Precarious Possessions (Maxwell Investigations)

by Dawn Ibanez

  Troy looked over his shoulder at Leigh, a stunned expression on his face. “She had twins,” he said lowly.

  Leigh nodded at him. “Yes Troy,” she cajoled. “And you already said you were going after her. This doesn’t change anything.”

  His lips thinned as he turned his eyes to Dylan. She was watching them with a mildly interested expression. The look she wore told him that Leigh was wrong. Madison having his sons changed everything.

  * * * * *

  Alex walked into the kitchen of Madison’s estate. He smiled when he saw her in the kitchen fixing lunch. “Hi Mom,” he said. “Where are the boys?”

  Madison’s lips pressed together for a moment as she took in the sight of her foster son. She took note of the black turtleneck under his jacket. “They’re hunting Casper.” She turned her back to him and smeared strawberry jelly across a piece of bread. “I think he’s a better target for them than Donald.”

  “I know Don will be happy to hear that.” Alex went to Madison’s side and took out his own bread. This was going to be awkward, but this was something that he had to tell her. Crispin was right. The longer he and Claudia hid their relationship, the more it would hurt Madison.

  And the more she would hurt them….

  “There’s something that I want to tell you,” he said in a serious tone.

  Madison looked at him with narrowed eyes. Before he could say anything, she grabbed the collar of his shirt and growled when she saw two punctures at the base of his throat. “You’re fucking Claudia,” she hissed.

  “I love Claudia,” Alex reasoned. His eyes narrowed when she snorted and released him. “What? You think I’m too young or something?”

  She nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly it,” she snapped as she slammed the sandwich together. “She’s 23, she killed a man, and she’s an ex-stripper.”

  “I’m going to be 20 in two months, I’m a Necromancer, and everyone thought I was a freak anyway,” he argued back.

  “So that’s supposed to make everything okay?” she asked. Madison shook her head. “It doesn’t. You don’t even know if she’s going to stay faithful to you when she goes to Germany.”

  Alex’s eyes narrowed. “I asked her to marry me.”

  “The hell you did,” Madison hissed. She slammed the jar of jelly on the counter, ignoring the way it splattered.

  “Last night, after the movie. On the way back to the estate I proposed.”

  “No!” Madison yelled. She spun wildly with the jelly covered butter knife still in her hand. Tears were slowly coming to her eyes as the red goo hit him in his face. “I will not condone this. I will not allow this. You are my son and I won’t have you tying yourself to a whore!”

  Alex lowered his head to hide the tears coming to his eyes. He had known that Madison was going to be upset, but this was bad. Even for her. He gritted his teeth, “I love Claudia.” As he used a dish towel to wipe the jelly off his face, he kept his gaze away from Madison. “She is going to Germany to finish her studies and when she comes home we will get married.”

  Madison shook her head as he walked away. She ran in front of him and gasped when she saw how much she was hurting him. “But Alex,” she whispered. She reached up and touched his face. “The moon phases...”

  “Grandfather has already said that he would aid us anyway he can.” He stepped around Madison and continued to go to the stairs. “During the full moon, either I’ll fly to her or she’ll come home to me.”

  She pressed her lips together to keep from crying out. “So you have everything planned out,” she whispered.

  “No, not everything,” Alex replied. “But we have most of it.” He turned his Madison and ignored the tears sliding down his cheeks. “I love her Madison. And I can’t just stand here and let you insult her.”

  A cold hand closed over Madison’s heart. Ever since she gave birth to the twins, Alex called her Mom. To hear her name from his lips again cut her to the core. “Alex, please, don’t…”

  “You know,” he cut in. He shook his head and took a shaky breath, “I knew you would be pissed. But I didn’t think you’d be like this.”

  “I don’t want you to be hurt,” Madison cried. She grabbed the sides of his face and made him look into her eyes. “I don’t want to see you suffer like I am….”

  “So you treat me like Tina treated you?” he asked. When she gasped he stepped back and let her hands fall. “You haven’t tossed me out, but I can’t stay here. Not if you feel that way about Claudia.”

