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Chance played for an hour until Thalia came to put them to bed. Chance heard her arrive ten minutes after he’d taken the kids to play.
Thalia shook her head as she walked towards him. She’d got no further than he had.
“You’re going to have to make the hard choice soon, Chance,” Thalia said sadly.
Chance knew what she meant. Maylene had approached it first. That Clio might be so traumatised she needed a stint in a specialist centre. Chance refused to think of it as anything else.
“Ain’t doing that to her,” Chance rumbled.
“And this shit ain’t helping her. You and I often don’t see eye to eye, but where Clio is concerned, we both love her and want the best for her. You gonna have to consider if what she’s doing is healthy because it is not. Not for her, you, or those kids. They just want their mom back. They don’t understand why Clio won’t interact with them, and when she does, it’s pathetic,” Thalia whispered to him.
Chance flinched. Thalia was correct, of course. Not even her beloved children roused her. Chey had gone behind everyone’s backs and checked out a secure hospital that dealt with trauma. Chance had blown his top, but Chey had held her stance until he realised she meant well. Clio’s distress affected all of Hellfire. His brothers felt helpless, and his kids were motherless. As for Chance, he felt rudderless. There was a lot of ‘less’ around. Too much.
Clio had retreated the moment she had awoken from fainting. And nobody had been able to reach her. Chance stood again in the doorway, watching her stare at nothing. He wasn’t sure if it was the hysterectomy that hurt or what they’d witnessed. Or the fact after dealing with a cult, they now had the Fangs after them. Clio had been strong. Yeah, he mused, she’d had to find her feet, but she always had that inner strength. Now, it was gone.
“Clio,” Chance said as he stepped into the room.
Clio didn’t even acknowledge him. Lost in her thoughts, as she was wont to do lately. Chance frowned. This had to end.
“Clio, talk to me,” he demanded, allowing a little of his frustration to leak into his voice.
Once more, Clio ignored him.
“You start coming out of this funk, Clio. I’m gonna have to deal with shit, and you won’t like it. I can’t let you wallow in whatever’s bothering you. You need help that I can’t fuckin’ provide. You don’t even look at me anymore, woman. Have you fallen out of love with me? Is that it? You blame me for what happened?” Chance said louder.
He hoped she’d respond, but instead, her gaze remained unfocused, and there was no reply. Chance drew in a deep breath. Maybe Thalia was right.
Clio
As soon as Chance left the room, I heaved a sigh of relief. I knew I was hurting him but couldn’t stop myself. All my dreams and hopes lay dashed to pieces in the dust. Ever since we’d first met, giving him a large family had been all I wanted. Instead, Chance got two children from me, and that was it. Two kids. At least we’d had one of each.
My thoughts plagued me—that maybe he’d be better divorcing me and finding a woman who could give him what I wanted him to have. The huge, happy, noisy family with kids that doted on him. Kids that stampeded the door every time he came home and yelled Dad at the top of their lungs.
Large, fun-filled family barbeques, with Chance and the kids in the pool, grilling together, and Chance with several princesses curled on his lap. That had been my dream for him, and a sickening cult had blown it up and stolen it from me. After everything I’d suffered, surely I deserved my dream. Chance kept telling me Louisa and Dax were plenty; even Louisa had been enough. But I didn’t think so. He deserved more than what I’d given him.
Self-hatred curled around my heart. I knew I was a failure. My son, Chance’s precious legacy, had been ripped from my stomach, and then I’d nearly died. When I woke, Diesel had made the decision to take away my womanhood. At first, I’d hated him; I hadn’t even been able to look at him, but I realised he’d done what he thought was right. Diesel hadn’t known my dreams; Diesel hadn’t realised I’d rather have died so Chance could move on and find a woman with a complete womb and able to provide those kids I dreamed of.
I was a shell of myself. And the quicker I died, the better. Chance would get the happily ever after he deserved.
Chapter Eleven.
Madisen
Aweek had passed since the incident with Brandy and Millar, and there’d been no further sign of Millar. I’d asked Derek if he thought Millar was capable of killing women and slicing them up alive, and Derek had regarded me with a blank expression. He finally told me that several of Millar’s ex-partners had gone missing, never to be seen again.
In my mind, that put Millar firmly at the front of suspects. Detective Lio had checked in a few times, but nobody told him about Millar. I knew that Derek would take care of Millar himself should he prove to be the culprit. Millar was proving himself to be an asshole, but things had calmed down.
Levi stayed in my house as planned; numerous times, he snuck into my bedroom and gave me a few more kisses. He was content to take things at my pace, which was slightly frustrating because I wanted things to move quicker than they were. Levi had lit a fire in me and delighted in stoking it before letting me find relief either through his fingers or mouth. But he didn’t go any further.
According to Levi, he wouldn’t fuck me with my brothers and cousins in the same building. I guessed that was fair enough, although it really made me want to chase my brothers out. And then head to a hotel with Levi. I couldn’t exactly kick my cousins out of their own home! It was starting to look like a tempting idea. The ‘gifts’ being dropped at the house had stopped, as security had been so ramped up; not even Spiderman could get through it. Everywhere my cousins and I went, there were two guards on us. At all times.
The good news was The Midnight Hour, the shop, and the dance studio were going great. They were hugely successful, more than we’d ever believed. There was even a waiting list for dance lessons. Everybody wanted to be where the elite of our part of South Dakota had been seen and were seen more than once. However, waiting for Millar or the stalker to make their move was wearing on our nerves. Apart from the McKenzies and Levi, everyone was on edge.
Today, I was driving us to work with Tami, Riley, and Dane. Dane was taking the front seat next to me, while Riley was in the back with Tami. The only complaint had been that I insisted on driving us. Levi rolled his eyes but wisely kept his mouth shut. He would, of course, considering we had a date at his studio tonight. I wondered how that would look, but any questions I’d asked he sidestepped. Smart assed man!
“Watch your speed,” Dane muttered as I pulled out.
I sent him a disbelieving stare and was tempted to floor it. I knew the car would respond, but I resisted and drove sedately towards work. It was funny how tense Dane was next to me. My brother clearly didn’t like the fact I was in charge of the powerful vehicle, and I could see his fists clenching on his lap. I was deciding whether to tease him a little by weaving back and forth when I saw a vehicle coming up fast behind me.
