CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Xander
When the dog growled, I thought nothing of it. I was too far in my head, trying to not only process Madalyn’s story, but all the steps that needed to be made quickly.
But Madalyn froze, terror crossing her expression when the dog growled again.
“What’s wrong?”
She was so quiet for so long, I didn’t think she’d answer. Then she spoke. “It’s too late.”
At first, I didn’t understand. Then I did.
Rising to my feet, I saw the dark shadow appear through the windows of the front entry door. Shit.
It was still too dark to spot weapons, but I had no doubt the bastard had come loaded. A kick of adrenaline shot my heart rate up.
“Go get the kids and call the police,” I said quietly.
“No. You go protect them,” she argued. “This is my fight.”
I could have happily shaken her. “No. Go. Police first, then put the kids in the closet.” I cursed myself for not installing a safe room here like the security professionals had suggested.
“Security at the beach?” I’d laughed at the time. “Who needs it?”
Fuck.
But I hadn’t laughed at the suggestion of the bullet resistant windows, even if, at the time, I’d mainly been thinking they’d protect the house better during a raging storm.
Not this.
The doorbell rang.
What the total hell? When did bad guys ring or knock on the front door?
I looked at Madalyn and headed closer to investigate.
She grabbed for my arm. “Don’t. He could be armed.”
Glancing at her bags, it hit me. “Did you call a cab?”
She stared at me, then slowly sank down onto the chair, dropping her face into her hands. “Yes,” she groaned. “I’m sorry. I forgot.”
Still being cautious, I approached the door. “Yeah?” I shouted.
“Somebody call for a taxi?”
Pulling open the drawer of a side table, I pulled a hundred from the envelope at the bottom. Tapping in the security code to disarm the system, I opened the door but kept the chain in place. The door opened only a few inches. “Sorry about that. She cancelled her flight. Here’s something for your trouble.”
The cabbie frowned and tried to look through the side window. “Everything okay in there?”
Terrific. We had a concerned citizen at our door. On any other day, it would have been nice knowing that someone gave a damn about someone else. Today, I just wanted him gone. “Yes. We appreciate the concern.”
He didn’t seem convinced. “Yous sure? I don’t know. I—”
I turned toward Madalyn. “Mad, can you please come assure the cabbie that you’re alright?”
She slowly stood. With her red, tearstained face, I thought he might end up calling the police after all.
Moving to the kitchen so that the cabbie could speak to her in private, I hoped he’d see she wasn’t being coerced and would feel comfortable enough to leave.
Spotting my iPad in a chair, I picked it up and took it with me. Setting it on the granite island, I powered it on, tapping my email app. I had a whole laundry list of shit I needed to do to get Madalyn out of this mess.
I could hear Madalyn speaking but didn’t hear her words. She gave a soft laugh and I glanced up in time to see her close the door and lift her hand to remove the chain.
Grrrr.
The hair on the back of my neck bristled, and I knew.
“Madalyn, no!”
But it was too late. As soon as the chain was off, the door burst open, knocking Madalyn backward. She fell, then began crab walking across the floor as the cabbie — no, not the real cabbie — came in, pulling a pistol from the back of his pants.
The dog began to bark furiously, the sharp yaps echoing through the room. And to my added horror, a little voice came from the hallway. “Daddy?”
The nightmare I’d been too cocky, too self-assured to plan for, was happening right in front of me.
“Go to your brother’s room,” I instructed my daughter, heading her way. Thrusting the iPad in her hands, I grabbed her shoulders and turned her in the other direction. “Block the door and call the police.” I gave her a little push. “Go!”
She ran, which was a relief. I thought she’d argue or cry. Freeze. I heard the bedroom door slam shut, even over the ceaseless sound of the dog. I looked for a weapon. A lamp? A chair? I was woefully unprepared for this.
The cabbie went to follow my little girl, but I stepped in front of him. Even when the gun was only inches from my nose, I didn’t move.
Over his shoulder, I saw Madalyn scramble to her feet just as another figure appeared in the doorway.
I remembered him from the news.
Madalyn froze, and the man’s identity was confirmed. He said he would find her, and he had, but I’d be damned if I’d let him take her. When I stepped in her direction, the gun lowered from my face, the cold metal jabbing against my chest.
“I wouldn’t move if I were you, Mr. Armstrong,” the cabbie said, his New York accent gone. “It’s not in your self-interest.”
