CHAPTER 2
Madison
Fuck.
This was not in my plans when I stepped out of the barn, so I didn’t completely lose my shit in the middle of the reception.
They haven’t hit me, so that’s something.
I have no idea who these guys are or what it is they want.
They tied up my arms and tied a bandana around my mouth as soon as they got me in the back seat of this truck, so it’s not like I can ask them anything.
The two biggest lugs have me sandwiched between them.
So far, I’ve figured out that the guy driving seems to be the leader of the four of them, but he’s not the main leader.
He told them not to hurt me.
I’ll take that for now.
I can tell we’re headed north and just got off the interstate.
We’ve been gone, I’m guessing, like half an hour.
I really hope Mick ignored my needing space and has discovered I’m gone.
Please know I’m missing, Mick.
Lug One speaks up.
“I don’t get why we didn’t just knock her out and throw her in the back like—”
The older guy in the front passenger seat turns around fast, and interrupts Lug One while glaring at him like he’s pissed off.
“Joseph said she wasn’t to be hurt.
That’s all you need to know right now.”
So whoever their leader, this Joseph guy, is, has me safe for the moment.
Why does that name sound kinda familiar? I try to think where I’ve heard that name before, going through things in my brain, when Lug Two speaks for the first time.
“You don’t want to hurt her ’cause we don’t know yet who Joseph is going to promise her—”
Before he finishes his sentence, the older guy interrupts again, “Enough! I said that Joseph said what he said and let’s leave it at that for now.
You both know his plans.
No one will want their bride to be bruised and damaged on their wedding day.”
Wedding day? What the fuck are these people up to? I can tell we’re heading toward the mountains.
Wait… holy shit! When Ma told us her and Pa’s story, that leader guy, he was named Joseph.
Shit, if it’s the same guy, he’s got to be in his seventies, at least.
Why does a sense of dread come over me? Mick, please come find me!
Mick
I swear to all that is fucking holy, if the guys don’t find something fucking useful in the next five minutes, I’m heading up the mountain, and I’ll fucking tear it down till I find her.
All that keeps flashing through my mind is when Ma told the story, the part she didn’t say out loud.
The part that has me wanting to go all Paul Bunyon and tear down the mountain with my hands.
I can’t sit and wait.
We’ve gathered all the weapons, and the brothers who are going are all ready to hit the road.
We’re all just fucking waiting for Samson, Juan, or Rory to find something.
I keep pacing back and forth the length of the room, never taking my eyes off the door to their office.
I turn around to take another lap of fucking pacing when the doors to the outside bang open, and Logan comes running in with his laptop.
“I found it!”
He runs to the tech room, opens the door and slams it shut.
What the fuck? Enough.
I go to open the door that he just slammed when I’m stopped by Asher.
I can’t help but glare at him.
“Glare at me all you want, brother, but Logan insisted on looking for where they might have taken Mads.
He got all demanding and told me to drive him over here while he looked.
About a mile away, he got excited and said he had found something.
He considers Mads one of his close friends and we ain’t going anywhere till we find her.
She’s family.
You are too, brother.”
I can’t help but rub my eyes with my palms.
“I know, and I know you’re trying to help.”
I look at Asher and point to my head.
“I get that all here, but here…”
I point to my heart, “is breaking and thinking of all the possibilities of what’s happening to her right now. I just..”
I can’t say more as I fight the tears that threaten to fall.
I feel a presence come up behind me and without evening speaking, I can tell it’s Pa by his sheer size.
I turn around ’cause I know he’s got something to say.
He surprises me by grabbing me by the neck and touching our foreheads, like I’ve seen him do many times with his sons.
I’m not as tall as Jon, Rory, or Juan, but my six-one height isn’t that much shorter than Pa.
“We’re gonna go get your woman, my little one, back, son.
We’re going to get her back and take care of those sons of bitches who took her.
Remember, we’re knights in shining armor till someone hurts our family…”
I finish the sentence as a wave of anger and determination surges through me, “Then we release the wrath of Valhalla on those who dare to do us harm.”
He squeezes my neck once more before he lets go.
