Dangerous Dalliances (Maxwell Investigations)

by Ibanez, Dawn

  “The only way you’ll be able to close the Gates, if they open. The only way you’ll be able to stop a Horseman if they try to open the Gates. Take it, I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”

  Barry could see how pale Lily had become as she looked at the box. He snatched it off of the pew and kept it away from her. “I’ll be back later to talk to you,” Barry told Daniel. When the priest nodded, Barry escorted Lily out of the chapel.

  * * * * *

  The wind was wild as Madison stared at Troy. “Are you sure you want to be here for this?” she asked. They stood on the roof of the hospital parking garage watching as Barry and Lily quickly made their way to his car. “I can understand if you can’t stomach it. He is your friend.”

  Troy slowly nodded. “He was my friend,” he admitted. His golden eyes then focused on Madison. “But you’re my Mate. I back your play,” he said confidently.

  She smiled at him. “I love you,” she said before pressing a kiss to his lips. “Now, remember, you just have to get the security feed from the garage. We’ll give YouTube something to talk about.”

  With a quick kiss to her cheek, Troy quickly made his way to the inside of the garage. Madison turned and started for the elevator when a shadow stepped in front of her. “What?” she questioned as she looked up into Ashton’s eyes. “Are you going to tell me how much of a bad idea this is?”

  He slowly shook his head. Watching Madison showed him something that he honestly hadn’t thought possible. There was only one way he could stop her. “You know he doesn’t have the stomach for this,” Ashton said quietly. When she pressed her lips together, he continued. “You know that as well as I do. Otherwise you wouldn’t have sent him away.”

  Madison stepped around Ashton and continued on her way to the elevator. “My reasons are my own,” she said over her shoulder. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to talk with my brother.”

  Ashton watched as she vanished from his sight. She was too confident in her control over Troy, and that never sat well with him. He turned and went after Troy. He would have to make sure the Wolf carried out his orders. And if he didn’t, he would just have to take care of him before Madison found out.

  * * * * *

  Barry walked with Lily tucked under his arm. Since leaving Father Daniel, she had become withdrawn. He pressed a kiss into her hair. “You okay?” he asked softly.

  After a moment, she nodded. “I feel like I should feel betrayed, but I don’t. Father Daniel’s spent many days just listening to me ramble about nothing and everything. I should have known that something wasn’t right with him.” She sighed as Barry brushed another kiss into her hair. “And he thinks that we should talk when we get home,” she confessed.

  A frown crossed Barry’s face. “So everything isn’t alright.” When she lowered her head, Barry stepped closer to her. “Talk to me.”

  “With everything that’s going on, I’m sure it’s safe to say nothing is alright,” Madison said as she appeared sitting on the trunk of the car next to Barry’s. When he pulled Lily behind him and stood protectively in front of her, Madison laughed. “Oh, this is a moment,” she mocked.

  Dark eyes narrowed as she slid off of the car and slowly approached them. “What do you want Madison?” Barry released Lily and stepped between her and his sister. After talking with their father, there was nothing Barry would leave to chance.

  Madison smiled as she looked at her brother. “The world in ashes,” she answered honestly. “But for now I’ll take Lily, and whatever it is you have in that box.” She closed her eyes and slowly inhaled. A frown crossed her face when she sensed Fae magic around the box her brother held. “Give them over, B. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Barry shook his head. “You’ll have to hurt me, Madison. I’m not letting her go.” Madison’s arched eyebrow was his only warning before she launched herself at them. Barry pushed Lily away from him as magic lashed out around them. He rolled away from Lily and quickly came up to his knees with his gun trained on Madison. His eyes narrowed when he saw that she now had her trademark ruby scythe in her hands. “Do not make me shoot you, Little Girl,” he ordered.

  Madison laughed before swinging her scythe. As chunks of concrete jumped into the air, she easily blocked Barry’s shots with her blade. She snatched a stone out of the air and threw it at him. When Barry raised his arm to cover his face, Madison’s magic lashed out. Barry cried out when he felt multiple cuts on his arms and legs pulse and throb. “I’m not so little anymore, Barrence,” Madison mocked.

