“But aren’t you going to get my mom?”
I looked at Reid and Mason, who both nodded my way. “I am, and I have help getting a plane ready. Maybe I can answer some of your questions and you can answer mine?”
Ruby looked across the table at Araneae. “Will I be staying with you?”
Araneae nodded. “I’d like that. I usually leave for work, but as luck would have it, we ladies are all staying home. I’ll be here with you.”
“I’m usually here,” Lorna volunteered. “Every day. You won’t be alone.”
“Can we leave?” Ruby asked. “This apartment? Can we get out of here?”
It was Araneae who answered. “I’ll tell you something that took me a long time to realize.” She lowered her voice. “And something I still won’t admit to my husband, so don’t tell him.”
Ruby peered sideways toward Sparrow whose stern expression had cracked to a smirk.
“This place isn’t so bad. It’s like we’re invisible to others. No one can get to us. Yes, it can be irritating to feel trapped, but having friends with you makes it a lot better.” She looked at Lorna and Laurel who were standing near the kitchen’s island. “And we always know that it won’t be forever.” She lifted her chin toward me. “Patrick and the others will make sure your mom is safe and bring her here. Then the future is up to the two of you. Right now, if you were my daughter, I’d want to know that you were as safe as possible. Don’t you think that your mom wants the same thing?”
Ruby turned to me. “Okay, we can talk for a little while. I really want my mom.”
The smile returned to my face. “I do too.” I reached for my coffee mug. “Do you drink coffee?”
She shook her head and scrunched her nose. “No, it smells disgusting. I like hot chocolate.”
“Coming right up,” Lorna called as Ruby and I moved toward the archway.
My daughter walked ahead toward Araneae and Sparrow’s living room.
“Thank you,” I whispered to Araneae.
“Give her time. She has a lot to process.”
“So do I.”
Ruby and I settled on a sofa that faced the tall windows looking out onto Lake Michigan. Wisps of snow spun near the windows as large chunks of ice gathered in the distance near the lake’s shore. The blue sky above was dotted with gray clouds as if threatening a new accumulation of snow.
“Here you go,” Lorna said as she sat a mug of steaming hot chocolate on the table before us. “Be careful. It’s hot.”
“Thanks, Lorna,” I said.
“Thank you,” Ruby added. “Misfits?”
Lorna gave her a bright smile, her vibrant red hair swinging in a ponytail as she turned to go back to the kitchen.
“These are my friends, Ruby. We support one another. I’m sure it’s how it’s been where you have been living.”
Ruby shrugged as she looked out the windows. “I’ve known most of my classmates for a long time.”
“Your school.” I was thinking of the bratva. “I’m sorry if you miss it. Right now, it’s better for you to stay here.”
“How could you be married to my mom without me ever knowing?”
“After we lost track of one another, we both made assumptions. I was led to believe your mom was deceased, and no, I was never made aware that she was pregnant.”
“So you knew Cindy?”
I tried to think back. “Cindy?”
“My middle name. It’s the only friend my mother ever mentioned. They were friends before I was born.”
“Someone at Ivanov’s?”
“No,” she said, reaching for her mug. “I think it was before she met him.”
“Before?” There was so much I didn’t know. “I don’t recall anyone we knew with that name. Whoever she was, your mom must have cared about her to give you her name.”
“That’s what she said.”
Madeline
“Excuse me?” I asked, staring up at Marion’s blue eyes.
Instead of responding about my marital status, he tilted his head and narrowed his gaze. “Ruby’s location is unverified, and yet you’re sitting up most of the night lamenting a recent transaction.”
“I’m worried about my daughter. I’m baffled by the plan you and Andros think you’ve secured.” My palms slapped my thighs below the robe. “I’m in shock.” With each sentence my volume rose. “I’m trying to comprehend the incomprehensible, and it’s not computing.”
