The hours passed as the storm raged on. The wind buffeted the house and he could hear the pounding of the surf against the sand only a hundred feet away. He felt his eyes closing and soon he was asleep himself. Sometime during the night, a whimpered cry roused him from his dreamless sleep. He was a bit disoriented at first, but soon realized it was coming from Madison. She was shaking and crying in her sleep, clearly caught in a bad dream. Carter did the only thing he could think of and laid down behind her. He wrapped his big frame around her tiny body and pulled her close to his chest.
“Shhhhh. You’re safe, I won’t let anything hurt you. Just sleep and you’ll be fine.” Carter kept repeating the words until he felt her relax into his arms. She snuggled closer to his chest, and he couldn’t help grinning at the pleasure it brought him. Within minutes, they were both asleep again, and Carter didn’t wake up till the first rays of dawn slipped through the blinds and cast a stripy pattern on the wall. Blinking several times, he tried to work out what had changed. A slight snore drew his attention to the woman in his arms and he smiled to himself. He wasn’t sure if she’d appreciate him holding her this way when she woke up though, especially if she noticed his hard-as-steel dick that was prodding her backside. Definitely nothing wrong with his equipment, it just needed the right encouragement. He couldn’t help chuckling softly to himself. It died on his lips as he thought of all the things that were still tangled up in the mess with Konrad Peeters. There was no way he could allow himself to feel anything for this woman, no matter how much his cock liked her, if she’d had anything to do with the drugs or the trafficking. He knew what Nate had told him, but he needed to hear it from her, in her own words.
Carefully, so as not to wake her, he pulled his arm out from under her and rolled off the bed. He padded into the kitchen on quiet feet, stretching his arms over his head as he went. He rolled his neck a few times to work out the kinks but overall, he’d enjoyed the best sleep he’d had since he was last here in the beach house. He made himself a cup of coffee and brought it out onto the porch.
The wooden deck was covered in sand and leaves from the trees behind the house and everything was still wet. Instead of settling on the lounger, he perched on the low railing and surveyed the beach. The ocean was still a murky grey from all the stuff the waves had churned up, but the wind had died down and the sun was trying to burn the last of the clouds away. The air was fresh and clean, and Carter took deep breaths to fill his lungs. He was amazed to find that he could finally breathe normally and whatever had been crushing his chest was gone, for good, he hoped. He suddenly realized it was the day before Christmas Eve, and he was meant to be heading back to Virginia to spend the holidays with his family. They always gathered at his parents’ house for Christmas dinner and presents. He’d missed last Christmas being away on assignment, and he didn’t want to miss another one. He also knew he couldn’t just leave things unresolved with Madison. He rested his back against the post holding up the verandah roof, and started to mull things over. He wasn’t sure what had happened the night before. All he knew was that Madison was here, asleep in his bed, and he had no intention of letting her go before he had all the answers. He was pretty sure she had a few questions for him as well.
The sound of the screen door opening had him turn around and a big smile plastered across his face as he watched Madison step out. Her hair was tousled, and his clothes swamped her petite body. He liked the look on her, he decided.
“Good morning. How are you feeling?” He gave her an encouraging nod and made space for her on the railing. She perched on the edge and accepted the mug of coffee he fetched for her.
“I’m ok, I guess. Why am I here? I can’t even remember what happened after we talked — or shouted on the beach. I’m sorry, it seems to have become a habit of mine.” Both her hands wrapped tightly around the coffee mug, but Carter could see the slight tremble she was trying to hide.
“You passed out, I think, and I carried you here as I wasn’t sure if the cottage was even livable. Besides, its’ been bought by some developer and I didn’t want to be accused of breaking and entering.”
“That was me.” Madison stated as her eyes fixed on a faraway point on the horizon.
“What was you?” Carter’s brows knitted together in confusion.
