by Brook Wilder
Looking for a distraction, he pulled out his cell phone, quickly dialing his friend’s number. After a few rings, Craig answer.
“Yo, what are you doing calling me on your honeymoon?” Craig said, teasing him.
Christian just shook his head.
“I wanted to check in and see how everyone was doing?”
“At the zoo, you mean?” his friend asked.
Christian rolled his eyes. That’s what Craig called his house, and all the rescue animals he was taking care of at the moment. Craig had agreed to house-sit for him and keep an eye on everything while they were gone.
“You know I don’t keep them, man.”
“Well, you’ve got enough animals here for one. Seriously, I should just start charging people admission.”
“Don’t you dare.”
“Don’t worry,” his friend said with a laugh, “Everything is fine here. All of your precious animals are fine too.”
“Did you give Dolly the special food? She’s too young for solid food yet.”
“Yeah, Yeah. I got it Chris. You left me a full-length novel with instructions.” Craig paused for a moment. “Just…enjoy yourself for a few days, okay? Take a break. Believe me, there will always be more injured souls for you to take care of when you get back. Just take care of yourself for a change. And that wife of yours.”
Craig’s voice dropped to a hoarse chuckle and Christian shook his head again before saying a quick goodbye and hanging up.
The conversation had worked to distract him, all the way up until Melody stepped out of the bathroom. He tried not to stare as she fumbled with the same too-small bathroom towels that he’d had problems with.
Christian cleared his throat, turning away as she dressed, but he could still hear every sound she made, and it was all too easy to picture her, sliding the jeans up her curvy frame, the way the fabric would caress her skin, wrapping around her thighs.
“So, what are we going to do?”
Melody’s voice behind him made him jump and he whipped his head around.
“What?”
She gave him a long look.
“Our plan? You know, what we’re going to do to get out of this, start our own lives. Freedom.”
Christian’s gaze dropped to her lips as they formed the last word and he nearly shuddered at the way she caressed it.
“Let’s, uh, let’s get breakfast.”
And get the fuck out of that hotel room where the only thing between them was the thin material of her jeans and his raging hard on.
He didn’t wait for his answer, just turned and headed down the stairs. There was a diner across the street. He didn’t say another word until they were seated, and he had a cup of hot bitter coffee sitting in front of him.
“So, our plan?” Melody finally spoke as the waitress brought out their order.
He got eggs and a side of bacon. Melody had ordered some chocolate banana waffle concoction that had sounded more like dessert than breakfast. And it came with what looked like an entire can of whipped cream piled high on top.
“You have a sweet tooth, don’t you?” Christian asked, watching her dig in with gusto.
He couldn’t tear her eyes away while her eyes closed in pleasure as she spooned another bite into her mouth. The sound she made had his thoughts making a beeline south once more. It was downright sinful.
There was a small dollop of whipped cream on her upper lip and instinctively Christian leaned forward, swiping it away with his thumb. Her eyes flickered up wide and fathomless to his and he was trapped for a minute as hesitation swirled in their dark depths. But there was something else there too. Heat. Burning, all consuming, wild, animalistic heat.
“Right, uh, our plan.”
Christian pulled his hand away, as if he could feel the heat on his flesh, and cleared his throat, trying to get control of his body once more. He’d thought he would be safe with her in public, but it didn’t seem to make a damned bit of difference. He still wanted her so bad that every atom in his body ached for her.
“Yes. What are we going to do?”
Melody’s voice sounded just as shaky as he felt, and he had to draw in a deep breath to keep his hands still instead of reaching across, grabbing her, throwing her over his shoulder and taking them both straight back to the hotel room.
Horror filled him as a thought dawned. Holy hell. How was he going to spend three more nights with her in that damned room without going fucking insane?
Christian pushed the thought away, forcing himself to focus at the problem at hand. And not the one in his pants.
“Well, I have a little bit of money saved up, but not nearly enough to give us a fresh start,” Christian said, wrangling his thoughts back. It was a fight. “I’ll need at least another ten thousand.”
“Ten thousand!” Melody echoed him, looking shocked at the sum.
But he just shrugged.
“Well, figure we’ll have to find a place to rent out of state, at least until I can get a job at a…”
He cut off and Melody leaned forward.
“A job at what?”
“It’s nothing,” he said, looking away, hoping she would let it go. “I know we’ll need more cash, a safety net. I haven’t taken on any jobs with the Devil’s in a couple of years, but I can talk to Hub. A few jobs with them and we’ll have enough.
