Chapter Twenty-Four
Madison
Sofia mentioned Dax’s new bodyguard the last time I spoke with her. Apparently, Dax met the guy in prison and at some point, saved his ass in a yard scuffle. To step in as Dax’s bodyguard meant the guy was dangerous. What I didn’t expect was his size. Dax is a large dude. Duke takes large to another proportion. He’s the biggest man I’ve ever seen in person—pure muscle on an almost seven-foot frame, shaved head, surprisingly intelligent blue eyes, clean-shaven, wearing jeans and a black skintight tee, with chain-accented black biker boots. The perfect, if there is such a thing, Aryan comes to mind. Sofia had reservations about him until he rescued her two-year-old hellion daughter from one of her many dangerous scrapes. She says the child is glued to the big man. Sofia used the word “big,” so I expected big. What I didn’t expect was someone who could go toe to toe with Andre the Giant. Shit, I think while covertly spying on him while he stands at Dax’s side, I wouldn’t have wanted to deal with him when I was an officer. Sofia’s phrase “a big teddy bear” has no bearing on the man even if she thinks it does. He looks like he eats glass for breakfast and belches up bullets when his stomach is full. Extremely scary dude in a room full of badass men.
Dax says something to him and he turns to the door. My eyes follow. Cori stands at the entrance of the dining room. It’s the first time Duke has stopped assessing threats in the room and focused on something for more than a few seconds. I watch him watch Cori. The man has it bad for her, but she has no clue.
Cori ignores Duke’s open stare and casts a trembling smile at my husband. Moon walks over and pulls her in for a quick hug. The hesitant expression Cori has is nothing like the old Cori. When she entered a room before, she became the center of attention and loved every second. When she thinks he isn’t looking, she glances at Duke and then nervously away. He’s making her uncomfortable and I don’t like it. My protective instincts go into overdrive. Casting goliath a “don’t fuck with Cori” glare, I walk past him and wrap Cori in a hug when my husband releases her.
“Everyone here is a friend,” I reassure her, hoping I’m right when it comes to Duke. The timid smile she produces only pisses me off because Cori is never timid. I grit my teeth and then somehow manage to curl my lips into a smile when I pull back and she looks at me. Her eyes say she’s ready to bolt. I grasp her good hand, give it a momentary squeeze, and then hold on.
I understand. It would be so easy to run upstairs and crawl back into bed. I swear the damn thing calls for me. I’m also aware it’s part depression and partly an overall sense that I don’t want to be around people right now. Cori gave me the courage to escape the cage of shame and despair. The problem is, she hasn’t passed on that wisdom to herself. She’s also still dealing with the loss of her fingers and how that will shape her life far into the future. I can’t even grasp the extent of pain she’s going through. This happened to her because of me. I live in a dangerous world by choice and that choice permanently scarred my friend. Carrying the responsibility for Cori’s nightmare is something I’ll do for the rest of my life.
With Fernandez, the attack at the mall, and the reinstated lockdown, the people in this room have been on edge for almost a week. We need to relax and enjoy the evening before the real world encroaches again. I look around at my friends. We care about each other and the bonds we’ve forged are not easily broken. As a cop, I never trusted the other officers as much as I trust most of the people in this room.
Melina joins us and stands guard on Cori’s other side making small talk and trying to relax her. I stay with them until my husband looks over and catches my attention. “Excuse me,” I say and give Cori a quick hug before joining him.
“How is she doing?” he asks.
“She’s still here.”
He puts his arm around me and leans in. “How are you holding up?”
I force a smile. “I’m still here.”
I know my husband well and see anger and guilt in his expression. Going to my tip toes, I brush my lips over his and smile with more confidence. “Thank you for this. We need to unwind.”
The smile he gives me almost reaches his eyes. “Thank Gabriella.” He quirks his lips. “Again and again and again.”
The words surprise a laugh out of me. “I wouldn’t dream of offending the wicked witch of the kitchen.” Moon pulls me closer and nuzzles my hair with his nose. He inhales and slowly lets out the breath, leaving some of his stress behind before releasing me.
Gabriella set up the sideboard so we can serve ourselves. Moon and I fill our plates and take seats at the table and our guests begin following suit.
Celina laughs at something Alex says and my attention turns their way. Since Celina came into Alex’s life, they enjoy quiet meals in his apartment as often as possible. At least once a week we all sit down together for a meal. Alex has always been wonderful to me even when I wasn’t quite as reciprocal. This was before I accepted that Moon and I were meant to be together. Before Celina, Alex’s seemingly relaxed demeanor hid a terrifying darkness and a very dangerous man. Celina tempers Alex’s “scary dude” vibe with her laughter and joy. She’s his other half like Moon is mine.
