*Adelaide*
July 3, 2018
Missy Crane’s reaction to Maddox walking into her house was unexpected.
I had led Maddox in, seeing Missy and Adam in the kitchen, preparing dinner. It was easy for us to sneak in behind them, and when Maddox gently placed a hand on Missy’s shoulder, she reacted instantly. Her eyes took him in, she gasped, and then slapped him across the face.
The world was silent for a moment. My jaw fell slack as I stared at my aunt, shocked that she actually slapped him. The kitchen fills with loud sobs as she places her hands over her face, shaking her head.
Maddox looks broken, like a lost puppy as he stares at Missy. He again places a hand on her and lowers his head so their eyes are connected. His voice is barely a whisper as he says, “I am so sorry, Ma.”
Missy continues to cry and points a finger at his chest. “That is right! I am your ma, and you are my boy! You are mine, and you will never do that to me again! Do you understand?” Missy’s words twist my stomach, causing tears to roll down my cheeks yet again. But I don’t care. This reunion is simply beautiful and to hear Missy claim Maddox as her son is extraordinary.
Maddox bows his head, a sound similar to a whimper leaving his mouth as he steps into his adoptive mother’s arms. She holds him tightly, almost as if she’s scared he’ll vanish into thin air.
I look over at Adam to see his cheeks are moist as well. He sniffles and steps up beside Missy and Maddox, draping his arms around their shoulders. I smile softly, purely blissful to see the people I love happy once again.
“Addy.” I jerk at the nickname Maddox called me once upon a time and look up to see him staring at me. “Come here, sweetheart.” He opens the group hug and I grin, hurrying over to slip into his and Missy’s embrace. I bury my face into Maddox’s chest and breathe in his familiar scent.
We stand in our hug for a minute or two, allowing Missy to cry and Adam to regain his composure.
Now, we sit around the kitchen table eating the famous lasagna and Adam asks, “Everything is okay? You didn’t do anything, right?” Adam then sneaks a glance over at me and Maddox sighs.
He grabs my hand that lies atop the table, squeezing my fingers. “Adelaide knows enough to understand what has happened. We don’t need to be secretive. I intend to tell her everything else, so there’s no point in hiding it from her,” Maddox says. I smile down at my barely eaten plate and feel the butterflies flutter in my stomach as his thumb runs along my knuckles.
I never truly understood the phrase butterflies in my stomach, but now I do. Maddox most definitely has them flying haywire, even with the simplest of looks my way.
“Well? Why did they request your return? What did they have you do? Ugh, Maddox, did you harm or…kill someone again? I-I just have to ask,” Adam says, his hands forming into tight fists atop the table.
I watch my uncle stare at Maddox with intense eyes. He’s scared of the answer, but I know that no matter what Maddox did, they will protect him.
“No. Of course I didn’t. But they believe I did. Most of my time there I was interrogating men. I would hold them at gunpoint while demanding answers. I would even beat the stubborn ones.” I wince at his words. I simply cannot picture Maddox beating someone up.
I turn to look at him, his strong side profile as he refuses to turn my way. I allow my eyes to travel down his poorly nourished body, however he is still incredibly strong.
I always believed those muscles were used for tossing hay bales and mucking stalls. For pinning down cattle as Adam branded them. For repairing fences and lifting hundreds of fifty pound bags of feed. I never envisioned him using them to subdue another person.
I jab at my lasagna lazily as I listen to Maddox. “Nile’s goal was to win me back. To remind me of the good ol’ times. But no matter how hard he tried, I was determined to return to the ranch. I could never come back if I killed someone. Therefore, my younger cousin Mouse decided to help me. I was always his favorite when he was a kid. I taught him how to play lacrosse for his middle school’s team, and whenever his parents fought, he would stay at my place.
“Anyway, he offered to help me. Nile gave me a final job. If I completed it and still decided to return to the ranch, he would let me…debt repaid.” Maddox goes quiet and I look to see him slumped over his plate, his head in his free hand.
I release our joint hands and reach over to gently run a hand through his hair, down to his neck, where I give it an affectionate squeeze. “It’s okay, Maddox. You’re amongst people who love you. Tell us.”
Maddox grabs my hand and pressed his lips to my knuckles. “My father wronged the Cicero Disciples. Nile beca—”
“Wait…the what?” I ask, cutting Maddox off. He looks over at me with his honey brown eyes, a look of guilt and slight disgust swarming them.
“Cicero Disciples gang…err, it’s the gang my family runs.” Maddox watches me, waiting for my reaction.
I glance over at my aunt and uncle to see their stoic expressions. They know about Maddox’s upbringing…of course they do. I’m sure they were required to know everything in order to offer living accommodations.
Gang…Maddox’s family is in a gang? How could I not know this about him? I look Maddox up and down, looking for any tattoo. People in gangs have tattoos, right?
To, you know, brand them? I think.
Maddox grabs the collar of his shirt and tugs it downward so I am staring at his bare chest. I arch an eyebrow in question. “Look very closely, Adelaide. Follow the curve of my collarbone.” I gulp and lean close, squinting my eyes.
