Angel in the Shadows

by Amy Deason

  Seth watched as she turned and walked away from him, his eyes trailing over her golden hair, her soft curves and he felt a stab of regret. He didn’t have time for that. But there it was. He didn’t want her to go but there was no choice. There were more important things to deal with right now other than some stupid, useless emotions. Like the fact that he had at last gotten the go ahead from Charlie.

  The Perfect Order’s lab techs had finally broken the code on Vance’s formula and were able to neutralize it. If Vance managed to dump it into the water system as planned, then it would do nothing more than carry with it a slightly bitter taste. There was no chance of death or even an upset stomach. But Vance was not going to be around to give that order. Seth was determined to make sure of that.

  This is what he should be concentrating on. Not Madison and the lies he’d told her.

  He’d lied of course when he told Madison it was just a fuck. It was far from that. And although he didn’t want to admit it, even to himself, she had struck a nerve in him. One that reverberated each time he looked at her. All he could think of was her absolutely lithe body and her perfect mouth, hot and hungry. The smell and taste of her, the feel of her in his arms as she lay sleeping beside him. The way she smiled, the way she talked. Everything about her sent waves of heat souring to his brain and his heart.

  Incredibly, she’d given him one last chance to prove that he wasn’t a bastard. And for her sake, he hadn’t taken it. Instead he’d deliberately stepped back. Such a small gesture. But with that one step, he put the distance of an entire world between them. It took everything he had to pull away and the stricken look in her eyes seared him, cut him down to his soul. The pain was incredible, immense, bigger than anything he’d ever felt before. And now she was gone. Gone from his view, gone from his life.

  At last he’d accomplished what he’d set out to do. He made her hate him. He’d gotten rid of her. He should be happy. But he wasn’t. Desolation hit him strong and hard. Like a punch to his gut, to his soul. He never felt more miserable and bleak in his whole wretched life and the loss of her was almost tangible. But that was stupid. How could he feel loss for something that was never his to begin with?

  Nearby, a red haired attendant was blatantly staring at him while he stood there, fighting his feelings for Madison. Normally that would be amusing but now it only irritated him. The second the gate snapped shut, she was quick to make her move, walking over to him, her hips swinging in an overabundance of sensuality.

  “Hi there,” she purred, her voice warm and sexy. “I’m Layla. It’s my break time and I thought you might want to join me in a cup of coffee.”

  He knew women very well and this one was no different. If he went with her, they may start off with coffee but it wouldn’t end there. No, it would continue, possibly in some secret, out of the way room here in the airport where they would have sweaty, heart-pounding sex until he left her screaming for mercy. Then he would go on his merry way, never hearing from her again. Funny how that idea just didn’t appeal to him. He didn’t want anyone but the one he’d just put on that plane. Without another word, he turned and walked away, not giving a damn about Layla’s wounded pride. This place suddenly felt too crowded and the only thing he wanted to do was get out of here.

  His mind continued to circle around Madison as he left the airport. Damn it, she was fucking with his mind. And his libido. Hell, he could have had that pretty little redhead at the boarding gate if he’d wanted. A few well place words and they could have been making it even before Madison’s plane had even left the ground. But he didn’t want her, didn’t even have the desire to try. That was an alarming change he wasn’t ok with at all. Just what in the fuck had she done to him?

  He had wanted women before, had taken those women before. Much more beautiful and experienced women and walked away from them with no problems, no regrets. But he was finding it extremely hard to walk away from Madison Sinclair. He was trained to be above all needs and wants, to be able to resist them easily. Take what he wanted and leave it all behind at a moment’s notice. But damn him if he still didn’t find himself thinking about her, wanting to make love to her for hours on end and then slowly begin the process all over again. For the rest of their lives. But this was more than want. It was a need so deep, so total that it bordered on obsession. This maddening, insatiable need was almost a physical ache. How could one woman, especially one like Madison Sinclair, get to him so quickly? Nothing was making sense to him anymore.

  Well it had to start making sense to him. He had a job to finish and with Madison out of his hair, maybe he could concentrate a little better. He wouldn’t have to listen to her incessant chatter or deal with her smart-ass attitude. He wouldn’t have to watch her cry those silent but painful tears and he wouldn’t have to bear the weight of her deadly accusations. He was free from his responsibility for her. Sure, he reasoned, he had hurt her intentionally to do it but he had done it in order to protect her.

  The entire world was fucked up. He had to hurt the ones he loved to save them, to protect them. Stopping suddenly, his hand tightened on the key in the ignition. Love? Had that been his actual thought? What a laugh. He didn’t love her. That was impossible. Completely, utterly impossible. But . . . Well, for a few crazy moments, when he had looked into her eyes, he felt he might not be lost, that he might actually be redeemable, someone was worth saving. That she might be his one and only chance at salvation. And he would be lying if he denied that some deep, hidden part of him desperately wanted to believe that with a violent ferocity.

