by M Dauphin
“Hey, babe, what’s up?” I can hear Dax crying in the background and shake my head.
“Eddie, it’s nine… he needs to be in bed.”
“Yea, I know. Um… it’s all good, Red. I got this.” His voice is full of stress and I wish he’d just tell me what the hell is going on.
“I’m on my way home, Tex. I’ll be there soon.” I hang up and toss my phone on the counter. “Fuck.”
“All good?” Cammy comes walking out from the back, making me scream.
“Fuck! Where the hell did you come from?!”
“Forgot my phone. You ok, Gwynn? You’ve been in bitch mode all day today.”
“I’m fine,” I growl. “I just need people to stop fucking asking me that question.”
“Right.”
“I’m going home. Lock up behind you.” I can’t focus here anyway. I know I need to be training and preparing for this fight, but I can’t tonight. I need to get home and figure out what the hell is going on with Eddie.
By the time I make it home it’s almost ten and I walk in to a dark, quiet house.
Nice.
I smile, dropping my keys and shit on the table before heading to the bedroom, expecting to find Eddie waiting for me. I don’t, though. The bed is still made, the lights are all off. What the hell? I walk to the kids’ rooms and smile, seeing both of them fast asleep in their beds.
Well he did it. Now where the hell is he?
Walking down the hall, I see the light coming from under his office door and shake my head. He’s worked some terrible cases in the past, most I can’t even talk to him about, but this one’s done something to him that none of the others have. Usually he’s able to separate work from home life, but this time he’s having a hard time doing that.
I just wish he’d fucking talk to me.
“Eddie?” I whisper, tapping gently on the door.
I hear clicking on the keyboard from inside the room, but there’s no response so I try again.
“Tex?” I don’t want to knock too loudly because I’d rather not wake the kids tonight. My hand goes for the handle and twists, finding it locked.
What the actual fuck.
“Eddie,” I state, louder than before. “Open the fucking door, Eddie.”
Nothing.
Walking back to the foyer, I grab my phone where I left it and text him.
ME: The fuck you doin in there?
After hitting send, I walk back to the office and wait, hands on my hips, ready for a fight. It takes him a minute to read the message (thank you, iPhones), but the minute he does I hear his chair move and the lock on the handle disengage. When the door swings open, he’s white as a fucking ghost.
“What’s going on with you?” I growl; at least I try to while still being quiet in the hallway. He looks at me, then back into his office, then back to me again.
“W—” he starts, then clears his throat. “Work.” His eyes are bloodshot and he’s shoved his hands in his pockets, a sign there’s way more bothering him than work. He’s never closed off to me… not unless he did something wrong.
“Eddie, what the fuck is going on? This… this isn’t work related.” I shove a finger in his chest as I talk to him and he backs against the door, letting it swing open before he can grab it.
“Fuck.” He grapples for the door but it’s too fucking late.
“Tell me… Eddie, tell me why their faces are on your computer screens,” I whisper, panic mode setting in. “Eddie, tell me why the fuck Jase and Mac’s faces are on your computer screen!” I hiss, wanting to scream and hit something.
He stays quiet behind me as I walk over to the computer and click play on one of the screens. I stand there and watch in horror as I see Jase and another man, probably Mac, walking into an old building…. An old building at the other end of town. I whip around and glare at him.
“They’re here, Red.”
“Wait one fucking minute! What the fuck is happening, Eddie?!” I scream, losing my composure. Eddie closes the door and shakes his head, nodding over to the baby monitor on one of his multiple computer screens. We watch Dax twist and turn in his sleep but he doesn’t wake up, thank fuck.
“Eddie, you need to spill. And right now.” My arms cross under my chest and I lean back on the desk as he takes a breath and rubs his buzzed head with his hands.
“Fuck, Red. I didn’t want you to find out. You’ve got too much on your mind to worry about this. We know where they are. Tonight. Tatum’s got guys out to grab them before they cause any more issues.”
