Page 8 of Dangerous Command
My brothers looked at me expectantly, waiting for a verdict. Maddie had kept a secret from us, lied about who she was. And yet she had been good to me. I wanted to give her a chance to explain herself. To let her secrets come to the light on their own.
My brothers had decided to let their women live when we all agreed that it would have been easier to kill them. If they gave me shit about Maddie, I would remind them of their place.
And if anything came to Maddie, I would kill her myself.
“What’s next?” Wil asked.
I could trust my brothers, but I needed to do this by myself. Restoring our family’s legacy would only happen if I took care of it on my own. I had to prove myself; I was the new leader.
“Carry on as usual,” I said. “We’ll hunt within, quietly.” I sighed. “And I’ll deal with Maddie.”
Traitors to our family wound up dead. And if Maddie turned out to be a traitor, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill her. But until then, she was still the Maddie I had always known. Innocent, until she proved herself guilty.
I’d let her sleep until the morning, but then, she would have to answer my call.
CHAPTER 2
Maddie
My phone rattled on my nightstand, startling me awake.Unknown Numberflashed on the screen. I glanced at the clock. It was almost six a.m. My heart raced. There were only two people who would call this early, and I didn’t want to talk to either of them. I ignored the call. I rolled back into bed, but within five minutes, my alarm went off. I slammed a hand across it, then sat up. It was too early to wake up and clean a rich person’s house, but a job was a job, and if my client wanted her place spotless before her best friend’s last-minute baby shower, then so be it.
I shuffled over to the other bedroom, then leaned on the doorframe. A head of fluffy dark hair poked out of a navy blue blanket. A stain of drool was on his pillow, crusted on the side of his mouth. He always looked so peaceful like that. Not like the rambunctious six-year-old that he was.
The mattress dipped with my weight as I sat down, making him stir. I rubbed his forehead.
“Hey sleepyhead,” I said. “Time to wake up.”
“Mom,” Mack grumbled, pulling the blanket over his head. “It’s Saturday.”
“I warned you last night that we had to be up early.”
“Can’t I stay with Lucy instead? She’ll let me sleep in.”
I was still trying to give our older neighbor a break for all the long weeks when I had worked in Sage City. Lucy liked the company, but I didn’t want to overburden her when she needed rest too.
“Not today,” I said, standing. “Come on. We can get donuts on the way.”
He sat up, putting the comforter in his lap. “Really?”
“Do I ever lie about donuts?” I winked. “Come on. Go brush your teeth. Pack a bag.”
I went to the bathroom attached to my bedroom and closed the door behind me. The bathroom always made me uneasy. The shower stall was tiled brown like my stepdad’s had been. I cringed, looking at myself in the mirror.Daddy.I hated using that name, but it was easier to call him that. Easier than taking his punishments. Easier than watching my mother suffer for my actions.
The knife wound on my cheek had healed, but the delicate pink scar took layers of foundation to cover up. Not that my client would care, but I didn’t like Mack knowing what had happened, or even admitting it to myself.
Sometimes it was hard to look in the mirror. The hair dye helped, but only so much.
I slipped into the shower, closing my eyes as the water ran down my body. I turned up the heat. My phone vibrated again, louder this time, rattling on the bathroom counter. My stomach cringed. I crossed my fingers that it wasn’t my stepdad. But it was either him, or Derek, and my heart had been crushed by Derek a long time ago. Derek hadn’t tried to find me. None of the Adlers had. So why would it be him now?
Which meant it was him.Daddy.
I tried not to think about it, but my brain couldn’t focus on washing my hair and body. I sank down to the floor, closing my eyes. My mother had crouched in the corner, looking away as my stepdad pressed his forearm against my neck.Not even your mother wants to save you,he had said.Tell me, Madison, why shouldn’t I kill you right now?
I shifted memories, trying to remember the time I had won. The only time I had been in control. My stepdad had shown up out of nowhere and forced me to ride his cock, mounting him, while my mother bowed her head.Finally,he had murmured,Some respect for your Daddy.I played along, my brain silently screaming obscenities at my mother for never doing anything, for letting him hurt me. But my stepdad smiled. It made me feel insane, like it was a joke to him.
So I grabbed the knife from the nightstand and scraped the side of his face. He threw me off. But then he laughed, staring at my thighs.
His come dripped down the sides of my legs. I had hurt him, but he had marked me in a way that I would never forget.
