Page 165 of A Dangerous Proposal

“Opal stole that white purse the night she and Felix broke into the lake house and had a party. The one Opal’s friend told you about,” Alex explained. “From what Mary said, they pretty much cleaned the place out. Felix admitted to her they’d pawned most of it for drug money.

“Armstrong was furious. They’d cleared out his office, and he knew the drive was gone. When you showed up with the white purse, Mary realized you had Opal’s things, including a purse her cousin had made for Mary that was taken the same night.”

Madison’s stomach plummeted.

“They thought I had the drive.”

Alex nodded. “When you wouldn’t back down from the custody fight, Armstrong thought you must have it—that you were waiting to use it. The first break-in attempts were to search the townhouse, in case Opal had hidden it there. But once Mary told her father about the purse, they redoubled their efforts.Elite’ssecurity system was too sophisticated for them, and they had to hire a hacker to jam the system. When they couldn’t find it, they began following you, which led them to the storage unit.”

“What happened to my sister?” Madison forced herself to ask.

Alex hesitated.

Madison braced herself for what she knew was coming.

“You were right. Opal tried blackmailing the Senator.” He sighed. “She thought she was getting her payout that day at the rest stop.”

Madison felt ice slide down her spine.

Why, Opal? Why didn’t you tell me what you were doing?

“Mary didn’t know exactly what happened,” Alex continued. “But when her father and Felix came back to the house that day, Felix was acting strange, and her father…” Alex’s jaw flexed. “He told her she didn’t need to worry. Not only would Opal never be a problem forhimagain, but Mary wouldfinally get the baby she’d always wanted.”

Madison’s knees felt like jelly, and out of her periphery, she saw Liev slip away. Her throat closed up, a sick, wrenching nausea curling in her stomach. She didn’t realize she was trembling until Alex folded her into his arms.

“Angel,” he breathed into her hair.

She swallowed hard, forcing herself to stayupright.

She had wanted answers. Now she had them.

“You were right,” she whispered against his chest.

“About what?”

“The first night we met, you asked if knowing what happened to a loved one somehow made the grief easier.” She sniffled. “It doesn’t.”

Alex pressed his forehead against hers. “Give it time.”

She drew in a deep breath then slowly let it out. “I have plenty of that now, thanks to you.” She kissed his lips softly.

A groan came from low in his throat. “I would do anything for you.” Alex’s thumb skimmed over her jaw, and then he lowered his lips. Madison melted into the kiss, her fingers clutching his shirt front.

“I love you,” she whispered against his lips.

Alex’s arms banded tighter around her as he angled his head back to study her.

“Alex…” she started, unsure she wanted to bring up what he’d said the night before.

What if he only said it because he was trying to comfort me? What if he can’t say it again?

“Last night…”

He lifted a hand and stroked his fingers over her cheeks before tracing her lips. “I love you, Angel.”

Somethinghot and overwhelming filled her chest.

Do not cry.

---