“It’s not my money. It’s Abbott’s,” she offered.
Rafe shrugged. “I didn’t come from money. But I got a…settlement.” The pain in those words popped her lids open and she stared deep into his eyes as he continued. “Let’s just say Connor knows how to invest, and my funds grew nicely while I was overseas. You know we’re both ex-military, right?”
She knew he was distracting her from the settlement, but accepted the need for now, while every fiber of her being wanted to soothe him, ease the pain. Slipping away from Connor, she stepped into Rafe, who gathered her to him, until she could feel his steady heartbeat.
Connor spoke behind her. “We lived in circumstances for a lot of years that determined we’d build a place that suited all our creature comforts. And we could afford it.”
He was back to the old Connor, open and frank, and seeing as they were delving into her background, she turned to face him, and pushed. “Why are you so prickly about coming from money?”
She could see him process, quickly, and hoped he came to the right conclusion, because fair was fair. “Short version, growing up privileged meant my family and friends thought we could avoid consequences. A young woman with no money or influence…died, and it got covered up. It…”
As he trailed off, she guessed, “And you couldn’t accept it.”
Eyes shuttered, he nodded. “I couldn’t. And what’s more it got fixed in a way there was nothing I could do about it. So I turned my back on that life.”
Rafe was so close she could hear him breathing in the silence that fell after Connor’s revelation, and she knew he was preparing to be next on her list. “I couldn’t live that life either, Connor. Abbott, the guy who owns—owned—me, he figures he’s above the laws of decency too.”
Connor forced a smile and stepped in to kiss her forehead. “Then you get it.”
There was obviously lots more, but Maddy backed off.
“I’m not quite as high-minded.” Rafe was obviously trying to avoid any questions.
She locked eyes with him. “Don’t. Don’t denigrate yourself.”
“You don’t even know why I might.”
“I feel your pain, Rafe. And I’m not a complete Philistine. I read more than fiction and I’m familiar with past and current events, including racial issues.”
Those black eyes watched her steadily and she felt a stirring in her soul. She added, “I’d venture your childhood sucked.”
“It did at that.”
“Then I’m glad you found your way and somebody had enough guilt to see you got some kind of recompense. Not to mention getting out, and making such a good friend like Connor.”
He pulled her close and sighed, the expulsion of air speaking volumes.
“She’s a keeper.” Okay, then.
“But what’s with the gates. The dogs?”
“We value our privacy,” Connor weighed in.
Tipping her head up, she voiced her skepticism against Rafe’s throat. “There’s privacy and there’s extreme…caution.”
A chuckle rumbled in his chest, a curiously comforting sensation after that big sigh, and she laid her head back down against him.
“Let’s get comfortable and talk.” Rafe’s tone exuded expectation.
Okay. She was going to have to spill it now, but how they responded would direct her decision. The idea of being free from Abbott forever, and by extension, Ryker, was so tempting. Alluring. Actually, most everything about these men was alluring. But they might not take her seriously enough, and that absolutely wouldn’t do.
They led her to a large, airy room furnished with solid, comfortable pieces of furniture, and she chose a chair for one, fumbling with the bulky fabric draping her. She wanted to explore the whole house, take Connor up on his offer of a tour, but first things first. They slouched onto the large couch across from her and waited, their countenances open, so she took the plunge.
“My name is O’Sullivan. Margaret Madeline O’Sullivan. My mother died when I was twelve, and my father…well, I told you about the bad guy and how I ended up with him. His name is William Abbott, he’s sixty-eight now, and has been in my life since I was in high school, since my dad owed him money. And he figures he owns me—”
Rafe’s perfect mouth twitched in a snarl. “Pervert.”
Startled, she stared at him. Then her sense of humor asserted itself. She’d always had an irreverent way of looking at things, probably to compensate, and it often got her in trouble. Abbott had absolutely no conception of humor. Considering the emotional ups and downs of the past while, it was no surprise to feel a little hysterical. She laughed and the guys tensed. On a giggle, she said, “Pot, kettle, Rafe.”