My gaze turns to Melina and Austin. He’s still… odd, maybe that’s a good word. The darkness he carries is much different than Alex’s. There’s something missing in Austin and you don’t see the missing piece until Melina walks into a room and his internal light clicks on. Austin is someone who would kill a person and enjoy playing in their blood afterward. Melina keeps his internal monster at bay. Austin feeds off her normalcy and commandeers it. Even knowing he wouldn’t harm me, I have reservations. Moon trusts him, which makes him part of our dysfunctional family. I accept him simply because of Melina.
Gabriella enters the room and checks the dishes on the sideboard to see if anything needs refilling. She’ll be happy if I go back for seconds, so I promise myself I’ll try. Having this many people in the house puts Gabriella in her element. Without the company, it’s Moon’s men who keep Gabriella busy. They invade her domain and sit at the kitchen table while she putters around and keeps their stomachs full. Without them, she would be at loose ends. Moon travels to New Mexico far too often and I usually grab a piece of fruit for dinner preferring to eat my main meal of the day for lunch when Moon’s absent. Gabriella constantly grumbles that I’m too skinny. Of course, she says it in rapid fire Spanish and then I spend a few minutes deciphering how she insulted me. I wouldn’t have it any other way and until I walked out the doors and into Fernandez’s vehicle, I didn’t quite understand how much we all need the close community we’ve built. Now we must come out the other side of our current problems with everyone alive and uninjured.
The formal dining room we’re in now is reserved for special occasions and is large enough for sixteen to sit and eat comfortably. There are ten of us tonight and though Gabriella isn’t serving us personally, you can see her happiness as she refills the platters. She walks out with a little extra kick in her step.
Sofia is helping Cori add food to her plate at the sideboard when I notice Duke stand and approach them. Duke takes the mostly empty plate from Cori’s good hand and nods at the food.
“I don’t need your help,” she whisper shouts. Dressed in a pale green, flowery dress that accents her long legs and gorgeous skin, biker dude is no match for her. Duke’s jeans, black T-shirt, large hunting knife on his left hip, and the gun on his right only add to the dangerous vibes he gives off. They don’t affect Cori in the slightest. She prefers the sophisticated type and her nose turns up at his choice of attire. Duke would probably clean up nicely in a suit. It would need to be custom-made because no suit off the rack would fit him. However, I don’t see him putting one on, and even dressed to the nines, I don’t see Cori giving him a second glance.
The room’s gone quiet at Cori’s outburst and I’m at a crossroads. Do I rescue her from Dax’s new bodyguard or do I allow Cori to deal with the situation herself? In the past, it wouldn’t be an issue because she could easily put the giant in his place. Right now, I’m not so sure.
Duke ignores her outburst and calmly fills her plate. When there’s more than enough food for her, he pivots and walks to the vacant chair beside his and rests the full plate on the table at Cori’s place setting. Her eyes find mine and she mouths, “What the fuck?” Then, she doesn’t walk to the table, she marches. Duke holds the chair for her and I swear steam comes from her ears. She gives him an exasperated look without taking the proffered chair. She looks around for another place to sit and then eyes the door leading to the hall. This isn’t like Cori. She’s a woman with attitude and never puts up with shit. Being under Fernandez’s thumb has affected her like it has me. She went through everything I did plus the irreparable damage to her hand. I feel guilty for the pain I’m going through when it doesn’t compare to hers.
“You could ask next time,” she finally grumbles and takes the offered chair. Duke doesn’t smile or acknowledge her griping. I bite my lip and force myself not to get between them. Duke has no idea who he’s messing with and I hope if push comes to shove, Cori will eat him alive, injured or not.
She huffs at his refusal to reply and turns to Austin beside her, giving Duke her back. “It’s nice to see your wife. We’ve missed her at EE.” EE is the acronym for Elegant Escorts. Austin was not keen on Melina working there as a receptionist, but then again, he gave her to Moon in a very unorthodox way and he’s lucky I didn’t come after him with my Glock. The humor here is that Austin is being forced to communicate and play nice with Cori, which isn’t his strong suit.
Austin’s gift is the calculation always present in his eyes. Cori throws him off his stride and if I wasn’t worried about Duke, I’d sit back and enjoy the show. Austin glances at Melina, who offers no help while tactfully covering a smile. After a stern look, he turns back to Cori. “Melina has missed you too,” he says uncomfortably by the way he fidgets slightly. With his lack of communication skills, this is a long answer for him. Melina’s influence is having a more positive affect each day.
Cori downs her wine while she considers what else to say to Austin. She’s placed her injured hand beneath the table and even when she was standing at the sideboard, I noticed that she tried to hide it. She sets her glass down and Duke reaches for the wine and refills it. Cori watches him from the corner of her eye. “So Austin,” she says with irritation prevalent in every word. “How long are you and Melina planning on staying in Arizona?”
