Bad Blood Ch. 02 - No Rest for the Wicked

"OK, Honor, you win. What do you want?"

"I already have the keys to Darlene's car, and you're going to give me your wallet. If I have to go back to New Orleans without her, I may as well have some fun with your cash and credit cards on the way."

I tossed my wallet on the table. "Now stand clear of the hall, so I can make my way out of the trailer. Move real slow, or I swear I'll cut this bitch." Darlene's eyes were clenched shut with fear at this point. I can't say that I blamed her.

I stepped in and moved around the table slowly, keeping it between Honor and me. The Honor bolted.

I ran up to Darlene and began to untie her right wrist when I heard Honor screeching. I ran out the door of the double-wide, where I saw Honor face-down on the ground, my mother on top of her. Both Mom's knees were in Honor's kidneys, she was using her right hand to keep Honor's arm twisted and pinned behind her back, using her left hand to push Honor's face into the dirt. The big kitchen knife lay about 20 feet away, appearing to have been tossed there when Janelle caught Honor by surprise.

"MOM!" I yelled, "What are you doing?" I'd never seen my mother's face with such a look of fury.

"Are you OK, Brad? When I saw this woman running out of the trailer with a chef's knife in her hand, I didn't get the impression she was going to a cooking class. Good thing they made me take self-defense lessons as part of my flight attendant training!"

"Her name's Honor Chantelle and she drugged Darlene, tied her up, and was about to drag her back to New Orleans against her will!"

Honor managed to turn her head sideways, and screamed, "Get off me you bitch! Darlene's my daughter, we was just having a talk! I'll have you arrested for this!"

It was my turn to shout, "Like hell you will, Honor. When Darlene has her blood tested and traces of Ketamine show up, you'll be in deep shit. I hear tell the Sacramento PD takes a dim view of attempted kidnapping!"

Shifting her left hand, Mom grabbed a handful of Honor's hair and pulled it sideways, forcing the struggling woman to look at her. "Let me make something clear to you, bitch," she hissed, spittle flying from her angry lips, "my name is Janelle Montello. Misty and Darlene are my daughters now; you no longer have any claim to them. They're not Chantelle women any longer, they're Montello women. You'd better get this through your stupid white-trash head, if you ever hurt one of my Montello kittens, you'll be up to your ass in a Montello tigress looking to tear you apart. Am I making myself clear?"

She pulled Honor's hair again, hard. The evil witch gasped in pain, then hissed, "Yes."

There were sirens in the distance, getting closer. Someone trailer park neighbor must have called the police. I ran back in the trailer and found Darlene, upright but wobbly. With one wrist loose, she'd managed to untie her other wrist and her ankles. Wrapping my arm around her, I supported her into the living room and helped her sit on the couch. I could hear Mom outside explaining to the police how Honor was trying to kidnap Darlene, and asking for an ambulance to take Darlene to the hospital and have her blood tested.

I put my arms around my fiancée and held her close to me, kissing her forehead. "Darlene, I was so worried. When I saw that old gym bag missing, I assumed the worst and thought you'd left me. I'm so sorry to have doubted you."

She snuggled into my chest. "Brad, when Momma called me, I took the money in the gym bag and brung it here to give to her. Just before I left, I threw the rest away. I was hoping she'd take the cash and go away, but instead she put that drug in my coffee and tied me up. Look in the trash bin at home if you want to find the gym bag. I love you and I'm never leaving you, baby. You're my man."

I squeezed her tightly. "You'll get no arguments from me, babe. I'm all yours."

"I'm sorry about the car, Brad, I guess Momma's about halfway across the state by now."

"Nope, it's right where you left it. Honor didn't make it that far." Darlene's face brightened.

"She didn't? What happened?"

"My Mom caught her and kicked her ass, is what."

"Was that what all the hollerin' was about?"

"Yep. When I came looking for you I told Mom where I was headed, so she drove her rental car out here and happened to catch Honor trying to escape. Janelle goes to the gym a lot and is pretty strong for 60, so she gave your mother a well-deserved beat-down.

Oh, and another thing: She made a point of telling Honor that you and Misty are no longer Chantelle girls, you're both Montello girls now, and as such, she considers you her daughters. She basically threatened to bust Honor up if she ever messed with either of you again."

"I love your mother."

"Correction: She's OUR mother, babe." I began to kiss my sweet fiancée but was interrupted by the EMTs walking in looking for her. No worries, there'd be plenty of kisses to come when I brought her home from the hospital.

EPILOGUE

Darlene's blood test clearly showed traces of Ketamine, not enough to hurt the baby but enough to get Honor convicted for attempted kidnapping and sent to the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, California for 7 years, along with three years' post-prison supervision.

Three days after I brought Darlene home from the hospital, Andrew, Janelle, Steven, and Misty all drove the quick trip up to Reno, Nevada to witness Darlene and I getting married at a tiny 24-hour chapel there. In my vows, I spoke of wasting my bachelor days until my brother and his wife got married, which made me realize that I was missing out and how I'd been a jerk for too long, but Darlene's love had given me everything I'd been missing and made me a better man. And it was true, all of it.

Darlene's side of the vows mostly consisted of a lot of happy crying, and through her sobs I think I heard her say 'happy' and 'love' once or twice, but the only words I really cared about were her saying, "I do." And she did! Following our wedding, we all spent a few days in Reno gambling a little, eating some great meals, and seeing some shows. It felt great to be together as a family.

Fourteen weeks later, Darlene and I became parents to Amelia Janelle Montello on Monday at 3pm; Steven and Misty became parents to Lynnette Janelle Montello at 2am the following Monday. With such strong and gorgeous mothers and a stunning grandmother to boot, my brother and I are both dreading what it will be like when these two beautiful babies reach their teenage years.

Andrew and Janelle bought a condominium in nearby Davis, CA so they could be close to their grandkids. With the eight of us living so near to each other, Darlene and I get a lot of joy knowing Amelia will never feel the sadness that her mother felt, growing up fatherless with a narcissistic mother. Don't get me wrong, Darlene is still wicked, but these days it's 100% confined to our bedroom.

Oh, and thanks to Mom's advice to Misty and Darlene, neither Steven nor I have ever had to sleep on the couch.