down against the wall. Well, now at least I knew how it felt like when you're denied a kiss. What goes around comes around.
After washing my face and changing into a pair of jeans and a shirt, I went downstairs where Daniel, André and David were waiting for me, all three dressed in a suit. My husband was no where to be seen though. David smiled when he saw me and I noticed a golden band on his ring finger. I tried to smile back but I was sure he could see it was forced.
"Hey. You ready?" André asked me when I walked over to me. I nodded.
"Great. Uh... Angelo asked me to give you this." He handed me a small box and I took it with furrowed brows.
A gift? If he wanted to give me a gift, why not do it himself? Upon opening it, I found a brand new iPhone in it.
"He said he broke yours so..." André shrugged. Yeah, right. But I could buy myself a new phone. I didn’t want him to do that for me.
"I can't. I'll buy myself a new one." André chuckled, "You don't have a choice, Eva. You have to keep it. And as I quote Angelo, "I don't give a fuck what Eva does with it but I want her to have it," so you have to keep it." André literally tried to growl like Austin.
I stifled a smile. "Now, let's go."
All three men followed me outside where a black BMW was already waiting for us. "Uh, where is Austin?" I asked André.
He opened his mouth then closed it. "I...don't know, " he finally answered. My brows bunched, "What do you mean you don't know?"
"I mean I don't know. He just told me I have to escort you to Seattle, handed me the phone and then took his car and went somewhere."
I stopped dead in my track. "And you guys aren't even trying to find out where he is?"
"No," he deadpanned.
I glared at him. "Are you out of your mind? It's the middle of the night and my husband just went somewhere after he literally killed Rossi few hours ago and you are acting like it's fine he's nowhere to be found? What if he's at Sinclair's? What about Rossi?"
André rolled his eyes at me, literally rolled his eyes at me. "Come on, Eva. He's not that stupid. He just went somewhere to cool off. He'll be back by morning."
I crossed my arms against my chest and gave him a death glare. "I'm not leaving until you tell me where Austin is."
André made a noise from the back of his throat and then dismissed David and Daniel with a gesture of his hand. And when it was only the two of us, André leaned close, close enough to make me uncomfortable and his gray eyes pierced mine.
"Don't act like you care about him, Eva. I know your marriage is nothing but a sham. I knew since the moment I saw you. So, save your act for the people out there who really believe you give a fuck about your husband. Not in front of me." He was threatening me. And I was slightly scared.
Suddenly, I saw a new face of André. The bad side. The mafia side. And was it that much obvious that our marriage wasn’t real?
Our marriage might not be real but that didn't mean I didn't care about Austin. I didn't want him to have blood on his hands because of me. And I was somewhat worried about him. Was he that mad that he couldn't even see me off?
I opened my mouth to defend myself but before I could do that, a hand wrapped around his nape and he was pulled away from me.
"Why is everyone on their death wish today, hmm?" My husband. And he was in André's face in a second.
"Angelo, I didn't--"
"Save it. And don't you dare threaten her again. What we have is ours, and that is none of your business. You're on my side, don’t forget that." Austin hissed.
"Never," André raised his hand in surrender. Austin let go of André and he stumbled back and Austin dragged his dark gaze at me.
In three strides, he was in front of me. Close but still not touching. "Why haven't you left yet?"
I scanned his face, the bruise on his cheek looked bad and it must have hurt. My gaze locked on the cut near the corner of his mouth which I hadn't noticed before. I shouldn’t be feeling guilty considering that I hadn't done nothing wrong, but I still did. It didn’t delight me to see him hurt. I reached up and touched the pad of my forefinger to the cut on his lip. “Does it hurt?”
He yanked my hand free and held it prisoner in his.
"Why are you still here, Eva?" His eyes were downright sinister. Screw him. He didn't have to be so rude.
"I was making sure I don't become a widow by the time I land in Seattle," I lift my chin at him. He glared at me for about half a second before dropping my hand and stepped back.
"Go."
Gladly. But first, for appearances sake...
I stepped close to him and went on my tiptoes to press a chaste kiss on his jaw and then shot a look at André from his shoulder who in return shot me a mocking smile.
Austin didn't kiss me in return. Neither did he say anything.
"Goodbye, husband dearest. See you soon," I whispered for only him to hear.
Well, the car ride to the airport and then settling was all a boring process because I ignored all three men that my husband had sent to escort me.
Finally, when we were in the air, the only thought in my mind was where did it all go wrong?
Was it because of me using the safe-word? Or was it because of what happened today? Or was everything was destined to happen like this?
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