“Isn’t that…won’t it be dangerous?” Melody asked softly, staring up at him with big, questioning eyes.
He felt himself falling forward for a moment, losing himself in her gaze once more. He drew back with a shake of his head.
“It might be. But not any more dangerous than staying. Actually, that’s a hell of a lot more dangerous.”
Christian’s voice sobered. It was one of his greatest fears. Getting sucked so deep into the gang life that he would never get out again. He wasn’t going to let that happen. Not to him, and sure as hell not to Melody.
“How long do you think it will take?” Melody asked after a moment.
Christian shrugged.
“I’m not sure, to be honest. A couple days? Weeks?”
“I…I can make some money too. I’ll figure out a way. Maybe Bianca can get me a job at the bar.”
Sudden fear stabbed through Christian at her words. It would put her right in the middle of the gang. The bar that Bianca worked catered to the roughest sort of crew members.
“Maybe that won’t be necessary. Maybe we’ll figure out another way.”
Melody nodded, and they both grew quiet, losing themselves in their own thoughts as they ate.
Just as they were about to leave, Christian’s phone rang again.
“Hello?”
“Christian! It’s Bianca!”
Christian sat bolt upright. She sounded panicked, and nothing ever panicked Bianca.
“What is it? Is it Hub?”
“You need to get back here as soon as possible.”
“What’s going on?!”
“Just get your asses back here now! No more questions!”
Christian let the phone drop. It didn’t matter, Bianca had already hung up. Melody was staring at him with a questioning look, and he let out a deep sigh.
“Looks like the honeymoon’s over,” he said as he threw a couple bills on the table and reached for Melody’s hand. “There’s some trouble back at Bianca’s.”
Melody just nodded, closing her finger’s around his, and they hurried back. Hand in hand.
Chapter 17
Melody snuck a sideways glance at Christian and her heart beat rapidly in her chest. His expression was serious and somber, more tense than she’d ever seen. His hands were grasping the steering wheel of the truck so hard that his knuckles were white on the worn leather.
She found herself shrinking in on herself, trying to stay small and unnoticed. An instinct forged over the past year with Enrique, from knowing that, when he was in a rage, anything could set him off and he would strike out at the nearest target. It had usually been h
er.
But even though Christian seemed angry, or at the very least worried, he hadn’t struck out at her. He hadn’t yelled or shouted. He hadn’t snarled names at her. He’d just held her hand as they’d gathered their things, took a cab back to his place where he’d asked her to wait while he ran in and grabbed the keys to his truck before emerging a moment later.
They’d gotten into his car and driven off, Christian still tense. But, as Melody sat there, she marveled as she discovered something. She wasn’t afraid. She was trapped in a car with an angry man, and she wasn’t afraid of him.
She shook her head at herself, fighting her impulse to cower and, instead, straightening up in the passenger seat of the truck. She even worked up the courage to ask the question that had been weighing on her mind since they had rushed out of the diner.
“What happened, Christian?”
Christian didn’t answer at first, glancing at her from the corner of his bright blue eyes, and she could see the worried light gleaming inside them.
“I’m not sure,” he finally sighed, shaking his head. “She wouldn’t tell me over the phone. But it sounded…bad.”
“Bad?”
“She sounded scared, Mel. Nothing scares Bianca.”
Melody fell silent. She was just as worried as Christian; her situation was more than precarious at the moment and Bianca had been one of the few people to stand up for her. But another part of her thrilled at his words. Well, one of his words. Mel. His nickname for her.
No one had ever given her a nickname before, but it sounded so natural when he said it. Like they had known each other forever instead of barely a week. Like they were part of something secret and special together.
Memories of the diner replayed in her mind. The way he had watched her. The feel of his thumb scraping whipped cream off her lip. A part of her had been nervous about the next three days spent with Christian, alone, in such close quarters.
Melody was surprised to find that another part of her was sad that they wouldn’t get the chance to see what might have happened between them. She shuddered but pushed the regret away.
You’re being ridiculous, Melody, she chastised herself, telling herself firmly, in no uncertain terms, that she was being a hundred types of fool. Why would this man be any different to Enrique? Why would any man?
He was just using her to get what he wanted, to get free of the gang. That was all. There was nothing more between them.
Aren’t you using him, too?
Melody nodded to herself at the thought. That was all that they were doing. They would use each other to get the hell out of this situation. And then they were both going to go their own separate ways. She just had to remember that. It was only temporary. As soon as this was over, she was on her own. She couldn’t wait.
