Chapter 30
washington
. . .
That damn cover house and finding my little brother might be the reason I wouldn’t see my wife again.
Now, I had a ticket to show for my efforts to get to her. I paused at the stop sign. Maybe it was brief. Very brief. When I got called out by this cop sitting in the bushes, I called it good time management. The officer gave me a ticket, and I jotted down his badge number.
I crumpled the ticket and put the SUV into gear. My glare destroyed the officer in the side mirror as he watched me pull away. “Bet. Keep rolling your eyes. I’ma see them roll all the way out of your eye sockets in traffic court, sir.”
My phone rang. Hooked up to the Rover, I pressed a button.
“Madison?”
“You ain’t there yet?” Texas asked.
“I’m trying!” I gasped. At the rate I was going? I’d either get cast for Fast & Furious: Crescent City Drift or die. At least once I hit this corner, and the cop wasn’t watching me anymore.
“She isn’t answering?”
“Nah. She puts her phone on Do Not Disturb while creating. Always had to set the mood.”
“That’s not good. I had a friend reach out to you know who,” he whispered. I guessed he was already at the construction site. “They did a wellness check.”
I snorted, even though I’d called my own NOPD buddy, who hadn’t answered. After almost sideswiping a seafood delivery truck, I deadpanned, “Very helpful, Texas. I have a bad feeling about this. Madison may be being held hostage in a windowless above-ground bunker.”
“Relax, the ART team is on it.”
“Define on it.”
He sighed. “They cracked some encrypted messages. Omari’s got a deal going on tomorrow.”
“To. Mor. Row?”
“They want the buyer, not the shady art dealer. So, they won’t move until he—”
“Commits a whole felony. Got it.”
“A non-homicidal felony. Murder ain’t Harris’s MO.”
I hung up and gunned it.
By the time I reached the studio, I’d already lost my judicial composure. I screeched to a stop so hard the SUV fishtailed. I shoved the door open and sprinted toward the loading door near the room she used.
The studio felt like a sauna fighting for its life. Heat shimmered off a metal table, and I winced. Stop! My brain screamed, high-pitched and so embarrassing that I wanted to hide from myself. My heart said, Bruh, you wrong for that. Save your wife.
My eyes widened at the sight of a molten glob, hell on earth. Madison molded that evil slice of brimstone with shaky fingers and a stuttering cry that broke my heart. I couldn’t see her face behind the face shield, fogged up from her constant sobs.
Omari hovered behind her. Since he was glaring down at her, he didn’t see me coming. His hand clasped her neck. “Make another mistake, I’m gonna break every tooth in your mouth with my knuckles!”
“I’m trying!” she cried.
He snapped a finger. Snapped a finger at my wife.
I stepped closer with the cold fury of a man who was gonna try his own murder case. Hell, if I were losing her too.
I needed my distraction not to send lava gooey stuff sky high and in my direction.
They looked up at the same time that I approached.
“Let my wife go!”
Omari’s eyes darted from me to the rod in Madison’s hand. He squeezed the back of her neck tighter. “Gimme that.”
“No!” She swung the blob at him.
Omari jumped to the side, releasing her neck. I balled my fists, took a controlled step closer, feeling safe. Safe adjacent, as long as my wife kept that thing away. Because while I didn’t fear the dude, I was shamefully, grown-man terrified of the heat my wife could unleash.
I moved fast, fist slamming upward into his jaw. He traded a cross of his own. At least, he tried.
I sidestepped, quick enough to watch the air move between us.
Though not a boxer, reflexes came installed in my Louisiana bloodline.
I swung at him again, left-right. He shifted to the left, grabbed a glass figure off a rack and flung it toward me.
Every Babineaux gene in me stood up, blocked that, and chose more violence as I bum-rushed him, bringing him back against a metal desk.
“I see why you’re attacking women. Yo’ ass can’t fight!” My fists torpedoed his face, while he slammed his knuckles into my ribs. I winced, gripped him by the shoulders, and slammed him into the metal table again. He flopped with the dignity of wet laundry.