Before I can say anything more, the door to the tech room opens with a bang, and Juan announces, “I think we’ve got it!”
He carries his laptop over to the table where Erik and some of the other brothers are sitting.
“You said they had a few hundred acres, but from what we can see, they’ve sold off a lot of it over the last decade or so.
There’s only about fifty acres or so left that’s still theirs.”
Jon says what I’m thinking.
“That’s still a shit ton area to have to search—”
Logan interrupts Pres, “Yeah, but there’s only a smaller section that has buildings.
I think we can rule out the houses, ’cause they’re occupied.
It looks like there are only a few outbuildings.”
He starts to point them out.
Erik stands up fast, color draining from his face.
He looks at Pa and speaks with what can only be described as worry in his voice.
“They still have it.
You think they’d take her there?”
We all watch Pa’s face as he realizes what Erik just asked him.
“You know them the best.
It looks like the most secluded building, and fuck, that psycho bastard probably has some delusional reason for repeatin’ history like that.
Let’s get the fuck up there now.”
It looks like Jon’s gonna argue about Pa going with us, but before he can, Pa moves into his space and, in a voice that barely contains his rage, he speaks with complete clarity.
“I am going.
That is my little one and I’m going.
I also am going to be a part of sending Joseph and the fucktards who took her on their way to meet Hel.
Let’s go.”
He doesn’t have to say that twice for me to be running out the door.
We pile into four trucks with Rory, Ry, Jameson, and Asher driving.
I wanted to drive, but it’s probably safer that Pres told me to ride.
I would be doin’ close to a hundred to get up there.
I’m coming, Mads.
Just please be okay.
Mads
After what feels like an hour of driving, with the last bit on a very rough and unpaved road, the truck comes to a stop.
It’s dark out so I can’t tell where we are, but it definitely gives off the whole Hills Have Eyes vibe.
The older one in the front speaks up.
“Take her in there and put her with the others.
Remember, Joseph wants her unharmed, so don’t go throwing her.”
Lug Two pulls me toward him as he gets out.
Luckily, he quits yanking on my arm long enough to let me slide out of the truck so I don’t fall on my ass.
As soon as my feet hit the ground, he takes off the cloth that was in my mouth, puts his hands, which are as big as a bear’s paws, around my neck, and slightly tightens his grip.
I can’t get much air in, and he’s got my hands that are still tied together trapped between us.
“You do as I say or I can hurt you without leaving a mark.
Don’t test me.
You’ll regret it if you do and Joseph decides to give you to me.”
The look in his eyes scares the shit out of me.
It holds the promise of pain that I don’t want to have anything to do with.
He releases my neck and I gasp for air.
Holy shit, these guys are fucking crazy.
He pulls me through the trees.
We walk for a few minutes before we come up to what looks like a small cabin, but with no windows on the side I can see.
We’re almost to the door when Lug Two mumbles just loud enough so I can hear him, “I’d be fine if Joseph would pick you for me.
You’ve got some good childbearing hips I could get used to.”
Eww.
I can’t imagine being forced to do anything or get married to any one of these sickos.
Fuck me.
If someone doesn’t get up here, I’m gonna be tossed to one of these crazies.
Please, gods, help me.
This is the group that took Ma all those years ago.
Even though she never said the words, I know what happened to her.
A wave of dread and nausea washes over me at the thought.
Lug One comes up from behind us and unlocks the door.
He makes a grunting sound before speaking.
“Get in there.
I’m sure Joseph will be around soon to check you out.”
As soon as Lug One has the door open, Lug Two pushes my back to make me walk into the cabin.
The door slams shut before I can turn around.
I’m stunned at what’s in front of me.
There are three other girls in the cabin.
The closest one to me, who looks like she’s in her twenties, maybe, speaks up.
“Who are you? I know you’re not from up here ’cause I’ve never seen you before.”
I shake my head without thinking.
“I’m Mads-er Madison.
I don’t even know where here is, but I can tell you I ain’t from here.”
She waves to the other two girls in the room who haven’t spoken yet.
“I’m Christy.
I was born and raised up here.”
