Marlin's Faith: The Virtues Book II (30 page)

Faith laughed, smothering it behind her hand into giggles. I pulled her hand away from her mouth and brought it to mine, kissing the palm.

“Don’t you ever hide that sound from me, it’s my favorite music.”

She gasped softly and I smiled, turning back to the problem at hand, “You can tell my mama whatever you want in that regard, Faith. Hell, you can pour the whole ugly truth onto the table. My mama and daddy aren’t like most folks. They’re true Christians and real salt of the Earth kind of people. Dollars to pesos, you tell ‘em what those fuckin’ animals made you do, my mama will remind you that Jesus hung with Mary Magdalene and
she
was a whore by choice.”

We lay in silence for a long time after that, Faith cuddling closer into my side, one leg over the both of mine as she smoothed the sole of one foot up and down one of my legs. She was thinking and I smiled to myself.

“Why don’t you come with me out on the boat tomorrow? Meet my brother Johnny for real; see if he says I’m lyin’.”

“I’d like that,” she said carefully, and the longing in her voice couldn’t be ignored. She finished by confirming what I’d thought I’d heard, “I miss the water.”

I kissed the top of her hair and had to smile to myself, “That more than anything tells me that we really are meant to be.”

She chuckled and kissed my chest, the closest bit of my hide she could reach with her lips.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“For what?”

“For asking me to try the medicine, you were right, this is the most I’ve felt like
me
in a long time.”

“I’m glad to hear that, I really am.”

“This has been a good day,” she murmured.

“The best day.”

“The best day,” she agreed.

I knew it wasn’t always going to be like this. That her moods would shift like the wind and the sea and some days would be stormier than others, but this was good. It felt like we were finally moving out of some of the treacherous waters we’d been navigating the last couple of months.

Truthfully, she was doing remarkably well, coming out of this thing like a real champ. Moving past all the ugly with some sheer iron will and determination. It was good, but it was also dicey. I just had to have a steady hand and fight the pull when she tried to go back under. It was a lot of patience and a lot of understanding on how this thing worked… trauma, PTSD and the like. I’d be a liar if I said I hadn’t done my homework about all of it. Mostly while she was in the throes of that fuckin’ poison. I like to be informed, liked to know what came next, and I’d been just as committed then as I was now to see this thing through to the end with her only now, it was so I could live in a fuckin’ happily ever after with her. I had no intentions of turning her loose and it seemed like we were on the same page there too.

I couldn’t remember a time when I was fuckin’ happier.

Chapter 38

Faith

I loved riding on the back of Marlin’s bike, and after the trip to New Orleans and back, the short twenty minute ride to Dr. Sheindland’s office had felt like a sorry consolation prize. The ride to Ft. Royal, at a little over an hour, had felt much better. I was smiling when we reached the marina. Bobby had ridden with us on his own motorcycle, which had surprised me. I just hadn’t imagined that he would ride, I don’t know why. His bike was some kind of classic, a Harley, but from the 60’s or 70’s and
loud.
It was a bright, deep, sparkly blue, the paint on the tank almost like the nail polish on my toes with metal flake in it, adding a dimension to the color that made it shine like a diamond. It was a pretty machine, and it fit him somehow.

I wondered why he wasn’t a part of the Kraken, but I figured it probably had to do with how busy he was with his orange grove, and the hour long commute. The Kraken didn’t really seem bothered with expanding their borders outside the limits of the town. Maybe that was why. It just didn’t seem like a thing I should ask, and besides, I could almost pick up on a tension in Bobby whenever the club was talked about.

I got off of Marlin’s bike and waited beside Bobby while Marlin backed his bike into the little cinderblock garage that was his on the marina property. Marlin came out to stand with me while Bobby did the same. There was a tension in him, which I think had to do with us being back here without the majority of the rest of his brothers to keep an eye on me. I had the feeling that Marlin was keeping some information back from me when it came to the situation with the men who had held me for two years. I wondered how much of their ire was for me having been freed, versus how many of them had died in the process of releasing me. I remembered the blood, and I knew it would come at a steep cost eventually.