“I bought the cottage. I contacted the vendor — my old landlord — and explained I still wanted to buy the place. I told him some of what had happened but he wasn’t too bothered. Apparently, someone had paid the rent up front up till last month, so he was quite happy.”
“Yeah, I did that. I couldn’t work out what had happened to you and all I could think of was that it was some kind of emergency. I didn’t want you to be thrown out in case you couldn’t get the rent paid, so I took care of it. I’m sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have done it, but I was just trying to be helpful.”
“Thank you. I will pay you back, I promise. I would have been sad to have lost the cottage, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.”
“Want to tell me what happened?” Carter couldn’t help the hard edge to his words. The heavy feeling settled back in his gut and he knew he’d never get rid of it if he didn’t get some answers.
He watched as Maddie jumped down onto the sand and started walking towards the beach. She sat down on a small dune with long grass to shelter her from the sand still swirling in the air from a light breeze. Carter studied her for a minute. She looked even smaller than before and he only just noticed how she was still painfully thin from her time in Seattle. He frowned for a second, debating whether to follow her, but quickly decided there was no way he was leaving her sitting there by herself. In just a few strides, he was by her side and lowered himself onto the grass covered sand next to her. He didn’t say anything, just waited for her to start talking. If she didn’t, well, then he knew there was nothing more for him here, and he would return to Virginia Beach that afternoon, no matter what. Some of the tension left his body as she started talking in a low whisper.
“I was raised in the system. My birth mom dumped me on the doorstep of a bar when I was only a few hours old. I bounced around from foster family to foster family, never lucky enough to be adopted or even allowed to stay for any length of time. I guess no one found me cute, or sweet enough to want me for their own.” Madison swallowed hard.
Carter winced at the pain in her voice but didn’t say anything.
“I changed schools so many times, I never had the chance to make any friends. Not until I was in high school when a girl called Lily Walters started. We formed a bond almost immediately, and I was lucky enough to stay in that school until I graduated, even though I changed foster family two more times. As soon as I turned eighteen, I was thrown out on the street, but again I was lucky and found a room to share with some other people. I got a job as a waitress in a diner and went to evening classes at a community college to get my realtor’s license. Then Lily and I found a place of our own and to help pay for both rent and school, I took on a night job cleaning an office. I survived on four hours of sleep every day, but it was ok. I was living my life on my terms and once I got my license, I’d be able to get a good job with more money. On my 20th birthday, Lily and I went out to celebrate at a bar in the city. That’s where I met Konrad. He was a few years older and I was flattered by his attention. He was a businessman, or at least a bar owner, but he had plans to open nightclubs all over the city. He seemed so exciting, so mature and attractive. Anyway, we started dating and the first year or so, everything was wonderful. He showered me with flowers and gifts, took me to fancy restaurants and we’d go out dancing at clubs. He wanted to check out the clubs that were doing well and see if he could do something similar. I was going to be a partner in his business, he told me. All lies of course.”
Madison stopped talking and pulled at some of the grass straws in front of her. The tiny bits that tore off were caught in the wind and floated away. She watched as they disappeared, took a deep breath and continued her story. �
�As wonderful and romantic as Konrad was, he never actually made love to me. I think we did everything but actually have sex. He kept saying we should wait until we were married as it would be something special to look forward to. I got caught up in the romance of it and happily agreed. I’d had very little experience, none of it very good, so I guess I was just happy with the way things were. Little by little, Konrad started to help me out. He didn’t like me working at night, so I quit the cleaning job and he paid a portion of my rent. After a year, he asked me to move in with him and as Lily had found a boyfriend, it suited both of us well. From then on, his hold on me increased each day that went by. Every time I’d made plans to see Lily, something would come up that he needed me for and I would have to cancel. After a while, we just stopped making plans. Then Konrad bought his first club, The Hole, and after a few months, he was raking in the money. We celebrated of course, and he proudly announced I would never go back to my job at the diner. I was a bit shocked at first, but I wasn’t exactly enjoying it, so I said nothing. I just smiled. I figured I’d start looking for a position as a realtor somewhere, but Konrad asked me to put it off for a while, so I could be there for him while he turned the club into the hottest nightspot in town. Again, I smiled and agreed. From then on, his grip tightened more and more, and my life revolved only around him and what he thought was the right thing for me to do. Cooking, cleaning, washing. Never leaving the flat without telling him exactly where I wanted to go and get his approval first. He told me it was for my protection, and I was naïve enough not to question it. I was still allowed to talk to Lily on the phone, and she begged me to leave him, but I was in love, or so I thought.” Her voice trailed off. Carter sat quietly beside her. His heart ached for the young, innocent woman she’d been, caught in a control freak’s clutches.
