Chapter 15
Sometimes, I truly believed that I enjoyed biting off more than I could chew.
Being two hours away from home gave me the false sense of security that venturing out of Rushin Mills for a couple of hours was a bright idea. However, the woman that I just spotted let me know that it, in fact, was not a bright idea. So far, she hadn’t noticed me, but the fear in my heart had cemented my feet in place.
Luck wasn’t on my side because when I got the courage to step back, I crashed into one of the displays, knocking baby things off the shelf.
“Ma’am, are you…” Helen’s eyes about fell out of her head when she recognized me. “Cecilia! Oh my God! Gideon has been worried sick. He said you and the baby had been kidnapped. We haven’t heard anything in months. Are you back home? What are you doing in this part of Maryland?”
Her rushing toward me with her hands out and fake concern snapped me out of my trance.
“Excuse me?”
Helen’s feet stopped short like she smacked into a brick wall.
“I sa?—”
“I’m not done speaking. How dare you approach me like we cool. The moment you saw me, you should have gone in the other direction. You and I aren’t friends and haven’t been in four years, or have you forgotten?” She opened her mouth to speak, but I raised my hand. “I owe you an ass whupping for what you did and let happen to me. If you didn’t want to get involved, you should have been woman enough to say that. Instead, you went behind my back for some cash and didn’t even have the decency to step in when you saw what he had prepared for me.”
Helen had the audacity to look like she was about to cry, like she was learning about my abuse for the first time.
After what she did to me, there could never be any kind of anything for me toward her. She had better be glad I didn’t slap her for even speaking to me. Well, the night was still young, so anything was possible. Part of me had hoped she’d see me and looked the other way.
Now that she hadn’t, I was glad to unleash the last four years’ worth of pain on her.
“Hey! What is all that yelling? You good?”
Arrow came around the corner with Hendrix strapped to his chest, sleeping.
“Who is this? Does Gideon know you’re here with another man and his son like one big happy family?”
Hearing Gideon’s name turned Arrow’s eyes dark and made his body rigid.
“Don’t worry about who the fuck I am. What you should be worried about is all the hostility in your voice toward Cecilia. See, I don’t mess with women, but that big ass rock on your left ring finger lets me know that there is a husband somewhere that I can use to make you see just how serious I am when I say be careful with that one.” He used his thumb to point in my direction.
Helen’s eyes grew the size of saucers as she looked between Arrow and me.
If I was being honest, he had me stuck too. No part of me was ever confused about how Arrow felt about me, but I hadn’t expected him to step in the way he had. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t, but since there had been no more Gideon talk over the last few months, I figured whatever we were doing only existed in Rushin Mills. Clearly, it was delusional on my part. Arrow stepped forward, but I put my hand on his wrist.
I knew he wouldn’t do anything to her, but she was already shaking in her boots.
“Are you gonna let him speak to and threaten me like that?” she had the nerve to ask.
“Helen, I am going to give you the same courtesy that you gave me and turn my back and pretend that I didn’t see or hear anything.”
“You have to understand, I?—”
“I don’t have to understand shit, Helen. You had your reasons, so keep that same energy.”
Arrow chuckled and bounced the baby who had stirred a little.
I didn’t want to have to get out of character, but I wanted to do what I couldn’t four years ago. Helen deserved to be dog-walked all over this store. If it weren’t for me being afraid of pulling a crowd, I would have popped off.
The idea wasn’t completely off the table, but I’d chill… for now.
She must not have liked my response, because she said, “We’ll see how big and bad you are when I tell Gideon where you are and that you’re with another man.”
Arrow chuckled, and Helen’s mouth snapped shut, all the while my blood ran cold.
“How about I do you a favor by giving you my address. That way, we’ll eliminate the guess work for you.” Once again, Helen was stunned silent. “Are you going to write the information down or stand here looking simple?”
“Baby, is that a good idea?”
If looks could kill, I would have dropped right where I stood.
I didn’t mean to question him, but inviting Gideon into the peace we had created had my nerves going haywire. My heart dropped at the possibility that this had been a setup. No… not a setup, because I was the one who suggested the mall. Why would he offer up his address if not to give me back to Gideon?
I had to get me and my baby out of here.
Arrow gripped my face and brought his face to mine, so close that our foreheads touched.
“Chill. I’ve been coming up with strategies to get him on his turf, but her snitching ass bringing him—and possibly my father—to me means shit going down in a place he’ll walk into and never come out of. Gideon is cocky, especially if my father is in his ear. They will believe they have the upper hand, and that’s what we’ll need. You relax and let me take care of us.”
