He is browner than everybody else in the room and he is staring at me. I stand up as inconspicuously as possible and casually head towards him.
‘What the hell are you doing here?’ I whisper fiercely.
‘I’ve come for you, Bella.’
‘What?’
‘I realize now what a big mistake I made, what a stronzo I have been, so I have come for you. I’m in love with you, Layla.’
My mouth drops open. And then I remember where I am. I grab his arm and drag him down the corridor. I open the first door we come across. It is a slightly smaller reception room with red carpets, rows of stacked chairs, and a musty smell.
I close the door, putting some distance between us, and look at his handsome face. I didn’t notice it before, but he looks a lot like Enrique Iglesias. But what is really surprising is that I feel nothing. Not even rage. In fact, I am shocked that I ever thought he was worth climbing into bed with. Other than his looks, he has nothing. There is not even sexual attraction.
‘How did you find me?’
He shrugs. ‘I asked your mother, no?’
‘You went to my ma’s house?’ I wail in dismay.
‘Of course. Don’t worry. I told her I was your friend.’
I breathe a sigh of relief. ‘I’m sorry you’ve come all this way, but I’m not in love with you,’ I say coldly. I need to get rid of him as soon as possible.
‘No, you are just saying that because of what Gabriella told you. It’s not true, you know. I was never in love with her.’
‘I found someone else.’
‘Who?’ he demands angrily, his chest puffing up like a fighting cockerel’s.
‘Does it matter?’
‘Yes, it matters. You are my girl. Who is this man?’
He takes a step forward and tries to put his arm around me. I pull away and he tightens his hold.
‘Let go of me,’ I say with gritted teeth.
‘Don’t be like that,’ he cajoles and moves his face forward. I am just about to knee him in the balls when the door crashes open and BJ stands there, rigid with fury. His face is a thundercloud. His eyes are dangerously narrowed and cold, the whites laced with red. A muscle in his face twitches madly. I have never seen him in such a state. Not even in the pit.
He snarls more than speaks. ‘Take your hand off her.’
Lupo shrivels before him. He looks like a man about to vomit. He looks at me and back to BJ and the penny drops. He starts backing away with his hands raised in the air. ‘I want no trouble,’ he mumbles. What a coward.
When he is closer BJ leans forward slightly and, perfectly composed, utters, ‘Don’t ever come back.’
The door closes and we stare at each other. Then he walks towards me and pulls me into his solid muscles.
‘What the fuck was my woman doing with that spineless little cunt?’
I look up at him. I can feel the aggression radiating off him. ‘He’s my ex.’
I twine my fingers in his hair, rising up on my tiptoes to gently place my lips on his. His hand snakes around my body and his mouth claims me. It is a demanding, aggressive, passionate kiss. I get so lost in it I don’t even hear the door open until Jake’s voice is upon us like the crack of a whip.
‘What the fuck?’
I pull away from BJ’s lips and still in his embrace, turn towards Jake. He is staring at me in disbelief. I feel the blood drain from my face. I open my mouth.
‘Step away from him,’ he says clearly, staring at BJ with murderous fury.
For a second I think about disobeying him, but I know that I need him on my side. I quickly squeeze BJ’s hand and move aside.
‘I can explain everyth—’
It goes down so fast, I don’t actually see how it happens. One moment Jake is looming in the corridor, the next he is flying towards BJ. I am so shocked to see my brother attacking BJ, I can’t even scream. For several seconds I stand and watch Jake swing his arm into BJ. I know BJ is not fighting back, just avoiding the blows. The first two hits don’t catch. The third lands and BJ staggers back slightly and knocks a table. A glass vase full of fake flowers falls to the ground. Flowers go flying. The sight of it somehow galvanizes me.
‘Stop it. Stop it,’ I scream.
But neither man stops. I run towards them and both men look at me and growl for me to stay out.
‘I’m pregnant,’ I sob. ‘I’m pregnant.’
For a shocked second everyone freezes.
Then all hell breaks loose.
TWENTY-FIVE
Layla
‘You fucking crazy son of a bitch. You didn’t even use a fucking condom! That’s my sister, you fucking dog,’ Jake roars and swings out hard. BJ, still shell-shocked by my announcement, stumbles back against a pile of stacked chairs. The chairs go crashing and BJ falls over with them.