by S. R. Grey
The doorbell sounded, and I raced to answer it. It was a little after seven, but I’d been up for two hours, waiting for Adam to arrive.
And now he was here, all dressed for business in black tailored pants, a crisp white dress shirt, dark tie, and black shoes. “You look nice,” I said lamely as I stepped aside so he could come in.
Adam’s eyes traveled over the charcoal-gray leggings, black tunic-style sweater, and Chucks I’d thrown on after showering. “And you look…comfortable,” he replied. A smile played at the corners of his mouth, and I started to believe we might just be able to work this out. Maybe he’d forgive me after all.
We walked into the living room, but neither of us sat. Adam spoke first, “There’s no point in pretending, Maddy. We both know what you found in that drawer.”
I dared to meet his gaze, expecting fury, but instead he just looked tired. He sighed. “No more games, OK? There’s one thing you have yet to ask. So just get it over with, ask me.”
“Are you serious?” My voice was incredulous. I hadn’t expected this.
Adam’s eyes, dark as cobalt today, met mine. “Deadly,” he replied coolly.
“OK.” I drew in a deep, calming breath. “Did you trade on insider information?”
“Yes, I did.”
My heart skipped a beat. Good Lord, what other illegal things had Adam done? He does have that gun.
I shook away those thoughts and spoke quickly, “And Chelsea somehow found out about it? That was what she was using to blackmail you, right?”
He nodded. “Yes, that was it.”
“But I don’t understand,” I said. “Why would you ever trust someone like her with something so important?”
“I didn’t tell her, Madeleine,” Adam replied, irritation creeping into his voice. “Chelsea was the one who gave me the insider information.”
“You’re kidding,” I murmured, astounded. “How did someone like her come across information like that?”
Adam loosened his tie and sat down on the arm of the sofa. “Chelsea overheard her father talking on the phone to a business associate about the impending buyout. I have no idea how he’d obtained that kind of information, but I can only imagine. Anyway Mr. Hannigan, wisely, never acted on the tip.”
“But you did.”
“Yes, Maddy, I did. I made a fuckload of money in a very short time. But I also brought a lot of unwanted attention to myself. I regretted it, but it was too late to undo it.”
“Did she encourage you to make that trade, Adam?” I asked, taking a hesitant step closer to him. I longed to comfort him in some way. But would my overture be welcome?
Adam closed his eyes, his beautiful features pained. “It doesn’t matter. I ultimately made my own decision.”
“Why would she use it to blackmail you though?”
“My relationship with her had degraded into one of habit, I guess. We certainly didn’t love one another anymore, but every time I tried to break up with her, she threatened me. It seemed the more I didn’t want her, the more she held on.” Adam was quiet for a moment—reflective, maybe—and then he continued, “When I caught her with J.T. O’Brien, I told her that was the final straw. But she said she’d never let me go. She said she’d rather see me in prison than with someone else. She wanted to get engaged, and she threatened to go to the SEC and offer her testimony against me if I refused.”
“God, Adam, I’m sorry.” I reached for his hand.
Adam caught my hand and lifted it to his lips. “Don’t feel sorry for me.” He ghosted a single kiss across my knuckles. “My mistake was in listening to her in the first place.”
I squeezed his hand to reassure him, but his face grew somber. “The irony is that Chelsea may not have sent me to jail, but after she was gone, I ended up in a different kind of prison—one with walls of suspicion and doubt.”
“Oh, Adam,” I whispered, my voice pained.
“It doesn’t bother you?” His eyes searched mine. “Knowing these things about me?”
I wasn’t about to hold something he’d done years earlier against him. Chelsea had tempted him with the prospect of easy money, and he’d been young and rash. I secretly wondered if she’d done it on purpose in an effort to trap him. After all, he had ended up paying a high price for his actions.
Adam cleared his throat. “Maddy?” he asked, awaiting my response.
“No,” I answered honestly. “It doesn’t bother me.”
It didn’t seem possible, but his expression grew even more somber. With a grave tone, he stated, “This is a one-time discussion. It’s not something I ever speak of, and I expect it to stay that way.”
I looked into his eyes and hoped he could read the truth in mine. “I’ll never betray you, Adam. I swear on my life, no matter what you tell me, it will stay between you and me.”
He pulled me roughly to him and kissed me hungrily. His hands found purchase on my hips, his long fingers pressed gingerly into my flesh. There was urgency in these deep kisses, and I sensed it had nothing to do with lust. It was about acceptance. Soon, too soon, he loosened his grip, composed himself, and slowed the kisses. I leaned my head on his shoulder, and we held onto each other, both of us silent.
After several moments, he chuckled, murmuring into my hair, “There is one good thing that came out of it all. I was able to buy this island.”
I pulled back. “Weren’t you worried it would draw attention to you? Making such a large purchase?”
“Not at that time. The island didn’t go up for sale until months after the whole SEC investigation had concluded. My assets were no longer frozen, and I’d always planned on investing in real estate. So…”
“So you bought an island.” I smiled, brushing a dark lock that had fallen across his forehead back into place.
