Page 54 of Broken Pieces
Somehow, he feels my pain.
It’s nothing compared to what I’ve been through and still have to feel everyday. I wish he didn’t have to feel any of it, but it’s part of who we are.
Our bond is unbreakable.
“Once we have eyes on her, I'll be fine.”
The elevator’s just opposite the front desk and we wait in the stairwell, watching through the door’s small window for Violet to come out.
She smiles at the receptionist who nods as she talks then gestures for her to go down the corridor past the desk.
Once she’s out of sight, I open the door and we head to the desk.
“Hi, how can I help?” The receptionist asks warmly as she smiles up at us. Her eyes flicking between the pair of us before settling on Mad. She straightens her shoulders, trying to push her tits out for him, but she's not got a chance there. He doesn't spare her a first glance let alone a second.
“What did the girl you just spoke to want?” I ask.
“Umm, I don’t think I can tell you that,” she says with a small frown, her attention switching to me.
Mad lets out a disgruntled sigh as he pulls his wallet out from his jeans pocket and holds a fifty up between his fingers. “What’s she doing here?” He asks, impatiently.
The girl looks around and over her shoulder like someone's going to jump out and arrest her if she takes it. “She booked in for a sports massage. The therapists like to practice whenever they can so I booked her in last minute.”
“Someone’smassagingher?” Mad shouts with disgust and I dig my elbow into his ribs, telling him to keep it down.
The girl sinks back into her chair and squeaks out, “Yes.”
“Fuck my life!” Mad slams his palm down on the desk. I take his wallet from him, pull out another fifty and slide it over to her.
“What room is she in?”
“Umm,” she glances at the computer screen. “Two.”
“Thank you. You’re not going to tell anyone about this are you?” I hold up another bill and she takes it with a shaky hand.
“No.”Her voice is a tiny squeak again and I'm confident she won't tell a soul we were here.
“Great. You didn’t see us.” Grabbing Mad by the elbow, I push him towards the corridor. He’s pulsing with rage, his muscles coiled tight and his breathing heavy.
“How can you be so calm about this?” He snaps, baring his teeth.
“I’m not.” I’m far from calm, I can feel all of his anger as well as my own, but just knowing she’s behind this door, waiting for her punishment for disrespecting us helps me to channel that rage.
A tall, smug looking guy comes from another room down the corridor and eyes us suspiciously as we guard door number two. “You two need something?”
“Are you the one who’s planning on touching our girl?” Mad steps forward. I know he can handle himself, but this guy is much bigger than him and I’d rather not deal with a fight.
“Your girl? Dude, I’m just doing my job. If she came here looking for another man to touch her, that's your problem not mine.”
Mad grabs him by the collar and shoves him into the wall. When I put my hand on his shoulder, he knows to hold the guy there rather than bash his brains in like I know he wants to.
“We’re not trying to start anything, here.” I open Mad’s wallet again to pay him off, but it’s empty of cash.
“Could have fooled me,” the guy scoffs as he pushes against Mad, but even his muscle isn’t enough against the power of Mad’s temper.
With a sigh, I get my own wallet out. “Don’t get all huffy with me because you have to use your own money this time,” Mad snaps over his shoulder.
"Your moneyismy money." I grab a couple bills, slapping them into the guy's palm. “Just take this and get out of here.”