Page 6 of Madison
“Not at all. Can I help?” I can tell most of the guys fight the urge to laugh at her response but fuck if I can’t stop thinking we’re wasting fucking time again. She starts to walk back toward the top of the hill. “Leave the trucks here. It ain’t far and none of them are hurt. If you drive there, it’ll alert the others. I figure you’d want to get them out and figure out a plan to take out the ones who did this. I can tell you names and where they all stay after we get your girl.” She pauses and points her thumb in my direction. “I can see this one is about to lose his stuff. I’m guessing you're her man or husband or something, right?” I nod as I continue to follow her.
We all walk for maybe five minutes before we come up to another clearing, where she stops us with her hand gesture. “Let me just make sure they’ve all left the cabin again. They usually only stop in twice a day after I’ve made the food for them.”
I nod at her and say the only words I can at this moment. “Thank you—” Fuck, we didn’t even ask her name.
She gives me a small smile. “Mary, just Mary. I’ll be back in just a minute.” I watch her scurry off to the front of what looks more like a shack than a cabin. We all stand there at the edge of the trees, just waiting. I realize that we’re sitting ducks here if she fucking lied to us. Rustling next to me, I look over and see Pres,along with Juan, Shane, and Asher, all with guns out. Seems I’m not the only one to question if we should trust this girl.
The sound of voices has me looking back to the cabin. I see Mary come out first, followed by two girls who look like they are barely eighteen. The next girl comes out and trips over something but manages to catch herself before she falls on her already bruised and injured face. I hear people talking around me, but the only thing I can focus on is my woman who just walked out of the cabin. I watch as she turns her head and sees all of us. The second she locks eyes on me, my feet start moving on their own. She’s barefoot and running toward me. I eat up the distance as fast as I can till she jumps up, and I catch her in my arms. It’s the first time in hours I’ve been able to breathe.
She nuzzles into my neck and speaks for the first time. “I knew you’d come for me. I knew even though I made you mad earlier that you’d come for me.” I tap her ass and she moves her head to look at me. I have to kiss her this second.
I break the kiss after just a few seconds because the need to tell her is overwhelming. “I don’t care how mad we get at each other, I willalwaysfind you and bring you home. My heart beats with yours. You aremine. I’m yours.”
Her smile soothes my soul. “’K.” She leans in and kisses me quickly once, and then tries to get down out of my arms. “Let’s go home. I know I’m too heavy to stay in your arms. Where are the bikes or did you bring the trucks?” I let out a growl that I couldn’t have stopped if I tried.
She’s looking all around to see who all is here. That’s when I notice the redness on her cheek and what looks like marks on her neck. The fury inside of me is fighting to get out and goget the fuckers who dared to touch my girl. She’s everything beautiful and what’s right in my world. How dare someone put their hands on her. I need to focus just on her right now. Vengeance will come after she’s safe.
“Madison. Look at me. She turns her head back to me with a surprised look on her face.
“You’ve never called me that before.” Before I can say anything, she gives me her shy, slight smile that’s only for me. “I like it. I know everyone calls me Mads, but I like my full name.” How many things like that has she just gone along with over the years to not ruffle feathers?Shit, Mick. Focus.
“I’ll call you whatever you want. Iwillalso carry you whenever I want. First, you’re barefoot, and we’ve got a few-minutes walk through the trees to get back to the trucks, and secondly, you’re never too heavy for me. Every inch of you is perfect in my eyes.” I watch as the blush creeps up her cheeks, and I’ll admit that it’s one of my favorite things to see.
“Let’s get outta here before someone comes along,” Pres calls out and I’m snapped back to reality.
“Hold on to me and we’ll be at the trucks in a couple of minutes, baby.” I head back through the trees toward the trucks, seeing that Jeremiah and Leif have the two young girls in their arms as well. It looks like all of them have no shoes on. Ry goes to pick up the girl who’s from here, I’m guessing, since she’s dressed like Mary. As he’s lifting her, her foot must get caught in her dress. All I see is a tumble, and Ry makes a moan that all us guys know… she got him in his balls. With the way he’s rubbing his eye, maybe his eye too. Max swoops in and picks her upwithout an issue, and Asher and Saxon help Ry to his feet, barely controlling their laughter. I can feel Mads chuckling in my arms.
“In the few hours I’ve known her, she’s already shown she’s a complete klutz. It’s awesome that it was Ry who got to experience that first.” I hug her to me even more as a smile crosses my face.
