by Naomi Niles
Madison’s eyes softened and she slipped her hand on my thigh under the table. “I think that’s a lovely gesture. I know that if I were Talen, I’d really appreciate it, whether I showed up or not.”
We settled into out dinner and Madison poured out the wine she had brought for everyone. With our plates full of food, and our wine glasses full, Sam rose to make a toast.
“Family dinner’s still on Sundays, huh?” a deep voice asked from the door.
I looked up with a start to see Talen standing on the threshold. He looked the same, perhaps a little more drawn in the face. His blue eyes were more prominent, and his head had been freshly shaved. He was wearing a shirt that displayed the full extent of his muscled and tattooed arms. He cut quite the intimidating figure.
“Talen!” I said, standing abruptly.
“I let myself in,” he said as his eyes fell on Madison. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not,” I said. “This is your house, too. Come in and join us.”
Talen approached the table in his unhurried manner. John stood and embraced him, and then Sam did the same. I pulled out the chair next to me and gestured for him to take a seat. Talen came up to me and gave me an appraising look.
“You look good,” he said. “Fully recovered then?”
“Fully recovered,” I nodded. “I’m going back to work soon.”
“Good to hear,” he nodded.
“Talen,” I said. “I’d like to introduce you to Madison. She moved in next door a few weeks ago.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” he said, shaking her hand.
“It’s lovely to meet you, too,” Madison smiled. “I’ve heard so much about you from your brothers.”
Talen smiled. “Oh no.”
“Trust me,” she said. “All good things.”
“Hard to believe, but I’ll take it.”
Talen sat down at the table and looked down at the place setting before him. He picked up the plate as though he wanted to examine it. “You kept a plate out for me?”
“I always do,” I said. “Just in case you decide to show up.”
“Huh,” Talen said, glancing at me. Then he put the plate down and looked at the spread on the table. “Food looks good.”
I smiled and passed him the steak. Talen was not one for showy displays of affection or sentiment. He was a man of few words, but I knew from his expression and his body language that he was touched to have been remembered. He just expressed it differently.
We descended into pleasant conversation and the usual brotherly banter as Madison laughed along, fitting seamlessly into our well-practiced dynamic. Halfway through the meal, while Madison was talking to John and Sam, Talen leaned in towards me a little and whispered.
“She’s your girlfriend, isn’t she?”
I smiled. “We haven’t put a name on it,” I whispered back. “But I suppose at this point, I do think of her as my girlfriend.”
He nodded. “She’s nice.”
“I’m glad you like her.”
“It shouldn’t matter even if I didn’t like her,” he said, in his usual blunt manner. “But for the record, I do like her.”
I smiled and nodded. “How are you, Talen?” I asked. “How are you doing?”
“Good,” he replied shortly.
I nodded, content for the moment with that answer. At the end of the day, all I really wanted to know was that he was doing okay and that he was more or less happy. I didn’t pry any further because I knew Talen wouldn’t open up to me just because I asked a question. He was the type who would talk only when he was ready to. For now, it was enough that he had shown up.
We had just finished dinner and were all chipping in with the clean-up in the kitchen when Sam walked in with the last serving platter.
“Okay, now that Talen’s here, I’d like to clear something up once and for all,” Sam said, stopping the conversation in its tracks, as all attention turned to him.
“What is it Sam?” I asked.
“Madison,” he said, turning to her. “Who do you think is the best-looking brother?”
The kitchen erupted into laughter and Madison shook her head at Sam. Even Talen cracked a smile that burgeoned into a slow burning laugh. It was a good night. It was a really good night.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Madison
“Kiss for the cook?” Peter asked, leaning in a little.
I smiled and kissed him tenderly on the cheek, before his lips came down over mine.
“Whoa, whoa,” Sam said, interrupting the intimate moment. “Get a room you two.”
Embarrassed, I tried to pull away from Peter, but he kept a firm grip around my waist. “That’s not a bad idea, actually,” he laughed. Then he turned to me. “How are you?”
“Tired,” I replied. “And, full.”
“How about I walk you home?” Peter asked, as laughter came in from the living room. “It’s a little crowded over here.”
“Sounds good,” I nodded. We went into the hall to say goodnight to Peter’s brothers.
“We were thinking of taking a late-night drive and maybe catching a movie or something,” Sam said, obviously having orchestrated the outing. “You guys should come.”
“No thanks,” Peter said and then he turned to me. “Unless…you would like to go?”
“I’m a little tired,” I said, even though my real motive was to spend some time alone with Peter.
“Sure, sure,” Sam nodded, obviously not buying the excuse. “I suppose I can understand.”
We laughed, said our goodbyes, and then headed over to my place with Polo running ahead of us, his tail flopping about in the wind. At my door, I turned into Peter’s arms and kissed him passionately. Then I drew back a little.
“Stay with me tonight.”
He smiled. “I was hoping you would say that.”
I unlocked the door and pushed it open. I removed my shoes and pushed them to the side of the door, as Polo jumped onto his favorite spot on the sofa. I laughed at him.
“He’s claimed that side as his own,” I told Peter.
“I’m glad he likes it.”
