34. Marcus
Marcus
Reacting on instinct, I ripped open the door to the cell the moment I heard the ear-splitting sounds of a gun going off, praying to god that it wasn’t Adrian who pulled the fucking trigger.
“What the fuck!”
Dean followed on my heels as we both entered the cell and found Madison standing over Adrian’s lifeless body, a handgun dangling at her side.
“Ever have one of those moments where someone just continues to ramble on and on, and won’t shut up, even for a second, to the point that you’d rather put a bullet in your head than listen to them talk anymore?
” Madison’s voice was hollow as she focused on the blood that spilled down the side of Adrian’s forehead.
She had nailed him with a single bullet right between the eyes, a perfect shot .
I calmly stepped up behind her and lightly glided my hand down her arm to where she held the gun firmly in her hand.
“I’ve got you, Mads," I murmured beside her ear, biding my time to avoid her snapping altogether.
She loosened her grip without prying or force, allowing me to remove the weapon and seamlessly pass it off to Dean.
“Pretty words and white lies…” Madison mumbled almost to the point that I didn’t think I heard her correctly.
“Kitten.” I snaked my hand around her waist, pulling her back into me. “What happened?” Aside from the fucking bullet hole in Adrian’s head…
Dean and I couldn’t hear anything in the primary cell block. Leaving us oblivious to whatever had been exchanged between the two of them.
If they were arguing or fighting, we didn’t hear a word.
“Love is real. Isn’t it?” She rushed out, her head snapping to the side, her tear-filled eyes connecting with mine.
I frowned at her in response, wondering why either of them would have brought up the topic of love. I mean, I knew at one point they loved each other— but real? Why was she asking if love was real?
My attention was split between Madison and Adrian, trying to figure out the missing pieces to the puzzle.
“Of course, love is real, darling,” Dean jumped in at my silence, raising a hand to caress her cheek as I held her close, as if afraid that she would lose her mind if I let her go. “Why would you even consider otherwise? ”
The two of us were just as confused as the other by her desolate question.
What the fuck did Adrian say to her?
“Can we just go home?” Madison’s eyes flicked between ours, pleading with every blink as tears built within them. “I promise I’ll tell you everything, but not right this second. I need to get out of here. I need air.”
I released her waist, pulling my phone from my back pocket as Dean took her hand and escorted Madison out of the cell.
I made a quick call, my eyes catching on the blood that had pooled underneath the cot.
“Is it done?” Drake’s voice could be heard from the other end of the phone.
“Yeah. Less bloody than expected, but it’s done.”
“I’ll send clean up. Shut the door to his cell and say nothing to anyone as you leave. I’ll be in touch.”
The call disconnected as quickly as he answered, and I did as instructed, taking one last look at the fucker who finally got what was coming to him, at the hand of the woman he nearly destroyed, before shutting the door to his cell and following Dean and Madison out of Oak Park.
Madison was quiet the entire drive home. Dean drove her car back to our apartment while she rode back with me .
I wished I had been in that cell with her instead of waiting outside.
To have known what was said that left her hanging in this fragile state of mind.
Adrian always seemed to know exactly what to say to break her— the fucking monster.
I tried to keep myself from breaking the silence as best I could, waiting for her to start the conversation when she was emotionally ready.
Upon entering the apartment, Madison made a quick beeline for my bedroom.
It seemed to have become the one place she defaulted to whenever she wasn’t feeling like herself— or on her period.
I waited in the kitchen for Dean, giving Madison her space before the hard part started—the part where we attempted to get her to open up to us without causing further damage.
“Has she said anything?” Dean probed, shutting the door with a heavy, exhausted sigh.
I shook my head, pressing my lips together in contemplation.
“Nothing. We sat in silence the entire drive home.”
It wasn’t a short drive, either. Oak Park was almost an hour’s drive from where we lived, giving her plenty of time to open up to me.
“What do you want to do then? Leave her be or… What?” Dean gestured in question, crossing his arms over his chest as he peered down the hall .
“I’d suggest leaving her alone, but a part of me believes she wants us in there with her. Whether she talks or not, that is up to her, but I think it’s up to us to be true to our feelings and show her that we aren’t going anywhere regardless of what was said in that cell.”
Based on what Madison had muttered back at the prison, it’s undeniable that Adrian had suggested something to make her think we didn’t love her—that our feelings for her were nothing more than a white lie—which was far as fuck from the truth.
