He shook his head, bringing one foot up to rest on the dash. He ran his index finger over his upper lip. “No need to explain, B. I know that there’s always reasoning to your chaos.” He said it as if he would explain the weather—with ease.
“Alright, but just so you know, what happened tonight was always the plan. Daemon had been helping Tillie since she gave birth. Apparently, he, Tinker, and another nurse were the ones who helped her through the birth. He called me up and let me know what was happening,” I paused, my eyes flying out to the side window before I took the onramp to a new highway. I needed to get the fuck out of here for a while, and going home right now wasn’t an option. Out of all the Kings, it was no mistake who my numero uno was, and he earned that on more than one occasion. If there was anyone whose company I didn’t mind when I was feeling this fucked up in the head, it was Nate’s.
Nate let me continue as I drove. “I didn’t know she was pregnant before that point, dawg. On my life. When Daemon told me, I cut a deal with Katsia. Only the bitch tried to get Micaela killed.” I shot him a quick look to see his eyes zoned out.
“I believe you.” His jaw turned rigid.
I focused on the road again. “Anyway, I should have picked it up. A few months ago, after that shit went down with Madison and Daemon and she was in the hospital, I caught Tillie trying to sneak into the room.”
I could see Nate look at me out of the corner of my eye. “I asked her what the fuck she was doing and she said she couldn’t talk but that someone had told her that there was an incident and that Madison was hurt. I didn’t even think to look at her stomach because she was so fucking small, but the was wearing an oversized hoodie, which now that I think back, was fucked up, but her, in general, was fucked up. She was off, different. More than usual. I knew she cared about Madison, so I let her see her, but before I did she told me that Katsia had captured her after that night at the cabin.” I chanced a glance at him now. “Katsia couldn’t have known that she was pregnant at this point.” I looked back to the road. “Anyway, I said I’d get in touch with her when I need to and I let her see Madison.”
“This shit doesn’t make sense anymore. Lines are getting blurred and I don’t know, bro, I just feel like there’s a war brewing.”
I nodded. “Agreed which is why I’ve come to this conclusion.” I sucked in a breath. “The girls need the fuck away from us.”
“Madison, this is bad. Just having her here with that baby is putting all of us at risk.”
“Dad!” I snapped, putting my hands on my hips. “I need to do this.”
His eyes glassed over. His brows were furrowed. He was worried and my heart sunk more. I was being selfish.
“I have a solution, but you’re not going to like it.”
“What?” I asked, defeated. “At this point, I’ll take anything.”
“Actually, we have a solution.”
Bishop’s voice launched butterflies in my chest. I turned to the door. “What is it?” He and Nate walked inside and then came into the kitchen. They both took a seat on a bar stool.
“Bishop?” I urged him, leaning against the kitchen island.
“You need to run. All three of you, and the kid.”
“No.”
“Madison…” Bishop sounded exhausted, rubbing his hands over his head in frustration. “Look, not for long, just until we sort out this war. We have never had to worry about casualties until you three came into the game. Now? Now we have you and Tillie and Tatum and for fuck’s sake a newborn baby who has a damn hit on her head, Madison. Think, be smart. You know it, we all know that this has to happen.”
Tears spilled from my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. I didn’t even bother to wipe them away, because I couldn’t bring myself to move. My arms felt like they were weighted down on either side of my body and my legs felt like Jell-O.
“Why, what’s happening? I’m going to need to know one hundred percent of what’s going on if you want this to happen.”
Bishop nodded, his palm cupping his mouth and his eyes boring into mine. My eyes stayed locked on his, as though he and I were the only ones in the room. “Katsia is rebelling against the Kings and has gone rogue. We have reason to believe she’s trying to build her own army and plans to either expose us, or fight us, or both.” He leaned forward, his eyes darkening. “You see, I can’t have you here when all this shit blows up, because she will come for you first, and then? She’ll find out about Micaela.”
The realism of everything hit me like a ton of bricks. My legs finally gave way as I curled up on the cool kitchen floor, drawing them to my chest.
“Madison,” my father started, since he had been quiet. “This has to happen. You’re too important.”
Bishop’s boots came into view, but I didn’t look up at him. He knelt beside me and his finger hooked under my chin, tilting my head up to face him. He searched my eyes. “Do you see the importance of this, baby? I could have gone another route to drilling things into your brain, so I really hope you listen to the orders I give you.”
“You were going to break up with me?” I whispered, searching his eyes as more tears overflowed.
He gave me a small smile. “Almost.”
“I’d kill you,” I stated matter-of-factly.
He laughed, his straight teeth flashing, lighting up the room. I didn’t laugh. I didn’t even smile because I wasn’t kidding. “You laugh, but I’m not joking. I can’t—” I shook my head as terror crippled through my veins at the mere thought of Bishop not being mine.
“Hey!” he snapped me out of the spiral that had started to spin inside my head. His thumb pressed over my bottom lip. “Yes, I was going to do that.”
“What changed?” I asked, wiping the tears from my cheeks with the back of my hand.
His lip kicked up in a grin. “I remembered that I love you and I promised you that I would change the things I could change—that’s what.”
My heart warmed, and the hiccups that had formed slowly started to subside. “Ok.” I nodded, standing to my feet. “We will go, but where? I’m not leaving the US.”
Bishop shook his head. “No, but I need you way the fuck out of here, somewhere no one would guess… so I have a plan…”
I narrowed my eyes. Nate couldn’t contain his laughter anymore, his chuckles practically vibrating off the walls.
“Good to see your taste in décor is still as shit as ever, Joseph.”
I spun around to see Bishop’s mom standing there, pushing her sunglasses over her short dark hair. Then her eyes came to me. “Hi, sweetie.”
“Oh,” I purred, and then when I registered what she was doing here, my eyebrows shot up. “Oh!”
“Yes! Oh!” She smiled, and then walked to Nate, leaned down, pecking him on his head. “Lucky your taste in women has improved, Joseph.”
My dad rolled his eyes. “Always a pleasure to see you, Scarlet.”
She smirked. “I know.”
Sometimes, I forget that my dad and their generation probably had stories on stories of the drama they lived through being Kings and associates.
Tillie chose this time to enter the kitchen. My eyes automatically flew to Nate.
“Oh, who is this!” Scarlet started toward Tillie with a smile on her face.
“Mom…” Bishop warned. She pulled back, a pout on her lip.
Nate slowly went to Tillie, his eyes remaining on her. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until Bishop said, “Breathe, you’re turning purple.”