“She did,” Maverick answered. “We had breakfast with Van, like we normally do. What else do you remember? Should I take you to the doctor?”
“I thought Mari was in trouble, so I came in to he—”
I cut myself off, realising what I was about to say, and looked at her, guilt running through me. Maverick turned to her.
“Why would she be in trouble?” he asked.
I bit my lip, unsure of what to say. Mari sighed, “She walked in, thinking I was in danger, but she got an eyeful of me and Brayden.”
Maverick’s eyebrows shot up, looking from Mari then to Animal. “Really? And how does your wife feel about that, Animal?”
Mari spun around to face Animal so quickly, I could barely keep track of the movement. “Married?”
Animal made a move to respond, only to be silenced when Mari stepped up to him, and slapped him so loud, I could hear the sound of flesh on flesh connecting. I suddenly got a quick flashback to Hardy slapping me, but I shook it off, focusing on Mari.
She ran off toward the bedroom, leaving Maverick facing off with Animal. I stood up, shaking off the slight dizziness and headed toward the room with Mari. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at her feet, when I got there.
Sitting beside her, I felt a sudden pang of guilt. “I’m so sorry.”
Mari’s head shot up and she looked at me. “Babe, I’m not mad at you. I’m furious at Brayden. Not once did he tell me he was married, or I would never had…”
“Do you think Maverick is upset about it?” I asked her, wondering where that thought had come from, but now that it was out, I suddenly realised I desperately wanted to know. WasMaverick upset that one of his brothers was sleeping with his ex-wife?
Mari scoffed. “I doubt it. Things between me and Dane have been platonic for years, and years. He’s probably just mad because Brayden is married…jesus, I can’t believe I didn’t know that.”
“You’ve been hanging out a lot…things were bound to get…heated.”
Mari shrugged. “It hit the spot, I suppose. It was never like that with Parker. When Brayden kissed me, it was like the world spun just for me, like I didn’t have any fear, or any thought that needed to be dealt with. It was just me, you know?”
I nodded. “That’s how it is with Dane for me. He’s my safe place.”
“Speaking of,” Mari said, turning her body to face mine. “What happened before? One minute you were fine, the next…you were out cold. Your hands were shaking and you went white, almost ghostlike.”
I remembered the shaking, and the way my body went cold before darkness took over. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ve got the flu or something.”
“Why were you running?”
“I thought…fuck I don’t know, I was already pumped when I came looking for the source of the noise. I thought you were…I don’t know, in trouble or something, and I didn’t want to leave you if you needed me. I just kept thinking about all the times I hoped someone would bust through the door at Hardy’s mansion and save me, so I came here…and it was…I should have known the sound of moaning, I shouldn’t have thought you were in danger…”
“Oh, honey!” Mari pulled me into her arms, and I felt the fresh wave of tears tumble over my eyelids. “I’m so sorry. Of courseyou would think that, and for you to push past that fear and come to help me is incredible. You are such a good friend.”
“I don’t know why I passed out, though,” I sobbed into her shoulder.
“I do,” she said, kneeling in front of me. “You were triggered. You thought I was in danger and came charging in, so when you saw that I wasn’t, your brain had a short circuit, and made you relive the stress and anguish of being locked up and tortured. You have PTSD. I’m so sorry to do that to you.”
She pulled me into her arms again and held onto me tightly. I didn’t realise how much I needed the tight hug until she gave it to me.
“Let’s go have a girl’s afternoon.”
I nodded, and she set about getting ready while I willed my body to return to normal. Pope had mentioned PTSD, for the nightmares and the anxiety when I’m in quiet places, but I didn’t think it would happen in this situation. Not that I had ever imagined this situation would happen anyway.
Maverick was at the door to the bedroom, leaning against it. “You okay, princess?”
I nodded. “Yeah, we’re going to go for a girl’s afternoon. Where’s Animal?”
“Gone home,” he said. “Probably needs to come clean to his wife. She ain’t gonna be happy.”
“I can’t believe he would cheat. He seems like such a nice person.”
