Mad Love: Madison (43 page)

“Flattery?” He tilted his head to the side as a
bemused smile lit up his face. “Interesting tactic.”

“Credit where credit is due. The picture of your
brother and Ethan was a nice touch,” she said through gritted teeth.

“I thought so. A little Photoshop work. Took
twenty minutes. Ethan’s quite photogenic, even when he was a teenager.” He
rubbed his hand along his jaw. “I wasn’t. My face was a mess. No one could
stand to look at me. Girls hated me.” He grinned. “But now look at me.”

Madison glanced back toward the mudroom. One of
the dark shadows against the wall suddenly moved closer to the light.

She felt a sudden surge of relief fill her as Ethan
silently crept forward. Her joy must have registered on her face though, because
he shook his head sternly as he lifted a finger to his lips.

“Look at me!” Alex shouted.

 Madison’s gaze flew back to Alex.

“What is over there that you want me to see so
desperately? Do you have a trap set for me? Am I supposed to go over there to
investigate?”

“No,” she said quickly. “I’m just nervous. I
don’t know what to do.”

“Well, that’s a shame. Hey, I know what you can
do. You can put the gun down. If you don’t, I’m going to add a few more scars
to Sarah’s face.”

“I just—”

“No! No more talking. Put it down.”

She glanced over at Ethan who nodded. He then
motioned for her to put the gun on the floor and kick it over to him.

“Don’t make me tell you again,” Alex said, yanking
Sarah back against him and pressing the knife to her cheek.

“Okay,” Madison said bending forward. “You win.”

“No, don’t put the gun on the floor. Just put it
on the end table near the chair.” When she hesitated, he jerked on Sarah’s hair
causing her to scream out in pain.”

Madison hurried toward the end table and set the
gun down.

“Good,” Alex said pushing Sarah away from him.

Finally free, Sarah ran to Madison and threw
herself into her arms.

Alex pushed away from the wall and strolled over
to the end table. He retrieved the gun and stuck it in the waistband of his
trousers. “Now, this is how it’s going to play out—” He stopped suddenly,
throwing a glance over his shoulder.

Her heart hammering in her chest, Madison
followed his gaze toward the mudroom.

Ethan must have stepped back into the shadows
, she thought, nervously
gnawing on her lip. She wrapped her arm around Sarah’s waist and dragged her
back toward the fireplace, making sure to make as much noise as she could in an
attempt to draw Alex’s attention away from the mudroom. If she could distract him,
perhaps Ethan could sneak up behind him.

Alex turned back around. “Where do you think
you’re going?”

Madison picked up a poker near the fireplace.
“I’m just not going to stand here and let you hurt us.”

He started to smile, but then turned his
attention back to the mudroom. Clearly debating what to do, he looked from the
mudroom to Madison, and back again before reaching behind his back and taking hold
of the gun once again.

“You’re just going to leave us here?” Madison
asked. “We’ll run.”

Alex stopped. “Go ahead. You’re not going to get
very far in this weather,” he said before disappearing into the shadows, a gun
in one hand and a knife in another.

Sarah pulled on her sister’s arms. “Come on.
Let’s go.”

“You go.”

“What? I’m not leaving you here.”

They froze as a gun went off. Less than a second later,
Alex and Ethan burst into the living room. They fell to the floor, grappling
over a knife. It slid from their hands to the other side of the room.

 Sarah and Madison backed into a corner as the
men rose to their feet, trading blow after blow. They stayed together as one
unit just trying to get out of the way, as the men fought one another.

When Ethan threw Alex against the window, causing
him to crash through, Madison grabbed Sarah’s hand and ran toward the opposite
side of the room just as Alex came barreling back into the living room,
throwing Ethan down on the ground in front of their feet. She and Sarah hurriedly
backed up, looking for an alternate way out as the men made it to their feet
again.

With a roar, Alex pulled a long shard of glass
out of his arm and dropped it to the floor before driving Ethan into the wall.
He slammed his fists into Ethan’s stomach until he doubled over in pain.

Thinking he had his opponent down, Alex backed up
a step, giving Ethan enough room to drive the heel of his hand up and under
Alex’s jaw.

Alex’s head snapped back. When his head came back
forward, he looked around in a daze.

Taking no chances with the other man, Ethan
grabbed Alex’s arm, swinging him around and slamming his head into the wall.

Alex fell to the floor. He lay there in a heap,
his neck at an unnatural angle and his face covered in blood.

Ethan, his fists still clenched and breathing
heavily, stared down at the other man. When Alex made no move to stand up,
Ethan slowly unclenched his fists.

Madison, tears streaming down her face, stood
helplessly in the center of the room next to Sarah, and watched as Ethan
searched for the weapons they had lost during the fight.