She waves her arm again in the direction of the other two girls.
“These two aren’t from here either.
Have a seat.
We were just talking about how to get the hell outta here.”
She walks up to me and unties my hands for me.
As soon as I sit down, I look at the other two girls and ask one of the questions at the top of my list.
“How long have you been here and where are you from?”
The one sitting closest to me speaks up.
“We’re both from Spokane.
We’re cousins and were up at UDUB for a volleyball game when we were taken.
I think it’s been a week or close to it.
I’m Kelli and this is Erica.
We don’t know why we were chosen.
They haven’t touched us since they threw us in a van to get us here.
We’ve only seen them a couple times a day when they bring us food.”
I look over at Christy and ask her, “If you’re from up here, why do they have you in here? Did they do that to you?”
I point to her black eye and the bruises on her neck and arms.
She stands up and walks over to what looks like a counter.
She grabs a bottle of water and brings it over to me, tripping twice in the ten steps back over to me.
“Yeah, they did.
I’ve tried to escape five times.
I was the furthest away this last time but they brought me back here.
I don’t want to be here.
I don’t want to be anyone’s first wife or second wife up here, which is what Joseph declared I would be.
I made it longer than any of the other girls before he declared he’d seen who was going to be my husband.
He made that declaration last week.
I don’t want to have anything to do with the man he decided on.
Leslie is a horrible excuse for a human.
I’ve been trying to escape and find the one person who can maybe help me.
Before my mom passed, she told me about a girl she was friends with who managed to escape.
She had help from the one person on the outside who’d understand us.
She’s spoken about in hushed tones among the women up here, especially the ones who aren’t happy.”
Could she be talkin’ about Ma? I ask Christy, “What’s this woman’s name?”
Christy goes to sit down and almost misses the chair but catches herself before she falls on the floor.
This girl seems to be a klutz or at least have klutz tendencies cause she’s fallen more in the few minutes since I met her than Kierstie has when she’s drunk.
Once she’s safely sitting in the chair, she answers me.
“Her name is Lynn or Linnea.
Something like that.”
I must show it on my face ’cause she immediately asks, “Do you know her?”
I nod and answer, “Yeah, I know her.
She’s my mom.
I mean, I’m adopted, but she’s my Ma.”
Christy looks like she’s in shock before she lets out a squeal and gets excited.
“That means they’re gonna come looking for you, ain’t they?”
This gets Kelli and Erica’s attention too.
Erica speaks up for the first time.
“Do you think someone’s gonna come looking for you?”
I feel in my soul they are.
Mick, even though I probably pissed him off tonight, will still come find me.
“Yeah, I think they will.
My dad’s part of a club that will help him find me.
I don’t know why they took me, but my brothers and boyfriend are smart enough to put things together.
I believe that with all my heart.”
Please, gods, let what I just said be true.
We make small talk for a bit then Christy asks a question that shows me how little faith she’s put in people.
It means she’s never had anyone she could trust.
As annoyed and pissed off as I was at all of my siblings and Mick earlier, I know, without a shadow of a doubt, I can trust them with my life.
I can’t imagine not having that.
This girl needs that.
Kelli and Erica seem young but like they have a good background from the little they’ve talked.
Shit, pay attention, girl.
Christy asks her question again.
“Do you think if your family finds you and rescues you and these two, would they help me escape? I don’t have any money to pay them or—”
I stop her by putting my hand up.
“You don’t have to pay.
You are a grown-up.
You don’t want to live up here, then we can help.
You can come stay with me till we figure things out.”
I don’t know Erica and Kelli’s situation, but don’t want them to be left out.
“You two can, too, if you don’t have somewhere to go.”
Kelli tells me, “Oh, we have a family and I can’t wait to get back to them.”
**********
It must have been at least a couple of hours since I was locked up in this cabin with the other girls.
There are no windows, only tiny spaces between the wood slats that tell me that the sun must be coming up soon.
I know there’s no way I could sleep right now, even though there seem to be a number of mattresses along the back wall.
It’s just this one room and a little closet with a bucket that’s supposed to be our toilet. Just ew.
