Page 21 of Revealing Mark

My shoulders slumped. I had tried to keep him from finding out but there didn’t seem to be much point in trying to continue to.

“He was living with me.” Tension thickened the air.

I saw his boots come into my line of vision before I felt his finger tilt my chin, his eyes finding mine.

“He was living with you?” he asked, not quite believing what I had said.

I swallowed and nodded, knowing he was about to explode

“Damn it, Tracy, you barely knew him.” He turned away from me and walked to the opposite side of the room. He paced while I watched anxiously.

“How could you be so irresponsible?” he snapped. I straightened up, refusing to allow him to continue to have a go at me.

“I won’t explain my decisions to you.” I kept my voice controlled despite my shaking hands. He was intimidating like this. I wasn’t scared of him but it was difficult not to feel the waves of anger radiating from him.

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair before he approached me.

“I knew you were vulnerable but this is unbelievable,” he continued. “You allowed someone you barely knew to move in to your apartment with you. You’re lucky he only took your stuff, it could have been worse.”

I glared at him, hating that he was right.

“I won’t be spoken to like this,” I lashed out, refusing to allow him to go to town on me. “I want you to leave.”

He moved closer and I refused to take a step back. I held his gaze without flinching somehow.

“If you think for a second I’m going to leave you here, you don’t know me at all.”

“This is my apartment.” I wanted to stomp my foot but he took me by the elbow and led me to my room.

“Pack a bag,” he ordered when he let me go and blocked the doorway.

“I’m not going anywhere.” I refused to do as he said. I crossed my arms and glared at him defiantly.

“I can play dirty, Tracy, trust me,” he threatened, and I felt a shiver of apprehension.

When I still refused to budge, he came to stand in front of me.

“Does Matt know?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. He knew full well that my brother didn’t. Had my brother known, he would have told him.

I hesitated. He was calling my bluff.

“Pack a bag or I call Matt and tell him that you had some stranger move in with you.”

I swallowed nervously. I had been outmaneuvered. Checkmate.

“I bet he would love to hear how Jack stole your stuff to try manipulate you into taking him back.”

My brother would be so mad. His reaction would probably be worse than Mark’s.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.” There was the threat. It was up to me what my next move was.

I had been giving Mark the silent treatment all the way to his apartment. I wouldn’t even look in his direction, I was still so mad he was making me do something against my will.

My phone rang and I saw it was my sister.

“Hi,” I answered.