Marc (Bowen Boys, #4)(9)
Marc didn’t want to hear the rest, but he knew that Khan was upset about something that Monica had found when she’d read the other woman’s mind. He finished with the tea and sat with his brother while it brewed.
“Just f*cking tell me. Is she there to kill me, one of the other family members now? And so you know, if it’s you, I might help her.” Khan shook his head and smiled. “Tell me, Khan.”
“She’s being chased by a man named Roy Dawson. Monica said that she has a block on her mind that’s pretty tight, so I had Reed look this prick up. He deals in exotic animals. You think he wants to sell her to one of those people he deals with?”
“Why would he do that knowing that she’s going to shift at some point, and then where will he be?” The timer sounded and he got up to pour them both a cup. “Did you ask her what was going on?”
“No. I was leaving that up to you to find out. You’re the investigator. Also, something else. Joan isn’t her name and Monica refused to look into Mia’s mind to find out if she knew. We’re pretty sure she does, because she’s really protective of the girl. Also….”
Marc sat the two cups on the table and thought that if he could, he’d find someone to murder his brother. All these bits and pieces of information about his place of business were driving him nuts. Marc slammed the cookie tin in from of Khan and snarled at him to f*cking tell him it all.
“She’s a virgin.” Marc looked at his brother, wondering why the hell he thought that information was needed. “She has to be protected by us now. We can’t let anything happen to her until she finds her mate.” He waited for Khan to laugh or to say he was kidding, but he just stared at him. For whatever reason, that pissed him off more. Of all the old-fashioned idiotic things to say, this had to be the topper.
“Are you f*cking kidding me? What do you propose we do, Khan? Find a chastity belt and strap it on her? Maybe we can follow her around from now on, and when another male comes near her we can slash his throat and hope she doesn’t notice all the blood.”
“That’s not what I meant, you jack ass. I meant that we can’t let this Dawson person find her in the event that he wants her for himself. What if he rapes her thinking that he can get her pregnant or something?”
Marc took his tea from him and dumped it in the sink. Then he took the cookie Khan had in his hand and put it in the trash before going to the door. He opened it and took several deep breaths before he spoke to Khan.
“Get out. I mean it, Khan, get out.” Khan started to speak but he cut him off. “I don’t care if she’s a virgin, but I’m reasonably sure that she’s been one longer than you ever were. And she stayed that way because she could fight men off or she simply doesn’t care for sex. Either way, she’s a virgin by choice and I for one could care less. If she needs my help with this person, I’ll help her, but I’m not going to stalk a woman because you’re a Neanderthal who has yet to come to this century.”
“I’m just saying that now that she works for you that you’re going to need to keep on top of things concerning her. She doesn’t strike me as the asking for help type.” Marc nodded as Khan went out the door. “She’s very beautiful, even Monica says so.”
“I don’t care how beautiful she is, Khan. I have had my mate and she’s gone. Falling in love with her is not going to happen, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Khan flushed with embarrassment. “I’m glad you’re thinking of me like that, but I’m not going to find love like you and the others have. And I’m fine with it.”
“I love you, Marc. I only want to see you happy. And this girl…I thought she’d make you smile again and not work all the time.”
After Khan left he went back up to his bedroom, then to the bathroom to shower. He was standing under the spray when he thought of what Khan had said. Marc thought it was time he left the area. Maybe go down and stay with Eric for a while, until he knew want he wanted to do. Maybe he’d see the world like he’d planned to do after college. Anything but stay there and have his family try and set him up. It hurt too much.
By lunch he had most of his laundry finished and his shirts ready to go to the cleaners. Pulling up his calendar, he saw that first thing Monday he had an appointment with someone from the sheriff’s office, and then he had another appointment with the same man at one. Great, she was already f*cking up his day. Making a note for her to let him know which time was the correct one, he called his office and retrieved messages. After that he sat down to file a report on the murder, and then he went into town to have some dinner. It was only nine when he went to bed. Setting his alarm, he laid down, trying to word how he was going to tell his family that he was selling his house and leaving within the month. They were going to be pissed no matter what he said, and was preparing for that as well.
His phone chirped once, then went silent at around four in the morning. As he didn’t recognize the number, he didn’t answer it and let it go to voicemail. When that notification sounded, he was nearly asleep and thought he’d get it in a minute when all of a sudden his alarm was going off. It was morning. He was in the shower when he remembered to check the message, and forgot when he went downstairs to find that his refrigerator was broken. He was over an hour late getting to work because he had to find a repair man as well as deal with all the food getting warm.