by J. E. Parker
I was right there with her.
The women in our lives had been put through the wringer, some worse than others, and it was complete bullshit.
Not one of them had deserved such pain.
“As for Ashley Jo, we both know what would’ve happened to her without the ladies, the doggone Mouth of the South especially.”
Though my temper rose when I thought about what could’ve happened to my granddaughter had Carmen not told her to run to the shelter where my daughter was waiting, I couldn’t help but chuckle at one of Shelby’s many nicknames.
She does have a big mouth...
“Don’t even get me started on Carissa and Heidi Lynn, either. ‘Cause if Hendrix hadn’t been around to introduce the first to Kyle, then Lord only knows what would’ve happened to the Hulk. Same for Ty. Bug saved that boy, and there ain’t a dang person alive who will convince me otherwise.”
The Crazy Old Biddy took a deep breath.
“And let’s not forget Itty Bitty. If Maddie hadn’t gone to Vanderbilt for school at Hendrix’s urging, then she never would’ve met Hope and helped her piece things back together with Evan. Likewise, without Hope around, Keith never would’ve met Charlotte.”
She turned at the waist, facing me more fully, then slapped my arm. “So you see, Superman, you might’ve done some real awful stuff and caused more hurt than any human ever should”—leave it to the Crazy Old Biddy to give it to me straight—“but outta all that bad, came a whole lotta good too."
“Grandmama—”
“That combined with the fact that you’ve been spending every moment making up for the pain you inflicted, along with the breaths your actions almost stole, the promises you broke, the tears you caused, and the gentle touches you failed to give; all the while righting each of your wrongs, and stealing kisses from Beauty as you try to erase every sin you ever committed and mend all your remaining wounds, well...”
Tears filled her eyes as she took my hand in hers, lacing our fingers together. “Let’s just say that all that would make your mama proud as a peacock.” She beamed a smile my way. “Just like it has me.”
A lump formed in my throat as my chest tightened, then burned as one of the few broken pieces I still possessed welded itself back together, courtesy of the nutjob beside me. “I love you, you old bird.” I cleared my throat. “You know that, right?”
“Course I do! Everybody loves me!” She winked, then pointed to the ring. “When you popping the question?”
I blew out a shaky breath. “Soon.”
She dipped her chin in a quick nod. “Good. You two have lost enough time, and let’s face it, I ain’t no spring chicken anymore. A wedding needs to happen, and soon.” Looking up the staircase, then around the foyer, she pursed her lips. “Speaking of, where’s Beauty? You didn’t lock her up in a closet somewhere, did ya? I know she’s got a smart mouth and all, but that’s one of my favorite—”
“She’s asleep.”
Grandmama sighed. “I should’ve reckoned she’d need a nap after what happened earlier this afternoon.” She clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “Hope you weren’t too hard on my new grandbaby, James. She may not have reacted how you wanted given the situation, but she’s a doggone fighter, and that ain’t gonna ever change.” Her chin lifted. “For that, I’m proud of her.”
So was I.
“I wasn’t too hard on her.” At least, I hoped I wasn’t. Had I been pissed and raised my voice a time or two? Yeah. But I hadn’t handcuffed her to the bed like I’d wanted each time I recalled her stubborn refusal to listen. “If I had been, I’d be the one bound, gagged, and locked in a closet.”
Releasing my hand, Grandmama slapped her leg. “Ain’t that the dang truth? Why I tell ya—”
Knock, knock, knock!
Her mouth snapped shut, dentures clanking together when someone tapped their fist against my front door three times in rapid succession. “Who in the world is that?” Neck craning, she tried to see out the glass window next to the door. “Don’t nobody around here knock unless the door is locked, which it ain’t. They just come on in.”
Snapping the ring box closed, I shoved it deep into the pocket of my grey sweats and stood, then descended the stairs and crossed the foyer. Without bothering to look through the peephole, I twisted the knob and jerked the door wide open.
My eyes crashed into a pair of ice blue ones, and my lungs froze because standing in front of me was one of the last people I expected to see—the Queen who ruled an army of Kings.
