Savage Mafia King (Vicious Heirs #3)

Chapter Ten—Isabella

As I pull myself from the bed and try to gather myself once more, all I can think about is how helpless I am in the face of this nightmare.

I don't know what's going on with Marcus. I don't know if his family members have been hurt, if something has happened he can't come back from, but the possibilities torment me painfully.

I dial up Martha as I pull on my clothes, needing someone to talk to about the mess that's going on inside my head right now.

"Hello?" she greets me sleepily.

"Hey, Martha. Sorry if I woke you up, I just..." Before I can get the words out, a rush of emotion overtakes me. A sob escapes from my lips, and Martha's tone shifts at once.

"Oh my God, Isabella, are you okay? What's going on? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," I assure her quickly, swiping away my tears. "I'm just... I'm just..." I can't tell her what's going on. I hardly even know where to start.

"Did Marcus hurt you?" she demands.

"No, no, I'm okay," I promise. "He hasn't… he would never do anything like that. I'm at his place right now, and I..."

"You're at his place? You woke up there?"

I hesitate. Do I want to share so much of the truth with her so soon?

Finally, I manage a reply. "Yes, I woke up here. I spent the night," I confess. "I know I shouldn't have, but I'm really starting to feel something for him, and I hate the thought of not being with him."

"Damn, girl," she mutters. "You want me to come pick you up? Bring you back to campus?"

"No, no, I can handle it," I promise her as I head to the bathroom to clean myself up.

As I stare at myself in the mirror, I almost don't recognize myself. I feel as though I'm going to slip away. I reach out and touch my reflection, checking that it's still there, checking that I haven't vanished entirely.

"Are you sure?"

I bite my lip. My eyes look distant, even to me. What's happened to me? These last few weeks, I've gone from being totally in control of everything in my life to feeling like the whole world is falling apart around me, and I have no idea how to navigate it. My life—what I thought was my life, anyway—is nothing like the way it once was, and I can't just turn back time and go back to the start and pretend none of this ever happened. No, what Marcus and I've shared is too intense for that, and I can see it clearly now.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Look, Martha, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called you so early. I'm going to go. I'll catch you later, okay?" And, with that, I hang up the call and quickly wash my face before I head back to the bedroom.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, I reach out for the spot he was sleeping in, brushing my fingers along the pillow where his head lay while he held me. I wish I could go back in time and stay in that moment a little longer, but it's not that simple. Nothing is ever that simple, not when it comes to the two of us.

I call a cab and head outside to wait for it, my arms wrapped around myself. I'm sure someone is going to spot me out here, and they're going to put the pieces together and figure that I've been spending the night with Marcus. I'm not sure I even care anymore, not really. Maybe I want them to see us together. Because we are together, no matter how hard it might be for me to admit. I never in a million years could have imagined that I would fall for someone like him, but there's something to him, something dark and insistent, something that has wormed its way beneath my skin and is now stuck there.

I slip into the car and mutter the address of the sorority house to the driver. He pulls off without another word. I'm sure, as far as he's concerned, this is just some random girl doing a walk of shame and praying that none of her sisters figure out where she's been.

Maybe that's all I am, another girl trying to hide from the truth of her desires. I've been so careful to cultivate this image of myself over the last few years, making sure nobody has any reason to doubt me or the influence and power I have on campus. But now? It's being torn away from me, and it's all because of him.

Is he okay? I hope so. I fiddle with my phone, wondering if I should shoot him a message and ask him, but I'm sure he's got bigger things to deal with than me right now.

As the car pulls up in front of the house, I stare at it for a moment. Hesitancy overwhelms me. Martha's going to have a million questions when I eventually get in there, and I don't know if I have the answers. Or, rather, if I'm willing to share them with her.

"Can you drive me across campus, actually?" I ask the driver, leaning forward and offering him an apologetic smile.

He shoots me a look, clearly not impressed with my suggestion, but I promise to pay him extra for his time. That seems to be all it takes, and he heads out toward the lecture hall I'm supposed to be sitting in later. Sure, it doesn't start for another hour or so, but it's better than sitting around here and trying to pretend that I can handle the mess of emotions that's flooding through me right now. I don't want any of my sisters to see me like this—lost and hung up on a guy.

I need to protect my reputation. Because what happens next with Marcus could dictate how the rest of my life is going to unfold.

And I don't know if that's a good thing or not.