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CHAPTER 271
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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
Hotter Than Hell CHAPTER 276
Fernandez “Stop your fucking whining. He’s dead, get over it. The bitch killed him and all you have left is revenge. I feel the same way about my sister. Both of them will pay along with their men.”We’re in a dump of a motel room in a shithole town called Casa Grande, which is far enough away from Phoenix that Moon won’t look here for a while. I need some time to regroup and I also need a man with Goose. One who can drive because this piece of shit never learned. How you live in the United States without driving is fuck-all ridiculous.“She’ll pay,” he says while clenching his fists and opening them repeatedly.“Yes, she’ll pay, blah, blah, blah and so will the black bitch with her. Your cousin was a dickhead for getting himself killed by a woman to begin with. Learn a lesson from this. Never trust whores. They’re good for a piece of ass and that’s it.”Goose is too stupid to understand I disrespected his dead cousin and only hears what he wants. “We’ll get them both and get your si
Hotter Than Hell CHAPTER 277
Alex GomezTwo bored women are more than Austin and I can handle for another day. Moon won’t allow anyone in to see Madison and our incoming information on Fernandez, which was keeping the women busy, dwindled to nothing. Too much estrogen at loose ends is not a good thing.Dax took Sofia home so she could see their children. At least she’s happy. Melina and Celina—yeah, their names sound funny when spoken together to me too—want to shop at the mall. I could tell by Austin’s expression that it’s not exactly his favorite thing to do either. We decided to man up even if it kills us.Fact—the women will go nowhere without us until the threat from Fernandez ends. I don’t even trust twenty guards watching over them at this point. Celina will stay in the house or within my sight at all times.Window shopping became the women’s answer to the boredom problem. If there’s a dumber waste of time on the planet, I’m unaware of it. The way Celina explained it to me, if you shop to buy, you find not
Hotter Than Hell CHAPTER 278
MadisonHis hands, his voice, his smell, the slick sweat drenching him, and last… the violation of my body. The nightmares come each time I fall asleep. When I’m awake, a dark fog twists inside me, suffocating my thoughts. There’s no room for good memories and I can’t escape the bad.I lie in bed, eyes open so I don’t fall asleep, and try to find the courage to come out of this. I’m strong. I’m a fighter. I should be first in line to hunt down Fernandez. If I had enough energy to leave the bed, I would go back to the service and try to return to normalcy. Without me or Cori, I can’t imagine things are running smoothly. Our newest receptionist has been there since Melina went back to California, but she is in no way equipped to handle a full-on female tantrum, which tends to happen when I’m away. Just the thought of it makes me tired. It’s so much easier to stare at the ceiling and hope for a better tomorrow.Moon allowed Two Dogs into the room earlier. His soft fur and sloppy kisses h
Hotter Than Hell CHAPTER 279
MadisonI crawl out of bed on unsteady legs. I’ve only gotten up to use the bathroom when it was absolutely necessary and I haven’t eaten solid food in days. That needs to change. I turn at the bathroom door and look at Cori. The bed is calling me back, the covers need me underneath them. Her expression, showing once more the horror of what we’ve been through, helps with the determination I need to be strong. I close the bathroom door behind me.The shower is redeeming. I scrub every inch of my body and walk out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around me. Cori is no longer in the room, but my husband is; he’s standing in front of the closed bedroom door.I walk straight into his arms. My wall. My heart. The air I breathe. My source of stability in this fucked up life. He’s all those things and his arms offer what they always do—unconditional love. The tears start up again and I allow them to fall onto his strong shoulders.“I love you,” he whispers into my wet hair.His love
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