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CHAPTER 267
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Hotter Than Hell CHAPTER 268
MadisonSlowly, as I’m able to breathe again, absolute clarity enters my consciousness. I’ve been stupid since the moment I walked outside and stepped into Fernandez’s vehicle. My one thought has been that Moon will come for me. He’ll save me. He’ll kill Fernandez. The old me, the one before Moon dominated my life, would never think this way. Cori and I can’t wait for my husband. To do that will get us killed. I need to kill Fernandez with my own two hands and feel the life drain from his body. As soon as this conclusion settles in my brain, a sense of calm rolls through me. I calmly stand and walk toward Fernandez, who’s at the end of Cori’s bed with his fat hanging jowls, dead animal eyes, and absent soul. He’s ready to strike me and pulls his fist back. I rest my hand on the top of the cart already covered in Cori’s dried blood. I look into his eyes, swearing to myself that he will not win. Even if Cori and I die, Moon will eventually find him. Fernandez is a dead man walking and h
Hotter Than Hell CHAPTER 269
MadisonHair moving off my face startles me awake. I pull the punch I intended to give when Cori’s sweat-soaked brow comes into view. Her sloppily wrapped hand rests on the bed beside me and she’s using her uninjured hand to move my hair aside.“We need to wrap your hand,” I say in a throaty voice I don’t recognize as my own. The throb in my head is almost debilitating. Every part of me hurts.“No, Mak, you need to let me go and worry about you.” She rests the palm of her good hand on my cheek. “He’s taken everything, and I’ll never work again. I don’t want to live this way and there’s nothing more he can do to me that will make it better or worse.”Her gloomy conviction scares me and I cover the hand on my cheek, feeling the dreaded warmth of her skin. She’s running a temperature. “Don’t let that monster win,” I tell her. “He’ll eventually start cutting me up too, but we’ll both survive. I won’t give up and I refuse to let you give up.”Tears slide down her face. She jerks her hand o
Hotter Than Hell CHAPTER 270
MoonThe escort service Cartwright runs is in the older Encanto area of Phoenix known for its lower rent, shady dealings, and dead bodies. The location goes hand-in-hand with his workforce of women. They would probably do better standing on a street corner. He provides services for a less discerning clientele than what Elegant Escorts has. If you want to get laid cheaply by women with drug habits and missing teeth, Cartwright is your man.The office is in a strip plaza off the main road. The four of us enter with Alex in the lead, me next, then Dax with Duke last. I’ve figured out what was bugging me about Duke. His eyes and ears take in everything. He’s smart and alert, but his unusual quietness gives off a strange vibe. But with his size and dislike of men who hurt women, I’m glad he’s on our side.The older dark-haired woman at the front desk looks up and quickly hits a button on her desk phone. “Moon, Gomez, and friends are here to see you and I don’t think it’s a pleasure call,”
Hotter Than Hell CHAPTER 271
MadisonWe received one meal yesterday, so I know I’ll only have one shot at this today. For the first time, I’m thankful it’s Cori’s fingers Fernandez cut off. I need all of mine for the coming fight. We’ll both need our feet and it will be hard enough without shoes. I have no idea where we are, which means there’s a chance we’ll be running for miles. I can do it if Cori can. Hell, I’ll pick her up and carry her if she can’t.I haven’t told her my plan yet because I want her to sleep as much as possible so she has enough strength for what I have planned. Right now, she’s sleeping like the dead. When I touch her flushed cheeks, she’s hot. Too hot. I wet a sheet strip and lay it on her forehead. She doesn’t stir and her breathing is ragged. She’ll die if I can’t get us out of here.The section of metal shelving I removed is bent into a point on the sides and it’s flat enough that I can sit on it, hopefully without notice.The waiting begins. It’s several hours before the driver, who Fe
Hotter Than Hell CHAPTER 272
MoonThe 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
Hotter Than Hell CHAPTER 273
MadisonI’m numb.Moon leaves the room, and Carlo enters while Two Dogs whines at the door. The whining stops and I’m sure Moon pulled him away. I’m in my bathrobe with nothing on beneath. I should care but I don’t. All I want is to lie back on the bed and sleep for the next twenty years.Carlo moves quietly around me, setting out his instruments. We’ve been here before even if the circumstances were very different. He’s not invading my space. Yet.“It’s good to know you’re in better shape than your friend,” he finally says.I don’t bother looking at him. I have several external bruises, possible bruised ribs, and a knot on my head. I’ll live, and those injuries are unimportant right now. I’ve survived worse and Carlo was there to fix me then too. There’s no fixing what’s really wrong. It was better when all I could think about was getting me and Cori free. It gave me purpose. Now I only have a dark hole of nothingness.Fernandez violated my body and he didn’t use a condom. He could b
Hotter Than Hell CHAPTER 274
MoonCori’s been provided a room on the third floor so she can recuperate here. Carlo thinks it will take some time. After Cori’s fingers were delivered, we placed them on ice but there was too much tissue damage during the original transport to my house and they can’t be reattached. I’d send Cori to the best plastic surgeons in the United States if they could save her fingers.My cell buzzes and I answer quickly.“Boss?”It’s Cal. “Yes?”“They got away. Neither man was at the house. We’ve searched it from top to bottom looking for clues but have nothing. Where do you want us next?”My hand grips the phone tighter and I’m lucky it doesn’t crumble beneath the strain. “Burn the place down so Madison and Cori’s DNA and fingerprints aren’t found if the police show up then come back to the house and we’ll make a plan.”“What about the body?”Madison never told me who the blood belonged to. “What shape is the body in?” I want to know how she killed him.“His throat’s been cut and his groin
Hotter Than Hell CHAPTER 275
MadisonThe warm arm across my back wakes me. For a solid minute, I’m in my old world where I’m loved and cared for. When I move, my abs flex. The ache in my stomach brings everything crashing back. Cori and I were raped. Cori is missing two fingers and it’s all because of me.“Madison,” Moon whispers against my shoulder.I wish I could pretend to be asleep, but it’s too late for that. He brushes hair off my back and places his hand there. I don’t want to roll over. I don’t want him looking at me. Where are my tears? Where is my anger? Nothingness slams through me, swirling around like a funnel cloud in a dust storm.Moon rolls me over and then his face blocks my view of the ceiling. “Talk to me, baby, just talk.”“No,” my croaky voice rasps out.He cups my jaw, his thumb rubbing my neck. “I love you.”I close my eyes. I need to say the words back to him; I know I do but they won’t come. He deserves the words. He deserves a woman who is whole. His arms circle me and I’m lifted onto hi
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