An Unknown Place Read Online Free

family.”
    “Uh huh…” She was encouraging me, which only made it harder.
    “They live in New York. And, uh…are kind of known for their mob connections.” Mac froze. I knew she would. I knew she should run as far from me as possible. “I moved away when I was 18 and haven’t been back. Please …” I didn’t know why I was pleading with her. It didn’t make sense for me to do this. I had nothing to apologize for. I had worked my way through the shit storm my family had created around me, and I still was.
    “Your family’s involved with the mob?” She was as still as a statue with the exception of her mouth.
    “Yes. I’m only related by blood. Not by values.”
    “So, your values are worse than theirs? Or better?”
    “Depends on who’s asking. Better on some things by most people’s standards, worse on others.”
    Mac sighed like she was exhausted. I didn’t blame her. I exhausted myself sometimes. But what I told her was true. I was honest in all of my dealings – business and personal. Part of the problem was my name and part of the problem was my money.
    My personal life was crap because I had a hard time trusting any woman with who I was and how much I was worth. My name was just that – a name. It didn’t make me who I was, or maybe it had. If I hadn’t flown the coup when I was eighteen I may have turned out as a much different person. And of course the problem with my money was that gold diggers were always after my wallet.
    “Well, that explains Lynn’s aversion to you.” Mac said.
    “I have no affiliation with my family other than they are my family. I don’t do business with or for them.”
    I ran my hands through my hair. Maybe pulling my hair out would help with the intense pressure I always felt when my family came up in conversation. Mac put her hand on my arm. I must’ve been grasping my hair harder than I thought. I loosened the grip I had on my hair and clasped my hands at the back of my neck. We probably looked crazy, her with her hand over mine, mine grasping my hair. Mac dropped her hand and smirked.
    “Okay.” She believed me? So easily. It was so unlike my other conversations about my family that it caught me off guard. I thought I would’ve at least had to do a little more dancing for her to believe me.
    I looked into her eyes, I didn’t know what I was expecting to see but it sure wasn’t the pain that was clearly there. She tried to hide it from everyone, I could see that and most of the time she did a good job of it, I had seen that too. I didn’t know where that pain was coming from but I wanted to soothe it. Damn. When did I get to be such a girl? I normally hit it and quit it.
    Something in this girl brought a protector out in me that I hadn’t known was there. Without telling my arms to do it…I reached for her and pulled her to me, squeezing her tight. Trying to soothe the pain in her eyes. I felt her squeeze me briefly and then struggle to get out of my arms. That was strange.
    Normally women wanted to hang all over me. This woman was nothing like any other I’d met. Just to see if she would stop struggling I hung on for a minute and felt like I was trying to hold onto a fish out of water.
    I let go and stepped back. She stumbled and looked like a pissed off cat, I swear her back was arching. Her face was red and her eyes were huge. What was that about? She shoved my shoulder, turned and went inside.
    Mac
    I couldn’t get away from him fast enough. I was totally freaked out. How had I let my guard down? He had grabbed me. I knew he was trying to hug me, which was odd because he didn’t seem like the hugging kind, but after the initial moment, panic gripped me.
    I couldn’t help but recall how it had felt to be held down. Yes I had been to therapists, a lot of them. They had all told me that the only way to really get over it is to move on, live my life and experience the world. Let’s face it, I wasn’t living a normal life like every other twenty