Chapter 46 #2
She was a scientist more than anything—Madison understood how biology worked.
There was definite sexual attraction between her and the man on the other side of the door.
There had been for a long, long time. Maybe not from the exact moment she had met him, but almost as instant.
She’d spent years not allowing anything to come of that.
It was a constant battle.
And one she would not let anyone know about. Even when her friends joked about the obvious thing he supposedly had for her. Well, Madison wasn’t going to take that bait. Not one bit.
Her phone buzzed again.
OPEN YOUR DAMNED DOOR.
Well. Someone was in a mood. She didn’t let him into her territory often. He’d only been there a handful of times, and usually that was when he was bringing her brother over from somewhere. Max adored Dom, and spent as much time with that man as he could.
Madison opened her door. And there he was. Looking just as hot as he had that morning, but a little scruffier. She wouldn’t tell a soul that the scruffy was beyond…hot, too.
She was going to move to Siberia, and escape him. The only way to preserve her sanity. A girl had to do what a girl had to do.
“What took you so long?”
Well. He was definitely as grumpy as always. Great. “What do you want? You have invaded my turf. I’m off the clock right now, remember? Unless…has something else happened? Is everyone…still okay?”
From what she’d heard, there hadn’t been a single solid lead since what had happened to Brett Naylor. And even that guy wasn’t saying anything other than that he wanted to play with K.J. Miller again. And the things she’d heard he was saying he wanted to do to K.J.—ick. Poor K.J.
The guy was getting so extreme in the things he was threatening to do to K.J. his own attorney had quit and he’d had to get another one. The ex-attorney had felt morally obligated to warn the TSP on K.J.’s behalf. A defense attorney with morals was a bit of a rarity, right?
There had been no word about that missing little girl since the hostage situation. Or her father.
Even though she knew Dom and Jake were all still looking. They had promised Hope’s family that they wouldn’t stop until they had her back. Just no one knew where to even start. Timothy Grundenman was in the wind.
No one could find him. And Miguel was getting very, very snarly.
No one knew who had carried that child. Gregory Eastman was a world-renowned infertility specialist. He had been experimenting with surrogates for decades. Illegally.
It was why Zoey and her siblings even existed in the first place.
And it was why Joy Coleson-Greene’s husband had been killed that day years ago. Heather’s twin had also almost died that day, too. Madison knew the story—and had seen the scars.
She mentally added Detective Nicholas Greene to the list of dead cops she’d compiled.
It was all connected. Eastman, the crime ring, the drug ring. Probably all of the missing cops that had disappeared over the last three decades or so, too.
Madison had made notes of that, too.
On average, from about five years before Madison had even been born, three TSP cops per year would go ‘missing’. Two-thirds had been found dead in various areas of the state after. Still others on Madison’s list had died of apparent natural causes—or accidents.
She didn’t know if anyone else had seen the pattern. Madison was afraid that they hadn’t. More than one hundred dead cops—and no one had put it together? That chilled her to the bone. And…someone was going to be next.
She was terrified it would be someone she loved.
Dom was staring at her. In that particular way he had that had always driven her crazy. He was…seriously beyond hot.
He was tall and strong and muscled. Very well-muscled. Her major pain was just as well put together as the rest of his little caveman posse and everything.
He was just so…so…Dominic Acardi. He had always driven her insane.
From the moment they had met when she was first on the job. She’d been twenty-two then. Things hadn’t exactly gotten better since. “So…why are you here?”
Madison resisted the urge to pull the shorts she was wearing down an inch.
To grab a blanket from the couch and wrap up in it.
Because he was looking at her again. And that made her tingly in all the places she wasn’t going to talk about.
She was not going to get distracted by Dom now. It just wasn’t going to happen.
“We need to talk.”
Imagine that. Grumbly caveman shows up at her door—to talk. Well, to grumble. But…Dom wouldn’t just be here for no reason. If it had something to do with her family—he would have already said so. So…that just left…TSP business. Not like he’d be there to just spend time with her.
Madison scared him too much for that.
“My regular hours are ten to six, Sunday through Thursday. Please send an email or leave me a voice mail.” Keeping this man out of her turf was one of her life’s ambitions. That whole avoid-the-tinglies she had going on now and everything. “I’m off the clock. Not on call tonight, either, for once.”
And she’d been so busy running the lab, she hadn’t been able to work on the case she really wanted to.
“Don’t be cute. You know it’ll turn me on.”
He said things like that when they were alone—just to get her all fired up. Because he was a jerk like that. “So why have you invaded?”
“Favor. For Rodriguez. And…something we heard today.”
Okay, that had her straightening and feeling a little less invaded. It was work-related.
Of course it was—Dom was nothing if not a workaholic. The only thing the man really did was work, work, work, spend some time with his father and Max and Madison’s own mother, then work, work, work until he dropped.
Most of Major Crimes had been that way lately. As had the lab.
She resisted the urge to feel concerned for the man. That wasn’t her job. She wasn’t going to let herself worry about him. It just wasn’t going to happen.
