Inferno (A Hotter Than Hell Novel Book 7) Read online

  Madison turns her question to Alex. “Fernandez is behind the hit?”

  “He’s front and center. I haven’t discovered what he’s offering, but I can make a guess.”

  “Our territory?” Madison asks. I don’t miss the use of “our” and neither does Alex.

  He raises his brows and glances to me. “Our territory,” I repeat.

  He nods. Madison claiming the territory changes the dynamics of our organization and Alex is on board. Madison will be part of decisions from here on. I knew Alex wouldn’t have a problem. He respects her and would die for her. A man who has a problem taking orders from a woman is a pussy and Alex is anything but.

  Austin speaks for the first time since the meeting began. He stayed out of our small talk because it isn’t his way. “Fernandez’s long game is taking Melina back after killing me. He’s insane. Melina is wrapped up in his crazy mind and he thinks she belongs to him.”

  “We need bait,” Madison responds.

  “It won’t be Melina,” Austin insists.

  Madison turns her gaze to Austin. “It won’t,” she answers. “Fernandez and I have unfinished business.”

  “No,” Alex and I say at the same time. I place my hand on her arm.

  She’s having none of it and pulls away to prove it. She crosses her arms and casts a stubborn glare at Alex. “It’s the only way to get this over with quickly. We can’t run this organization while we’re at war with a cartel and Fernandez. The men will die for us, but they have lives and those lives include wives and children. Eventually someone will let their guard down. We know Fernandez is still in Arizona.” Her stubborn gaze travels the room. “We need this brought to a swift resolution and using me as bait will do that.” Madison’s eyes meet mine. “It’s the only way, Moon.”

  She planned this. Using herself as bait didn’t just pop into her head during the meeting. I control my anger and keep my voice level and my eyes on hers. “We’ll find him and it will be without bait. We won’t risk anyone.” And I won’t risk even a slight chance that she lands back in Fernandez’s grasp.

  Anger flashes across her face and her arms remain folded. “People could die. He’ll pick us off one by one and no matter how much you think we will be safe, a time will come that we’re not prepared. You can’t keep everyone on lockdown indefinitely. If we set this up and control the situation, no one will die. With Fernandez out of the picture, we stop the cartel and make them pay.”

  Fernandez turned my stubborn wife into a woman on a mission with death in her eyes. I will always miss the Madison she was before he defiled her. It will take time to grow accustomed to the bloodthirsty woman sitting beside me. Fernandez is one thing, taking on the cartel is entirely another. If we strike them, it needs to be hard and fast and make a statement. They are dangerous men with no conscience.

  “You’re more dangerous,” she says, reading my mind.

  I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. This is not a battle Madison will win and I can live with her anger during the day if she’s in my arms at night. Fernandez will not have another shot at her.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Madison

  It’s been three days since the meeting. Moon has continued the lockdown and he hasn’t left the house. It’s like he thinks if I’m out of his sight, Fernandez will take me again. We can’t run scared from this madman and Moon isn’t behaving like the badass crime boss he is. He’s worried. I see it in the firm set of his jaw and his sleepless nights. My husband is walking a thin line and sooner or later, he’ll break. He isn’t a man who sits on his ass and allows others to handle the dirty work. This is killing him slowly.

  I’ve had enough.

  All the women and I are sitting in Alex and Celina’s apartment under the guise of needing a women’s-only book club meeting. “Moon has no intention of allowing me to lure Fernandez out of hiding and I need your help,” I say. Melina, Sofia, Celina, and Cori nod in assent.

  An armed escort brought Sofia here to the house fifteen minutes ago. I miss the twins, but they’re safer at Dax’s compound. When this is over, I’m taking an entire day and spending it at the clubhouse. My arms need babies and shenanigans. I miss Macey’s pudgy cheeks even if she is the demon child. Jon, her twin brother, has perseverance in the shadow of his sister’s outrageous sense of adventure and is a riot to watch. When his small arms circle your neck and he hugs you, the world balances. We need safety and stability first and then I’ll relax and enjoy life again.