“I like it, too,” I said. “In fact, I love it.”
“That was the hope.” Peter smiled; his hazel eyes were soft and tender. He reached out for me as though he hated the distance between us and I was only too happy to fall back into the circle of his arms.
“Since Polo’s got the couch, how about we move into the bedroom?” I asked.
Peter nodded, and I led him into my room. We lay down on the bed together, our bodies pushed together as close as possible because of the narrowness of the single bed.
I didn’t care. In fact, I actually preferred it. It gave me the perfect excuse to be as close to Peter as possible. I lay my head on his chest while he kissed my forehead.
“Thank you for inviting me over tonight,” I said. “That was such a lovely way to spend the evening. You’re lucky to have such wonderful brothers.”
“I wish Alan and Jessica had been here tonight, too,” Peter said. “Then the whole family would have been together.”
I smiled. “Do I count as family?”
“You do to me,” he nodded.
“Really?” I asked, sitting up a little so that I could see his face.
“Did you doubt it?”
“Well, we haven’t known each other for very long,” I said. “I wasn’t sure where you stood.”
“I broke into your house so that I could furnish it,” he laughed. “I nearly shot your brother because he dared to lay a hand on you. That wasn’t clear enough for you?”
“I’m a doubter,” I admitted.
“You just don’t know your own worth,” Peter said. “Which works in my favor because if you did know your own worth, you’d never be with me.”
“How can you say that?” I demanded. “I would most definitely be with you.”
He shook his head. “You’d be with a better man, taller, better looking, sma
rter, richer, and kinder.”
I glared at him. “Even if that we true, I don’t want a better man. I want you.”
Peter smiled. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” I nodded fervently.
He was quiet for a long time. Every now and again, he would kiss the back of my hand as though he were thinking of something else. “I can’t believe it,” he said, in a faraway voice.
“What can’t you believe?” I asked.
“Dad was right,” he replied. “He was right all along. I never thought I’d the see the day when I actually agreed with him – on this subject, in any case.”
“You’re going to have to make more sense that that, Peter,” I said.
His eyes focused on me and he smiled.
“Sorry,” he said. “I was just thinking about my father. Dad was a real romantic. He believed in true love. He believed that life was pointless without it. He believed that you needed to search like hell to find it and then you needed to fight like hell to keep it. He’d actually sit us down on the odd Sunday and tell us as much.”
“And, you didn’t buy it?”
“Not really,” he replied. “Especially not after Mom left him. The pain of losing her was so great that sometimes I think, if it weren’t for the five of us, Dad would have just…given up.”
“He might have thought it was worth it,” I pointed out softly.
“He did,” Peter agreed. “He said if it was between knowing her, loving her, and losing her, and never having known her at all, he would pick the first choice every time. I just could never understand that until-”
There was a strong knock at the door and both Peter and I sat up in bed. We looked at each other, as though the other one would know who it was.
“Were you expecting someone?” he asked.
“No.”
“It’s probably just Sam or John. They probably forgot something,” Peter said, as he got out of bed. “Do you want me to check?”
“Sure,” I nodded.
He went out to open the door and I righted my dress just in case it was one of his brothers. I heard the door open and then a subsequent question.
“Who are you?” Peter asked. His tone was not friendly.
Wrinkling my eyebrows in confusion, I walked out of the room and froze in place as I saw who was standing at my front door. “Kameron,” I breathed, his name tearing out of me like poison.
He was standing there casually, with a toothpick in his mouth and an expression of intense interest on his face. His eyes were narrowed in calculated purpose.
“Well, hello there, Madison, darling,” he said. “It’s been awhile.”
Peter turned to me in shock, and the second that it took him to look away was the opportunity that Kameron needed to pull out the gun he was concealing in the waistband of his trousers. I gasped silently as my body froze in response to the shiny metal in Kameron’s hands. I felt my insides lurch uncomfortably when he pointed it directly at Peter.
Peter turned his gaze back to Kameron. If he was surprised to see a gun pointed at his face, then he did nothing to show it. I couldn’t help but admire the way he looked at Kameron. As though he were so insignificant that Peter was unable to feel anything at all, including fear. I knew Kameron well enough to know that that would piss him off.
He stepped into the house, and Peter backed up. But he moved in such a way so that he was standing right between the gun and me. I wanted to push him out of the way, but my limbs were frozen at my sides.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me, Maddie?” Kameron asked sweetly. “I’m sure your friend here has a name.”
“Kameron,” I said slowly, finding my voice. “Don’t do this.”
I took a step forward, but Peter’s body was blocking me. He had drawn himself up to his full height, and I could tell that he was ready to lurch in front of me if anything at all happened.
“I told you I would find you if you ever left me, didn’t I, Maddie?” Kameron asked. “Didn’t I promise you that?”
“I… Yes, you did.”
“So why didn’t you believe me?”
“Kameron, please,” I gasped. “Peter’s done nothing – just let him go.”
“Peter, is it?” Kameron asked, turning his gaze onto him. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Peter. Now tell me…have you been fucking my girlfriend?”