I really hope someone knows I’m missing by now.
I know I get over looked sometimes, but I don’t think they’d forget me, would they? I mean, I think at least Mick would know I was missing.
Ma and Pa, too.
I love my siblings to death, but I feel like they’ve all moved on with their lives, and I’m just kinda stuck.
If-no, when I get out of here, I need to find a real job.
Cleaning the clubhouse once or twice a week is something, but I want to feel like what I’m doing matters, that it helps someone, ya know?
A noise outside the cabin gets me out of my head.
A minute or so later, I hear a rattling outside the door and the unmistakable sound of keys unlocking it.
The door swings open and Lug Two from before walks in.
Behind him, a shorter man, maybe five-nine, and who has to be at least seventy, if not eighty, walks into the room with the aid of a cane.
I swear it looks like he’s taking stock of me, as if he’s judging if I’m worthy or what he expected.
He speaks up and shocks the living shit out of me.
“Well, hello, daughter of mine.”
He moves to the table, pulls out one of the chairs and sits down before he continues.
“What? Did your inconsequential mother not tell you who your DNA comes from? You’re one of my offspring.
Your birth mother took off right before you were born.
Seems she was destined to become one of the inconsequential and not be the woman to sire all of my children.”
I’m from these people? Why didn’t Ma and Pa tell me, especially after they finally told us her story?
Joseph looks like he’s waiting for me to say something.
I have no fucking clue what, but he seems to be used to getting the responses he wants.
Well, I got nothin’ to say to him.
I’ll sit here and stare at him for however long he stares back.
I can be as stubborn as anyone if I want.
He stares at me for a couple of minutes before he stands up and walks, leaning heavily on his cane, over to me.
He stands in front of me, looking down at me as I stay sitting, trying not to show any fear.
“You may not want to speak now, but I have a feeling soon, you’re not going to shut up.
Your wedding is going to happen the day after tomorrow and I’m sure your soon-to-be husband will want to try out the goods before then.”
What the fuck? I must not school my face fast enough to hide my surprise and horror.
I don’t even see the smack coming till Joseph’s hand hits my face.
My hand immediately goes to my cheek.
Fucker! Joseph gets a grin on his face that can only be described as demonic.
“It’s time you do what you were created to do.
You’re going to keep my lineage going and produce vastly and with whom I choose.”
What the fuck? He sneers and continues, “Oh, did your mother not share with you that we don’t prescribe to the whole waiting for marriage thing? Your chosen has a right and privilege to test out the goods before the wedding.
Hell, if he chooses, he can have others test them out as well.
We don’t deny others if they want a chance to try you out.”
Oh, fuck no.
I’ve never wished to be Dorothy so much in my life, wanting to click my heels three times and be home.
I can’t help but pray to the gods, hell, any deity, that’s listening.
Please let Mick find me and fast.
Mick
It feels like we’ve been driving forever.
I didn’t realize just how far up the pass their compound was.
I try to keep my focus on the road in front of us and not let it wander to what Mads is going through right now.
The lead truck that has Erik in it giving directions slows down and makes a turn onto a gravel road.
I know we may still have a ways yet, but I can’t help but fidget in my seat.
Jameson glances over at me from the driver’s seat.
“You gonna be able to lock your shit down, brother?”
I look at him and nod, while he continues talking.
“I know you’re gonna want to rain down vengeance on the guys in there, but, brother, Mads needs to be your focus.
Lean on us to get the fuckers.
You know we’ll get them and hold them for you and Pa to get your chance to dispatch them on their one-way ride to forever with Hel.”
I nod my agreement, not really able to form the words right now.
I’m holding on by a thread.
Leif makes his presence known from the back seat and speaks up while I feel his hand grab my shoulder to reinforce his words.
“We all know you need to beat on these bastards, and you’ll get your chance.
But Mads, brother, I might have been gone a while, but everyone can see she’s meant to be yours.
The way she lights you up, just by walking into the room.
I’m both equally jealous that you've found that and also disgusted ’cause she’s like a sister or a cousin and just…”
I can see in the mirror that he shakes like he’s grossed out.