  Madison watched silently as Alex walked to the stairs. The phone started ringing in the living room. Madison chose to ignore it. She wasn’t going to talk to anyone. Not with what Alex just said.

  When she was only a child, Tina and James sent her to New York. Every time they were supposed to come to visit with her, they would think of some excuse not to. Then only a few short years ago Tina called her a monster.

  Now here she was giving another child that had it just as rough, just as vicious of a title.

  It didn’t matter if it was Monster or Whore. Both titles could rip a person’s heart out.

  Alex had a duffle bag over his shoulder when he returned. He stared at Madison for a long moment. The look on her face made him want to apologize. She had taken him into her family and quickly became the one person he knew would always look out for him.

  Madison taught him to stand up for what he believed in, and if there was one thing Alex believed in, it was his relationship with Claudia.

  A sad smile crossed Madison’s face as she looked into his eyes. “You look like you don’t know if you want me to apologize, or give you more reasons to leave,” she said before turning and going back to the kitchen. She wiped her eyes and gestured to the bag on his shoulder. “Do you want me to send the rest of your things? Or are you coming back to get it later?”

  Alex paused a moment at Madison’s resigned mood change. If she was coming down from her anger, there was still a chance he could salvage their relationship. “Do you want me to leave?” he asked carefully.

  More tears slid down her face as she looked out of the back window. “No,” she answered honestly. “But if you’re anything like me, it wouldn’t matter what I said. You’d still be out of the door.”

  “Like you would be with Tina?”

  She nodded. “Like I would with Tina,” she echoed.

  Alex walked over to Madison and wrapped his arms around her. “I love her, Mom. And I don’t want you to make me choose between you two.”

  Madison smiled and turned to look at him. “I know. I’m sorry.” She wiped her eyes. “But in my own defense, I don’t think there are any women in the world good enough for my boys.”

  He nodded as she went back to making sandwiches. “I get that,” he mused. “But I still think I should go.”

  “I know,” she said quietly. She looked at him and gently caressed his cheek. “Will you stay through lunch?”

  Alex smiled and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be by every day,” he offered.

  “And you’ll wear a condom?”

  “Mom.”

  Madison went to the door, her usual smile in place. “What?” she asked innocently. “I’m too young to be a grandmother.”

  * * * * *

  Victor watched quietly as his youngest adoptee adjusted the teal dress she wore. He had always known that little Lacey would take to being a princess well. Currently, he was being entertained by the fact that the child was so small, yet so infatuated with her bodyguard. “My dear,” he started. When she looked up at him, he reached forward and adjusted the teal flower just over her ear. “You look fine. Your mother will be gushing when she sees you.”

  Lacey smiled at him. “Thank you Grandpa,” she smiled. Her eyes glanced to the other passenger in the back of the limousine and frowned.

  Crispin fought a growl as he looked out of his window. While his father thought the fact that Lacey was half in love with Antonio was amusing, he hated it. Now he had to suffer the wrath o
f a six year old diva with a crush on a man old enough to be her grandfather.

  “I would not say grandfather,” Victor said into his mind. “Perhaps an old uncle.”

  Crispin turned his eyes and glared at his father. “Will you please stop encouraging this madness?” he requested in the same manner. “She already believes I sent him with Dylan to get him away from her.”

  “You mean to say you didn’t?”

  Crispin looked at Lacey and saw that she was watching both him and Victor. “What’s wrong, Honey?” he asked.

  “You and Grandpa are talking about me,” she answered. When Crispin blinked at her, she continued. “You two aren’t saying anything out loud, but you look mean and he looks like he wants to laugh.”

  Victor did laugh then. She may be young but Lacey was smart. “Yes, we were discussing you, my dear,” he said moving to sit next to her in the car. “But what your father and I were saying was not meant for you to hear.”

  Lacey looked out of the window and smiled. “There’s the plane!” she cried out happily. As they pulled around the tarmac, she closed her eyes tightly.

  Victor and Crispin looked at each other as Lacey mentally reached out to Antonio. “Did you know she could do that?” Victor asked in a whisper.

