Page 130 of Maddox

Whoa. I pulled back, still staring at the screen. Every inch of my body began to tingle.

While I’d mentioned to Maddox that he should call me Char and that all my friends and family did, that wasn’t exactly the truth. Even my parents refused to shorten my name, saying it wasn’t regal enough. My team had used the shortened name, but they were dead. My friends? I had two amazing girlfriends I hadn’t spoken to in almost six months. Plus, one was a doctor and the other working off Broadway. There was no way they were involved.

In my mind that left one person who regularly used the name, often tossing it in my face as if meant to be condescending.

With butterflies in my stomach, I took a chance.

And dialed the number for Mr. Unknown. As expected, it rang and rang. “Come on, you bastard. You got me into this. You need to help me finish it.” No amount of chiding the person on the other end of the line was going to force the issue.

I ended the call, allowing my mind to process the moment for a few seconds. Then I tapped a second number on the keypad, oneI’d had memorized for years. When voicemail clicked on, I took a ragged breath. What the hell was he in the middle of? “What are you doing? I know you’re the unknown sender. I know you were the one I met with at the coffee shop. You sent me to El Salvador. I need to know why and who’s involved. Goddamn it. You owe me that if nothing else.”

After I finished, I squeezed my phone, glaring at the screen as if that was going to make him return my call.

I knew better.

What in the hell was this clandestine game being played and why had he kept his identity a secret from me?

I glanced at the screen on my laptop then looked toward the door. What I was thinking would be considered reckless, but at this point, I knew if I didn’t poke the predator, nothing would change and dozens of people would be allowed to continue with their methods of corruption.

And murder.

The thought lingered in my mind, festering in a way that fueled indignation and hatred. I closed my eyes briefly, reminding myself Maddox was the only man who could keep me safe. Yet I couldn’t stand by and allow more people to die. Not if I had the opportunity to do something about it.

I pulled up the system settings on my computer, navigating to the internet as I remembered what Maddox had told me while visiting one of the guesthouses. He hadn’t lied to me. There were hotspots created by the previous owner. I opened my old email, quickly typing in Jerry’s email address. Information was missing, but what I had collected and reported on eloquently would certainly create several explosions. With flying fingers,I created a message. My pulse raced and I constantly glanced toward the door, ensuring I remained very much alone.

Before I betrayed his trust.

The man I’d fallen hopelessly in love with.

Yet this was something I had to do, something that needed to be done. I attached the rough draft of my article.

And I hit send.

CHAPTER 32

Maddox

What in God’s name was going on?

“You fucking lied to me. This is all about the bitter war between Fernando Alfaro and Yuri Provincal.” The fucking Russian had emigrated from Russia decades before, marrying an American girl of notable presence within the upper echelon of society. He’d raised a happy little family all while controlling the entire state of New York with a typical Russian iron fist.

Yet his baby boy son, the man I knew as the Raptor, hadn’t appreciated the fact that his father had refused to give him any control with the Bratva organization.

Or that he’d been tossed into the military to calm his ass down.

What the Navy had done without realizing it was to provide legal methods for a true sociopath with a penchant for utilizing explosives to explore his imagination. Misha had been damn good at what he’d done.

Until he’d gone off the deep end.

But kicking him out of the Navy had fueled the anger. He’d sought retaliation while feeding the same greed his father had nurtured.

“Don’t raise your voice at me, Maddox. You don’t know what the hell we’re dealing with,” Gray barked into the phone. “I hired you to do a job, not to interfere.”

“Inter-fucking-fere?” I snapped. “You’re right. I don’t know shit. That’s because you refused to share the truth. You allowed me to head into a situation you knew could have a horrific outcome. You expected me to save the day all while luring the Raptor out in the open. Why bother using Alfaro as bait? Why not just tell me the truth? The Raptor and I didn’t leave on the best of terms. He wouldn’t mind putting a bullet in my brain.”

“I didn’t think your experience with Misha was a strong enough reason to lure you out of retirement.”

At least Gray had the decency to use the word ‘lure.’ “What’s wrong? Couldn’t trust the people you’re working with, or you just didn’t have the skillset to take on a drug lord and his sidekick?”

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