Against The Law (Legally Bound Book 2) Read online

  “What do you mean,” something in the sound of Jasper’s voice got Marcus’s attention.

  “I got my assignment last week. I’ll be leaving for Greece on Monday,” Jasper murmured. “I thought I would get to stay with the girls, but since Marie wants to stay close to home for another year, Dad is sending me to Greece with Giuseppe and Leo.”

  “Oh kid, I’m sorry to hear that. I know how close you are with Rita and Marie,” Marcus glanced over at Jasper and saw the pained look in his face.

  Marcus knew this was the Briggs way of life. Nate had gone to Thailand and Italy for a year right out of high school, instead of going to play football in college like he wanted to. Only for Nathan he was following a friend on his assignment and it worked out in the end. He and Bobby had wild times before they went to college and settled in.

  “You know maybe it’s a good thing this guy isn’t really into Rita like she wants,” Jasper said glumly. “At least she won’t have to know what it is like to love someone and have to leave them because of her assignment.”

  Marcus stiffened and tightened his hands around the steering wheel once again. “What do you mean, have to leave,” Marcus asked feeling his control slipping.

  “Come on Marcus, Uncle Thomas may be letting Rita get away with not going to college right away, but that’s because Marie’s not sure what she wants to do and he feels bad about Aunt Raquel not being here for Rita,” Jasper said matter of factly. “That’s not going to last. She will be assigned. She is one of the best trainees we have. She has even broken a few of Nate’s records. She will get an assignment whether it is with Marie or not, and Marie has already started talking about going abroad.”

  Marcus’s ears cutoff at Jasper saying that Rita would be assigned. Something in him never thought of her as one of the Briggs in that way. She was the baby girl. Sure he knew she was trained like anyone else but the thought of his girl protecting anyone else when he just wanted to protect her was just ludicrous to him.

  “Thomas wouldn’t really send her out. Nate wouldn’t allow it,” Marcus said almost to himself.

  “I keep telling myself that to, but we both know it’s not true. Look at Kelly, Dad sent her out as soon as she graduated high school. Only reason she is not still in France is because she married her assignment and he moved them here to the States.”

  “I thought Kelly went away to school,” Marcus murmured in awe.

  “Dude, that was her cover. Come on, tell me you didn’t fall for that,” Jasper snorted.

  Marcus didn’t reply his mind was too stunned to think straight. It was no longer a matter of Rita waiting for him. It was a matter of her being there when the time came.

  Chapter 5

  Rita was having a great time. It had nothing to do with the prom. She was still on cloud nine because Marcus told her she looked gorgeous. She picked this dress with him in mind.

  She was so disappointed when it looked like they were going to leave without him seeing her in it. She’d wanted him to see her and to see that she had someone to take her to the prom. A small part of her hoped it would make him jealous and cause him to come to her.

  She was eighteen now, surely it was old enough for him to make good on his word. She hadn’t kissed anyone else in her life and she didn’t plan to. She was saving all her kisses for him. Some small part of her brain tried to reason with her that he had only made her a promise back then to keep her from hurting any more than she had already been.

  He didn’t know that it was more than a crush for her. That she was in love with him and always had been. Rita knew she had been in love with him ever since she could remember. He was always there to protect her and make things better when she had a bad day.

  Marcus had always been the gentle one, knowing just how to handle her and Marie with the greatest of care. Marcus was the brother they went to when they had heartache or disappointment. It was Marcus not Nate or her dad that had taught her how to ride a bike. And when she fell down he was the one that cleaned her scraped knee and put a band aid on it.

  Marcus had held her when her first gold fish died. It was the reason she called him when she locked herself in her room. Rita knew Marcus would know how to make her feel better when she was ready but he would understand when she just needed to be held.

  It was her thoughts of Marcus and his grey eyes that had her face lit up as she laughed with her friends and danced. She hadn’t even minded the fact that Kerry had spent so much time with his friends and not with her. She was sort of relieved.