  Cori is quiet. There’s no way I would leave her out of this discussion, but I worry it’s too much for her right now. Her hand remains bandaged and there are times I still see the pain in her eyes. That pain is twofold. Half is physical and half mental. At least her death-like complexion improved and her natural beauty is prevalent. She’s joining us regularly for meals, though she’s not really there. The world continues spinning while Cori wraps herself into a tight mental ball and allows little past her defenses. I miss my friend.

  I’ve barely been able to stay still since Moon put his foot down about using me as bait. I bitched when we returned to our bedroom and we didn’t make love that night because of my anger. He hasn’t relented. If only I could resist that sexy body of his, I might win one of these arguments. I swear the man just looks at me in a certain way and I forget what I’m mad about. The night after the meeting, he proved that I couldn’t hold onto my anger at his refusal to do the smart thing. He drives me crazy.

  “You have a plan?” Melina asks breaking into my thoughts.

  My plan is terrifying, but it will work. “This will require all of us and it’s extremely dangerous.”

  “I’m in,” Celina says followed by Sofia.

  Melina holds out. “If anyone should be at risk as bait, it’s me. He’s my brother. He won’t kill me and there’s always the chance he would kill you instantly.”

  “You’re at the same risk,” I insist.

  “No, I’m not.” Her face goes red before she speaks again. “My brother has the twisted idea that I belong to him.” She meets my eyes and I read disgust in their depths. “He doesn’t want me in a brotherly way.”

  “Gross,” Sofia says.

  Melina nods. “Exactly. He won’t kill me.”

  “It’s me or I won’t share the plan,” I stubbornly insist.

  “Your men will kill you if you carry out any plan no matter who the bait is,” Cori interjects. “I agree it should be Mak, though.” She holds up her hand before anyone can butt in. “I would say it should be me because I have the least to lose. I have no family to speak of and no one to miss me at home. Sofia, you have children.” She lifts her injured hand. “This is a factor and it would hinder me, so it’s not worth the risk. I want that monster dead and Mak is trained to handle herself.” She smiles sheepishly. “I’m taking nothing away from you kickass ladies,” she says with a rather stern smile. “I know you train. I know you can handle yourselves. Mak has more training, though. We’ll only have one shot. I say we listen to the plan and then decide.”

  We finally get down to business with a few twists that I don’t agree with, but majority rules and we’re taking things into our own hands because we aren’t delicate china. We’re kickass women with a vendetta.

  ∞∞∞

  Celina gives me one of her glares that she usually reserves for Alex. “Moon and Alex will murder us if we go through with this.”

  “Probably. First, though, I need to convince Moon that I want to return to the agency. We’ll take this one step at a time. He can’t keep us locked up behind these walls forever even if he thinks he can.”

  We’re still in Celina’s apartment. The women left a few minutes ago and it’s only the two of us.

  Celina smiles, settling into the thought of our men wringing our necks. She tried being the voice of reason and it didn’t work, so she’s in. “Someone needs to train Cori if she’s going to take over at EE, and I don’t see how Moon can stop you if you convince him your mind is set
.”

  She has no idea that I’ve pushed him to the limit and he still won’t agree to using me as bait. Her confidence tips my lips into a determined smile. “You just said our men will murder us.”

  “Figuratively speaking.” We both laugh because they would never hurt us. It doesn’t mean we’ll escape our plan unscathed. Moon’s anger will reach new, scary bounds and Alex will flip. I don’t look forward to the aftermath of what we have planned.

  I change the subject to Cori. “I had no idea she wanted to be a doctor,” I say thinking about Cori’s earlier revelation to the other women. I didn’t tell her that Moon already spilled the beans to me. She told everyone just before Sofia took off for the clubhouse. I had no clue she was already looking at colleges and asking Moon for further advice. Even though Moon and I are making love at night, the days have held little personal communication because of my stubbornness. I will never rely on anyone to save me again, and sitting in a house, twiddling my thumbs is not an option. Fernandez is going down.