“You’re sitting here trying to blame me for not helping you, but it’s clear you need some correction. You are married, or did you forget?”
Unable to hold back any longer, I backhanded Helen so hard it turned her head.
“You better pray I don’t run into you ever again because I promise you, it’s on sight. No conversation will be needed because you’ll know exactly why you’re researching plastic surgeon offices for face realignment surgery.”
Arrow dragged me away from her and out of the store.
I wanted to show her how messed up she had me, coming at me like she didn’t ruin my life. Granted, Gideon was to blame for a lot, but I didn’t know how Helen slept at night. When we got outside, it seemed to take no time for us to reach the car. Arrow settled me inside and got Hendrix strapped in. Once we got in the car, I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut the radio on.
It wasn’t loud enough to drown out my words but a statement that he wasn’t in the mood to talk.
Two Hours Later
“Did you ever give her the address?” Boss asked after Arrow told him all that went down.
“Nah. Things got physical quick, but she did take a video of me talking to Cecilia, so once ol’ girl shows Gideon… they’ll be on the way. I need to get Cecilia and the baby out of here tonight. I don’t?—”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said, making my presence known.
For the past twenty minutes, I had been eavesdropping.
Arrow made himself clear in the mall, but I still needed to know how to move. I didn’t think I was ready to face Gideon, but I had to think about my son. Gideon had proven that he would use Hendrix against me.
However, no part of me wanted to run.
“Honestly, when it comes to you and that little boy upstairs, I don’t care about what you want to do. It’s my job to project you, and I will do that no matter the attitude you have.”
“But who said that’s your job, though? Gideon is my husband—” Arrow’s head jerked back, and immediately, I regretted my words. “Wait, I didn’t mean…”
He chuckled. “Nah. We cool. What I said is still flying though. By the time your husband and my father get here, you and Hendrix will be tucked away.”
I cringed at Arrow calling Gideon my husband like I hadn’t just done the same thing.
Boss shook his head, but no words left him. My emotions were all over the place, and it was causing me to speak out of turn. From the beginning, Arrow spoke about what would happen to Gideon, but now that the time had come, for some reason, I couldn’t settle my nerves. What I wanted to say was that I deserved to be part of whatever they did.
I had no feelings toward the man I said vows with, but how could I explain that I wanted to bear witness to his final breath?
I turned to Boss and asked, “Can you go check on your namesake for a second, please?” He looked at his little brother instead of me making me feel even worse. Once we were alone, I turned toward Arrow and took small steps toward him. “My words came out wrong, and I hope you know that these last two months have shown me that everything you have to offer, I deserve. I am worthy of it. However, I feel like I can’t truly be free until Gideon is no longer on this side of the dirt. I want to handle him exactly the same way he handled me over the last seven years. You are one hundred percent correct in wanting to protect me and Hendrix. No one has ever done that before. However, he needs to pay me back in blood.”
Arrow shook his head.
“I can’t let you do that.”
“You have to, Arrow.”
Both he and I turned at the sound of Boss’s voice.
The hardness of Arrow’s eyes left me and went toward Boss. He didn’t like the idea of me in harm’s way, and that made me fall in love with him even more. Arrow had seen firsthand the results of what Gideon could do to me, so I understood his hesitancy. When he dropped his head, my stomach lurched because I knew he was about to agree. There weren’t many times that Arrow could say no to me, and I was grateful that this was one of them.
Sighing, Arrow walked into my personal space and gripped my hands.
“We play this shit by my rules. If for one second I feel like you can’t handle what’s going on, then I’m sitting you down. I heard you, and I understand that this is your fight, too, but I need you to hear me. The moment it goes left, you’re out.
I nodded like I wanted my head to take flight.
“Yes. I understand and agree. You won’t have any problems out of me. I promise to be on my best behavior… Well, that’s until it’s time to kick some ass.” I grinned.
Boss chuckled. “If you get yourself hurt or killed, just know his crazy ass isn’t above bringing you back to life to kill you himself.”
I tittered and wrapped my arms around Arrow’s neck.
Although I was afraid about what would happen next, I was glad that I had the Rebels behind me. My words could have ruined the best thing to ever happen to me. Once it was settled that I would be able to get my lick back, we headed toward the clubhouse because Boss had called a meeting.
It felt strange to have an army behind me, but I knew better than to bite the hand that was protecting me.