Motown Takedown (Motown Down Book 3) (15 page)

She was twenty, a fucking vision in jeans. I found out she was accompanying Savage to a meeting at Marco’s compound and sat across the street. Cinn hated anything to do with the skin game but most especially Marco Bella. The guy was scum and peddled women like cattle, but he stayed out of my shit, so I stayed out of his. Savage, the dumb fuck, wanted in on the action and knew Marco barely tolerated him, so he brought her to sway him.

From my position, Ransom and I watched Marco appraise Cinn from head to toe. Like a seasoned pro, she ignored his existence and kept Savage in check. During the entire meeting, she was void. Nothing about her was her. The only male she even acknowledged was Shade, and that didn’t make me happy either. Through it all, Savage deferred to her, and she handled shit. When they walked out, he took her elbow hard, and that’s when I saw her come to life. Without even breaking her stride she jaw jacked him hard enough that he crashed into the car. From the garage, Marco laughed loud enough to hear, and Savage did not appreciate this.

Ready to intervene, I left my position to cover hers. But it wasn’t needed because before Savage could react she had his pistol out and aimed at Marco. Three things happened. Marco dipped his head in blatant respect, Shade smiled, and Savage showed fear. Handing him back his piece, she climbs into the sedan and closes the door. For two years, I’d wonder why she didn’t take the shot.

Since four in the morning I’ve been sitting here at the edge of the bed wanting her to wake yet hoping she doesn’t. Because if she did, I didn’t have anything to say that would fix the damage I’d caused. I loved this woman, no question; but I broke her trust, and that was unacceptable to me.

I had to get us back to that place where she smiled when she saw me, couldn’t keep her hands off me, and let me show her all the things she’s been missing. Cinn put her own life in danger to find her way to me. Defying Savage by sneaking to a doctor for birth control, using his men against him and helping the semi-good guys over at Lush. All for one reason. Getting to me. Christ, it was like she was a double agent. Cinn at her core was good, I knew that and I never wanted this life for her, but she took to it all the same. She didn’t see the dangerous game she had been playing, is still playing because a good person trusts people. I wasn’t a good person.

“We have a problem,
”
she whispers catching me off guard.

“I’ll fix it, Mo chuisle,
”
I tell her leaning forward. “If it’s the last thing I do.”

“I’m not referring to us,
”
she says with zero emotion. “Demo wants me in the den, and he’s acting up. The men want me in the den minus Demo; this is the problem I’m referring to. I don’t want him dying for doing the very thing I should have done in the first place. If we are to have balance, I have to bring the two together.”

“I would consider merging,
”
I begin, but she shakes her head.

“Again, you aren’t listening to me,
”
she says sitting up. “They don’t want to be led by you. They want to be led by me.”

“We could figure it out,
”
I tell her. “The merging can’t feel forced, or they’ll revolt, but it can be done if we’re careful.”

“They want you out of the picture completely,
”
she says pulling the covers up as if to hide from me. “You’ve established I’m your queen so should something happen to you, I’d take your place here. That would mean
I
would merge the two, not you. They’re looking for an opening. See what I’m getting at?”

“Where the fuck did you come by this information and why am I just hearing about it now?”

“I got a call around midnight,
”
she says quietly. “It wasn’t confirmed, but implied, plus despite some people’s opinions I’m insanely smart and able to pick up on cues. So until I know more, we need to pretend you want me here and that I want to be here. It’s the only leverage we have.”

“Pretend?
”
I ask her. “You don’t want to be here?”

“Monarch,
”
she says looking at her hands. “When I was a kid I wanted to be a poet. That didn’t happen,and that’s okay because the poetry is in here,
”
she points to her heart. “I accepted my lot because I knew one day if I played dirty enough, ate enough shit, I could be right here, with you. Then in an act of trust, I showed you how dirty I fought, the lengths I would go to protect you, and you called me stupid. You also threatened to cut me loose assuming I had nowhere to turn except to rely on you. That’s where your arrogance impairs you. I do have a place to go, a place where I know my role, but I don’t want to go back to that unless I’m forced to. Even if that’s what happens I still won’t go against you, I’ll stand by you even if we aren’t on the same side anymore. What I’m saying is, we both know it doesn’t matter what I want. I’m a pawn; a means to an end. I’m nothing, and a queen of nothing is still…nothing.”

