Brody

by Susan Fisher-Davis

  Sam shook his head. “You want me to break protocol on this? Do you realize how much trouble I could get into? We’d both lose our jobs.”

  “I know and I’m sorry to ask you to do this but anyone else involved guarantees her death,” Brody pleaded.

  Sam blew out a breath and nodded. “All right, but if we can’t find her in forty-eight hours, I’m calling it in.”

  “I’ll go along with that.”

  Sam glared at him. “You sure as hell don’t have a choice, Brody. We will do this my way or not at all.”

  Brody gave him a terse nod then went to the living room to sit and wait. The waiting was going to kill him. He wanted to be out there, looking for her. Saving her. He sat forward and clasped his hands together. Praying seemed to be the only option right now. Brody had never been much for praying but he needed to pray now, for her safety and her return to him. His jaw clenched as he thought of what Delgado would do to her.

  * * * *

  Madilyn slowly woke up and immediately knew she sat tied to a chair. The man stood across the room from her, smiling. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Who are you?”

  “You know exactly who I am, Miz Young. I’m sure your lover told you all about him and my wife having an affair.”

  “My lover?” Madilyn frowned. She wouldn’t give this man anything.

  He snorted. “Come on, Miz Young. You know I’m not stupid. Far from it. I’ve been watching you both for a long time. Way before I even called you.” He moved toward her. “You do know he was fucking my wife?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Delgado burst out laughing. “You can tell me that all you want, but I know better.”

  Comprehension dawned. “You’re the guy who came to my apartment looking for Caroline, only there wasn’t a Caroline, was there?”

  “Give the woman a prize. I saw Morgan leave your place, and I wanted to see what you looked like so we could have this nice little chat.”

  Madilyn stared at him. He was an attractive man in an expensive suit. It was all a façade. “We don’t have anything to talk about.”

  “Oh but we do, Miz Young. I want Morgan to know I’m going to kill you, and you’re going to call him for me.”

  Madilyn shook her head. “No. I won’t do it. Brody didn’t know she was married.”

  Delgado laughed. “So, he did tell you. Is that what he told you?” He strode to her and put his face close to hers. “You don’t look stupid to me, but yet you believed his lies. He knew. Trust me.”

  “I trust you about as far as I can throw you. I trust Brody. He’d never lie to me.”

  “You’re a fool. Tell me how a man sees a woman for six months but knows nothing about her. He was a U S Marshal, I’m sure he looked into her background.”

  Madilyn shook her head. “If Brody told me he didn’t know then he didn’t know. I won’t call him so you can get him here to kill him.”

  Delgado shook his head. “You won’t be here to see me kill him. You’ll be dead. I plan on killing you in front of him so he’ll suffer because he loves you, just as I suffered when my wife was killed.”

  “Brody didn’t kill your wife. You did,” Madilyn screamed at him.

  “It was because of Morgan she was killed. Same thing in my book. If he hadn’t screwed around with her, she’d still be alive. He should’ve broken it off when he found out she was married.”

  “He didn’t know! Besides, did you ever stop to think she wasn’t happy with you? That’s why she screwed around.” Madilyn knew by the muscle twitching in his cheek, she’d overstepped her bounds. He straightened up and moved away from her.

  “I should kill you right now for saying that.”

  “Then do it,” she shouted.

  “You’re going to call him first, and then while he listens, I’ll do it.”

  “Not happening, asshole."

  “I have your cell phone. I’ll call him myself.”

  Madilyn blinked tears away. She would not let this bastard scare her. Shaking her head, she glared at him. He blew out a breath and turned from her. How could she get out of this situation? Glancing around the room, she saw they were in a small room with a kitchenette area, a bed, and a door leading to what she assumed was the bathroom. She remembered Becca Stone telling her she’d tried escaping through a bathroom window when a man obsessed with her abducted her. Becca hadn’t gotten away, but Jake rescued her.

  “I have to use the bathroom,” she told him.

  “Fine but you will leave the door open.” He moved toward her and untied her hands and feet. Madilyn stood and after giving him a dirty look, entered the bathroom. She saw him standing by the doorway.

  “I can’t go if you’re going to watch me.” She placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him.

