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
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
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
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
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
MoonMy world aligns. We have a long road ahead and my wife will charge that road with her head held high. It’s only one of the reasons I love her so damn much. I’ve never known anyone with her strength of will.I was shocked when Cori entered my office a short time ago and told me to go to my wife. It stunned me when Madison walked out of the bathroom, a cloud of steam following her, and stepped into my arms.Now she’s on the bed naked and it’s almost like the first time we made love three years ago. I’m nervous. Hell, I’m terrified. I don’t want to hurt or scare her. The need in her dark brown eyes reassures me. She wants me to fuck her not make love, but no matter how we do it, the love is in every stroke of my body into hers.“Lift your arms and grip the headboard,” I tell her. The smile disappears from her face and a sensual, come hither expression takes over. “Open your legs,” I add while taking my hard cock in my hand. With the other hand, I slide a pillow over and tell her to
MadisonI die inside, her words a stab directly into my heart. I should have saved her, but she saved herself and killed a man doing it. We made vows the day we were married and I didn’t keep my end of the bargain.She isn’t finished. “Since becoming an adult, I haven’t relied on anyone. I’ve always been strong and determined, but I allowed myself to be caught by that monster.” Her hands clench into fists and I lift them to my mouth and kiss each finger in turn. “After Fernandez took me, I became the little woman who needs a man to save her.” She runs her hand over my thigh, but it does nothing to comfort me. “That woman wasn’t me. I’ve become so entrenched in your world that I’ve lost part of myself.”So many thoughts travel through my mind. Is she leaving me? Would I allow her to?Crazy because the last thing I would ever do is hurt her. The truth is I should have been there. I should have rescued her before Fernandez raped her. She would be safer living anywhere other than in my cr
MadisonIt’s not that my world has suddenly changed to sunshine and roses, but it’s still hard to think of facing the other people in the house. Our home is fifty-five hundred square feet of living space, not counting the garages, and it’s never bothered me that we don’t live alone. This works for our lifestyle. Now it’s different. My friends aren’t dumb and they’ve figured out what happened to me. If they’re not sure, they suspect. My absence these past two days only confirms their fear.My gaze turns to the bed, which Moon has straightened. For a brief moment, I want to climb back in and bury myself in darkness again. I mentally pull myself together. If Cori can leave her room, I can do it too. “I’m ready,” I tell Moon after slipping into jeans, a shirt, and athletic shoes. I would usually wear shorts around the house at this time of year, but if we need to leave quickly to help Alex, I want to be prepared. Putting an uncovered knee to the ground in the heat is never fun so jeans ar