Page 55 of Mad Love

MADDIE

My breath caught in my chest, trapped by expanding hope as I looked at Charles. He wouldn’t meet my gaze, but I knew this was his way of getting me out of this hellhole. And I was all the way in.

“Well then, we should finalize things,” Gary said, flashing me a gloating smile. “Let’s step into my office.”

I started to follow, but Gary spun and blocked my path with a cool look. “You’re not needed for this. Sit and wait for your fiancé in there.” He jerked his chin at the sitting room off the foyer.

“I’ll collect you when we’ve concluded our business,” Charles added, his tone just as aloof and condescending as Gary’s.

Gritting my teeth, I forced a smile and spun on my heel before marching into the room that looked like it had been professionally decorated by someone who loved the color white. White carpet, white walls, white furniture, and a few gold accents that barely broke up the starkness of the space.

I perched on the edge of the sofa, twisting my fingers in my lap as I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

There was a clock on the mantle of the fireplace, and I watched as the seconds ticked into minutes that crawled into an hour. I was going crazy not knowing what was happening and how my fate was being decided.

Finally, after eighty-six minutes, Charles appeared in the doorway with Gary.

“I’ll start having her things packed up,” Gary told him, sparing me a look that warned me to play along. “You can pick her up as soon as the funds are fully deposited.”

Charles nodded. “Do you mind if we take a walk around the property? There are some things I need to discuss with her. Expectations and stipulations.”

Gary’s eyes narrowed. “You’re free to use this room.” He waved a hand at the glass doors that led to a sitting room where it would be easy for anyone walking by to see us.

Charles looked at me carefully. “Before I finalize our deal, I want to make sure her acquiescence isn’t just for show around you.”

My spine stiffened. If I hadn’t known Charles was on my side, this whole conversation would’ve been humiliating.

“Fine,” Gary bit off. “Thirty minutes and I’ll need her back. I, too, have things to discuss with her.”

Charles held out a hand, beckoning me forward. I went to him warily, eyeing Gary and giving him as wide a berth as possible.

“Her coat?” Charles asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Sighing, Gary snapped his fingers, and the small man who had answered the door earlier appeared with a black wool coat. Charles took it from him and slipped it over my shoulders before taking my fingers in his. “We’ll be back shortly.”

Gary nodded slowly, his eyes narrowed as he watched us leave through the front door.

As soon as the door shut behind us, I sucked in a deep breath. It had been too long since I’d actually breathed fresh air, and the mountain air here was crisp and sharp with the impending threat of snow.

I’d forgotten how much I loved the scent of snow in the air and the silence that came with the fluffy white flakes.

“Come on,” Charles murmured, tightening his hand around mine and leading me down the stairs and around the house toward the wooded area I’d seen from my bedroom.

“Where are we?” I asked after several minutes of quiet.

“Montana,” he replied, glancing down at me.

Another question pressed heavily on my mind. “And the money? Did you really find it?”

A grim nod. “My cousin, Tyler, is the best in the business. Ash is good, but he never stood a chance at truly burying your accounts when Ty got involved.” He shot me a sympathetic look. “I’m going to have to give Gary the money in order for this to truly work.”

I sighed. “I figured as much. Honestly, I don’t give a damn about the money at this point. Maybe if I’d just given it to him from the start, we could’ve avoided this whole mess.”

“No,” he argued. “This was always about more than the money. It was about proving to the Collective that he should be leading them.”

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