“Hello, Princess Madeleina,” Prince Vitalievich said, his accent thick around the words as he closed the door behind him. “You’ve disappointed me greatly.”
Tears streamed down her face as she looked at me and mouthed, I’m so sorry.
I held her gaze, tried to show her just how sorry I was too. I’d failed her. Failed us. My entire world was unraveling in front of me, and here I was in my damn boxers with no idea of how to stop it. Even the dog had stopped barking, as if she had realized how futile her efforts were.
Don’t give up.
Think.
I ground my teeth when the bastard moved closer to Madalyn, and I watched her stiffen, straighten at his approach. I stepped forward an inch, and the now warm metal pressed harder into the space just in front of my heart.
“Your new style isn’t so flattering as before, no?” the prince said to her, lifting a lock of her deep chestnut hair to his nose, inhaling deeply. “But this can be changed.”
She jerked away from him, and with extraordinary courage, she faced the man, putting her back to me. She had stopped crying after the initial shock of his arrival, and her voice was strong as she said, “I don’t think so. I believe I prefer it this way.”
Good for her.
The bastard laughed. “Still my brazen one. That’s so exciting.” His face went cold, going from light to dark in an instant. “I will enjoy your punishments. I will enjoy watching you beg for my forgiveness.” He lifted her chin, pinched it between his fingers as she attempted to pull away. His eyes grew even colder. “Now that you’re no longer my little innocent, maybe I will open up the bedroom doors and have you beg forgiveness to every man who wants to use you for his pleasure.”
Madalyn gasped and tried to jerk away from him again. She cried out when his hands went around her throat. He didn’t squeeze but lifted, not stopping until she was on her toes. The metal against my chest dug in harder.
The front door opened, surprising the man holding the gun on me. His head jerked around, and from my shock of seeing my ex-wife step into the house, looking decidedly smug, I almost didn’t take advantage of the gunman’s distraction.
Then I did, bringing my arm up and out. The gun fired, but not into me. It fired again as the cabbie tried to wrest away. He was as big as me, but when I punched him in the face with all of my strength, he crumbled to the floor.
The dog ran past me, flying toward the sunroom and her babies, all her courage gone with the sound of the blast.
Going down to one knee, I jerked the hot weapon from his hand and turned to sight it on the prince… and froze. He had a gun too, and it rested at Madalyn’s temple.
It was Danielle who broke the silence. “I knew it was her.” She laughed, clearly pleased with herself. On the bright side, I thought bitterly, I wouldn’t have to fund her lifestyle any longer. The one hundred million she’d receive for her betrayal would surely last her for a while.
I didn’t take my eyes from the prince. He didn’t take his eyes off me.
The man at my feet stirred. If I’d had on shoes, I would have kicked him in the head, but with bare feet, I’d probably just break a toe, giving me limited mobility when I needed it the most.
I stepped back and away from him, letting distance be my friend. “Let her go,” I said. “Walk away. It doesn’t have to end this way.”
The bastard laughed. “It ends how I choose, when I say.”
I lifted a brow, keeping the sights of the gun on his forehead. “Does it have to end in murder?”
He scoffed. “Diplomatic immunity is a beautiful thing. As I said, it ends how I choose. I always get my way. And I always keep what is mine.”
I expected to see terror in Madalyn’s eyes when I looked at her. Instead, only resignation lived in her expression.
Don’t give up, baby, I willed her. Don’t give up.
In the distance, a siren wailed. The kids had managed to call the police. Relief nearly weakened my legs, but I held the gun steady.
The prince heard it too, and his jaw tightened. “Seems it is time for us to go.” He tightened his hold on Madalyn, but instead of taking her to the front door as I expected, he moved, her body stationed like a shield between us, to the back. To the beach. The ocean. I glanced out of the window at the brightening day. To the boat moored just off the shoreline.
Shit.
Behind me, there was a soft click, and I immediately knew what it was. A door. The kids. No, I wanted to scream at them. But I didn’t dare draw attention to them. Instead, as the prince moved Madalyn toward the patio doors, I moved to stand in the hallway opening.
“Hey, what about me?” Danielle yelled, her arms wide. “I want my money. You’re not leaving until—”
Bam!