Jeremiah chimes in, “He’s right.
We’ve got your back, brother.
Him trying to act disgusted is hilarious since all through school, he had the biggest crush on Mads.”
I must turn around in my seat super fast ’cause I see the second what he said registers with Leif, and he punches his younger brother while looking at me.
“Bullfrog here is full of shit and just tryin’ to get you out of your head a little bit.”
Realizing that Jeremiah was pulling my leg, I turn back around and watch the road.
Fuckers, both of them.
They’re the closest things to actual brothers I’ve ever had though, since Dad and Erik were such good friends.
We’ve been on this road for at least fifteen minutes when the trucks all slow down to almost a crawl.
We must be getting fucking close.
It’s been hours since she was taken.
Hell, it’s light out now.
A couple of minutes later, the lead truck stops and the guys start to pile out.
All the trucks stop after seeing everyone get out of the first one.
I get out of the truck and get over to Erik and Pa as fast as I can humanly move.
Erik’s pointing to what looks like a shed with overgrown brush all around it.
Rory asks what I wanna know.
“You think this is the place? Is this where they took—”
Pa interrupts him.
“Yeah, it is, but I’m doubting she’s here.
We’ll check it out, but nothing looks like it’s been disturbed in months, if not years.”
He’s not wrong.
He also didn’t speak the question that I fucking know is on everyone’s mind.
If she’s not here, where the fuck is she and how’re we gonna find her?
I walk over to the door of the shed and I can see it’s locked, but the doors don’t look that strong.
I kick at the doors, trying to get them to open.
Jon, Rory, and Asher come over.
The three biggest fuckers in our club start kicking with me and, within a minute, the doors crash open.
My heart sinks when I find it’s empty.
It looks like it's been vacant for a long time.
We must all be looking at the shed ’cause when a female voice from behind us speaks up, I think almost all of us just about jump out of our skins.
“I can take you to the girls they brought here.”
Rory finds his voice first.
“Who are you and why would you take us to her?”
The girl, who looks to be possibly in her late teens or early twenties, with brown hair pulled up in a ponytail and what looks like a t-shirt and jean skirt on, speaks up.
“Girls, not girl.
I’ll take you to them.
You save them all.
If you’re feeling generous, you take me too, but definitely them.”
Ry pipes up.
“You say girls.
How many are we talkin’ about, and why do you want to be taken, too?”
She starts fiddling with the hem of her shirt, probably nervous to talk to a bunch of angry-looking guys.
“There are four girls in the cabin, including the one who just got here.
Two girls were taken last week, and they got homes to go to, but the other girl is like me and from here.
They have her in there, ’cause she keeps trying to run away and they keep catching her.
She’s supposed to be married the day after tomorrow like the girl you’re looking for.”
I can’t help it when my questions come out in rapid succession.
“Why do you want to help them escape? How do you know so much about them? You’re not leading us into a fucking trap, are you?”
I feel a hand on my shoulder and out of the corner of my eye, I see it’s Erik.
He tilts his head, studying her.
“They forget about you, don’t they? They expect you to serve them, but you’re quiet and they don’t even think about you being there when they talk.
If we take the girl who’s from here, who’s in there without you, they’re gonna see you and marry you off, ain’t they?”
I watch her eyes get big as she nods.
Staring at Erik, she asks barely above a whisper, “You’re that Linnea lady’s brother, aren’t you? You two are famous around here.
Mama used to talk about how you guys got out of here.
She always wanted to escape, but Father always kept her pregnant.
She wasn’t strong enough to leave.”
Enough fucking chitchat.
Jon speaks up before I lose it.
“You’re more than welcome to come with us.
Are you going to have a problem if we bring justice to those who took our girl?”
She shocks all of us with her answer.
“Not at all.
Can I help?”
I can tell most of the guys fight the urge to laugh at her response but fuck if I can’t stop thinking we’re wasting fucking time again.
She starts to walk back toward the top of the hill.
“Leave the trucks here.
It ain’t far and none of them are hurt.
If you drive there, it’ll alert the others.
I figure you’d want to get them out and figure out a plan to take out the ones who did this.