Stepping around the chair, Marion reached for my arm. “Madeline, you must lower your voice. My staff, our staff,” he corrected, “will question your stability.”
I pulled my arm away as I blinked my eyes in the morning sunshine. “My stability?”
I wasn’t the unstable one in this conversation.
His hand came to the small of my back. “Let’s go inside and discuss this in a more private setting. Eloise is already aware of your issues. We want to keep it from the entire staff if possible.”
I spun toward him. “What issues is Eloise aware of? That you bought me?”
“No.” His words were hushed. “Calm down. Our breakfast is waiting inside. I’ll have them close the doors to the dining room, and we’ll be able to talk.”
“Marion, this may come as a shock to you, but I have no intention of discussing anything with you. I will forward you my new number once I have it. You may contact me when you learn more about Ruby. I’m not completely destitute. Unbeknownst to Andros, I’ve managed to accumulate enough to allow me to live self-sufficiently. The money is secure. I will begin my own searches for my daughter. I’m done depending on anyone and for the last time since I was first deceived, I’m done being a commodity.”
“You must eat.” He looked up at the sky. “The sun has been up for a bit. It’s after eight and past my breakfast. Let’s discuss this over food and then I have business to attend. You’ll have plenty of time to become familiar with the ranch before our plans for this evening.”
He was leaving?
I liked that idea.
“I’ll discuss it if you explain your comment about me already marrying you. You see, I went to the room last night, leaving you and Andros in the library. Since then, I’ve been out here.” I motioned around the pool deck. “Despite your claims of my issues, I would remember a wedding.”
“I will explain everything you need to know,” he said, leading me toward the glass doors.
The thought that he would leave the ranch had me excited. It was my chance for escape. My fingers fluttered to my neck. The necklace was still up in the bedroom. There’d been no part of last night’s conversation—or this morning’s—that I wanted transmitted to Patrick or the other Sparrows.
In his customary and insincere manners, Marion reached for the chair near his at the head of the table and pulled it back for me. Without a word and a bit of a sneer, I sat.
I didn’t believe that our conversation within this room would be private because the moment his ass hit the cushion, a swinging door pushed inward and a parade led by Eloise joined us.
“Mr. and Mrs. Elliott, your breakfast is served,” Eloise announced with a smile.
I couldn’t decide how I felt about Eloise, if her attentiveness reminded me of Mrs. Potts, the devoted teapot in Beauty and the Beast, or perhaps, the maleficent housekeeper in a psychological thriller turned dark romance I’d read a few years back. What had begun yesterday as appreciation for her helpfulness was slowly morphing into a looming sense of something much darker.
As Eloise poured coffee into mugs, two other women—the women I’d seen in the kitchen yesterday morning—flittered in and out of the dining room bringing trays of food, much too much for two people.
“Are we eating alone?” I asked, feeling my stomach again revolt.
Marion nodded. “Yes, Mr. Ivanov had pressing matters. He regretfully had to depart early this morning.”
With my hands on my lap, I waited as the two other women again disappeared, and Elliott informed Eloise that we were to r
emain undisturbed.
Finally, he turned my way. “Where were you when you received my call?”
My head shook as I tried to remember his call. I hadn’t heard it first. Patrick’s men had. “I was in Chicago. You were there when Andros left me.”
“I was. I offered you assistance. I expected a call. I would have sent a plane or waited for you to join me.”
My eyes narrowed as I motioned between us. “This arrangement was planned?”
“Little lady, you have already come to that conclusion. You said so last night. Andros Ivanov sent you to me at the tournament. We both knew you weren’t going to win. I thought it would be me.” He shrugged. “Either way, yes, it was predetermined that you would leave with me.”
I would have won.
I would have beat Marion with my hand.
I would have beat everyone except Patrick.
“I’m sorry that in my hysteria I disrupted your plans.”
“I’m trying to point out that I had grand plans to ease you into the arrangement.”
“The arrangement that you and Andros had already agreed upon?” I asked.