  Crispin shook his head. He tried to slide into Lacey’s mind and was met with a wall of bubble gum and rainbows. The simple frown he wore turned into a livid scowl as his wife came down from the jet. “Did you know she has mental walls this strong?” he asked Dylan.

  “Yes, and I was meaning to talk with you about that,” Dylan replied. She turned to the jet and waited for Troy and Leigh to exit. “Antonio taught her how to block things mentally. He’s also the reason why Madison has such good shields.”

  Crispin opened the door and quickly climbed out of the limo. “I don’t give a rat’s ass about what he taught Madison. I don’t want him in my daughter’s mind.”

  Lacey giggled and jumped out of the car after her father. “Tony!” she called running to the group departing from the plane.

  Antonio smiled and knelt down to accept the girl’s hug. “Cariña, don’t you look beautiful,” he smiled lifting her up into his arms.

  “See, I’m wearing a matching flower too,” Lacey said wrapping her arms around his throat.

  Dylan looked at the pair and raised an eyebrow. “Don’t I get a hello and hug too?” she asked.

  Lacey laughed as Antonio lowered her to the ground. “Hi Mommy,” she chimed giving Dylan a hug as well. “Did you have fun in California?” she asked. Before Dylan could answer, Lacey turned back to Antonio. “You didn’t go to Disneyland without me, did you?”

  Antonio covered his heart with his hand and shook his head. “You are my princess,” he answered with a grin. “Ariel and those others are nothing to me.”

  Lacey gushed for a moment. She really was going to marry him someday. She then turned her attention to the two strangers standing behind them all. “Hello. My name is Lacey Smith-Solomon, Crown Princess of the Vampires. Who, may I ask, are you?”

  Troy smiled at the little girl. Just by the way the men around her were standing, she had them all eating out of her hand. He bowed at the waist and gently took her hand. “It is very nice to meet you, Princess. My name is Troy Davenport. Apparently I’m the heir of the Werewolf Pack here on the East Coast,” he answered kissing her hand.

  Lacey looked into Troy’s eyes for a moment. She then smiled. “My cousins have eyes like yours,” she said conspiratorially. “But they’re puppies. Do you know them?”

  Victor laughed as Dylan and Crispin looked at the little girl horrified. “Yes my dear. Troy is their father. Please stop calling the boys puppies. It’s bad form.”

  Troy straightened and looked at the reigning Vampire Royals. “Dylan told me some of the situation,” he said seriously. “Thank you for coming to get me.”

  All of the amusement left Victor’s face as he looked at Troy. He could tell that the boy had the makings of a fine Alpha, but that did not mean he would be able to handle Madison. “If you had not left, then this situation would never have occurred,” he said coldly. “We are not doing you a favor.”

  Troy frowned. “Then what are you doing?”

  “Getting you to clean up your mess.”

  Chapter 4-

  Madison sat in front of her large TV and looked at her boys. Alex stayed with them until after dinner and she hadn’t seen Casper since lunch. There were times when that was just as well. They were her boys. While they had plenty of male role models, there were times Madison wanted them all to herself.

  Times like now.

  They were happily getting ready to watch her play her violin. Ever since she was pregnant, classical music seemed to relax them. Watching their faces while she methodically tuned her instrument was a joy. And she had a feeling that they would both want to learn to play.

  Just as she was about to put her bow to the strings, the doorbell rang. Madison frowned and looked at both Kayin and Aiden. “Did you boys invite anyone over?” she asked playfully.

  Kayin jumped to his feet. “Lacey!” he cheered.

  Madison caught him as he started to race to the door. She made him look at her and frowned. “You don’t answer the door,” she said sternly.

  Aiden climbed onto the back of the sofa and looked out of the window. “Grandfather!” he cheered when he saw Victor and Crispin climb out of the limo.

  The frown on Madison’s face deepened. Victor had a key to the door and wouldn’t be caught dead ringing the doorbell. She went to the door and pulled it open. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw the golden eyes that haunted her for the past 4 years. “Son of a bitch,” she whispered.

