Chapter 24

24

Eli

I could hear the Salvato family laughing and talking in the second-floor dining room through my open bedroom door on the first level.

Of course, everyone is happy to see Madison back home safe and sound. And Dante seems to have lightened up more in the past few hours than he's ever been.

Still, it was stupid of me to let my guard down around the mafia king.

"How's your leg?" his booming voice asks from my doorway. I don't jump in surprise despite him sneaking up on me fresh out of the shower in my black fleece pajama bottoms and white tee. I know better than to even think about walking around Dante's house shirtless.

"Dr. Gates said it looks good. She told me I could wrap it up and shower," I answer him. Propping my foot up on the mattress, I lift the leg of my pants to show him the wound before I cover it with gauze. "She gave me an antibiotic to take to prevent infection too."

"Good. A clean shot, through and through," Dante remarks as he studies it with a grin. "I still can't believe Madison shot you."

"Me neither."

"All of my little girls have grown up now," he says, then waves a hand at my leg. "I take it this happened after we spoke on the phone yesterday."

"It did. I wasn't sure how she would react to me showing up or how long it would take to convince her to come home. That's why I didn't say anything," I lie.

Rubbing his bearded chin, he asks, "How did you do it?'

"How did I do what?"

"How did you convince her to come home? Killing the PI wouldn't have motivated her."

"Oh, well, I just told her how worried you had been and told her things would be different if she came back."

His blue eyes narrow slightly. "Is that right?"

"Yes."

"Is there anything else I need to know about what Madison was doing in Virginia?"

"No. I told you she was living with that guy and baking. That's about it." Pausing for a moment, I then ask him, while making sure to use her full name, "What's your plan for Madison long term?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"I think it would go a long way to patch things up with her if you let her keep her business going. There are plenty of big kitchens in the casino."

"Right. The cupcakes?"

"Wicked Delights Cupcake company," I inform him. "It's like two cupcakes smushed into a jar so they can be stored and shipped. Various flavors that are surprisingly delicious."

"Really? Madison baking something is almost surprising as Madison shooting you," Dante replies with a chuckle. "I remember her mother liked to cook, bake cookies and shit after she moved in with me. Apparently, the whore house's kitchen was too crowded for such a thing. She came from a small town in Georgia and learned to cook from her mother."

Wow. I wonder if he's ever told Maddie any of that. Probably not the part about her mother being a whore…

After another long moment Dante says, "If you can give me a list of things she needs I'll get them for her as a peace offering, once she's settled in."

"Okay," I agree, knowing he means if she doesn't try to bolt again. "She knows how to drive," I warn him. "Maybe you could let her get her license, you know, after she works off her punishment for leaving."

"Hmm," he mutters as if he's about to shoot that idea down.

"The PI taught her how to drive, and it should've been you," I point out. "Regular fathers teach their kids how to drive."

"Fine," he grumbles. "I'll let her get a license, but she's not driving without at least four security guards."

At least that's something.

Arching a single midnight eyebrow at me, Dante asks sarcastically, "Any other orders you want to give me?"

"Those were just suggestions," I assure him. "But I do have one other request."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Since I found Madison and brought her home safe, I want you to either make me an actual employee with days off and a salary or let me go."

Being back home in Vegas, a captive in Dante's house, I've realized that I don't want revenge on him. I only want his respect; despite the disrespectful things I've done to Maddie's body. I also want his approval and love. It's stupid really. I thought it was lust I felt for Dante all this time, but after meeting Jordan, I realize I think of Dante as more of a father figure like Mac, something I had missed since I grew up without ever knowing my father.

"Let you go?" Dante repeats slowly, indignantly. "You're lucky to be alive."

"I know that, and I know I owe you a debt for the money I cost you rigging the fight. But it's been two years..."

"And you owe me at least another three to pay back the one point five million dollars you cost me," he replies. "While I'm grateful you found my daughter, it doesn't absolve you of your debt to me. You're still on thin fucking ice. I don't give third chances. If you ever lie to me again, you're a dead man, understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"So then why do I have this feeling that you're not telling me something?"

Fuck.

I knew it was nearly impossible to keep shit from the mobster. So, I need to give him something. Thinking fast, I offer up a half-truth. "I met someone. In Virginia."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. And even though we didn't spend much time together, I still felt something I had never felt before, something I didn't know I was capable of feeling."

