Dangerous Dalliances (Maxwell Investigations)

by Ibanez, Dawn

  Soft footfalls caught his attention. Crispin looked up from the computer and saw his wife quietly going over to her favorite armchair and sitting down. The frown that crossed her face bothered him. They were both worried sick over Madison, but the thought of something happening to Dylan made him nearly mental.

  Dylan tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear before looking at Crispin. “Are we going to do this now?” she asked simply.

  He knew exactly what she was talking about. There was no need to beat around the bush. “I think you and Lacey should leave the country. At least until all of this blows over,” he said diplomatically.

  “And you realize the chance of that happening are slim and none, correct?” she countered. When he frowned at her, she folded her arms over her chest. “She’s my sister, Cris. I can’t just leave knowing that she’s in danger.”

  Crispin jumped to his feet and started to pace the length of the room. “I know. I’ve watched her grow up. Thinking that something may happen to her is ripping at my heart.” He turned and looked into her eyes. “But if something happened to you, it would destroy me.”

  Tears filled her eyes as she felt the intensity of his emotions. She stood and walked over to where he stood. With ease, she wrapped her arms around him and held him. “I agree that Lacey should be moved. And I want Antonio to go with her.”

  A soft growl escaped Crispin as he wrapped his wife in his arms. “As much as I would like to argue, I can’t. No one else would guard Lacey the way he would.” He buried his face in the crook of her neck and pressed a kiss against her skin. “But if you’re going to stay, I’ll arrange for more guards and a personal escort that will go places with you when I can’t.”

  Dylan shook her head and pulled away from his embrace. “No,” she said sternly.

  He shook his head. “You can’t change my mind on this. Either we’re getting more guards, or you’re leaving.” Crispin walked over to his computer and sighed as he looked at the screen. The closed elevator doors seemed like they were mocking him. “I don’t care if I have to drug you. I will have you safe.”

  She looked at him. Her soft brown eyes were wide as she realized how far gone his mood was. Dylan slowly shook her head. “You wouldn’t do that,” she said softly. When he scoffed, she moved closer to the desk. “I love you but I swear to you, if I wake up someplace that I did not go to sleep, it will be our divorce.”

  Crispin snatched up a glass paperweight and threw it against the wall. “I won’t lose you!” he shouted at her. His eyes glowed green as the glass shattered. “My mother was just as stubborn. She refused extra guards, she trusted mortals in and out of our home and she was rewarded with it by a sword in her chest. I will not live through that again.”

  Dylan went to his side and took his hands into hers. Tears streamed down her face as she looked into his eyes. “Crispin, we can compromise,” she reasoned. “I just need for you to hear me out. Please.” When his eyes darted to the computer screen again, she followed his gaze. She wiped at her face with one hand while she closed the video window with the other. “Whoever did this is watching us. Adding more guards and more blockades will only send a bright red flag to wherever I’m hiding. Not to mention, I can probably protect your guards better than they can protect me.”

  “So could Madison, and look what happened to her.”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t just have a baby,” she countered. When he looked at her, she ran her fingers through his hair. “But I’m also not stupid. I’ll agree with the escort. If you can’t be with me, Jessica or Marco can. Anything more than that and you’re inviting more trouble than it’s worth.”

  Crispin wrapped his arms around Dylan and pulled her close. “Donald and Marco,” he whispered against her neck. “And Alex.”

  She returned his embrace. “He might be with the boys,” she told him. When troubled eyes looked at her, she pressed a kiss to his lips. “If he agrees, then fine. If not, Jessica and Ryan?” A soft smile crossed her face when he slowly nodded. She kissed him again and this time savored the feeling of his hands caressing her though her clothes. “Nothing is going to happen to me,” she said softly.

  Crispin pulled away from Dylan and looked at her with haunted eyes. He slowly reached out and brushed his fingers along her jaw. “My mother said the same thing,” he whispered before leaving the study.