  “Rita, where is Kerry,” Marie called over the music.

  Rita shrugged than looked around the open deck. There were people everywhere and the twinkle of the hanging lights lit up everyone’s face. Rita spotted Kerry huddled with a group of his friends. Just as her eyes locked on him he turned to her and gave a sly grin.

  Three years ago that grin might have had her squealing, but tonight she was fighting the urge to roll her eyes. Kerry was nothing like Marcus and never would be. He was the resident bad boy at school. Rita watched him make his way to her and wondered what she’d seen in him before, before Marcus promised they would be together.

  Sure Kerry was good looking with his blue eyes and silky black hair. He looked like he could be a model for motor cycles or something. He was tall but really lean.

  Not like Marcus, Marcus was really tall at least six seven. All the Marietties were tall and looked alike. Their piercing grey eyes framed with thick lashes and fine black brows. They all had the same tanned olive skin and dark brown hair. Oh, and who could miss that sexy dimple in Marcus’s left cheek. Nope, Kerry was no Marcus and he had a long way to go to get there.

  “Hey sexy,” Kerry crooned as he stopped in front of Rita and placed a hand on her waist. Rita sighed at her conclusion and forced her lips into a smile.

  “Hey,” Rita said brightly as she thought once again about how her skin tingled under Marcus’s breath when he called her gorgeous.

  “This is kind of lame. You want to take a walk with me?” Kerry asked with what Rita figured was meant to be a sexy smile.

  Something told her to say no, but as she looked at Kerry she laughed to herself. He’d be sorry if he tried anything stupid. Rita shook off the uneasy feeling in her gut, “Sure, let me just tell Marie I’ll be right back.”

  Kerry pressed his lips a little but nodded and released her to turn and tell Marie she was going for a walk. Marie offered to come along with her date Christian, but they looked like they were having so much fun Rita waved them off.

  “Okay, lead the way,” Rita beamed at Kerry.

  He wrapped an arm around her waist and started for the stairs at the far end of the deck that led into a garden. There were garden lights lining the walkway illuminating the garden and the path leading into a maze of rose bushes. Rita had noted earlier an entrance into the gardens from the parking lot.

  “So I was hoping we’d get a chance to talk alone,” Kerry started when they entered the heart of the maze with its beautiful fountain with a statue of an angel. There were benches around the fountain for sitting. Rita’s feet were starting to hurt in her four inch stilettos.

  “And what exactly did you want to talk about?” Rita sighed in relief once she was off her feet.

  Kerry sat next to her. “Us,” he replied taking a lock of her strawberry blonde hair between his fingers. “I know you turned down every other guy that asked you to the prom so I figured you had a reason for saying yes to me.”

  “Yeah,” Rita snorted. “I needed a date and bringing my cousin wasn’t looking like such a good idea after all.”

  “Come on Rita, really… that is the only reason you said yes to me,” Kerry dropped the lock of hair he had been rubbing between his fingers and reached for her chin. “I’ve always wanted to see your eyes up close. They’re really real and they’re so green.”

  Rita snatched her face from his hand and frowned. She did not like the way this felt. He was too close and she hated when people got i
n her face about her eyes. She looked away and stared up at the sky.

  “Don’t be like that Rita,” Kerry purred and wrapped an arm around her waist. His grip was much tighter than it had been any other time she had let him touch her. She wiggled out of his embrace and moved over on the bench.

  “Kerry, you’re making me uncomfortable, please stop.” That’s his one and only warning, Rita thought to herself.

  “Oh come on Baby,” Kerry murmured as he moved closer and went to nuzzle her neck. Rita stiffened, reaching out she shoved him just before his lips touched her skin.

  “What are you doing?” Rita bit out.

  “You think I don’t see the way you look at me,” Kerry growled. “You know about me Rita, why would you say yes to coming with me if you weren’t going to show me a good time.”

  “Oh my God,” Rita gasped as she stood and moved away.

