Page 75 of Wretched Heart
“Sunday?” Maddie repeats. She’s no less tense than she had been on the journey here. “But that’s four days away.”
“Is that a problem?” Ash asks, and it’s a genuine question. Slowly, he’s starting to respect Maddie’s opinion.
Maddie’s hand trembles in mine. “I just– I–” She twists in her seat to glance back at the house. “They’re my family.”
I see Ash’s grip tighten on the wheel. “Is there a problem, Maddison?” he asks again, more forcibly.
“Don’t call me that!” she snaps. “My name’s Maddie. Just like Jennifer’s called Jen, and Rebecca is our little Becks. That’s who we are. Away from– from Hugo.”
Her eyes dart to mine, and I try to keep her steady with my gaze. I cup her face. “We know who you are. We see you,” I say softly while thinking of all the times I’ve heard Hugo correct their names. He’d given Maddie no agency over her own life, right down to what people called her. I don’t know how she came away from that as strong as she is. I’m in awe of her.
“Maddie,” Ash says, drawing her attention back to him. “I need to know what you’re thinking. Are you having second thoughts about our plans for your brother?”
“No, I don’t care about him.”
A sheen of sweat on her brow glistens in the sunshine as she glances back through the dust storm we’ve left in our wake. I slide my thumb to the pulse point on her wrist. Her heart rate has skyrocketed. “Maddie?”
“I convinced myself they’d be OK without me,” she says, then takes a gulp of air. “But they’re both disappearing. He’s reducing our sweet little girl to nothing.” She takes another breath, but has to fight harder for it. “Stop– Stop the car.” Her voice grows louder. “Please. Stop the fucking car!”
The SUV screeches to a halt and when Maddie flings her door open, I don’t try to stop her. I jump out and as I round the car, she’s half-running, half-stumbling back down the driveway. I catch her before she collapses to her knees. I drop down with her, my knees hitting the dirt.
“It’s going to be OK, Maddie. I promise,” I soothe, pulling her trembling body into my chest.
“Becks… She wasn’t even allowed to look at me,” she sobs. “She’s six– she’s six years old and he’s controlling her every move, just– just like he did with me. And Jen…”
As I stare back at the house, I’m overtaken by the urge to storm back in there and end her brother’s miserable existence once and for all. It’s only Hugo’s will, and the cut and paste version of the codicil his father left, that stops me. If I were to squeeze the last breath from Hugo’s foul mouth, Morgan would be handed control of his estate. Instead of freedom, Maddie’s family would simply have a new master. We can wait four days.
Maddie lifts her tear-stained face to mine, and I graze a thumb over the muddy puddles under her eyes. “After Sunday, their lives change. We’re almost there.”
Her lip trembles. “Four more days.”
“And then it’s over.”
She starts to nod, but then her gaze shifts. She’s looking over my shoulder. Ash is out of the car too, and she directs her next question at him. “Was he angry?”
“No,” Ash says. “Anxious to do business, that’s all. Our deal now includes the purchase of the house, so our lawyers will be flooding Hugo with all kinds of enquiries. We’ll keep him so busy he’ll forget he even has a wife and daughter.”
Maddie takes a stuttering breath. “You’re buying the house?”
“Hugo’s proceeds from the mill will most likely be swallowed up by his debts. Selling the house gives your sister-in-law and niece funds to live a comfortable life,” Ash explains. “We don’t need the house, so if you want it, you could move back there. It can all be part of your settlement.”
He means divorce settlement. Ash has the end in sight, one where my ex-wife returns to her family home and we go our separate ways. “We should have talked about this first, Ash,” I say, because although he made itappear like he’d been making it up as he went along, he came here prepared to make the offer. This is Ash’s exit strategy, and he wants it to be a swift one.
My brother shrugs. “Do you have any better ideas?”
Rather than answer, I pull Maddie to her feet, and I keep hold of her. I don’t want to think about how empty my arms will feel when she’s no longer mine.
Chapter 23
Hunter
Maddie snuggles against me as we sit in bed reading. It’s the night before the trip to Las Vegas and I’m going over the final contracts. I’d expected my wife to fall asleep after our marathon-long session between the sheets, but we’re both restless. And while I distract myself with unwieldy legal documents, Maddie finds her own escape.
“Stop fidgeting,” I tell her when she draws her legs up yet again.
She drops her book into her lap and lifts her face to mine. “Make me.”
“Woman, you’re insatiable,” I chide, leaning in to trail my tongue over Maddie’s lips. When they part, I take possession of her mouth, sucking on her tongue before finally releasing her. My cock is thickening, but I have work to do. “Read your book, Maddie.”