Madison yelped. The molten blob at the end of her rod splattered near my feet. The glop hissed like Satan’s teapot.
“Maddy!” I rasped, the sound more manly than I felt under the circumstances.
Mistake of my life. Omari staggered forward, then brought the back of his head up. He head-butted my chin so hard my life rocked.
“No, you didn’t.” Madison lifted the rod and swung it at his back.
The glowing mass smacked Omari, and the rod stuck to his spine.
The sound and smell of an entire pound of bacon falling into a scalding iron skillet filled the air. My soul flinched. I gagged like a Karen right before she raged with an elaborate Yelp review while still inside the restaurant.
Omari, sniveling and sobbing, stumbled to the left and landed with a thud on his knees. The side of his face ate the epoxy floor.
“Oh my god, I killed him!” Madison rushed to me and burst into tears.
Somewhere behind us, Omari gave a muffled groan. Face still planted against the ground. Did we give a damn? Not a single one.
All I discerned was Madison, eyes glistening, shock and fear tangled together. “I don’t wanna go to prison. I know you can get me off, but if it got to trial, I’d still meet Felicia and Loretta.”
“Loretta Devine?” I lifted an eyebrow. “Nah, not her. That’s a good woman. Kinda resembles Momma.”
“No. Fresh Fade Felicia, with the barbershop hairstyle.”
“My bad.” I pulled her flush toward me and kissed her hard. “I can’t think when my bébé’s crying. Besides, I was joking. My second cousin, Felicia, will protect you if I put money on her books.”
Madison blinked, bottom lip trembling. “Wash?”
“Hey … hey.” With my hands, I cupped her face, and I tasted the salt of her tears when I pressed my mouth against her wet cheeks. “You’re not going to jail, bébé. This is an obvious case of self-defense.”
She gasped into my mouth, that small, broken sound, that always hit like someone had plugged my heart into a generator. Her hands sank into fists at my shirt, dragging me down, pulling me closer, reckless and greedy. I matched her fierceness with a kiss that said, You’re safe.
After a time, she breathed against my beard. “Wash, I’m gonna smack you later.”
“Why?” I asked, pulling her lips to mine.
“Your joke about Felicia.”
I slid my hands to the small of her back and hauled her against me. “Fresh Fade—”
“Stop clowning about your cousin like that. I’d totally forgotten she was back in.” She moaned, kissing me so hard that every nerve ending in my body sparked. “But the second I’m done kissing you.” She smiled, lips smacking mine. “I’ma hit you. Fair warning?”
“Nah, chère.” I chuckled, nipping her bottom lip.
“Baby,” she murmured against my mouth, “thank you for always being hours early.” She laughed against my lips and kissed me again. With my hands anchored against her sweet curves, she fit against me as if God had carved us from the same stubborn material.
Our world remained narrow. Just her mouth. Her breath. Her hands massaged my scalp as if hypnotized. The furnace roared beside us, but she was hotter.
Her lips parted, and I slid my tongue against hers, slow and claiming. Obsession rolled from my chest in a growl, straight into her heart. Her knees buckled, and I tightened my grip, holding her close.
“Chère, I swear you’re gonna make me forget we’re standing next to Cajun-cooked trash.”
She laughed, breathless, tugging my lower lip between her teeth in a way that made my brain short-circuit harder than it had with the cognac earlier. “Do we need to call the cops, Wash?”
“Nah. Called them on my way inside. You know how they do in New Orleans. They’ll be here in an hour. We should jump apart when we hear footsteps.”
She giggled while I planted her on the same metal table Omari’s body slammed against. Her thighs captured my waist, and her lips brushed mine, soft, teasing, a promise of forever. “So, just kisses then?”
“Long as your toes curl,” I replied as Omari’s pathetic wheezing behind us faded into a forgotten soundtrack.