I was worried about it. Worried that cost would come in the form of Hope being sacrificed for my escape. I would worry about that until she was out of that jail full of corrupt men that had been in the hip pocket of the men that’d held me and trafficked my body for their own greed. I hugged myself and shivered in the bright white heat of the day and it had nothing at all to do with being cold.

Marlin put an arm around me and I leaned into his hard body gratefully, drawing strength. He looked down at me but I couldn’t see beyond his sunglasses what he may be thinking, I think it was the same for him because he asked, “What’s wrong, Baby Girl?”

“Thinking about Hope.”

“Don’t you worry about that; Cutter’s with her, and the rest of the boys, too. Hope is going to be fine. Don’t forget, she whooped
my
ass once.”

I blinked and drew back looking at him, “When?” I demanded. Marlin laughed and Bobby pulled the garage door down.

“I’ll tell you later,” he put his lips near my ear and whispered, “He’d never let me live it down.”

I laughed, I had to, I knew how my sister could be, but taking on Marlin? Or any one of the other Kraken? Why would she do that? Why would she be so… I could feel my face fall into lines of sudden understanding.

“Yep. Had to do with you,” he said with a smiling nod.

“Oh,
this
I have to hear.”

“Later, I promise.”

“What’s the matter, afraid whatever it is I’d hold it against you?” Bobby asked, cluing in to the conversation.

“Yes.”

Bobby shrugged unapologetically and gave a nod, “Meh, you’re right, I probably would.”

I laughed again, “You two are insufferable aren’t you?”

“Pretty much,” they both said in unison.

I let out with a loud peal of laughter and Marlin hugged me into his side. I liked how both of them smiled at the sound and I liked that I could make it again. I wasn’t all better, not by a long shot, but I felt good yesterday, and I felt good today, the medicine was working and I almost felt bad for the people around me that I’d resisted taking it for so long. It took the edge off and let me feel almost normal again and I cherished that, even as it scared the hell out of me. That voice of self-doubt whispering out of the dark,
what if you need it? What if you crave it so bad you can’t give it up?

Except it wasn’t like that with the pills, I didn’t feel this driving need to take more. I didn’t wish with every waking moment for the little tablets to hit my palm. I didn’t think about them at all, really, at least not until my insecurities whispered out of the back of my mind and tried to take hold… except every time they started in, there he was with that smile that set my heart a flutter and I forgot everything else except the man at my side, holding my hand or holding me tight. I forgot everything except how he made me feel like I was, indeed, worth the world to him. I still marveled at it every time.

We walked to Marlin’s boat, my body vibrating with excitement and joy. I really
had
missed the water and the sound made me excited. I wanted to spend all day on it. If the opportunity arose, I wanted to swim in it and walk along it, this big, vast ocean that made me and all my problems seem so very small and insignificant by comparison.

I felt safe, warm and protected when Bobby flanked my other side and walked with his arm around my shoulders, even as Marlin’s rode along my waist. The riding gear was hot, and I was looking forward to ditching it in favor of something lighter.

Johnny was already on Marlin’s boat when we arrived, and he didn’t look happy. Marlin jumped up and helped me up after him, Bobby followed me and I felt like I was a celebrity or something, realizing belatedly that their movements were exceedingly protective and sent the message to anyone watching that it would be a very bad idea to try anything.

I felt a lightness in my chest, as if a weight I hadn’t even known I carried had been lifted. The shadows were lifting off my heart a little bit at a time, and it felt good. Still, there were a lot of shadows and a few good days were nice but I was well aware I was still severely limited and had a very long way to go towards healing.

“’Sup, Man?” Marlin asked his brother, but Johnny’s gaze was fixed on me.

“She isn’t going to go all freaking out in front of the clients again, is she?” he asked by way of greeting, and it felt like clouds scudded over my good mood, the smiles and joy of just a moment before dampening under a sense of guilt; the shadows returning.

“Nah, Man, and fuck you for saying it like that,” Bobby said and shook his head.

Marlin just smiled, but it was tight with anger, “Not sure what crawled up your ass and died, Little Brother, but after the clients are gone, I’m whooping your fuckin’ ass again.”

Johnny looked a little less certain and I sighed inwardly, “Look, I’m sorry about how I was before… that morning, but I’m trying really hard not to be that way. I’m working on it, okay? I promise to try not to freak out.” I fixed him with my gaze and tried to look as sincere as I felt. Bobby put his arm around my shoulders and I jumped slightly from the unexpected contact, it didn’t deter him at all though, he smiled down to me and gave me a reassuring squeeze.

