Chapter Twenty-Eight
Madison
It’s been three days since the meeting. Moon has continued the lockdown and he hasn’t left the house. It’s like he thinks if I’m out of his sight, Fernandez will take me again. We can’t run scared from this madman and Moon isn’t behaving like the badass crime boss he is. He’s worried. I see it in the firm set of his jaw and his sleepless nights. My husband is walking a thin line and sooner or later, he’ll break. He isn’t a man who sits on his ass and allows others to handle the dirty work. This is killing him slowly.
I’ve had enough.
All the women and I are sitting in Alex and Celina’s apartment under the guise of needing a women’s-only book club meeting. “Moon has no intention of allowing me to lure Fernandez out of hiding and I need your help,” I say. Melina, Sofia, Celina, and Cori nod in assent.
An armed escort brought Sofia here to the house fifteen minutes ago. I miss the twins, but they’re safer at Dax’s compound. When this is over, I’m taking an entire day and spending it at the clubhouse. My arms need babies and shenanigans. I miss Macey’s pudgy cheeks even if she is the demon child. Jon, her twin brother, has perseverance in the shadow of his sister’s outrageous sense of adventure and is a riot to watch. When his small arms circle your neck and he hugs you, the world balances. We need safety and stability first and then I’ll relax and enjoy life again.
Cori is quiet. There’s no way I would leave her out of this discussion, but I worry it’s too much for her right now. Her hand remains bandaged and there are times I still see the pain in her eyes. That pain is twofold. Half is physical and half mental. At least her death-like complexion improved and her natural beauty is prevalent. She’s joining us regularly for meals, though she’s not really there. The world continues spinning while Cori wraps herself into a tight mental ball and allows little past her defenses. I miss my friend.
I’ve barely been able to stay still since Moon put his foot down about using me as bait. I bitched when we returned to our bedroom and we didn’t make love that night because of my anger. He hasn’t relented. If only I could resist that sexy body of his, I might win one of these arguments. I swear the man just looks at me in a certain way and I forget what I’m mad about. The night after the meeting, he proved that I couldn’t hold onto my anger at his refusal to do the smart thing. He drives me crazy.
“You have a plan?” Melina asks breaking into my thoughts.
My plan is terrifying, but it will work. “This will require all of us and it’s extremely dangerous.”
“I’m in,” Celina says followed by Sofia.
Melina holds out. “If anyone should be at risk as bait, it’s me. He’s my brother. He won’t kill me and there’s always the chance he would kill you instantly.”
“You’re at the same risk,” I insist.
“No, I’m not.” Her face goes red before she speaks again. “My brother has the twisted idea that I belong to him.” She meets my eyes and I read disgust in their depths. “He doesn’t want me in a brotherly way.”
“Gross,” Sofia says.
Melina nods. “Exactly. He won’t kill me.”
“It’s me or I won’t share the plan,” I stubbornly insist.
“Your men will kill you if you carry out any plan no matter who the bait is,” Cori interjects. “I agree it should be Mak, though.” She holds up her hand before anyone can butt in. “I would say it should be me because I have the least to lose. I have no family to speak of and no one to miss me at home. Sofia, you have children.” She lifts her injured hand. “This is a factor and it would hinder me, so it’s not worth the risk. I want that monster dead and Mak is trained to handle herself.” She smiles sheepishly. “I’m taking nothing away from you kickass ladies,” she says with a rather stern smile. “I know you train. I know you can handle yourselves. Mak has more training, though. We’ll only have one shot. I say we listen to the plan and then decide.”
We finally get down to business with a few twists that I don’t agree with, but majority rules and we’re taking things into our own hands because we aren’t delicate china. We’re kickass women with a vendetta.
∞∞∞
Celina gives me one of her glares that she usually reserves for Alex. “Moon and Alex will murder us if we go through with this.”
“Probably. First, though, I need to convince Moon that I want to return to the agency. We’ll take this one step at a time. He can’t keep us locked up behind these walls forever even if he thinks he can.”
We’re still in Celina’s apartment. The women left a few minutes ago and it’s only the two of us.
Celina smiles, settling into the thought of our men wringing our necks. She tried being the voice of reason and it didn’t work, so she’s in. “Someone needs to train Cori if she’s going to take over at EE, and I don’t see how Moon can stop you if you convince him your mind is set.”
