Rise of the Notorious (32 page)

“We’ll find her,” Quinn asserted, squeezing Madison’s hand tightly. “Burned bridges can be repaired, you know. Even ones that seem hopelessly damaged.”

Madison’s heart stalled, the old ache of sorrow and guilt over her little sister choking her. She despised the pain, hated it with all her being. Yet, she couldn’t make it disappear.

She pulled her hand from Quinn’s and turned, walking to stare out of the window. It was much like the view from her grandfather’s room had been—all of the towering buildings just lighting up for the inevitable darkness of night.

In the glass, she could see her own reflection. She stared at her face, noting the lack of emotion her careful mask provided. It had long been her shield, her protection against any and all who would think to harm her. Now she wondered if it was keeping her from befriending someone who so clearly deserved her trust.

She watched as Grant reached for Quinn’s hand, and the way his face lit with quiet contentment as he looked at her. When he leaned in to kiss her, tender and sweet, Madison felt sorry for ever being cruel to the woman.

There was a sudden movement behind them as the door opened. She watched Wyatt step in, and their eyes immediately met and held in the reflection of the glass.

She let out a slow, even breath and turned around. “I’m surprised to see you here.”

He shot her an amused glance before going straight to Quinn. “I don’t know why, sweetheart. I’m just as concerned for our girl’s safety as you are.”

Quinn laughed as he reached for her hand and pressed a kiss to her skin gallantly. “Great, now another person gets to see me without any makeup on.”

“Want me take a picture?” Wyatt asked with a wink, pulling back and turning to face Grant. He held out his hand graciously. “Grant.”

Grant accepted the man’s hand, though it still lacked the warmth of friendship. “Wyatt.”

“Why don’t you two leave us ladies alone for a few minutes. Go talk about manly stuff. You know, like cars.” Madison eyed Grant knowingly, and he nodded.

Wyatt looked at Madison curiously but followed Grant outside when he led the way. After the door shut behind them, Madison sat down beside Quinn and reached for her hands again.

“I want to apologize to you,” she said evenly, letting her remorse show.

“What for?” Quinn asked.

“For keeping my distance from you,” Madison replied with a sad smile. “You didn’t deserve the attitude I gave you. And you’re right about the bridges. I hope to mend the bridge between us that’s been smoldering for some time now.”

“Oh.” Quinn blinked, surprised at Madison’s words. “Well, thank you. I guess. I mean, I’m so happy you want to be friends. I’ve been telling Grant for weeks now that you could use someone on your side, someone other than the usual suspects. I hope I can be that for you.”

“You can. And are.” Madison squeezed her hand gently. “With everything that’s been happening lately, it’s occurred to me that I have been pushing people away who do not deserve to be pushed. Humility and faith are not easy skills to learn.”

Quinn nodded, understanding. “I’m here for you. And not because I’m marrying your brother, but because I respect you. I don’t always know what your intentions are or what you’re about to do, but to see the way you’ve dealt with all of this…it’s been inspiring.”

“It’s a good thing to keep others guessing,” Madison said with a half smile, the edges a little wicked. “Wouldn’t want to be too predictable. That’s boring.”

“Yeah, it is.” Quinn let out a quiet sigh, tears suddenly in her eyes. She leaned forward, biting back a curse from the pain as she wrapped her arms around Madison. Madison hugged her in return, her eyes closing as she let herself enjoy the comfort it gave her. “You’re going to save this family, Madison. And we’re all going to help you. You are never, ever alone.”

Madison knew it was a simple statement, one meant to soothe the aches and fears away. And it did help, more than she wanted it to. But it still didn’t change anything.

Words never changed events. Actions did. And Quinn had given her that little extra boost she needed to keep her head above the waters of despair.

So help her God, her family was going to make it through this.

“I don’t want
you driving that car of yours,” Lynette said firmly, folding her arms over her chest with finality.

Linc stared up at her from her sofa, heat in his eyes. “This asshole isn’t going to try the same thing again. That’s not how it works.”

“How do you know?” Lynette charged. She flung her arms out desperately and fought so hard not to give in to the fear. Her fear for him, for his life. “Good Lord, Linc, someone tried to
kill
your brother! And your sister has been kidnapped! Don’t you think you should be more careful?”

“I know what’s happened to my family, Lynette. You don’t need to remind me.” He glowered at the television, eyes unseeing. He didn’t want to fight with her, but she was being ridiculous. When she stalked over to him and blocked his view of the television, he glared up at her. “Really? This is cute.”

“How the hell are we supposed to get married if you die?” She crossed her arms again, her chin cocking up in challenge.

“I can take care of myself, and if—” He paused, realizing then what she had just said. His mouth fell open stupidly as he gaped at her. “Wait, what?”

“You heard me, you damn Yankee,” she shot back haughtily, pleased to see the stunned look on his face. “I won’t let you die on me, not now. Not when I need you so badly.”

When he managed to get his senses back, he couldn’t hide the grin that lit up his face. “This is because Quinn is getting married, isn’t it? One of those twisted girl things where if one of their friends gets engaged, they suddenly gotta get hitched too.”

