Page 11 of Wicked Love
“I need a few minutes if we’re going to do anything like this again,” Dexter admitted.
Maddie and I both laughed, and I nodded. “Me too, Dex. Maybe we’ll wait for another day.”
We all lay there and caught our breaths, but I couldn’t tear my gaze from Maddie. Joy brightened her face. We were all sated and pleased with ourselves—and fully pleasured.
But as we relaxed in silence together, her eyes started to cloud with worries again. I could see the strain of them creeping across her expression.
No matter how hard I tried to make her happy, I hadn’t gotten rid of the source of her stress. And I had no idea how I could.
CHAPTERFIVE
Madelyn
As I stepped out of my last class of the afternoon, I let out my breath in a sigh and rolled my shoulders. The genetics seminar went over a lot of material I found fascinating, but it was getting harder to absorb all the information when my head felt so full of theories and possible evidence related to Dad’s murder and Beckett’s potential role in it.
I meandered a short distance down the hallway and resigned myself to plopping down on a bench by the wall, pulling out my phone to occupy myself. The Vigil guys all had classes during this time period that ended later than mine. Logan’s had the closest timeframe, and he’d insisted that I should wait in the building by the lecture hall for the twenty minutes it’d take for his class to let out and him to hustle across the campus.
It seemed a little ridiculous that I’d need protection just to walk anywhere on campus, but Slade and Dexter had agreed with Logan. I hadn’t felt like getting into a big argument with all of them. It wasn’t as if I had anything urgent to do right this minute anyway, so I might as well humor them.
I scrolled through a couple of social media feeds, and then a text from Keeley popped up. My roommate sounded typically energetic even in text form.
Hey Maddie! You should swing by our room as soon as you can. The RA dropped off something for you—it looks pretty cool!
I knit my brow as I re-read the message. What would the RA have brought for me? I’d barely talked with the senior who oversaw our floor. But it could be that a package from home had come in and been misdirected, and she’d needed to bring it to me by hand. That would be just like Mom, only out of the hospital for a few days and sending something to cheermeup.
Hesitating, I glanced around the hallway. It looked the same as always, the students for the next class already filing into the seminar room, a few more lingering around chatting with each other. My dorm building was just a couple of minutes away, and Logan wasn’t due for another fifteen. Why the hell shouldn’t I quickly pop over and find out what “cool” thing I’d gotten?
Sure, I’ll be right over, I texted back.Thanks for letting me know!
I set a brisk pace along the campus paths, not stopping to enjoy the warmth of the spring day. I’d prefer to get back to my waiting spot before Logan showed up so I could avoid whatever lecture he’d give me. In no time at all, I was climbing up the stairs in the dorm building and pushing into the hall.
I already had my keycard in hand when I reached the door to our room. I swiped it and headed inside, expecting to see Keeley waiting eagerly for me to discover my surprise.
She wasn’t there. I stalled a couple of steps into the room, frowning as I took in our beds with their rumpled covers, my neat desk and hers with its chaos of binders and make-up, and the thin rug on the floor. I didn’t see anything inside that hadn’t been here the last time I’d been in the room either—no special deliveries. What the heck was going on?
My surprise had just given way to a jolt of apprehension when footsteps thudded behind me. I spun around just as Beckett strode into the room.
My pulse stuttered. A startled yelp burst from my throat, lost to the hall in the thump as Beckett shut the door behind him. I backed up to my desk and gripped my chair, wondering if I should scream for help.
Before I’d made a decision, Beckett raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. His mouth twisted at a pained angle, and he stayed at the opposite end of the room, giving me as much space as he could. His dark gray eyes pierced into mine. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’dneverhurt you. I just want you to hear my side of the story—properly, without the other guys interrupting with accusations every few seconds.”
My shoulders came down a tad, but I remained braced for a fight. “How am I supposed to trust you when you snuck up on me like this? How did you even get in here—what happened to Keeley?”
“I didn’t hurt her either,” Beckett said, slowly and calmly. “All I did was tell her I wanted to surprise you by showing up unexpectedly and ask her to send you a text to get you to come over. She was more than happy to support my romantic gesture.” His voice turned a bit wry with the last few words, but he kept his hands in their submissive position.
Damn it. Keeley would have recognized Beckett from the photo I’d shown her of him—which she’d highly approved of—and it’d never occurred to me to tell her that I’d discovered he might be dangerous. I hadn’t even seen her since I’d found that out myself.
“I would never hurt anyone you care about, and that includes your family,” Beckett went on into my silence. “I swear to you that I had no idea your dad was murdered until yesterday. And I’ve never lied to you about how I feel about you. I just… wasn’t completely upfront about everythingmyfamily is involved in, as far as our business goes. Will you please hear me out?”
My stomach churned as I sorted through my emotions. He’d scared me by making this impromptu visit—but only because of the fears the Vigil guys had planted in my head. Two days ago, his arrival would have been a pleasant surprise. Until yesterday, I’d never seen any reason to think Beckett had malicious intentions toward me or my family.
And none of the investigating we’d done had given us any proof. If anything, what we’d seen on the surveillance camera last night had only cast doubt on whether the story the guys had heard from Beckett’s supposed employee was true.
I wanted to know what was really going on, and the man in front of me might know more than anyone.
“All right,” I said carefully. “But you stay over there. And talk quickly.” I turned my chair around so I could sit down on it.
Beckett didn’t move from his position by the door. He ran his hand through his sandy hair, looking briefly uncertain—more uncertain than I’d ever seen from this confident man. Then he squared his shoulders and met my eyes again.