It takes a moment for my vision to adjust and change focus. Then, I am able to make out the slightest, tiniest hint of a tattoo. I gasp softly and look up at Maddox. The corners of his eyes dip down in shame.
“What did it say?”
“Cicero Disciples.” He answers. I nod my head.
Of course it did. It was prideful and dangerous. Once upon a time, I’m sure Maddox wore that tattoo with honor. He wasn’t ashamed to walk around with the tattoo peeking out of his shirt. It was thrilling, I’m sure. At any moment, he could run into an opposing gang and with his tattoo on display, he would suffer the chance of a brawl, even in public.
At least…that’s what I have read in books and seen in movies.
“Missy took me to six appointments to get the tattoo removed. It’s pretty much gone, but can be visible in certain light if you’re really looking for it.” Without taking my eyes off the nearly invisible tattoo, I reach forward to run my fingers over the barely traceable wording.
“Ahem. Maddox, would you mind finishing?” Adam clears his throat, causing me to lurch back in my seat, withdrawing my hand. Maddox is just as quick, snatching my hand in midair and folding his fingers around mine. He places our rejoined hands on the table, his thumb an abiding comfort as it rubs along my knuckles.
“Nile became Boss during the time I have been in Oklahoma. And when I was back in Chicago, my father was caught embezzling money from the Cicero Disciples. Nile’s final job was for me to take care of my father.”
It takes a moment for me to understand what Maddox means…but when Missy gasps and places a hand over her mouth, it clicks.
“I couldn’t do it…it goes against everything I believe in. To kill my own father, it would have destroyed me. And that was Nile’s plan. But Mouse knew that I had chosen a different life and he seemed to appreciate that. Mouse volunteered to accompany me to the execution, to report back to Nile that I had actually done as commanded. Nile always favored Mouse. He trusts him with his life and didn’t hesitate to allow his kid cousin to fill in the position. So, Mouse sliced my face and shot my father. And I just let it happen. I basically killed my father myself.”
Tears accompanied all four of our faces as we sit in silence. I cling to Maddox’s hand as if it were my anchor, scared to let him go.
How could someone be so cruel as to assign Maddox to kill his own father? I don’t understand the gang world…
“Maddox, we will never understand the life you lived before you came here. We know you did things that you regret. That you have demons. But when you began to accept God into your life, none of that mattered. God forgives you for all your transgressions. He loves you. Do not go astray, Maddox. You are a strong man and you know God’s word better than anyone. You preached it to Adelaide, even when you were hundreds of miles away. It is time you now take heed to your own teachings and seek God. He will forgive you, and His forgiveness is all that matters,” Missy says, reaching over to gently place a hand on his cheek.
Maddox nods his head in agreement.
“You will spend the night in Jeremy’s room.”
“But I just live dow—”
“Maddox, you are spending the night in Jeremy’s room. End of discussion. I’m not ready to send you off just yet.” Missy gathers the dishes from the table and goes to the sink. “Adelaide, make sure he’s settled in.”
I look over at Maddox with a silly smile on my face. Even at the age of twenty-five, he’s still being told what to do. Maddox stands, kisses the top of my head, and goes outside to retrieve his clothes from the truck.
By the time I help Missy put the dishes in the dishwasher, he’s back with two dufflebags. I then accompany him upstairs and wait until he’s settled to make my way to my bedroom.
I lie in my bed, staring up at the ceiling as my mind races with all the information Maddox fed us. How could I not know he was in a gang? He is the nicest man I know, yet he was born and raised in a drug smuggling, man-slaughtering family.
Cooper lies at my feet as I try to close my eyes and sleep. I try to push all thoughts aside, however it proves difficult.
After a year and three months of missing Maddox, he is finally back and just across the hall. Why am I trying to fall asleep and waste precious time?
I roll out of bed and tip-toe to Jeremy’s room. I knock on the door softly and wait for Maddox to invite me in. I peek in to see him sitting on the bed, his head resting against the headboard. My hearts stops at the sight of him, his upper body completely bare as the comforter rests atop his lap.
“Adelaide. Come in,” Maddox says, shifting forward to grab his shirt off the floor. I watch as he easily slides it on and pats the bed. I close the door and walk over to sit at the foot of the bed, crossing my legs and facing Maddox.
“I’ve waited over a year to see you. Can I just sit here? I just want to be near you.” Maddox smiles softly and nods his head. He watches me with tired eyes as we sit in each other’s presence for a couple of minutes, neither speaking.
Maddox then leans forward, grabs my hand, and yanks me over so I’m lying beside him. I turn and rest my head on his shoulder, wrapping my arm around his stomach.
“This is what kept me going…the thought of one day holding you in my arms.” Maddox kisses the top of my head. “I love you so much, Adelaide. I never want to let you go.”
“Then don’t,” I whisper, closing my eyes. Maddox tightens his arm around my shoulders and I let out a sigh of contentment.
As we lay, listening to each other breathing, I can’t help but finally feel as if I’m at peace. The tranquility of it all almost lulls me to sleep.
That is, until the door is thrown open.