  But it just wasn’t true. There was nothing that could save him. Not even her. He was long past that, it was too late for him. There was no turning back from what he was now and there was no other life for him than the one he was living. Yes, it was a very good thing he had gotten rid of Madison before she completely ruined him. She was pushing him next to madness.

  He started the engine and took off in a burst of speed, squealing tires, and hitting the highway before Madison’s plane took off.

  “It’s about fucking time you called,” Vance growled into the phone. He’d gone nearly insane waiting for Jason to get back to him from the airport. “Did you get her?”

  There was a heavy pause on the other end of the phone. “No, sir, I didn’t.”

  “Why the hell not? Don’t tell me she got the better of you again.”

  “No, not necessarily,” Jason replied, caution in his voice.

  “What the hell does that mean? Either she did or she didn’t.” His face was heating up in anger but he didn’t care. He still didn’t have what he wanted.

  “She didn’t get away from me. I couldn’t get close to her before she boarded the plane.”

  “Why the fuck not? That’s what I pay you for!” Vance gripped the phone tightly so he wouldn’t smash it against the wall.

  “Sir,” Jason said, hesitant, “she boarded the plane but she wasn’t alone.”

  “Go on,” Vance replied through clenched teeth. He was not liking the way this was going.

  “You’re not going to like it,” Jason hedged on the other end of the phone.

  “Damn it, I don’t care. Tell me what the fuck is going on!” Vance shouted gruffly into the phone.

  “She was with a man. He bought the ticket and made her get on the plane. She was upset, crying, and making quite a scene. I couldn’t hear what she was saying but it looked like she wanted to stay with him.”

  “Who the fuck was it?” Vance yelled, his temper simmering just under a boil. He stood up, loosening his tie and flinging it into the corner of the room.

  Jason paused then almost fearfully said, “It was Mr. Reynolds, sir.”

  Vance sat back, stunned. “Seth?” Not his Seth. It must be a mistake. Had to be. “Are you sure?” Jason had fucked up royally by letting Madison get away from him on the ferry and paid for
it dearly. If he was mistaken this time, a scarred-up face would be the least of his worries.

  “No, sir, I’m positive it was them. I would recognize that little bitch anywhere. Seth wasn’t wearing his glasses but it was definitely him.”

  He couldn’t believe it. Seth was supposed to be helping him, bringing Madison back to him. And instead, the bastard was helping her escape. He probably fucked her in the process. Betrayal bubbled up inside him only to be overtaken by the anger. A fury so strong and volatile surged through him until he felt he might explode with the pressure of it. That son of a bitch! He was going to kill him. Rip him limb from limb, tear his heart out with his bare hands, and show it to him. Oh, he was going to make him pay.

  “Boss?” Jason questioned uncertainly. “You still there?”

  In his fury, Vance had forgotten about Jason. “Yeah, yeah, I’m still here. Okay, listen, here’s what I want you to do. I want you to go to Chicago and get that little bitch and bring her back to me. Don’t hurt her but do what you have to as long as she’s alive.”

  “What about Seth?”

  “Oh don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of him. Just bring her back to me. And don’t fuck it up this time.” Vance slammed the phone down hard, cracking the receiver.

  He cradled his head in his hands, trying to make sense of this new information. So, his personal assistant was going behind his back, trying to keep Madison out of his reach? What would someone like Seth want with a woman anyway? Maybe he wasn’t as asexual as he appeared. There was something really wrong here and he was determined to find out exactly what it was. But one thing seemed certain. That little bitch mattered to Seth. She was important enough for him to try and protect her. Very, very interesting. Well, nobody fucked with him and got away with it. Seth was going to pay for this. Pay dearly.

  Vance lifted his head from his hands, a wicked smile on his face. And he knew just how to do it.

  Chapter 22

  By the time the plane landed in Chicago, Madison was sure there would be permanent claw marks in the arm rests where her nails had clung on so desperately for the first hour and a half of the flight. She had never been able to completely relax and now the place was descending towards the earth at a mind-numbing speed, the white clouds rising to meet them. If the armrests could talk, they surely would have been screaming in pain.

  Chicago O’Hare International Airport was just as busy as the one in New York. There were so many people in such a crowded area that Madison had no idea where to start looking for her sister. The noise was incredible inside the terminal so she couldn’t have heard Rachel calling for her if she was even there to begin with. Seth had told her he’d made all of the necessary arrangements but who knew if he was telling the truth. Or if he even knew how.

  She didn’t have to wait long to realize that no matter what other lies Seth may have told her, he’d been honest about this. There was no mistaking her sister. Standing in the corner, tall and eight months pregnant with hair the color of sun-ripened wheat, she waited with her back against the wall, her eyes searching the crowd.

  Hugging her Rachel tightly, Madison had never been so glad to see her. A familiar face. That was the best thing she could use right now. The only thing she wanted. She was safe. Thank God.