She has no idea that I’ve pushed him to the limit and he still won’t agree to using me as bait. Her confidence tips my lips into a determined smile. “You just said our men will murder us.”
“Figuratively speaking.” We both laugh because they would never hurt us. It doesn’t mean we’ll escape our plan unscathed. Moon’s anger will reach new, scary bounds and Alex will flip. I don’t look forward to the aftermath of what we have planned.
I change the subject to Cori. “I had no idea she wanted to be a doctor,” I say thinking about Cori’s earlier revelation to the other women. I didn’t tell her that Moon already spilled the beans to me. She told everyone just before Sofia took off for the clubhouse. I had no clue she was already looking at colleges and asking Moon for further advice. Even though Moon and I are making love at night, the days have held little personal communication because of my stubbornness. I will never rely on anyone to save me again, and sitting in a house, twiddling my thumbs is not an option. Fernandez is going down.
Part of our plan is Cori saying she’ll take over the management of EE. She told us she’s agreed to allow Moon to help with her school bills but she still wants to pay as much of her own way as she can so she thinks he’ll believe her.
“She’ll make a great doctor. She’s too damn smart to waste her life on escorting. I only did it once and it was enough.”
I laugh. “That’s because you fell in love with the man who paid for your time.”
“True.” She laughs with me. “Thank God because I don’t think my reviews would have been glowing from anyone else.” Her smile disappears and her lips thin. “You don’t need to tell me what happened with Fernandez. We’re women and we’ve all guessed. I just need you to know I love you. Killing Fernandez will not take away the pain for you or Cori. I’m only saying this because I don’t want either of you going through the hurt of expecting life to be normal.”
My friends have been patient with me and Celina’s my best friend. And, I can handle talking about this, I assure myself. “Killing him keeps us safe.” I cover my eyes for a moment and take a minute before I go on. When I look up, Celina gives me a soft smile. “It happened. I didn’t deal well the first few days. I’m stronger now. Fernandez's death won’t help me forget because I never will.” With another deep breath I continue, “I shouldn’t care about revenge, but I do. I want him to pay for Cori too. What he took from her is far more than he took from me.”
Celina places her hand on my shoulder. “When this is over, promise me you’ll talk to a professional, Mak. It’s not a sign of weakness. If you don’t deal with this soon, it will haunt you. You and Moon deserve more.”
I smile. She means well, but the last thing I want to do is tell some stranger that I was raped. Maybe with Fernandez’s death, the nightmares will stop. So far, I’ve hidden the recurring dreams from Moon. At least I think I have. He hasn’t said anything. I wake up sweating and my heart pounding and I can’t go back to sleep. I have dark circles beneath my eyes and Moon hasn’t mentioned that either. I’m not sure if his plate is too full right now or he just doesn’t want to deal with what I’m going through. I stop myself from that thought. Moon’s worry comes through loud and clear. Taking the safe route and staying in the house and out of danger is wearing on him. I’m not the only one not sleeping well.
I stand up and head to the door, needing to walk around outside even in this heat. I feel stifled and the pressure of inaction is a huge weight on my shoulders. That same inaction is slowly killing my husband.
“You’re a mess, Madison,” Celina says before my fingers touch the door knob. She follows and points down at my feet. “Did you know you have two different shoes on?”
Damn. I look down and sure enough, two different athletic shoes decorate my feet. Celina leads me back to her couch and I sit down, covering my eyes. “I can’t get what happened to me out of my head. It creeps inside my brain at the worst times, especially when I try to sleep.” I look up. “Going to a shrink is terrifying to me. I don’t want the head games. I just want Fernandez dead.”
Celina takes my hands in hers. “It won’t help your psyche, Mak. You were raped. It happened and you need to deal. Revenge might keep you going right now, but that won’t last. I won’t say anything to Alex, but if you think those two men can’t tell, you’re wrong.”
After my crying jag with Cori and Moon, the tears have disappeared again. I find myself struggling to focus. I also get tired too easily. At least I’m sure I’m not pregnant. I’ve had a birth control implant in for two years now. I’m so glad I chose the implant over the pill. There’s no chance that monster’s seed can take root. Just the thought terrifies me.
Celina needs me to agree with her, so I do. “Thank you. I promise I’ll seek help after Fernandez is dead.” I hate lying to her, but I will never do the head games. It’s a cop thing.