  She had heard rumors about Kerry in their sophomore year, but then he started dating Patricia Logan and the rumors stopped. She hadn’t thought any of them were true. Girls were always throwing themselves at him and after he would move on to the next. Rita figured the girls were making things up because he didn’t want them after they willingly gave him what he wanted.

  However now she could see it in his eyes, what Jasper had warned her about. Rita groaned internally because she knew she was going to have to kick his ass and she might ruin her dress in the process. His eyes looked crazy and hungry as they drank her in.

  Rita cursed at herself, why had she been so stupid? She knew this was a bad idea. Kerry stood and sauntered over to her. He placed his hand on her cheek.

  “Come on Rita, I just want to know if you’re a sweet as you look. Does that chocolate in you make you extra delicious?” Kerry purred.

  Rita felt the sting of his words as her rage started to surface. Her family never treated her or her mother differently. The Mairetties were the same. To them they were Raquel and Rita, but everyone else pointed out that she was different.

  They pointed out that her hair was blonde and her eyes were green while her skin was the color of mocha chocolate. Rita smirked to herself because she was now going to enjoy kicking his ass. He’d annoyed her before with the comment about her eyes being real but now he had just plain pissed her off.

  Rita smiled at him sweetly as he leaned in to kiss her lips. Just as his lips got right next to her face she reached up for his hand and twisted it back. Using her other hand, with her palm flat up she mashed his nose and grinned with the crunching sound it made.

  “You bitch, you’re going to fucking pay for that,” Kerry bellowed through the pain as he held his nose with his good hand.

  “I’d like to see you try,” Rita snorted and giggled spinning on her heels to leave.

  Rita balked as she turned to find a group of Kerry’s friends blocking the exit. She’d been so enraged and focused on Kerry she hadn’t heard them approach. How long had they been there?

  Rita made a quick count and sized them all up. There were five of them, two taller than her each having her by about fifty pounds. The other two were average height with smaller builds. Rita tried not to panic but all she could think about was Marcus.

  How many times had he come to her rescue? To him it didn’t matter that she could protect herself. He always thought it was his place. He’d broken plenty of noses over her when they were younger.

  Rita shook those thoughts off because she could protect herself. Marcus wasn’t going to show up this time to be her knight in shining armor. Reality was he may not even care and this was her real life. This was what boys thought of her and how people treated her.

  She said a silent thank you to Kelly for encouraging her to train in heels. ‘You never know when you will have to spring into action,’ Kelly had told her. The grass was going to make it a little harder but she could handle it, she thought as she took a step back.

  Kerry wrapped his arm around her waist, tugging her against his chest. “You always thought you were better than everyone,” Kerry growled in her ear, “With your rich daddy and your rich friends. I want you to tell Jasper how much fun me and my friends had on prom night.”

  “Over my dead body,” Rita snapped, elbowing Kerry in his ribs.

  The two tall boys and one of the others stepped forward to rush at her. Rita made quick work of breaking the tallest one’s arm and breaking the shortest one’s nose with the swift kick. Her body was twisted and arched like a bow as she stood on one leg between the two while she executed the move.

  Both boys howled in pain as the third thought her stance gave him an advantage to charge her. He was so wrong. Rita yanked down on the broken arm in her hands dislocating the shoulder and used it to steady herself as she swung her already out stretched leg to kick the third boy across the face.

  She heard his muffled cries at the same time she heard her dress rip. She released the arm in her grasp and glared at Kerry who had torn the top of her dress. She’d had enough of him. He was going to get off easy before but now he was really going to get it.

  Rita wasn’t worried about the other two. They had turned and taken off the moment she broke the first idiot’s arm. Rita grabbed at the hand gripping her dress and crushed Kerry’s fingers with a vicious smile on her lips.

  “I never thought I was better than anyone,” Rita choked out. “You all treated me like I didn’t belong so I treated you all like I didn’t care.”

