Motown Takedown (Motown Down Book 3) (22 page)

Watching her sleep was the next best thing to her being awake. Moving her hair from her cheek, I press my lips there and wonder how I ever lived without this. Without her. The answer was, I hadn’t been living at all. I could not change the past or my part in it, but I could give her a future. My queen had suffered for me. She thought herself unclean. I thought her perfect. She lets out a sigh and folds into me and I, in turn, wrap her in protection. I love this woman with everything that I am. Lifting the hair from the back of her neck, I trace my fingers over my name inked there.

Such a risk to take for a man who did not keep his word. Fuck, I’d never leave her behind again. Shaking myself of it, I remind myself that she’s here, she’s mine, and there would be no leaving for either of us. “You’re thinking too hard,
”
she mumblesinto my chest. “Obviously you’re thinking about me, so let’s put this to rest so you can sleep,
”
she says sitting up. Rubbing her eyes once, she flips her hair and says, “Sometimes you look at me like I’m not real, but your eyes are not playing tricks, Monarch. I am real; I am here, and I am yours. As far as girlfriends go, you could not do better.”

“What about boyfriends then? How do I rate?”

“Eros,
”
she grins. “I’m a queen; I expect nothing but the best and I have that. In you.”

“You’re fucking cute,
”
I couldn’t help but grin.

“I am not cute,
”
she huffs. “Stunning, above reproach, and lethal yes, cute…have you met me?”

Tackling her and giving her my weight, I growl into her mouth, “You’re fucking cute, Cinn.”

“Fine,
”
she mumbles. “I’ll allow it.”

Ares took a seriously big shit, and I was not picking up. No sooner did he unload, it was like he drank a red bull he had so much energy. But it was also that moment, Ransom turned the corner and stopped. Ares wasted no time plotting; he went for it. Ordering him to stand down, he managed it but barely. Shit, I’d have to use a leash next time.

My woman was in bed, naked and I was down here keeping the canine from eating my best employee. My evening was not looking up, and it wasn’t over yet. “Taking Ares into Cinn, my office in ten.”

Turning away, I leave the mutt with his momma who was still naked and growled all the way back to my office. She was naked, and I had a hard on to remind me I wasn’t where I wanted to be. Ransom beat me, then again he was punctual and valued his life. Taking a seat, I catch him up on Demo joining Casper, Cinn’s orders for the den and needing him there tomorrow to make sure her rule was followed. With that done, he leans back and asks me, “You two going out tonight?”

“Yeah,
”
I smile. “Cinn wants to see Pippin.”

“Who’s she?”

“It’s a musical,
”
I shrug.

“You’re serious.”

“Fuck yeah, I’m serious. She said it’s about a prince defying death to find a meaningful existence or some shit. If there’s death in it, and she wants to see it, it’s probably really good.”

“It’s a musical,
”
he says with air quotes. “Men in tights, shit like that.”

“So?”

“So?
”
he laughs. “What happened to the guy who slit stomachs open and watched organs spill out? Her pussy must be…
”
He did not finish this sentence because my pistol was inside of his mouth. Grabbing the back of his neck, I remind him of who runs shit.

“Nine years I’ve waited for her. Nine. She reads books, devours them and is so fucking smart she runs circles around all of us. My queen wants to see Pippin; my queen sees fucking Pippin. You want to live to see your queen enjoy that shit; you’ll make sure the words that leave your mouth praise her. Understood?”

Nodding his answer, I pull the pistol out. “I apologize.”

“It’s forgotten.” Only it wasn’t.

Leaving him to his job, I find her in the library, like I do most days. My woman doesn’t like books. She lives for them. So we keep UPS in business by ordering hundreds at a time. No one is to put them away but her. She treats each book like it’s the Holy Grail. For me, it was when she read to me. Especially the Dark-Hunter shit. She said her favorite character was Zarek because it reminded her of me. This made it my favorite too.

Fast forward to a sweet blowjob in the shower, followed by three hours of being stuffed in a seat watching Pippin. I decided I had all the theater I could take. That shit was not my thing. But my woman loved it. She was happy, she was fucking glowing. So when she asked me if we could make a pit stop, I said yes.

“Guy was a prince, who wanted his old man’s attention and joined the war to get it?
”
he begins after the curtain dropped.

“Essentially,
”
I agree. “What else?”

“He ended up killing his old man and taking his throne which I can appreciate but seems to me he wasn’t happy.”

“Why not?”

“He wasn’t content with life, he was searching for something and found it in Catherine. Then shit made sense to him.”

“And?”

“I think I fucking get where his head was at, Cinn,
”
he says kissing me for all to see. “Shit makes sense to me now too.”

“Because you lost me?”

“Because I found you.”

“It’s a good story,
”
I whisper.

“Ours is better,
”
he whispers back. Then standing, he extends his hand, and I take it. Leaning down he grunts, “Outfits sucked, though, Cinn, fuck.”

When I told him where the pit stop was, he wanted to put up a fight but didn’t. After having the girls over, I believed he trusted them enough to hang at their turf for a few. While he was inside bonding with Roman and Gage, I took that time to pull a favor.

