Marked (Marked #3) (26 page)

“Please, let me finish.” Holding a hand out toward us in supplication, he continued. “You both are not at fault here and are being very gracious in coming today and speaking to her. Something she is very aware of. My sole concern is for your mental well-being. In the physical sense, she cannot approach you and someone from security has been assigned to be inside this room at all times. It’s the mental aspect that worries me, Talan. Why are you here? What are you looking to achieve with this meeting?”

Leveling him with a harsh stare, I asked. “Honest answer or practiced bullshit?”

“Honest, of course.”

“Honesty.” Looking over at the beautiful girl beside me, I grasped her hand in mine and brought it up to my lips. Spoke, without taking my eyes off hers. “I’ll never deny my total and utter hate for the woman you are trying to cure, help…whatever you want to call it. If it were up to me, we wouldn’t be here, Doctor. And it’s not because I am an asshole, but because she hurt the woman who holds my heart in her tiny hands. In her delusion, she acted without care, and it’s not my responsibility, now or then, to help her assuage her guilt.”

“So why show up?”

“Because Maya needs this to feel at peace, and that’s more than enough reason for me.”

“Thank you.” Reaching forward, he pressed a red button on a speaker-looking box atop the coffee table in front of us. It crackled and then went silent with just the sound of someone breathing harshly coming through the reception. “We may proceed.”

The Janice that entered the room a few minutes later was not the self-assured woman I remembered. No. Not in the least.

This version was meek. Shy. Reserved.

Her eyes darted around the room nervously. Restless, she wrung her hands, not once meeting my eyes.

“Janice, welcome. Please take a seat,” Dr. Bryce instructed, his tone firm yet gentle.

“Morning,” she whispered, head down, and walked toward the opposite wall from where we sat. On a singular chair against the wall away from everyone, she took her place. This was also closest to the security guard who’d entered after her.

Beside me, Maya watched my reactions. Her hand in mine, tightening around my fingers.

“Damn.” Low, I muttered the word, yet it still sounded like a gunshot in the still of the night. Loud. Powerful. Direct. A part of me, miniscule at best, began to feel pity for her.

Janice turned into herself at the sound of my voice, coiling, as if waiting for an attack.

“Mr. Cox, please refrain—” Luke began, but halted mid-sentence the moment Dr. Bryce turned angry eyes on him.

“Watch yourself or you will be removed, Doctor.” A clear warning. “He said nothing wrong, and our patient is just having a natural reaction to what she knows will be an intense session. Don’t we, Janice?”

“Yes, sir.” Looking up then, she gave him a nod and then looked down once more.

This version of her was not what I expected. The enormity of everything she’d done was hitting me all over again. The fear, pain, and anger rushed through me, and for a short second I felt overwhelmed.

Son of a bitch
.

Meek and quiet, Janice sat back while introductions were made. No makeup, hair in a simple bun, and horrible hospital-given clothes; she looked like a little girl.

Nothing like a woman her age should.

She’d lost weight and her leg bounced in constant little jerks. Uncomfortable and scared, she looked seconds away from being in tears.

“Dr. Bryce, I’m ready to begin.” Assclown came to stand beside the couch opposite from where Maya and I sat. His posture stiff, angered by being told to shut the fuck up in the most polite of ways. “Bernard knows what is required and is to stay near her at all times. Rules and expectations have been discussed prior to today, and we’d like to begin.”

Not answering him, the older man turned gentle eyes on their patient. “Are you ready, Janice?”

“I am.” Another bout of restless leg bouncing, more pronounced this time.

“And you two?” old man asked us next.

“Yes,” in unison we answered.

“Very well—”

“Can I say something before we begin?” Her voice cut through the room, and we all turned to look at her.

“Go on, Janice,” Luke encouraged with a nod.

“Maya...” My girl stiffened beside me, but otherwise remained calm. “I’m so fucking sorry. Words cannot even begin to describe how horrible and ashamed I feel for what I’ve done, and while I lay my apology at your feet, I don’t expect anything in return. It’s more than enough that you both came here today. Thank you.”

