Page 34 of London’s Calling, Part 1 (London’s Calling)
Chapter Thirty-Four
Mickey
I stop on the second stair and listen as Roni opens the door.
Clayton’s agitated voice fills the apartment as he demands to know why she took so long to answer the door to him, growing clearer as he enters.
I peek round the corner of the staircase and see him with his back to me as he takes in the apartment.
I restrain myself when he traces a line along the front of her top, and I even managed to remain hidden when he reveals her tits.
But when she goes to let him out and he slams her head against the door, there’s no fucking way I’m not going to stop the cunt.
It’s not about Roni—hell, I’d do this no matter who it is.
I march into the room to find Clayton holding Roni’s head to the door with one hand while he tugs at the button on his trousers with the other.
“Doesn’t look like she’s into your kind on kink, Clayton,” I say, declaring my presence.
He barely flinches at the sound of my voice, and he casually rolls his head in my direction as I come to stand beside them.
“Oh look, my future wife’s sidepiece. Why the fuck am I not surprised to find you here.
” He keeps Roni in place, and she cries out as he pushes her head harder against the door.
“I knew you were a lying bitch,” he says into Roni’s ear before turning back to me.
“You want to watch me fuck my fiancée, Rawlins? I’ve got no issue with sloppy seconds.
I mean, we all know she’s fucked more men than she can count. Ain’t that right, Veronica?”
And that’s all it takes for me to lamp the bastard. His head rocks to the side as my hit lands on his cheek, and he stumbles to keep himself upright.
I move to take another shot only for Roni to jump in front of me, her hands pushing against my chest.
“Stop! Jesus, are you trying to get yourself killed?” she grits out between clenched teeth.
“Are you for fucking real right now? This bastard was going to rape you.”
Movement in the corner of my eye has me looking over to Clayton and finding him wiping blood from his lip.
“When you love birds are done with this sickening display of affection.”
“Fuck you, Clayton. Get the fuck out of my apartment,” I fire at him, pointing a finger in his direction and trying to get close enough to hit the cunt again.
“It’s not your apartment anymore and Veronica isn’t yours either.
She belongs to me. I’m just letting you screw her temporarily.
I always thought your standards were a little higher than some rich whore who will spread those gorgeous fucking legs for anyone.
But don’t worry, Rawlins, we’ve all been desperate at one time or another. ”
I dive for him, but between Roni and him backtracking toward the door, I don’t have a hope in hell.
“I’m going to fucking kill you. One of these days, mark my words, I’ll end you.”
He opens the door and pauses to blow Roni a kiss. “See you soon, fiancée.”
The door slams closed, and I spin away from Roni. My blood boils beneath my skin and adrenalin pounds around my body like a sentry guard looking for someone to hurt.
“What were you thinking? Are you out of your damn mind?” Roni demands, and I turn, furious that she’s even asking that, to find her pacing up and down, biting her thumb nail.
“You’re seriously pissed at me?” I baulk, certain that can’t be true.
“Yeah, I’m pissed at you. Do you have any…fucking…idea what you’ve done?” She draws out her words just to ensure I truly understand her level of pissed-off-ness.
Throwing my hands in the air, I say, “Well, hell, I thought I was doing you a fucking favour, doing you a solid and preventing that slimy cunt from raping you. But my apologies. If I’d known you were into that kind of thing—”
Crack!
The rest of my words are lost when Roni’s hand meets my face.
“Don’t you fucking dare! I know what you were doing, Mickey.
I just don’t think you thought the whole thing through before barging in here like some fucking god damned superhero.
” She turns away from me, walking to the living room and dropping down on to the sofa, then holding her head in her hands.
Following her, I wait for her to say something, but she doesn’t. So, I drop to my knees in front of her and tug on her hands, pulling them down and holding them in mine. “Hey, I’m sorry, okay. I couldn’t just stand there and watch that fucker putting his hands all over you, hurting you.”
“You should have walked away, Mickey. Gone back to your apartment and your life.” I watch her, attempting to read if she truly believes that. “I don’t need saving, okay?” She sighs, dropping her forehead to mine.
I breath her in, releasing her hands so I can cradle her face, noticing the red mark on the side of her face. Tilting her head a fraction to look in her eyes, I say, “You can’t marry him, Roni. He will destroy you.”
“I know, but I don’t have a choice.” She raises her head and shakes the heaviness of the last few minutes away. “I think you should go. I need to get some sleep.”
“No,” I state before she’s even finished talking.
“You can’t be here if he comes back, Mickey.”
“And that’s exactly why I’m not fucking going anywhere.” She frowns. “Come on, let’s go to bed.” At her look, I add, “To sleep, Roni. That’s all.”
I pull her to her feet, and still holding her hands, we head upstairs without another word.
In the bedroom, I strip to my boxers while she stands there watching me but not really seeing me. I lead her to the bed, pulling back to the covers, and urge her to get in. I climb in the other side, sliding up behind her, tucking her safely against my body.
I hold her until her breathing evens out, then I slip from the bed to make a call. When I return to the bedroom twenty minutes later, I have every intention of leaving, but when I see Roni frowning in her sleep, then start thrashing, I climb back in beside her, wrapping her in my arms.
“It’s okay, I’m here. I’ve got you,” I whisper, burying my face in the hair at the back of her neck.
She settles almost instantly. The relief is shadowed by a sense of betrayal of my father, my family, and that my life has suddenly and uncontrollably morphed into a Shakespearean tragedy.
The ending is as clear as the sun on a cloudless sky.