Arianna Ivanova.
“James Cole, we meet again.”
The wicked smile that curved Ari’s lips as she spoke my name, her Russian accent thick, set me on edge. She may have spoken softly, seductively even, but I knew of the evil that lurked beneath the facade that was her beautiful exterior and gentle voice.
“Ari...” I looked behind her, catching sight of two men—one who I recognized as Casper, the other I had no clue—standing next to the curb beside an idling black Range Rover. “What are you—”
“I’m here to see your girlfriend.”
Her stare flitted past me to where Grandmama stood, her mouth gaping, dentures close to falling out. Thanks to Anthony and me both, she’d heard of Ari before—more than once—but she’d never seen or met her.
“How did you—”
“A kind woman who works at the shelter where I recently retrieved a family member gave me her name, along with your address,” she cut in, already knowing the question I was about to ask.
Too bad her answer reeked of bullshit.
Maybe one of the ladies had given her Carmen’s name, and that was a big maybe, but they never would’ve given her our address.
No, she’d somehow found that out all on her own.
“And it seems she and I have business to discuss,” she continued, calling forth every protective instinct I possessed and setting my mind on edge.
She wouldn’t be getting anywhere near Carmen.
Over my dead body would that happen.
Not missing the way my muscles tensed or my jaw tightened, she smirked, having easily read my rising distress. “Will she come to the door, or do I need—”
“You’re not coming in my goddamn house,” I snapped without thinking, and to some, overreacting since she wouldn’t hurt Carmen. She didn’t owe her money and wasn’t involved in her business at all.
She was innocent.
But the need to keep my Pixie far away from the vicious tyrant who everyone that had spent half a second in Charleston’s underbelly referred to as the Ruthless Queen couldn’t be helped.
“If you’ve got business with my woman,” I told her, knowing that if there was one thing she respected other than power, it was men who protected what was theirs, “then I’ll be the one handling it.”
She didn’t reply, not right away.
Rather, she just stood there, her assessing gaze searching my face as she undoubtedly decided whether or not to gut me like a pig for interrupting her.
Men had died by her hand for far less.
“Such a brave man.” She tsk’d, clucking her tongue against the roof of her mouth, just like Grandmama had done a minute earlier. “Stupid,” she added, a hint of irritation lacing her voice, “but brave.”
“Ari—”
“For saving Anna, the Kings owe your girlfriend a favor,” she cut in, yet again, lifting her hand to inspect her stiletto-shaped, crimson-painted nails. “Two, in fact.” Her unblinking, chill-inducing eyes met mine once more. “The first will be from me, the second from one of my men.”
I assumed she was referring to Casper.
“When she’s ready, bring her to me and—”
“She’s ready,” I said, interrupting a second time and possibly signing my death warrant, but uncaring, for the moment at least, since the opportunity I’d been waiting for had just slapped me in the face. “I already know what she’d ask for.”
Her pretty smile grew, increasing my
unease. “Da?” Yes. “If you’re sure...”
I nodded. “I’m sure.”
“Then name them, Mr. Cole.”
From over my shoulder, I looked at Grandmama. “Stay here.” My eyes pleaded with her to do as I said, just this once, and keep her nosy butt inside.
Not waiting for whatever sassy reply she was about to hurl at my head like a boomerang, or God forbid, rip out her swatter, I stepped out onto the porch and jerked the door shut behind me to keep her from barreling outside and jumping in something she had no business getting involved in.
It was likely a futile move, yet I still tried.
“Dominic West and Jeffrey Ellington,” I whispered, returning my full attention to Ari, hands fisting in rage. “Both sons of bitches hurt my woman, along with my daughter and granddaughter.”
Her head tilted. “How so?”
Knowing the words I spoke next would seal the bastard pimp and piece of shit former DA’s fates, I leaned forward, bringing my face closer to hers, and spilled a few truths I wished hadn’t existed.
“By beating and raping them repeatedly, then trafficking them, stealing years of their lives and inflicting more scars than any one person should have the burden of.”