I cringed against his words, but Peter seemed completely calm. “You’re making a huge mistake here, Kameron,” he said, in a calm voice. “But it’s not too late to fix it. Walk away now and maybe I’ll go easy on you.”
Kameron’s eyebrows rose high on his forehead. “You’ll go easy on…me?”
“That’s what I said,” Peter nodded.
Kameron stared at him for a moment. Then he threw his head back and laughed maniacally. “That’s bold of you, considering I’m the one with the gun. You’ve got balls, I’ll say that much. Which is why I won’t torture you too much.”
“Kameron,” I gasped. “Stop this. It’s ridiculous. I don’t want to be with you anymore. Why can’t you just accept that and move on?”
His eyes unfocused for a moment and when they focused again, I could see the suppressed fury there.
“Move on?” he repeated. “I’ll tell you why I can’t – and won’t – move on. It’s because I own you. Do you understand me? You were the trash that I picked up off the ground. I made you who you are now and you have the gall to leave me? You’re an ungrateful little bitch, just like your brother.”
My body went cold at his tone. “My brother,” I said, tripping over my words. “Where is Victor?”
“Victor was a huge disappointment… I’ll tell you that much,” Kameron said. “I expected more of him. But then he comes down here and suddenly grows a conscience. And, he tries to tell me to let it go. He tries to tell me to let you go.”
“Oh God,” I breathed, feeling as though the wind had just been knocked out of me. “What have you done to him? Where is my brother?”
Kameron laughed, but never for a second did he lower the gun that was pointed directly at Peter and me. “Your brother?” he asked. “Probably in a ditch somewhere – where he belongs.”
I felt tears and panic well up inside me as I started to hyperventilate. “Oh God,” I breathed. Peter didn’t turn, but he reached a hand out behind him to touch me. I knew he didn’t want to turn his gaze from Kameron for even a moment.
“Don’t cry for your brother, Madison,” Kameron said. “He’s not worth the tears. He’s the reason I’m here in the first place. He led me right to you.”
“He probably believed you wouldn’t hurt me,” I hissed. “He was naïve like that.”
“He was naïve,” Kameron nodded. “And stupid. I don’t know why I kept him on my team for so long. I should have screwed him over a long time ago. Do you know why I didn’t?”
“I don’t think anyone here gives a fuck,” Peter said coolly.
Kameron acted as though he hadn’t heard Peter speak. “It’s because I cared for you, Maddie,” he continued. “It’s because you were mine.”
“I was never yours,” I yelled. “I never loved you. I was just young and stupid and desperate for attention. I was a fool to have ever gotten involved with you.”
“It seems I was a fool, too,” Kameron nodded. “For ever investing in you and your pathetic brother. It was my mistake. But I intend on correcting it shortly.”
I felt Peter’s body tense, and I knew instinctively what was about to happen. I wrapped my arms around Peter and buried my head in his back.
“Madison,” Peter said slowly. “Let go of me.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head.
“Listen to your little boyfriend, Madison,” Kameron said. “Because he’s about to get his fucking brains blown out.”
“No,” I screamed. “Kameron, you can’t do this.”
“Watch me, you ungrateful whore,” he said, as the smile slipped off his face. “Say your goodbyes now. Your time together is over.”
“Kameron!” a voice shouted.
The voice was familiar, but I still couldn’t place it. It wasn’t my voice, and it wasn’t Peter’s, either. Kameron’s eyes went wide with surprise, and he turned to see who had spoken.
Then a second later a gunshot blasted through the air. It happened faster than I’d expected, and the sound felt like it could make my ears bleed. I might have screamed, but I wasn’t sure. The world spun and for a few moments, I couldn’t feel a thing.
Then once the ringing in my ears had subsided, I opened my eyes, realizing that Peter was still upright. If he had been shot, wouldn’t he be on the floor? If I had been shot, wouldn’t I be able to feel the pain?
There was a body on the floor in front of me. Blood was seeping onto my floors. It took me a moment. My brain was slow in understanding. Peter was standing right in front of me – safe and unharmed. The dead body on the floor in front of us was Kameron.
“He’s dead,” I breathed.
“Yes.”
“You had a gun?” I asked.
“No,” Peter shook his head.
I looked up at him and realized that he wasn’t looking at me at all. He was staring ahead at someone. I turned in the direction of his gaze.
“Victor,” I gasped.
My brother was standing in the threshold of my house. His clothes were torn and bloodied. His face and badly bruised, and one eye was sealed shut. In his hand, he held a smoking gun.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Peter
People always talk about the calm before the storm. But for me, it was always the calm after the storm.
It’s one of those moments when the world is going at two hundred miles an hour, chaos is everywhere and a million thoughts run through your head. And then…something happens. Everything stops, there is silence and stagnancy, and suddenly you find clarity.
It was like that for me. It had always had been. That was how I felt in the moments after Mom left. That was how I felt in the moments after I got shot. And that was how I felt now, as I stared down at Kameron’s dead body and the shaking man standing in front of me, holding the murder weapon.
We made eye contact, but I could see that Victor wasn’t really looking at me. He was reliving the moment again – the moment just before he had pulled the trigger and everything that followed.