“What we practice is consensual, Madeline. And we aren’t old enough to be your grandfather.” Ice crackled in his tone, and she laughed again.
“Hardly my grandfather. But you misunderstand. Abbott never laid a hand on me, Rafe, at least not sexually.” She shuddered, the mirth vanishing like mist before a hot sun. Abbott didn’t often like to get his hands wet—or bloody—but he did like to watch what he termed discipline, another twisted euphemism for encouraging people do his bidding, or punishing them. In her case, bringing her back into the fold. Ensuring she stayed—but then she was never very good at listening to bullies.
“He burned you. Cut you.” Connor’s rage vibrated in his voice.
“Ryker cut me. After I cut him. The last time I…escaped, Abbott sent Ryker after me. I wasn’t careful enough in hiding.” She willed away the images of the couple and their friend who’d provided her shelter when she had no place else to go. She hadn’t seen their bodies, but she knew what Ryker had done. It was whispered around Abbott’s headquarters for months. “I resisted and hurt him, so he lashed out at me.”
Her hand crept down to her belly and pressed against it, recalling the searing pain and the belief Ryker would draw the blade across her throat next, or bury it in her heart. The demonic rage burning in his eyes as his own blood ran freely down his face to drip off his chin had caused her to accept her demise. But instead he’d reached to grab her hair and slam her head against the concrete floor of the basement, a merciful darkness, except she didn’t know what he’d done to her while she’d been unconscious. The only evidence it had been something sexual was stickiness in her hair. She didn’t share that with Rafe and Connor.
“He took me back to Abbott, who had my fingertips seared, assuming I’d think twice about using my phone or using a keyboard for a while. A quirky reminder of sorts.”
Neither man responded to her attempt to lighten the description of what she’d endured, but she could feel the rage radiating from them. But not at her. Thank God.
“And the round scars on your shoulder?” Rafe looked off into the distance when he asked, and she saw his nostrils flare.
“He favors cigars. Cubans.” She didn’t add that the pattern on her skin was Abbott’s personal brand for her, the ninth circle of hell, denoting a betrayal. God, those had hurt.
Connor’s eyes were blue chips of ice. “Fucker.”
“Well, it didn’t work,” she said, stating the obvious. “I ran away again.”
“Why does he want you, Maddy?” Ah, Connor asked the sixty-four-dollar question. Rafe was so preternaturally still she could only guess at his thoughts.
“Well, it’s not just because he gets off on inheriting a person in exchange for gambling debts.” She decided she was all in. “I have an eidetic memory. Primarily for numbers. Abbott has a lot of numbers going on—gambling, money laundering, Ponzi schemes, you name it. And he made the mistake of letting me in on some of that, thinking he could use my talent. So now it’s not just personal. It’s business too, because I’m a risk to him.”
That gave them something to think on, because Rafe was back to staring at her, and Connor shook his head.
“Who’s Wilkes?”
“His personal hacker.”
“Have you been hacking, Maddy?” Connor shifted on the co
uch and she thought he might be about to jump her.
“No. Not really. I’m good with computers but not that good. Not in Wilkes’s league. Or yours, apparently. I just have access to some of his accounts, and whatever I learn I save so I can drop a little package on the feds at some point. I’m just not there yet. Abbott has an exit strategy and really good lawyers.”
“You’re hacking.” Connor was up and moving, but not to take hold of her as she’d thought. He passed her, long strides eating up the distance, and she craned her neck to see him pass through the doorway and turn left, opposite to the way to the kitchen.
“Come here.” Rafe held out his hand and she moved to him obediently, sitting beside him.
“Connor’s mad at me.” Her voice was small. She felt horrible, like she’d disappointed him all over again.
“No, sweetheart. He’s scared shitless. If you’ve been in this Abbott’s files, then what’s to stop his tech guy from looking for some indication of that?”
“He hasn’t so far,” she argued.
“And Connor’s going to see what’s what. Let it go for now.”
