Page 2 of Resisting Temptation (Men of Honor 3)
When she doesn’t say anything, I glance back down to see her still staring at my chest. “Why are you asking?” I have a fucking feeling I know why.
“Mr. Charles says he’s special and that God speaks to him. He said we must follow God’s orders or we don’t get to go to heaven.”
See, I knew it. A crazy, fucking head case. “He’s full of shit, Mia, okay? The guy is a nut job.” Something I should have known, since Maria is shacked up with him.
“Mom’s making me go to church out there tomorrow morning. Will you come with me?” I blow out a heavy breath and think of a way to let her down gently. Before I can say anything, she speaks again. “Please, Cade. I- I really don’t like him very much.”
Something in her small voice has me tensing. “Mia? Is something wrong? Did that guy say or do something to make you upset?” For his sake he better not have, or I will fuck him up beyond repair.
It takes her a minute to answer. “No. Like I said, I just don’t like him, and Mom is making me go to church there tomorrow by myself, since she has to work. I don’t want to go by myself.”
I think it’s time I have a chat with Maria about having Mia go anywhere with her crazy-ass hook ups. I look down at my sister’s wide, hopeful eyes and let out a resigned breath. “Yeah, Mia, I’ll come.”
And I’m going to have a little talk with fucking crazy about all the shit he’s been spewing to my sister. I’ll also be notifying him that we will never be a part of his messed-up life. Ours is screwed up enough.
“Thanks, Cade. I knew I could count on you.” She throws her tiny arm around my waist and buries her head in my bare chest. Another minute passes before she says, “Do you think I’m a good enough girl to go to heaven when I die?”
The doubt in her voice has my chest pulling tight. Jesus, that guy is going to get a serious beating from me. Turning on my side, I wrap my arm around my sister and pull her in close. “Yeah, Mia, if there’s one thing I’m sure about, if anyone gets to go to heaven, it’s you.”
She snuggles even deeper into me. “I love you, Cade.”
“I love you too, kid. Don’t worry about tomorrow. I’ll be there and everything will be fine.”
She nods against my chest. Her small warmth and the alcohol that I had earlier tonight has my body starting to go lax and sleep tugging at me. Just before I slip into a deep slumber I was sure I heard her whisper, “I’m sorry, Cade.”
*
The next morning I wake up with a dry, nasty taste in my mouth and a serious pounding behind my eyes. Groaning, I begin to turn over but stop when I remember Mia was next to me last night. Opening my eyes, I see the bed empty beside me. I glance at the clock that reads ten am. Shit! Shooting up, panic starts to flood me before I hear movement in the kitchen. I let out a sigh of relief and my heart rate slows to normal again. Maybe Maria isn’t making her go after all.
Heading into the kitchen, I see my mother dressed for work and looking worse than I feel. Clearly she hit something hard last night. If my mother wasn’t a junkie she would be beautiful. I’ve seen pictures of her when she first got together with my father. She was a young, beautiful, Mexican girl with the same innocent, chocolate brown eyes as my sister. But after years of drug abuse and many screwed-up relationships, she looks worn, and much older than her thirty-five years.
“Where’s Mia?”
She ignores my question and dumps the contents of her purse all over the counter until she finds what she’s looking for. Grabbing a bottle, she shakes out some aspirin and throws a bunch into her mouth before taking a drink of water.
“I said: where the fuck is Mia?”
She winces then turns and glares at me. “Stop shouting. Charles picked her up about an hour ago, to take her to church with him back at the compound.”
My earlier panic comes flooding back. “I told her I would go with her. What the hell are you thinking, letting that fucking psycho take her anywhere?”
“Oh, Cade, stop it. She has been alone with him before. She will be fine.” This is the first time I’ve heard of that. “Besides, he didn’t want you to bring her. He doesn’t think you would fit in there.”
“That’s because the guy is a fucking lunatic. Christ! She begged me to go with her, told me that she hated him.”
Please, Cade. I don’t want to be there by myself, I really don’t like him very much… Her words replay back in my head, and my gut clenches when I think about how scared her voice sounded.
Suddenly, I’m plagued with the feeling that something is very wrong. Bolting into my room I throw on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, then quickly grab the sheet of paper that I wrote down the address on, before charging back into the kitchen. I stick my hand out to Maria. “Give me the keys to your car, now!”
“What? No, I have to go to work soon. And watch your tone when you’re talking to me. Charles is right; I should send you to a boot camp. You have no respect for me.”
The darkness I feel sometimes starts to fester inside of me again, mixing in with dread and hysteria. I back her into the counter, and she must notice the shift in me because her eyes widen with fear.
“You don’t want to fuck with me right now, Maria. Give me the keys to your car.” She swallows nervously, but doesn’t make any move to hand them over. I sense my time is running out and my patience snaps. “NOW!” I slam my fist down beside her, making her jump.