This time Austin’s gaze catches mine and it’s almost comical. Instead of deflecting to Melina, he turns back to Cori and tells her the truth. “When Fernandez is dead, we’ll return home.”
Death may not be our normal dinner conversation, but no one raises an eyebrow. We’ve gathered in this house for one reason and the end result will be Fernandez’s death. This is the before celebration.
Cori leans in a little toward Austin. “As nice as it’s been having Melina visit me, I hope you’re returning home sooner rather than later.” She lifts her wine glass to him and he lifts his water to hers and the glasses clink. Melina is taming him in small increments and his ability to behave like a gentleman just proved it.
Again, Cori drinks her wine in one long swallow. I’ve never seen her do more than sip alcohol and I’m becoming more worried about her. She does not put her glass down this time, but it doesn’t stop Duke. He calmly takes her hand in his giant fist to hold the glass steady and adds more wine. Cori actually gasps. If fire could shoot from her eyes, it would.
“I didn’t give you permission to touch me,” she snaps. The small talk in the room cuts off suddenly and all eyes turn their way. Cori finally gives her full attention to Duke, who still doesn’t respond. “Did you hear me or are you deaf?”
Duke barely blinks as he slowly rests the bottle on the table beside his water glass, completely ignoring her comment. He taps the table next to her fork, encouraging her to eat, while looking her straight in the eyes. Cori’s eyes drop to her hand and remain there for a few seconds. When she moves, it’s quick. She grabs her fork and stabs the back of Duke’s hand.
The women gasp, the men stare, and everyone is ready for an explosion. Did I mention Duke’s size? He could crush her with one hand. If he makes a move, I’m running for my gun, which is upstairs. It would take all our men to bring him down, so a bullet is the only answer. On a good note, this is the Cori I know and love. She pulls the fork back, ready to strike again.
From my vantage point, the wound doesn’t appear deep. But that might not be the case if she stabs him again. Slowly, blood wells and Duke splays his fingers and leaves his hand where it is, taunting her. Cori lifts the fork higher.
With a move so quick I almost miss it, Duke grabs the utensil with his uninjured hand and stops her from carrying through on the threat. With her hand caught in his, she rolls into a volley of verbal abuse. Ignoring her anger, he places Cori’s hand beside his, releases it, and dips the tip of his finger into the small splash of blood on the back of his other hand.
What the hell?
He grabs her good hand again with his injured one and I almost come out of my chair. Moon stops me with a squeeze to my leg beneath the table. Duke slowly swirls something in blood on the back of Cori’s hand.
She watches him do it while staring at whatever it is in disbelief. Suddenly her expression changes and she squints at what he did, perplexed.
Slowly her head lifts and their eyes meet. “You’re non-verbal?” she asks.
Leaning forward slightly, I can just make out what he put on the back of her hand.
MUTE
Duke nods, affirming her question.
Cori covers her eyes and groans. “I just stabbed a man who can’t talk and asked if he’s deaf. I need to return to my room.” She tries to rise, but Duke stops her, pushing gently on her shoulder and pointing to her plate. He removes the fork from her hand and replaces it with his clean one and then wipes the blood off her fork with his napkin. Like nothing major just happened, he takes a bite of his food.
Cori gives me a “what the hell” look and all I can do is shrug. With a loud sigh, she begins eating.
I glance at my husband and he’s having a difficult time hiding a grin. Slowly, conversation picks up and we enjoy our meal while I keep an eye on the strange thing happening between Cori and Duke.
The entire room is filled with people I would have gladly arrested when I was an officer. They’re killers, weapons dealers, and drug suppliers with my husband leading the pack. But when I look around, all I see are friends. I’ve come a long way, though my old buddies at the police department would argue that I’ve lost my mind. Life experience changed me. Crooked cops just helped it along and now I’m part of the criminal world. Hopefully, I can live with it.
Turning slightly, my eyes skim over Moon, who’s finished eating. His hand rests on my back and I’ve noticed he wants me near; touching me assures him I’m alive. He loves me and that love swells inside me. It’s like breathing, eating, and water. Love makes us stronger and keeps us alive.
Moon sees me looking at him and he pulls me in closer and pecks my lips with his. It’s quick, but the taste of him lingers, and for several minutes I forget we’re really gathered here because of Fernandez and I allow Moon’s love to surround me.
Gabriella walks in carrying a large platter filled with extra plates and pie, which she divvies up. It’s pecan and after one bite, a smile spreads across my face. Even at the worst of times, family is everything and small things like having dinner together make me feel like we will come out stronger after Fernandez is dead.
We fight to win.