  Rita brought her knee up into Kerry’s groin, throwing a punch at his face to make sure that nose was good and broken. As he fell to the floor in a heap Rita heard foot falls running toward her. Her eyes scanned wildly for an exit. From the sound of it there were at least five or six more headed her way.

  Just as she spotted her escape route the last face she expected cleared the opening the other boys had run through. A sob ripped from her chest and she flung herself right into his arms. Rita never felt so safe in her life.

  “You came for me,” she whispered in his ear through her sobs.

  “Always Baby,” Marcus whispered back in her ear.

  “What the hell,” Nate bellowed as he cleared the opening.

  Rita pulled away from Marcus and looked over at her brother. Marcus took in her torn dress that was now exposing her left side, down to her torso. He quickly ripped his dress shirt off and covered her with it.

  “What happened,” Marcus bit out.

  “Kerry asked me to go for a walk. When we got here he got weird and tried to kiss me. When I fought him off I turned to leave and his friends were blocking the way back. I…I think …they were going to try to rape me. He said to tell Jasper how much fun they had with me,” Rita spoke, clearly in shock of the events that just unfolded.

  “I’m gonna kill him,” Jasper growled and started for the groaning heap on the ground that was Kerry. Bobby grabbed Jasper before he could get too far.

  “As your attorney kid, I don’t think that is a good idea. Let me and Nate handle this,” Bobby said through tight lips.

  Marie appeared at the opening they had all just run through and rushed forward wrapping her arms around Rita as Marcus stood stiff as a board rubbing her back. He was just barely containing himself. He planned to call in every favor his father had to make sure each of these boys served real time and the two that Sam was holding were going to join them.

  “Marcus, get my sister out of here,” Nate growled as he kneeled beside Kerry and whispered something in his ear.

  Marcus wrapped an arm around Rita and pulled her into his side without a second thought. She snuggled into his side and placed her head on his chest and it felt so right. He didn’t want to think about how wrong it should have felt.

  “Let’s go Marie,” Marcus grumbled.

  “But she was having a good time. I don’t want to ruin the prom for her,” Rita said anxiously.

  Bobby snorted. “This night is over,” he said with finality.

  “It’s okay Rita, I belong with you. You need me,” Marie said as she reached for Rit
a’s hand and squeezed it.

  “I think we can get out to the parking lot from that way. I don’t want to go through the crowd,” Rita looked up into Marcus’s eyes and said.

  He just nodded turning for the way she pointed out. Marcus stopped after a few steps and turned back. “Jas, you need a ride?”

  “No, I want to stay here. I’ll ride back with Nate,” Jasper scowled.

  Marcus walked the girls back up the hill where they had left the cars. They had been sitting for at least an hour watching the girls with surveillance equipment. They were going to leave just before Marcus noticed Rita walking off with that punk.

  His gut told him something was wrong. They’d moved in closer and when the two cowards came running back to the party looking like they were being chased by the hounds of hell Marcus took off running without taking a second thought.

  Marie climbed into the back seat of the car and Rita waited to follow. Marcus caught her by her arm and turned her to face him. He searched her face not knowing what he was looking for.

  Rita reached up and touched his face as she stared into his grey eyes. “I’m alright,” she murmured.

  Marcus shook his head to clear it before he did something stupid. The knowledge that she was only covered by his dress shirt was enough to fog his brain. She didn’t need that right now, she needed to feel safe. He pressed his lips to her forehead in what would look like an innocent gesture to anyone else, but was a reassuring one for his girl.

  A smile tugged at her lips and she turned to slide into the back seat with Marie.

  “Don’t tell dad what happened tonight until Bobby gets things sorted out,” Marcus said to Marie as he walked her to the door.

  “What were you guys doing there in the first place,” Marie asked and narrowed her eyes at her brother.

  “I had, um, Nate had a feeling about Rita’s date,” Marcus murmured.

  “Well this once I’m glad you guys were around. You all didn’t have to beat them up like that but,” Marie shrugged. “I guess they deserved it.”