  Troy gave her a rueful smile. “My mother is actually human,” he said lowly.

  Madison slowly nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she breathed. Before he could say anything else, Madison closed the door in his face. She leaned her back against the solid oak and took a slow breath. “This isn’t happening,” she said to herself.

  Kayin and Aiden looked at each other as Casper came down the stairs. They giggled and laughed as Madison ran her hands through her hair. “Mommy’s in trouble,” Kayin cooed.

  Casper frowned as he took in the scene. “What’s going on?” he asked.

  Aiden leaned on his brother. “Mommy closed the door on Grandfather’s friend,” he said simply.

  Casper’s frown deepened. His father was never known for bringing people around his family. And since the twins had the potential to be powerful Mages as well as Wolves, Victor made sure to keep the visitors down to relatives. He looked at Madison’s worried face as she looked at the boys. “Madi?”

  She straightened and moved away from the door. “Damned back stabbing bloodsuckers,” she mumbled.

  The echo of Transmutation magic rang through the house and a small door appeared inside the larger one. Madison’s lips pressed together as Lacey came into her house. “Hi Aunt Madison,” she chimed. The little girl then turned to the adults with her. “See, I told you she’d let me in.”

  Madison shook her head and walked through her home. They even convinced the child to turn on her. And with the twins half-worshipping the little princess, they would happily listen to whatever she said. “You’re babysitting,” she mentally sent to Casper.

  Casper could only sigh as he heard the back door slam. He turned to Lacey and shrugged before opening the front door. His eyes locked on the strange man that always seemed to plague Madison’s mind. “So, it’s you,” he said distastefully.

  Crispin frowned over Troy’s shoulder. “Let’s not do this now,” he said sharply.

  Troy fought a growl. With the moon rising and his mate being so near, he couldn’t trust himself not to hurt the man in front of him.

  Casper scoffed as he read Troy’s mind. “You could try Mutt.”

  Just as Troy was about to take a step forward, Kayin and Aiden stepped in front of him. The sight of the boys made him freeze. They
both had fair complexions and short cinnamon colored hair. They also had Madison’s cupid bow lips and his golden eyes. But what really caught his attention was the look of absolute rebellion he didn’t know if they got from him, or their mother.

  One of the boys stepped forward and sniffed at Troy’s hand. “He smells like Grandpup,” the little boy said to his brother.

  “Aiden,” Dylan said moving into the house. “This is Troy.”

  Kayin stayed next to Lacey and folded his arms. “Mommy can take him,” he said, completely ignoring his aunt.

  Troy frowned at both boys. He would have to correct their assumption later. Right now, he had to find Madison and reconcile with her. “Which way did your mother go?” he asked.

  Kayin was a perfect replica of Madison as he took Lacey’s hand. “Come play,” he said about to walk away.

  Lacey put her hands on her hips and frowned. “You better say you’re sorry,” she demanded. When Kayin looked at her, she pointed at Troy. “He’s your daddy. And if he makes Aunt Madison marry him, he’ll ship you to a kennel if you’re rude to him.”

  Troy fought a smile as the little diva put her foot down. He slowly inhaled and instantly caught Madison’s scent. He looked down into Aiden’s upturned face and gently touched his cheek. “I won’t send you guys to a kennel,” he said lowly.

  Aiden smiled and pointed to the back of the house. “You better be quick. Mommy’s sneaky.”

  A muse left Troy as he went to the back door. At least one of his sons was on his side. He looked over his shoulder and saw Leigh giving the twins a look of complete adoration. He had a strong feeling she was going to spoil them if given the chance. “I’ll be back,” he said with a wave.

  When Casper started to move forward, Victor put his hand on Casper’s shoulder. “She chose him,” he told his son.

  Casper fought a growl. “He’s not good enough for her.”

  Dylan looked at Casper with a raised eyebrow. “Is there going to be a problem?” she asked coldly.

  Crispin wrapped his arms around her waist and glared at his brother. “Everything’s fine. Right Casper?” he asked in a vicious tone.