Chapter 63 Nico
NICO
Maddy stared back at me like I was insane.
I could tell by the look on her face that she was being honest. Then it hit me.
Maddy’s mother. That’s who had to have been in here.
I sniffed the air again. The smell was very similar to Maddy, and if you weren’t paying attention, it could be mistaken for Maddy. She’d been here. In this very room.
After coming to that conclusion, I looked at Maddy. In her eyes, I saw that the same thought had occurred to her. I could see it dawning on her.
“Gabriella,” I said, stating what was becoming obvious.
Maddy took a few tentative steps into the room and put her hand on the desk. “She was here? Right here?”
“It’s the only thing that makes any sense.”
“Yeah,” Maddy said, nodding, “I guess it is, but why? Why would she come here?”
“I think she was the one who set fire to the house in Naples. She was the one who snuck in and made sure we found that safe. I never thought she'd follow us here, though.”
Maddy huffed and started moving around the room, checking drawers and shelves.
She was looking for anything that may have been left behind.
It made sense. The last time Gabriella had snuck up on us, she’d left a massive amount of information.
I joined Maddy and started to move around the room.
We spent nearly ten minutes turning the place upside down.
We even took the time to get on our hands and knees and look under the furniture.
When it became obvious that nothing had been left, Maddy’s irritation kicked up a notch.
Instead of placing things back neatly after she’d checked them, she let the items fall to the floor.
After checking the last drawer of her desk, Maddy growled and yanked the entire drawer out, slinging the contents across the room.
“Are you okay? Maddy?”
Maddy ran her hands through her hair and gritted her teeth. “She was here. Inside my fucking business and couldn’t be bothered to tell us why?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe—”
“She gave me away all those years ago, and it looked like she actually cared. If she cared, why won’t she show herself to me? Why, Nico?” Tears were running down her cheeks.
Knowing that her birth mother had been this close twice in one week and hadn’t bothered to speak to her or even leave another note seemed to break Maddy.
She was under so much stress already that this was almost too much to bear.
I could see it in the way her shoulders slumped and in the deep sadness in her eyes.
“She abandoned me,” Maddy went on. “She abandoned me, and she’s been here the whole time.
Hiding. Not telling me who she was. How can someone do that when they say they love you?
How can someone possibly do that to someone else?
” Her voice had risen almost to a shout.
I didn’t try to calm her down. She needed to vent. So, I would let her vent.
When she finally went quiet and flopped into her chair, I sat on the desk and put a hand on her shoulder.
As angry as she was, I tried to think about all the things I’d do to keep my own child out of harm's way. I didn’t even know this woman, but for some reason, I felt like I needed to explain her motives.
“You know she probably did it to keep you safe, right? Not saying that it was the right thing, but it’s probably the main reason. ”
Maddy had a hand on her forehead as she looked up at me. “I realize that. It doesn’t make me any less angry or frustrated. If she wanted me to be safe, wouldn't it be a lot easier to just fucking talk to me? All this weird cryptic shit is getting on my nerves. Why is this better than face-to-face?”
That was something I couldn’t answer. Maddy was right—an in-person meeting would have made things much easier to understand.
On the other hand, when someone had spent decades on the run and hiding, it was probably difficult to put that mindset aside.
I could see both sides, but I loved Maddy.
I had to side with her on this. It would be simpler for her birth mother to just come out of the shadows and tell us all that she knew.
I squeezed Maddy’s shoulder. “Let’s lock up and go home.”
Maddy sighed sadly. “Yeah. Okay. I’m sorry I blew up like that.”
“That’s okay. It’s what I’m here for.”
“You’re here to listen to me have a hissy fit like a spoiled child?”
“I wouldn’t call it that. We’ll call it… therapy.”
Maddy chuckled. “Okay. I’m sorry, regardless.”
We went through the building, turning the lights off as we went and making sure the back door was locked.
This made me wonder exactly how Maddy’s birth mother had gotten into the bar in the first place since we had to unlock the front door.
Once everything was locked up tight, Maddy and I walked back to the car.
I’d parked parallel to the building, my driver’s side door facing the road and the passenger side door facing the front of the bar.
I helped Maddy up into the truck, and as she buckled in, I walked around the side to my door.
