And Gideon had given her that just after their wedding. He’d called it his wedding gift to her, and she’d taken hold of that gift with such excitement and joy that she’d hadn't stopped to think about what it really was—a way for Gideon to keep her busy, out of the way, out of sight, out of mind during the nights when he wasn’t trying to breed her like a choice mare.
Her cell chose that moment to ring, and she glanced at it warily. She’d only given LaKeisha and Cora the number, not wanting any of the Maddoxes to have access to her.
Not even Logan and all his hacker brilliance could track her using the prepaid cell, especially since LaKeisha told her she paid an unhoused person to buy it for her. That meant there was no link to her.
The cell rang again and, with a heavy sigh, Kendra picked it up from beside the now ice cold mug of peppermint mocha that hadn’t done a thing to help lift her spirits.
The cell flashed Cora’s number so Kendra answered, cautious. She’d given the number to Cora after she’d remembered she was supposed to watch Pearl and Winnie but hadn’t called to cancel. She’d felt like the world’s worst auntie, so she’d called and explained to Cora that she’d be out of town for a while. When Cora asked why and for how long, Kendra had lied.
She wasn’t ready to rip open her chest once more in the few days between that night and her call to Cora.
Cora said she understood and for Kendra to call if she wanted to talk, and they’d ended the call.
That was two days ago, and the cell had been silent since then.
Until this call.
Had something happened to the girls?
“Cora?” Kendra answered, concerned yet uncertain. “Is something wrong?”
Cora, the sweetheart, replied, “What could possibly be wrong? One of my best friends and the best auntie in the world vanished, my brother-in-law is acting like an even bigger asshole than usual, and no one will tell me what the hell is going on.”
Suddenly, Kendra felt like a world class bitch.
“Sorry, Cora, I?—”
“No, you don’t have to explain, hon, I’m just venting because I haven’t had Kendra-Cora time in too long, and Pearl is driving me crazy asking about Auntie ‘Kenda’,” Cora said, then heaved a sigh. “So…this sabbatical…will you be back in time for Christmas? The girls want to make sugar cookies and decorate gingerbread houses, and I find that my creativeness leans more toward the alpha-numeric and not frosting and cookie dough, so we need your Christmas elf-ness to make sure it’s not a disaster.”
That made Kendra smile for the first time since Gideon had stepped into their kitchen and opened hell on earth at her feet.
“I miss you all, and….” How did she tell Cora that she might not be back for Christmas, New Years, or even Independence Day—that she might just root herself in Upstate New York for the foreseeable future because her dream marriage with her dream man had turned into a nightmare? “Honestly, Cora, I don’t know when I’ll be back,” she finally admitted, her throat thick with unshed tears. “I just need time.” Time to figure out how to move forward when the future she’d been planning was now blown to pieces.
Cora hummed thoughtfully, then asked, “Where are you? Do you need Pearl and Winnie cuddles, ‘cause I can bring them, like the world’s best medicine, straight from the pharmacy of Cora.”
Again, Kendra smiled. “I wish you could, but….”
“You don’t want anyone to know where you are, especially those nosy, intrusive, drunk on their own power Maddoxes?”
“Yes.” And she knew she didn’t need to offer more than that, because out of all the women Kendra had met in her life, Corawas the most likely to understand the importance of keeping a secret.
“I don’t like it, but I understand it,” Cora replied. “I do have to tell you, though, if Gideon really wanted to find you, he’d have Logan tracking my calls, which means the moment you called me that first time, he could have figured it out.”
Crap! She hadn’t thought of that—not that it mattered. Two days had passed since then, and there was no sign of Gideon Maddox having left his throne of skulls and gold bars.
“No sweat, though, hon, I’ve got you covered,” Cora said, a smirk in her voice.
Kendra wanted to ask how, but in that moment a wave of nausea overwhelmed her, making her gag. She hurried to the guest bathroom, cell clutched in her hand, just in time to vomit into the sink.
After a few minutes, Kendra remembered she was till on the phone with Cora.
Was she busted? She hadn’t meant to keep her pregnancy a secret, but after Gideon’s words, and her rush to get away, she hadn’t even considered telling anyone. It felt like something she needed to keep safe. Keep secret. Until she couldn’t hide it anymore.
“Kendra, are you okay?” Cora’s worried voice carried over Kendra’s dry retching. “You don’t sound good. Let me?—
“No,” she bleated, “I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine! You were just puking, Kendra—are you okay?”