“I always loved this place, the beauty, the ruggedness, the privacy. My family used to vacation over here when I was a child.” He paused, and his expression darkened. “Of course, Chelsea hated this place. She told me she’d never live out here. I didn’t move here until after she was gone.”
“And here we are,” I said quietly.
“Yeah, here we are.” His fingers caressed my cheek tenderly. “I’ve never told a soul that whole story.”
“Would you have told me had I not…” I leaned into his warm touch. “Uh, you know.”
“Yes, eventually. Remember?” Adam said playfully.
I had to smile at his lighthearted reference to our words from the other night. This new openness between us made me feel brave enough to ask, “Adam, what’s going on between us?”
He hesitated, pulling back. “This is a conversation we should save for later. I have to go if I’m going to make my meeting over on the mainland.”
“I know,” I said, “I just thought…”
Adam cupped my face, kissed my lips, and then said, “I should be back at the dock by about six. Let’s meet at the café, and we can talk there, sound good?”
That sounded good to me, so I told him so. Adam stood, and after one more long and lingering kiss at the door, he straightened his tie and left for his meeting over on the mainland.
Once he was gone, I checked my cell for messages I may have missed, since I’d turned it off yesterday evening before going up to Adam’s. Oddly enough Katie, my agent, had left two voicemails and three texts asking me to call her as soon as possible. So I sat down at the dining room table and dialed her number.
She picked up immediately. “Maddy, where have you been? Why didn’t you call me back last night?”
“Um, my phone was charging,” I lied, cringing at my pathetic excuse. And before she had a chance to question me further, I added, “Why? What’s going on?”
“Well,” she stated slowly, “some woman from Maine stopped by the office late ye
sterday afternoon. She said she was your friend, and—”
“Wait, what? She said she was my friend?” I interrupted, baffled. “From where? Here?”
“Yeah,” Katie continued, “from Harbour Falls. Her name is Ami. She was with a clean-cut-looking guy with kind of sandy-colored hair. I’m guessing he was her husband?”
Whoa, wait a minute. “Ami and Sean are in Los Angeles?”
Things were getting stranger and stranger. California was where they’d gone for their little trip? Bizarre.
“You do know them then?” Katie asked.
“Yeah, but what are they doing there?”
“Oh, you’re going to love this,” my agent continued, clearing her throat. “First her husband just kind of hung out in the background, looking uncomfortable and kind of apologetic.”
“Apologetic?”
“Yeah, I guess because this Ami was going on and on about how I needed to step in and put a stop to, oh wait, how did she put it?” Katie paused for a beat. “Uh, this was it, word for word: I should ‘put a stop to whatever the hell Maddy is doing on Fade Island before she ends up hurt. She’s in serious danger.’”
“Oh Lord,” I gulped. “Katie, not to sound insensitive, but the truth is that Ami has some serious mental issues.”
“No kidding,” she said, “I kind of guessed as much.”
But I had to wonder what Ami had been referring to? And why would she involve my agent? She must think Katie is my boss and can tell me what to do. Did Ami really believe I was in “serious danger”? And was it serious enough to warrant a trip out to LA in some convoluted attempt to protect me? It just felt like something was off.
“You didn’t tell her anything, right?” I asked.
“Of course not. But, Maddy, she was really worked up. God only knows who else she’s been in contact with out here.”
There was only one other person Ami knew of from my life in California—my ex-boyfriend, Julian—and I could only hope she’d dare not look him up. I put my head down on the table. “Ugh, what a mess,” I mumbled.
“Oh, honey, don’t worry. I’m the only one out here who knows what you’re doing in Harbour Falls. I’ll keep you posted if I hear anything, especially if she comes back to the office.”
“Thanks,” I said resignedly. What more could I do from here, other than wait to see what Ami’s next move would be?
“Maddy?”
The sudden seriousness in Katie’s voice grabbed my attention. “Yeah?” I responded.
“Be careful up there, you hear me?”
I assured Katie I would try my best to stay safe, even if it wasn’t exactly true. The last thing I needed was a worried agent thinking Ami’s crazy ramblings held validity. After we disconnected, I sat, cell phone in hand, wondering how Ami Dubois-Hensley fit into this whole Harbour Falls Mystery mess. Sure she was unstable, but did she really think I was in some kind of danger? Why else would she want me off the island? Did she have some kind of tie to the case? I couldn’t recall her ever having had any sort of association with Chelsea. But who knew? One thing I was learning, sometimes painfully, was that around here nothing was ever as it seemed.
At around four o’clock in the afternoon, I drove down to the café to visit Helena before Adam got back. “Maddy!” Helena exclaimed when I walked through the door. “I’ve been bored to tears all day. You sure are a sight for sore eyes.”
She came out from behind the coffee bar in the back to greet me, and I met her halfway, where she pulled me into a warm hug. “Adam’s meeting me at six,” I said, stepping back. “But I was hoping we’d have a chance to talk before he gets here.”
Helena gestured to one of the tables. “Here, let’s sit.” She paused. “Oh, did you want anything to drink?”
