Chapter 30: Thirty

He was right. There were so many emotions going on inside her, so many doubts about everything that she’d agree with him. She was a chickenshit. Melina had five years of a peaceful life after the entire ordeal she had been through, and now all that was in jeopardy. She didn’t know what to think about or how to act. She just wanted to go back to the safe and peaceful life she had before Henry showed up.

“I won’t take a chance on you or Eve getting hurt. You will do as I say. You will follow my orders without questioning, Melina. Am I clear?” Her eyes were bigger than saucers, staring at him. “Am I clear, Melina?” He slightly shook her. “You’re not allowed to leave your house without my knowledge or one of my guys. If you do, I’ll make sure you’ll regret your defiance. I don’t know who the hell is doing this, and it’s using you to get back at me. Words, Melina!”

“No! I have my job, my patients. You can’t do that, Henry.” She stopped struggling and stared at him in horror. “Did you bring your crew of gangsters here, closer to your daughter? Are you insane?”

“I don’t care what you think about me.” It was a lie, but she didn’t need to know that, even though he wore the hurt on his face. “They are here for protection.” He let go of her, too tired to keep arguing.

“From whom? I left to avoid all this, to protect Evangeline, just for you to show up one day and wreck everything!” She yelled at him, shoving him back.

“Mommy!” Eve screamed inside the room. “Mommy! Where are you?”

“I’m here, muffin.” Melina ran to her. “Come, we’re going home.” She whispered to her, gathering the little girl in her arms.

“Melina, why are you so afraid of the truth? I’m not the monster here.” She didn’t answer him walking out of the house.

***

It was late at night, and Melina couldn’t fall asleep, tossing and turning on her bed. Every time she closed her eyes, Henry was there haunting her, but the worst was the sadness on his face and the begging for understanding in those warm pools of honey. She may have hallucinated, but she was almost sure to have seen tears in them.

Melina wanted to answer his question; she wanted to tell him she didn’t have the right answer for him. She built a simple and steady life for Eve and herself after so many struggles. For the first time, she had a routine. She was the one in charge of everything and leading the way she wanted, but if she thought about it, it was dull. Her days resumed with her job and daughter. What was in for her? One day Eve would grow up, have her own life, and she would be all alone.

She couldn’t deny the explosive attraction to each other. Sparks would fly between them just by being in the same room. It scared her that if she gave him a chance, she would lose the reins of her life or lose herself in the process, but something inside her wanted to give into temptation. And the handsome devil was next-door, just waiting to pounce on her.

Melina concluded she was a coward. Something didn’t add up in this entire story, and he deserved a chance to explain himself. She cared about him more than she’d like to. Otherwise, why would she feel the sudden pain pressing down her chest, the feel of guilt gnawing at her insides?

Why would she record Eve for him since her birth? How did he know about the videos? Gabs or Xanthos sold her out to him. She realised with a heavy heart. The more she thought about it, the more her mattress seemed to have needles on it. She stood up in a leap, and she didn’t know her course of action, but she was about to discover.

Grabbing the baby monitor, she marched out the house, going straight to Henry’s. It was a little after midnight and the entire place was in the dark. An almost empty bottle of scotch laid on the kitchen table. She took her hand to her throat, seeing shards of glass all over the floor. By the small size and amount, she had pissed him off. She followed the sound of his soft snoring until his room. At the door, she saw him slumped on the mattress. She winced a bit, courage trying to leave her alone. Melina squeezed her eyes shut, inhaled sharply, and walked to the bed, crawling over him.

He moved, orange blossoms invading his brain. He knew who was on top of him. “Melina, what are you doing here?” he asked, still groggy with sleep, but there was surprise in his face.

“Explain to me, Henry. Please, make me understand.” She saw him swallow hard a few times. His muscular arms closed on her, and his hands splayed on her back, bringing her to him, her body melding to his chiseled one with perfection.

“I will, kitty cat.” He kissed her temple. “What made you change your mind?” He waited, not pushing for the answer.

“I built a stable life for myself after so much struggle. I made a safe world for me and Eve to live in. Then you came crashing and crumbling down everything I had fought so hard for. And again my life will shift. It frightened me, Henry.” She cupped his face, caressing his cheek. “I know you have a good heart, I can feel it, since day one. What kind of thug has a charm bracelet with the name of his loved ones on his wrist? You deserve to redeem yourself.”

“To redeem myself, huh?” He chuckled, his raspy voice filling her ears. “Melina, I left the cartel right after your kidnapping. I’m not in the business for a long time. My guys are all good people. But I won’t lie to you, I still deal with dangerous situations.”

“Why? What made you leave all that behind?” She slid her finger over his beard, reaching to his hair, bunching them in her palm. The strands were so soft, in a honey tone matching his eyes, and even in the soft light coming from the window you could distinguish the color.

“My friend and I had talked about getting out, but you were my turning point. I didn’t want to kidnap you.” He gave a loud, frustrated sigh.

“Why did you do it?”

“Because it was my job. My boss was a ruthless man. If I had rebelled against him. I would end up punished and he would put somebody else in my place to do it. Only God knew what they could do to you. So I prefered to keep the original plan and protect you as best as I could.” She was staring at him with such intensity, he felt ashamed of himself, and shut his eyes. Then he felt her lips brushing on his.

“Look at me, it’s ok. I’m glad you were there for me.” She kissed the corner of his mouth. “And what do you do, now?”

“I track and find people, most of them bad ones, sometimes a little security.” He nuzzled her neck, inhaling her sweet scent. He couldn’t believe she was there, on top of him, in her free will. “But I think I’m ready for an early retirement. What do you think?” Henry felt shivers run down her body when he sinfully scraped his teeth on her jaw, his hand on the nape of her neck, her hair falling on his face. Maybe he was having a lucid dream.

“Henry…” She whispered on his lips, feeling his hands wander on her body with extra gentleness. Arousing her, going to places she never cared before. The night they spent together, some feelings were still clouded in her mind. She had been so drunk, but now they were both sober. She knew what she was doing and the consequences of that. He cupped her butt, smashing her to him. He was already hard and big underneath her.

“I don’t think we’re gonna talk much…” He teased, flipping them over, Melina squeaked, and he came on top of her, pressing her against the mattress.

“I wasn’t counting on…”

He didn’t let her finish talking as he took her mouth in a long and gentle kiss, savoring her, playful, delivering soft bites on her full lips, only to soothe with more kisses. “Are you sure about this, Melina? I will chain you to me forever. I’m done chasing you.”