MadisonWe park a half mile from the home. Melina and I run up the street, carrying the post driver between us because it’s so damn heavy, and check out the property. Like the house he kept me and Cori in, this one is away from other homes and on a nice sized piece of property. The desert foliage on the north side of the area gives us a good vantage point to see the back door. I call Celina.“Send Cori north to our location. The front door is on the south side of the house and you’ll have about twenty-five yards from the truck to the door. Sofia will be your driver and leave as soon as you’re inside. She’ll park and meet us. We’ll come through the back five minutes after you enter.” We covered all of this in the car, but it helps me to go over the plan out loud again. “Give Cori ten minutes to get in place before Sofia drops you off.”“Cori just took off. We’re set,” Celina says before ending the call.After Cori meets us, we stay low and wait for Sofia to text me that Celina is in th
MadisonShe steps forward and Fernandez spins and tries throwing a punch at my head but misses. He moves quickly even with a bullet through the foot and gets between Cori and Sofia’s rifle. Melina takes the opportunity to bring her gun down on the back of his head. He stumbles and I kick the tibial pressure point in his good leg. He drops and I kick Celina’s gun away from him. She grabs it and aims it at him as he wiggles around like a flopping fish. I hand Melina my gun and slam down into his back with my cuffs primed. I practically pull his arms from their sockets in order to secure his hands behind his back while he’s stunned.“Help me get him up on the kitchen island and I’ll cut off his fucking clothes.” We drag him back to the kitchen minus Celina who stays at her post, which is the front door. He struggles but it’s not enough for four women on a mission.The sick feeling in my stomach stays and I turn slightly and rub tears from my eyes. Not a minute has gone by that I haven’t
MoonPart of my heart-stopping fury recedes when I pull Madison back into my arms. Her entire body is shaking and she’s still clutching the knife I handed her. Alex takes it from her hand after I scoop her into my arms and cradle her against my chest. I breathe in the scent of her hair and try to gain more control.This woman is everything. She’s the reason I wake up in the morning. Everything I hold dear is wrapped up in her. Cori meets my eyes and she tips her head in acknowledgement. When she turns away, Duke is standing behind her. He pulls her into his arms and walks her toward the front room. He stops when Goose is dragged closer by one of Dax’s men and places himself between Cori and Duke. Duke casually pulls his gun and fires, striking him between the eyes. Goose blankly stares at the ceiling by the time the sound of the gunshot fades from the room. Cori spits on Goose’s body before Duke leads her forward. Alex gives orders to clean up the bloody mess.“Please take me home,” M
MadisonWith revenge motivating me, dealing with what happened was easier. The need for blood became a driving force that allowed me to put my thoughts and feelings on hold. Now my feelings, doubt, and shame overshadow everything. My mind is a dark hole with a smoky mist that Moon stands in to beckon me out. His hand is there. I can almost touch it, but my fingers slide away, a millimeter short, and the darkness covers me once more.Sleep is the worst. Nightmares make me toss and turn throughout the night. Most center around blood on my hands. They drip the red, congealed mess onto everything I touch and when I open my eyes it’s still there. Or so the dream goes.I find it strange that I don’t dream about what Fernandez did to me. It’s his laughter, though, that wakes me night after night. Moon is always there to comfort me during those horrible hours. He pulls me close to his body when I give the slightest gasp. I breathe in his scent and fill my lungs with his strength. Until I fall
MadisonIt’s three more days before our guest arrives. I’m actually tongue-tide when Moon introduces me to Father Andrews. He’s American but lives in Mexico and drove all this way to return a favor he owed my husband. He’s younger than a priest has a right to be and he’s too damn good looking for his job. I place him in his early thirties. It’s strange because he looks oddly familiar even though I’m sure I’ve never met him.The three of us walk into the living room where Mrs. Loche put out cucumber sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies. Father Andrews’s eyes light up. “I haven’t eaten since breakfast and these look delicious,” he says while filling a plate.Moon doesn’t sit with us. “Mr. Loche and I are working on a new garden and clearing some land. I’ll be next door if you need me.” He leans down and places his lips on mine for a short kiss. It actually embarrasses me because Father Andrews is watching. Moon taps me under the chin in understanding because of the heat traveling up my
Moon I stayed with Mr. Loche for two hours. When I came back to the cabin, Father Andrews and Madison were cooking dinner together in the kitchen. She was laughing and he was telling her that anyone can learn to cook, it just takes practice. I don’t add my two cents that the meal Mrs. Loche prepared would have been safer. I word it a little more carefully, “Please don’t encourage her. Gabriella will throw a fit if Madison moves in on her territory.” They stop what they’re doing and I receive my first genuine smile from Madison that I’ve seen in weeks. “It’s a simple lasagna. Mak can make it when you’re here at the cabin. Even I wouldn’t do anything to piss off Gabriella.” He cringes with great exaggeration and Madison laughs. She looks at him with a huge smile. “You didn’t tell me you know Gabriella.” “I know her daughter. I’ve heard all the stories from her and I’m terrified of her mother.” I walk to my wife and wrap my arms around her from behind. She leans into me and places he
CoriTwo weeks with no sex, no communication with the outside world, and no voice except the one in my head, put me in a bitchy mood. Since yesterday, when the fog in my brain cleared, I’d been climbing the walls. Unfortunately, I hadn’t ventured out of the room. I wasn’t feeling brave enough, but that was yesterday.Today, my sex organs were revolting and I had a different outlook.I still felt unloved and ugly. Combined with the pathetic pity party I’d been throwing for myself, it summed up the past fourteen days. I glanced down at the missing fingers on my hand. The twisted flesh looked better than it had but it was still hideous with red swollen skin where the fingers were sliced off.The only thing that brought me out of my post rape funk was having someone to kill. That was handled now and pity was once more my best friend.I glanced at the door to the bedroom, the one Duke never entered. He brought me here, gave me his room, and vacated to sleep elsewhere. He left me alone exce
CoriThe bike rested beside the large black truck we’d arrived in. It had huge tires and a step to get into the cab. Much of that first night was bleary but I remember being on his bike and then his truck with the bike towed behind.As if sensing me, Duke turned.I’d heard him rattling pots and pans in the kitchen, his knock on the outside of the bedroom door, but the truth was, I hadn’t laid eyes on Duke in two weeks.Sweat trailed down his chest, mingling with a streak of grease that traveled over one of his tattoos. Admiring his back was one thing, having his chest up front and center another. The men who paid me for sex were usually old and unhealthy, requiring a blue pill to get their money’s worth. Duke was not a man who paid.Top it off with the menace he carried in his eyes. They said don’t fuck with me and I couldn’t believe many people did.Right now, his baby-blues sizzled as they traveled slowly up and down my body. I had the equipment men loved and had no problem with him