Page 250 of Cowboys & Navy SEALs

“I take it things are going well?”

She was about to launch into a detailed description of just how wonderful things were, then caught herself. Now was not the time to bask in her own happiness. She cringed, imagining how tacky that would be with Piper’s loss. “Things are going okay,” she said in a monotone voice.

“It’s all right,” Piper said as if reading her mind. “You’ve got enough joy shining on your face to light up Manhattan.”

The note of irony in Piper’s voice was faintly irritating. Addie’s first instinct was to point it out. Then again, Piper wasn’t thinking clearly.

“I’m glad things are working out for one of us.” Piper scrunched her eyebrows, her tone brooding.

Addie could feel the sadness oozing from Piper, flowing onto the floor where it climbed like gooey slime up the wall. She felt so guilty that things were working out for her when everything was going wrong for Piper. The timing was rotten. “I’m sorry.”

A tight smile stretched over Piper’s lips. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry.” She sighed resolutely. “I’m glad you’re happy, Addie.” Interest lit her eyes. “Are you and Maddox officially back together?” When Addie didn’t answer, she reached for her hand. “It’s okay.”

A heat wave blasted over Addie. “Is it hot in here to you?” She pulled her hand from Piper’s and tugged on the neck of her shirt. Something was wrong.

“Are you okay?”

She looked at Piper whose expression radiated concern.

“What’s wrong?”

Piper’s voice came at Addie from a distance like she was under water. The room began to spin. A cold sweat broke over Addie’s forehead. She clutched her chest, finding it difficult to breathe. She coughed and sputtered, clutching her throat. “I’ve got to get to Maddox,” she slurred, staggering to her feet.

Blackness closed in around her as she fell to the floor.

Chapter Twenty-One

Maddox had been sitting in the living room with Hamilton, attempting to make conversation with the excruciatingly awkward man when Sutton called. He excused himself and stepped into the hall to take the call.

“Sorry I’ve been hard to reach,” Sutton began. “I wanted to make sure I had as much info as possible before we spoke.”

“I understand.” Maddox braced himself, sensing that what Sutton was about to say was significant.

“Brent Barrett came up clean.”

The breath left Maddox’s lungs. “What? Are you sure?” His mind raced in circles like a dog chasing its tail.

“I’m sure,” Sutton answered in a tone so matter-of-fact that it left no room for doubt.

“To be clear, you’re saying Barrett didn’t kill Jordan and that he didn’t steal the hard drive?”

“That’s precisely what I’m saying.”

“What about Addie’s attempted kidnapping?”

“The money trail leads to Brent Barrett. From the outside, looking in, it’s a slam-dunk case against him.”

“Meaning you think he was framed.”

“Bingo.”

Something Addie said came rushing back to Maddox. She questioned why a criminal would use his bank account to finance a kidnapping. She made a good point, but most transactions were done electronically as opposed to cash. Maddox also figured that Barrett wanted to do things remotely to keep as much distance between himself and his henchman as possible. The trail that led them to Brent Barrett had been twisty, going through various accounts before it was finally linked to an offshore account owned by Barrett Medical. He spoke, thinking out loud. “Are you saying that someone made the transactions convoluted enough to avoid suspicion, but clear enough for us to follow back to Barrett?”

“That’s my thought.”

A bitter disappointment rose in Maddox’s throat. He swallowed, tasting acid. If Brent Barrett was innocent, then they were back to ground zero.

“I do have some other information that might prove useful.”

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