Page 132 of Checkmate
“Oh, stop clutching your pearls, Debra,” her father said. “He is a cunt, stepping out on Erica like that.”
“I disagree,” Marcus said. Everyone turned to look at him this time, but unlike Erica, he met their inquisitive gazes with confidence.
“Alex isn’t a cunt,” he said, clearing his throat and inclining his head to Debra. “Sorry for the language. But a cunt is a wonderful thing. They’re strong and resilient. They bounce back from anything.” A titter of amusement went around the room.
“If anything, Erica is a cunt,” Marcus continued, glancing at her. “In the nicest way possible, of course.”
At their side, Josh barked with laughter. “I’ve always said you were a—”
“Joshua!” Their mother warned.
“Anyway,” Erica said, interrupting Josh before he could complain. “I know eventually I’ll have to answer your questions, and I can’t stay with Marcus forever. But right now, no one in the world understands how devastating this is, and how much I don’t want to talk about it.
“The only good thing to come out of this shit show of an affair is my friendship with Marcus. It’s important to me. He’s important to me.”
“The guy that calls you a cunt?” Her dad asked with a chuckle. “That’s who you’re picking?”
Erica looked up at Marcus, his eyes meeting hers. She smiled at him and felt the warmth of his returning smile. “Yeah, Dad. This is who I’m picking.”
“Excellent,” Josh said, clapping his hands together. “Cos I think he’s one funny cunt. What do you say, Marcus? Shall we go to the pub?”
PRESENT DAY
“What the hell happened to you?” Erica jumped to her feet as Josh and Marcus entered the flat, Marcus sporting one hell of a black eye. “You said you were just going to talk!”
She grabbed a bag of frozen peas, wrapping them in a towel. Handing them to Marcus, she turned on Josh. “And how the hell did you get involved?”
“I called him,” Marcus said. “The first night I met Josh, he told me he wanted a chance at Alex. I gave him that chance.”
“Get those peas on your face,” she said, her tone leaving no room for argument. “What do you mean you gave him a chance?”
“I didn’t hit him. Calm down,” Josh said, helping himself to a beer. “You should have seen it, sis. Marcus got him good.”
“You hit him?”
Marcus scoffed and shook his head. “Oh, ye of little faith. What kind of man do you think I am?”
“Well, you have hit him before. And you are the one wearing a bag of peas on your face,” Erica said. “Forgive me for thinking fists were flying.”
“It was nothing like that,” Marcus assured her. “I just got Alex to show his true colours, is all.”
Josh tossed his phone over to her, the video already loaded. “It was bloody brilliant if you ask me,” he said, taking a swig of his beer.
Erica glanced down at the phone, pressing play on the still image of an empty pavement. Marcus soon came into view, walking a little too slowly to be going anywhere. She heard someone shout and then Alex was there, punching Marcus square across the jaw. She gasped out loud as both men fell to the floor, noting how deliberately Marcus kept his arms out of the way.
“Told you he got him good,” Josh said with a grin. “You’ll get your divorce soon, sis. I’m sure of it.”
Erica placed the phone on the table, turning to look at Marcus. “You did that for me?”
“For both of us,” he said. For a moment, she thought she saw something in his eyes until he glanced at Josh and cleared his throat. Sitting up straighter, he readjusted the peas. “You know, for our financial situation.”
Erica didn’t believe that for a moment, but she wasn’t going to question him in front of Josh. Not when she wasn’t even sure what she wanted. Instead, a thought occurred to her.
“What made him angry enough to hit you?” She asked.
Marcus smirked, shrugging casually. “Oh, I just let him in on a little secret.” He dropped the peas, touching his face and wincing. “Did he ever mention a client of his getting cold feet?”
Erica nodded her head as she cast her mind back. “Yeah. The London group.”
