Rise of the Notorious (44 page)

“I’m not vindictive like you,” Kennedy told her, shaking her head. “I feel sorry for him, in some way. I know what he put me through sucks but he was just desperate. He didn’t know what else to do.”

Madison couldn’t help but roll her eyes and laugh. “Alright, if that helps you sleep at night. Either way, he’s at the very least going to prison for this. The evidence against him is too damning.”

“Prison is fair,” Kennedy said with a nod.

“Speaking of evidence…” Madison began, her smile fading as Raoul’s role in the kidnapping came back to her. “You scratched one of your captors.”

Kennedy’s eyes widened. “How did you know about that?”

Madison tensed, but knew she couldn’t risk telling Kennedy about Raoul just in case her sister didn’t agree with the plan. “Let’s just say a little bird told me. Have you told the police about it? About there being a second man involved?”

“No, I didn’t even think of it…” Kennedy’s brow furrowed as she considered. “I mean, he saved me. He let me go even after Duke ordered him to kill me. I guess I wasn’t planning on ratting him out.”

Madison smiled. “Good. I don’t want you to, Kennedy. It’s important that you tell the police that there was only one man who kidnapped you.”

Kennedy frowned. “Do you know who it is? Is that why you don’t want me to say anything?”

Without saying the word, Madison nodded.

“Okay. I won’t say anything,” Kennedy assured her, easy acceptance flashing over her face. Madison marveled at it, just as she had when Quinn had held the same expression just days earlier. It was something that Madison knew she would never be capable of.

“Thank you.” She leaned in to press a kiss to her sister’s forehead, smiling as she pulled away. “I have to go talk to the police.”

“Before you go, I’m really sorry, okay?” Kennedy apologized sadly, her lower lip trembling again.

Madison rose to her feet. “For what?”

“For shooting Wyatt…for trying to shoot you.” A tear fell down Kennedy’s cheek, though her expression was haunted, frozen. “I barely remember that moment, it’s so surreal to me now. The gun, the shot; I didn’t even look up at your faces. I just aimed and pulled the trigger. I’m so sorry. He strapped what I thought was a bomb to my chest, and he said he planted one at the hotel, too. If I didn’t do it, innocent people would die. I was just so scared…”

Heartbroken, Madison leaned in to pull Kennedy into a hug, tears filling her own eyes. “More water under the bridge, darling.”

When she pulled away, she brushed at the tears that fell from her eyes. Kennedy saw them, and Madison noticed the surprise on her sister’s face.

“But you never cry,” Kennedy managed.

Madison smiled. “Family is my weakness.”

Leaving it at that, she turned and left the room, knowing for the first time in her entire life that her sister no longer hated her.

The scene at
the police station was chaotic to say the least.

When Madison pulled up in her town car, her eyes took in the swarming reporters, flashing cameras, shouting voices, and the stern faced guards protecting the doors.

Clearly, the entire situation had been mysteriously leaked to the media, most likely Jorja’s doing. She would want every person in the country to witness just how wronged she had been, yet again, by the Vasser family. It heated Madison’s blood just to imagine the headlines that would grace the papers the following morning once Jorja was released and had her chance to gossip.

Until then, she had to put the woman out of her mind and focus instead on making sure her cousin suffered the fate he deserved.

As she exited the car, cameras burst with light in her face as the paparazzi lunged at her.

“Madison! Is it true that Jorja Hale was framed by your family for the kidnapping?”

“Can you comment on the man the police have in custody? Is it one of your brothers?”

“Madison, how do you feel now that your sister has been found? Will you be pressing charges?”

She merely kept her chin held high and an expression of dignified fury on her face as she ignored their questions and made her way to the entrance.

The policemen let her inside and shut the doors behind her.

Inside the police station was nearly as hectic as outside had been. Uniformed men and women in blue shot in and out of offices and through the hallway that led into a large room filled with desks and even more officers. Voices carried as conversations were held, some hurried, some amused, some distracted, and others stressed. It was obvious that Duke’s arrest and Jorja’s wagging tongue were hot topics at the precinct that day.

Madison took note of the curious looks she received as she walked through the corridor, searching for Detective Crawford.

She spotted the detective near the back, standing beside a glass walled interrogation room, cell phone to her ear and exasperation in her eyes. As Madison approached, Tina glanced up and gave a curt nod in acknowledgment.

“I don’t care what you have to do; you find out who we have to talk to in South Carolina and have them pay Mr. Morgan a visit,” Tina grunted into the phone before snapping it shut. She let out an impatient sigh as she looked up at Madison. “Ms. Vasser. How’s your sister doing?”

“As fine as she can be, considering the circumstances,” Madison replied coolly.

“Your brother Linc called a little while ago, sent over a copy of that recording of Jack Morgan talking about tampering with the brakes on your brother’s car. I can’t use it, but I can have him brought in for questioning.”

“Good. I will sleep better knowing he won’t be able to harm my family further,” Madison said. “Speaking of harming my family, where is my cousin?”

