Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty-Six

M ontana hasn't said much. It's a lot to take in, I'm sure. It's not every day you find out your mother is planning to sacrifice your life for her cult. No one ever really knew what happened to Mrs. Baker, where or why she left. Just that it had to do with some new boyfriend. I guess, when you're living in a cult off the grid, it's easy to stay hidden. The woman I knew as a child never would have sacrificed her children, though. Then again, the woman I knew never would have left them either.

"How are you feeling?" I ask Montana, handing her a cup of tea.

"Thanks. I'm… I don't know how I feel," she says. "How do you feel?"

"Me? Besides the fact I want to find your mother and tear her limb from limb, see how she feels about being a goddamn fucking sacrifice?"

"Yeah, besides that." Montana sighs.

"I'm scared. I'm worried about you." I run a hand through my hair. "You know this is not a reflection of you, what your mother is trying to do."

I know Montana. She takes things personally, and the fact that her mother wants to kill her means she's going to think either she did something wrong or that if her own mother can't love her, then why would anybody else?

"I don't know," Montana says. "Why wouldn't Sean just tell me?"

"Sean would have wanted to protect you no matter the cost, Tanna. He loved you." I cup her cheek in my hand. " I love you." I lean in and press my lips to hers.

"I love you too. But this is a lot, Luke. You didn't sign up for this level of crazy when you married me."

"What I signed up for was a lifetime with the most beautiful, the most kind, the most amazing woman I've ever known. And I already told you there are no take backs, Tanna. I'm keeping you as long as I possibly can. This life and the next, remember?"

"I remember. I just don't want you to feel like you have to be stuck with all… this ."

"I'm not stuck. I love you, and I will put an end to this cult bullshit. Before the week is up. I promise." I will do whatever it takes to make sure Kristy Baker isn't a threat to my wife's life.

I can't imagine how Montana must feel. I know it's weighing on her more than she's letting on. I remember when Mrs. Baker left. Both Sean and Montana took it really hard. But it was Montana who cried for two weeks straight. Until one day, she just started acting like nothing happened.

"We're going to go there. To the farm. I'm going to put a stop to it all, Tanna," I tell her .

Montana shakes her head. "We should just call the police. Let them deal with it," she says.

"We can't do that." I cup her face in my hands and press my lips to the center of her forehead.

"Why not?"

"How do we explain the fact that I killed Adam?" I whisper.

Montana's eyes widen. "I didn't think about that… So, no police then," she agrees. "I don't think I can see her, Luke."

"You won't have to. I'll go and see her." I leave out the part that when I do see her, I'm going to ensure she can never hurt Montana again. I don't care what I have to do to make certain of that.

"Do you think my dad knew? Where she went?" Montana asks. "I don't understand why someone would leave their family and start a new one somewhere else, obviously a fucked-up one, but still."

"I don't know if your dad knows. I think that your mom is mentally unstable, Tanna. Normal people don't go around agreeing to sacrifice their children." I clear my throat and force a weak smile. "Let's pack a bag. Gray will be here soon."

We're leaving now. I didn't want to sleep on this. As soon as we found out where her mother was, I wanted to leave. I need to put an end to this shit. If Sean had come to me with all this instead of heading out on his own, I could have stopped it. I could have stopped him from killing himself. Thinking that would save his sister. Unfortunately, time machines don't exist, and I can't go back and change history.

"What do you pack for the I'm going on a road trip with two mafia families adventure?" Montana laughs. It sounds off. I can tell she's nervous.

"They're not bad people, Tanna. They're our friends," I remind her. I've had longer to get used to Gray's world, and what that entails. Not that his family ever really bothered me. They seem pretty normal when you get to know them.

"I know. But seriously, Luke, what do I pack?" she asks, staring into the closet that's slowly filling up with her clothes. New clothes.

"Whatever you want to pack," I say. "It doesn't matter what you wear, Tanna."

She huffs. "How long do you think we'll be gone?"

"Plan for two days, max."

"Okay." Montana walks into the closet, coming back out five minutes later with her arms full of hangers.

I raise an eyebrow at her. "That's how you pack for two days? "

"I didn't know what I'd need." She dumps the pile onto the bed.

Without saying anything, I grab an overnight bag that matches the one I've already packed for myself and set it next to her pile. "You won't need this much, Tanna. It's just two days."

"What if it takes longer?"

"Then we'll buy more clothes," I say, lifting a shoulder.

"That's just wasting money. We already have so many clothes."

I watch as she folds her stuff, filling the bag with as much as possible before zipping it shut. She couldn't fit the entire pile inside but, surprisingly, she managed to get a lot of it in that little bag.

"When we get there, I don't want you going anywhere alone. I want you to always have someone with you. If it's not me, then preferably someone from Gray's team or one of Liliana's cousins," I tell her.

"I won't go anywhere alone. I'm not reckless, Luke. I want the dream, remember? Our dream. If my mother wants to drain me of my blood, I'm not going to make it easy for her by handing myself over on a silver platter. "

"Thank you." I take both bags and walk downstairs just as Gray pushes through the front door.

"You lovebirds ready to hit the road?" he asks, his voice way too fucking cheery.

"Ready," Montana says.

"Great, let's do this." Gray holds the door open for us, pulling it shut as soon as we're through.

"Uncle Luke, Uncle Luke!" Graycee calls out, running up the footpath and barreling towards me.

I drop the bags on the ground to catch her. "Graycee!" I yell back, matching her excitement.

"You and Daddy are going on a trip," she says. "You're supposed to say goodbye to me first."

"I was just heading over to do that. You beat me to it." I hug her tight. When I set Graycee back on her feet, she gives me that look that tells me she doesn't buy my bullshit.

"Mama says Montana is my auntie now. ?Cause you got married."

"I did," I tell her.

"I like having aunties." Graycee grins. "Auntie Aliyah says that aunties are better than uncles."

I place a hand over my heart. "No way. I don't believe that. I thought I was your favorite, Graycee."

"Mmm, I think Uncle Liam is," she deadpans.

Well, way to bruise my ego, kid .

"Graycee, baby, we have to go." Gray walks in and scoops up his daughter. "And you have homework to do, remember?"

"I remember." Graycee nods.

"I'll see you when I get back, Graycee," I call after them. Then pick up the bags and head towards the car with Montana.