I jerked in surprise as my ex-wife collapsed straight down to the floor with a solid thud, but before I could take advantage of the prince’s distraction, the gun was back to Madalyn’s temple. This time, horror lived on Madalyn’s face, in her eyes.
“Open the door,” he told her, and I shook my head. When he pressed the gun tighter against her, I nodded, and her hand lowered, and she grasped blindly at the handle.
Another soft click came from down the hallway.
Damn, there was so much to worry about.
My children.
Their mother bleeding on the floor.
And Madalyn, the woman I loved, disappearing through the door.
No.
Coming around the island, I stalked after them, the gun still aimed at the prince’s head as he backed away from me. The sirens grew louder, but they weren’t close enough. The police wouldn’t get here in time to save her, I knew.
Behind them and to my right, two small figures appeared from behind the large potted plants on the patio. My heart seized, but I couldn’t look directly at them. I couldn’t draw the man’s attention to them even though my mind screamed for them to run away.
Then, oh Lord, I realized what they were doing. It was so stupid. So brilliant. So dangerous. So brave.
Kylian threw first. He’d picked up stones from the pyramid he’d created, loading up both hands. With a throw that would rival any of the Beasts, the rock landed solidly on the back of the prince’s head.
He rocked forward, and the gun slipped down. Madalyn didn’t hesitate. She ducked straight down, falling away as more rocks pounded into the prince. When he turned, bringing the gun around on my children, I fired.
The prince would never hurt anyone again.
To be certain, I kicked the gun far away from his limp hand, but I didn’t bother feeling for a pulse. I needed to get the children away from this scene. Reaching down, I pulled Madalyn to her feet. She was shaking. Hell, so was I.
“Take the kids around the front and wait for the police. Not inside. Understand? Tell them we need an ambulance right away.”
Breathing heavily, she nodded and scooped Kenzie up. Kylian just looked at me. He was afraid, yes. But he didn’t look terrorized. The rock he was still holding fell from his fingers.
“You did good, Kyl,” I told him. “You saved us.”
He nodded, a tiny movement of his head. “I had to do something this time.”
I knew the “time” to which he was referring.
Madalyn kissed his cheek, wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “You were so brave. Thank you. Let’s go and meet the police.”
But my son just shook his head. “I’ll stay here with Dad.”
Madalyn looked at me, and I nodded. Within seconds, she disappeared down the steps, Kenzie in her arms.
We were going to be okay.
I might have to pay for therapy for all of us for forever, but we were going to be okay.
We would be d’accord.
The thought made me smile.
Then I thought of Danielle, and the smile faded.
I went to my son, turned him away from the dead man, and sank to my knees in front of him. “Kyl… your mom.” I didn’t know what to say next because I didn’t know if Danielle had survived the blow to her chest.
He looked confused, which was a relief because that meant he hadn’t seen his mother get shot. “What about Mom?”
“She’s here. She brought the bad men here. They wanted Maddie and she helped them.”
Instead of looking shocked, he looked mad.
“She got hurt,” I went on, unsure of how much to admit. For me, the truth was always best, but he was only seven. And seriously, how much could one kid take? “I don’t know how badly she’s injured, but hopefully an ambulance will come and take her to the hospital. Hopefully they can make her better.”
A tear slid down his cheek. A sad tear? An angry tear? A disappointed tear? I wasn’t sure. But it was just that one.
In front of the house, car doors slammed. A moment later, I saw the front door open, and a cop rushed in, gun drawn. Another came around the side, his gun drawn too. Very slowly, I lifted my hands in the air, the gun I’d forgotten I was still holding dangling from my finger. Beside me, Kylian raised his hands too.
“Put down the weapon.”
Inch by slow inch, I did what I was told.
Then, the house became a whirl of activity as an ambulance arrived as well as more police, including detectives.
Danielle would live, I was told, and the humane side of me was glad. The sick side of me wasn’t. It would have simply been easier if she hadn’t, but life wasn’t meant to be easy. I’d deal with her later.
Right then, I had more important things to do.
After dealing with the detectives’ questions, I was told that the house was a crime scene and that we wouldn’t be able to enter. I looked down at my boxers. “Can I at least get some clothes?”
The detective looked me straight in the eye. “No, but I can have someone get them for you. Tell Officer Patton what you need.”
We were a quiet bunch as I drove us back to the city. As Joyce had promised, the Porsche had been sitting in the driveway this morning.