  * * * * *

  Barry sat in the hospital waiting room with Lily. The doctors were running tests on Eric, who was still showing signs of waking up. Sloane had taken a quick trip to get coffee while Jimmy went to make a few more calls. Barry looked at Lily and gently rubbed his thumb along her knuckles. “Penny for your thoughts.”

  She smiled as she glanced at him. With everything going on with Madison’s disappearance, something inside of her was at ease with Barry. “I’m thinking about what my father could have left in his things.” She moved around in her seat and turned towards him fully. “I know he kept track of some of his visions. So maybe he knew where to find those seven seals.”

  Barry nodded slowly. “That’s a thought. After we make sure everything is good with Eric, we can swing by your apartment and pick them up en route.”

  Her smile fell. “En route to where?” she questioned. When he gave her a dark look, she had her answer. “I am not leaving my home.”

  A sigh escaped him as he ran his hand over his hair. “I don’t want you to get upset, Baby,” he said softly. When her eyebrow arched, he continued. “Since you’re supposed to be one of the Horsemen, your place isn’t safe. They could come and snatch you up pretty much like they did Madison.” His eyes glanced at the door and saw his mother walking into the room with Jimmy and their father on her heals. “I’m just saying we should find someplace safe for you to stay.”

  “You mean like your place?” she mocked.

  Barry shook his head. He wouldn’t fall into that trap. “No. To be completely honest with you, my place isn’t that secure either.” He watched his mother and noted the way she fingered one of her many gemstones. “I have a few favors to call in. I can get you a nice place to stay that Madison would never think of looking for you.”

  Lily looked at Barry and sighed. “If you insist on me not staying in my apartment, I can go to my father’s penthouse,” she said lowly. She shrugged as she turned to Tina. “Most people didn’t know that he was having an affair with the Panther Alpha, Luna.” When Tina’s face showed no reaction, Lily’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You knew?” she questioned.

  Tina moved away from the window as she ignored the question. It would do none of them any good if they spent the afternoon gossiping about the dead. “How is your research going?” she asked moving to sit next to Barry.

  “It’s going slow, Mom,” Barry admitted. “Mathias left a lot of journals for us to look through.”

  She nodded as she turned her attention to her husband. “Did you have that team come in?” she questioned.

  James nodded as he moved to sit near his wife. “They’ll be able to stand guard if none of us are here.” He then looked over to Lily and Barry. “We’re going to have to set up some sort of protection detail for you as well, Lily.”

  Lily glanced at Barry. She didn’t want to seem ungrateful, but it seemed that Barry wasn’t the only Maxwell male she would have to explain herself to. “I was just telling Barry that my father owned the penthouse of the Majestic hotel down in the National Harbor. I haven’t had the heart to sell it.” Her eyes turned to Tina and saw that she was watching her.

  Tina nodded slowly before turning her attention to her son. “I want you to take a few days off and shadow Lily. I don’t want whoever’s doing this to get their hands on another Horseman.” She frowned and the gem in her hand started to glow in a soft yellow light. “Look through everything you can. I need to know what Mathias knew.”

  Barry and Lily nodded as Sloane came into the waiting room followed by Victor. Barry gave the former monarch a puzzled look as Sloane gave Lily a cup of coffee. �
��Victor,” he said slowly. “I didn’t think you would be here.”

  Victor glanced at Jimmy before looking at the other people in the room. “Normally, I would not be. But I believe young James has some information for me.”

  Jimmy cleared his throat and stepped closer to his family. “Yeah, there’s an Oracle named Tsukiko Himura. She’s had some insight into what’s happening.” He shook his head when Tina sat up straighter. “She doesn’t know where Madison is, but she did say that Victor has to be the one to kill the snake that’s behind everything.” He looked at Victor and sighed. “Actually, her exact words were, now would be a good time for you to tell the King that he will have to destroy the snake. Otherwise all will be lost. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but I think she’s talking about whoever is behind all of this.”

