Page 69 of Deserving Maddie

He wanted to meet at a coffee shop not far from her office, so she looked at her watch. The email was sent a few minutes ago and the time he wanted to meet was only fifteen minutes away. Maddie considered blowing him off, but then she thought better of it. She might not care about the money but her children deserved something. With the decision made, she grabbed her purse and walked out of her office, pausing at Anne's desk.

"I'm going to run and grab a coffee quick. Would you like me to bring you something back?"

"No, I'm good, but thank you. You don't have any meetings until eleven, so take your time."

"Thanks," Maddie said, heading for the door.

She had no intention of spending two hours speaking to Captain Matthews. She would listen to what he had to say and leave. If there was a problem with the death benefit, then she would handle it herself. Nothing the man said would help her in any way.

It was a beautiful day outside; not too hot, so Maddie used the time to soak in the sun. Her office was in a quiet neighborhood; there were enough places within walking distance that she could run out on lunch, but not too far of a drive from both her house and the kids’ school. The only thing it lacked was foot traffic. There was hardly anyone on the sidewalks except during the lunch hour. It was one thing she missed about living in a bigger town.

Maddie was just walking by one of the for-sale shop doors when it suddenly opened and she was yanked inside. She tried to scream, but a sweet-smelling cloth was placed over her mouth and nose. Instinct kicked in. She thrashed and scratched, her purse clattering to the floor and echoing throughout the empty space. She tried to pull the hand off her face, but it was no use. Whoever had her was much stronger. Her heels dug into the floor and she heard one snap as her body was dragged backward.

She knew she was in trouble when her vision started to darken. Whatever was on the cloth was making her mind fuzzy and she was slowly losing touch with reality. The muscles she was using to fight off her captor suddenly felt like jelly, and before she knew it, there was nothing but darkness surrounding her.

Maddie wasn't sure how much time had passed when she finally woke up. Her head was pounding, and despite commanding her limbs to move, they seemed to be slow at doing so. She blinked a few times before her vision finally cleared and she got a good look at where she was being held.

It was an abandoned building, that was for sure. The dust and dirt on the floor told her as much. She didn't think it was the same storefront she had been kidnapped from because the space was too large. Other than the chair she was currently strapped to, there wasn't anything else in the room.

None of this made sense. Why would Anthony's captain ask to meet her if he only planned to kidnap her? She had no proof of her former accusations, and if he wanted to get rid of her, it would've been easier when she was living back in North Carolina. Too much time had passed if he thought she would tell someone.

Then she remembered why Ray was staying with her. A motorcycle club had threatened her life. Could she have been kidnapped by them? Did they plan to follow through on their threat and make her their clubhouse whore? The thought of being raped by multiple men had her fighting her restraints.

"It's no use. I made sure those were tied tight," a voice from somewhere behind her taunted.

"Why am I here?"

She tried to hide the tremble in her voice but she couldn't. She was petrified of what was going to happen to her.

"Because Ray ruined my life, and I plan to ruin his. Starting with him losing you."

Chapter 31

Raybargedintothesituation room, out of breath and ready to murder someone. "Maddie's missing!" He slammed his fist on the metal table.

"What happened?"

He ignored his boss when he realized they weren't alone, and he didn't know the man sitting across from Wes.

"Who the fuck are you?" Normally he wasn't so hostile to potential clients, but something about the man sitting in their situation room while Maddie was missing only further irritated him. The man's presence was delaying him from getting what he needed.

"Agent Franklin with the DEA," Wes said. "He's here to discuss the MC. They have a man on the inside."

"You bastard …" Ray dropped his shoulder and charged the man, attempting to stand. He managed to catch the agent off guard enough that he got two punches in before his boss was pulling him off.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Ray? You can't attack a federal fucking agent!"

"Where the fuck is Maddie?"he screamed over his boss.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Agent Franklin was breathing hard, and a trickle of blood dripped from a cut on his lip. It gave Ray immense satisfaction to know he was able to take out some of his frustration.

"Wraith and his MC have been terrorizing Maddie. They slashed her tires outside my house and sent me a picture of the two of us out together with the word clubhouse whore on it. So tell me where the fuck she is!"

"I don't know but I can promise you neither Wraith nor anyone in his club has her. My guy would've told me."

"You expect me to believe you?" He tried to lunge at the guy again, but Wes held him back.

"Falcon!" Wes's loud boom nearly shattered his eardrum. "Get your ass in here!"

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