“I can’t believe that I have no clothes or possessions again,” Madalyn sighed, leaning her head back on the headrest. Although the kids and I had been given clothes from our rooms, everything else was left as part of the crime scene. For Madalyn, they had let her take nothing other than what she was currently wearing. No money, no purse, no identification. Nothing.
With all the trouble she was in, I was glad she was focusing on that.
It wasn’t a crime to fake your death, I learned from the detective. But in committing pseudocide, other crimes were almost always committed in the process. Like illegal entrance into another country. Like acquiring a false identity. Those were illegal, and Madalyn was guilty of both.
It was a miracle they even let her leave with me. But after a long call with the American Embassy, she was quietly granted diplomatic immunity because of her royal ties. And also because her circumstances were so extreme. No one was able to dispute the danger she would have been in had she stayed in her country and married that bastard.
Legally, she should be okay. I already had attorneys working on it. But whether she would be able to stay in America was another question.
I reached over and took her hand in mine. Dad and I had always talked about a French division of Armstrong International. That day might come sooner rather than later.
We would find a way.
It was late evening when I pulled up in front of The Dakota and groaned at the flock of vultures loitering in front of the gate.
“I’ll drive around and see if the other entrances are better,” I said, but Madalyn shook her head.
“No. This is fine. I have something I need to do.”
Finding a place to park was as maddening as ever, but once we were all out of the car, I took her hand. “Are you sure?”
She met my eyes. “Yes. But you might want to take the children in first. I—”
“No,” Kylian said simply. “I’m staying with her. I’m not afraid anymore.” He gave me a sheepish look. “Well, mostly.”
I rumpled his hair. “Mostly is good.”
“I’m staying too,” Kenzie said, reaching up to be held.
Madalyn swung her up, and I wrapped my arms around them all. “So, we’ll do this as a family then.”
Madalyn swallowed hard, nodding, unable to speak.
And when Kylian pulled the small kennel filled with dog and puppies from the backseat, our family was complete.
The reporters and paparazzi were on us the second we came around the corner. They shouted questions, then all grew quiet when Madalyn raised her hand.
“I have something to say,” she said, looking into one of the cameras. “I am Madeleina Birgitta and I faked my death two weeks ago…”
I watched her, completely and totally in awe as she explained why she’d done something so drastic.
“To the people of Aldcliff, I offer my most humble apologies and ask for your forgiveness at my deception. When I fell off that boat, I knew what I was doing would hurt others, and that knowledge brought me great pain. But I wanted to live…” For the first time since she began speaking, tears filled her eyes. “And to live, I had no choice but to die.”
There was more. The details that she gave freely, only leaving out the names of those who had assisted her on her plight. Patiently, she answered questions and then so did I as the questions were directed at me.
I saw a softening of the reporters’ faces as I spoke of how Madalyn and I had saved each other on the day we met. I reminded them of the tremendous sacrifice she made by going after Kenzie.
“So, the person who stole your duffle bag got away with nearly a million dollars?” one reporter asked in awe.
Madalyn nodded. “Yes, but they can keep it.”
A male reporter asked, “Why?”
“Because if that person hadn’t stolen my bag, I wouldn’t have found the real treasure. My new family.”
Everyone collectively sighed.
When Madalyn looked like she was going to drop, I cut the interview to an end. Picking up the crate of dogs, I hustled her and the kids through the crowd. Now that I had a princess on board, I really did need to hire those bodyguards, and quick.
Once safely inside The Dakota gates, I found another familiar face waiting for us. And as before, she was loaded down with bags and boxes filled with new clothing for Madalyn.
The two women hugged. “So, can I add ‘styled a princess’ to my resume?” Lydia asked.
Madalyn gave her the most regal looking nod I’d ever seen. “But of course.”
“Me too, me too,” Kenzie cried. “I’m going to be a princess too when Daddy and Maddie get married.”
I groaned, and Lydia’s eyebrows shot straight up to her hairline. “A wedding? How fun.”
Madalyn held up a hand. “No. I mean…” she looked at me, “Kenzie is just jumping the fence…”
I thought about correcting her, but after the day we’d had, I never wanted to say the word “gun” again.
“I’m not jumping the fence, either,” Kenzie returned and rolled her eyes. “When will you people learn? I’ve been telling Kylian that you’re getting married for forever now. You all need to catch up.” She rolled her eyes again. “D’accord?”