Mad Love: Madison (34 page)

“Jamie’s never tried to hurt me,” Sarah said
softly.

“That you know of,” Madison said. “You still
don’t know who broke your leg, remember?”

9:22
P.M.

Madison
glanced at the clock above Ethan’s mantle place as she ended her call.

Ethan looked up from his laptop. “Everything
okay?”

She nodded. “Sarah was just checking to make sure
I was still alive and well. She and the other bridesmaids are staying up to
wrap party favors. She also said that Casey scared Hannah’s father half to
death.”

“Why?”

“Casey told him what’s going on, so Hannah’s dad
put the entire house on lock down. Sarah says she feels like a prisoner.”

“Good. She’ll be safe.”

“Yeah, until she gets kicked out. Hannah’s not
happy. Neither are the other girls. She says everyone’s jumping at shadows.”

“They needed to know to be aware. I’m hoping Alex
is finished with your sister. He got his revenge against her in July, after all,
but it won’t hurt to be extra cautious, especially since we don’t know what
Jamie’s up to.”

“That’s what worries me.”

“Don’t let it. It could be just as Sarah said.
He’s only interested in her because she’s paying him to watch her.” He glanced
back up at her. “She didn’t tell him where she was, did she?”

“She swears she didn’t.” She glanced at the clock
again and yawned. “I thought we decided that he couldn’t be Alex. He was locked
up when Laura died.”

He steepled his fingers as he looked at her. “Maybe
Todd was wrong. Maybe Alex didn’t kill Laura. We don’t really know. According
to the information I’ve uncovered, he apparently lived with his mother until he
was fifteen then he went to live with an aunt.”

“That sounds familiar.”

“Yeah, it does. The part that’s different though is
that the aunt died and then her husband continued to raise him.”

“He’s the one that was connected with the mob?”

“And that’s how Jamie got into the business. He
could still be Alex. Maybe Allison wouldn’t take him and another aunt did. Or
it could be just as Sarah said. He’s on her payroll.”

“Do you believe that?”

“Not at the rate she’s paying. There is another
possibility. Someone else could be paying him.”

“Like Alex?”

“Maybe. It’s possible. We know Yvette was helping
him. Gina too. Why not Jamie?” He glanced back down at the computer screen.
“His parole officer just emailed me.”

“Anything good?”

“Nothing new, except now I have a current phone
number and address for Jamie,” he said reaching for his phone and entering the
number into his phone.

“Good. Have you tracked down Gina yet?”

“Not yet.”

“I forgot to tell you, but I spoke to Becca while
you were ordering dinner.”

“Oh?” he asked, turning his attention back to the
computer screen.

“She was at the office finishing up some last
minute plans for the party. Since she was there, I asked her to go through
Jeremy Ladd’s file. I vaguely remember calling Gina a couple times when I was
trying to get hold of Todd. It’s a long shot, but I’m hoping she can find her
phone number or something that can help us trace her. Have you found out
anything about Keith or Derek yet?”

He nodded. “A little bit. Nothing’s jumping out
at me though.”

Her eyes travelled from the lit fireplace to the unlit
Christmas tree next to it. “It seems like Christmas was so long ago.” She
pressed a hand against her mouth as she yawned.

“Why don’t you go to bed and get some rest? I’ll
let you know if I find anything important.”

“I don’t want to sleep,” she said softly. “I keep
having nightmares.” Her gaze returned to the Christmas tree. “You know, I hate
to think this past Christmas might be my last. It went by so fast. I didn’t
even really get to enjoy it.”

“It’s not going to be your last Christmas.”

“You don’t know that,” she said running her hand
down her leg.

Ethan walked around his desk and towards the
Christmas tree. Climbing on all fours, he plugged the lights in. Blue, green,
red, and orange colored lights buzzed to life.

“Why don’t you have any ribbon or ornaments on
your tree?” she asked with a smile.

“I just like the lights,” he said climbing back
to his feet. He walked to the bookshelf near his desk. A few seconds later, Bing
Crosby began to sing from the speakers positioned throughout the room. “Cold?”
he asked.

“Just a little bit.”

He flipped the switch on the wall, turning the
fireplace on.

“Thank you,” Madison said as he sat down next to
her.

Draping his arm across her shoulders, Ethan
pulled her closer as he propped his feet on the coffee table.

She snuggled into his side and laid her head on
his shoulder.

“This is nice,” he murmured into her hair.

“Very nice.” Her gaze travelled back to the
bookshelves. Several framed photos were positioned on each shelf. Most were of
exotic locations and ships, but there were a few older looking pictures of
people. “Family?” she asked gesturing to a picture of a couple in bridal
clothes. “Parents.” He nodded to a few other pictures of a handsome man in a
naval uniform. “That’s my older brother.”

“Why did you leave the Navy?”

“I wanted to settle down. Come back home.”

She lifted her head to look at him. “You’re from
Kentucky?”

“Born and raised.”

“Huh,” she said surprised by that admission. For
some reason, she had been convinced he was from somewhere on the east coast.
“Was your father in the Navy too? Did you move around a lot?”

“No, I didn’t leave here until I went to
college.”

“Where?”

“Maryland. At the naval academy.”

Ah, that’s it
, she thought settling back against his
chest.