Tina nodded in the direction of the room behind her, the glass covered by closed blinds. “He lawyered up. I had a unit search his room at the hotel, found a voice changer. Coincides with what your sister told us. Your cousin has wisely chosen to keep his mouth shut.”

“Of course he has.” Madison frowned, one eyebrow raised. “I would like to speak with him.”

Eyes narrowed, Tina considered the request. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I promise not to kill him,” Madison insisted, wickedness tinting her words. “I just need to ask him a few questions.”

Tina sighed, then nodded to the guard protecting the door to the interrogation room. The guard opened it, and Madison slipped inside.

Duke was sitting calmly at a spotlessly clean metal table, hands folded in front of him. He looked up as she entered, and a scowl darkened his face.

“I can’t believe they let you in,” he commented dryly, his hands tightening until his knuckles turned white. His dark waves of hair were slightly mussed, the gray strands stark in the fluorescent light of the room. The stress lines on his handsome face deepened as he stared at her, the anger in his blue eyes flaring.

“I promised the detective that I wouldn’t kill you,” Madison replied smoothly, legs winding as she wandered over to the table and rested her hands upon its surface. Her eyes met his, intense and filled with a carefully composed rage. She enjoyed the way he ever so slightly leaned back from her, intimidated by her presence. “I’m impressed at the lengths you were willing to go to just to have my job, Duke. Blackmail, slander, kidnapping, murder…you make Cyrus look like a saint.”

Duke sneered. “None of that can be proved.”

“Oh?” Madison’s lips upturned in a half smile, dripping in malice. “Tell me, darling. How do you plan to get away with all of this? Unfortunately, blaming Raoul isn’t going to work. No one will believe you, and no one will corroborate your story. Not even Kennedy.”

His eyes narrowed in disgust as he shook his head. “You’re nothing but a rotten, manipulative little bitch, aren’t you?”

She only laughed, amused by his statement. “You’ve known me for a very long time. You know what I do to those who betray me.”

Duke glared at her. “How the hell are you going to run this company? You have no idea what you’re doing. This family needs real leadership and only I can provide that.”

“So you thought the best way to get it would be to have me shamed, destroyed, and killed?” Madison asked, lips twisting with revulsion. “I have a newsflash for you, darling. I am this company and this company is me. In your attempts to ruin
me
, you have cost this family a far greater loss. Pain and suffering cannot be reversed, and you can be damn sure that I will never forget what you have done. So while you rot miserably in prison, I will take our company in the direction
I
think it should go, the direction Cyrus wanted it to go, and we will be victorious. In fact, I may even send Kennedy to Las Vegas to learn the ropes and one day take over your job. Isn’t that just wonderfully ironic?”

Duke’s anger boiled up inside of him at her words, fury reddening his face. He shot suddenly to his feet and reached out with one hand to latch violently around her throat. He dragged her over the table, his face inches from her own as her hands came up to claw at his wrist.

Fear tore through her at the look of sheer madness in his eyes, the haze of red that seemed to filter down over the blue, darkening with hatred. It was like staring into the eyes of the Devil himself, and she found herself furiously praying for her grandfather’s strength as she struggled.

His next words had the blood in her veins freezing to ice, and her limbs went weak with it. Her own brutality beat frantically at the doors of her mind, but she found she couldn’t let it in. She could do nothing but stare into his eyes and witness the madman within.

“There’s a special place in Hell reserved for you, Madison. I’m only trying to get you there faster.”

His hand tightened on her throat until her breath cut off completely and her vision began to dim. Before she could reach out and claw his eyes or attempt to pry his hands from her neck, the guard rushed in and tore Duke from her, slamming him down upon the table and cuffing his hands behind his back.

Madison stumbled backward, her hands covering her throat as she sucked in air, an insane fury in her eyes. She glared at her cousin, both horrified and disgusted by what she had seen, what he had tried to do to her. When had he become so unstable? How had he hidden his madness so well?

The detective came in and helped haul Duke from the room and to a cell. Madison found she couldn’t look at him and simply dropped down into one of the metal chairs at the table. She rested her face in her hands, furious tears in her eyes as she tried to settle her raging heart.

F
or the first time in several weeks, Linc settled down into his desk chair at the hotel and breathed an honest-to-God sigh of relief.

His head fell back against the chair as he let his blood settle, his heart cooling to a simmer as his breathing begin to slow. Kennedy was safe, Duke was with the police, Morgan was being questioned, and things finally seemed to be moving in a positive direction.

Jorja was still a wild card, of course, but Linc found he didn’t have the strength to give a rat’s ass about her anymore. Now that he knew for certain that she wasn’t behind anything more than talking trash, he was content to let her go live her life. Which, according to what had been released of her tell-all to the media, included her flying immediately back to Los Angeles and resuming her acting career. She also mentioned plans to write an exploitative book, detailing her horrific experiences with the horrid Vasser family.