If a penny were to be dropped at that moment, the sound could’ve been compared to that of a bomb. Loud. Earth shattering. Destructive.

The latter being on my anger toward her.

“Janice,” Maya spoke with a gentle tone and sat forward in her seat. Hand still intertwined within mine, she waited for my ex-employee/friend to look at her. When she did, my beautiful girl gifted her a soft smile. No hate or reproach. “Thank you for those words. They mean more to me than you could ever imagine, and while I’m nowhere near ready to accept them, I appreciate them nonetheless.”

“Is that something you understand, Janice? Her stance on your apology and the reasons why she’s not ready to accept?”

Before she could reply, Luke interrupted by clearing his throat. “Will you be joining us today, sir?”

Oh the joys of hierarchy. You could almost see how bitter it tasted on Luke’s tongue to address him as such. Pompous asshole no longer had the reins of this meeting and hated it.

“I am,
Doctor
. Is that an issue?” A dare to say otherwise.

“No, of course not. Your help is greatly appreciated.” He took a seat on the couch opposite of us. “Just trying to determine the best way to broach the more pressing matters before our time is up, sir.”

Kiss-ass. Dr. Luke Taylor was just an overall ass in my opinion.

Old man didn’t respond and turned his attention back toward a quiet Janice. “Before we proceed I’ll need my question answered, Ms. Moore. Do you assimilate her reaction to your apology?”

“I do. I’m under no illusion that what I did wasn’t atrocious—more than damaging toward someone who was innocent.” It was then that for the first time in weeks, her eyes met mine. They tried to convey both her embarrassment and repentance with a hint of something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on. “My actions could’ve killed her. Those had been my intentions, after all, so her answer is something I’d been prepared to accept. I’m not negating responsibility here.”

“And you think I am somehow?” It came out harsher than I intended, but the way she was looking at me unnerved me. “Speak up, Janice.”

“Don’t speak to her like that!” Luke was up and leaning over the coffee table within seconds, his expression full of ire, contorted into an angry scowl.

“Sit the fuck down before I make you.” Cool as a cucumber, I sat back and let him look like an idiot. If pushed, he would strike, and that was the opening I needed to lay him out.

“Dr. Taylor, you need to sit down and be respectful, or you will be escorted out and her case reassigned.”

Luke gaped, and his pallor became ashen at Dr. Bryce’s words. “Sir, that’s not necessary. I’m just reminding him that he needs to watch how he speaks to her. Our patient’s mind is fragile—”

“While that may be the case, he didn’t say anything hurtful or aggressive. His question is valid. I won’t remind you of this again, Doctor.” While assclown sulked, I bit my lip hard in order to control the urge to laugh. The older doctor saw this and shook his head, but didn’t comment. Instead, his focused returned toward the patient in the room. “Can you answer him? Do you fault him for
your
behavior?

“To be honest...” she looked at him for confirmation “...a small part of me does.”

“Explain.” This time it was Luke that interjected. “Why do you fault
Mr. Cox
?” The extra emphasis on my name wasn’t missed.

“Because he didn’t love me enough.” Low yet fierce in her convictions, Janice stared me in the eyes while she spoke.

“Bullshit.” I met her look with a steely glare of my own. Releasing Bitty’s hand, I sat forward and pointed an accusing finger at her. “How can you sit there and apologize, claim to understand what you did wrong, yet still blame others for your actions. Bullshit, Janice.”

“Wasn’t fair,” she whispered under her breath. We all heard.

Ignoring the asinine response, I shook my head at her. “Problem is, Janice, that it’s easier to hate me, paint me as the bad guy, than look internally and admit fault.”

“You pushed me away for her!” Before the guard could intervene, Janice stood up abruptly, and her chair hit the wall behind her hard. She marched over to where we sat and stood at the end of the couch, fuming and chest heaving.

Maya made a move to stand, but I held my hand out and stopped her. “Don’t.”

“Talan, move your arm.” Thank God Janice didn’t react to Maya’s voice; I was the sole recipient of her anger.

“Let her speak, babe. It’s okay.” With a squeeze to her arm, I pushed her until her back was against the cushions. Kept my hand there just in case too.