For the first time, the mask Ari wore slipped, and unmistakable anger burned through her facade before she neutralized her expression.
“They were sent to prison for some of what they did, which is where they remain, but it wasn’t enough.” And it wasn’t. Not even close. “We want them dead.”
“We?” Her full lips thinned. “Your girlfriend shares the same sentiment as you?”
My chin dipped once in affirmation. “She does.”
With a lone nod, she turned, facing the road. “Consider it done then.” After sliding on the dark sunglasses that had sat perched atop her ash-blonde hair, and ones that cost more than I made it a month, she peered at me from behind the shaded lenses.
“You and I, Mr. Cole, we’ve done business together before; therefore, you know how this works, da?” That I did. “Or do I need to remind you of what will happen if you or those you love ever choose to speak of this conversation?”
“No,” I answered, “you don’t.”
I already know we’ll end up in a ditch if we do.
“Good.” Scarlet lipstick gleaming in the waning sunlight, her smile returned. “Because it would be a pity to kill such a beautiful man.”
She started to walk away, but I grabbed her forearm—how stupid can I be?—stopping her in her tracks. Both of her men reacted lightning-fast, moving toward us without delay, ready to rip my head from my neck.
But they halted when Ari raised her hand, signaling for them to stop. “If you value your life”—her tone held no obvious bite, but her words dripped with warning—“then I suggest you remove your grip from my body.”
I dropped my arm to my side and sent up a silent prayer that my actions hadn’t just earned me a bullet. “I’m sorry.” I swallowed down the burn that had crept high into my throat. “I just want the fuckers to know why before...”
Needing no further explanation, she nodded, then looked from her men to me. “I assure you, before I have their cocks sliced from their bodies, I will make sure both men know why they are being sent to their graves minus the very thing they value most.”
Brutal, unforgiving, ruthless.
That was Arianna Ivanova in a nutshell.
“You’ll hear from me when it’s over.”
Before I could speak further or thank her for the vengeance she was about to rain down on Carmen and I’s behalf, she descended the steps and walked away, her black and silver, red-soled stilettos clicking against the concrete sidewalk as she went.
Feeling a weight lift from my shoulders, I started to push the front door back open so I could step inside, but I never got the chance because Carmen chose that moment to jerk it open.
Eyes heavy with sleep and thick hair in disarray, she looked from me to Ari’s retreating back, then to me again as Grandmama’s meddlesome ass sidled up next to her, doing the same.
“Guapo, what—”
“—in the shit-fire is going on here?” The Crazy Old Biddy finished for her. “You done went and locked me in the house like I was an ankle-bitin’ chihuahua, and the foyer was my kennel. Lemme tell you, Superman, that ain’t right! You dang well know—”
The old coot ceased speaking when a car door opened, capturing both her and Carmen’s gazes and attention. Following their line of sight, I looked over my shoulder to the now open backdoor of the Range Rover.
And that’s when I saw Anna.
Dressed in a pair of oversized sweats and a black t-shirt that hung to her knees instead of the skintight dress she’d worn earlier, she started up the sidewalk, not stopping to acknowledge Ari as she spoke to her, each of her hurried steps quicker than the last.
She climbed the steps seconds later, Casper hot on her heels, a murderous expression plastered on his face, and stopped right in front of Carmen, her tear-streaked eyes never deviating from my Pixie’s.
I don’t know what I expected her to do or say as her chin wobbled and her small shoulders shook. But I sure as hell didn’t expect her to throw herself into my woman’s body with an audible cry and wrap her thin arms around her back before burying her face against her chest.
“T-Thank... you,” she whispered, as Carmen hugged her in return, squeezing her so tight I feared the poor kid might shatter. “Thank you sooo m-much.”
Burying her face in Anna’s hair, Carmen cried as well, her arms shaking. “No, thank you, bebé. You don’t know the gift you’ve given me.”
Anna may not have known, but I did.
And when I looked across the street and saw my grinning daughter standing on her front porch, her arm raised, thumb pointing heavenward, I knew she did as well. After all, Ashley Jo had given her the same gift.
