Free Marcus: The M Series, Book Three by Ryanne Anthony

you, knowing you were already spoken for. Please kiss my babies and tell them I loved them with everything in my soul, despite... No, I can't say that.” Another smack and Mariah screams again. After a moment she reads again.
    “Kiss my babies and tell them I love them with everything in my soul... despite who their father is... a freak like me, mm-hmm. Ask Nathan. He'll tell you,” Mariah cries again and then goes silent.
    “ MARIAH ,” I yell, panicking.
    She gasps and reads again. “I don't want your money; I just want to be free from you. I will never contact you again. Please don't try to find me. Tell everybody I love them.” She takes a deep breath then speaks fast. “I've always loved them, and I shouldn't have promised to do something then didn't, even though I knew it wasn't right. I was only doing it because everybody gave up on me years ago.” Mariah lets out a wail and through her sobs, says quietly, “Goodbye forever, Marcus.”
    The phone dies and Rachel screams. Standing, I feel a burn searing deep in me, everywhere and rage overflows. I feel myself shake and people grabbing me and forcing me down.
    “Marcus! Answer me ,” a woman shouts at my ear. I see nothing, feel nothing except rage flowing through my veins.
    “Do it! He can't break now!”
    “Marcus! Can you hear me?”
    “Do it, Lil! Please!”
    I don't see or hear anything else.
     
    Later…
    I awaken to a deafening silence . What the fuck happened? I click my dry tongue several times. Shit, they drugged me. I sit up and look around.  There is no one in here. And Mariah is still gone. This should’ve been a happy, fun day. Instead, it’s the worst of my life. I put my head in my hands and groan loudly as that call creeps back into my head.
    “Marcus, drink this,” Joshua says softly. “It’s just water. Lil says you may have cotton mouth and this should help.”
    “No. I want my wife back.”
    “We all want her back, Marcus. We can't have you break again. Drink the water.”
    “Did you hear how he was smacking her around? Can you imagine what's going on in her head? It has to be at least a hundred times worse than what’s going through mine,” I yell as I snatch the glass from him.  “Damn it! She hasn't had a migraine in four fucking years, Joshua!”
    Richards appears in the door way. “Marcus, we have to talk about that call. It needs dissecting.”
    “Fuck off,” I mumble then drink the water. I slam the glass down on the coffee table and it smashes. Richards leaves and a minute later Matthew strolls in the room with a hand broom and waste can. 
    “Did you have an argument about New York?”
    I glare at him as he sweeps up the glass.
    “Marcus, I'm trying to get my sister-in-law back, and this behavior isn't helping. Your kids need their mother and you need your wife. Cut this shit out and talk to us about New York.”
    I glower at him, still hating when he's right. Everyone trickles back into the room.
    “We've never discussed a fucking trip to New York,” I snarl, my glare going to Lil.
    “Okay. So some of it definitely wasn't scripted. What promise did she make and didn't keep?”
    I look at my hands. “None. You know how Mariah is about honesty. If she said it, she meant it.”
    “What did she find in the kitchen? She said, ' The betrayal was in my face, right there in the kitchen, of all places' .”
    I think hard and shake my head. “Nothing,” I croak.
    “ 'Despite who their father is, a freak like me, ask Nathan .' What did she mean by that?” Parker asks, looking behind me.
    “I don't know,” Nathan answers. “She's never called herself a freak, no matter how self-conscious she felt about that burn. As far as I know, that's the only thing physically wrong with her.”
    “Then why would she refer to Marcus as a freak,” Mother asks. “He's not burned or anything.”
    “She was trying to tell him who she's with and where,” Parker says. “What smell makes her sick every time she’s