  “Then you won’t go because I’m not moving.” He folded his arms and stared at her.

  “At least turn your back.”

  Delgado grumbled and turned around. Madilyn knew she had to act quickly. She slammed the door shut and locked it and then moved to the window and pushed it open. She could hear him kicking the door and it was starting to break. Madilyn got out the window and dropped to the ground. Without hesitation, she ran through the woods, screaming. She came out on a road and had no idea where she was. Glancing around, she watched as cars whipped past her on the two-lane road. When she spotted a police car, she ran toward it, waving her arms. Madilyn saw the car pull down a side street and she ran toward it as fast as she could. As she ran in front the woods, someone grabbed her, put their hand over her mouth, and pulled her back into the woods. They spun her around and she gazed up into Wilson Delgado’s angry face.

  “Scream and I’ll kill you right here. Do you understand?” he growled. Madilyn blinked back tears of frustration and nodded. He pulled her along behind him and entered the house. He pushed her toward the bed. “Sit down,” he shouted and then paced in front of her. “The next time you pull a stunt like that, I will kill you, and I’ll make sure I leave your body where Morgan can find it. I don’t necessarily have to kill him.” He shrugged. “I just wanted to in case he decides to try to find me but I’ll get away. I have a lot of connections, I can disappear.”

  “Brody doesn’t care about me,” Madilyn told him.

  Delgado laughed. “You don’t expect me to believe that, do you? I’ve seen you together. I know you’re staying with him.” He put his face close to hers. “I am not a stupid man, Miz Young, so don’t treat me like one.”

  Madilyn stared up at him then glanced away. There was no way she could lie to him. He was a very smart man. He’d bided his time and watched her and Brody. Anyone seeing them together would know they were in love. Delgado was no exception. When she sighed, Delgado laughed.

  “As long as we understand each other, we’ll get along just fine.”

  “I have no desire to get along with you. I hate you. You’re a murderer.”

  “Me? I’ve never, personally, killed anyone but you know what? All that’s about to change with you. I’m going to take great pleasure in killing you in front of Morgan. But as I said, pull this little stunt of running again, and I won’t wait for my men to get him.” He pulled her up from the bed and reached into his pocket to remove her cell phone. “I’ll just give him a little call before we move on.”

  Madilyn watched as he scrolled through her phone. A grin came across his lips. He turned the phone in her direction to show her Brody’s picture.

  “Please don’t do this. Kill me but leave Brody alone. You’re right, if you kill me, it will hurt him more. Letting him live with only my memory will slowly kill him. He loves me so much.”

  “And you love him. You wouldn’t be pleading for his life if you didn’t. You see, I don’t care, though. I saw my wife murdered because of Morgan and I want him to see your life end too. I want him to watch it happen. I had to wait for another man to get here before I could do anything, since the other idiot got himself arrested for dru
nk driving, but my two men will have Morgan and he’ll be allowed to watch from a distance.”

  “He’s too smart to be taken by your men.” Madilyn glared up at him.

  “He’s not as smart as you seem to think. He let you out of his sight, didn’t he?”

  Madilyn shook her head. “He didn’t know I was going to my apartment. I didn’t tell him.”

  Delgado glared at her. “You lied to him. Just like every other woman. You lied.” He pushed her down onto the chair.

  Madilyn refused to answer him and make him angrier. Delgado obviously had a very low opinion of women since his wife had an affair and lied to him the entire time. If the man was cold enough to have his wife killed, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill Madilyn. A sob caught in her throat as she realized her life could soon be over. Dear God. The thought of Delgado having Brody killed was torture. Even if her life was taken away, she wanted Brody to live and go on with is life.

  “Please don’t kill him,” she whispered and hated herself for pleading with this awful man.

  “Don’t beg me for your man’s life. My wife pleaded for hers too. If I didn’t listen to her, why would I listen to you?”

  “You didn’t kill your wife, though. Your men did. You can let this go.” A tear rolled down her cheek.

  Delgado strode over toward her, wrapped his hand around her bicep, and pulled her up. “No! I can’t let it go. Whether you believe me or not, I loved my wife, but she wanted Morgan and he wanted her. Not you. Her. Abby was in love with Morgan and no matter what he told you, he knew she was married.” He shook his head. “No. I won’t let it go. What goes around comes around. His time is coming to watch you die.”