I can tell you names and where they all stay after we get your girl.”
She pauses and points her thumb in my direction.
“I can see this one is about to lose his stuff.
I’m guessing you're her man or husband or something, right?”
I nod as I continue to follow her.
We all walk for maybe five minutes before we come up to another clearing, where she stops us with her hand gesture.
“Let me just make sure they’ve all left the cabin again.
They usually only stop in twice a day after I’ve made the food for them.”
I nod at her and say the only words I can at this moment.
“Thank you—”
Fuck, we didn’t even ask her name.
She gives me a small smile.
“Mary, just Mary.
I’ll be back in just a minute.”
I watch her scurry off to the front of what looks more like a shack than a cabin.
We all stand there at the edge of the trees, just waiting.
I realize that we’re sitting ducks here if she fucking lied to us.
Rustling next to me, I look over and see Pres, along with Juan, Shane, and Asher, all with guns out.
Seems I’m not the only one to question if we should trust this girl.
The sound of voices has me looking back to the cabin.
I see Mary come out first, followed by two girls who look like they are barely eighteen.
The next girl comes out and trips over something but manages to catch herself before she falls on her already bruised and injured face.
I hear people talking around me, but the only thing I can focus on is my woman who just walked out of the cabin.
I watch as she turns her head and sees all of us.
The second she locks eyes on me, my feet start moving on their own.
She’s barefoot and running toward me.
I eat up the distance as fast as I can till she jumps up, and I catch her in my arms.
It’s the first time in hours I’ve been able to breathe.
She nuzzles into my neck and speaks for the first time.
“I knew you’d come for me.
I knew even though I made you mad earlier that you’d come for me.”
I tap her ass and she moves her head to look at me.
I have to kiss her this second.
I break the kiss after just a few seconds because the need to tell her is overwhelming.
“I don’t care how mad we get at each other, I will always find you and bring you home.
My heart beats with yours.
You are mine .
I’m yours.”
Her smile soothes my soul. “’K.”
She leans in and kisses me quickly once, and then tries to get down out of my arms.
“Let’s go home.
I know I’m too heavy to stay in your arms.
Where are the bikes or did you bring the trucks?”
I let out a growl that I couldn’t have stopped if I tried.
She’s looking all around to see who all is here.
That’s when I notice the redness on her cheek and what looks like marks on her neck.
The fury inside of me is fighting to get out and go get the fuckers who dared to touch my girl.
She’s everything beautiful and what’s right in my world.
How dare someone put their hands on her.
I need to focus just on her right now.
Vengeance will come after she’s safe.
“Madison. Look at me.
She turns her head back to me with a surprised look on her face.
“You’ve never called me that before.”
Before I can say anything, she gives me her shy, slight smile that’s only for me.
“I like it.
I know everyone calls me Mads, but I like my full name.”
How many things like that has she just gone along with over the years to not ruffle feathers? Shit, Mick. Focus .
“I’ll call you whatever you want.
I will also carry you whenever I want.
First, you’re barefoot, and we’ve got a few-minutes walk through the trees to get back to the trucks, and secondly, you’re never too heavy for me.
Every inch of you is perfect in my eyes.”
I watch as the blush creeps up her cheeks, and I’ll admit that it’s one of my favorite things to see.
“Let’s get outta here before someone comes along,”
Pres calls out and I’m snapped back to reality.
“Hold on to me and we’ll be at the trucks in a couple of minutes, baby.”
I head back through the trees toward the trucks, seeing that Jeremiah and Leif have the two young girls in their arms as well.
It looks like all of them have no shoes on.
Ry goes to pick up the girl who’s from here, I’m guessing, since she’s dressed like Mary.
As he’s lifting her, her foot must get caught in her dress.
All I see is a tumble, and Ry makes a moan that all us guys know… she got him in his balls.
With the way he’s rubbing his eye, maybe his eye too.
Max swoops in and picks her up without an issue, and Asher and Saxon help Ry to his feet, barely controlling their laughter.
I can feel Mads chuckling in my arms.
“In the few hours I’ve known her, she’s already shown she’s a complete klutz.