“Oh really? Are we sure we’re going to trust Tatum and his ‘men’, Tex? Obviously whatever they were doing to keep tabs on these two didn’t work the first time. How dare you not fill me in on my safety and the safety of our kids! We can’t leave Tatum to fix this!”
“We have to, Red.” His jaw is tight, fists shoved in his pockets as he looks at me with those mother fucking puppy-dog eyes that make him think he can get away with anything. “We have to.”
“No. No you don’t. How long have they been out?” Fuck! Those two were supposed to be out of the mother fucking country, far away from being able to hurt me or my family. They did enough damage years ago, how is it they aren’t done with us?!
I know. Because we threw them in a different country with just the clothes on their body, bloody, broken and bruised. They had no one.
Well, at least to our knowledge.
“Three days now. They made it back into town tonight. I have no clue why they’d be back here. Trust me, they won’t ever be back here again once I get done with them.” He’s glaring at the screen and has switched to super sexy growly mode that usually makes me hot as hell. Tonight, though, it just pisses me off even more. What the fuck have they been doing all these years with these two?! Leave them in a cell and rot, was exactly what I told them to do. Instead, they let these fuckers have more freedom than I ever would have.
Way to leave a fucking man in charge of a job. Fuckers.
“Fuck, Eddie!” I shriek, then curse under my breath when I hear Dax start to whimper.
“Listen, babe. They’re going to be caught tonight; they’ll be away from us again and for good this time. Things are going to be ok.”
“You don’t believe that, do you? You can’t honestly believe this is ever going to be over with those two alive, do you?”
He glares at me for insinuating what I just did. I know his background. I know his thoughts on violence… but this is different. This is self-defense. Those fuckers on that screen will never let us lead a normal life. Ever. We just need to take care of them once and for all.
“You didn’t want them dead last time, Red.”
“I didn’t know they were going to be able to get out back then, Eddie. If we can’t keep them away from us by any other means, six foot under is the only safe option.”
“Shit,” he huffs, running his hands over his head again. “We can’t just kill them, Red.”
I raise my eyebrows at him and chuckle.
“Fuck you, Edward Roe. You’re a fucking pansy if you can’t see what’s about to happen here. Maybe you forgot what happened almost five years ago, but I haven’t. I love you, but fuck you for thinking that we’ll ever be truly safe with those two goons out there.” I plow past him, angry that he’s not more affected by this than he should be. He should be livid and on a murderous rampage. Especially due to the fact that he now has a family to protect and those assholes came back to the one fucking place they aren’t supposed to be!
Fuck him.
“Where the hell are you going?” He follows me out of the office and down the hallway, past our bedroom.
“Basement. And I’m taking my babies with me,” I say, walking into Dax’s room and grabbing him. “You’re not allowed. You’re manning that mother fucking door all night and every other fucking night until you take care of this.”
He looks at me like I’m insane, but I’m not about to put my family at risk for this. Mac and Jase aren�
��t anyone to fuck around with, we know this. I don’t know why he’s being so lax about it. Fuck, he’s let us go on living normally for three days while those psychos were out there!
After Dax is settled in his Rock ‘n Play in the spare bedroom in the basement, I head back up to get Angel. Eddie’s standing in the living room watching me with tired eyes.
“Red, we’re safe here. It’s our home.”
“Right,” I say. “Keep believing that. Have a good night, Tex.”
He curses and kicks the door on the way back to the bedroom.
I’ll murder him if he lets anything happen to my babies.
***
“Hey girl, listen, I have to cancel today, something came up and I’m not going to be able to make it in. Call me if you have any questions on your plan today.” I hit end and sigh, watching Dax sleep soundly in his Rock ‘n Play. I hate canceling on clients, but I’m not about to let these kids leave my side until I know Mac and Jase are in our clutches again.
Then I plan on making a trip to see them, to make sure they never come near us again.
Ever.