  Madilyn stared at him. He truly believed Brody would be involved with a married woman. She knew better. Brody Morgan had morals. He’d never stoop low enough to do it. Madilyn may have had a sliver of a doubt when he’d first told her but she knew in her heart, he’d told the truth. Abby Delgado lied to him for six months and ended up dead because of it.

  “Your wife is the one at fault. She lied to you and Brody. She’s dead. Please let this go.”

  “I’ve told you she’s dead because of Morgan. If he’d kept his hands off her, she’d still be alive and with me,” his voice rose in his rant. He raised his hand.

  Madilyn covered her face as she waited for him to hit her. When he didn’t, she looked up at him. He glared at her with his hand still in the air. He shook his head.

  “I’ve never struck a woman in my life, and I’m not about to start now.”

  Madilyn stared at him and then burst out laughing. She laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks. When she finally composed herself, she saw him staring at her with narrowed eyes.

  “That’s rich. You won’t hit a woman but you’ll kill her.” Madilyn shook her head. “I’m supposed to be happy you’re not going to hit me?”

  “Shut up!” Delgado roared. “I’m calling Morgan now.” He dialed Brody’s number and waited for him to answer.

  “Maddie?” Brody’s voice came over the speaker.

  “Brody! Don’t talk to him. Hang up!” Madilyn yelled.

  “Hang up and I’ll kill her right now,” Delgado growled.

  “Let her go. It’s me you want, Delgado.”

  “The only thing I want for you, Morgan, is for you to watch her die and that’ll happen soon enough. I just wanted you to know I have your woman and she’s going to die because you fucked my wife.”

  “I’m tired of going over and over this with you, Delgado.”

  “Not as tired as I am of hearing you deny knowing she was married. I don’t believe you.”

  “If she lied to you, what makes you think she didn’t lie to me?” Brody asked.

  Madilyn watched Delgado’s face get red as he got angry at Brody’s words. She knew by the look on his face, the thought never occurred to him. She stood and faced him.

  “He’s right. If your wife didn’t care about lying to her husband, why would she care if she lied to her…lover?” She choked on the word. In her mind, she knew Brody had been with other women over the past five years but in her heart, it cut her to the core. Madilyn let out a yell when Delgado struck her across the face.

  * * * *

  “God damn you!” Brody jumped up from the chair. It rolled behind him and slammed into the wall. His office door flew open as Sam came rushing in. Brody put his hand up to stop Sam from speaking, as he nodded toward his cell phone on his desk. Sam gave a terse nod.

  Masculine laughter came from the phone. “She’s fine. A little slap never hurt anyone.”

  “You son of a bitch. I’ll kill you,” Brody growled.

  “You’re not going to get the chance. I’m going to get to you before you even see me coming. Then I’m going to make sure you see me kill your woman. You’re going to watch the woman you love die, just like I watched my wife die because of you. This is your fault, Morgan. You just don’t want your woman to know you had an affair with a married woman. No matter what you’ve convinced your woman or friends, you knew Abby was my wife and you fucked her anyway. You knew she was married, didn’t you? Didn’t you?” Delgado shouted.

  Brody glanced up at Sam, who nodded slightly. Brody swallowed. “Yes.” He heard Madilyn gasp. He closed his eyes tightly, and clenched his fists. “Now, let her go.”

  Delgado laughed. “Seeing the look on your woman’s face is almost enough for me to let her go, but you still have to pay for what you did.”

  “I just admitted it. You don’t have to kill Madilyn. Take me instead.” Brody slowly sat down. He watched as Sam reached for a sheet of paper and wrote something down. He slid the paper toward Brody. Did the call come from Madilyn’s phone? Brody nodded. Sam wrote again. Who is her carrier? Brody wrote it on the paper. Sam nodded and left the office. “Come on, Delgado. I told you the truth. Let’s meet up, and I’ll trade places with Madilyn.”