  Lily scrambled to her feet and charged Madison. With a grunt, she slammed the Necromancer into the side of a near car. She ignored the pain that flared in her shoulders as she stood back and watched the other woman.

  Madison sat back against the car and admired the damage Lily inflicted. “Is this foreplay?” she asked as she wiped away a trail of blood from the side of her mouth. She laughed as Lily curled her hands into fists and remained between her and Barry. “How sweet. You’re going to protect your man.” Madison stood and dusted her clothes off. “But is he really your man?” She saw the way Lily’s eyes darkened to emerald. “Did I touch a nerve?”

  When Lily rushed her again, Madison touched the car behind her. She ducked low as it exploded with magical energy. She quickly jumped to her feet and ran to where her scythe had fallen. Just as Madison straightened, Barry’s fist slammed into her jaw, knocking her back down. Madison’s eyes narrowed as she kicked Barry’s leg out from under him. She growled and kicked at him again when she felt his hand grab her ankle. Madison glanced up in time to see Lily standing over her, ready to drop a tire on top of her head. Madison rolled to her side, catching Barry once more with the heel of her shoe. She quickly moved to her feet and kicked Lily in her back.

  Barry caught Lily as she stumbled toward him. Her body temperature had gone up as a dark pink hue covered her normally mocha colored tone. He frowned when he looked into her glowing eyes. “Baby?” he questioned. Barry’s lips pressed together when he saw the sadness in her eyes.

  Lily stepped away from Barry as her fingers lengthened to claws. She growled low in her throat as bat like wings and a sharp tail erupted from her back. Her gaze found Madison as a pair of horns also sprouted from under her hair.

  Madison looked at the transformed demon for a long moment. Her top had been ripped away, leaving her in nothing but her bra and ripped pants. Madison banished her scythe. “Now, that’s what a Horseman looks like,” she said with a nod.

  “I won’t go with you,” Lily snarled.

  Madison humored her with a smile. “Not at the moment. But you will,” she said before vanishing.

  Lily turned in time to block the blow Madison was about to deliver to her ribs. She growled as she and Madison traded blows with ease. Her eyes narrowed when she grabbed Madison’s wrist and pulled her close. “You won’t win.”

  Madison smiled as she looked into Lily’s eyes. “I don’t have to win,” she laughed. When Lily’s frown deepened, she turned her eyes to where the security cameras were trained on them. “I only have to fight to a draw.” Before Lily could move, Madison leaned forward and kissed her.

  Lily’s tail instinctively wrapped around Madison’s throat and ripped her away. Madison laughed as she felt the clawed barb at the end cut into her neck. “What? You two think this was supposed to be the main event?” she asked. Madison looked at the blood on her hands and nodded at Lily. “This was just foreplay, Lilavanti. Next time I get to tie you up,” she said before vanishing.

  Barry went to Lily’s side and stared at her. He swallowed as she lowered her head and turned away from him. “Lily?” he questioned.

  Madison appeared a good distance away. “Oh, and you may want to get out of here. There’s about to be a cave in,” she said before vanishing again.

  Lily didn’t think. She grabbed Barry and jumped over the railing. She pulled Barry into her arms and strained to reach the roof of the hospital. Once she was over the helipad, she d
ropped him and fell to her knees. As he stood, she wrapped her arms around her body. She hadn’t meant for him to see this form. This form had been the reason why she and Cord had been chased from town to town before Mathias found them. With her head hung low, she wrapped her wings around her body and turned her back to Barry.

  A strong sigh escaped him as he turned and fished his phone out of his pocket. He quickly dialed his father’s phone and frowned when he realized neither he, nor Lily had the box Father Daniel had given them. “Dad,” Barry exclaimed when James picked up the phone. “Madison was at the hospital,” he said quickly.

  Lily moved away from Barry and looked at the parking garage. Her eyes widened when she saw Madison approaching Barry’s car, holding the box. Without a word, she launched herself into the air after the Necromancer.