  Part of our plan is Cori saying she’ll take over the management of EE. She told us she’s agreed to allow Moon to help with her school bills but she still wants to pay as much of her own way as she can so she thinks he’ll believe her.

  “She’ll make a great doctor. She’s too damn smart to waste her life on escorting. I only did it once and it was enough.”

  I laugh. “That’s because you fell in love with the man who paid for your time.”

  “True.” She laughs with me. “Thank God because I don’t think my reviews would have been glowing from anyone else.” Her smile disappears and her lips thin. “You don’t need to tell me what happened with Fernandez. We’re women and we’ve all guessed. I just need you to know I love you. Killing Fernandez will not take away the pain for you or Cori. I’m only saying this because I don’t want either of you going through the hurt of expecting life to be normal.”

  My friends have been patient with me and Celina’s my best friend. And, I can handle talking about this, I assure myself. “Killing him keeps us safe.” I cover my eyes for a moment and take a minute before I go on. When I look up, Celina gives me a soft smile. “It happened. I didn’t deal well the first few days. I’m stronger now. Fernandez's death won’t help me forget because I never will.” With another deep breath I continue, “I shouldn’t care about revenge, but I do. I want him to pay for Cori too. What he took from her is far more than he took from me.”

  Celina places her hand on my shoulder. “When this is over, promise me you’ll talk to a professional, Mak. It’s not a sign of weakness. If you don’t deal with this soon, it will haunt you. You and Moon deserve more.”

  I smile. She means well, but the last thing I want to do is tell some stranger that I was raped. Maybe with Fernandez’s death, the nightmares will stop. So far, I’ve hidden the recurring dreams from Moon. At least I think I have. He hasn’t said anything. I wake up sweating and my heart pounding and I can’t go back to sleep. I have dark circles beneath my eyes and Moon hasn’t mentioned that either. I’m not sure if his plate is too full right now or he just doesn’t want to deal with what I’m going through. I stop myself from that thought. Moon’s worry comes through loud and clear. Taking the safe route and staying in the house and out of danger is wearing on him. I’m not the only one not sleeping well.

  I stand up and head to the door, needing to walk around outside even in this heat. I feel stifled and the pressure of inaction is a huge weight on my shoulders. That same inaction is slowly killing my husband.

  “You’re a mess, Madison,” Celina says before my fingers touch the door knob. She follows and points down at my feet. “Did you know you have two different shoes on?”

  Damn. I look down and sure enough, two different athletic shoes decorate my feet. Celina leads me back to her couch and I sit down, covering my eyes. “I can’t get what happened to me out of my head. It creeps inside my brain at the worst times, especially when I try to sleep.” I look up. “Going to a shrink is terrifying to me. I don’t want the head games. I just want Fernandez dead.”

  Celina takes my hands in hers. “It won’t help your psyche, Mak. You were raped. It happened and you need to deal. Revenge might keep you going right now, but that won’t last. I won’t say anything to Alex, but if you think those two men can’t tell, you’re wrong.”

  After my crying jag with Cori and Moon, the tears have disappeared again. I find myself struggling to focus. I also get tired too easily. At least I’m sure I’m not pregnant. I’ve had a birth control implant in for two years now. I’m so glad I chose the implant over the pill. There’s no chance that monster’s seed can take root. Just the thought terrifies me.

  Celina needs me to agree with her, so I do. “Thank you. I promise I’ll seek help after Fernandez is dead.” I hate lying to her, but I will never do the head games. It’s a cop thing.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Fernandez

  My fist hits the table and the cheap piece of junk falls apart. Moon has his compound locked down tight and the Frontera Cartel is breathing down my neck to deliver myself on a silver platter. It won’t happen. The only positive is that neither Moon nor the cartel have any idea where I am.