  “It doesn’t work that way. An eye for an eye and all, you know. In this case, a woman for a woman. You finally admitting the truth to me doesn’t let you off the hook. My wife is dead because of you and soon Miz Young will be dead. I’m going to keep her for a few days, though, to make it even sweeter. I’ll be in touch.” Delgado disconnected the call.

  Brody stared at the phone until Sam entered the office again. “I have the records. He’s not in Clifton. The signal’s coming from the Hartland area.”

  “Hartland? How the hell are we going to find him there? We don’t have jurisdiction there.”

  “It’s time we call in the FBI and MEPA.”

  “No, not yet. Come on, Sam. Let me make myself available for Delgado’s men to pick me up. It might give me the chance to save her. I’ll wear a wire…anything. Just let me do this. Please.” His gaze met Sam’s and he knew the minute Sam gave in.

  “Damn it, Brody. I don’t like this. It’s going against protocol and we could both be fired.”

  “I have to take the chance. If we’re found out, I’ll say you didn’t know anything about it. I did this on my own.”

  “Bullshit. If you go down for this, I’ll go down with you. Let’s go over how we’re going to do this,” Sam told him as he took his seat.

  Brody nodded. They worked on their plan for hours before leaving for the day.

  Chapter Eleven

  Brody sat in the living room, staring at the television. Although it was on, he paid no attention to it. He couldn’t get his mind off Madilyn and what she was going through. Brody was sure Delgado left Hartland by now. It’d been three days and no word from the madman yet. It was starting to wear on him. His thoughts were driving him crazy. Trying to sleep was the worst time. He’d hug her pillow to his chest as he lay in the bed, her perfume lingering on it. He couldn’t imagine what was going through her head. Was Delgado mistreating her? Was he feeding her? Son of a bitch! Brody jumped up and paced. When was he going to call? Was he even going to call?

  Brody sighed and headed for the shower. Dear God, please let her be all right. He’d a
lready lost her once, he couldn’t lose her again. Not until he took his dying breath and he hoped when he did, her face was the last thing he saw before he met his maker. They’d always talked about having children. A boy and a girl. Madilyn had laughed and asked him what happened if they had two of the same? Brody told her they’d just keep trying until they got a different one. He smiled as he remembered the look on her face then she burst out laughing and punched his arm. That was the day his dad almost caught them in the hayloft.

  Madilyn had put her hand over her mouth to quiet her laughter. Tears rolled down her cheeks as Brody’s dad strolled down the barn aisle calling for them. Brody glared at her but had trouble containing his own laughter. When they walked into the house hand in hand, his mom grinned but turned her back. Brody’s dad walked into the kitchen and up to Madilyn. He reached out, pulled a piece of straw from her hair, and winked at her. Brody glanced to his mother to see her shoulders shaking from laughter. Even Brody felt the heat in his face that day.

  The hot water glided down his body. His muscles were so tense from worry. He needed her home and safe. He’d kill Delgado with his bare hands if he hurt Madilyn in any way and he didn’t care what happened to him after he did. The man was a psychopath. He had to be to have his wife killed for being unfaithful.

  Brody groaned when he remembered how Madilyn had gasped when he admitted to knowing Abby was married when he was with her. She’d been shocked to hear him confess to it. Shaking his head, he reached for the towel, dried off and then pulled a clean shirt and jeans on. He knew there was another long, sleepless night in front of him. As he walked into the bedroom, someone hit him on the back of the head. Brody did everything he could to stay conscious. Another blow knocked him out.

  * * * *

  Madilyn lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She had no idea where they were. He wasn’t mistreating her but he was still going to kill her. He made sure he told her on a daily basis. She hadn’t slept much at all in the past three days. Especially since hearing Brody confess to knowing Abby Delgado was married at the time he was seeing her. Sleeping with her. Brody knew Madilyn frowned on cheating and would never forgive a man cheating on her. To her, both people were at fault. The married one for cheating on their spouse and the one they cheated with for getting involved with a married person. Madilyn felt a tear roll down her temple into her hair. How could he do that and then lie about it? If she got out of this situation, she’d never forgive him. It was over between them and it was killing her. Twice now, she’d lost him. He’d looked her in the eye and told her he didn’t know Abby was married and she believed him. She was a fool.