Page 106 of A Dangerous Proposal

He smirked, his grip tightening momentarily before he released her, and stepped back as Mary reached them with Jax on her hip.

Mary said something, but Madison didn’t hear her. Taking Jax and his bag, she left without uttering another sound. She was grateful when Jax fell asleep in his seat soon after she pulled on the highway.

What had Felix meant? What exactly had Opal done?

Opal was excited about something in the days before she died. It was the primary reason Madison had a hard time accepting that her sister had started using again.

Am I being naïve? Hearing what I want to hear?

Madison’s hand lifted to rub where her arm was sore from Felix’s grip.

Damn it, Opal. What did you do?

Chapter Thirty-Two

Alex held up a hand to stop Liev mid-sentence as he reached for his phone, buzzing on the desk. His body immediately tensed when Madison’s voice came through clearly agitated.

“Alex, I’m so sorry to bother you, but… The daycare just called. Jax is sick. I need to pick him up, but Cami and I have an interview with Cary Weaver in twenty minutes. I?—”

“I’ll get him.” His response was instant.

A beat of silence, then a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I owe you big time.”

“Relax, Madison. He’s my son, too.” The words rolled off his tongue so naturally it took him a second to realize he’d said them. “I’ll bring him home.”

“Thank you. I’ll be home as soon as I can, but it might be a couple of hours.” He could hear the hesitation in her voice.

“He’s a human child. I’ll figure it out.”

“His diapers will be in his bag, and I put his medicines in the medicine cabinet.”

Alex frowned. “We have a medicine cabinet?”

“Upper cabinet to the right of the coffeepot. Dosage is on the bottle.” She paused. “You’re su?—”

“I’ve got it, Angel. And if I need to, I’ll drive him to your office. Go. Do your interview.”

Madison had been acting strangely for the last several days—ever since she returned from her trip. She had filled him in on her attempts to get the interview with the victim’s ex-girlfriend and how unfriendly the town had been—something he planned on addressing after a decent amount of time passed, following the end of her podcast, when no connection would be made between the two.

“What’s the emergency?” Liev asked, falling into step beside him as Alex hurried to his car.

“Jax is sick.”

“Is it serious?”

“Probably just another cold.”

He felt Liev’s gaze on him.

“What are you supposed to do about it?”

Good question. He’d seen Madison give Jax medicine before.

How hard can it be?

Alex had never felt so out of place in his entire life as when they stepped into the bright, overly cheerful daycare lobby, the walls plastered with cartoon animals and colorful posters. The scent of disinfectant mixed with apple juice hung in the air.

The receptionist looked up from her desk, her eyes widening slightly. Her gaze riveted to the tattoos on Liev’s neck. She blinked, composing herself quickly.

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