The Love Of Money - Episode 188
30-07-25 (11:09)
We were sitting on a plush leather couch in the main
living room a few minutes later. Emily sat close enough
that she reached out and brushed her fingertips along
my bruised face; I closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel
of her gentle touch. Maybe it was the abuse, but for
some reason, I felt like I couldn't get enough physical
affection, and every hug and caress felt magnified
tenfold.
"What did they do to you, Marcus?"
I shook my head, not wanting to talk about myself.
"Nothing won't get over. I need to know how Natashya
is."
At first, she didn't respond. Her irises, the color of sun-
bleached gravel, dropped to the hardwood floors.
Finally, she said, "They did things to her."
My sister didn't need to say anything else. I understood
the Implications.
"Fuck" I said, my heart breaking. I'm so sorry, Emily."
Emily looked back at me. "You didn't do anything,
Marcus."
"She was with me. They took her because of me. It's
my fault."
She shook her head. "No, it's not. Natashya's a big girl,
and she decided to hang out with you. We both did.
You were surrounded by bodyguards who were
constantly watching for threats. We knew what we
were getting into."
I snorted. "No you didn't. I didn't even know that."
"You know what I mean," she protested.
"Is she mad at me?"
"No," Emily said. "She loves the hell out of you for what
you tried to do."
"What do you mean?"
"Marcus, we could hear you down the hallway. You
were screaming at them when they had a gun to her
head. You said some pretty brave stuff, and even
strapped to a chair, you may have saved her from
getting shot by that last guy... the one holding her. As
far as she's concerned, you can do no wrong."
"I didn't do much," I protested, feeling like the last thing
I deserved was this kind of praise. "We would have
been dead if it hadn't been for you guys."
"Oh, don't get me wrong. She knows who saved you
both, but that doesn't diminish what you did. She.."
Emily had to take a breath to keep herself from getting
choked up before continuing. "She told me some of her
history, and it's not good. She says no one has had her
back like that."
I felt my eyes sting and blinked several times as I felt
the overwhelming relief that she didn't hate me. I
swallowed, trying to get my emotions under control,
and then looked back up at Emily. She looked at me
like I'd just hung the moon. A small part of me liked
the feeling; most of me hated it.
"Can I see her?" I finally asked.
"Not tonight," Emily said. "She fell asleep about thirty
minutes ago. She's still healing from several cracked
ribs, among other things. She's also raw... mentally, I
mean."
"You mean..."
"Yeah," she said, and Emily started to let those unshed
tears fall. "I know there's a lot I haven't shared with
you about LA, but I'm in a really good position to help
her."
I nodded. I had my suspicions about Emily's time in Los
Angeles and the abuse that had gone on there, but
she'd always been so quiet about all of it. Her words
now all but confirmed what I had already guessed.
"God, Marcus. She's one of the strongest women I've
ever met. I wish I had a tenth of her strength. She told
me it's not the first time this has happened to her. She
seems okay, but I can tell it's bothering her. She keeps
having nightmares, so I've been with her most nights. I
think she needs at least one more night to just....
process.
I nodded. "That's fine. She can take all the time she
needs. Tell her not to worry about a job. I'll keep
paying The Starlight. I'll keep paying her rate, and her
medical bills are-" Don't forget to leave a Comment 