  “I’m so glad to see you. I didn’t know what was going on. This guy just called and said that you were in trouble and he was sticking you on a plane—a plane!—and that I was supposed to meet you. Are you ok? What happened? Tell me everything,” Rachel rambled on fast enough to make Madison’s head spin.

  “Whoa, whoa. One thing at a time. I am glad to see you too but can we just get out of here?” Madison begged, the toll from the last few days beginning to weigh on her shoulders. She felt like she was about to collapse right here on the terminal floor.

  “Oh yeah, yeah. Let’s go. You can tell me all about it on the way.” Rachel grabbed her arm and pulled her through the crowd of people, her full, pregnant belly looming in front of her like an overfilled balloon, just ready to pop at any moment.

  Once in the car, Rachel’s rapid-fire questions didn’t stop and trying to ignore them was impossible. Giving only the barest of details, Madison tried to answer them without actually giving anything away. If she was still in any kind of danger, she didn’t want to bring her family into it too. Finally, she was able to turn the tide of the conversation to more mundane matters and Rachel filled her in with stuff about the twins, her husband Alex, and of course the impending delivery of her daughter. At the end of the winding gravel drive, Rachel’s townhouse sat welcoming and inviting. Green ivy clung to the front of the house, its leaves a perfect complement to the dark-red brick. It looked so warm. So safe. And that was just what she needed. Somewhere to escape until she could get her mind fully wrapped around her situation. Thankfully, she was able to go right up to her room without having to make chitchat with Alex and the twins. There would be time for that later.

  It was easy to see how Rachel had become an interior designer. Framed pictures of colorful flowers and green meadows hung on the sunny yellow walls. Squarely in the middle of the room sat a soft mattress held in place by a white wicker frame. It was a beautiful room but while she admired its appeal, she just couldn’t relate with it. Everything in her life had been turned inside out and upside down. Everything she had known was gone and now she was left with a million questions and no answers. And most of all, a gaping hole that she wasn’t sure anything or anyone could possibly fill. All she could do was hope that she would be able to make some sense of things. In time.

  Slamming his hands on the steering wheel hard enough to make his palms sting, Seth cursed himself. How fucking stupid could he be? All of his careful planning had been for nothing. Despite trying to tell himself otherwise, he knew the facts when they presented themselves. He had fallen in love with a woman he could never have and one that could never love him back. Not really anyway. Madison Sinclair may think she had feelings for him but they weren’t true feelings. She was merely caught up in something that left her physically and emotionally stressed. Someone like her could never really feel anything for a man like him. And once she was well away from him and safe, she would come to her senses and realize that she couldn’t possibly love him.

  Madison was better off without him. He knew that and she would too. In time. But why in the hell couldn’t he get her off his mind? Why couldn’t he just forget about her and go fuck some random girl that would never want anything else from him? One that wouldn’t look up at him with those big, brown eyes, asking the questions he didn’t want to answer, pleading for something that he didn’t want to give, something that he couldn’t give? Damn her. Damn her to hell.

  But, a secret part of his mind whispered, what if he went back and got her? Images flashed through his head. Her gold hair, her warm, brown eyes, her lush mouth. He saw himself taking her into his arms, holding her close and making love to her every night. Exploring her body carefully over and over, making her cry with need and want. Hearing her scream out his name as she came. Giving himself fully and completely to her. He could wake up to her each morning, feeling her soft, lithe body snuggled up next to his. The sexy smiles, the wordless promises, the hushed touches. And everything in between. The smiles, the laughter, and the love they could share. Maybe a child or two later on down the road.

  Whoa! Hold on just a fucking minute, the darker side of his mind shrieked in protest. A kid! You were honestly thinking about bringing a kid into this world? Are you insane? Consider what you’re thinking.

  His wishful rambling sputtered then died as quickly as it began. It was true. They could never be together. No matter how much he wished it. Darker images came into his brain, stomping the wistful, happy images in the ground with steel-toed boots.

  Madison, still beautiful and sexy as hell, was with him. Running from place to place, worry constantly etched in
her face, fear forever filling her brown eyes. Death waiting for him at every turn only to find her instead; dead, a misguided target or maybe an intentional one to draw him out. Her blond hair was mixed with blood and her chest was riddled with gunshots. He’d seen the pain and fear in her eyes before they closed forever, leaving him alone and defeated.

  Oh God, if they were to be together, it would surely be a disaster. A train wreck waiting to happen. Going hot and heavy, full speed until inevitably something would happen, crashing them headfirst into a brick wall, destroying them both in a fiery ball of flame. The thought of his existence and what it would be like to disappear strangely appealed to him. But not her. No, she deserved better than that and he would be damned if he was going to be the reason for her total annihilation. No, it was better this way. Better that they go their separate ways, never to see or hear from each other again.

  But if that were the truth, then why did he feel as though a monstrous void had just opened up in his chest? That was a question he couldn’t answer so he chose to shove it away as he had done so many times in the past. But with a lot more difficulty.

  Flipping open his phone, he dialed the number he knew so well. “It’s done. She’s out of the picture.”