by Jane Godman
Because Wilkes’s words had struck a chord with her. But she couldn’t be right. Could she? This whole thing, all these people dying. It couldn’t all be about her. I’m not that important.
Someone close to one of you who has a grudge. The words played on a loop in her mind. Maria’s whole life had been spent trying to overcome the bitter grudge her brother had felt toward her. No, it was more than a grudge. Caspar had hated her. Her parents had tried to pretend that wasn’t the case. They had done their best to cover it up, to call it sibling rivalry and brush it off as a normal part of family life. But Maria had always known the truth. It had been there in the looks he gave her, and in the sly punches, kicks, and pinches behind their parents’ backs. Her parents had always replaced her favorite toys when they were damaged or went missing and tried to make excuses when Caspar threw a tantrum or pretended to feel ill whenever a special treat was planned for Maria. She soon learned to stay in the background. But it never seemed to make any difference. He continued to resent her no matter what she did. She knew their parents had hoped the situation would improve as they grew older. It didn’t. As he passed from childhood into his teens, Caspar’s smoldering dislike had hardened into bitter animosity.
She hadn’t heard from Caspar for years. When their parents died, his anger had spilled over even further. Jealous of Maria’s talent and success in the art world, Caspar had refused to speak to her at the funeral and had not responded to her calls, letters, or emails since. She knew he wanted to make his own way, also as an artist, but she had no idea how he was doing.
Caspar detested her, but was he capable of murder? She must be wrong. This was her overwrought brain snatching at wild solutions. Murder wasn’t exactly a minor allegation to make against someone with whom she had grown up. And, if it was true, it meant the whole Cage Killer investigation was about her. Every murder had been committed because Caspar wanted to get at Maria. But that can’t be true. I didn’t know any of the other victims.
Unless Caspar had become so unhinged he had killed people with the same coloring as the sister who had insinuated her way into his family? But that was even more far-fetched. And how did it fit with Madden’s theory that the Cage Killer was a fledgling werewolf hunter who had turned to Jean Chastel for help? The answer to that question was simple. It didn’t.
But, in light of what Wilkes had said, she didn’t feel she could keep this suspicion to herself. As wrong as it felt to throw Caspar to the wolves—Did I really just think that?—she had to share her fears.
She drew a deep breath at the same moment that Madden’s cell phone rang. He moved to one side to answer it and silence fell over the group. When he joined them again, his expression was grim. “It was Callie. A parcel addressed to me arrived at the Fairbanks Police Department a few hours ago. It contained an index finger. Initial tests show it probably belonged to Hendrik.”
* * *
The only way Madden knew how to deal with the storm of emotions raging through him was to hold on to Maria like he was never going to let her go. Because he wasn’t ever letting her go. It was a vow he had made to himself. And when the time was right, he would prove it to her as well. But he had screwed things up so spectacularly, he didn’t know how to get them back on track. He would never forget the look of pain he had seen in the depths of her eyes. A look he had caused when he rejected her. He had to find a way to erase that.
But everything was so crazy right now. Dealing with the horror that was going on around them had to be his priority. When he talked about their future, he wanted to be sure they had one. Then he wanted to be sure he could make it a good one.
He was just relieved she was still talking to him, let alone sharing a room with him. When he had closed the door behind them and paused, looking at her long and hard, not daring to hope they might get back to their former intimacy, she had come to him, taking his face in her hands and pressing her lips to his.
“No talking. No analyzing. Not yet,” she had said, as she had taken his hand and led him to the bed. “There will be plenty of time for that later.”
They had managed to snatch a few hours’ sleep in between some frantic lovemaking. Maria’s face was troubled as she raised herself on one elbow and looked down at him. “I need to talk to you about something.”
Madden wanted to soothe away the frown that was pulling her brows together. “It was what Wilkes said about the Cage Killer being someone close who had a grudge.”
“Go on.” Madden shifted into a sitting position and drew her into the crook of his arm.
She sighed. “I don’t want to think like this. Thinking like this feels like the ultimate betrayal of the people who took me in and gave me a home.”
Madden placed a finger under her chin and tilted her face up to his. “Tell me. Whatever you say is between us.”
She shook her head. “That’s just it. As soon as I say the words, it won’t be. Once I tell you, it will become part of your investigation. He will become part of your investigation.” Madden remained silent, sensing the battle that was going on inside her. Eventually, she took a breath. “Okay. I have to do this, because I know you can’t leave anything unexplored. You know that I was adopted, right? Well, my parents already had a child, a boy, named Caspar.” Maria’s voice wobbled. “Caspar hated me.”
“You mean he resented you coming into his family?”
“No, I mean he really hated me.” The expression in her eyes saddened him in a way her words couldn’t. Madden knew what it meant not to belong. He had lived with isolation all his life. He thought he had come to terms with it. But the pain on Maria’s face stripped away his defenses and left him raw. When he looked into her eyes and saw what she had been through, he was taken back to his own experiences as a cast out cub and then a wolf with no pack. “What Caspar felt for me went way beyond sibling rivalry, or even the expected resentment of a child who has an adopted sister brought into the family. It was so extreme that my parents took us all to a family therapist. Nothing helped. Nothing changed.” She pressed closer to him. “It never has.”