Leaning against him, welcoming the sweep of his strong arm around her, Maddy tried to do as he suggested. Connor stormed back in, carrying a silver laptop that he set down in front of her.
“Show me,” he invited.
Drawing her bottom lip between her teeth, Maddy searched his face before bowing to the inevitable. They were in control, and while she was still so scared Abbott would do something heinous to them, she opened up the programs she’d used to access the money accounts. It took some time, but neither gave any sign of impatience. Then she sat back and Connor perused them, making a few satisfied grunts as he did so.
“Only one flag.”
“What’s that mean?” Rafe spoke for her too, and so she kept silent, her heart someplace in her throat.
“Somebody with the same cyber signature that responded to my queries was in here.” He spun the laptop toward Maddy. “Recognize this?”
She shook her head. “But if it’s Wilkes I might not. Some of his work would be familiar but not this. You should know we get along. He likes me.”
“Enough to not turn you in?”
Shrugging, she considered. “Abbott controls him with blackmail and…certain sexual opportunities. Maybe drugs. He’ll put his needs first. And Abbott will be pressuring him because…”
“Because I snagged his attention, and if somebody else picks up on it and Wilkes didn’t tell Abbott, he’s in the shit.” Connor’s fists clenched. “I’m sorry, honey.”
“So you’ve said. And I’ve told you it’s done and over with. But now you know—and don’t tell me you didn’t research Abbott’s name and his personal killer—it must be apparent that I have to leave. Can I have my stuff? Please?”
“We didn’t finish telling you why we have good security, Maddy.” Rafe patted her knee. “We used the training imparted by the government, and the skills we’ve perfected during our career to set up a business that could attract some, shall we say, reprisals from certain quarters.”
“Is what you do legal?”
Rafe arched that infernal brow. “That’s open to interpretation. Kind of like you borrowing that nice old lady’s identity to protect your sweet ass. We don’t fuck anybody over unless they’re the bad guys, and we do our best to help those who can’t help themselves.”
“You can’t tell me details,” she concluded. But she knew their idea of who the bad guys were would fit with her own. These men weren’t anything like Abbott or the people he associated with.
“You’ll figure things out after you’ve been here awhile, honey.” Connor closed the laptop. “But there are some things it’s better you don’t know, and people are entitled to confidentiality, even from our submissive, at times.”
“Connor, Rafe. It’s best I move on.” She couldn’t be tempted. The more often she heard our submissive the more she wanted it to be true, but she had to make them see how dangerous it was for them. They were being so cavalier. And what if this wasn’t a forever thing, for both of them? She might survive Abbott, but would she recover if she gave them her heart? Because no way could she be with these men and not give them everything. Too late.
“Nope.” He refused her without hesitation.
Well. The gall. The temerity. And damned if she didn’t like it.
“Okay.” Wow. As simple as that. A weight lifted from her soul, if not fully from her shoulders. Rafe and Connor smiled widely, and she smiled back, although she was trembling from the relief.
“But let me in on the plan.” Because if she knew anything about these Doms, it was that they had a plan. Their entire pursuit of her—for she accepted it now as a pursuit—was all about planning. Unless they just felt badly about outing her and blowing her cover.
“Madeline. This isn’t about making things up to you or feeling badly.” Crap, she’d thought out loud. “And once we’ve dealt with your nemesis, we’ll prove it to you. And I suspect you’ll be standing up for your meals if you continue to push me.”
Connor stayed out of it, although she chanced a quick glance in his direction. Rafe rubbed his right hand on his thigh, and her butt cheeks tingled. If she’d been all in before, it was now fish or cut bait. “What’s the plan?”
Chapter Six
Connor groaned and stood from the desk chair, first stretching his arms over his head, then setting his palms at the base of his spine and bending back over them. All around him screens flickered, reflecting the entire property from all angles. Every now and then a flicker of black and tan would present in a flurry of elegant motion as one of the Dobies patrolled from one frame through the other.