“Are you sure about this?
”
Kandace asks biting her lip. “How about I go for you?”

“I need to know,
”
I tell her. “Once and for all.”

“She’s right,
”
Camo agrees with a nod. “She needs to know. I’ll do some digging, but promise me you won’t go alone.”

“Just see what you can find first.”

“I’ll work quickly.”

“Thanks,
”
I smile then hug her tight.

“Did Monarch like Pippin?
”
Kandace asks.

“He hated it, but he was a good sport.”

“In college Rome tracked me down and sat through
Gone with the Wind
. He hated it too.”

“I only watch action flicks,
”
Camo smiles. “Gage is lucky.”

“Liar,
”
Kandace teases. “I walked in on you crying two days ago watching…”

“Shh!
”
she says covering her mouth to which Kandace just giggles.

“I read romance novels to Monarch,
”
I admit. “We play out the sex scenes.”

“Hot!
”
Kandace says fanning herself.

“Kinky,
”
Camo winks.

Gage peeks his head out of the patio door and says, “Your man is annoying me, Cinn.”

Handing Kandace my glass, I head in. “See you bitches tomorrow!”

Back in the Tahoe, he takes my hand to hold it. Bringing it up to his mouth, he kisses the top and asks me, “My woman happy?”

“Blissed,
”
I return kissing his.

“Got a surprise for you,
”
he says grinning.

“If it’s a quickie in the driver’s seat, I’m in.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Ten minutes later, we pull into the garage, and once the gate locked, he helped me out but then covered my eyes with his hand. “Don’t peek,
”
he says leading me. A couple twists and turns later, he drops his hand and says, “Open.”

My mouth fell open. Looking at him, and then the car, back to him and then the car I let out a scream. “Are you serious! Is that car for me?”

“It’s not a car, it’s a fucking luxury SUV, Cinn.”

“Oh,
”
I mumble. “It’s huge!”

“Yeah well, you got a thing about hitting shit,
”
he points out tossing me the keys. “This way my queen is safe.”

Sliding in, I touch everything. He stands outside the door watching me. “This is not just a luxury SUV, what exactly is it?”

“It’s a Range Rover Autobiography,
”
he says leaning in. Then he did the man thing and started talking about shit I did not understand. “Four wheel drive, twenty-fourinch rims, full tint, bullet proof with a 5.0 liter V8 supercharged engine.
”

“In other words fast as fuck,
”
I smile.

“Yes, Cinn,
”
he leans in kissing me. “Fast as fuck.”

“Thank you isn’t enough,
”
I say running my fingers over the door. Looking over my shoulder I ask him, “Who tricked it out?”

“A friend named Lexus,
”
he says proudly. “Used to be the best thief in the business but got out and went legit. The woman knows her cars, and she’s who I trusted to make my woman’s vehicle safe.”

“I’ll do my absolute best not to scratch it,
”
I promise him.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, he hauls me up where I wrap the rest of myself around him. Taking me inside, we fall to the bed but an emergency interrupts us,and I was too tired to bitch about it. “Rest,
”
he says tucking me in tight and leaving me with a kiss. “I won’t be long.”

Whether he was or wasn’t didn’t matter because I passed out.

“A man who touches his daughter in lust dies,
”
he says loading up while I did the same. “Regardless of what side of the law you stand on, that’s a fucking fact.”

“Touched her how?
”
I demanded to know.

“She wouldn’t tell me,
”
he says climbing in the driver’s seat. “Touching her at all was enough, let’s go.”

Within the hour, we had her father trussed up from the ceiling and Savage watched me work him over with pride in his eyes. The only thing anyone would see in mine was murder. This pig raped her. He didn’t come out and say it,but I knew in my gut that he did. Which was why the first thing I spent time on was ridding him of his dick. Followed by his hands and tongue. “You keep the ears,
”
I tell him. “I want you to hear your screams.”

Hours, I tortured him and finally close to death, Savage stepped forward and slit his throat. “Burn it,
”
he instructs me. I did what I was told and climbed back in to head home. “She’s never to know,
”
he says turning the corner. “She moves forward, never back.
”
At that time, I agreed with him.

Leaving her last night, before I could lose myself inside of her, sucked so I fell asleep with a stiff dick and a bad attitude.
This morning to make up for it, I woke her up with my face between her legs. I made her come twice before she returned the favor by sucking my dick so hard; I tore the sheets. We had coffee, took Ares for his walk and went to the office to handle business after. She was now reviewing the bankroll for the den and was not pleased to see how quickly Demo drained it dry. She was even less pleased to see that no work was being done after her announcement. Cinn did not like her orders not being heeded.  We planned to pay the den a visit in the next few days but until then, we had our own shit to deal with.

Like the about-face, she did after a call from Camo. She didn’t share what the call was about only that she had shit to do since that call. I wanted to grill her but fuck, she looked so lost I held back. When she asked permission to take
her
car, I did not refuse. Yes, I wanted to. Fuck, I probably should have because she was not in a good place, but…I didn’t. I had to trust she’d come to me when she was ready. Since she wasn’t the type of female to shut down if she had something on her mind, I let it go. I also let her go without demanding to know why she was so hell bent on being secretive.

