The Secrets

The Half Truth

Madison's POV

I felt a knife on my throat and tried to stay as still as possible. Who was this guy? Why was he seeing me as his prize? He kicked my side and I curled into the fetal position. "I have a message for that boyfriend of yours," he growled and punched me in the face.

Before I could say anything the man was pulled off me and thrown into the quiet street. Jonah was standing over him with a gun in his hand. "I'd kill you but I don't want to waste my bullets. Get out of my sight before I change my mind."

The man stumbled away and Jonah pulled me to my feet. I didn't realize I was shaking until he pointed it out. He took his hoodie from around his waist and put it on me. "You're staying with us tonight."

I nodded as he led me to his car. The ride there was silent as I thought about how angry he seemed to be with Corbyn. Jonah parked in the driveway and came around to my side of the car. He helped me into the house where Daniel and Zach were on the couch talking. Jasmine was in the kitchen with Jack but she froze when she saw me. Corbyn walked in with his guitar. His grin faded when he saw me. "You're bleeding. What the hell happened?"

"I don't know," I stuttered, trying to control my temper.

"He's after you and now he knows you have a girlfriend," Jonah replied. "I found him about to kill her on the street."

I couldn't deal with this anymore. Corbyn reached for me but I pushed his hand away. "What did you do?"

Corbyn clearly didn't want to look at me. What was so horrible that he couldn't tell me? He took a deep breath and looked up at me. "I did what I had to. I was paid."

"You killed someone?" I stuttered as I backed into Zach who had a smirk on his face.

A cold look came into Corbyn's eyes as he nodded. "I did what I had to," he repeated.

"Who?" I asked, not really wanting to know.

"His wife and kids," Corbyn replied quietly. "He took everything from me. It felt good to get him back."

"Corbyn... I can't even process this," I stuttered. "What the fuck?"

Corbyn pulled me into a hug and sighed. "It won't happen again."

I sighed and pulled away. "I just want to get cleaned up okay?"

He nodded and I ran upstairs. I went into Corbyn's bathroom and saw my bathrobe hanging on the back of the door. So that's where I left it. While I ran the bath I used a tissue to get the blood off my face. It stung but I knew I had to clean the wounds to keep from infecting them. I got settled in the tub and closed my eyes.

I was the most relaxed I'd been in a long time and felt like I was about to doze off when I heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?"

"Your favorite bean," Corbyn's voice said.

"Come in," I sighed as I felt the stress come back.

Corbyn walked in and locked the door. He pulled off his shirt and looked at me. "We don't have to talk about it. Let's just relax."

"Okay," I said as I moved enough for him to get in.

As we got dressed several minutes later I noticed Corbyn's back. I ran a hand down some open wounds. I wasn't going to ask. Instead, I tossed him his shirt and went to the bed. He asked me if I was sore as we cuddled and I told him no. I wasn't going to worry him. Finally, I couldn't help myself. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" Corbyn murmured, clearly falling asleep.

"Daniel coming home all beat up, the late-night ride home, our date that we didn't even get to have. I've known you're lying but what I don't know is why. You killed people and you seem... okay with it," I said as I rested my head on his chest. "Why?"

"We kind of work with the mafia," Corbyn mumbled and I gave him a tiny smile.

He frowned when he saw the look I was giving him. "What?"

"I know," I replied.

"You know?" He asked in shock.

"Zach told me," I lied. "Please tell me why I got attacked."

I really didn't know why I'd gotten attacked. I knew the boys were working with the mafia and that Corbyn and Jack had been in their own mafia gangs before meeting each other. I just didn't know why someone came after me when he had an issue with the boys. By the look on Corbyn's face, he knew exactly why someone had attacked me. "I had made a deal with him. I broke that deal. He must've found us and knew you were close to me."

I stared at him. "So..."

Corbyn shrugged. "His goal has always been to destroy what I loved. He's had it out for me for years now."

"So I'm still in danger?" I asked.

Corbyn nodded. "It's why Daniel didn't want me around you. Maybe I should've listened to him but I'm stubborn as hell sometimes."

"And if worst comes to worst?" I asked.

Corbyn kissed me. "Let's not think about that right now."