Dangerous Lies(45)

I hid a bat underneath my bed the moment Martin left. Crouching down to grasp the wood shaft, I yanked it out, twisting it between my trembling hands. My knuckles were white from gripping the bat so tight.

Taking a deep breath, I prowled to the hallway, tiptoeing to avoid the rare creak in the floor. No noise was being made from downstairs, so I had no clue where Jake had lead Martin. A sinister side of me secretly wished he’d shot him and dumped him where no one would find him, but I knew that would only cause more trouble for both of us.

Besides, I didn’t want Martin to die, I just wanted him to leave me the hell alone.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, the lights were still out, and I heard hushed voices in the living room. Another man was crouched down, watching them without being seen as I was. He had a gun ready, and I knew I needed to target him before he snuck up on Jake.

I crept toward him, prepared to swing and take him out. No way was Martin going to double team Jake. As I took a step, the man’s head turned, catching me in his peripheral. He shot me a glare, holding his hand to his lips as if to silence me.

I bit my trembling lip, terrified this mystery man with a gun was on Martin’s side and not Jake’s.

“What do you really think you’re going to do to me?” Martin laughed at Jake. “Frame me?”

“You’re going to sign and abide by the restraining order to stay away from Cora.”

“Corrine didn’t request a restraining order. If I want to come to my house, I will.”

“Not your house anymore, buddy. A man with your intelligence should be able to understand a court contract. I know your divorce papers state clearly who owns this house. Papers are on your work desk. Go sign them now, or in the morning, and stay away from her,” Jake growled. He still had the gun pointed at Martin, but it didn’t faze him enough to follow orders.

“Why are you so into her, anyway?” Martin asked. “I’ve already got enough on you to put your ass in a jail cell, what makes her so worth it? She was fucking me the whole time she was talking to you.”

“She’s my friend, and I care about it. If her sleeping with her husband is supposed to bother me, then I’m an asshole. What does bother me is you raping her.”

Martin scowled. “I never raped her. She was my wife, sex is a must.”

Jake shook his head. “It’s never a must. She says no, you stop, you dumb fuck.”

Martin gave a wicked grin. “She never told me to stop.”

“Duct taping her mouth might make it hard for her to be clear. The jerking of the body trying to throw you off of her might be a clue. Then again, you don’t pick up on subtle hints. Your last client that went bankrupt would agree.”

Martin’s eyes narrowed. “That wasn’t my fault.”

“Couldn’t have been good for your PR.”

“You don’t know shit about my business or my marriage, and quite frankly, I’m pretty fucking irritated with you right now.” Martin took a step forward, disregarding the gun in Jake’s hand.

“For the tenth time, you’re not married anymore,” Jake muttered, keeping the gun upright.

“That’s what you think. Paper doesn’t mean a thing. This house and that bitch are mine.”

Jake lunged forward, throwing a punch square across Martin’s jaw with his pistol.

Martin yelped at impact, and Jake was on top of him, throwing blow after blow with his fist. The man that was crouched down was no longer there, but was running into the living room.

I sprinted after him. “Jake, watch out!”

It was too late, the man had a grip on Jake’s arm, pulling him off of Martin’s shriveling body.

Still holding the bat in my hand, I went to swing it at the unknown man, only to have Jake step in front of me and grab it. “He’s with me, Love,” he said through heavy breaths.

My eyes bounced from Jake to the other man, who only gave me a nod.

“Here to make sure Jake wouldn’t do anything dumb. I’m Ben.”

“What the fuck?” Martin spat through blood. “You’re supposed to be working for me!”

Ben shrugged his shoulders, holding his gun up to Martin. “Sorry, my loyalty lies elsewhere. I’ll keep your deposit, though.”

Jake furrowed his brows at Ben. “He hired you to come after me?”

Ben bobbed his head back and forth. “Maybe, but I didn’t want to tell you. I knew you’d take it more seriously if I said he was after Cora.”

“This is a bunch of bullshit!” Martin shouted. He was still on the ground in a crumpled mess from Jake beating the crap out of him.

“Shut the fuck up,” Ben yelled, standing over top of him. “Get on your feet and move.”

Just as Martin was about to spit more fire, sirens sounded outside of the house with lights flashing through the blinds.

Ben nodded to Jake. “That’s my backup. Put your gun away.”

Jake tucked his gun behind his back and grabbed my wrist. “Come on, Love. We’ve got to get our stories straight.”

“What?” I asked in bewilderment.

He tugged me into the kitchen, then held me to his chest.

“Are you alright? The police are going to ask you what happened. You need to tell them you applied for a restraining order before you traveled to New Zealand.”