After a shaky intake of air, Madison carried on, “Another year went by and Konrad’s behavior turned increasingly erratic until one day, when I’d gone out to the corner store for some milk and bread, he came home before I got back. As soon as I walked through the door, I could tell he was furious. His face was dark and his body as stiff as granite. That was the first time he hit me. He apologized afterwards, of course, and said it was just because he’d been so worried I wasn’t there when he got home. Then the regular punishments started. First, it was just a ‘love tap’ as he called it, when I’d done something to upset him. The wrong top, a glass out of place, his dinner not ready as soon as he walked in. It didn’t matter how hard I tried, he always found something to punish me for. He enjoyed causing me pain.” Once again, her voice trailed off and Carter could see the streaks of tears rolling down her cheeks. The sun had gone behind a thick bank of clouds and he silently stood up and tugged her with him. Hesitantly, she stood up and hand in hand they walked back to the house. He led her to the couch and went to the kitchen to make her a cup of tea. He was in need of something much stronger but decided to hold off. It wouldn’t do anything for the rage already burning through his veins. So many times during her story had he wanted to smash his fist in the bastard’s face over and over until it was a bloody pulp. It was almost a shame the fucker was dead.
Chapter Thirty-One
With his coffee in hand, he settled down on the couch opposite Madison, and saw her gaze up at him from underneath her lashes. The rage bubbling inside him was not something she needed to see so he kept his face neutral. When she hesitated, he gave her an encouraging smile to continue letting it all out. He had a feeling she’d never told anyone the full story.
“I was surprised he let me keep talking to Lily, but he probably had my phone bugged so he knew what we were saying, anyway. Lily stopped asking me to leave him and our conversations just revolved around neutral topics. I didn’t want her to know how much Konrad controlled my life, so I made up stories of going out shopping, eating in fancy restaurants and helping him run the club. I don’t think she believed a word I said, but she was such a good friend she never called me out on it. But even those phone calls became less and less frequent until it was only every few months or so. She was busy with her life. Her boyfriend was a really good guy and they bought a house together. I knew they would probably get married soon, but I also knew there was no way Konrad would let me go, not even with him by my side. She’d been my only friend for so long, but he told me I didn’t need friends. The few other people I’d managed to befriend soon stopped calling or visiting as Konrad would always make them feel as uncomfortable as possible. I had him and that should be enough, he said. “ She took a long sip of her tea but wouldn’t raise her eyes to meet Carter’s gaze
After Konrad opened Club 99, he started to bring me with him every night. He would walk around the club with me on his arm, all dressed up in outfits he chose for me, always as tight as possible and in the highest of heels. He said we had to make a good impression now that he was an influential businessman in Seattle’s elite. As I had no choice, I traipsed around with him and just smiled. I always smiled. I knew if I didn’t, he’d beat me black and blue when we got home. He was always very careful, though, to only hit me where it wouldn’t show. One night—“ Madison swallowed hard “—he’d had too much to drink and probably something else as well, as he came home in a full rage and beat me so badly I had to go to the ER. He told the staff there I had been attacked in the alley next to The Hole while walking to my car. He knew there were no security cameras in the area and played the horrified and outraged boyfriend perfectly. The cops believed his every word. There was no way they’d ever suspect the owner of the city’s most popular nightspots of beating his girlfriend until she passed out from the pain. So, they said they’d look into it, but of course, there were no leads and no follow up. That beating was what made me decide I had to get away from him. I just