Chapter Eleven
Moon
The drive across town from Cartwright’s place is intolerable. I pay no attention to Dax and Duke speaking softly in the backseat. I called for backup from my men as soon as we hit the highway. My team will arrive a few minutes behind us. We aren’t waiting. There’s a feeling deep in my gut that says I need to get to Madison quickly and that’s what we’re doing.
The outskirts of Phoenix are filled with agriculture. Houses in this area aren’t the cookie cutter homes you see in the city, they’re sprawling homes surrounded by mile after mile of everything from corn to nut trees.
“We’re a mile away,” Alex finally says when we take another corner practically on two wheels. I look at the navigator, which shows two more turns. My eyes are glued to what is in front of us as Alex takes the next right.
“The women,” Alex yells before I catch sight of them.
They’re running up the road away from where we were headed. I don’t wait for the SUV to stop when I jump out and grab Madison. I scoop her into my arms thankful that Duke grabs Cori because all I care about right now is my wife. She’s covered in blood and I have no idea if it’s hers or someone else’s.
Alex pulls a pit maneuver turn and we practically fly from the area. A call comes in on the car’s speaker and Alex answers. It’s Cal, one of my highly trained security experts. “We’re a mile out,” he says into his phone.
“We have the women but don’t know where Fernandez and his men are,” Alex tells him and then glances at me before turning his eyes back to the road.
“Hit the house hard. I want Fernandez alive, though,” I order.
Madison squeezes my shirt, digging her nails into my skin. “I killed one of them, but there’s another man named Goose with Fernandez.” Her words are spoken into my chest and her fingers keep a tight hold on my shirt.
“Two inside the house,” Alex says next. “Fernandez and his man alive.”
Alex ends the connection and drives.
“Madison,” I whisper into her hair. She keeps her face buried. A shirt is passed forward and I wrap it around her. From the size, I know it’s Duke’s. I glance into the back seat and Cori is resting in his arms again with his undershirt draped across her front.
I turn back to my wife. “Madison, I need to know how badly you’re injured.”
“Not my blood,” she breathes against my chest.
“Get Carlo to the house,” I tell Alex. He makes the call. When Carlo starts to argue, he tells him that Madison and Cori need him.
“I’ll be there in thirty,” he says and disconnects before Alex can.
Carlo Santos is our doctor, a pediatrician actually. He was friends with my parents and we’ve remained close. He takes care of our emergency health needs when a hospital or doctor’s office is out of the question.
If he says Madison or Cori needs a hospital, I’ll take them both. We’ll field the legal questions if needed.
I hold Madison tight, my bereft arms now full. There are so many things I want to say, but they need to wait. She’s safe and that’s all that matters right now. We’ll work the rest out after Fernandez’s blood soaks my hands. Alex can have his goon, Goose or whatever the fuck his name is. Fernandez is mine.
∞∞∞
Carlo is waiting for us when we pass through the security gate and pull into the circular driveway. I stand from the car without releasing Madison and carry her quickly inside the front door, which Carlo holds open. Duke carries Cori behind us.
“Couches, triage,” Carlo says.
I head to the couch, but Madison stops me. “No, I’m fine.” She lifts her head and speaks directly to Carlo. “The blood isn’t mine. Take care of Cori first.”
He doesn’t argue and from the look of Cori’s lifeless body in Duke’s arms, she needs Carlo more. Even if I don’t like it. “We’ll be in our room,” I tell Carlo and take the stairs two at a time. “Alex, let me know what happens with Fernandez,” I call from the landing.
“Boss?” I stop walking and look back down. “Fernandez is yours,” Alex grunts with a look that says how much he’s disturbed by what happened to the women.
I walk into our room and head directly to our bed. Before lying her down, she whispers, “Shower,” and I change directions. When I try to stand her up, she tightens her hold on me. Without removing my clothes or the shirt half covering her, I enter the walk-in shower. With a quick adjustment of her weight, I’m able to deposit my cell phone on the counter and turn on the cold water.
Madison begins shaking a minute later, so I turn on the warmer water and hold her against me. Her entire body is shaking now and I realize she’s crying. “Shhh, baby, I’ve got you,” I say as I nuzzle my face into her hair.
“Don’t let go,” she whispers.
“Never.”
Madison has been through shit before, but I’ve never seen her like this. I stand in the spray of the shower for at least thirty minutes while she cries. I don’t stop her tears no matter how hard they hurt me. She needs to cry this out. My muscles are burning when she finally asks me to put her down. The shirt slides from her body and lands on the tiles when her feet touch. She grabs the soap and begins scrubbing herself while I peel off my wet clothes. Her eyes are closed as she lathers the soap across her skin.
“Here let me do that,” I offer after tossing my clothes and Duke’s shirt outside the shower area.
“No,” she says and turns away from me as she continues washing.
“Madison?”
She won’t look at me. I grab her soapy hands and hold them. “I’m dirty,” she says softly. “So dirty.”
“Then let me wash it away,” I say just as softly. She doesn’t stop me when I take the soap from her hands. She doesn’t stop me when I wash her back and move my hands down to her waist. She doesn’t stop me when my hand slips between her legs and I wash her there. She doesn’t stop me when I wash her breasts. She only stops me when I rinse the soap from my hands and try to tip her face up so I can look into her eyes.
“No,” she says a little louder than she spoke before and forcefully tilts her head down.
I pull her into my chest and she doesn’t fight me. Nor does she hold on as tightly as she did earlier. She doesn’t hold onto me at all.