Page 211 of Mad As Hell

I shoved the card into my bra and stormed across the room as my heart thundered. I yanked the door open, praying I looked calm and composed, if not a little irritated.

Mrs. Delancey jumped back in surprise. “I’m sorry, but you know how he gets.”

I gave her a jerky nod while tugging on a pair of Madelaine’s ballet flats. Brushing past her, I hurried downstairs. I paused in front of his office door to take a breath and heard voices.

“You did well,” Gary’s cool voice praised someone.

“Thank you, sir. And thank you for covering my medical bills. That was much appreciated,” a masculine voice replied.

I frowned, trying to place the voice. I’d heard it before.

Gary laughed. “Well, next time be more careful. I have plans for those hands and they need to be able to function.”

The man chuckled in response. “Of course, sir. I’d underestimated how flammable Egyptian cotton was.”

I heard Mrs. Delancey coming down the stairs and quickly made an entrance so Gary wouldn’t know I’d been eavesdropping.

After knocking on the partially closed door, I waited for him to tell me to come in. When I stepped inside, I frowned at the man across from him.

He was older than me, but only by a few years, and there was something familiar about his eyes. He watched me with a cold gaze.

“I know you,” I said before I could stop myself.

Gary froze, his gaze darting from me to the man with suspicion. Then he suddenly relaxed. “He was Madelaine’s driver. You met him in Michigan.”

“Evan,” I murmured, remembering him. He’d picked me up from the library and brought me to Madelaine that first night. She’d said he was her chauffeur and her boyfriend.

“Yes,” Gary replied. “He traveled to Greece with Madelaine, as you must know. Evan was injured in the fire that killed your sister. He’s been recovering, but now he’s back, and not a moment too soon. We have much to do.”

Evan smiled at me, the expression doing nothing to put me at ease. “Good to see you again, miss.” He turned to Gary. “Did you need anything else, sir?”

“No,” Gary replied. “Although, my daughter will need a ride back to the dormitories in a bit. Bernard is on another errand for me.”

“Yes, sir.” He inclined his head and started to leave.

“And Evan?” Gary called.

He paused in the doorway.

Gary smiled coolly. “Thanks again for handling that… situation.”

Evan’s mouth curved up, and a shudder rippled down my spine as he replied, “Of course, sir.” He closed the door when he left.

Gary's gaze swept over me. “Good visit with your mother?”

I pushed away my unease at seeing Evan and forced myself to slip back into calm, collected Maddie. My lips quirked into a wry smirk. “It was fantastic. I needed another shower today.”

Gary laughed. “Yes, well, she’s a bit of a mess.”

I nodded. “She is, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

His lips turned down in sympathy. Or whatever his sociopathic ass thought counted as sympathy. “It must have been so hard, growing up with her.”

“Well, it wasn’t a mansion,” I replied tersely as I sat in the same chair as earlier.

“No, but I think your upbringing is exactly what we needed,” he mused, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. “After all, you’ve been more of an asset to me these last few weeks than your sister was in her entire, pathetic existence.”

It took everything in me not to react. “Oh?”

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