Rafe strolled in and gave him a sympathetic glance, as well his friend should. Connor hadn’t been in bed with Maddy yet, and while he wasn’t jealous of Rafe, he was envious. They’d split up the duties after a heated discussion with their subbie about making a plan. She hadn’t wanted to bring danger to their doorstep, but there wasn’t really a choice for misdirection now.
“She asleep?”
“Out like a light, despite her nap this afternoon. I’ll bet she hasn’t been sleeping worth a damn for a long time.”
Connor didn’t want to think about the mild sedative he’d mixed into Maddy’s herbal tea, the honey masking the bitter taste. He knew it was for her own good, but it went against his grain to drug people, especially women, although he and his team often had no choice. Funny how the victims they retrieved could be so damned difficult.
“You’re overthinking, bud. She got wound up and we didn’t have time to unwind her in what’s gonna become the preferred way.” They smiled at one another, and Connor’s cock twitched. It hadn’t softened fully since he’d stashed Maddy in his truck, despite that stupendous fuck in the kitchen. Talk about it being the heart of the home.
“So you told her a bedtime story. Or did you sing to her?”
Rafe cuffed him, but his smile grew. “She’s something, for sure. Depths to plumb.”
At Connor’s dirty smirk, Rafe cuffed him again. “Get your mind out of the gutter. What’d you learn?”
Connor shared the events he’d extrapolated from what Maddy had shared, spelling out the grisly details. “That Ryker ran her down while she was looking to rent a place, a couple of months after leaving Abbott the first time, if I have it right. She must have thought she’d built a solid identity. The people renting to her, and a visitor, told her to hide downstairs, but the bad guy didn’t buy it. He went through them, got to her and took her. The police are still looking for another victim—Maddy. Seems there were a couple of witnesses on the street. It got the feds’ interest because they figured the kidnappers crossed state lines.”
“How long ago?”
“Eighteen months. She probably took time to…heal. Then figured out a way to get gone, learned from the first experience.”
“So she was back with that asshole close to a year.”
“Yes.”
Connor didn’t care to think about it, instead honing in on how resilient and determined Maddy was. They weren’t going to let her down.
“I’ll bet she’d have run before if it wasn’t for her daddy. What kind of a father puts his gambling before his kid? And we don’t even know how long her father was involved with Abbott. Maddy grew up in shit.” It spoke volumes that Rafe could even ask the question, seeing as his own father had put another addiction before him and all his family. Connor knew his best friend was determined to be the best father ever, although Rafe was scared shitless about it. Which was why Connor would have his back as they learned together. No question Maddy would make a good mom, as she put others before herself. He was still blown away by her quiet acceptance of his reasoning for walking away from his former life, despite the paucity of details. And to cut to the chase with Rafe…
They sat in silence, watching the screens, waiting, although Connor figured it wouldn’t happen for a while. If Maddy read the tame hacker right, he wouldn’t out her until he felt forced to, so Connor had trailed a little chum in the water. That guy Abbott wouldn’t take kindly to an obvious amount of cash going missing, and Wilkes would have to fess up. They didn’t want to wait too long. Waiting took away the edge.
“You think the two of us are enough?” Rafe asked the question casually. Connor knew he wasn’t worried about their capabilities, but now they had Maddy to consider in the equation.
“I put the word out to a few of the guys on our old team. A couple are at loose ends,” he admitted.
“Good. When’ll they be here?”
“Benedett first thing tomorrow. Lawrence later in the day.” They maintained a loose relationship with their former team members, but if anyone was in a position to help out anyone on that team, it happened.
Maddy was certain that if Abbott went down and his files weren’t touched and the money left undisturbed, his boss would put somebody in to pick up where Abbott left off. Nobody apparently knew about her intimate knowledge of those files, so it seemed a fairly straightforward plan. Taunt Ryker, take care of him, then draw out Abbott. That was where their plan and Maddy’s took a little jog. She had enough on the man to put him away, but Connor wasn’t putting her in the position to testify. He’d crafted something else, and if it didn’t work they’d do whatever needed to be done. Keeping Maddy out of the crossfire would be the challenge. Maybe they’d lock her in the playroom.
The Death of You Page 11