Melody stared at Hub in shock for a long moment, sure that she must have misheard him. That must be it. He couldn’t have said…
“Enrique? You want Christian to meet with Enrique?”
The question had popped out of her mouth before she could stop it, but she didn’t care when everyone turned to stare at her. She only had eyes for Christian’s father.
“No,” Hub growled with a mean scowl. “But Enrique insisted. It was one of his terms for the meeting.” The vice president of the Devil’s Martyrs crew turned back to his son. “You know how important this meeting is for us, Christian.”
Melody opened her mouth to protest once more but she didn’t get the chance. Hub was talking to his son again. Hub gazed at Christian, who still hadn’t uttered a word since his father had dropped his bombshell.
“Look, Christian, you do this, and I swear to you I will do everything I can to get you and your baby out of this town, and out of this life.”
Hub just looked at Christian expectantly, while Melody held her breath. She saw the answer in her husband’s bright blue eyes before he even moved to open his mouth.
“Alright. I’ll do it,” Christian said after an eternity. Melody had known exactly what he was going to say, but it still made her gasp in dismay. “But I have to take Melody home first. I have to make sure that she’s safe.”
But Melody was already shaking her head as she dragged Christian off to the side of the room where she could talk to him in semi-privacy.
“I don’t like this, Christian,” she told him in a hushed whisper. Worry and fear made a lump in her throat, making it hard to force the words out.
“I don’t really like it all that much either, sweetheart,” Christian sighed and then it was his time to shake his head. “But this is our best option. We will deal with Enrique and get our ticket out of here all at the same time. Two birds. One stone.”
He forced a look of optimism on his face, but Melody could see right through it. He was just as worried as she was, and she was plenty worried for the both of them.
“Please Mel,” he pleaded, and it broke her heart. “Let me take you home. This is too dangerous for you and the baby.”
“No. It’s too dangerous for you!” Melody said fiercely as she stepped closer to him, his hands clasped hard in hers. “You don’t know Enrique like I do. You don’t know what he’s capable of.”
“I know that he hurt you.” Christian’s expression drew harder than she’d ever seen it before and that rarely glimpsed heat of anger that he kept locked down tight blazed like a furnace behind his sapphire gaze. “That’s all I need to know.”
“He’s ruthless, Christian. He’s a liar. He’ll say anything he has to until you drop your guard down, and then the second you do he’ll slit your throat without a second thought.”
Melody gasped the words, drawing her hand to her own throat as the words came out in a rush. Panic fluttered inside her like a startled bird and she wanted to grab him and shake him until he saw reason, and then grab him again and never, ever let go.
Melody wanted to keep arguing with him, trying to talk him out of it, but Bianca stepped close.
“Hi Christian. Congratulations, hun. I need to borrow your woman for a sec.”
Bianca railroaded Melody’s attempts to stop her or even slow her down. But nothing seemed to affect the older woman as she grabbed her firmly by the arm and pulled her away to the other side of the room.
“Bianca! What are you doing! I need to…”
“Hush it, hun.” Bianca said fiercely, and for a moment Melody was certain that the other woman was about to unleash on her.
Instead, she was surprised as the older woman leaned toward her and drew her into a tight hug that smelled like clove and cigarette smoke.
“I’m so happy for you and Christian,” Bianca said, still grasping Melody so hard that Melody couldn’t move.
Finally, after a long moment, Bianca drew back, surreptitiously swiping at her eyes.
“Oh, babies always make me cry.”
Bianca wiped her eyes again, pretending that she had an eyelash caught in one, and Melody just shook her head, surprised by her uncharacteristic actions.
“Bianca, you can’t honestly support this, can you?” Melody pleaded suddenly, hoping to get her on her side. Maybe that would help sway Hub.
But before she even got the words all the way out, Bianca was giving her a firm, disappointed look that cut to the bone.
“Listen, hun,” she said with a snort, waggling her finger at Melody as she spoke, “Christian needs to do this. Can’t you see it in his eyes? I’ve known that boy for a long time, and he’s been drifting for almost as long. Rudderless. No direction. But you, Melody, you’re his compass now. You’ve given him a reason to fight for what he loves. You can’t take that away from him.” Bianca finally trailed off, still shaking her head. “It would destroy him.”
Fear filled Melody. Fear that she had grown all too familiar with over the last year, since she’d become Enrique’s prisoner, and even before that in the halfway house, being homeless, even when she’d lived with her father.
It was the fear that her life was completely out of her control. That there was nothing she could do to change her own fate. And she saw it laid out starkly in front of her.
“But Enrique could kill him,” Melody finally whispered after a long, tense silence.
Bianca tsked at her. It was a sharp, irritated sound, but Melody saw that her heart wasn’t in it.
“Hub isn’t about to let anything happen to his only son. And besides, Christian won’t be alone, either.”
Bianca paused, just looking at Melody for a long moment, and this time she was sure the older woman was going to yell at her. But instead, she just wrapped her arms around Melody in another hug. Two in one day. It must be a record!
“I’m going to miss you both.” Bianca groused.
Melody’s breath hitched at the sound of tears in her voice.
“Don’t worry. We’ll come visit…”
“No, you won’t!” Bianca was back, full curmudgeon, frowning at Melody with her eyebrows furrowed so that a thick crease formed in the middle of her forehead. “I mean it, Melody. You take your baby, and you get the hell away from this life. The gang is no place for a child.” Bianca’s frown melted away into a beautiful smile. “You and Christian are going to be amazing parents.”
Melody bit her lip, trying to keep up with the gamut of emotion that whirled through her. “Maybe… maybe I can write you every now and then? Or call to let you know how things are going.”
“I would love that. Now, hun, you go. Listen to Christian. Just let him take care of you for once. And for Christ’s sake, don’t argue his ears off.”
Melody shook her head at the older woman’s taciturn tone, but she could easily see the warmth and love underneath. This time, she was the one to pull Bianca in for one last hug.
“Thank you for everything, Bianca. I don’t think I can ever repay you.”
“You just take care of that baby. And give ’em all the love in the world. That’s good enough for me.”
Melody smiled: “That I can definitely do.”
Christian waved Melody over towards him, a somber expression drawing his expression tight.
“Look, Mel, I know you don’t want me to…”
“It’s okay,” she said, quickly interrupting him before she had a chance to change her mind.
“It… is?”
“I get it, Christian. This is our chance to be free. This is our chance to be happy.”
He looked at her for a long moment, love shining bright in his eyes, before he kissed her, hard and fast.
“I love you, Mel.”
“I love you too, Christian.” Melody drew in a deep breath. “You better come back in one piece or else I’m going to kill you myself.”
Christian just shook his head, obviously biting back a laugh, as they walked back to his motorcycle. He’d already hashed out the plan with Hub and the others. He would drop her off back at home and then meet up with them at the designated location.
Melody tried to tell herself it was just motion sickness that was making her queasy as Christian drove her home, but as he parked the bike and she slid off, the nauseous feeling remained.
“Stay safe, Christian.”
“I will. Don’t worry,” he said, giving her one last, long heated look before starting the engine again and driving away from her. Melody watched him disappear around a corner, but she didn’t move from her spot in front of the house.
She swallowed hard, praying that he would come back to her. She had a bad feeling about all of it.
Finally, there was nothing left for her to do but turn and head inside. Alone. And terrified for Christian.