When she’d been homeless on the street, she had been terrified of being alone. She’d been so sure she would never survive it on her own. But she had. She’d gotten herself into a halfway house, had looked for a job, looked for a way out of the life that had threatened to suck her back down.
And then she’d met Enrique. And she hadn’t been on her own for nearly a year. Melody shuddered, thinking about how wrong she’d been about him. About how she’d let him fool her into trusting him.
Not again, Melody told herself fiercely. Never again. She cast another quick glance towards Christian. No matter how nice he seems.
She was still working on rebuilding her walls when they pulled down the hidden driveway that lead to Bianca’s ramshackle old farmhouse.
Melody knew now that the abandoned-looking building hid a cozy home on the inside. The outside was just a lie. Appearances can be deceiving. Melody nodded. She knew that truth all too well.
“What the fuck?”
Christian’s muttered question exploded through the cabin of the truck and Melody flinched before she could help herself. Angry at her own reaction, she forced her chin up and her spine straight once more as she followed Christian out of the car.
She was so tired of being afraid. So tired of cowering. Of flinching away. Melody clung to that anger as she stalked after him towards the house. But instead of going inside, he was walking around to the back, where the wrap-around porch led to the kitchen. He came to an abrupt halt.
She was walking so close behind him that she nearly ran into him when he froze, and she had to hurry to regain her composure, her anger at herself still simmering. It blazed even hotter as her eyes finally landed on what had made Christian stop so suddenly.
Hub was standing in the middle of the porch, his face red with rage that was all directed at the familiar looking blonde woman he was pointing a gun at. It took a moment for Melody to make sense of what she was seeing and, when she did, she gasped in shock.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Melody demanded, her temper lending her the strength to confront Hub. “Let go of Amanda right now!”
She took two angry steps forward, but suddenly Bianca was there, standing in her path, the older woman’s arms outstretched to block her.
“Shut up, now hun. Don’t make this any harder,” Bianca hissed under her breath.
But it was too late. Hub turned to Melody, his eyes widening as his face went even redder.
“You know this bitch?” Hub shouted. “Are you the one who led her here? Who gave away the location? She was caught spying for Enrique!”
“What? Is that true?” Christian turned towards Melody with a look of shocked surprise and, Melody was surprised to see, a hint of hurt in his blue eyes.
“No! I mean, yes, I know her. She’s my…I thought she was my friend. I saw her before the wedding, I thought…” Melody trailed off, shaking her head. “I didn’t tell her anything. I swear I didn’t.”
“It’s okay, Mel. I believe you,” Christian whispered softly, and Melody let out a sigh of relief.
“Well, goody for you. I sure as hell don’t.”
Hub scowled from the porch. He still had his gun pointed straight at Amanda, who was down on her knees shooting wide-eyed glances from Hub to Melody.
“Please, Melody. You know me,” Amanda suddenly pleaded. “Tell him to put the gun down. I just, uh, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
More than anything else in the world, Melody wanted to believe her, but something nagged at her.
“How did you find out about this place, Amanda? You knew I wasn’t going to be here. I told you were going away for a few days after the wedding.”
“I thought, maybe…um, I just wanted to…”
Amanda trailed off, swallowing hard as Hub pressed the gun hard against her temple.
“Please, Amanda. You’re my best friend. Let me help you out. Just tell me the truth,” Melody pleaded with her, hating to see the fear flash across her face.
But then something else flashed in Amanda’s eyes and the fear was replaced by a twisted sneer.
“You’re best friend?” Amanda spit the words, “Family first, Melody. Always. Enrique’s my cousin and he always will be. You’re just his little pet. You think he loved you? Every time he beat you up, I would patch you back up for him. And you would go crawling back every single time.”
“Shut up!” Christian shouted, stepping between them as if trying to block Melody from the hurtful words.
But it didn’t dull the hit at all. They had reached their target.
“It doesn’t matter,” Hub growled, shoving the gun at Amanda. But he directed his words at Melody. “You lost all connections to anyone else the minute you married into the Devil’s Martyrs. Friends, enemies. Everyone.”
The click of the hammer being drawn punctuated his words as he lifted his pistol, pointing it at Amanda’s forehead.
“Wait, dad,” Christian said suddenly, taking a step forward. “Don’t shoot.”
Melody marveled at him. He was standing up for Amanda, even though she could still hear the anger and disgust in his voice, could see it in the stiff way he held himself.
But hi
s words fired like bullets when he spoke again.
“Send her back to Enrique with a message.”
Hub paused, looking over at his son.
“A body bag is a pretty clear message, Christian.”
“It won’t matter to him. Let her leave, alive.”