Seeing the way I treated my girl burned Janice from deep within. Her posture was meant to be menacing, but I saw it now for what it was. She was someone afraid of her own shadow.

“How could you?” A strangled cry followed by hands balled into tight fists. Luke seemed poised to intervene, a look of hurt flashing through his eyes. “And for someone you didn’t know. Dammit, I’d been there since the very beginning. Why wasn’t I enough? Why couldn’t it have been me?”

“Do you remember the day we met? Back when my father still owned Cox Tattoos and you were there with a friend?” Nodded, but didn’t elaborate. She knew where I was going with this. “When you asked me to go grab a bite to eat with you while you were in the lobby, what did I say? Answer me that much?”

Shoulders sagging and mouth set into a pout, she looked like a child. “That you thought I was a cool chick and wanted to exchange numbers. Be friends. Nothing else.”

“So I offered you nothing. Gave you no hope. Yet you claim I am at fault?”

“It’s the emotional toll being around you caused.” At Luke’s sudden outburst, Maya huffed beside me. Dr. Assclown turned to look down at her with sad eyes. “I’m sorry, Ms. Owens, but it’s true. Years of codependency can create just as much of a bond as monogamy. Talan didn’t put a stop to her. Create distance.”

“So should I have fired her? Would that have made me more human?” Thundered, my voice rang loud through the open space. Balling my hands into tight fists, I tried hard to regulate my now escalated breathing.

I’d promised Bitty that I wouldn’t let him goad me.

Luke didn’t appreciate my sarcasm and glared. “Spare us the sainthood act, Talan. She was an employee. It was an even exchange what you had—she worked for money, while you had someone take care of the shop.”

And just like the asshole he was, he placed Janice on the sofa beside him. At a respectable distance, yet close enough he could touch his pinky with hers.

If I’d ever had a doubt, it was gone now: he loved her.

“I think we all need to settle down for a minute. Maybe you both,” Dr. Bryce spoke while pointing at Maya and me, “should take a walk. Get some fresh air.” He’d been quiet for a while now, but his hands never stopped. There would be a lot of notes to be discussed between the two doctors.

“If they leave now, they won’t be back.” Janice shrugged, as if it were set in stone. “He hates me.”

“No one hates you, Ms. Moore. Trust them to return.” Old man was good, I’ll give him that, but for me this entire deal was a waste. “You will be back, won’t you?”

Maya, who’d been running soothing circles over my hand, paused and looked over at Janice with contempt. I was sure that this was it. We’d go to jail for attacking two doctors and a crazy bitch.

“You say you’re sorry for hurting me.” It wasn’t a question, nor did my girl wait for an answer. “Yet you haven’t learned a single fucking thing while you’ve been here. Was this fiasco a joke to you? Ways to continue hurting us while making the authorities believe you’re sick?”

“No!” She shook her head profusely, so hard so, I thought she’d hurt herself. “Maya, I don’t hold you responsible for anything. You’re an innocent bystander.”

“And him?”

“Maya, maybe you two should go and take that walk now.” Again the man beside her interjected before Janice could own up to her shit, refused to let her face the truth.

“Enough placating her!” At the unison shout, Janice shrunk in on herself, and Luke jumped at the chance to comfort her, something the old man observing us also noticed.

Didn’t say anything, but you could tell from the tick of his jaw that he was close to his limit of patience.

After several intense moments of silence, I’d had enough and pulled an angry Bitty up with me. Nothing was solved. A waste of total fucking time.

“Look, we,” I hissed out, more out of frustration than anger while holding our entwined hands up, “are out. There’s no point in being here and going around in circles. There’s her version and mine—what that dickhead believes and what the courts will decide.
We
,” I emphasized, “are no longer involved. Good luck with that.”

“Please, Maya,” Janice cried out, extending her hand out as if to touch my girl. Fuck and hell no. Before she could, I had Bitty behind me and the table kicked out of my way.

“Don’t.” Seeing my hostile behavior caused the useless guard to jump in to action. Coming to stand between us, he placed a single hand on my chest. My eyes cut to his. “Remove your hand before I do it for you.”