  “Lily!” Barry shouted when he saw her take off after his sister. A growl escaped him when he realized his father was still on the phone. “It’s like she’s playing some kind of game. You need to get down here.”

  Madison looked up at Barry’s shout. She blinked when she saw Lily barreling towards her. Before she could react, Lily’s fingers clawed her face. Madison screamed in rage as she and Lily both fell back. When both women stood, Madison glared at her. “I am going to fuck you up,” she breathed.

  “You won’t be the first to try,” Lily replied easily. Just as Madison’s scythe appeared in her hands again, the ground under their feet started to rumble. “But maybe next time.” Lily quickly grabbed the box off of the ground and ran for the railing again. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Madison vanish from sight again. When she joined Barry on the helipad again, she was surprised to find a pair of strong arms around her in a tight embrace.

  Barry buried his face in the crook of her neck and held her close. He trembled as the parking garage crumbled in a cloud of dust. His girlfriend was safe in his arms, but the thought that she could have been harmed tore at his insides. “Don’t ever do that again,” he ordered.

  Lily closed her eyes as his scent wrapped around her. He was covered with small cuts and multiple bruises, but that didn’t stop her from wanting him. She bit her lip as his phone started to ring again. Lily was shaking as she pulled away from him. “Dylan and Crispin are here,” she said softly.

  He looked at his phone and saw his sister’s cell phone number. He locked eyes with Lily as he answered the call. “We’re on the roof. We’ll be down in a minute,” he said before hanging up. His eyes stayed focused on the Succubus in front of him as he approached her. “Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?” he questioned.

  She shook her head and tried not to look at him. “I honestly never wanted you to see me like this,” she confessed.

  “Why?” he asked. “You’re beautiful.”

  She snorted and shook her head. “I’m a monster, Barry. Devil wings, tail, and a body for sin. You really should be running.” She blinked when he reached up and brushed her hair back from her face.

  “Then call me hardheaded,” he said in turn. “Let’s get to Dylan. After that, everything else can be handled in stride.” He smiled as Lily wrapped her arms around his waist carefully took to the air. “And for the record, I really do think you look amazingly hot like this,” he whispered into her ear.

  Lily shook her head at his attempt to lighten the mood. “You may have been dropped on your head as a child as well,” she said as they made their way to the ground. The amount of destruction was sickening. But what really bothered her was the knowledge that she knew that this was only the beginning.

  She spotted Dylan and Crispin and lowered Barry to the ground. Just as she landed, the effects of the day started to weigh at her. She blinked heavily as Barry went to his other sister. When she moved to follow, she noticed a dagger in one of her arms. “Barry?” she questioned as the world around her started to tilt.

  Barry turned to Lily’s call and caught her as she started to fall. His eyes were round as her form changed once again. He quickly stripped off his jacket and wrapped it around her upper body.

  Dylan reached his side and quickly saw the small blade sticking up out of her skin. She pulled it out and watched as Lily’s eyes drifted closed. “What the hell is going on?” Dylan asked as Barry pulled Lily close.

  “Madison,” Barry answered as he lifted Lily into his arms. He noted that she still hadn’t dropped the box before looking at his youngest sister. “And I know you may not want to hear it, but she’s bad Dyl.”

  Dylan looked at her husband with dark eyes. “That’s all we’ve been hearing,” she said lowly. She then looked around and saw a number of people were gathered around the parking garage trying to figure out what happened. A sigh escaped her as she looked at her husband. “They only want to see what happened,” she said after scanning their minds. “We can get out of here with no problem.”

  Crispin nodded as he tucked his phone back into his pocket. “Your parents are getting Eric released as soon as possible. We can take you both back to your hotel and have Thorne there with another car for you.”

  Barry winced as he thought about his car. The car he just finished paying off. “Thanks, Cris,” he said carrying Lily over to Crispin’s car.

  Crispin took Dylan’s hand into his own and led her to the car as well. “There’s one more thing,” he said lowly. His expression darkened when he saw Barry and Dylan look at him with the same expression. Neither one wanted anymore on their plate, but it couldn’t be helped. “There was another explosion downtown. An antiques store was bombed. It was Nate Castle’s shop.” He kissed Dylan’s hand as he told her something that had the potential to rip her heart in two. “Jimmy was inside when it happened. Currently there’s no sign of him.”

