Designer Genes - The Boyfriend Cut (36 page)

I gasped when I passed in front of the dresser mirror and my hands shook as I slowly opened my jacket, revealing the rusty color of old blood, soaked into the middle of my pink top. If someone saw the size of the stain across my chest, they'd think
I'd
been shot. Dried blood matted in my hair and crusted between my fingers. The palm of my left hand and over my wrist sported a gnarly case of "road rash." A gross purply-green bruise formed on the side of my right hand and my right elbow stung.

All of a sudden, I felt every ache, every sting as if it just happened. My visual recognition showed my brain exactly where to hurt and underneath, panic surfaced. What kind of mysterious world had I fallen into? Fresh tears heaved from reserves somewhere in my body and I slumped to the floor.

The door squeaked open. Moose towered over me, a look of horror in his eyes. "Marli? What can I do?"

My neck cranked backward to see his face. "I need to talk to Jordan. Now."

He lifted me by my forearms
—
new bruises I feared, helping me to the foot of the bed. He handed me Jesse's cell receptor—the one I talked to Mike on when the universe fell.

"Call Jordan from this one. Mike keeps the frequencies scrambled so no one can trace the calls. It's for special situations like tonight."

"Figures," I whispered. I studied the large belt buckle close enough to see the
button.
The same one Jesse had on his belt—the one he made sure he pushed before doing anything else.

"Moose? What's that?"

He sucked a breath. "It's a 'panic button' of sorts. When pushed, it sends a signal to whomever is closest. It also works as a homing device with coordinates, in case one of us—"

"Disappears?
Anything else? Cars with wings?" I rode in both Jordan's Porsche and Jesse's Ferrari. There could have been a switch labeled "wings."

Moose shook his head. "Let me know if you need anything. In one of the cabinets in the bathroom is a first aid kit for your arm, and you'll find clean T-shirts in the top drawer. Oh, and if you push #1 on the receptor on the nightstand, it will buzz in the living room. Otherwise, I'll leave you alone until morning."

I followed him to the door, locking it after he walked out. No more surprises. I was done.

I inched myself into a hot shower, every muscle ache yielding to the warmth. The sting from the spray hitting the raw skin on my hands and knees stole my breath. Rust-colored water circled the drain, the coppery smell of blood overpowering in the steam, and I fought back a wave of nausea. Several scrubbings later, I emerged clean—black and blue, but clean.

Jesse's T-shirts almost reached my knees, giving me some modesty, but two layers were necessary to hide the parts of me illegal for public display. I tugged the collars to my nose. The scent from the bottle of cologne tucked in the drawer, the same fragrance Jordan used, lingered in the cotton. At the moment, I couldn't say who the sensuous scent made me long for more; Jordan or Jesse.

Easing between the cool sheets, I sank into the downy pillows. My lungs filled deeply and exhaled slowly. The bright light of the receptor illuminated the red rash on my arm. I crumpled the cologne-laced shirt against my nose and touched the tiny square on the cell labeled "Jordan."

His voice sounded thick and sleepy. I'd have given my soul to be asleep in his arms. Again, I wished for video transmission, but there were no other buttons on the
spy
phone.

"
Jesse!
" I'd startled him awake using the "secret cell."

"No, it's me," I whispered. "Sorry I scared you, but I need to talk to you."

"Marli! How, why—"

"Why am I using Jesse's 'secret decoder' receptor?" Silence ensued and I worried my inside joke wasn't well received.

"To be honest—yes
.
" Another moment of silence. "What going on? Where's Jesse?
You
wouldn't be calling from this receptor if something hasn't happened. Spill it—now!"

I wielded an equally snarky reply. "I'm fine, thanks for asking. Oh, and yes, I miss you too. What's that? Happy Birthday? I love you, Marli? Or is that only for regular calls?"

"Marli, of course I love you, but I'm scared to death of what you're about to tell me. I've been calling you all night to wish you 'happy birthday,' however someone's not answering
her
receptor."

"I left it in my room." I held my breath, realizing what I said.

"Where are you, Marli? It's four o'clock in the morning in
New York
." Stated, not questioned. I heard his jaw clamp. He knew where I was.

"Jesse's penthouse." Stated quick—like ripping off a band-aid.

"Tell me you're joking. You said you ended things, Marli."

"Nothing about tonight is a joke, believe me. But before I say anything else, Jordan, I need you to swear you'll stay calm
.
"

"Don't ask the impossible
.
"

When my silence demanded the promise, he said he'd try, but nothing more. I, in turn, guaranteed him I'd ended things with Jess. I pulled a deep breath and held it a moment wishing its release would cushion my next revelation. I squeezed my damp lashes tight, wringing out the tears bubbled in the corners of my eyes, and let out a long, shaky breath.

"Jordan…Jesse and I were attacked tonight. Jesse got stabbed, but he's okay."

"WHAT?
Stabbed! What about you? Damn!"

The infamous "f-bomb" Jordan seldom used preceded the
shit, shit, shit,
and punctuated the end of one rant, which emptied into another about how he'd warned Jesse to not let anything happen to me.

I folded my knees so tight against my chest I could barely breathe and my thumb throbbed from my teeth clamped in a vice around the knuckle. Water poured from my eyes and nose as I listened, hearing the unmistakable fear in Jordan's tone wrap the angry words until his voice disappeared behind the heavy heartbeat thrumming in my ears.

"Stop! Please listen to me for a second." I could hear his forced breaths, but he remained silent. "Jesse did protect me, twice. Once in an award-winning performance as an 'ass,' trying to get me to storm out on him, and again when the drunks came at us."

"So he did try to force you to leave. He said something about that the other day, but I knew he couldn't pull it off. He cares too much. Please tell me he didn't do anything inappropriate?"