I haven’t had a day at home just me and the kids, ever. Most days Eddie’s here, working from home, but today he left before the sun and I have no clue where he went. I worry about him… I love him and I don’t want him to get hurt out there, but I can’t let him think that keeping this from me was ok.
It’s not.
I spend the rest of the morning watching Dax sleep off and on, playing with Angel and working on her flashcards, and adding in a little bit of housework here and there. There’s no texts from Eddie, nothing coming in from anyone at the gym. I called all of my clients today and cancelled on them, and most of them sounded happy for me. I guess I never really do take time off. I flip my phone off, wanting to just ignore the outside world for a while. Being here with my kids is exactly where I need to be right now.
It’s lunchtime before I hear anything from outside the house. Glancing out the window, my heart rate high from fear that it’s not a welcome visitor, I see Tatum getting off his motorcycle in our driveway. He takes off his helmet and I can’t help but feel a pang of attraction to him. I’d never take it any further, but good God, Molly is lucky to be married to that. I mean, Eddie is still ten times sexier than him, but in a totally different way. Where Eddie is buzzed head, inked body and all, Tatum is well-sculpted hair (even from under the helmet, which blows my mind), virgin skin, and a demeanor much more… creepy… than Eddie. He’s hard to read, and as much as I respect the man, I still don’t know what to think about him five years later. I mean, he’s not had a good track record with keeping a good group of men working for him. From the rat he had apparently when he and Molly first got together, to the nonsense happening now, I’m sure he has to dye his hair. There’s no fucking way he’s dark-haired naturally. Fuck, just hearing about the Savage family gives me grey hairs. I couldn’t imagine actually BEING one of them.
“Hey,” I say, opening the door. He smiles at me and I shake my head. “Lay off the charm. What do you want?”
“Wow. Short and to the point.” He chuckles lightly but his body language tells me he’s ready for a fight.
Damn straight. And I could take your ass any day.
I may be mean, but I’m feisty as fuck when you pose a threat to my family.
“Seriously, what do you need? I’m about to put Dax down for a nap.”
“You’re not training today. Eddie said you’d be at the gym, but you’re not there.”
“Eddie doesn’t know everything,” I grumble.
“Right. I see that.” He glances in the house to see the Xbox on. “What’s she playing?”
“Halo right now,” I clip, and then glare at him until he spills why he’s here.
“So I just wanted to come by and apologize. Eddie said you’re taking this a bit rough.”
Grinding my teeth, I hold my retaliation back. He’s a friend, he’s practically family, but he’s also a Savage, and in the state of Texas those are harsher than the law.
“Okay.”
“And I need you to know that Eddie’s been out all day camping out, waiting for them to make the move. He’s determined to make this right.”
“Why aren’t you there?” I narrow my eyes at him. “Too pretty-boy scared to break a nail?”
He laughs and shakes his head.
“They just got them. Eddie’s headed to the location where we’ll be keeping them until my father can get the strings pulled for the next move. I was put in charge of coming by, groveling at your tiny, freak-show feet, and telling you that things are safe and fine and normal.”
I nod, a feeling of relief washing over me and I can finally take a breath again.
“Well then. You can come on in.” I step aside and finally let him in the house. “You have a ton of groveling to do… and I have a ton of housework that needs done.” I plant him in the living room and the minute Angel sees him she flips.
“Uncle Tatum!” she shrieks, barreling towards him and dropping the remote in the process. “Shit!” she screams.
“Language, Angel! We don’t say those words!”
Tatum starts to laugh and all I can do is laugh with him as I walk out of the room to the kitchen. First thing’s first… this fucking trash needs to be taken out. It’s been full for two days now and we’re probably starting to grow our own fucking flies by now. Who would have known something as simple as taking out the trash would become so difficult to do once there are two kids in the house? Not me. But Jesus Christ this smells bad.
I walk by Tatum on the way to the back yard to take the trash out.
“Enjoying groveling yet?” I ask.
