envelope containing Trina’s letters back into the desk drawer and, of course, making sure it was locked this time.
We walked down the hall, through the foyer, out to the driveway, all in silence. At my car Adam stopped me. “Madeleine, I have business over on the mainland tomorrow, but I’ll stop by the cottage in the morning.” I looked at him quizzically. “We have one more matter to discuss,” he clarified.
There was no need to ask what he meant. He knew I’d seen more than Trina’s letters in that drawer. He knew I’d read the SEC stuff.
I drew a deep breath. “Adam—”
“Not now, Maddy.” Fingers on my lips, silencing me. “It’s late. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
I didn’t argue. I got in the car and drove back to the cottage. Let myself in, dragged myself upstairs, peeled off my clothes, fell into bed.
Had Adam traded on insider information? If so, had Chelsea blackmailed him with her knowledge of it? How much would Adam tell me? And where did we stand after tonight? Would he forgive my snooping?
I didn’t know, but I’d surely find out tomorrow morning.
Chapter 16
Unfortunately sleep didn’t lessen the guilt I felt for going through Adam’s private things. He’d been more irate than I’d ever seen him. Well, maybe he’d been angrier at J.T. that night at the café. But Adam had never been that angry with me. The only bright spot I could find was that whatever feelings he had for me, Adam’s actions demonstrated that they were, without a doubt, full of passion.
That brought up the question of just what did Adam feel for me? Could he be falling in love with me? Like I was with him. Or was this something entirely different for him? This last possibility was the one that worried me.
But after what had happened last night, maybe it didn’t even matter. Sure, Adam had said I could stay on the island, but that didn’t mean he still wanted to see me.
I thought about the folder containing the stock trade information and the old, yellowed newspaper clipping outlining the SEC investigation of Adam. Had he truly forgotten to lock that drawer? Or had he wanted to share his secrets with me, and that was the only way he knew how? We’d gone back and forth on the trust issue. Had he been testing me? Had I failed miserably, or had I actually, in some crazy way, passed? After all, he hadn’t kicked me off his island. No, it appeared Adam wanted me to know, wanted to keep me close. The phrase “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer” came to mind. The only thing was that I was not the enemy. And I hope Adam knew that.
The doorbell sounded, and I raced to answer it. It was a little after seven, but I’d been up for two hours, waiting for Adam to arrive.
And now he was here, all dressed for business in black tailored pants, a crisp white dress shirt, dark tie, and black shoes. “You look nice,” I said lamely as I stepped aside so he could come in.
Adam’s eyes traveled over the charcoal-gray leggings, black tunic-style sweater, and Chucks I’d thrown on after showering. “And you look…comfortable,” he replied. A smile played at the corners of his mouth, and I started to believe we might just be able to work this out. Maybe he’d forgive me after all.
We walked into the living room, but neither of us sat. Adam spoke first, “There’s no point in pretending, Maddy. We both know what you found in that drawer.”
I dared to meet his gaze, expecting fury, but instead he just looked tired. He sighed. “No more games, OK? There’s one thing you have yet to ask. So just get it over with, ask me.”
“Are you serious?” My voice was incredulous. I hadn’t expected this.
Adam’s eyes, dark as cobalt today, met mine. “Deadly,” he replied coolly.
“OK.” I drew in a deep, calming breath. “Did you trade on insider information?”
“Yes, I did.”
My heart skipped a beat. Good Lord, what other illegal things had Adam done? He does have that gun.
I shook away those thoughts and spoke quickly, “And Chelsea somehow found out about it? That was what she was using to blackmail you, right?”
He nodded. “Yes, that was it.”
“But I don’t understand,” I said. “Why would you ever trust someone like her with something so important?”
“I didn’t tell her, Madeleine,” Adam replied, irritation creeping into his voice. “Chelsea was the one who gave me the insider