Scarred

thirteen-1

thirteen

Nya wouldn’t have to work out for a month and she’d probably be walking funny for the same amount of time. After around five hours of almost non-stop fun, both of them had fallen asleep out of sheer exhaustion. Her jaw ached, her breasts tingled, and her p***y had never been so spoiled. But she couldn’t keep the smile off her face even in spite of Archer shutting her down.

After waking up, they’d showered alone, and she came out to find Archer eating a sandwich. She tried to talk to him about what had happened with Hexam last night. All he would say was that he had taken care of it and that she was no longer in danger.

She recognized that he was being shifty. He didn’t maintain eye contact and his tone was abrupt, but there was nothing she could do to force honesty from him. With the stiffness in her joints and the tenderness of her muscles, Nya couldn’t be bothered starting a fight.

It turned out Archer had plans of his own and once he finished eating, he bid her farewell. Again, she’d tried to question where he was going and if she could go with him. But he’d told her that he had something to take care of on his own and she couldn’t help but think this was something to do with Hexam.

Archer had told her that he wouldn’t take on Tag’s cause again, that he wouldn’t be bailing him out. But it was guilt that made her hold him for longer than he wanted her to. Because even though he was infuriating her by not being completely open, she knew he was taking on a burden that should be rightfully hers.

Ester hadn’t come back yet. But Archer hadn’t been worried about his mother, so Nya wasn’t either. The woman had her own life to live. Archer had said in the past that Ester often swanned in and out of his life depending on her relationship status and her need for money.

Nya had missed the mother-son exchange at breakfast, so it was possible Archer had handed over money, or promised to take care of the boyfriend Ester had been upset about last night. Either way, Nya had some time to herself.

So after eating alone at Archer’s, she went to her apartment to change her clothes, and then set Tag’s place in her sights. Archer had said he was lying low but hadn’t said he wasn’t home. Hexam couldn’t have been in town for long if Kristof had just revealed his return to Archer the previous night. Maybe Hexam hadn’t gotten around to knocking on Tag’s door.

Wherever her friend was, checking at the apartment was a good place to start. If Archer was fixing this problem, and she was being threatened for it, Nya would have to confront Tag to find out if what she’d said was true, did he really love Farrah? Was he willing to go all the way to protect their relationship or was Archer on a fool’s errand? Committing himself to helping a man who would own him, not because Archer valued Tag’s friendship—the men wouldn’t classify each other as friends—but because he loved her.

Nya decided not to draw attention to herself in the hallway by knocking and waiting or shouting. She also didn’t want Tag to come to the door and show himself. Although she didn’t see anybody watching, that didn’t mean there wasn’t someone lurking or a camera planted nearby. She didn’t want Hexam to confirm Tag’s location if he was actually here.

Putting her key in the lock, she went inside, and dumped her purse in the entryway. The last time she’d walked into Tag’s living room, she’d found Farrah wrapped in nothing but a sheet. She’d thought that was the most shocking thing she could witness given Farrah’s identity.

Turned out she was wrong.

When she went into the living room this time, she saw Tag sitting in an armchair by the fireplace with Archer in the one opposite. Both men stood up fast and if that wasn’t an indicator of guilt, she didn’t know what would be.

Nya waited for one of them to exclaim that this wasn’t what it looked like, except, she didn’t have a f*****g clue what it did look like. Archer was being cagey. Tag hadn’t been in touch. And they weren’t the kind of men who would get together to shoot the breeze.

“What are you doing here, Yorkie?” Tag asked her.

Her mouth opened in an exhale of disbelief. “Yeah, I’m the one out of place here,” she said, frowning in time with her accusation.

The bedroom door opened and Farrah was talking as she emerged. “Okay, I’ve booked us three one-way tickets to Bogota, but the flight leaves in an hour and—”

Farrah stopped talking when she lifted her head and spotted the unexpected guest.

Nya was descending further into her stupor. So they were running away, but why together? Why now? Why was she kept out of the loop? “A vacation?” she asked. “How nice for you all. Bring me back a keychain.”

Glad of being close enough to the door that she could spin around and hurry out, she snagged her purse before slamming the door. The elevator came as soon as she pressed the call button and she was so grateful when the doors closed and it began to descend, because she didn’t want a scene.

Nya didn’t know if she should be angry or upset and the burn of tears in the corner of her eyes were just as confused. Was she just embarrassed about them planning a getaway that excluded her? Was she upset that she was to be abandoned while the two people she cared most about in the world were picking up and leaving the country without her?

Her upset came from the deception because a lie of omission was still a lie. Archer had to have known this was a possibility before he left her in his apartment. Yet he hadn’t hinted that he was going to Tag’s or out of the country.

Getting out onto the street, Nya took the first right into an alleyway and picked up her pace because she knew if she cut straight through, she would get onto a crowded city street, and she needed to lose herself for a while. Apparently for an hour because after that they’d all be on a plane.

It wasn’t until she was two streets over that it occurred to her she was panicking for nothing. No one was coming after her. No one was worried about her feelings or her perception of what she’d just seen.