“Don’t pay that douchepickle any mind, Sweet Thing, go get out of all that hot leather and get yourself settled.”

I looked to Marlin, “Go on, Baby Girl, I moved all your stuff from the house into my quarters. It’s part of what took me so long. Just search through until you find everything, by the time you’re back up here, we’ll be underway.”

“Okay, just try not to hurt each other on my account, please?”

Marlin stepped over and leaned down, kissing my forehead, “I’ll be down in a minute to change. I won’t punch him until we’re done with this trip.”

I scoffed, “Insufferable,” I lamented and Marlin winked at me. They let me go, and I went below deck to the stately bedroom. It felt like an age, rather than a week since I’d woken up back here after being drugged on the beach.

I went through all the myriad cupboards and storage, some of them being drawers under the raised platform the bed rested on. I found my white, two piece swim suit and settled on it, looking through the drawers until I came up with a long, light aqua, skirt wrap cover up and a thin, white cardigan that wasn’t sweater material, but rather a thin, cool, stretchy cotton or polyester type blend that felt soft against my skin.

A light rapping at my back made me turn around before I started to take anything off; I startled and turned to find Marlin in the doorway.

“Just me, figured I should let you know I was here. Didn’t want to sneak up on you.”

I smiled, he was always so thoughtful, “Thank you, you take such good care of me.”

“Do I?” he asked and I nodded, smiling. The affirmation made his chest swell in a deep breath, obvious pride in himself shone out of his true blue eyes and I loved him even more for it. It’d been scary, admitting my feelings out loud, but he hadn’t pushed or made a big deal about it, which put my heart and nerves at ease.

“Everything okay?” I asked softly, and he smiled even more.

“Johnny has a problem, but it’s not with you, Baby.”

“Oh, anything I can do to help?”

“Naw, only person that can help Johnny is Johnny. I’m sorry he came off like that, Bobby’s setting him straight.” He laughed at my expression. “Just talk, I’ll readjust his attitude later if it calls for it.”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“Me either.”

We were quiet for a bit, as the moment built between us. He leaned down and kissed me softly and my eyes drifted shut, sinking into the sensation of his arms around me, of his mouth on mine.

Marlin kissed along my jaw and put his lips near my ear, saying so softly in that sexy, low voice he got when he let his desire take over, “Can’t wait to make love to you in our bed.”

“Our bed?” I asked softly, breath tremulous.

“What’s mine is yours, Baby Girl. You live here too now.”

I closed my eyes, and held myself to him tightly. His words didn’t frighten me, like I expected them to. They didn’t fill me with doubt, or with dread. Instead, they filled me with hope that I indeed had a future with this man, and it was one of the most solid, and real, positive things I’d felt since I’d been rescued. So honest, and so real, it very nearly brought a tear to my eye.

“You okay?” he asked softly.

“Are you with me?” I asked.

“Always.”

“Then yes.”

Chapter 39

Marlin

I changed along with Faith, forgoing boots, denim, and leather for a work tee, a pair of faded, in some places torn, but seriously fuckin’ comfortable cargo shorts and flip flops. I shrugged my feet into the pair of brown leather thongs I wore around the boat, and with one last lingering appreciative look, left Faith to finish getting into her sexy as hell outfit. Of course, when it went onto the woman you loved, she could wear a fuckin’ garbage sack and still be sexy.

I went back up on deck where Bobby was giving my little brother a flat, unfriendly look and I arched a brow. Fuck if Johnny wasn’t having a shit time with Lynn again, but that didn’t warrant him taking it out on Faith and I wasn’t about to fuckin’ stand for it either. He had the whole trip to fuckin’ apologize to my girl, or I was going to readjust his attitude problem the hard way.

Bobby gave me a chin lift and I rolled my eyes and shot a prayer skyward that I would have the patience to make it through the fuckin’ day with my brother. It looked like he was going to be a full on ass bag, which made me wonder what his bitch wife had pulled now, because let’s face it; Lynn was an ever loving fucking cunt. There wasn’t any which way around that fact.