“Noah.”
The younger man watches my lips move.
I beckon him over to my side of the desk. “You read lips.”
He nods.
“Can you look at this video and tell me what they’re saying?”
Noah winces. “Videos are hard. Lip reading is only thirty percent accurate. Under normal circumstances my shifter senses and context clues improve that, but with a video, I may not get much.”
“I understand. You can only see one of their faces, but the lighting is decent because he’s under a streetlight. Will you try?”
“Of course.”
He presses play on the video, and we see Aiden Adalwulf in a long woolen coat on the sidewalk near Madi’s building. He watches it several times. “I think he said,
How much does he pay you?”
Madi walks into the frame.
My wolf goes insane at the sight of her, and I nearly shift again.
Noah darts an alarmed look my way. Whether it’s because I seem dangerous and close to feral right now or whether he’s just putting two and two together about Madi being gone and the video of her speaking the rival alpha, I can’t guess.
Her back is to the camera, so Noah can’t see her lips to read them.
Noah watches it several more times. “He’s saying double-maybe that he’ll double it.”
He lets it play and rewinds to rewatch. “I think he’s asking if she’s fucking her boss.” He darts another look at me.
My upper lip lifts, and I let out a loud snarl. “He’s insulting her.”
Noah nods. “It seems so. Then he says something about a secret-did he tell you his secret?” He rewinds and reviews a few more times. “And then something like, he doesn’t plan on keeping you. I don’t know-the last part is tricky. He says that she’s smart or not smart. Not smart enough.”
The tendons in my neck harden, and I’m sure my eyes turn amber, but I manage to nod.
Good, I remind myself. This is good news. It’s proof it wasn’t Madi.
How could I have ever believed Madi would be working for Aiden? She’s loyal to the core. She may be defended, but she truly cares about me.
And I lumped her in the same category as my mother.
I couldn’t have fucked up more.
“Thank you, Noah.”
“Was it a help?”
I give a grim nod. “Yes. I’ve made a terrible mistake.” I shove my hands in my pockets. Some of my insanity has leaked away. I feel calmer than I have in days.
“But that’s actually the good news.”
Madi
Brick started calling last night. I didn’t answer. It’s Christmas Eve, and I managed to drag myself out today to get a few presents for Aubrey, my mom, and Brayden, and now I’m holed up at the apartment.
Tomorrow, I will go to my mom’s to be with my family, but I am just not ready to fake holiday cheer yet tonight.
I heard on NPR that Moon Co’s deal with Benson was approved. Indira tried to call me a few times over the last couple of days, but I wasn’t up to chatting.
I did my part to get closure. I talked to Sully about Jerry, and I called Catherine to tell her what had happened and commiserate on our similar fates of being used by her pack to harm the men we loved.
Now I am done. It’s time to move on although I don’t know what that means.
I have the money from the bonus Brick gave me, and I’ve saved a large portion of my salary, so I don’t need to rush off and find a job. I can take my time to lick my wounds and figure out what I want to do.
My phone buzzes with another text from Brick. The first read, “
Madi, please pick up your phone
; then,
I made a terrible mistake. Followed by please let me apologize.”
It’s tempting to answer. To hear the apology. My pride wants to soak it all up. But my heart just can’t take it. The pain of this breakup was like nothing I’ve experienced in my life.
It’s honestly something I never, ever want to go through again. If that means I put my heart on the shelf and never sleep with another man or woman, so be it. I seriously can’t take pain like this again. It would kill me.
Aubrey walks in and throws her pea coat over the arm of the coat rack by the door. “Save me.” I thrust my phone out. “I don’t want to answer his calls or texts.”
She stomps over in her combat boots. “I got you.” She takes my phone and walks away from me, her thumb moving across the screen.
Of course, my control issues rear up. Or is it fear of letting go? “What are you doing?” I call after her.
“I’m blocking him-that’s all. He doesn’t even deserve a response.”
“Wait.” I jump up from the couch.
She darts into the bathroom, closes the door, and locks it.
“Aubrey!” I shout, trying the handle even though I heard the door lock. “Wait.”
“Too late. All messages and voicemails have been deleted, and the number is blocked.” The door unlocks, and she breezes out, an impish smile on her face. She hands me the phone back. “Problem solved. He won’t be bothering you again.”
I try to ignore the sense of panic that brings on. But it was the right thing to do. I am not ever going back to Moon Co or speaking to Brick Blackthroat again.