No, no, no. How in the fuck did we go from a fight to this? I didn’t give a shit about business; I gave a shit about her. Pulling her to me and wrapping my body around hers, I tell her the truth. “I am arrogant,
”
I assure her. “But if you decide to walk away from me, I’d leave this behind before I went against you. I’d leave this behind to be
with
you. The power plays, the threats, my worry for you. I saw Savage in myself tonight,and I didn’t like it Cinn, I am so fucking sorry.
”
In the quiet of the room I knew this was now or never, that Ransom was right, she was fragile. “I love you, Cinn and loving you won’t equate to owning you, I vow this.”

Leaning back and tilting her chin up to face me, I look down and kiss her nose. “Pope was my phone call,
”
she says shocking me to my fucking core. “He and Gunner want me back at the den to lead it. I’m certain he’s looking to cut Demo down for the shit he’s pulling, and it needs to stop.”

“They follow you now,
”
I point out, proud of her and pissed for not seeing it. No wonder that fucker didn’t tell me what was going on.

“They’ve always followed me,
”
she says matter of factly. “But that doesn’t make it right. They were playing both sides. They want me back and are aware others may try and take you down, that isn’t going to happen.”

“Cinn,
”
I try soothing her when I see she’s getting riled up. “This doesn’t surprise me.”

“I’m tired,
”
she whispers sinking into me.

“Sleep, Mo chuisle,
”
I tell her knowing she’ll listen.

“Of the business,
”
she corrects, and I hear it thick in her voice. “So fucking tired.”

In that moment, I was tired too. No matter how many steps either of us took to secure ourselves a life together, something would get in the way. Today, I got in my own way. Tomorrow it would be something else. It could be a power play or an attempt on my life, or even hers. God save any man who tried taking her from me.

“Do you love me?
”
I take the risk in asking her. My queen was still in there; I knew she was, and I needed her.

“Until the day that I die,
”
she whispers. That’s when it all came together; that’s when my life made fucking sense. That’s the moment when all the blood on my hands was washed away.

I was finally clean.

I was twenty when Savage ordered me to Marco’s compound. The very last place I ever fucking wanted to be. Part of me hoped he sold me to him so I could at least hang out with Luna and have a change of scenery. But no, he needed me to negotiate. I did, and I did it well. However, he didn’t like the smile I gave to Shade and thought to grab me on the way out. This, I did not appreciate and reminded him of the fact with my palm when I heard Marco laughing.

Grabbing his pistol, I aim it square at his chest and offer my own grin. I even mouthed ‘boom
’
for dramatic effect. Nodding to me in respect, I handed Savage back his pistol and climbed in the sedan. There were two reasons for stopping me from blowing his fucking head off. The first was his vow that should he die by my hand, Monarch would be terminated within hours. The second was the years of twisted loyalty I had to the whack job. Defending him was defending us. When faced with an enemy, survival was the setting I defaulted to, and I hated myself for it.

At some point, I fell back asleep, and when I did, I slept deep.

Having no idea what time it was, I dozed comfortably in our bed. Yes,
our
bed because at some point, Monarch brought me back to our room. I was glad for it. Even if it was a few hours apart, they were miserable hours. The fact was, as much as I craved being alone, I was afraid of it. I didn’t know what to do with myself; I didn’t know who I was. When I was with Savage, I avoided self-exploration. I was certain if I did find out who I was, I’d probably hate her. Even though I have been with Monarch a short time, I knew that one day I’d like me again. He’d make sure I had that. This life makes you hard. Happiness isn’t given; it’s stolen. Love, unlike loyalty, isn’t ordered, it’s earned. I wanted the love I’ve dreamt about. The kind that authors made millions writing about. Epic soul deep love that when one died the other followed. We were on our way to that, and this dark world sought to steal it. Over my perfect ass it would.

I could hear the lock disengage on the door and figured it was Monarch coming to wake me. I kept my eyes closed so he would be the first thing I saw when I opened them.

Then I felt the bed depress followed by a lot of fur and licking.

Throwing my hands up to cover my face, I feel it nudging me to get closer and opening my eyes, I let out a squeal when I see a gorgeous brown and white pit bull eager to lick me to death. “Oh my God!
”
I gush rubbing him everywhere letting him bathe me. “Look at you! Where did you come from, gorgeous?”