didn’t know how. “ Madison swallowed hard and then continued. “By this time, Hugo had started to work for Konrad. He took a perverse liking, or hatred, to me, and whenever Konrad wasn’t around, he’d torment me in any way he could. He’d slap me on the head, kick my foot, or shove me into a wall. Anything that could be explained away with me being clumsy. Not that Konrad would have cared anyway, as long as I didn’t show any interest in the man. One evening, when we were at one of the clubs as usual, I’d gone to the ladies’ room, the one place Konrad or Hugo couldn’t follow me, and suddenly Lily was there. I broke down when I saw her and told her the whole story. She said she’d suspected what was going on but didn’t know how to help me. Now, she was determined to get me away from there and said she’d plan the whole thing. A couple of weeks later, she was back at the club with money, a car and a way for me to get out of the club. I never looked back after that.” Madison sipped her tea and didn’t seem to notice it had gone cold. It was late afternoon and the temperature had dropped, so Carter pulled a throw out of a closet and draped it around her.
“Thanks. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make this such a long story. I just can’t seem to stop the words.”
“No, don’t worry. I want to hear it. I’m just so sorry you’ve had to go through all this. No one deserves to be treated that way, especially from the one person who should be protecting them.”
“Yeah, well, that person wasn’t Konrad, that’s for damn sure.” She gave him a small smile.
“So, what did you do after you escaped and how did you end up back in Seattle?” Carter scooted closer on the sofa and was surprised when she leaned her head against his shoulder and snuggled closer. She told him how she left Seattle immediately and spent a year driving around the country, never stopping in one place for too long, until she met the ex-FBI agent in Virginia and got her new identity.
“You pretty much know the rest.” Her voice became flat and emotionless. She moved as if to pull away from him, but he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. He smiled and felt pretty fucking good when relaxed back into his side. She fit in perfectly and felt so warm against him.
“And Seattle? Why did you go back there?”
“I didn’t!
I would never willingly go back to that city ever again. Hugo found me. He was in Atlanta looking for more girls to abduct for Konrad’s sex trafficking and it was just my luck that he saw me. I’m not sure where he spotted me, but I had a bad feeling that trip and felt as if someone was following me. I should have trusted my gut and been more careful. It was my own stupid fault.” Her words were bitter and reproachful. Carter decided not to respond. He just gritted his teeth and resolved to make sure she never felt that vulnerable again and knew it wasn’t her fault that fuckwad Peeters had been obsessed with her. Madison’s soft voice dragged him away from his anger again.
“I don’t know how, but Hugo tracked me down and followed me here. He found out where I lived and broke into the cottage the night after you left. Next thing I knew, I woke up in a cage in the warehouse. Konrad came to gloat and then he injected me with drugs. Heroin, I think, or amphetamines. Enough to make me want more but not so much he couldn’t withhold them and watch me suffer withdrawal without dying. I never wanted to do drugs and now… I don’t know if I’ll succumb to them again. They told me at the hospital I went through withdrawal while I was sedated, but I don’t remember it. ”
“That evil, vicious, son of a bitch!” Carter flew up from where they were sitting, making Madison curl into a ball in fear. He started pacing back and forth, needing an outlet for the emotions raging in his chest. He had suspected Peeters had been drugging Maddie but hearing it from her made it real. His hands clenched and unclenched while his chest heaved and he wanted to roar out his rage and frustration. After a few minutes, he got himself back under control and returned to the sofa. He sank down next to Madison and gently stroked her back. He felt like a real jerk for upsetting her, but the anger had been building up while he listened, and he couldn’t contain it any longer.
Agent Undone Page 31