Lynette rolled her eyes dramatically. “That skull of yours is remarkably thick.”

He rose to his feet, his smile widening. “I’m just trying to make some sense of why women do the things they do.”

He reached out and grabbed her by the back of the neck, pulling her in for a hard and fast kiss that left her weak in the knees. She stared at him when he released her, one eyebrow raised.

“So I take it you’re no longer angry with me for ordering you not to drive your car,” she mused.

“Nope. I wasn’t planning on listening to you, anyway,” he told her, leaning in for another kiss.

She backed away, worry chasing away her humor. “I’m serious, Linc. I’m scared.”

He softened, hating to see that look she got when she was troubled. It broke his heart. “I’ll be fine. If this guy tries to come after me, I’ll kick his ass.”

“What if it’s not as easy as that?” she asked, her hands cupping around his face tenderly. Her eyes searched his, the thought of losing him hitting her like a bullet square in the chest, brutal and destructive. “I know you think you’re invincible, but that alone won’t save you.”

Humbled by her words, he pulled her close and breathed in the scent of her hair, his arms holding her tight against him.

“I’m more worried about you,” he admitted, his hands trailing up her back possessively. “Seeing the fear on Grant’s face when he found out about Quinn…”

“Stop it,” she whispered, burying her face in his shoulder to hide her tears. “That’s why we’re here together, remember? I’m not leaving your side.”

“Good.” He suddenly lifted her into his arms, pressing his mouth to hers. “I’m eager to spend the night in my new bed in my new home.”

She let out a shaky laugh as he carried her to the bedroom, her arms winding around his neck. “I hope it meets your expectations.”

Wyatt refused to
let her go home that night. Instead, he brought her back to her family’s hotel and ordered her to rest. After hearing from Grant about the brakes, he was determined to not let Madison out of his sight.

She had to get her laptop from her office first, and he followed her to the darkened executive floor of the hotel. His arms circled her waist as they walked off the elevator, his teeth nipping at her ear.

“Remember that one night, sweetheart? I thought you were going to devour me in one bite with that sexy, little mouth of yours,” he groaned, his fingers digging into her flesh compulsively at the memory of it.

She let out a shiver of breath, smiling as she unlocked the door to her office. “You know, you’ve yet to take me in this room. Remember when we used to fuck like rabbits wherever we could?”

He grinned and spun her around, his mouth claiming hers with a rough abandon that shot through her like a vivid hot dart.

“The good ol’ days,” he murmured, his lips trailing down her cheek and over the soft skin of her throat. She grasped at his bronzed hair and arched against him eagerly.

“We can have them again,” she panted. “And so much more.”

With her heeled foot, she kicked the door closed and bit back a laugh as he lifted her by her hips onto her desk, shoving aside the items gracing its surface. His hands roamed over her body and she tilted her head back, welcoming his touch as her nails raked over his shirt.

He froze suddenly, leaving her ears ringing with a steady hum of arousal as she lowered her head to stare at him. “What? What is it?”

He reached for a white envelope that sat on top of her stack of mail, only her name and address on its surface, and held it up for her to see. “What's this?”

She paled, going from lust to icy anger in one fell swoop. She snatched the envelope out of his hand. “None of your business.”

“Is it another ransom letter? Why don’t you open it?” he asked, eyes narrowing. She hesitated, and that was all he had to see. “So you know what it is, then.”

Her hand shook as she clutched the envelope tightly, anxiety ripping through her as she realized she had to open it. Her sister’s life could depend on it.

Without a word, she reached for her letter opener and tore open the envelope. She lifted out the paper inside and read the simple, black text:

The Queen who fails to listen and forgets how the game is played loses everything she loves by the smooth kiss of a blade.

Madison’s heart shuddered with fear deep within her chest. When Wyatt took the letter from her hands, she let it go weakly, unable to fight for it. What did it matter now? It was quite possible that her sister was already dead.

He read the words, then tossed the letter aside and shook her by her shoulders. “What is this about? Have you gotten letters like this before?”

She bit back a curse, closing her eyes. Instead of responding, she reached for her keys and slid from the desk. She went to her top drawer and unlocked it, unearthing the other two letters from within.

She tossed them on the table, then watched the emotions rage over his face as he read them.

“Jesus Christ, Madison,” he muttered, completely taken aback by what he was seeing. Anger hit him first, and he rode on it as he rounded on her, shaking the letters in her face. “Why didn’t you tell me about these?”

“They were my burden to bear,” she said quietly, knowing it was a pathetic excuse. It was her attempt at being noble, but clearly that had gotten her nowhere. Instead, it may have gotten her sister killed.

“Damnit.” He tossed the letters on the desk, grabbed his head and spun around, fighting back the urge to shake her senseless over hiding something so crucial, so damning. He turned back to face her, his expression impossible to read. “Just what were you planning on doing about these letters? Were you just going to ignore them and let them pile up? Or were you waiting for something bad to happen? Like your sister getting taken or your brother almost getting killed?”