The Art of Retaliation (18 page)

He was spitting the words out, watching the tears roll down her
cheeks, terror in her eyes.
 
He was
sick.
 
Mara followed his eyes
darting back and forth across her face and then he smiled.
 
It was a smug smile and she knew what it
meant.
 
For once in his life he held
all of the cards.
 
Both her own and
Louise’s lives depended on him.

She knew that with slightly more pressure he could kill her and his
troubles would be over.
 
Stephane
wouldn’t be able to use her as a trade off.
 
He strengthened his hold and she
listened to herself begin to choke.
 
She pleaded for her life with her eyes terrified by the sadistic glee
in his own
and then suddenly he let her go.
 
He watched her sink down the wall partly
fainting through lack of oxygen.

Mara put her hand to her throat and greedily sucked in air.
 
She felt him staring and tried to calm
herself, showing him fear would only make it worse and cause him to react
again.
 
She looked up at him.

“How could you do this?
 
If this is your way of trying to impress me . . .” she snapped, faking
bravado and stood.
 
“It didn’t
work.”

“I don’t give a dam about Louise.
 
I was doing this for you.
 
I had to marry the bitch.”

Ryan raised his hand to slap her.
 
Mara shut her eyes tight, her body
instinctively curving and sinking from the expected blow.
 
It didn’t arrive.
 
Leon had found them and was
approaching.
 
As he neared Ryan
pulled her into his arms and harshly kissed her lips forcefully probing his
tongue into the silky lining of her mouth as she fought his attack.

Leon coughed to let Ryan know he was there.
 
Mara struggled to get away but Ryan was
too strong for her.
 
He looked up
and pretended that he had just realized that Leon was there.
 
Mara’s ex fiancé smiled.

“Just saying hello again,” he told Leon who was frowning looking at
Mara’s trembling figure as she struggled to get her breath back.

Mara pushed passed Ryan out into the open gasping as she tried to
take air in.
 
Couples were beginning
to dance to music that a band was playing at the front of the boat.
 
She made her way through them to the
side of the boat clutching her neck.

She looked at the white foam churning in the water as the boat
travelled down the Seine.
 
Perhaps
she could jump, try and make it for the steps that climbed the concrete
river bank
at regular intervals.
 
Maybe if she did she could get
away.
 
Her thinking was irrational
but she didn’t care, she was desperate.
 
If she did drown would anyone care?
 
At least she would be free.
 
A voice in her head was screaming at her for her thoughts but she still
found herself pushing her body close up the rails and leaning over daring
herself to do it.

“Mara, come and sit down.
 
You don’t look so good.”

She looked up to find
Stephane
standing
behind her.
 
His hands were resting
on her shoulders trying to guide her away.
 
Her hands maintained their grip on the rail.
 
The billionaire looked at her in
surprise.
 
He reached down and tried
to release her hands from it.

“Mara, what’s the matter? Let go.
 
You are leaning too far over.
 
This is dangerous, you could fall,” he
said firmly.

“Who cares?” she said bending her head.
 
“I want this to end.”

Mara kept her head bent refusing to budge.
 
It was a battle of wills not to turn
around and bolt or do something stupid like throwing herself into
Stephane’s
arms like he wanted her to.

“What is it?
 
What has
happened?”

She whimpered when his persistent male strength succeeded in
removing her hands from the rail.
 
He took hold of her shoulders and turned her around.
 
The frown creasing his brow softened and
then grew sharp and more pointed.
 
The same look he had in his eyes in the farmhouse when Jacques had
attacked her returned.
 
The Count
took hold of her chin and thrust it upwards.
 
She gave a small painful cry.
 
He ignored her and continued his
examination of Ryan’s red
hand print
tattooed on her
neck.

“What the hell did he do to you?
 
Leon said you were alone with him for a
moment but you were kissing.”

“What do you care?
 
I’m
fine.
 
I’ll do what you want.
 
Just don’t pretend that you care.”

She knocked his hand away impatiently and turned back to the black
swirling water.

“Don’t do this again.
 
Don’t act as though you are invincible.”

He attempted to turn her back but her hands were clutching the rail
with a death grip like before.
 
A
knot in the pit of her stomach broke free and rose up her throat escaping her
mouth in a wail of pain.
 
She bent
double over the rail surprised by its fierceness and eagerness to show
itself.
 
Mara had a notion that it
wouldn’t stop until it was spent.

Stephane
stood
behind her and leaned over her body covering her like a protective black cloak,
holding up her collapsing form.
 
He
prized her now slack hands away from the rail and gathered her into his arms.
 