I didn’t push because that vehicle was pimped out with shit NASA doesn’t even have access to. I could locate her at will with the push of a button. On top of that, she needed freedom. No one would make a play for her while I was living, so I let her go. One hour passed, two hours passed and three hours in, I caved. She’d been in the same spot for three God damn hours. Synching her location to the Tahoe, I let Ransom know to handle shit until I got back. When my nav loaded and I saw her whereabouts, I wanted to kick my own ass for waiting.

I knew exactly where to go. I also knew one day I’d be here, just not today and under these circumstances. Circumstances I had no control over. Two curves, one left turn then six rows up was Cinn sitting in the grass. Parking behind the Rover, I walk up and kneel down next to her. She was quiet, and I tried putting myself in her shoes. I tried seeing what she was seeing. Knowing she was seeing this for this first time. Knowing fucking Camo did some digging where she had no place digging. Knowing my woman now very well saw me as a liar and also knowing she was not wrong. She had no emotion visible on her face, but just under the surface I could see she was ready to blow.

“Just once,
”
she says in a flat voice. “When it came to
my
life,
my
future,
my
body
…
I was granted a choice. A chance to say no, that’s not what’s best for me. Until you, I was denied that. Left by my mother, raped by my father, stolen by a criminal. A mad man who raised me like a daughter only to use my body as he saw fit. It wasn’t enough that he raped me,
”
she points at her father’s grave. “Savage did too.”

“Mo chuisle,
”
I whisper.

“No,
”
she shrugs me off. “Savage was worse than him!
”
she grunts kicking his marker. “Because that son of a bitch used my fear of him finding me to keep me in line!
Ah ah ah, Bean, wouldn’t want daddy to find you now would we? Just a few minutes, I’m almost done, that’s a good girl…
He died five months after I ran away, a month after being at the den. But I never knew. I lived in
fear
. Constant fucking fear. I obeyed Savage because it wasn’t my father fucking me no matter how much it felt like it was. It wasn’t the same. There was a time I believed he would send me back, I believed it down to my soul. So I fucking obeyed! Yet here he is dead, rotted out, worm dejour. The two people who did irreparable damage to me are dead. They are dead and I didn’t have a hand in it. I was denied my fucking due! Even in death Savage haunts me,
”
she says and I watch her shoulders drop.

Pulling her into my lap, she weeps into my neck holding nothing back. “Did he do it?
”
she asks. “Did Savage kill him?”

“Yes.”

“Did he suffer?”

“Cinn, don’t,
”
I say closing my eyes. “I wanted to tell you, I promised myself when you were ready, I would.”

“Answer me,
”
she says leaning back to look at me. “Did he suffer?”

“Yes.”

At this, she did not say more. She was, however, vibrating with fury. Pulling away, she stands brushing herself off. Crestfallen she raises her hands in a pleading way and asks me, “Did I ever know anything?”

“Cinn.”

“Powerless,
”
she says in defeat. “Totally fucking powerless.”

“You are more powerful now than you’ve ever been,
”
I remind her. “And Cinn, you came into power the day we found you. It just took you some years to work it out.”

Turning away, she shakes her head and heads to the Rover. Stopping her from getting in, I tilt her chin up and see tears she’s refusing to let fall. “But you know what?
”
she whispers touching my cheek. “It was worth it. All of it. To have you, I’d do it all again. Even feel powerless.”

“Love you, Mo chuisle.”

“I love you, Eros,
”
she says resting her face on my chest.

“Let’s go home,
”
I say helping her into the Rover. After securing her buckle, I kiss her soft mouth and tell her I’d follow. Nodding to me, she waits for me to get in the Tahoe before putting it in drive. On our way back, three things happened. The first, I called Ransom with explicit instructions. The second, I scrolled down to Camo’s number and hit call.

“How is she?”

“You got a lot of fucking nerve digging up shit that does not concern you.”

“She had a right to know,
”
she counters.

“That is not for you to decide.”

“Maybe you don’t think so,
”
she lowers her voice. “But I don’t really give a fuck what you think. I’m sure a lot of people fear you, Monarch, but I am not one of those people. Cinn is my girl, she had a hole that needed filling and I filled it.”

“It’s my fucking job to fill it!”

“Did you then?
”
she asks. “Fill the hole, I mean? Before you answer, I’m not asking you if you told her Savage killed him. I’m asking you if you told her you tortured him for three hours first.”

Grinding my jaw and gripping the wheel she says, “There are a million reasons why you love her. There are two million reasons why she loves you. But withholding her past and your role in it, that’s
not
love. It’s cowardice.
”
Unable to dispute this, she finishes with, “I’m like a crystal ball, baby, I see
everything
. So if you don’t treat my girl right, you won’t see me comin’, you know
…
until you do. It’s a little something us hitters call pro bono, bitch.
”
And the third thing was when the female hung up on me.