“It wasn’t finalized until the night before last, but essentially, yes.”
Marion sliced egg casserole from a large dish. As he placed a serving upon my plate, he asked again, “Where did you say you were?”
“Chicago.”
“Staying…?”
“I was at Club Regal. There was a lot of commotion, and I wasn’t able to leave right away.”
He nodded. “This egg casserole is one of my favorites. Mrs. Martin is an excellent cook.”
Wrapping my fingers around the mug of coffee brought warmth to where I’d not realized it had departed. The liquid within vibrated as my trembling hands displayed the bubbling anger within me. I had so many questions while simultaneously I dreaded the answers, more answers that reduced me to a product in their equation. “Why have you and now Eloise referred to me as Mrs. Elliott?”
“Another apology,” Marion said as he scooped fruit onto my plate and then his own. “I had grand romantic plans.” His gaze came to mine. “It isn’t often that a man gets to propose. I wasn’t as well off when I married Trisha. For you, I had a strategy.” He lifted his hand. “First, it was to be me that saved you from your abandonment. Then, after you were settled, imagine a hot balloon ride over the ranch, showing you your future home.”
“You didn’t propose. You informed me that you’d paid $10 million to Andros to purchase what wasn’t his to sell.”
Marion scoffed as he sat his fork to the side of his plate. “Listen closely. I had splendid plans. I wanted to give you the illusion of choice. It was my intention. The change in course doesn’t negate the final result. When Andros and I agreed to a mutually acceptable price, you became mine.” He unashamedly looked me up and down. “It’s too bad I’m not a younger man. But as my wife, you should know, you’ve been the star of my fantasies for years. I’ve found release as I imagined you standing in that room, more times than I care to admit. Now you’re mine, and while I’m happy to financially indulge your desires and needs—there is nothing I won’t give you if you ask—it should be made clear that I too still have desires and needs. We will come to an understanding.”
If I’d had an appetite, it was now gone. “Before we come to this understanding,” I forced myself to repeat his phrase, “why are you saying we’re already married?”
“I called in a favor.”
“A favor?”
“The paperwork is currently with the justice of the peace in Hunt County. I’ve helped him out of a few tight spots. He’s happy to indulge my request.”
“There are too many things wrong with that statement.”
“Do tell?” he said as he again lifted his fork.
“First, while I do have identification as Madeline Miller, in reality, she doesn’t exist.”
“She does. She wouldn’t be able to enter tournaments or carry a driver’s license if she didn’t; however, you’re correct. For this to work in all ways, meaning for you to be able to stake your claim, I am marrying Madeline Tate. You see, Mr. Ivanov has retained all of your personal information.”
My head shook. “I never gave it to him.”
“No, you gave it to Dr. Miller.”
My mind swam as thought after thought and memory after memory pressured the dam I’d constructed. I struggled to breathe as the seams of the dam gave way. Pushing the chair back, I stood, determined not to drown in the flooding current.
Would Marion’s determination to marry Madeline Tate bring to light that he couldn’t because I was already married?
“Marion, this won’t work. I’m telling you. I can’t legally marry you.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the velvet box. Prying it open, he lifted the ring. “Oh, but you can and will.” He sat the ring on the table between us. “Now, little lady, try this on. We must have it fitting before we are photographed tonight out in high society.”
“Why?” I asked. “Why marriage?”
“So that I may adopt Ruby. Don’t you see? The two of you are a package deal.” While my skin prickled with disdain, an idea developed and grew as I stared at the ring. “You said you had a jeweler create this ring?”
“Yes.”
“Where is his or her store?”
“Just outside of Dallas. If it doesn’t fit, I can have my driver take you to the store, and I was promised it would be rectified.”
Saying a silent prayer, I reached for the ring. With it pinched between my thumb and forefinger, I held it up toward the dining room light. As I did, I wondered how something so costly could be so hideous.
Marion nodded my way.