It’s awesome that it was Ry who got to experience that first.”
I hug her to me even more as a smile crosses my face.
We all make it back to the trucks in no time and I am walking over to Jameson’s truck to load up, when Pres speaks up again.
“Don’t you think Mads needs some time with family on the ride back?”
I feel her instantly tense in my arms.
Madison
I must turn instantly in Mick’s arms ’cause I feel him tighten his hold.
Looking over at my brothers all standing together next to Pa, the anger and hurt from before comes surging back, compounded now with being kept in the dark by Ma and Pa about where I came from.
I can’t help but glare at them.
Do they think ’cause I was taken that I’m going to forget what they all said? About how much their words hurt? I know I should still be mad at Mick too, but right now, I feel like I kinda understand where he was coming from.
Whereas my siblings couldn’t be bothered to speak to me about their worries, they just didn’t talk to me.
I’m not even going to address the level of anger and hurt I’m feeling toward Ma and Pa right now.
Focus.
They’re all looking at me waiting for an answer.
“I don’t think I do.
I think space from you all is what I need, so I don’t say something I can’t take back.
I’m gonna get in the truck here and Jameson, being the good friend he is, is going to drive me home.
I’m going home, taking a shower, and going to sleep.
I’ll let you know when I’m ready to talk to any of you, Ma and Pa included.”
I can see Ror about to say something, so I hold up my hand to stop him.
“I’ve had a lot to deal with in the last twelve hours or so.
My parents decided to hide from me, for my entire life, who my birth parents were.
My siblings apparently felt the need to walk on eggshells around me for years and not actually talk to me.
I was kidnapped because I share the same fucking DNA as that psycho Joseph and he had all sorts of plans to marry me off in the next couple of days.
So, I’m fucking sorry if I’m not gonna worry about everyone else for once and go home and take care of my fucking self.
I’ll let you know when I’m ready to talk.
Oh, and by the fucking way, while we’re at it, my name is Madison and not fucking Mads! I don’t mind the nickname once in a while, but it’s another thing y'all forgot to talk to me about.”
I feel like I’m on a roll so I look at Mick, whose arms I’m still in.
“You gonna hop in this truck to give me a ride or you going to go with them over there?”
Mick doesn’t say a word but opens the back door and sets me down in the middle of the back seat.
He hops in, quickly grabbing me back into his arms after buckling us in, still without uttering a word.
Smart man.
I can’t believe I was actually able to say all of that without tears streaming down my face.
Tears threaten to fall now, but I quickly wipe them away as Jameson, Jeremiah, and Leif get into the truck.
I just want to go home.
Pa
I can’t believe my little one just put us all in our place like that.
I’d expect that from my girl, Kierstie, but my little one has always been quiet and the peacemaker of the bunch.
I watch her sit in the truck.
Jameson speaks up before going over to his truck.
“Pres, I know you’re gonna wanna argue with her, but—”
I stop him from continuing that sentence and speak before Jon can.
“You take my little one home.
She’s got some serious hurt and anger she needs to work through, and it ain’t gonna happen up on this hill.
You get her home and make sure she gets inside okay.”
He nods and heads to his truck, with Jeremiah and Leif following.
I turn to head to the truck when I’m faced with all of my boys standing with their mouths open, ready to catch flies.
Juan, of course, is the first one to speak up.
“You’re gonna let her go after she just said all that ?”
I nod.
“Yep.
Like I said a minute ago, my little one has some big hurt she’s got to work through.
Now, I don’t know what the fuck you lot told her, but it sounds like you did some damage with whatever words you said.”
Juan starts to speak again, but my look has him shutting up.
“Y’all are adults.
You figure out how to fix that shit, ’cause your Ma and I got enough to work on with my little one.”
I move toward the truck and keep talking.
“Let’s get going.
We got two girls who need to call their families as soon as we have service and another two we need to help get settled.
I gotta go let your Ma know what went down.
We gotta plan our vengeance as well ’cause this can’t go unanswered.
Joseph and his minions are on borrowed time.”
Gods help me, this whole thing ain’t gonna be pretty.