  Goose is smarter than I gave him credit for and is making himself scarce because of my mood. The need to kill someone is eating at me and even though I need him, when the rage hits and I can’t relieve it with cunt, he’s in danger. My sister will pay for the desperate straits she’s put me in. From losing my men and home, to her fucking another man, she will suffer for the rest of her life.

  I look up at the ceiling and run through the plan I laid out for Goose. A slow, satisfying smile spreads over my face as I picture Moon and his bitch’s death. Goose might not come out of this alive. Fucking too bad. It’s one less person I’ll need to kill if the plan works and I no longer need him. What I do need is Melina out of that house.

  With satisfaction coursing through my veins, I sit back and stare at my new addition. She’s a bobcat in all her dead glory. Her eyes follow me like the good little pussy she is. The taxidermist did an outstanding job on her eyes. I paid a mint for them and they were worth it. She was delivered yesterday. Soon, I’ll replace my lost treasures and fill Austin’s home with them as payback. I will run his territory the way it should be run. My men will live in fear as they should. They’ll follow me because I’ll be their king and rule with blood and death.

  Life is looking up.

  Chapter Thirty

  Moon

  She's driving me mad. “Madison, you don’t need to go back to EE to train Cori,” I say with more anger than I should. She won’t stop complaining about staying in the house even though safety should be the most important thought in her head. It’s taxing on all of us, but we’re safe. My men are doing everything they can and anyone with a family has sent them away until Fernandez is dead and the cartel is no longer a threat. Most of my day is spent in the control room or conference room organizing the men and making sure they have the latest information. It’s fucking bullshit, but Alex and I agree we need to be with the women.

  When I look at my wife, I see her fatigue. Worry eats at me. She isn’t sleeping, and she may not know it, but I’m fully aware that night terrors are keeping her awake. I’ve tried to give her space to sort out her head and now I regret it.

  Her eyes plead with me before she even opens her mouth. “I need to feel normal. It’s been over a week and we don’t know if Fernandez is even in Arizona. Melina and Austin need to return to California, they have a life. Austin has a crime syndicate to run if you forgot.” Her attempt at humor doesn’t work.

  “No, I haven’t forgotten. There’s been no sign of Fernandez in California. He’s here, I can feel him. Austin knows it too. His man Andreas is keeping his territory running smoothly. If there are fires to put out, Austin can leave. He’s decided Melina is safer here, so she will stay.”

  Madison refuses to listen. “I’ll have guards. If we traveled to New Me
xico, maybe I wouldn’t feel this stir-crazy.” She stands up, walks three feet, and enters my arms, which I spread when I see her intent. “I’m sorry I said that. I understand why we aren’t traveling and even agree with you. The agency is different, though. Fernandez got to me because I was stupid. I should have called you immediately when he took Cori. It won’t happen again. She’s nervous about handling the service on her own and she needs me.”

  My wife is lying. This Madison might be damaged mentally, but she will always rush into danger, especially if someone she loves is threatened. Blue cop blood will always run through her veins.

  “Moon,” she says and looks up at me. I see the worry in her expression and the dark circles under her eyes. She’s aged these last weeks. Even so, this sudden push to help Cori at the service pisses me off. I want her at my side every second until Fernandez is dead.

  “I’m going back to work,” she whispers into my chest and I know there’s nothing I can do to stop her. Damn stubborn woman. This will take men away from the house and spread us even thinner. Telling her that might change her mind, but her eyes light up after she’s made her decision and I love seeing that spark again. It’s fucked up that her strong will trumps safety.

  I give her a tight squeeze and then leave her standing there. She won and the worry eating at me makes me a sore loser. I head downstairs and enter the control room. Alex looks up and removes the headphones he’s wearing. “Nothing,” he says.

  We’ve made contact with someone inside the Frontera Cartel and we’ve been waiting for his call. Money has a way of turning people and this guy couldn’t make a deal fast enough when we mentioned what we were willing to pay. I don’t feel like small talk, so I leave Alex and head to the kitchen. Maybe a snack will put me in a better mood.