  Victor frowned deeply as he thought. “I will take this under advisement,” he said calmly. “Did she say anything in regards to Madison?”

  “Basically, things are going to get worse before they get any better,” Jimmy rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “Madison’s going to come looking for the last two seals, and we have to find them first.”

  “That isn’t a lot to go on,” James observed.

  “It’s better than what we had,” Tina sighed. She stood and started to pace across the waiting room. “Before we didn’t know how many seals they had. There are two still missing, and we can try and hunt them down.”

  Jimmy reached into the inside pocket of his coat and pulled out the small dragon figurine. “I think this may be one,” he admitted. He glanced at Sloane and took a slow breath. “My daughter gave it to me.”

  The room froze. Tina slowly turned to her youngest son with a raised eyebrow. “What?” she asked quietly.

  “When I went to school in Osaka, I met Tsukiko. We hooked up, and she disappeared from the school. I found out later that she was the Himura Oracle, and she left Japan to come here. After I came home, I found her, but by then she had a little girl named Midoriko. I did some math and figured out she was mine.”

  “That was ten years ago Jimmy,” James said with a frown. When his son nodded, he shook his head. “You mean to tell us that you have a ten year old child that none of us knew about?”

  “It was either tell you, or lose her,” Jimmy countered. He looked at his mother and saw the heartbreak in her eyes. “Tsukiko is used to being used. She didn’t want that for Dori, so we told everyone that she’s an orphan that Tsukiko is looking after. I tried to explain that while I understood, it wasn’t fair to Dori to rob her of my side of her family. But Tsukiko made it perfectly clear, she wouldn’t stop me from spending time and seeing Dori, but I had to keep her a secret.”

  Tina slowly inhaled as she turned to her son. “This is the second time I have been robbed of spending time with a grandchild,” she said quietly. “I will not be cheated out of a third. I will deal with Tsukiko, and I will handle that mess when this one is over. Now, is there anything else you need to tell me?” she asked.

  Jimmy looked at his mother and knew she was trying to keep her temper under control. He knew she wouldn’t take the news well. But it wasn’t like he had a choice. His two choices were his mother’s heart, or his daughter. Dori would always win. “Tsukiko saw that she and I would have a powerful child together, so that was why she originally slept with me. Now, Dori is showing signs of being another Oracle. But now she’s getting so upset, she’s to the point where she had to be sedated.”

  James straightened. “If she has Oracle blood on both sides of her family, there’s no telling how powerful she could become. Or who would be after her.” The frown he wore deepened as he looked at his son. “For all we know, the person that took Madison will be after your daughter simply so they can make sure the future they want comes to pass.” He pulled Tina into his embrace and kissed her cheek. “I’ll go and deal with Tsukiko.”

  “Be careful,” Tina said before he moved away from her. She looked at Jimmy and shook her head. “I don’t even know what to say to you,” she said before she started to pace again.

  Victor glanced at James and nodded. “I would also like to speak with Tsukiko.” He stepped to the side and motioned to the elevator. “Shall we?”

  James looked at his wife once more before following Victor to the elevator.

  Tina started to caress the stone in her hand. Things were starting to spin out of control. She didn’t know where Dennis and Troy hid the children. Out of nowhere, she finds out that she has a granddaughter that was hidden from her. There was no doubt that Crispin would try to tuck Lacey and Dylan away. There was something going on with Barry and Lily. And the doctors still haven’t had anything to say about Eric.

  Sloane stood and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. “Everything’s going to be fine Mom,” he said quietly. “We just have to take everything in stride.”

  “I hope you’re right,” she whispered as the doors to the waiting room opened again.

  A tall man walked in and looked at the family. He smiled when he saw Tina and Sloane. “I have good news,” he said as he glanced at his paper work. “All of our tests are showing no residual damage. He’s going to be just fine.”

  Sloane unconsciously tightened his grip on Tina’s arm. “Can we see him? Does he know who we are?”

