Chapter 34: Gideon

Chapter Thirty-Four

Gideon

I always knew Ruger’s mental state would deteriorate, but my cousin has taken it too far. Tamiya hasn’t spoken a word to me in hours, making the drive to my cousin’s rural hideaway even more painful. Not even the best passenger princess treatment improves my wife’s mood. Why does she have to ignore me while looking so pretty? I reach over to touch her thigh and she doesn’t swat my hand away for the first time the entire drive. Yes.

I celebrate my success far too soon.

“I told you his crazy ass would go too far.”

“Zayna is alive and well.”

“He left her with a baby to starve. ”

“He left her with a burner phone that had all the essential numbers programmed in. I think he did well all things considered.”

“Is the standard not murdering your wife and burying her in the backyard now?” Tamiya says, snarling at me with four McDonald’s fries covered in vanilla milkshake about to enter her mouth. I need to tread carefully now.

“Ruger is troubled.”

“Damn fucking right he’s troubled. We need to stop at a grocery store before we get there.”

“I know.”

(This is the third time she’s mentioned the grocery store.)

“Can I beat Ruger’s ass?” she asks me. I laugh because at least she’s making jokes about this instead of clamping my balls between two of her fingers. I lean over and kiss her on the cheek, careful not to swerve too hard. She doesn’t smack me, which means progress.

No chance in hell I would let my wife get anywhere close to Ruger when he’s in one of his moods, but denying Tamiya’s wishes can pose its own set of risks.

We get groceries and after pleading with Tamiya to stop for McDonald’s again, I slide another Big Mac down the hatch to prepare for whatever goddamn mess Ruger left behind. He never paved the road to his cabin and dad left him all the surrounding acres out here too. I remember dad and Uncle Harley taking us hunting on this land when we were just kids. Before Ruger.

It’s all different now. He built the cabin himself with more love and artistry than I assumed he had in his left pinky. The door has a hand-carved “R” over the top and the rest of it is simple, but well-crafted. I know a lot of meth was involved, but it was also just him… Ruger the quiet freak. The one who always wanted to be alone. I brace myself for whatever bloody mess we’re going to find inside.

The door opens once we stop the car. Zayna. Her name is Zayna. She hesitates in the doorway and without taking her eyes off the car, she walks towards it. Tamiya leaps out, armed with her large Dr. Pepper and a will to fight my cousin physically that defies reason. Her ass is still just as skinny as the day I met her. Maybe she has a little weight on because of the baby but… she’s never going to be a big woman.

“Hello,” Zayna says, one arm crossed over her chest as she waves at my wife who races over to her and wraps Zayna in a big hug. If she were uncertain or shy about Tamiya, my wife fully intends to change that with her excessive hugging.

Without taking a breath or waiting for Zayna to state anything factual about the situation, Tamiya launches into her introduction.

“I’m Tamiya. My husband is Ruger’s first cousin. They’re not similar at all except for the blond thing. Whatever Ruger did to you, I will hunt him down and personally kill him and if it doesn’t work, Gideon will do it for me.”

I clear my throat because I absolutely will not be murdering my cousin, but Tamiya throws me a downright wicked look over her shoulder which I 100% will be addressing in the bedroom tonight. Ruger’s bedroom, considering the stress he’s putting me through right now.

Tamiya finally lets go of Zayna, who looks a little confused but less terrified than before. It probably helps to know she’s not the craziest woman in this neck of the woods now that my wife has arrived. Zayna casts a glance in my direction, so I take as much control of the situation as I can with my wife present.

“Is Eden with you?”

Tamiya nods approvingly at my question.

“Yes”, Zayna says. “I just fed her and she’s sleeping. Zeus is guarding the door to her bedroom and everything.”

Tamiya shakes her head. “I can’t believe that dumb ass left you here with no food, no word… and a baby.”

Zayna looks a little more worried now. Her fingers dig into the side of her forearm and I recognize some of the signs of a woman with a secret.

“Why don’t we go inside and talk about it. I’d like to see my niece.”

The place doesn’t smell like blood, so that’s a good first step. Zayna leads us inside and damn.

“This place is spotless,” Tamiya says. “Are you sure Ruger still lives here?”

Zayna shrugs. “Nothing much to do out here but mind the house and spend time with Eden. I just… I want Ruger to come back.”

Tamiya and I exchange glances. I know what I’m thinking, but I’m sure Tamiya is thinking something else. Ruger ran some game on her and she’s smitten.

“You want him to come back?” Tamiya asks. “Hasn’t he… I mean… Maybe we should just see Eden.”

Tamiya throws me another confused look. It’s hard for me to hide the smirk on my face, even if it’s clearly pissing Tamiya off. Few women find themselves capable of resisting a Blackwood man once he turns the charm on. Sure, some women find blond men unattractive.

But very few women can stare down a 6’5” hunk of muscle like Ruger and look the other way. Nobody in the club ever understood what he saw in Darlene when he could have had any woman he wanted.

I’ll be honest, though.

It’s taken me by surprise that the woman he ended up falling into bed with is this one. She’s not as dark as Tamiya, but her skin is a definitive brown color and she has wild, curly hair that she doesn’t bother to subdue. She’s black – and I thought that was something Ruger always hated.

Tamiya and I might be operating under a mistaken assumption here. Maybe Ruger didn’t cast a spell on Zayna.

She’s the one who cast a spell on him.