Madison was guilty of working too much herself. Since…what had happened with Wilson, especially.
The world was a darker place now in Finley Creek. And they were all just thrown out in the dark of the night. With no…hope. She was really trying to not keep feeling that way. But every day…it got darker here. It just did. She fought looking toward the window.
It just felt evil out there tonight.
“The Ahumada case.”
Which…brought things around: Miguel Rodriguez.
Hope had had a vague connection to the teenage victim in that case, and it had been eating at her. That was what Hope had been working on before she had been shot that night.
With Miguel. The man who had arrested Hope during his initial investigation that day.
Everyone was gossiping like crazy about Miguel…
And Hope’s sister, Heather.
Not exactly fair—Heather couldn’t currently refute any rumors right now. She was still in ICU last Madison had heard, but she thought someone had said Heather had wakened again. “What’s going on?”
“There’s a missing necklace. Hope said it should be in evidence.
And it isn’t. Sixteen-year-old kid, ruled as gang-related homicide.
Thought it was an OD until he was on the table.
Stabbed. Unique knick in the knife. I had Daryn do some digging.
She found the original autopsy reports. They do not match what I got from MacGregor. And he’s claiming ignorance about why.”
“Sure. In Finley Creek. The only gangs around here I’m sure of are the ones who wear the business suits and sit on the city council.” Fact. She’d processed the attempted murder scene herself at the deputy mayor’s house a while back.
Finley Creek was not safe any longer.
If it ever had been. Madison was seriously beginning to have her doubts. Finley Creek had a lot of dark secrets apparently—going back decades. It was the decades part that was throwing her. Just what kind of bad guy posse were they really dealing with here?
“It was a hit. I’m damned convinced of it. And so is Miguel. This case…it’s personal for him.”
“It’s personal for Hope, you mean. I know she was looking into it. Before…Wilson.”
“Before Wilson—is it possible some of that night was just to keep that girl from looking deeper?”
The Ahumada case definitely pissed him off—it was a sixteen-year-old kid who was trying to build a future for himself, murdered in the street. But that wasn’t the main reason he was there. Dom had felt…antsy. When he was leaving the TSP, he had felt like something wasn’t right.
And it was with her.
Dom had made it this far listening to his gut. When something didn’t feel right, it was because it wasn’t. Dom made sure her door was locked behind him, and checked out the window.
Just in case.
He turned back to the little demon who tormented him at all times. That tight little tank top was tormenting him already.
“You expecting company?” She shot a wary look at the window. He could see the shiver go right through her.
“Just can’t be too careful.”
“No. Preaching to the…choir…here.”
In that moment, he knew—the decision he’d made was the right one. “I’m camping on your couch tonight.”
“What?”
“I’m staying here. With you.”
“Uh…why?”
“Because I’m not stupid. Things are circling closer.
And you know too much. And have too much saved on that little server of yours.
I’m not being fucking stupid any longer.
I should have been staying with you since what happened with that bastard Wilson.
Rodriguez got a tip today. Rumor is some scientist has been doing a bit too much digging lately.
Since you are the scientist-in-charge right now…
I am not going anywhere. He thinks it ties to Ahumada and Hope.
I’m not so sure. And am not taking chances. ”
Been his plan all along. Since the moment his good old pal Tony had called him looking for a quick twenty bucks. And confirmed exactly what Dom had feared. There were scientists in Finley Creek who were drawing the wrong kind of attention. Tony thought Dom would want to know.
Tony knew that Dom was close to the forensics teams—Tony had talked about old forensics shows with Dom before.
He suspected Tony was fascinated by the science—just nothing would ever come of it.
The loss of potential was one of those things that bothered Dom the most. But… he still had hope for Tony. Someday.
Dom had definitely wanted to know exactly what Tony had given him.
“I got a tip, too. And I believe it. I’m not going anywhere tonight—or until I have time to figure out what in the hell is circling around the lab again now.
And if I am here if you need me—maybe I’ll get some damned sleep for once. Instead of worrying about you.”
He watched her go pale.
“Don’t I have a say?” Her arms were crossed over her chest. She was glaring at him. Of course she was. Madison was always glaring at him.
He knew he didn't have the right to just barge in here like this. He was going to do it anyway. She’d be pissed at him for a while, but it wouldn’t last.
Madison would give in. He knew her well enough to know that. She’d make him pay for it—but she’d give in eventually.
Because she was afraid.
He hated when she was afraid.
He could see it in her eyes, in the way she stood.
Why the hell wouldn’t she be? It hadn’t been that long ago she’d nearly died, and it was almost like her friends were being picked off in this damned war the TSP was embroiled in.
Why wouldn’t she be terrified she was going to be next?
She’d almost died twice because of the fucking TSP.
He was going to make sure there wasn’t a third time.
He waited. She just stared. “So tell me where am I sleeping tonight? Couch…or…in with you?”
He knew what he preferred, but he’d settle for what he could get.
“You are utterly insane. You can't stay here just because you want to.”
“Watch me. Going to throw me out yourself? Let’s do it. But the instant you get your hands on me—all bets are off.”