Sarah broke away from her and ran to the
bathroom. She bent down and cradled the puppy in her arms as she looked around
the room in a sort of helpless shock. She glanced down at the remains of the TV
set. “Grandpa’s going to be furious.”

Madison merely nodded as she continued to watch
Ethan. When his eyes finally made contact with hers, she quickly turned away.
She couldn't bear to see the rejection in his eyes. She should have trusted
him. She should have believed him. She turned to watch as he kicked over a piece
of the Grandfather clock that had fallen to the floor in the fight and
retrieved the gun.

 He glanced back at her as he put the gun in the
back of his waistband.

“Ethan,” she began, trying her best to hold her
emotions in check, “I’m so sorry. I know—” Her voice broke and she buried her
face into her hands as she sobbed uncontrollably

Suddenly, he was there crushing her to his chest.
He gently removed her hands from her face before wiping her tears away.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered into his chest as
he gently cradled her head. “I’m so sorry I didn’t trust you, Ethan. I’m so
sorry.”

He gently tipped her head back before bending his
own and kissing her. “It’s okay. Everything’s okay now.”

Madison clutched at his back and held on tightly,
afraid to let him go. Out of the side of her eyes, she watched as Sarah
carefully picked her way through the remains of the living room furniture,
still looking around in utter disbelief.

She started to reach out her hand to her sister
when she felt Ethan tense in her arms. In one fluid motion, he reached around
his back and brought out his gun.

He had barely gotten the weapon past his hip when
the crack of a rifle rang through the air.

She turned around, surprised to find Alex standing
up only a few feet from Sarah with a jagged piece of glass firmly clutched in
his hand.

Ethan started to push Madison behind him, but
then stopped and stared as blood began to pour out of Alex’s head.

Alex stared at them blankly for a moment before
falling back against the wall.

Shocked, they all turned to look outside. Ethan
was the first to react. He knelt next to Alex and felt for the other man’s
pulse. He grabbed the edge of one of the curtains lying on the floor and
flipped it over Alex’s body.

“Who did you bring with you?” Madison asked,
nodding toward the backyard.

“I didn’t bring anyone with me,” Ethan said. “I
figure it must be Jamie who shot him.”

Sarah shook her head. “Derek—I mean, Alex, told
us that he killed Jamie.”

“Shot him in the back near his car,” Madison
clarified.

Ethan looked confused as he stood back up and
wrapped his arms around Madison’s waist. “I didn’t see Jamie’s body out there.
I saw some blood on the snow, but no body.”

A hopeful smile lit up Sarah’s face. She hurried
toward them and pressed Rory into their arms before turning around and racing
towards the kitchen door.

“Sarah!” Madison called out as she started after
her sister.

Ethan pulled her back into his embrace, leaving
enough room for Rory to cuddle up between them. “Let her go. If Jamie’s hurt, he’s
going to need her help.”

Desperation coloring her voice, Madison said,
“But Gina is—”

“Locked in the back of the police cruiser I
borrowed.” He looked down at her tenderly as he cupped her cheek. “I was afraid
I was going to lose you.”

She held his hand in place against her cheek.
Turning her face to the side, she gently pressed a kiss to his palm. “I love
you, Ethan. Even when I thought you were Alex, I was still madly in love with
you. It was killing me inside.”

Using his thumb, he gently caressed her cheek. “So,
what are we going to do now, Counselor?”

“Well, I think we should try calling the police
again.”

“They’re on their way. I called them before I
walked in here.”

“Then I’ll need to transfer some money out of
savings.”

His brow furrowed. “What for?”

“Well, initially I was thinking for bail, but
really, I somehow doubt you’ll get it. The court tends to take a dim view on
borrowing
a police cruiser and escaping from police custody and whatever else you did tonight.”

He shrugged causally. “It was worth it.”

“I hope you still think so when the judge reads
out the charges the Commonwealth is going to hit you with at your arraignment.”

“I’m not worried.”

“You’re not?” Madison asked, shivering as a gust
of wind from the open window hit her in the back.

Ethan took Rory out of her arms and shifted him
to the side of his body so he could pull Madison closer. “Nah, see, I know this
great attorney in town who is madly in love with me. I’m pretty sure she’ll
take care of me.”

She laid her palms on his strong chest. “Madly in
love, huh?” At his nod, she sighed. “I better get to work then, because I don’t
think I could stand to be apart from you for very long.” She laid her head on
his chest. “We’ll talk about my rates tomorrow morning.”

She closed her eyes, smiling as he laughed and
kissed the top of her head before whispering, “I love you,” into her ear.

THE END