“I’ve never had it so easy.” He chuckles when Angel puts a tiara on him and wraps one of her purple and pink feather wraps around his neck.
“Good. After I take this out I’m taking a shower. You’ll be here for a while, better get comfortable.” I leave the room smiling.
The dumpster is out back, behind the garage. The news Tatum has just given me has me in a good mood. SO good, so carefree, that I’m out here and completely unaware of my surroundings.
I should know better.
One minute I’m dropping the trash bag in the bin, the next I’m throwing a punch towards a man in black while my whole world goes black.
Fuck.
Z
“Mother fucking idiots.” I glare at the screen, watching the Savage men take the two morons I brought in a few months ago. Idiots. This is why I don’t trust anyone else to do my jobs. Why I let my father talk me into letting those two jerkoffs help, is beyond me. I guess I thought the old man had some type of brain left in him. He said they have ties to Gwynn and she may be better calmed if there are people here she knows when she comes to. From the looks of it, though, they won’t be here for a few days and I want this over right now.
Fuck them. I can do this on my own.
“Yo, get the car ready,” I say to Byron, the driver for the evening.
“Sir?” He looks at me curiously and I growl.
“Shut the fuck up and get the mother fucking car!” I’m not waiting any more for this. I’ve been waiting too goddamned long already. I’ll figure out those two loons as soon as I have ruined Eddie.
Edward Roe, Eddie, needs to go down. He put me away seven years ago. He put me away and they forgot about me, rotting in that prison cell in Mexico for a crime that I would commit over and over again. Hell, I am now and I’ve been out for less than a year. Women mean nothing to me other than a good fuck. Women aren’t supposed to hold office, they aren’t supposed to own businesses or have any say in the life of a man, let alone their own life. The only use women have is for fucking… that’s fucking it. When I got out and saw the sexy, feisty piece of ass that Mr. Roe decided to hook up with, I knew what I had to do to get to them. She’s disposable, and that alone will rip his heart to shreds.
Roe broke my family apart for so many years. Selling women into slavery i
sn’t something my father’s too proud of, but he does it and he does it well. He also hid it well from my mother for years. We all did. When the Savage crew with Roe at the helm, along with local law enforcement, took us out, it didn’t take my mom long to figure out what the fuck was going on and leave my dad high and dry. As I rotted in a prison in Mexico for aiding in my father’s business, he ended up in high security in an American prison. Up until last year, I hadn’t seen my father since we both went away, I hadn’t heard his voice since that night I visited him in prison. My father gave me very specific instructions and I’m prepared to avenge our family name. He got out of prison last month on good behavior… we’re both ready to fucking roll on this.
You’re going down, Mr. Roe.
Byron brings around the car and waits at the front door while I collect myself and watch the screens. The screens that show me exactly what’s going on in their house. See, Roe thinks he’s smooth and smart and he’s right, he is. What he isn’t, though, is me. Z. Diaz. He’s lost his way; making a family, having a wife that he allows to leave the house and run her own fucking business. A waste of a perfectly good pussy. She’d go for good money. The fact that she’s a fighter will bring me even more money if I market her right.
He got too content, then I came in and wired all of his security camera’s to stream straight back to my home. Simple, really. One tiny black wire extra and he’ll never notice that what he sees… I see. Everything.
She’s been at home all day after a fight with her husband last night. Though I can’t hear what’s going on in there yet, I know what it was about.
Mac and Jase. The minute I saw their faces on his computer screen, I knew this mission was in danger of never being finished. Those two were supposed to stay off the streets. I helped get them back here so they could help me throw off Eddie… but now that they’re captured I have to do this alone until I can get them free again. Something tells me it wont be as easy this time. The Savage men that took them weren’t the gentlest of men. At least I know where to find them when it’s time to break them out. I’m going to need Mac for training and Jase for… well, he’s pretty to look at. Gwynn’s always had a soft spot for pretty people. I see how she looks at Tatum.