  The doctor’s smile didn’t falter. “That’s the funny thing. He knows exactly who everyone is. He knows his name, birthday, everything that most patients have problems remembering at first.” The doctor made a few notes on his pad before turning his attention back to the family. For the first time, his smile was shaky. “I would say no more than two at a time, but after this morning,” his voice faded before he shook his head. “Just don’t tire him out.”

  * * * * *

  Ashton walked into Pan’s penthouse and frowned at the sight in front of him. Madison sat calmly on the sofa flipping through a large book. “Shouldn’t you be resting?” he asked.

  “Shouldn’t you be doing something more useful?” she countered. Eyes the color of rubies turned to him. “You’re a member of the Council. You could be making maneuvers that will benefit us when the last two seals break.”

  He rolled his eyes and made his way into the kitchen area. “You talk as if you already know where the seals are.” He poured a glass of water and glanced at her. She was a mess still wearing the hospital gown she gave birth in. “Why don’t you do things one step at a time. Take a shower, get dressed, and eat. Then you can worry about the last seals.”

  Madison frowned as she looked at the gown she wore. “I need clothes,” she said lowly. “Siobhan went to get some. And the old man went to search out Mathias’s crap.” A muse left her as Ashton frowned at her. “It’s almost like you didn’t plan for this at all.”

  “What is that supposed to mean? We’ve been planning this for decades.”

  “You’ve been waiting for this for decades. There’s a difference.” Madison stood as her eyes glowed brightly. “Planning for this would mean that there is an army in the shadows waiting for the moment to strike. Instead, I see an old man, an arrogant bastard, and my sister Conquest doing everything.” Madison shook her head. “I will find the seals and revive War and Famine. You can go and find your next piece of jailbait.”

  A cruel smile crossed his face. “Are you jealous?” he asked lowly. Ashton slowly walked over to her, savoring how much shorter she was. “Does it still bother you that I didn’t stay faithful? That the only thing I needed or wanted was to get in your pants?”

  Madison’s face went blank for a moment. She then smiled just as cruelly as Ashton did. “Don’t flatter yourself, Ash,” she said mockingly. “You were nothing but a bad memory by the time I had lover number two. And after my husband, you’re barely a thought.”

  Ashton was silent as she turned and started for her room. He waited until he was at the door before delivering his next shot. “But will your Wolf want you as you are now?” He went back to his drink and gave her a mocking smile. “I mean
, who would say they could love Death?”

  A careless smile crossed her face. “It doesn’t matter. Troy will be mine again.” She shrugged as she went into her room. “We’re just on separate paths at the moment.”

  * * * * *

  Belle Davenport opened the door to the borrowed nursery and felt her heart twist. Madison’s kidnapping hit Troy harder than she thought it would. In a few hours, he had them all moved into Dennis’s house.

  Troy was in a rocking chair with little Rory tucked against his chest. The twins were cuddled together on an air mattress sleeping. She turned her attention to her son. “Are you hungry, Sweetheart?” Belle asked softly.

  Troy looked up as if woken from a daze. He gave his mother a blank look as he processed her words. “No. No, thank you,” he said quietly. He turned his attention back to the baby in his arms and smiled when a pair of soft honey colored eyes looked back at him. “I think she looks like Madi.”

  “She does,” Belle agreed. His hollow tones made her nervous. It was one of the first signs of someone about to lose grip with reality. “When was the last time you ate something Troy?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t remember. A little while after she was born,” he answered as he caressed Rory’s cheek. When she stuck her tongue out at him, Troy turned to his mother with distressed eyes. “What am I supposed to do, Mom?”

  Belle wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed a kiss to his hair. “First, put the baby down. You don’t want her to get used to being carried everywhere. Then, we’ll get you something to eat, and I’ll watch the kids while you get some rest.” When he opened his mouth protest, she pressed a finger to his lips. “I know you want to run off and find Madison. But you need to show the kids that even with Mommy gone you’re still strong and will find her.”