Tackling me, the pup sprawls out on my chest, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Apparently pinning females down was a male thing. “Good morning, my queen,
”
he says crawling in next to us. The pup was so excited he took turns attacking both of us, and Monarch ate it up.

“Where did you get him?
”
I ask scratching his huge head. “Fuck, he’s enormous!”

“I went to the shelter while you slept,
”
he says scratching his back side. “Saw him, said to myself this mutt would love my queen.”

“He is not a mutt,
”
I correct kissing his furry face. “He’s perfect!”

“He’s yours, and he needs a name.”

“Mine?
”
I whisper. “He belongs to
me
?”

“I’m certainly not picking up his shit,
”
he smiles showing me his shiny grill. “Yes Cinn, he’s all yours.”

“I’ve never had a pet before,
”
I tell him. “I’m going to need a book on this; I’ll be an expert by dinner.”

“Are you happy?
”
he asks pulling the pup away to get close to me. The pup was not having it and wedged himself between us. The pup was a fucking tank. All muscle, tongue, and happiness. He wanted to know if I was happy. Rubbing the pup, I feel his scars, rough skin where fur should have been. This pup, like me, had been denied human connection. He’d been abused, sheltered, and left to suffer. I don’t think he will ever know what this meant to me. I don’t think he grasps the significance this pup represents, the gift he’s bestowed. But this was Monarch, so maybe he did.

“You rescued him,
”
This came out soft, and I didn’t want to be a pussy, so I tried again. “You rescued him.”

“Yeah.”

“You rescued me.”

“It’s a dog, Cinn, not the same thing.”

“No,
”
I say sitting up bringing the pup with me. “This is not a dog. This is a being. Why him, Monarch?”

“He spoke to me,
”
he says tagging him behind the ears. “Not literally, but where the other mutts went nuts when I walked by, this one sat there eyeballingme. His eyes told me he’s seen some fucked up shit. Like he was saying, I just want a place to chill, a woman to protect. Shit, I don’t know
…
I thought he was fucking cute, alright?”

“He is pretty fucking cute,
”
I smile big. “But not as cute as you.”

“Fuck,
”
he groans trying to get to me but the pup was not budging. “Mutt is cockblocking me already. Won’t let me near my woman.”

“His name is Ares.”

“Come again?
”
he asks blinking.

“The pup, the cockblocker,
”
I giggle. “His name is Ares.”

“Which means?”

“Glad you asked,
”
I say scratching his big belly and falling onto Monarch’s chest
.
“Ares was the Greek God of war. He was one of the twelve Olympians and the son of Zeus and Hera. His sister was Athena, goddess of strategy and generalship. During the Trojan War, he was on the losing side while his sister was on the winning side. Basically, Ares was a warrior who was dealt a lot of shit. But he was still a fucking God and a badass. Thus, I’m naming this pup, who likes to cockblock and was on the losing side but won when you rescued him, Ares.”

“So fucking smart,
”
he praises me, and I puffed up. “You got all of that from a cockblocking mutt?”

“No,
”
I laugh when Ares stretches out sticking a paw in his face. “I got all that from you rescuing him and bringing him home to me. He’s not on the losing side anymore.”

“You Athena then?
”
he asks studying me. “My goddess of strategy? That explains the books on war you used to read. Hell, I had to explain what Achilles heel meant. Wait,
”
he says figuring it out. “You use Greek mythology to strategize, don’t you?”

“Maybe,
”
I grin big. He was the first, the only, to ever put it all together. Yes, I did use ancient wars of the past in the present. I did it because to me those warriors had honor, they fought hard and the men of today were too stupid to notice. Save Monarch that is.

“Ares,
”
he booms,and the pup jumped up like he knew that was his name. “Step to me,
”
he says putting his hand out. Taking it, he pulls me up,and we both watch Ares jump down and kneel beside me. “Fucking mutt,
”
he mumbles but was grinning. “Time for your swimming lesson, my queen.”

“Ares comes with us,
”
I made this a statement.

“Pretty sure that mutt won’t ever leave your side because the mutt knows it just won the fucking lottery.”

He was half right. As far as lotteries go, I won big. Real fucking big.