36. Maddie
Maddie
I ’m very aware that I’m wearing just my t-shirt and panties amongst four suited men and one kidnapper clad in black, but it’s rage that makes my body tremble rather than the cold.
It’s certainly not humiliation. I’m so done with letting men treat me like a pawn in their games.
I won’t be objectified, and I have no intention of being obedient.
I like the weight of the gun in my hand.
It’s one of four guns pointed at Ray, but it’s the only one making him cower.
“You let her take your weapon?” Ash asks incredulously.
“Not the first time,” Mace mutters.
Hunter’s chest is pressed against my back and I feel him shrug. “It wasn’t the weapon I was hoping she was reaching for, but she knows how to handle a gun.”
I’m not sure what I like more, the pride in Hunter’s tone, or the feel of his rigid cock against my spine. Refusing to be distracted, I glower at Ray.
“These guys might have scruples about shooting an unarmed man, but I don’t,” I tell him. “You collected me for Barrett like I was something less than human. I don’t see why I shouldn’t view you the same.”
“Please,” he begs. “I’m sorry, Maddison.”
“And now you’ve just pissed me off some more.
My name is Maddie,” I grind out. “Tell me why the hell I should keep you alive because I can’t think of one damn thing.
And you’d better be quick. You wrenched my shoulder when you shoved my arm up my back, and I’m getting tired. I might pull the trigger by accident.”
“I’d rather you didn’t do it with me directly behind him,” Ash points out.
I scowl at him. “I’m angry with you too, Ash,” I warn. “But if it makes you feel safer…” I lower my aim to Ray’s heart. “This way, if the bullet passes through, it’s not like there are any vital organs inside your chest.”
“Ouch.” Mace says.
“Don’t sound so smug, Mace,” I say, shooting him a glare. “You were bugging my house?”
“Only audio. I planted a few devices back when Hugo was there,” he says without a hint of remorse. It’s like he doesn’t know the meaning of privacy. “And me listening in is the reason we came back here to save your ass.”
I feel Hunter shift slightly, and I look over my shoulder. “It was Mace who came back for me?”
“It was a team effort,” my husband tries.
“We all care about you, Maddie,” Reid adds, the last brother to enter the fray.
As I turn to the front, my weakened arm sways. My shoulder burns with the effort of holding the gun steady until I feel Hunter’s arm slip beneath mine. I’m expecting him to disarm me, but instead, he wraps his hand around my wrist so I can use him as a support.
As I settle against my husband and his erection, I reply to his youngest brother.
“Reid, you need to know that your actions hurt just as much. You’re the most sensitive and considerate brother, but you went behind my back, and Hunter’s too.
You started the process of ending my marriage with your usual efficiency. ”
“I was tempted to lose that envelope on my way back to Chicago,” he admits.
“Well, go with your instincts next time. I’ll need help standing up to your brothers if I’m going to be a part of this family.” I look at each of them in turn, my gaze settling on Hunter last. “And I am going to be a part of this family.”
“For what it’s worth, I think you’ll fit in well,” says Ray.
That might just be enough to save his life. I put the safety back on the gun, and Hunter and I lower our hands together.
“Jake’s pulling up with another two cars,” Reid says as we spot headlights outside, cutting through the darkness.
“Mace, let him know it’s all under control and to await our instruction,” Ash tells him. To me he adds, “Carry on, Maddie.”
“Thank you, Ash,” I say, practically glowing from this small acknowledgment that he might finally be accepting me. “Ray, please carry on begging for your life.”
His shoulders sink. “I did try to talk Barrett out of it. Whatever disputes we have to deal with, families should never come into it.”
“And yet here we are.”
“Was Alice involved in this?” asks Hunter. “Is that why she set up our meeting, to get us away?”
Ray shakes his head. “You know what Barrett’s like, he never lets any of us see the whole plan, or know his end game,” he says. “But he did say his mom was about to stab him in the back, if that makes any sense? ”
“He knew she was opening up negotiations,” Reid deduces.
Ray nods. “And when we heard Maddie was soon to be divorced, Barrett asked me to bring you to him.”
“How did he hear?” I demand.
Ray blinks a couple of times. “That guy, Theo, mentioned it to a few people.”
“And naturally, you told Barrett.” I shake my head. “Did he think I’d be stupid enough to marry him?”
“My guess is it was just another trick to pull these guys’ attention away from what Alice was planning.”
I don’t quite follow what Alice has to do with all of this. I’ve been excluded from their wider business affairs since I moved out, but I understand enough to know I was only ever a minor character in Barrett’s games.