“You think he could be the Cage Killer?” Madden could understand the reason for Maria’s reluctance. No matter what her life with this brother had been like, saying those words out loud, suggesting that a family member might be a murderer, was never going to be easy. No matter what that person had done in the past, family loyalty was always going to be strong enough to cause an eye-watering amount of guilt.
“I don’t know what to think.” She was trembling now and Madden ran his hands up and down her arms in an attempt to soothe her. “But when Wilkes said that . . . about someone close who had a grudge, it made me think of Caspar.” Her eyes pleaded with him for understanding. “And I had to tell you.”
“Maria”—Madden wrapped his arms around her, warming her with his body—“you were right to tell me. Caspar will never know it was you who spoke to me. I will get it to my team right away. They’ll check him out from a distance, and hopefully eliminate him from our inquiries. If it looks like he is a suspect, then our investigation into him need never lead back to you.”
“If Caspar comes under investigation, I expect he will blame me anyway.” The desolation on her face shocked him. “I have no idea what his life has been like since I last saw him, but I have a feeling that he will have managed to come up with a reason why everything bad that has happened to him from that moment on has been my fault.”
* * *
Madden was an image of male perfection. Naked, aroused, and with his eyes burning with raging need. He was everything Maria had ever dreamed of and more. He could drive her wild with a look, steal her breath with a touch, connect with her soul as he entered her. And he was between her thighs. Perhaps they should have tried to snatch another hour or two of sleep . . . but sleep was overrated.
Strong and dominant, his eyes roamed over her body, fueling her arousal even further, driving her to a point just beyond desperation.
“Please . . .” She lifted
her hips, pressing herself against his hard length.
“You didn’t obey me today, Maria.” Although there was a hint of a smile on his lips, his voice was stern.
She gasped. Now? They were going to talk about this right now?
He lowered his lips, smothering her protest and silencing it with passion and fire. As his tongue entered her lips, she felt the blunt pressure of his cock pressing against her swollen folds. Tingling fingers of sensations began to stroke her flesh.
“When I tell you to do something, I expect obedience.” Madden raised his head, his eyes glittering gold.
Maria writhed desperately against him.
“Are you listening to me, Maria?”
She nodded, only half aware of what he was saying. “Madden, I need you inside me, now.” Her voice sounded a lot like a plea.
He levered himself onto his elbows, smiling down into her eyes. “Then tell me what I want to hear. Tell me you will obey me in future.”
“You walked away from me when we were about to mate, and now you decide to be an alpha?” She gasped as he moved his hips, pushing the head of his cock into her a fraction. “Oh, dear God.”
“Your choice, Maria.” The smile deepened as he withdrew again.
“You bastard.” The whispered words had no heat to them.
It was a game and she was loving every delicious, tormenting minute of it. They both knew she was going to say the words, and they both knew there was no winner or loser.
“I can wait all night.” Madden slid a hand down to caress her breast. “Can you?”
“Do I have to obey you in everything?” She tried wriggling her hips to see if she could bring him any closer. He didn’t move. Just stayed stubbornly in position, with his cock pressed up against her entrance. It was as if he was an iron statue. Damn the man.
Her legs were spread wide with her feet draped over his thighs, her hips were angled to allow his huge erection to penetrate her. His gaze traveled down to lock on the point where their bodies joined. Everything about this situation made the conversation more erotically charged.
Madden’s lips twitched. “Just tell me I’m your alpha. We can sort out the details later.” As he spoke, he traced a finger down her body, finding her clit and circling it once in a possessive gesture.
The caress was too much for Maria. With a soft sigh, she threw back her head and jerked her hips upward. “You win, my beautiful alpha. I’m yours too command.”
“Thank fuck for that. I couldn’t take much more of that torture.”
He pressed into her, moaning hoarsely as he watched his cock part her tender flesh.
Furious heat built inside Maria as he stretched her. Nothing felt as good as this. This fierce tenderness. This intrusion of his body into hers. It tipped her beyond pleasure and into rapture.
She lifted her upper body, wanting the same view Madden had, wanting to watch as his girth disappear into her.
His hips bucked and he tipped his head back, the muscles in his neck cording. Hunger, pure and possessive, swept across his features and darkened his eyes with amber heat.
Maria arched to him as he quickly pulled back and plunged all the way inside her again. The pain-pleasure sensation had her bucking and writhing in ecstasy.
Madden’s hands gripped her buttocks, lifting her to him, as he drove mindlessly into her. His erection was a delicious friction, spreading wildfire across her the sensitized nerve endings of her vagina, sizzling outward through her whole body.
“More.” Her voice was hoarse and demanding as her pelvis slammed up and down in time with his thrusts.
“Like this?” It was a snarl. He was fucking her wildly now, the rhythm so fast and furious that their bodies were slippery with perspiration.
“Yes. God, yes. Just like that.”
“Say it again.” His mouth found the tender flesh between her neck and her shoulder, and Maria cried out as his bite intensified her pleasure.
“I’m yours.” The eroticism of being possessed by Madden was keeping her hovering on the edge of orgasm. So close to tipping over. “Always yours.”