If Archer was getting on a plane in an hour, he would need to get home to pack. That would take priority over soothing her if he was rushing to get to an airport. The schedule was too tight to add in an argument with his girlfriend, who wouldn’t be easily appeased.

More disappointment weighed her down, but at least this clarity also gave her direction. She got into a cab, and ordered it to her apartment, because she didn’t have to hide if no one was trying to seek. It was while she was in the cab that her phone rang. Nya wanted to answer but didn’t want to argue in front of her current audience because she knew she would end up getting angry and shrill, so she diverted the call.

At least Archer had made the attempt, whether it was to explain, or to tell her to get over herself, he’d tried to get in touch. Tag hadn’t bothered. Her supposed best friend had plenty going on in his life with his new girlfriend and her intimidating brother, Archer had been right about her sliding down on Tag’s priority list. She hadn’t been naïve enough not to see that, but she hadn’t expected to fall off that list completely.

Nya paid the cab driver and ran upstairs to her apartment, and that was when the chime of a voicemail echoed from her phone. Taking the device from her bag when she got inside, she laid it on her tiny kitchen table, and stared at it for a second.

She made coffee, more because she wanted to stay busy than because she actually wanted to drink it. While she completed the task, her gaze flitted back to the phone time and again. She wanted to hear the message because she wanted an explanation, but she didn’t want to listen to any excuses or half-answers.

As much as her love for Archer was immense, some part of her feared that he was calling to say goodbye. Filling her mug, she sipped her coffee then went over to sit down at the table opposite the phone. After clucking her tongue, she reached over to retrieve it.

She wasn’t fooling anyone. She was going to listen to the message eventually, so she might as well put herself out of her misery and get it over with.

Dialing into her voicemail, she put it on speaker. “You have one new message,” came an automated voice who listed the date and time it was left.

When Nya glanced at the clock, she realized that the trio must be at the airport by now. They may even be queuing to get on the plane.

“Squirm.” The word burst from Archer through her phone speakers and made her jump. There was noise behind him, probably airport bustle, but his voice was clear. “Goddamnit! You know why I’m doing this. Something happened with Hex last night. I came to see your boy today to figure it out and I was roped into a job. That’s all it is, Ny, it’s a job.” He barked the words like he too was warring with anger and upset, though he would never admit to the latter. “I’m f*****g doing this for you. I don’t give a s**t about this fucker!” Anger definitely won out in that sentence, and she traced a fingertip around the edge of her phone case. “I’ll call you tonight and you’re going to pick up the f*****g phone, Squirm, or I’m leaving this bastard to rot. If you’re not around, I don’t need to risk my life for him.”

There was a long pause, she didn’t know if he was doing something or just thinking. “What?” she whispered, anticipating what he’d say next.

“I love you, Ny,” he murmured. “Watching you walk away from me with that look on your face…” his voice trailed away.

“Archer, we have to go,” a female voice in the background said and although it wasn’t distinct, Nya would guess that it was Farrah’s.

“I’ll call you later,” he said into the phone one more time and then the message ended.

He’d call her later, what did that mean? Her time or his? She had to go to the club tonight, if nothing else, it would keep her busy, though she didn’t relish the idea that Hexam may approach her when Archer wasn’t even in the country anymore.

But she’d rather be there, surrounded by people with things to do, than sitting here staring at the walls, waiting for Archer to call. She trusted why he was doing this, trusted that his intentions were good and motivated by his love for her.

Guilt and worry swirled in their conflict for dominance over her emotions. He shouldn’t be doing this. Her love shouldn’t be anywhere near this mess and yet he was traveling to one of the most dangerous countries in the world, for her.

The only reason he was a part of this mess was because of her. Wherever he was going, for whatever reason, this mission had to be dangerous, he’d said he was risking his life. Nya didn’t want that, especially when she couldn’t trust Tag to have Archer’s back.

Discomforted, she did her best to fill the rest of the day with mindless jobs like household chores. But as she speculated on where Archer was now and what he was doing, she wondered if he was thinking of her, cursing her for getting him into this.

Tag had drawn them in to another dangerous scenario and this time Nya had been left behind. She couldn’t support Archer when she wasn’t with him. All she could do was hope that he would come back to her in one piece and that their relationship would survive this.

Coming to work in Sizzle was supposed to distract her enough that she wouldn’t sit staring at the phone waiting for it to ring all night, like a lovesick teenager.

But sitting in the office, with her legs crossed, and one foot tapping against the leg of her desk, Nya had done nothing but stare at the device lying in front of her.

Her chin was propped on the heel of her hand and she was gnawing on her pinkie nail, wiggling her pen between her first two fingers. Archer had said he would call, but the flight would be like nine or ten hours and God only knew how long it would take him to get from the airport to his final destination. And who knew what cellphone reception was like in Columbia? Maybe he had to wait for a landline; did they have those down there? Maybe it wasn’t easy to make calls out of the country. Nya didn’t know.