“You call breaking into my home and abducting me, a trick?” I ask, spitting the words out.
Ray blanches. “I know it’s no excuse, but it was a conscious decision to go in unarmed so I wouldn’t scare you.”
“Sorry? Are you trying to convince me you’re one of the good guys?
” I ask. “Because I’m pretty sure you’re the same person who took advantage of a confused old man to buy his land.
” I raise the gun ever so slightly. “And you were planning to block the road to bring an essential trading route to a standstill. Weren’t you? ”
“He still is,” Hunter says against my ear, his warm breath sending tingles down my neck and along my spine. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he’s bringing heat into the conversation that’s just between the two of us.
“Everything at this point is negotiable,” Ray says. He dares to move, but only to wipe the blood dripping from his nose .
“I don’t need to negotiate when I’m the one holding the gun,” I point out. “I can solve a problem like you in two seconds.”
Hunter’s free hand snakes around my waist, pressing me back against him. He’s practically grinding against me. “The clean-up operation might be a problem. Blood spatters in an enclosed space can create quite a mess.”
“Are you suggesting I should let him live, Hunter?”
“I want the bastard to suffer too. This is just me brainstorming with my wife.”
Ash rolls his eyes, but he stays out of the conversation for now.
“We could take him somewhere else,” I suggest.
Would I do that? I don’t think for a second that I have the true killer-instinct, but damn, talking like this is so empowering. I squeeze my thighs together. I’m so wet right now.
“It’s certainly an option,” Hunter says, “but dead men can’t talk, and Ray here has a lot of explaining to do to law enforcement.
And given that he’s just attempted to abduct his boss’s former fiancée, and was using the Emerson’s jet, it’s going to be difficult for Barrett to claim he didn’t give the order. ”
“I’d tell the police everything,” Ray says, his gaze flicking to my gun.
“Good to know,” Hunter says. He pulls my hair to the side and kisses my neck. “But knowing Barrett and his connections, we’d have a tough time getting the charges to stick. He’ll make Ray the fall guy. That’s how these things go. Am I right, Ray?”
“Barrett would walk away with an apology from the police, knowing him,” says Ray. He sounds almost regretful.
“But he can’t escape the scandal,” I persist. I chew my lip. We have an advantage and we need to make the most of it. “Ray could be our bargaining tool to solve the Lancelyn Heights issue.”
“I was just thinking the same thing,” Hunter says as if this wasn’t what he had in mind all along. “We’re supposed to be meeting Alice tomorrow to discuss the purchase of John Cooper’s land. She’d practically hand over the land to save her precious boy.”
“Not a bad suggestion,” says Ash. “And I say we bring forward the meeting so we can break the news to her before Barrett finds out what’s happened here.”
“He’s expecting a call from me soon,” Ray says, ever helpful.
“Then we hold a conference call with Alice straight away,” Ash says.
“Maybe not straight away,” Hunter says. His grip on me tightens and I push my ass against him.
“I’m getting out of here,” mumbles Mace, having noticed the way Hunter’s body is grinding against mine. “I’d rather set up the comms on our plane.”
Ash sighs as he looks from me to Hunter. “You two can follow once you’ve got whatever this is…” He motions to our bodies, “out of your systems before you embarrass us all. If you have to wreck a plane, it might as well be this one.”
I guess our hidden excitement wasn’t as hidden as I’d assumed.
“What are you going to do with him ?” I ask, as Ash leads Ray towards the exit.
“Once we’ve made a deal, he’s of no more use to us,” Ash says. Ray almost stumbles. “And his punishment will be continuing to work for Barrett.”
“You had a lucky escape with my wife today, Ray,” Hunter adds. “And I expect you to remember that the next time you even think of coming near her. You owe us, and we won’t forget it. You shouldn’t either.”
Ray nods. “Understood.”
The plane shudders as the exit opens and the others start to file out. Hunter remains at my back as he takes back his gun and drops it onto a seat. His roaming hands slip under the hem of my t-shirt, reminding me that I’m not wearing much of anything.
Reid is the last to leave, and he’s about to disappear when I call after him. “Could someone find me something to wear?”
“Just not Mace,” Hunter says.
Reid waves a hand, but doesn’t look at us for fear of what he might see. “I’ll sort something,” he promises.
And then we’re alone.
I rest my head back against Hunter’s chest as he slides a hand upwards to palm my breasts. “Did all of that really happen?” I ask as the shock hits me.