"You will still live here, under my roof, working for me," Dante says. "But…you can still visit him if you want."

Brows furrowed, I ask, "How did you know it was a he?"

Dante shrugs. "You prefer men, or so I had assumed."

"I did. I do, I mean," I quickly amend.

Before the past few days with Maddie, I preferred men. But now, it's a fifty-fifty tossup between her and Jordan.

Maddie

"So, what else is new besides you sleeping with Vanessa's son?" I ask Cass the next morning, once I've had time to settle back into my old room in the penthouse. I haven't left my bed except to shower and occasionally eat.

"Well, Daddy and Vanessa got married not long after you left," she says as she takes a seat on the other side of the mattress.

I'm not surprised to hear that. I could see that coming before I left. Vanessa was actually a great distraction for my father, aiding in my escape plan.

"I'm happy for them."

"Me too," Cass replies, which is shocking. She shrugs when my face must show as much. "What? Vanessa is pretty cool. She fought for me to be Daddy's heir over Cole. And even though I hated her cocky bastard son at first, he eventually grew on me."

"So, Cole was our stepbrother when you fucked him?"

"Yes."

"Wow. Eli said he got in trouble with Daddy for hiding that he knew you two were hooking up but didn't tell him."

"He did. Whoops," she replies, not sounding very sorry. "We haven't seen him in months, not since our wedding day. I knew Daddy kicked Eli out of the city, but I didn't know Eli was serious about using his ‘methods of interrogation' to actually find you."

"He told you that he was going to find me using his interrogation methods?"

"He did." Pausing she stares at me for a long moment. "What's that about anyway? Why did he want to find you and why the hell does he call you Maddie?"

"Just to irritate me," I say since she'll never know that Jordan and everyone in Rockland called me Maddie too. "I can't believe Sophie is married to Lochlan," I say to quickly change the subject.

"They got married in early June and had a rocky start, but as you saw last night, it all worked out."

"Yeah, it looked like she really loves him, and that he feels the same about her."

"It took Sophie nearly being killed twice for them to stop fighting it, but now they're so in love it's gross. You saw them at dinner last night."

My jaw is still hanging open from the first part of her comment. "Sophie was almost killed twice?" That didn't come up at dinner last night.

"Yep. Exploding drones and Lochlan's insane half-brother."

"Oh, wow. I bet Daddy was pleasant when all of that was happening."

"At least he was so busy worrying about you and Sophie that he didn't notice me and Cole sneaking around."

"And you and Cole aren't gross in love?" I ask. "I'm pretty sure I heard you two going at it through the walls most of the night. Either that or you were watching some loud porn."

Laughing, Cass says, "It was both, actually. Pregnancy hormones. You'll probably want to stay in a different room for the rest of the week since Cole and I still share mine when we're home."

Shaking my head, I say, "I can't believe Daddy is letting you two bang each other right under his roof."

"Oh, it will be our roof soon," she says proudly. "Vanessa and Daddy are looking for a house. As soon as Cole graduates, and they find one they like, they'll be moving out of the penthouse and letting me and Cole live in it with our little girl." My sister places her palm on her belly protectively.

"Oh, it's a girl?"

"Yes. Charlotte."

"Cute name," I tell her, remembering that was her mother's. It's unfair that I got to spend more time with her than Cass ever did. "And you're actually excited about being a mother?"

"I am."

"Wow. I always took you for the type who would, you know, terminate as soon as the test turned blue or whatever," I admit to her.

"Fuck you!" Cass exclaims, getting to her feet.

Pointing at her, I say, "See, that mouth of yours isn't very motherly."

"I love our baby girl, okay? I am capable of being a bitch and loving a baby and Cole at the same time."

"Fine. Sorry," I apologize with my palms raised in the air since I apparently hit a sore spot.

Glancing around at the ceiling and walls, my feisty redheaded sister braces her hands on her hips. "Just for running your mouth, I'm going to turn your room into the nursery. We were going to use Sophie's room, but now I think we should take over yours and make Sophie's room my giant closet."

"What? Where am I supposed to go?"

