Love Resolution

Marcus twisted the key in the ignition of the rented Jaguar. The engine roared to life. He felt completely blindsided by what she’d done. Furious, he ground the gearshift into reverse and glanced in the rear view mirror. Lightning flashed, and then he saw her.

Avery.

Standing alone in the dark. No jacket. Skimpy dress. She flinched at the loud crack of thunder, scanning the empty parking lot, her breath like a vapor in the damp night air. He wanted to pull out, press down on the gas, and get the hell out of there, but he couldn’t make himself do it. As angry as he was with her, he couldn’t abandon her.

The rain started pouring down as he pulled up alongside her.

She took a nervous step back. Obviously, she didn’t recognize the car and couldn’t see him through the tinted glass. He pushed the button to roll down the window.

“Marcus,” she breathed on a sigh.

His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “Get in the car,” he told her gruffly, calling himself a million times a fool.

“Stop!” Ray shouted as he jogged up and insinuated himself between Avery and the car. He gave Marcus a pointed look. “Boss, you know you shouldn’t be driving right now. Not in the rain. Not in your condition.”

“I’m fine.” Marcus ran a hand across his face.

“Yeah? Then how many drinks have you had tonight? Can you even remember?”

He couldn’t. He remembered having a couple of beers and a lot of Crown and Coke. What he did know for sure was that things between him and Avery had just taken an ugly turn. One that pissed him off and completely obliterated the good buzz he’d had going on. Yeah, so he might be a little unsteady. Who wouldn’t be after that scene? And anyway it wasn’t a long drive back to the hotel.

“You’re getting soaked.” He leaned forward so he could see around Ray, spearing Avery with a sharp look. “Get in the damn car!” he ordered.

As though pulled toward him by an invisible wire, she moved to the passenger side of the Jag.

“Avery, I don’t think this is a good idea,” Ray cautioned.

“Stay out of it,” Marcus told him as Avery climbed in.

Ray put a hand on the open window frame.

Avery glanced up at him. “I’ll be ok, Ray,” she said softly.

“Buckle your seat belt,” Ray instructed, brows knitting together with concern.

Ignoring the implicit warning in the bodyguard’s eyes, Marcus looked down and put the car in drive.

Ray tapped the frame twice, straightened, and took a step back.

After merging into the busy line of traffic along the waterfront, Marcus risked a glance at her.

She sat stiffly beside him, wringing her hands together in her lap.

He opened his mouth tempted to say something to comfort her but couldn’t. The words wouldn’t be sincere. Tension permeated the small space of the Jaguar’s luxuriously appointed interior. The dashboard lights glowed softly, illuminating Avery’s pale, frightened face.

“You wanna tell me why the hell you were doing the bump and grind with the Tempest guitarist tonight?”

“It was just dancing.” She turned her head to look at him. “It was innocent.”

“Bullshit!” he exclaimed. “That’s f*cking bullshit and you know it.”

Her eyes widened.

“Don’t even try to blow this off. The fact is you were dancing with another guy when you’re with me. You have my ring on your finger. I had enough of this kind of duplicitous crap when I dated Veronica.”

“Don’t you dare compare me to her!” Avery’s green eyes flared with anger. “I’m nothing like that woman.”

“Tell me how you’re not,” he challenged, wagging an accusatory finger in her face. “Tell me how was I supposed to interpret what I saw, huh?”

“Lower your voice,” she bristled, brushing his hand away. “Stop yelling at me. You’re scaring me.”

“You’re scared?” He answered his own question. “Good, cause so the hell am I! I thought I could trust you.”

“You can,” her voice trembled. “Marcus, you can.”

“Really?” he snorted. “I don’t think so. Dwight was right. I think we moved too fast.”

Two faint lines suddenly appeared between her drawn brows. “He said that?”

“On the night I proposed.” Marcus nodded. “Tried to talk me out of it beforehand. Said I should wait a bit. Give us some more time together as a couple before I made that kind of a commitment.”

She made a low hurt sound in the back of her throat.

“After tonight, I’m thinking he had it right.” His sharp words punctured her. Avery’s shoulders collapsed. Her chin dropped to her chest.

“No,” she whispered.

“To think that I told him he was dead wrong,” he relentlessly continued. “That time wasn’t going to change how I felt about you. That I knew all I needed to know about you already.” He let out a humorless laugh. “I never, not in a million years, would have imagined that you of all people would do something like this to me, Ace. Did you even stop for one single moment to think about how it would make me feel?”

“Yeah, actually I did.” Her head turned to the side, eyes shining. “I thought it’d serve you right, if you wanna know the truth. Maybe make you think twice before you start tossing back drinks. Before you snap my head off. Before you shut me out. Before you tell me again how great your life was before I came along.” Her fingers curled into fists. “So I danced with a guy. That’s all it was. That’s all it was ever gonna be. For just a couple of minutes, I wanted to be with someone who was treating me like I was his equal instead of his child.”

His chest burned beneath the weight of the accusations she’d just leveled at him.

“That’s all I ever wanted from you,” she finished, gaze sliding forward. “Marcus!” she suddenly screamed.

His head snapped forward. Too late he saw the stopped car in front of them. He jerked the wheel to the right, the car hydroplaning on the rain slickened pavement, and he lost control. Instinctively, he threw out his right arm to shield her.

The impact was sudden and brutal. Glass shattered and metal twisted and groaned, reshaped by the violent deceleration against a light pole. His airbag deployed. It stung him like being slapped in the bare chest by a giant open palm. The breath whooshed out from his lungs. He tasted coppery blood in his mouth. Heart in his throat, he glanced over at her side of the car.

“Avery!” Her airbag hadn’t deployed. Her face and the dashboard were covered in blood. Her eyes were closed. She wasn’t moving.