She could hardly stand.
 
He looked for an empty table near by and
sat her down reaching for her hand.

“Are you in pain?
 
Can I
get you anything?
 
I will kill him
for this.”

Stephane
gently
rubbed his thumb over her fingers.
 
Rage swelled inside him as he sought Ryan out from the crowd.
 
There
being no
fruit in his search he turned back to Mara clinging to his hand.
 
Her pretty alabaster neck was swelling
and he could already see the first faint sight of bruising appearing in the center
of Ryan’s fingerprints.

He sat down on a chair beside her and put his arms protectively
around her body.
 
There was no
resistance.
 
Stephane’s
hand rested on her neck tenderly stroking the injured skin wanting to take the
pain away.
 
They sat for a few
moments in silence.
 
He couldn’t
help feeling joy at the ways she clung to him until she calmed.
 
After a while she let go and sat up.
 
The billionaire lifted his hand and
brushed away her tears unwilling to lose the closeness.

“I’ll kill him for hurting you.
 
If this is what he does to the woman he supposedly loves, what is he
doing to my sister?”

His hand lingered on Mara’s cheek rhythmically trailing back and
forth as he talked.
 
Before she
would have pushed him away, now she seemed to want him near, to lean on him and
for him to protect and support her.
 
The invisible bond between them was tightening and even though each one
pulled at either side to break away, its strength increased and pulled it taut,
drawing them closer.

“He probably hasn’t and won’t do anything.
 
He will be pretending to play the loving
husband until he gets the money,” Mara reassured him in a small voice.

Stephane
lowered
his hand and dropped it uncomfortably into his lap.

“You have to play his game,
Stephane
.
 
Please for your sister’s sake.”

“You really care what happens to her, don’t you?” he asked.

“Believe it or not I do.
 
I have never been part of this mess.
 
I just got caught up in it.
 
I suppose I don’t really blame you for
what you have done.
 
I probably
would have done the same for my brother.”

Stephane
looked at
her.

“I knew right from the start that you were never part of it.
 
It just made me feel better, even
justified at what I was doing, to think that you were.”

“I know,” she almost whispered to herself.

“
Stephane
, Ryan wants to know where you
are.
 
He wants to talk
business.”
 
Leon interrupted.

“All right I’m coming.”

He faced Mara.

“Are you all right to . . .”

The Count raised his eyes to the sky with frustration mentally
looking for a way out.

“I’m sorry, Mara.
 
I’m
sorry I can’t stop this.”

She covered his hand with her own.

“I know I want to help you,
Stephane
.
 
It isn’t the way I would have handled
the situation.
 
If you had come to
me and told me what was happening right from the start I could have helped you
both legally and morally.
”

“I couldn’t risk it,” he sighed heavily running his hand through his
hair.
 
“Besides it wouldn’t have
worked.
 
I will do everything in my
power to help you get away from him when this is over.
 
I know he will do anything to stop you
but I will help.
 
I promise you will
have my protection.”

She nodded.

“I will help you all I can,
Stephane
.
 
I don’t want your sister to die.”

Leon and Ryan were visible at the other end of the deck at their
dining table.

“Come on, let us get this over with,”
Stephane
said weaving his fingers through Mara’s to hold her hand.

The Count helped Mara stand.
 
His instinct was to keep her close and protected by his side.
 
They walked back towards the two men
waiting for them hand in hand to present a united front.

“Come and sit beside me, Mara,” Ryan demanded patting the chair next
to him eyeing their interlocked hands with a frown.
 
“I haven’t seen you for so long.
 
I want to make sure you are all right.”

Ryan stood up and possessively took hold of Mara’s arm attempting to
take control of her away from
Stephane
.
 
The billionaire aggressively tugged her
back to his side.

“
Stephane’s
, it’s all right.
 
I will do as he asks,” she tried to
soothe.

“No you won’t.
 
I will
sit next to him and you will sit on the other side.
 
I am in control here.
 
I won’t allow him to hurt you
again.
 
Do I make myself clear,
Mara?” he said fiercely removing Ryan’s hand on her arm with considerable
force.

Ryan laughed but did not object and Mara obediently nodded and for
once did as she was told.

“Well
Stephane
, you should be
congratulating me.” Ryan said leaning back in his chair after they ordered
their meal.

“And why is that, Ryan?”
Stephane
asked in
a cold tone handing his menu back to the waiter.

“Your sister and I got married last week.
 
It was a quiet affair, no family.” he
smiled.

The billionaire jumped from his seat full of rage.
 
He took hold of Ryan by his shirt collar
and lifted him up to standing.