“No.” I shook my head, while sitting down. “I’m fine.”
“So is something going on with you and Adam,” she asked, slipping into the seat across from me. “That is what you want to talk about, right?”
I had absolutely no intention of divulging even a hint of the many things Adam had shared with me, but I was curious to get her opinion on the things Jennifer had said. And, since she and Nate knew him so well, see if she had any insight into Adam’s feelings for me. After all, Nate was Adam’s closest friend, and he’d confided in him in the past. And sure, I’d be talking with Adam soon enough, but one could never have too much information. Especially when it came to matters of the heart. So I began with, “I don’t know what to think, Helena. I mean, I know how I feel about him, but I’m not sure he feels the same.”
Helena patted my hand reassuringly. “Adam’s interested in you, Maddy. We’ve known him a long time, and he’s different now that you’re in his life. Even when he speaks of you…” She trailed off, considered, and then said, “You just make him happy, even Trina thinks so.”
“I know, but…” My voice faltered.
“What?”
“It’s stupid,” I said, casting my eyes down. “Just some stuff Jennifer Weston said yesterday. I shouldn’t let it bother me, but it does.”
“What did that miserable bitch say to you?”
I needed to talk to someone, at least about the things I could, so I told her some of the things Jennifer had said, mostly the comments about how I was “just a novelty” and how “it would never last.” But I was careful to leave out Jennifer’s angry reaction when I’d mentioned Chelsea’s name.
When I finished, Helena said, “Jennifer is a bitter, unhappy person. She’s been that way for years, and the whole J.T. mess made her even meaner. She enjoys needling people and saying things to purposely hurt them. Don’t let her get to you. Adam is not using you.”
“Yeah, but Lindsey obviously meant very little to him,” I countered. “He dropped her without a second thought. Who’s to say he doesn’t do the same to me?”
“I told you, that relationship was different from the one you and Adam have.”
I knew she was right, but I was looking for reassurance. After everything Adam had shared with me, I should have been confident that he cared very deeply for me. But the one thing nagging me was that he’d told me only after I’d snooped around and discovered those things.
“Why don’t you talk to him? Just ask him how he feels.”
“I did,” I replied. “We’re supposed to discuss it tonight. That’s why he’s meeting me here.”
Helena smiled triumphantly. “See, just the fact Adam even agreed to have a ‘relationship discussion’ speaks volumes.”
“I suppose.”
“It does, trust me.” Helena lowered her voice to an almost whisper. “And between us, I think you’re helping Adam learn how to love again.”
God, I wanted to believe she was right, especially about the love part. Adam had forgiven me rather easily when he’d discovered my duplicity. Now the ball was in my court to prove to him I could be worthy of his trust and, hopefully, his love.
Helena and I talked for a while longer. She told me she was going to close down the café on Monday for a couple of weeks, so she could go down to Boston and help Trina with wedding preparations. She invited me to join her for the trip, but I declined. With a little prodding though she did get me to commit to spending a day with her and Trina. She said it’d be easy enough since Adam flew to Boston on business all the time. I could just fly down with him, spend the day with the girls, and fly back that night. I told her I’d discuss it with Adam, and if we could coordinate it, then I’d love to come down and spend a day with her and Trina.
When Adam arrived—still dressed for success in his business attire and looking particularly debonair—Helena readied herself to leave. She claimed she needed to run over to the house because Nate was cooking dinner and might burn down the bungalow if she didn’t check on him. I knew she was just giving us time alone, and I a
ppreciated her all the more because of it.
Once Helena was out the door, Adam leaned down and kissed me with far more passion than I was prepared for. Wow! By the time he pulled away and sat down across from me, I finally caught my breath. Adam seemed to be in rare form this evening.
“So,” he began, something naughty sparkling in his blue eyes as he loosened his tie. “Did you have a pleasant afternoon?”
I decided to play along. Smiling, I responded, “Pleasant, Adam?” He chuckled. “Yes, my afternoon was quite pleasant. And how was your meeting on the mainland?”
Adam traced the inside of my forearm with his long fingers. “It sucked,” he said silkily.
“Why was that? The potential client didn’t sign?”
“Oh no, Maddy, he signed. But let’s just say I had other things on my mind.” Adam leaned forward, his voice low and sultry. “Would you like for me to show you some of the things that were occupying my thoughts?”
Would I ever, I thought. Meeting his lust-filled gaze, I offered, “Maybe we should get out of here?”
“Fuck that. Maybe we should lock the door and—” But, before he could finish, the café door swung open. Adam, his back to the door, groaned in aggravation.
Jennifer Weston darkened the threshold, holding the door ajar with her hip. “Oh, what perfect timing,” she exclaimed. Was that smugness in her tone? “I just brought a visitor over, and he cannot wait to see you, Fitch.”
Adam shifted in his chair to face the café entrance, his expression none-too-pleased. Uh oh. Jennifer continued, undeterred by my lack of response, “In fact, it’s someone who is quite worried about your well-being up here on this lovely island.”