His strong, thrusting hips, the thick length of his cock impaling her, her muscles clenching around him, his teeth gripping her flesh . . . the tension coiling through her body began to tighten and spiral.
She had lost control of her own body. Handed it over to Madden. He lit a fire inside her and it swept through her, burning every part of her. The orgasm that tore through her made her cry out in shock at its intensity. Blinding white light exploded behind her eyes, sending darts of pure bliss shooting outward to pierce her skin.
She held on to Madden, winding her arms tight around his neck, shuddering through each agonizingly delicious spasm, feeling him jerk and shudder as his own release tore through him. Madden collapsed onto her, his breathing harsh as he murmured her name.
When the tremors finally, ceased, Madden lifted his head to gaze at Maria. “Mine. You said it yourself.”
His lips brushed hers and, although he shifted his weight to one side, he kept one leg across hers in a possessive gesture.
The previous day, when he had questioned her obedience, her human instincts had rebelled. Under that intense amber gaze, her mood shifted. She was a werewolf. This was her world now. She could no more fight Madden’s dominance than she could deny the influence of the midnight sun. She lowered her eyes and nuzzled her nose along the line of his jaw. She was scenting him while marking him with her own aroma. It was a gesture of submission and apology. His indrawn breath signaled his appreciation of the action.
Chapter Fourteen
It was still dark when they left the hotel. As they covered the miles, the dawn light began to paint red and pink bands low across the dark blue sky. The air was crisp and Maria huddled into her warm clothing. She had told herself she was prepared for this. That she could go back to the place where the Cage Killer had held her prisoner, had tortured her and scarred her . . . physically and mentally. She even convinced herself that she wanted to do it. To help the brotherhood with the hunt for Hendrik, but also to lay to rest her own fears. If she could face this, she could move on with her life. That was what she had told herself. Over and over.
Now it was happening? Her mind and her heart were at war over the idea. All at once, it didn’t seem like such a great plan. Her mind started giving her reasons why she didn’t need to do this. You’ve been through so much. Don’t do this to yourself. No one really expects you to be tough enough to walk back in there. Her heart, that tough, stubborn organ, the one that had kept on beating, kept her going throughout her nightmare ordeal with the Cage Killer, insisted on a different set of instructions. Walk back into that bastard’s territory with your head held high. Don’t let him win. Help them catch him at last, so he can’t do this to anyone else.
They traveled in two rental cars with Madden taking the wheel of one and Samson driving the other. The mood of the whole group was subdued. The confirmation that it was likely the Cage Killer really did have Hendrik had hit them all hard. Maria guessed that until the awful package containing the severed finger had been delivered to the police everyone had been like her, still hoping there might be another explanation for his disappearance.
“How long does it take to get there?” Madden addressed the question to Wilder, who was slumped down in the backseat, still yawning and rubbing a hand over his face in an attempt to clear away the remnants of sleep.
“Two and a half hours.”
“Shit. Why didn’t we fly?”
Wilder laughed. “I’ve had enough of air travel for the time being. The speed is good, but I can do without the welcome when we land.”
“What makes you think Chastel won’t send the Hellhounds to meet us just because we’re traveling by car?” Jenny asked.
“No reason. But it’s easier to tell if we’re being followed and take evasive action this way.” Wilder spoke to Madden again. “And don’t worry about the timing. We’ll get there before Rainer sets off for
work. That’s the reason for the early start, even though it nearly killed me.”
“It wasn’t the early start that nearly killed you.” Jenny’s voice was caustic. “It was me. You are such a grump in the mornings.”
“But you love me anyway,” Wilder joked.
Maria wondered if their lighthearted exchange made Madden conscious of all things that still remained unspoken between the two of them? Would they ever have that easy, loving familiarity that Wilder and Jenny had? Or will we forever be dogged by unease and wondering? Not knowing if this is what we both want and if we’ve said and done the right thing? Physically there was no doubt. They were meant to be together. No one else would ever do for either of them. It was all the other stuff that got in the way. Unfortunately, all the other stuff—like talking, and sharing and opening up—was important, too.
They lapsed into silence for most of the drive. Even though the circumstances made Maria’s nerves jangle, she couldn’t help appreciating the spectacular landscape. When they arrived in the scenic town of Seward, it was just preparing to face the day. Situated at the head of Resurrection Bay, the place where the Cage Killer had held Maria, the seaside village had a bustling harbor with quaint shops and galleries. It nestled into a mountainous embrace, with Mount Marathon rising steep and protective over the whole area.
Anton Rainer lived beyond the town itself. Leaving the coastal road once they were out of the town, Madden followed a narrow trail that wound its way up toward the base of the mountain. Even though the vehicles they had rented were SUVs, they were forced to halt a few hundred yards from Rainer’s house.
The roof of Rainer’s house could just be glimpsed through the foliage. It was an isolated location, and Maria could tell from the way Madden was scanning the area thoughtfully that he was assessing its possibilities as the Cage Killer’s base. Although he held his victims captive and killed them in a variety of locations, he had to have somewhere he called home. Somewhere he made a cage for each victim.