As soon as I began to slip it over my fourth finger of my left hand, I knew. As I lowered it, I fought my urge to smile; instead, tilting my head, I tried to sound sad. “It seems too big.”
“Finish your breakfast. David will take you to St. Pierre. We have reservations for this evening at a private club. If we hurry, Randolph can get it sized.”
“Again, I can’t.”
Marion’s expression hardened. “Our reservations are for one of the most elite clubs in Dallas. Pick out a nice dress and you’ll accompany me. If I hear another complaint, I’ll reconsider our plans. You see, there are a very select set of friends and business partners who would enjoy meeting you in a less conventional way. From what Andros told me, the night in Chicago wasn’t your only time to, shall we say…perform.”
My eyes widened in horror at his suggestion. “Are you serious?”
“Do you think it’s wise to push me? After all, I’ll simply explain that I’m allowing you to live out a fantasy. They won’t know that the fantasy is actually mine. You will be the only one who knows. Of course, I won’t allow anyone to touch what is mine. From what I’ve heard, Andros wasn’t always as thoughtful. See, I told you that I could offer more than he.”
I pushed the chair away from the table. “I believe I’ve lost my appetite.”
“Sixty minutes, Madeline. Be ready for David.”
I turned to walk away when the calling of my name caused me to turn.
“I believe you forgot your ring.”
Patrick
When Ruby and I ended our question and answer session, I felt a bit overwhelmed. Not with what I learned, but with all I didn’t know. Her favorite color was blue. She loved pizza with extra cheese and hated nuts. Her favorite holiday was spring break—I didn’t correct her on it not being a holiday. She said that over the years she and her mother would go to Padre Island or another warm place during that week in the spring, making it her favorite. She talked a little bit about art, her love of drawing, and how she enjoys reading—but not always school assignments.
Our talk was informational and at the same time not even close to enough.
How was I supposed to get to know someone who had lived sixteen years without me?
Before I left Ruby in the penthouse, I broach
ed the subject of my paternity.
“Ruby, I understand the desire to blame someone for years of not knowing the truth, but if you ask me, assigning blame shouldn’t be our focus, mine or yours…or your mom’s.”
With her knees pulled up to her chest, sitting in a way I remembered her mother doing when she was young, Ruby held on to her knees and shrugged. “I can’t believe you two were married.”
“I still have the license.”
“I believe you,” she said. “Which makes no sense. When I’d ask Mom about the man who helped make me, she would say he died in the war.”
I took a deep breath. “I was in the war, in Iraq. Like I said, we made assumptions about one another that have proven false.”
“You were…in the war?”
“I’ve been in a few.”
“Are you mad at my mom for not telling you?” she asked.
“What good would that do? Would it get me another day with you or with her? Would it bring back time we missed? Your mom and I met when we were younger than you are today.”
“Yeah, she was only two years older than me when I was born.”
“You look so much like her, like she did, but at the same time, you’re so much…” I sighed. “…no, I am not mad at Madeline. She raised an intelligent, inquisitive, and refined young lady. That makes me proud, not only of you but also of your mom. In the short time Maddie and I were able to talk about you, I learned that she loves you very much.”
Ruby nodded. “I know.”
“Maybe one day you’ll think of me as a father or maybe a friend. The father concept is new for me too.”
“I don’t know what to think of you.”
Her honesty made me smile. “That’s reasonable. This has all happened fast.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s you, Mr. Hillman, these people.” She lifted her chin toward the kitchen where the drone of unintelligible conversation could be heard. “It’s weird.”
“It is?”
“You killed Mr. Hillman and the other man yesterday.”
“I wish we could get past that.”
“I don’t want to,” she said, standing and walking to the windows and back. “He killed Oleg—in front of me—and at that moment I wanted to kill him, wanted him dead. I didn’t and couldn’t do it, but you did. And then there’s the way you all act around here. I don’t know…it feels not fake.”
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