"You could have Daddy and Vanessa's room or Eli's once we kick him out. Or you just go live with Daddy and Vanessa."

"Ew. I definitely don't want to stay with them or here in their old room. Honestly, I'm not sure I want to live here with you, Cole, and a screaming baby."

Tilting her head to the side, she narrows her green eyes and asks, "Why did you come back?"

Lowering my eyes and picking at a thread on the comforter, I tell her, "Eli didn't give me much of a choice."

"You could've fought harder if you really didn't want to come back."

"I could have, yes, but once Eli knew where I was, I had to either kill him or I knew he would send Daddy to drag me back."

I don't mention that Jordan and the Savage Kings weren't going to give me a choice since she doesn't need to know about them.

"What was it like?" Cass asks.

"What?"

"Living on your own in what apparently was a small town."

"I wasn't on my own, not really."

"You were shacking up with someone?"

I nod, but don't say anything else.

"Well? Who was he?"

"Ah, a private investigator," I tell her, continuing the lie since I don't want her running her mouth to Daddy about Jordan.

"A private investigator? Was he old?"

"No."

"Hot?"

"Yes. Very hot. He was good to me too, but…now he's dead."

And Jordan will stay alive and breathing since he won't have to deal with my father's rage.

"Dead? Eli killed him?" she asks.

"Yes, before I even knew he was in town and had found me." Again, that's all true, just not the part about me living with the pervy PI who had been stalking me.

"What were you doing for work? Or were you just living off the money you stole?"

"Mostly I lived off the cash I took with me. But back in the spring, I started my own business—Wicked Delights Cupcake Company."

"You started a cupcake company?"

"Yes. I sold cupcakes in jars. I started out just making a few for the locals, burning the first few batches. But then, I got better at it, tried different flavors. Everyone loved them so much they said I should sell them, so I started an online business. I shipped dozens every day, all across the country."

"Dozens of cupcakes that you personally made every day?" Cass asks with a smirk. "How…nineteen fifties of you."

"I loved baking and making money off the effort I put into it," I tell her. "I know you find it hard to believe since I couldn't even cook when I lived here, but I was good at it. You would've killed for a jar if you had tried them."

"Why can't I?"

"Why can't you what?" I ask.

"Why can't I try some of your cupcakes in a jar? If it's an online business, you can bake them here too, right?"

I bite my lip considering it. There are plenty of kitchens in the penthouse and in the casino. I could probably make four or five times as many cupcakes every day than I was in Greer's bar. "I hadn't really thought about it yet. Daddy's making me work with a fucking magician as my punishment for leaving."

"What? No way! That's hilarious," Cass laughs. "Will you be on stage getting sawed in half?"

"God, I hope not," I groan.

"I can't wait to come watch."

"Maybe I could convince him to let me order a few supplies though and bake in my free time…. I'll give our father a few more days to calm down before I ask him for anything."

"Did Eli tell you that Cole and I are taking over Daddy's empire?" Cass asks.

"He did. Congrats."

"You aren't mad you weren't considered?"

"God no. I'll take my little cupcakes over running the casino and drug trafficking any day of the week. At least I never have to worry about prison," I add with a grin.

"Not unless you give everyone food poisoning," she replies with her own smirk. Cass starts toward the door, then stops to ask, "If you could do it all again, leave without looking back, would you?"

"Yes. Definitely," I answer without hesitation. "I hated lying to everyone in town about who I was, but I had friends, a life. I was happy and free."

I guess I won't ever get to experience riding on the back of Jordan's bike again or driving myself around wherever I want, even if it wasn't legal for me to be on the road. I should've savored those little things more while I had them, before I gave them up. Before I gave him up.

"Sounds fun," Cass agrees.

"It was while it lasted. Now, I'm going to have to figure out a brand-new plan."

One without Jordan, and one that doesn't end up with my father's bullets in Eli.

After all, I'm the only one who gets to shoot the crazy bastard.

Jordan

"Dude, you're still moping, missing that girl you caught naked and sucking another guy's dick?" Hank, the giant former Devil Hound, now Savage King asks me when I'm downing drinks at Greer's bar.

"Yeah, Hank, I still miss her."

And him.

I wish I had never met Eli. If I hadn't, then I wouldn't be thinking about him, and Maddie, would still be here, because he wouldn't have come to take her home to her father with him.