The pictures would answer that question and my lack of response forced an another ugly oath from Jordan. Cautiously moving to my side, I hissed against a sudden jab of pain.

"Babe? Are
you
all right?" His jaw crunched in my ear. "You never did answer my question. Did you get hurt?"

"My hip is sore where I fell, but it's the bruises on my hand and elbow that kill. I must have been holding the gun too tight when I fell."

"
GUN?
What on earth were you doing with a gun?"

"Trying to shoot the guy who stabbed Jesse."

"It was
LOADED
? Hell Marli, you could have killed someone! I can't believe Jesse was so careless! Carrying a loaded gun while with you? You could have been—"

Wizard broke in on the call, placing me in a holding pattern of uncertainty. I started a mental countdown. Around sixty-three, a voice, strained, speaking through measured breaths hissed in my ear.

"I'm booking the next flight to get you the hell out of there and away from Jesse before you do anything else stupid."

"Did you just call me 'stupid?'"

"No, I said what you
did
was and I'll add reckless, selfish, and deceitful. Tell me
love,
is Jesse's hearing gone? Can he only read lips? From what I'm seeing on this digital file Mike forwarded, you have a peculiar way of ending relationships.
Kiss off
is something you take literally. I can see how heart wrenching this was for you. Cute bra, by the way. Don't think I've seen that particular one. Maybe you bought it especially for Jesse?"

"That's enough, Mason."

"Why,
Davis
? Too uncomfortable for you? Imagine how I must feel—no wait. Imagine how I
will
feel when these go public in a few hours." His voice dropped to a quiet calm. "How could you do this to me, Marli?"

The cell receptor went dead. He'd hung up on me!

Emotions rose too fast to evade with Jordan's declaration. Him being angry I understood and even his fear I could handle, but hurt? I was totally unprepared for the assault of guilt that crumbled my defenses. I swallowed down the painful burn in the back of my throat, forbidding the floodgates to open.

When the cell rang seconds later announcing "Jordan," I jumped, losing the breath I desperately needed to sound remotely normal. I didn't give him a chance to speak.

"None of those pictures are what they seem, Jordan. Even the hot tub one is wrong. Brit and Alex were there—no boys."

His response came fast, his voice tight. "That's the only picture you're not latched onto Jesse's mouth, or his hands attached to your body. You've no idea what you've done."

"I didn't
do
anything! I told you, I'm through with Jess, although you don't seem to care that your twin brother could have died defending my honor! I think you should point your accusing finger into
your
chest. You're the epitome of selfish!

"Don't even try and put this on me, Marli. I've made a decision, one you won't like, but right now, I don't give a fuck."

"Whoa!" The little hair on the back of my neck that coiled into a tight spring right before bad things happen, pinched. "What do you mean?"

Jordan's tone remained brusque, unforgiving. "You're officially eighteen. I'm making this setup permanent and if you need "tradition," we'll fly straight to Vegas and be married by morning. Anything to keep from losing my mind constantly worrying about you."

Immediately I recognized the dangerous, powerful feeling swelling inside. Not joy…far from it.
Anger
boiled to rage with frightening speed. I propped myself against the headboard, stunned.

"Pardon? Is that your pathetic excuse of a marriage proposal? A 'marry me or else' load of garbage! Well, someone catch me, please—I'm swooning in all the hearts and roses!"

I tried to temper the seething emotions bouncing inside, but it proved useless. "
Setup?
So that's all we are? A 'set up?' Forget this, Jordan. Forget
you
! I wouldn't marry you if my life depended on it."

"It probably does! I can hardly wait to see what kind of trouble you get into when you go to Italy with the
Italian Stallion,
although judging by past performances, he's in for one hell of a send-off!"

I gasped and all the guilt overwhelming me mere seconds ago, disappeared.

"
You're such an ass!
A control-freaking ass!
You
have no right deciding anything for me—ever! I've had enough. I'm through with this craziness—all of it! To hell with The Program…
and
you! We're done, Jordan Mason. Done! Done! Done! Never call me again!"

I slammed the receptor shut and threw it across the room. A numbing tingle framed the edges of my body. The pompous jerk actually thought
marriage
was the only way to keep me safe. He didn't even let me explain the pictures. The nerve! I could take care of myself. A familiar prickling sensation surrounded my lips.

Breathe Marli…breathe..

All four walls crashed in at once. Jordan asked me to marry him, and basically I told him to go to Hell. In only a few short hours, I managed to remove both Jesse
and
Jordan from my life. The "S.S. Destroyer of Love's" next port? Italy.

Brittany and Alex believed the lie about Jesse's mugging. Luckily I'd brought a long sleeved shirt which covered the bruises. When the questions started, I told them an abbreviated version of my break-up with Jesse. I said nothing about the pictures, however, or my horrific argument with Jordan. The hurtful memory, coupled with my aches, caused unbearable pain. I refused to check my cell for messages. The photos would be public now and Rick would be plotting Jesse's murder. I also didn't want to deal with Jordan's accusations or
commands
, not that I expected he'd ever call again after last night.

After packing for our trip home, I returned to Jesse's suite. The security tag team lingered together in the kitchen and their conversation ceased when I walked in. Jesse's bedroom door opened and he hobbled in on Brody's arm. He eyed everyone crowding in
.

"Guys, mind clearing out? I want to talk to Marli alone." One by one they left. "Bolt the door, Marli. We need to talk and I don't want any interruptions."

Another demanding Mason brother.

I did as asked and curled on the sofa facing him. Jesse twirled a lock of my hair around his finger.

"Are you okay, babe? Moose said you were banged up pretty bad."

"I've been through worse," I lied. My heart hadn't felt such pain since Daniel's death, and yet, this seemed more unbearable. I looked away and pushed down the lump choking me.