I was obsessed with Madison, more than I’d care to admit, and I could guarantee Dean felt the same; otherwise, he wouldn’t have stuck around after she killed Amber.
Madison was ours, and we were hers in every aspect of life...including love.
“By all means.” Dean tilted his head towards the hall, and I pushed off the kitchen counter, taking quick strides to my room before gently pushing the door open.
The lights were off, but I could easily see her balled-up figure in the middle of the bed. She had tucked herself under the duvet before curling up on her side, facing the window, where the blinds had been left open.
Sheer moonlight spilled into the room, creating a calming and serene atmosphere—exactly what Madison needed right now.
Dean and I slid into bed on either side of her, scooting as close as she would allow us. When she didn’t shift or move to push either of us away, I lifted her chin with my fingers, catching the sparkle of her swollen, tear-filled eyes in the dim lighting.
Madison has been crying. Silently. Alone .
“Mads…” I sighed, my heart breaking as I searched her face, already flushed from her overwhelming flood of emotions.
I glanced over to Dean, who spooned her from behind while propping his head on his palm and resting a hand on her hip.
“You don’t have to say a word, but at least let us say something to you…” Dean whispered, pressing his lips to the back of her shoulder.
Madison remained speechless, and Dean gestured his head, allowing me to go first.
For some strange reason, being put on the spot made me nervous, to say the least.
I had expressed countless times how I saw Madison from the moment I started feeling it, and here I was now, with a lump in my throat, as I begged for the words to spill past my lips.
Words I had kept safe in my heart just for her—for when the moment was right.
I suddenly found myself laughing as I released Madison’s chin and slid further down the mattress beside her with a smile I felt deeper than soul level.
“This should go without saying, but you know for a fact that I’m not the relationship type—not in the least.” I started, my eyes never leaving hers.
“And yet, the moment we crossed paths… that very first time you invited me over… I haven’t been the same since that night, and I know full well that I’m better for it.
You make me want to be a better man, Mads.
Not just some single bachelor looking for the next easy fuck that shows up at his door, or someone content with living on their own without responsibility, but a man worthy of being with you—a man worth loving you. ”
“Are you finished?” Madison’s voice cracked through a sob as she wiped her tears away with the heel of her hand.
“Not even close.” I chuckled with a broad smile, cupping her cheek, dragging my thumb under her eye, and catching another tear.
“You want to know if love is real? It’s undeniable.
Love makes us do stupid, impulsive, and—oftentimes—crazy things.
But it is very, very real, and I really, truly love you, kitten. ”
Look at me, sounding ten years older than I actually am…
“And darling, before you go swooning over Marcus—” Dean gripped her chin, and I released her cheek as she tilted her shoulder back so that she could face him.
“If we both didn’t love you as fiercely as we do, we sure as fuck wouldn’t be sharing you.
You’re too perfect not to be loved by the two men who will give you anything your heart desires.
So don’t you even for a single goddamn second take anything that Adrian said to heart. ”
“You deserve more than he could ever give you, and we’ll make sure you get exactly that and more,” I added as Madison’s gaze jumped back and forth between ours.
“I can’t—I don’t—Oh fuck…” Her stammering was no more than a breathless whisper as she sank deeper into the bed and pillows.
Madison had resumed crying again, bringing her hands up to cover her eyes as she whimpered behind every soft sob.
“Mads…” Dean and I murmured and sighed together, reaching for he r wrists.
Before pulling her hands away from her face, Madison’s muffled cries eventually turned into what sounded like bubbly giggles.
I arched my brow at Dean, who shrugged in response, just as confused as I was with the sudden transition of emotion.
Madison’s giggles had turned into full-blown laughs by the time she dropped her hands with a bright, beaming smile on her face, one that I hadn’t seen in weeks.
“What’s going on?” Was she having an emotional meltdown?
“I can’t figure out which of you to kiss first…” Madison covered her mouth with a hand to muffle the laughter she couldn’t control.
Rolling my eyes with a sly smirk, I leaned forward, ripping her hand from her mouth as I replaced it with mine, kissing her with a fervor that I felt deep within my soul.
Madison moaned into my mouth before I pulled back, and my lips were immediately replaced with Dean’s.
I loved what we had become, the relationship we’d built.
Nothing compared to this—us.