"What's it been? Two days?" Hank asks.

"Two long, miserable days." At least Colt was able to get the sheriff's department off my ass so I'm not miserable and sitting in a jail cell. The cops are too busy trying to tie a bunch of missing girls and women across the state to those dead fuckers who nobody is mourning.

"Then it's time to move on, man."

"We were together for over a year! I thought she was my wife. I can't just snap my fingers and forget her after two days!"

"Want me to hit you?"

"What?" I finally turn to stare at the man whose gargantuan head even looks twice as big as everyone else's.

"Do you want me to hit you? If I hit you hard enough in the head, maybe I can erase the memories of her. With the right kind of concussion, it'll be like you never met her."

Wow. The big dummy is actually making sense for once. I must be close to blackout drunk.

"It's tempting," I admit to him. "But no thanks. I want to keep my memories of her even if they're painful."

Some short-term amnesia might be nice though. If I could forget the days since Eli showed up in town that could definitely make me feel better.

No, that's not entirely true.

Even if I could take back the things I did with Eli, I wouldn't. Being with him was fucked up and wild as shit, but it was fun. More than fun. It was everything I didn't know I had been missing. I just wish I hadn't hurt Maddie in the process of figuring things out.

She was right to be angry at me for cheating on her with him. The fact that I thought he was going to kill me after he fucked with me doesn't excuse the betrayal.

Except, Maddie fucked around with Eli too, as if she was unable to resist him as well.

What is it about that crazy bastard that drew both of us to him?

And now that Eli and Maddie are back in Vegas together again, are they hooking up? Is she sleeping in his bed at night? Is he fucking her whenever her father isn't looking?

I hate them both.

Well, not really.

I'm jealous. I hate that they're not here with me and that Maddie's note made it clear she doesn't want me to come to Vegas.

Unless…she only just said the shit about not coming, not starting a war over her because she doesn't want me to get hurt.

"Maybe I should go to Vegas," I say to Hank, as if he could ever be the voice of reason.

"Vegas? Sounds fun. They have whore houses in nearby towns, you know. I bet those bitches would do anything for a few hundred dollars."

Poor Hank missed out on the trip for Greer's wedding. Big guy was too afraid to fly. It's hilarious that the giant has any vulnerabilities since he's built like a Greek titan.

"Vegas is where Maddie lives," I explain to him.

"Oh. Has she ever been to a whore house?" he asks.

"I seriously doubt it, big guy. Anyway, RJ would give me some time off at the shop, and I have a little savings I could use for the plane ticket. But what if I show up there and her father kills me? Is she worth dying for? Of course she is, if she actually gives a shit about me."

"What if you show up there and her father doesn't kill you?" Hank offers.

I nod my head in agreement, getting with what he's saying. "My mom would kill me for going to Vegas, chasing after the woman who lied to me for fifteen months and recently cheated on me."

"Nah. Josie just wants you to be happy. She wouldn't kill you for chasing happiness."

"I don't literally mean that my mom would murder me." Unlike Eli's mother who tried to drown him, then buried him, I can't help but remember. Somebody needs to love that crazy fucker enough to try and make up for him having to survive a shitty childhood. "I just meant that my mom wouldn't approve. She would tell me not to waste my time or my money on a plane ticket for a girl who lied to me from the second I met her."

God, I wish I could remember more from the night Maddie and I met.

It's not like she drugged me into forgetting or anything. That was my fault for drinking too damn much. Drinking because I was considering trying to hook up with a guy from a gay dating app while the rest of the Savage Kings were busy celebrating Greer's wedding, and we were in a city where none of the gay guys would know who I am.

I was getting drunk to gather the courage to go through with it when the most beautiful woman I had ever seen sat down at the bar beside me wearing a baseball cap. It felt like some sort of gift from fate at the time, a sign that I shouldn't hook up with a random man when I could be talking to the stunning woman who was interested in me.

But she was only interested in me because I had access to a private plane leaving Vegas early the next morning. That's why she came back to my hotel room with me.

I was her escape ticket for a new life.

She was so desperate to leave Vegas she hopped on a plane with a complete stranger, and I just sent her back to that hellhole because I was jealous and afraid to be honest about my sexuality.