Now, though, it was my woman’s turn.
And frankly, it was about damn time.
“Anna,” Casper said, wrapping his hand around his little sister’s arm, much like I’d done with Ari a minute before. “Come. Now.”
Anna nodded against Carmen, then looked up at her. “Will I see you again?” Turning her head, she peered up at her big brother. “Will I?”
“Myshka,” he replied, tattooed fingers tightening. “Little mouse, we need to leave. Either you come, or I will carry you.”
Anna looked half a beat away from either stomping her foot or rolling her eyes when she dropped her arms and stepped back, removing herself from my Pixie’s hold.
Then she looked at me. “Be nice to her.” Her lower lip quaked as she tried, and failed, to harden her face. “If you don’t, I’ll be the one to cut off your balls.”
My brows climbed my forehead.
Grandmama, though, she laughed. “Thatta girl!” Turning her attention to Casper, she whistled, long and low. “Well, hello, handsome. How are you—”
Wrapping my arm around her head, I covered her mouth with my hand and mumbled, “Now is not the time.”
Maybe I was seeing things, but I could’ve sworn the corner of Casper’s mouth twitched. Pulling Anna against his side, he maintained his hold on her as he addressed me. “It will be handled.”
“Da,” Ari added from where she stood on the sidewalk, arms crossed, watching our every move. “It will be.”
Removing her glasses, she looked at Carmen, who had no idea what was going on. “Soon, your monsters will no longer roar, love.” She pinched the silver charm, one shaped like a crown, that dangled from the chain wrapped around her neck. “Instead, they will scream.”
“James...”
Dropping my hand from Grandmama’s mouth, I wrapped an arm around Carmen and pulled her into me. “It’s almost over,” I whispered. “Before long, you, Jade, and Ashley Jo will be free.” Slipping a finger beneath her chin, I tilted her face to meet mine. “Because your demons? Those fuckers are about to cease to exist.”
“Prometo?”
/> The question hadn’t been meant for her; still, Ari answered on my behalf. “He promises.” She met Casper’s eyes and nodded toward the Range Rover, silently demanding he take Anna to the car. “As do I.”
A lump formed in my throat when Ari then turned and headed toward the car, and Anna, knowing time was running out, raised her hand and waved at my woman. “Bye, Ms. Carmen. Thank you a-again”—her voice cracked—“for saving me."
A man of few words, Casper lifted his chin to my Pixie, a silent thanks for helping Anna, then led his little sister down the porch steps and sidewalk, before loading her into the SUV.
But before he could shut the door, hiding her from our view, Carmen stepped forward, extracting herself from my hold, and placed a hand over her beautiful heart.
“You’re welcome, bebé!”
And that’s where she stayed, hand clutching her chest, tears flowing down her pinkened cheeks, even after their car had driven away and disappeared from sight.
“Baby,” I said, stepping up behind her and wrapping my arms around her middle. “Let’s go inside. We need to talk and—”
“Tell me those two hunks and that fancy lady that just left here are gonna turn them two bastards that hurt my grandbabies into worm food,” Grandmama said, her limit for being silent longer than a minute or two having been reached. “‘Cause that’s what it sounded like to me, but I don’t wanna get my hopes up too high.”
Sliding my hands to Carmen’s hips, I turned her so she was facing me. When her eyes locked with mine, I answered the question that Grandmama had asked of me.
Only, I spoke to Carmen as I did.
“Because you saved Anna, Ari is going to handle both West and Ellington for you and the girls. And by handle, I mean end them.”
“My demons...” Her words were spoken in disbelief as her legs weakened. Gripping my shoulders for support, she made a choking sound. “They’re about to be extinguished? Then my chicas and me”—more tears fell—“we’ll be free?”
There was that heartbreaking vulnerability again.
“They are.” I wound an arm around her lower back, anchoring her to me as I worked to dispel the doubt I knew nipped at her mind. “And yes, beautiful, you’ll all be free. Once and for all.”