Chapter 57
FIFTY-SEVEN
Maddy inhaled as a lightbulb went off in her brain. “He was connected to the militia that took me captive.”
“Yes. He was second-in-command. He’s been in prison, and is now serving the rest of his sentence at a maximum-security facility in solitary confinement thanks to this plot and the leak that exposed it.”
Maddy grinned. Oh, she liked Ivy a lot. “It was you.”
“Might have been,” Ivy said with a secret smile.
“I want you to know the threat is one hundred percent eliminated. The numbered account they were using has been frozen, and all the assets seized. There’s no further danger to you or Lachlan.
But your sheriff is going to have his hands full.
The sub you spotted initially that Blaine got pictures of is owned by a major drug cartel involved with a massive drug smuggling operation in the region. ”
“I knew it.” She shook her head. Sneaky bastards. “Does Blaine know? And Xanthe, and Rafe?”
“I told Blaine and Xanthe, and he told Rafe this morning.”
“Rafe just had a detective come on board full time to help him with his current caseload.” Detective Axel Sidorov.
He’d been kind to her during the interviews and when she’d given her statement.
“But apparently the FBI isn’t sharing much of what they know about what’s been going on here.
Not even about the murder of the militia founder this summer.
” She paused. “I assume you knew about all that?”
“I may have come across a few things, yes. There’s a lot more going on here than anyone realizes.”
The cryptic tone and wording sent an ominous prickle over Maddy’s scalp.
“Blaine also tells me you’re looking for a fulltime job with benefits.”
She blinked at the abrupt shift in the conversation. “I am, yes.”
“Your resume is impressive. He told me you’re good at what you do, that you’re disciplined, loyal, trustworthy, and you’ve held security clearances in the past.”
“I…yes.” It tickled her that Blaine had said those lovely things about her to someone like Ivy.
“My sister and I run a non-profit organization to protect orphans from being trafficked and exploited. It’s gotten pretty big, and I also run side projects on my own.
There’s only one of me, so I could use a good IT person to help take some of my workload and free up more time to pursue projects like yours.
I love helping to take down criminal networks.
I live for that shit.” Her eyes gleamed.
Maddy shivered in admiration. “You’re offering me a job to help children and dismantle criminal networks?” Because if so, that sounded awesome.
“I am. Thirty to forty hours per week with full benefits, but your schedule would be flexible. As long as the work gets done, you can arrange your time however it suits you. You would mostly work remotely, but on occasion I might need to meet you in person if a case is too sensitive. If you’re planning to stay here, we could meet in Seattle maybe.
Does that sound like something you would be interested in considering? ”
Maddy nodded, hardly trusting she’d heard her right. “Yes. Extremely interested.”
“Okay.” Ivy smiled, took a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to her. “That’s the base salary, with full benefits to kick in after the three-month probationary period. Oh, and there are bonuses based on performance and all that good stuff as well. Now, I’d imagine you have questions.”
Yes and no.
“You can talk to Blaine more about it. He knows a bit about the public face of what we do. But the best stuff is off the record,” she added with a grin. “Talk to him and Lachlan, think it all over and let me know by the end of the week.” She rose, patted Maddy on the shoulder and went back inside.
Maddy quickly unfolded the paper. Stared at the number Ivy had written on it.
“Holy shit,” she whispered. She laughed and pressed it to her chest.
Only when she had calmed down did she go back into the house. Blaine looked up from the kitchen sink where he was rinsing a plate. Gave her a little grin that told her he’d known Ivy was going to offer her the job. “So? How’d it go?”
He knew exactly how it had gone. Just as she knew he never would have set this up or recommended her to Ivy if he didn’t think it would be a good move and fit for her. “I need to talk to Lachlan,” she rushed out.
“He’s in the living room. Xanthe’s showing Ivy and Walker the house.”
She paused to wrap her arms around him from behind, hugged him hard, her cast snagging on his cashmere sweater. “Thank you, bossman.”
“For what?” he said casually, and was it any wonder why she adored him? “You’ve earned it with your own merit.”
There was no way to hide the ridiculous smile on her face as she rushed into the living room. Lachlan took one look at her and raised his eyebrows. “What?”
She sat in front of him and told him everything in a hushed voice. Then she handed him the paper.
He unfolded it. “What? Holy shit.” His eyes bulged. “This is the base salary?”
“Yes.” She’d never dreamed she would have this kind of opportunity.
He looked at her. “Do you want the job?”
“Yes. I could work remotely. Which means I could…stay here. With you,” she added. He’d already made it clear he wanted her to stay, but that he would be willing to give up his life here if she wanted to go elsewhere.
She would never ask that of him. Skeleton Island was more than his home. It was in his blood. And this job Ivy had just dropped into her lap meant they could build a future here together.
He set the paper on his thigh, gazing deep into her eyes. “Always with me, Mads. It doesn’t matter to me where we go as long as we’re together.”
Yes, it did matter. He belonged here. So did she. “I want to be here with you.”
His smile turned her heart upside down. “Okay. Then we’ll stay.”
She swallowed against the lump in her throat. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He hugged her close. “You know what I’m thinking?”
“What?” she whispered, feeling like she was about to burst from happiness.
No more uncertainty. No more loneliness and fear. She was going to stay here, live on Lachlan’s cozy houseboat with him at her side and call Skeleton Island her home.
“I think we should look at adopting a cat.”
Maddy gasped and threw her arms around his neck, her cast resting on his broad back. “Oh my God, really?”
“You said you’ve always wanted one, and now that we know we’re staying here…” He shrugged. “What do you think?”
She burst into tears and wasn’t even embarrassed about it. After everything they’d been through this level of joy was too much to contain. “I think this is the happiest day of my life!”