Page 9 of Wretched Heart
“What’s going on with you and your brother?” I ask. “Are you deliberately setting out to destroy your mill? Because from where I’m standing, you both look pretty annoyed that Barrett isn’t going to do it for you.”
“I wouldn’t have let it happen.”
“You knew what he was planning?”
Maddie shifts in her seat. “Of course not. But Barrett said he’d give me more control on the board once we were married.”
“If you still believe that, then maybe you need to see that video again,” I reply, making a move to take my phone out. Her face creases in pain as her hand shoots out. Her arms are too short and her dress too big to reach me, but I don’t want a repeat of Maddie’s humiliation either. “Look, I am sorry about today. I wish there’d been an easier way of doing it.”
Maddie’s jaw ticks. “You mean like sending the video to mediscretely before the wedding. Or maybe not sharing it with all my family and friends. Or not blasting the audio through the chapel so half of Bloomington could hear just howfrigidI am.”
The accusation stings. “My intention was to publicly humiliate Barrett, not you. And it was the only way to guarantee his departure. You do realize you’re better off without him, don’t you?”
“Go to hell,” Maddie snaps. “Don’t claim to know me, or what’s best for me. Or even pretend to care.”
And now she’s pissing me off. I grab the key card from my pocket and slam it down on the bar. “You wanted a room for the night. It’s all yours.” I push it in her direction.
The brat scowls at it. “I don’t want it. I never said I wanted a room.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I mutter. I pull the tracker back out of my pocket and put it to my mouth like I’m holding a microphone. “Testing, one, two, three.”
Her mouth drops. “You’ve been listening in on my conversation?”
I choose not to answer that question, and leave her mind to whir. She gasps.
“You sick bastard!” she hisses. “Did you listen to me using the restroom?”
“No, I didn’t,” I say with complete honesty. I’m grateful Mace isn’t here. He’d happily tell her he was the one tracking the conversation, and the noises.
“I don’t believe this! I’m leaving!” Maddie says, jumping off her bar stool.
Her heels are still tangled in her dress and the sound of ripping is strangely satisfying. I have the sudden urge to tear the rest of her dress into shreds. In truth, that urge has been there since the chapel.
As Maddie gathers up the skirt, I pick up the key card and stand.
“You’re staying here tonight, Maddie,” I say, grabbing her arm. “And if you make a scene, I swear, I’ll make you regret it.”
Maddie fights against my grip, but at least she stays silent as I march her towards the elevators. Before we leave the bar, I stop briefly to look back at the server who’s watching with a mixture of concern and disbelief.
“You were right about the tattoos, Melissa,” I call over.
I hear Maddie whimper as she realizes I’d heard exactly how she’d described me to the server. At least it keeps her quiet enough for me to squeeze her into the elevator, dress and all. We’re on our way to the top floor when my phone pings.
Mace: Do not go into the room with her. Do not fuck her.
I glance up at the pinhole camera and make a one fingered gesture. Maddie watches with fresh horror.
“Are we being watched?”
“It’s the twenty-first century. Everyone’s being watched.”
“No,” Maddie persists, looking from my cell to the camera. “You’ve had a message from whoever’s watching that feed. What did it say?”
I choose wisely not to share the message, and tap out a reply to my brother.
Hunter: I’ll head back in fifteen. Reid can take the first watch.
Mace: You don’t usually last that long.
