Page 101 of Wretched Heart
“Just do as Ray says,” Barrett tells Maddie. He sniggers. “You’ll be delivered to my bed in no time at all.”
Maddie’s grip tightens around my hand – for my reassurance, not hers. She knows I’m about to lose it.
“I don’t understand…” she says. “What about Hunter?”
Alice is tapping on her cell phone. She’ll be messaging Barrett, but the damage is done.
“That man’s name is never to cross your lips again,” Barrett barks at her. “He doesn’t want you. He never did. Debasing you was just his way of getting to me. You’ll have to face the consequences of your actions, but if you’re a good girl, I might forgive you once your divorce is finalized. Or I might let my friends play with you. I haven’t decided yet. But just to be clear, you’re mine now.”
“The fuck she is,” I growl.
There’s complete silence on the other end of the line as Maddie passes the cell to me.
My chest rises steeply as the world turns red. “Please, tell me again what you’re planning to do to my wife, Barrett.” I snarl. “And then, if I were you, I’d run and hide.”
“Is this some kind of trick?” Barrett asks. He’s attempting to regain his composure, but I hear the catch of his tongue against the roof of his dry mouth.
The mute icon disappears from Alice’s video link. “Barrett, do not say another word!”
“What the hell?”
“Not another word! Put down your phone. Now! I’ll talk to you later.”
“I look forward to seeing you again, Barrett,’ I say just before he cuts the line.
Maddie circles our seats so she’s in front of me. She squeezes behind the table and sits on my lap. I wrap my arms around her waist and with one look from my wife, she grounds me. We don’t share any words in front of Alice. We don’t need to. She’s mine. I’m hers. And I’ll kill any man who dares touch her.
“Everything’s been recorded,” Ash tells Alice. “We can send you a copy if you’d like?”
“You’ve set him up…” Alice tries, but her voice, like her defense, is weak.
“The way I see it,” Ash replies. “Barrett’s just confirmed he issued the instruction to take Maddie against her will, and I’m sure the FBI would love to investigate it further. And I hopeyouhave a good explanation for why you tricked Maddie’s husband into leaving the state with his brothers so one of your board members could abduct her.”
Alice’s cell phone lights up in her hand, but she ignores it. “What do you want, Asher?”
“I want Barrett’s balls on a plate,” I say.
Ash turns to me, then looks to Maddie.
“You’re the injured party, Maddie,” Ash says. “What do you want to happen?”
The way my older brother is respecting her, treating her like one of the family, helps tamp down my anger – for now.
“For a start, I don’t want any dealings with the Emersons ever again,” she answers, looking to the screen and talking directly to Alice. “Given that we’re family, I have a feeling that’s going to be difficult, but it might help if any potential flash points are removed. A fight with Barrett could get nasty judging by how angry my husband is right now.” She rests her head against mine. “So if you want me to put all my energy into keeping him occupied, I’d rather not have to deal with local disputes in Brimstage.”
“We’ll sell you the land in question. We can have the deeds transferred to Griffin Corps by the end of day tomorrow,” Alice spits out.
“You expect us tobuyit?” asks Ash.
Alice’s hands fly up. “Take the land for pity’s sake,” she says, exasperated. “But it’s on the understanding that any recordings are destroyed, and you sign an NDA.”
“No NDA,” I snap. “You don’t silence my wife. You take her word, and ours. That’s the only offer on the table.”
Alice’s eyes flick to her cell phone and whatever messages Barrett’s sending. It’s possible our mother’s loyalties are conflicted, but in truth, Alice is only loyal to herself. When she left us, it was straight into the arms of a man who had a privileged enough background to enable her to take my dad’s ideas and claim them as her own. Alice had the killer instinct my father lacked when it came to business. Where Dad’s inventiveness benefited entire communities, Alice used the knowledge she harvested to exploit workers and build empires. She forsook motherhood and the simple life Dad offered for the hollow comfort of wealth.
She doesn’t look comfortable now.
“Your lawyers will have the paperwork tomorrow,” she says. “But I would still like to see you all–”