  Chapter 11

  Casper didn’t know what to make of the chaos that was surrounding Madison and Troy’s family. After a long trek down the hall, he reached the room where Alex was sleeping and frowned when he saw Kayin sleeping next to Alex while little Aiden colored quietly on the floor. “What’s going on Aiden?” Casper asked as he sat next to the quiet boy.

  Aiden looked at him with bloodshot eyes. Anyone would be able to tell he had been crying. “Daddy left to save Alex,” he said in a whisper.

  Casper was about to nod when he heard the angry thoughts running through the boy’s mind. He pressed his lips together and pulled him into a hug. “It’s not what you’re thinking.”

  Little arms wrapped around Casper’s neck and held him tightly. “Mommy’s gonna kill everybody and Daddy’s gonna help her,” Aiden said defiantly.

  He hid his face in Aiden’s shoulder for a moment. “We’re going to get Mommy and Daddy back,” Casper he promised. When Aiden continued to frown, Casper ran his fingers through the boy’s curly hair. “But when Mommy gets back, she’s going to need all of us to love her.”

  Aiden’s eyes filled with tears. “We do. She doesn’t love us anymore.”

  Casper pulled him into his arms again and allowed him to cry. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Alex was slowly starting to wake up. “Don’t say anything about Madison to these two. Aiden’s having a bad time,” he told him mentally. When Alex nodded slowly, Casper pressed a kiss to Aiden’s temple. “That isn’t true,” Casper said lowly. “She adores you both. It’s something some really bad people are doing to her.”

  Aiden shook his head. “Gramps said that nobody ever loves us. Even family.”

  Casper’s eyes widened at the boy’s words. He quickly went into Aiden’s mind and saw the conversation Aiden was talking about.

  “He said ‘specially family,” Kayin said from the bed with a yawn. He looked at Alex and buried his head in his foster brother’s neck. “He said Nana threw Mommy away when she was our size, and Mommy was going to leave us because we weren’t strong enough to stop her.”

  Alex tightened his arms around the boy. He pressed his lips together when he noticed the damage Madison did to his arm was completely healed. “That isn’t true,” Alex said before sittin
g up with Kayin in his arms. “It’s like Casper said; something is making Mom do things she would never really do.”

  “But then why did Daddy leave us too?” Kayin asked softly. “I thought he wanted us.”

  Casper stood with Aiden still in his arms. “Your dad went with your mom to protect her. The bad people may try to hurt her and he’s there to watch her back. They’ll be back in no time. Just watch.” He sat Aiden next to his brother and quickly entered their minds. There was no way he could allow the twins to believe the same things that Madison did about her family.

  Alex climbed out of the bed as Aiden and Kayin slowly drifted to sleep together. It killed him to hear what the two thought was going on. He could only inhale as Casper made this easier for them. Hopefully in time they could all get things back to normal. But until then, he had to try and hold things together for his little brothers.

  Once the boys were resting, Casper looked at Alex. He didn’t want to believe the man they all considered a friend at one point would dare to say something so heartless to a pair of children, but it stood out as a crystal clear memory. “Did Pan ever say anything like that to you?”

  Alex slowly shook his head. “I never really spent any time around him like that,” he confessed. He then paused as he thought. “Wait, there was one time. Mom was ribbing me about having a girlfriend. He said it was a waste of time because we were all destined to be alone. When I asked him what he was talking about, he laughed and said it was the fate of the Necromancer. I thought he was just blowing smoke or something.”

  Casper nodded as he turned and left the room. He couldn’t help but smirk at the two-step hesitation Alex had. The young Necromancer wanted Madison back as much as any of them did. When they reached the stairs, he turned and looked at him with serious green eyes. “I’m only going to ask once,” he started slowly.

  “Fuck you, she’s my mother,” Alex said before moving around Casper and going down the stairs.