We all make it back to the trucks in no time and I am walking over to Jameson’s truck to load up, when Pres speaks up again. “Don’t you think Mads needs some time with family on the ride back?” I feel her instantly tense in my arms.
Madison
I must turn instantly in Mick’s arms ’cause I feel him tighten his hold. Looking over at my brothers all standing together next to Pa, the anger and hurt from before comes surging back, compounded now with being kept in the dark by Ma and Pa about where I came from. I can’t help but glare at them. Do they think ’cause I was taken that I’m going to forget what they all said? About how much their words hurt? I know I should still be mad at Mick too, but right now, I feel like I kinda understand where he was coming from. Whereas my siblings couldn’t be bothered to speak to me about their worries, they just didn’t talk to me. I’m not even going to address the level of anger and hurt I’m feeling toward Ma and Pa right now.Focus.They’re all looking at me waiting for an answer.
“I don’t think I do. I think space from you all is what I need, so I don’t say something I can’t take back. I’m gonna get in the truck here and Jameson, being the good friend he is, is going to driveme home. I’m going home, taking a shower, and going to sleep. I’ll let you know when I’m ready to talk to any of you, Ma and Pa included.” I can see Ror about to say something, so I hold up my hand to stop him. “I’ve had a lot to deal with in the last twelve hours or so. My parents decided to hide from me,for my entire life,who my birth parents were. My siblings apparently felt the need to walk on eggshells around me foryearsand not actually talk to me.Iwas kidnapped because I share the same fucking DNA as that psycho Joseph and he had all sorts of plans to marry me off in the next couple of days. So, I’m fucking sorry if I’m not gonna worry about everyone else for once and go home and take care of my fucking self. I’ll let you know when I’m ready to talk. Oh, and by the fucking way, while we’re at it, my name is Madison and not fucking Mads! I don’t mind the nickname once in a while, but it’s another thing y'all forgot to talk to me about.”
I feel like I’m on a roll so I look at Mick, whose arms I’m still in. “You gonna hop in this truck to give me a ride or you going to go with them over there?” Mick doesn’t say a word but opens the back door and sets me down in the middle of the back seat. He hops in, quickly grabbing me back into his arms after buckling us in, still without uttering a word. Smart man.
I can’t believe I was actually able to say all of that without tears streaming down my face. Tears threaten to fall now, but I quickly wipe them away as Jameson, Jeremiah, and Leif get into the truck. I just want to go home.
Pa
I can’t believe my little one just put us all in our place like that. I’d expect that from my girl, Kierstie, but my little one has always been quiet and the peacemaker of the bunch. I watch her sit in the truck. Jameson speaks up before going over to his truck. “Pres, I know you’re gonna wanna argue with her, but—”
I stop him from continuing that sentence and speak before Jon can. “You take my little one home. She’s got some serious hurt and anger she needs to work through, and it ain’t gonna happen up on this hill. You get her home and make sure she gets inside okay.” He nods and heads to his truck, with Jeremiah and Leif following. I turn to head to the truck when I’m faced with all of my boys standing with their mouths open, ready to catch flies.
Juan, of course, is the first one to speak up. “You’re gonna let her go after she just said allthat?”
I nod. “Yep. Like I said a minute ago, my little one has some big hurt she’s got to work through. Now, I don’t know what the fuck you lot told her, but it sounds like you did some damage with whatever words you said.” Juan starts to speak again, but my look has him shutting up. “Y’all are adults. You figure out how to fix that shit, ’cause your Ma and I got enough to work on with my little one.” I move toward the truck and keep talking. “Let’s get going. We got two girls who need to call their families as soon as we have service and another two we need to help get settled. I gotta go let your Ma know what went down. We gotta plan our vengeance as well ’cause this can’t go unanswered. Joseph and his minions are on borrowed time.”
Gods help me, this whole thing ain’t gonna be pretty.
CHAPTER 3
Madison
I just woke up from a nice nap. Shit, it wasn’t a nap, that was a full-on sleep. I look at my alarm clock and see I must’ve slept at least ten hours. Once I got home, I told Mick I needed some time alone to think, shower, and sleep. He only agreed to leave if I let him order me some food. He knew I could never say no to Pho and spring rolls. I know everyone thinks chimichangas and churros are my favorite, and they’re good, but nothing tops my love for Pho. It’s another thing my family never bothered to ask. They just assumed they knew and I just never spoke up. Those days of me just going along with things so I don’t cause waves is over. I’m tired of not being seen or heard. I know a lot of this is my doing. Well, that just means it’s mine to undo then, right?