“My father was a private detective. He had been a
police officer first but got out of that line of work and went the private
route when I was just a kid.” He pointed to another picture where a man in a brown
suit was kneeling next to a small boy in a Batman costume. “That’s us there on
the top shelf.” He trailed his fingers down her hair. “After I left the Navy, I
came back here and tried to figure out what I was going to do with the rest of
my life. I saw that picture of us and I remembered that when I was little, all
I wanted to do was be like him.”

“So you became a private detective.”

“Yeah, well, my other choice was Batman. One or
the other. Frankly, I could have gone either way.”

She grinned as she ran her hand over his chest.
“I think Batman would have been a good choice.”

“I probably don’t have enough money to live that
kind of a lifestyle anyway.”

“Pity.”

“Truth be told, this is something I’ve always
wanted to do. I like setting my own hours.”

“Must be nice.”

“It is. I can come and go as I like. Take the
cases I want. Basically, do as I please.”

“I would love that. Sometimes, I think I’d like
to open up my own practice.”

“Why don’t you?”

“I make a lot of money where I work and it’s nice
having someone else worry about overhead. I probably will someday. My oldest
sister keeps talking about moving to Lexington and opening up our own firm.”

“She’s an attorney, too?”

She nodded against his chest. “I think that’s why
I became one. Ashton sort of paved the way. Our parents died when I was about
fifteen.”

“How?”

“Car accident. Ashton was in law school at the
time. She sort of raised us all.”

“How many brothers and sisters do you have?”

“There are six of us in all. Sarah’s the baby and
Ashton’s the oldest.” She glanced at the Christmas tree. “I wish I had gotten
to see everyone this Christmas.” She didn’t add, just in case. She didn’t need
to. She felt Ethan’s arms tighten around her.

“You’re going to have plenty more Christmases to
come.”

“I know,” she said softly without argument. It
was a sweet lie. What good could come from challenging it? “It’s still scary.”

He tipped her head back with his fingertips. “I
think you should forget about all this for a while. Get some rest. I’ll be
right here all night long.”

“On the couch?” At his nod, she said, “I kind of
got used to you sleeping next to me.”

He pushed back a strand of her hair. “So did I, but
I think that might not be a good idea tonight.”

“Why not?”

“Because I love you and I don’t want you to do
something you might regret later. When this is over—”

She pressed her fingers to his mouth. She
silently shook her head. “I love you too and I can’t imagine regretting
anything I’d do with you. Take me to bed, Ethan. Make love to me.”

He stood up without warning before turning around
and picking her up into his arms. He kissed her, never breaking contact as he
carried her into his room and laid her on the bed.

Madison clung to him tightly as they kissed one
another, forgetting for a moment about Alex and that New Year’s was just around
the corner. She tore at the buttons on his shirt, desperate to feel his skin,
only stopping when Ethan stilled and pulled away from her.

“What’s wrong?” she asked breathlessly.

He sat up with a concerned look across his face.
“I thought I heard something.”

They both swung their attention toward the living
room as a timid knock sounded against the front door.

Madison quickly straightened her sweater as Ethan
jumped to his feet.

He reached for his gun holster, which had dropped
on the floor in her haste to get his clothes off, and pulled out his gun.

“What are you—”

He held a finger to his lips. Whispering, he
said, “Stay in here and lock the bedroom door. If you hear anything, call the
police and then use the fire escape to get out of here.”

She followed Ethan to the bedroom door and then
watched as he advanced to the door, his gun behind his back.

She waited, her heart thumping in her chest, as
Ethan pressed his eye to the peephole, only relaxing when she noticed Ethan’s
shoulders slump.

He entered the security code, unlocked the door, and
opened it. Two young teen girls and an eight-year-old boy stood on the other
side of the door.

The tallest girl gestured toward the end of the
hall as she spoke softly to Ethan. Madison opened the bedroom door all the way
and leaned against the doorframe, as the girls giggled and smiled shyly up at
Ethan.

After a few moments, Ethan nodded and closed the
door.

“What’s going on?” Madison asked as he walked
back toward her.

He turned and opened the hallway closet door.
Pulling down a metal case from the top shelf, he said, “That was Sydney, her
brother, Max, and Sydney’s best friend. She and Max live next door. Their mom’s
working late tonight and they think they heard someone moving around in their
mom’s bedroom.”

“Creepy.”

“Sydney and her friend are fourteen years old,”
he said, unlocking the case and pulling a gun out. “I bet they’ve been watching
scary movies and the little boy is having a bit of fun. He had that look about
him.”

She smiled. “So, what are you going to do?”

“Check out the bedroom,” he said loading the gun.
“It’ll take me five minutes.” He reached into the closet and pulled out a
jacket before pressing the gun into her hand.

“What’s this for?”

“Just in case. The security code is 5993. Lock
the door behind me, set the alarm, and if anyone besides me tries to get in
here…” he said pointing to the front door, “kill them.” He kissed her forehead
before opening the door and shutting it behind him.

She put the locks into place, set the alarm, and
waited by the door as the minutes ticked by.

A soft ringing caught her attention.

She glanced toward her purse lying on the bar.

With a sense of dread, she rummaged through the
bag until she found her cell phone.

Becca’s name flashed across the screen.

Madison brought the phone up to her ear. “Hey, Becca.”

“I’ve got some good news for you,” Becca said.

“You found Gina’s number?”

“I sure did. Have I told you that your writing is
atrocious?”

“Not since Wednesday.” Madison lifted a hand to
her head. “I knew her number was somewhere in that file. I could see myself
writing her number down on a blue piece of paper.”

“Yeah, I didn’t get it from your file. Gina
Gallagher was in our system.”