Page 35 of Twisted Empire

I tipped my head back toward the ceiling, a moan tumbling out of me as Beckett thrust up into me with even more force than before. One of his hands slipped across my hip to settle over my pussy. His fingers flicked across my clit, and I pumped him into me faster, faster, bliss spiraling up inside me until I burst.

My orgasm crashed through me, jerking a cry from my lips and leaving me shuddering over one of the four incredible men I loved. My channel clamped around Beckett’s cock, and he held me tight as he followed me over the edge with a choked sound of release.

“So goddamn good,” he muttered, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me down against him so our chests were perfectly aligned. “You’re a fucking goddess, Maddie. Don’t let anyone ever tell you differently, even me.”

A soft chuckle escaped me. I nestled my head under his chin, drifting on the afterglow and soaking up the warmth of his naked body. In that moment, I never wanted to let him go.

A chilling thought prickled through me on the heels of my contentment. I pressed myself tighter against him, but I couldn’t escape the icy edge of fear that had crept into my mind.

Beckett had talked about how much I’d already lost. What if Doom’s Seed tried to take this happiness from me too?

How could I be sure he wouldn’t succeed?

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

Dexter

“Ihate that we’re always simply responding to his attacks, always on the defensive,” Beckett muttered. “We need to get the upper hand—or at least take more control over the situation.”

I glanced over at him where he was poised at the table in his sitting room with the others, digging into leftovers from last night’s dinner. As much as I liked seeing them enjoying my food, I wanted to contribute more than that.

Which was why I’d moved over to the sofa on my own to concentrate on the data in front of me.

I yanked my gaze back to my list of the attacks Doom’s Seed’s people had made on us and Beckett so far. I’d noted down dates, time of day, locations, and the apparent motivation behind the assault: personal or strategic, aiming to claim or to destroy.

It all looked random at a glance, but I knew that people were rarely able to make their actions totally random unless they had complex computer systems involved. They mightthinkthey were mixing things up too much to be predictable, but a pattern would still emerge if you took in the big picture from the right angle.

Doom’s Seed didn’t want us to be able to predict where he’d strike next. He was trying to keep Beckett and the rest of us on our toes. But he wasn’t impervious. No one was.

If I could make a good guess at where he’d launch his next attack, Beckett could focus his manpower there instead of waiting for his people to call in and scrambling to launch a defense.

It would be coming soon. Since the first full-out assault, Doom’s Seed had rarely waited more than forty-eight hours before launching another of some sort, and usually it’d been closer to twenty-four.

I ran through the list again in my head, feeling out the rhythm of it. Inside the city and outside. Business-related or fear tactics. He kept looping around between all the different factors… and when I considered which hehadn’tacted on recently, his next step suddenly seemed obvious.

A surge of hope raced through me, but I made myself examine the data again to double-check my instincts. If I sent us off on a wild goose chase, Beckett could end up worse off in the face of the next attack, not better.

When I was confident, I pushed myself to my feet. “I have an idea of where Doom’s Seed will come at you next.”

Beckett’s head jerked up, and Madelyn and my friends focused on me as well, Madelyn offering me an encouraging smile.

“By all means, let’s hear it,” Beckett said, watching me with a thoughtful expression. I could hear the respect in his tone.

I’d better make sure I earned it.

“Making an educated guess,” I said, “I believe that his next target will be a property of yours that has strategic value but is a little farther away from where most of the conflict has been—outside the city. Maybe pretty far outside. Something like the farm, where it was separate from your businesses around here but still could damage your family’s reputation if you lost it.”

Beckett’s eyebrows rose. He rubbed his jaw as his gaze went distant with thought, and then his expression tightened. “If you’re right, then I know exactly where he’ll come gunning for us next. I don’t have many men out there. I can call more in.”

Logan pushed his plate away. “We should go out there too. It worked well when you rallied the troops at the farm. And the more hands on deck, the better.”

Beckett hesitated for a second, his gaze sliding to Madelyn, but when she gave him a firm look, he nodded. “Let’s go, then. If we get there before he has his people in place, he might even call off his plans.”

We rushed out to the same van we’d taken out to the farm, although Beckett got in behind the wheel this time. He’d mentioned that his people in the area were being spread increasingly thin with so many casualties and injuries after the past attacks.

A sense of nervous exhilaration kept sweeping through me as the van roared out of the city along one of the freeways. Please, let me be right about this. If I was, then I’d given us a huge advantage.

If I wasn’t, then I might have totally screwed our new friend over.

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