Chapter 267 267

Chapter 267 267
MAD

My heart rate kicked up a notch. I sat straight in bed. “Tara? Baby, is this really you?”
“No. This is your booty call, baby. What are you wearing?”
I chuckled, grinning from ear to ear. “You don’t ask a man what he’s wearing. Baby, oh, God. It’s so good to hear your voice.” My voice was thick with emotion. “I wish I could see you and hug you right now. How are you feeling, my love?”
“I’m feeling better.” She sounded better, like she didn’t just cheat death, not less than three hours ago. “In fact, I wanna go home, but you and the doctors know my parents. They wanted me to stay for the night for observation.”
“Wait. What? You’re still in the hospital?” I frowned. “I thought you were already at home.”
“No. I’m still here.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, relieved and angry at the same time. “Damian fucking Rosenheim and Valentine asshole Ambrosius. I was convinced they were telling me the truth. The reason why I didn’t insist because I wanted you to rest. I’m coming over right now.” I stumbled out of bed, nearly tripping over my own feet.
“My love, no. There would be press waiting outside the hospital, and they were right. We should not be seeing each other before our wedding.” There was a long pause before she spoke again. “I suppose you still want to get married in the afternoon, right?”
I sat back in bed. I didn’t know if this was exhaustion or an emotional rollercoaster of the day. Or all of the above that had left me drained. 
“Are you kidding me? That’s not even a question. Of course, I will marry you. If you want to get married right now, hell, I’m coming over. Let’s get married. Are you having a second thought?”
“Of course, not.” 
I sighed as relief washed over me. “Oh, thank God.”
“Why do you think I was eager to go home?”
“Baby, just stay in the hospital for a few more hours. We can get married late in the afternoon. I want you to be fully recovered. You need that. We have a full day affair, remember?”
“Yeah. Okay, fine. I’ll stay here, but we’re not changing the time.” I could hear the excitement in her voice, which made my heart melt.
“I didn’t know you were too eager to be Mrs. Mad Shanewood, Tara.” I laughed softly. I wished she were right beside me right now so I could squeeze her into a tight hug and kiss her until we were both breathless.
“Aren’t you?” The humor in her tone was evident.
“I do, baby. You have no idea.” I breathed deeply. “Tell me how you are feeling right now, please?”
“Physically, I’m exhausted, but I’m alive.” Her voice dropped. 
“Baby, I’m so sorry. I wish I had let Lynx or Memphis come with you in the same car. I wish I hadn’t changed your security. It puts your life in danger instead of helping and keeping you safe.”
“Don’t blame yourself. What matters is it’s over now. It’s over now, right? I heard he’s in custody.”
“Who told you that?” 
“Dad. Is it true?”
I didn’t know if it was a good idea to tell her after what happened earlier, but I weighed my options, and she deserved to know the truth. 
“Yeah.”
“Where is he now?”
“Baby, you don’t have to know where he is right now. What matters is he can’t hurt you anymore.”
“I know,” she said, and my stomach was churning from keeping something from her when we promised not to keep secrets from one another.
“I wish I could feel you, baby. I just wanna feel you that you’re really talking to me right now. This is what keeps me awake. I mean, why are you even following a superstition? We’ve been through a lot together, especially you. Fuck, baby. This is fucking insane. What are we even doing? Why are we doing this to ourselves? Why are we depriving ourselves of being with each other? Why are we stressing or tormenting ourselves? Can we at least Facetime?”
“No.” She laughed softly. “I don’t believe in it either, but let’s just be patient for a few more hours. We’ve nothing to lose by following the superstition. I promise I will be there, and I will marry you.”
I took a deep breath as tears welled in my eyes. “I can’t wait to see you. Are you sure you’re feeling okay? Do you need anything?”
“Mad, just relax. The threat is over. You have nothing to worry about me. I may have drunk dirty water, but so far, I don’t feel weird, except for wanting to wash my mouth with a gallon of mouthwash.”
“I know it’s not the right time to talk about what you just went through, but I was there, and I was so terrified. I watched from that bridge, and I couldn’t do anything to help, and I’ve never felt so useless in my life at that moment. If I could switch places with you, I would have done it.” I wiped the tears from my eyes. “Baby—”
“My parents were right. You’re drowning in guilt.”
“I failed to protect you once again.”
“Mad, let’s stop doing this, okay? It’s over. It’s done. We’re still alive. We won. Don’t be too hard on yourself. I know you did everything you could. He’s just too good. He mentioned surveillance and security system checks. It’s like he knew what he was doing. Before we fell into the water, he said something like you took something from him.”
Despite knowing he was already dead, I still felt angry. I still didn’t feel the satisfaction I craved for, nor felt like justice was served. His death was too merciful. He deserved to suffer in a dark hole for the rest of his life. 
Revenge was not the answer either, knowing I couldn’t take back what I lost. It was forever gone, but those wonderful memories remained.
“That’s not true. He was manipulating you. He was trained to lie and manipulate people.”
“What made you say that?” I could literally hear her brain reeling with questions.
“He was recruited to be a spy until he went rogue.” My mind kept drifting back to what Damian had told me.
“What? Is that why he’s always one step ahead of us?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe we should expose him,” she suggested. 
“He was my friend. I don’t wanna be questioned by my past association with him. He was an American spy. The agency he worked for will deny his involvement, considering he went rogue and committed the atrocities he did for the past few months. I’m so sorry, baby. We should be celebrating. Not talking about a dead man—”
“Wait. He’s dead?”
I briefly closed my eyes. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Mad!”
I groaned. “Yes. Remember Terzo’s friend?”
“The hitman for hire?”
“Yes. She found him. Apparently, you got him good.” I chuckled. “I’m so proud of you, baby. Remind me not to piss you off.”
“Mad, what happened?” 
I told her the shorter version. Instead of being happy, she started yelling over the phone.
“What were you thinking?” The same thing her brother said. “You could have died. You could have been hurt. Jesus, Mad—” Her voice cracked. The silence that followed was more deafening. “I could have lost you. Don’t ever do that again. Do you hear me?”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t ever play hero to prove that you love me. You don’t have to risk yourself to impress me. Do something like that again, and I will bite your dick off. Do you understand?” She sounded so angry, I could hear her harsh breathing.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Now, get some sleep and be at the cathedral on time.”
“I love you.”
“I’m angry. That’s all for now.” The call ended.
“Fuck.”
I typed a text, but Dad just texted me.
DAD: Your phone is busy. Where are you? How’s Tara? Logan, your mom, and I want to see you.
MAD: It’s over now. Tara is okay. Please, stay in the hotel. You don’t have to come. Tara and I are getting married this afternoon. That’s important.
I texted Tara. 
MAD: I’m looking forward to calling you my wife later. I love you.