End of story.
Aubrey puts on her Christmas movie,
Die Hard, which isn’t helping my mood. I don’t need a sexy, growly hero or villain right right now. Still, it’s better than being alone, so I stay to watch with her.
Forty-five minutes later, our door buzzer sounds.
I look at Aubrey with a sense of panic rising in my chest. I’m usually so in control, but today I’m having a hard time managing my emotions.
“It’s okay,” she says. “I ordered Chinese food for us.”
I lean back against the couch and exhale, but when Aubrey opens the intercom line, it’s Brick’s voice that barges into our living room.
“Madi?”
I shudder at the gruff bark of his voice. Not because it doesn’t sound wonderful to my ears.
Because it does.
I was a fool when I was with him not to realize just how deeply I’d fallen in love. It was only obvious after I lost him.
“Madi’s not available,” Aubrey answers in a falsely pleasant voice. She glances at me as she goes on, “And this is a No Billionaires Allowed building, so please vacate the premises.”
She releases the intercom button, so he can’t answer, but he starts ringing the bell incessantly.
“Can we disconnect the thing?” I jump up and stalk toward the intercom.
Aubrey bodychecks me out of the way. “Don’t even think about coming near this.” She hits the intercom again. “Don’t make me call the police. Madi’s not here, and even if she were, you’re the last person on Earth she would talk to. Goodbye!”
“Disconnect it,” I hiss when she releases the button.
“But our Chinese food!”
Right. Damn.
Miraculously, he doesn’t buzz again.
Instead, his name pops up in my personal email box. I guess he got the address from my resume. I delete it without opening it.
He’s sorry. That’s honestly enough. I feel vindicated. I don’t need to read his words or hear his voice for more because that would only make me go running back to an impossible situation.
Twenty minutes later, the Chinese food arrives. Aubrey buzzes the guy up, and he knocks on the door.
I jump up to get it.
Big mistake.
Of course, it’s Brick, looking half-mad. His hair stands on end, his rumpled button-down looks like he slept in it.
He stands there holding our Chinese food. He must’ve paid the delivery guy off to get in and bring it to us.
All my senses are hit at once. His dangerous beauty. His clean scent. The way I long for those large hands to touch me.
I’m like a deer in the headlights, unable to speak or move. Just struck dumb. “No,” I manage to whimper.
He attempts to step forward, but I block the door. His eyes glint amber. “Hey. May I come in?”
Aubrey barrels up off the couch. “Nope, nope, nope. I’m calling the cops. Get out of here now.” She snatches our food from his hands, plants her hands on his arms and attempts to move him.
I remain frozen until Aubrey’s brow wrinkles in confusion at her inability to even budge the guy.
“I know, he’s really strong,” I say quickly to stop her from trying. I shift my gaze to him and find his pinned on my face. “But he usually understands the meaning of the word no.”
“Madi, I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I fucked up. Will you please give me a chance to grovel?”
“Out!” Aubrey shouts.
I force myself to remain dead, no matter how tempting it is to leap into his arms and let him grovel his way over every inch of my body. “You heard her.”
“Madi, there’s more afoot here than you know. I need to explain some things to-“
“No,” I interrupt. “You really don’t. I never belonged on Wall Street, and we both know I didn’t belong with you. So, please, just let this go. I accept your apology. I’m glad you know it wasn’t me. That’s closure enough. Thanks and bye.” I swing the door shut on him.
He still doesn’t move. He looks deranged. “Five minutes. Just give me five minutes and-“
Aubrey joins me, and we both push on the door, trying to force him out.
“I don’t have a lot of time.”
Seriously? What an asshole. “Then you best be going.”
Aubrey holds her phone to her ear. “I’d like to report an attempted assault.”
Brick withdraws, and the door slams shut with both Aubrey’s and my weight against it.
“Are you okay?” she asks softly as I struggle to breathe.
“Did you actually call 911?”
“No, do you want me to?”
I shake my head and rally. I can get through this. I’m strong. I’m smart. The pain will eventually go away, I know that. I manage a nod.
We pick up the boxes of food from where Aubrey had set them on the floor and crawl onto the couch to watch the rest of the movie. I can’t choke down more than a few bites of rice, but eventually this gnawing anxiety will leave my belly.
I hope.
It’s not until the middle of the night that I remember what Brick had said about vampires and wiping my mind.
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