Page 25 of Possession

Chapter 15

Nathaniel

Son of a bitch.The horn blared at another damn car in my way. I slammed on the brake to avoid their bumper before jerking the wheel to the left and quickly accelerating past them, while Joseph remained on the phone with Madeline. I’d only heard his side of the conversation, but I knew Madeline was in trouble. We’d shared a smile when her number came across his caller ID, but when he’d barked her name, I knew something terrible had happened. It was killing me not to know what was going on. I laid on the horn again and got flipped off for my trouble. Fucking D.C. traffic. We needed to get to our woman now.

I fished my phone out of my pocket and tossed it to him. “Call the guard stationed there and let them know what’s going on.”

“Where are you now, Madeline?” Joseph continued questioning her while he punched the keys on my phone. I did my best to weave in and out of the crawling traffic on the Francis Scott Key Bridge, honking at cars to get the fuck out of my way. What I wouldn’t give for some damn blinking lights and a siren. Thankfully, we’d been near Georgetown so we didn’t have to navigate downtown.

“Stay with me, angel. I’m calling the detail outside your house.”

When the guard answered, Joseph barked out orders for him to go inside and wait for them to arrive.

He switched the conversation back to our woman. “Madeline, I need you to let the officer in. He’s going to stay with you until we get there. We’re close, I promise.”

Finally, I hit Lee Highway and gunned it. In record time, I skidded to a halt in Madeline’s driveway. Based on Joseph’s tone, she’d calmed and didn’t seem to be in any immediate danger, which made me feel only slightly better. I still wanted to murder someone.

Almost as a single unit, we dove out of the car and raced toward the door. Our feet pounded against the pavement and our heavy breathing echoed in the air. We practically flew up the three steps and landed on the front stoop just as the door opened. The moment Madeline laid eyes on us, she burst into tears and began to collapse. I scooped her up and with an arm behind her back and one behind her knees, I lifted her against my chest and carried her inside, leaving Joseph to follow and close the door behind us. My rage still burned brightly, but now that she was under my protection I was able to control it better. I whispered reassurances against her hair while I exchanged a glance and nod with Joseph.

While I settled a still-crying Madeline and myself on the couch, he escorted the guard outside to speak to him. I knew I needed to call our own forensics team in, but for a brief time, I needed to hold our woman. To know that she was safe. Her sobs slowed until she took in one last shuddering breath before raising her head to look up at me. She shifted as though to move off my lap, but I held tight, refusing to give up my hold. When she realized I had no intention of letting her go, she settled back into my arms.

She jumped and tensed when the front door clicked open, but relaxed when she spotted Joseph entering. His expression was one I didn’t have difficulty reading, not after all these years working together. Anger, fear, and determination all radiated off him as he sat in the chair opposite Madeline and me. He leaned forward and rested his forearms on spread knees while he worried the fingers of one hand.

He heaved a heavy sigh as though not sure where to begin. “I questioned the officer. He says he didn’t see or hear anything. I also contacted the ERT, who are on their way. I went out back, but didn’t get too close to the”—his gaze darted up to briefly glance at Madeline before shifting his vision to me— “body, but from what I could tell, it appears to be a woman. I couldn’t see much beyond her feet, and I didn’t want to contaminate the scene.”

“Fuck,” I cursed, tightening my hold on the woman in my lap when I felt her shudder. “He’s changed his M.O.”

“Wha…what does that mean?” Madeline stuttered, her voice shaky.

Joseph and I looked at each other before he answered her question. “Honestly, I don’t know. He’s never deviated from who we assume is his intended victim. At least to our knowledge. Each woman who’s been killed had been the recipient of love letters. No one else, besides you, has reported receiving these anonymous letters recently.”

“That you know of anyway.”

I looked down at her. The look of terror was back on her face, and it pissed me off. I was ready to kill for this woman. To make this all disappear. “Listen and listen well, pet. We’re going to catch this piece of shit if it’s the last thing we do.”

Madeline’s hand came up to cup my smooth jawline. Her violet eyes studied my face like she was memorizing every aspect of it. “That’s what I’m afraid of. What if it is the last thing you do? You just said he’s changed his M.O. What if he changes it again and goes after you two? No one would expect it or see it coming. If that woman out there is any indication, this bastard isn’t playing by anyone’s rules but his own.”

While I was happy to see the fear leave her eyes and the steel enter her tone, she needed to remember who was in charge here. “Don’t worry about what he may or may not do. This is what we’re trained for. We will catch him. In the meantime, you’re going to a safe house.”

Tendrils of hair fluttered when Madeline shook her head in denial. “I told you I wasn’t going to be run off by this asshole.”

In a flash, I flipped her over so she now lay on her stomach over my lap, my right arm splayed over her shoulder blades and upper back. My left hand came down hard on her ass, eliciting a screech from her. She kicked and struggled to rise when I began to rain slaps down, alternating cheeks so she felt the sting and burn over her entire ass. Soon, she was sobbing, but still squirmed trying to evade the blows.

“Stop struggling and take your punishment like a good submissive or I’m going to add more infractions to the list. You won’t enjoy what comes next.”

“I’m not enjoying this,” she spat out, but settled down.

“That’s why it’s called a punishment, pet.” This came from the previously silent man across from us.

“Joseph,” she begged, her eyes searching him out.

He merely shook his head. I knew he’d agree with me. “There are surveillance cameras surrounding your entire house and yet he still got this close to you and we never saw a fucking thing. It’s no longer safe for you here and you need to recognize that fact. I understand you don’t want to go to a safe house, which is why you’re coming home with us instead.”

Both Madeline and I froze, my hand suspended in mid-air. I certainly hadn’t expected that, but it made sense. We were the best ones to protect her. It also gave us a chance to see if this… thing between the three of us was something we wanted to explore further. Maybe even take things to the next level. Joseph had said from the beginning that Madeline was ‘the one’ and I was almost starting to believe him. She was perfect for us in every way. But first, we needed to find and destroy Casanova. We had too much to lose now.

I loosened my hold on her now that her punishment was over and she’d calmed down. With tear tracks still staining her face, she gingerly sat on the couch next to me, wringing hands in her lap. I’d never seen her this unsure before.

“I’m scared.” Her words were barely above a whisper and I had to strain to hear them. Joseph heard them loud and clear though, because suddenly he was kneeling in front of her, his large hands swallowing hers as he clasped them tightly. I let him comfort her, because he was so much better at the gentler stuff than I was.

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