A bright yellow sticky note was stuck to my door, my name written in bold block letters at the top. Below it was a scribble of something else. I didn’t take the time to read it. Instead, I yanked it off the door and shoved it into my pocket.
“Something wrong?” Maddy asked as I opened the door. “You look like you saw a ghost or something.”
I shook my head. “I thought I saw a scratch in the paint. It was just a scuff of dirt. No big deal.”
We drove home, mostly in silence. The whole way, I tried to think of why I’d snatched that note off my door and not told Maddy about it.
Was it the fact that she’d already been through enough?
She’d just gotten done spouting off about how pissed she was about all the cloak-and-dagger bullshit.
Or was it because it had my name on the top?
Was this something meant only for me? That seemed like a selfish and childish reason.
Though, what if it was something dangerous?
If that was the case, then I definitely wanted it to fall to me and not Maddy.
I tried to act casual, but the note in my pocket seemed to take on more and more weight with each hour that passed.
I forced myself not to take it out. Whatever was written there might make it more difficult to keep up my facade.
By the time I tucked Maddy away in bed, it felt like there was a red-hot coal in my pocket, burning and blistering my skin.
“Aren’t you coming to bed?” Maddy asked as I headed toward the door.
“In a bit. I’ll be up later.”
“Okay. Goodnight. Love you.”
“Love you too. Sweet dreams.”
I went to sit in the kitchen. With my hands clasped together, I stared at the wall. I managed to wait ten minutes, then pulled out my phone. I called Sebastian and Felipe over, telling them not to knock or ring the bell. I didn’t want them waking Maddy.
“Bro? What’s going on?” Felipe asked.
“I’ll explain when you get here. Hurry up.”
While I waited for them to get there, I pulled the note from my pocket.
Below my name was an address and a time.
Three o’clock tonight. My fingers shook as I stared at the note.
It was definitely a woman’s handwriting.
My instincts told me Maddy’s birth mother had left this for me. Was there really going to be a meeting?
I searched for the address on my phone. The satellite image showed a house on the outskirts of town.
It wasn’t in a subdivision. The house sat by itself on about two acres of land.
It was just secluded enough to be a good spot for an ambush.
I shoved that thought away quickly. The best place for an ambush would have been the bar today.
If this was a trap, it was a poorly executed one.
No, this was something else. Why only me—why not Maddy?
Well, I wouldn’t know until I got there.
Felipe and Sebastian arrived a few minutes later. They came in quietly, just as I’d told them to, though Sebastian was over exaggerating it by tiptoeing across the foyer tile.
“What’s the big secret?” Felipe asked.
I glanced toward the stairs first, making sure Maddy hadn’t come out of our room for some reason. “Maddy and I went to check on her bar today. I think she was getting sort of stir-crazy, and she missed the place. Anyway, we got there, and everything was untouched. Exactly like when she left it.”
“I’m assuming we’re going to come to a problem at some point?” Sebastian said.
“Getting there,” I said. “We both catch a scent. It’s not anything we recognize from the bar. Then it hits us. It’s Maddy’s birth mother.”
“No shit?” Felipe said.
I nodded. “Yeah. It was similar to Maddy’s smell but different enough for us to realize what was going on.”
“But she wasn’t there?” Sebastian asked.
“Not in the building. Maddy kind of lost her shit, understandably. She was pissed about her mom sneaking around her bar but not coming out to meet her. When we left, I found this.” I handed the sticky note over to Felipe. He and Sebastian looked at it.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “You aren’t going here, right? This sounds sketchy as shit.”
“I thought the same thing at first, but there’s no reason she’d attack me.
And if it was some trick by the royals, they could have tried to take us right there at Maddy’s bar.
No, this is a legit meeting. I’m not stupid.
That’s why I called you guys over. Sebastian, I want you to stay with Maddy. Felipe, you’re coming with me.”
“Three o’clock?” Felipe said. “The witching hour?”
I rolled my eyes. “Trust me, the symbolism wasn’t lost on me. Werewolves, shifters, and secret societies? Why not throw in a nod to witches? Are you ready to go?”
“A little early, isn’t it?”
“It’s a bit of a drive to the outer edge of town, and it wouldn’t hurt to get there early and check the perimeter. I don’t think this is a trap, but there’s no reason to go in totally blind.”