Taken by Storm (Give & Take) - By Kelli Maine Page 0,66
down her cheeks.
After her father recovered—and she wouldn’t think of any other option—she and her dad could hop on a plane bound for somewhere far, far away and never return. Running away seemed like a very viable option. If only the damn storm would stop.
A sprinkle of water from the window in her room hit her bare legs. She turned to see she’d left it open a few inches. She climbed onto the window seat on her knees and gazed out. The air was charged with electricity. The solar garden lights on the side of the hotel shone in the dark, glittering like Christmas. Two figures moved in the shadows of the lights. A man and a woman holding umbrellas.
Who the hell was outside the hotel in this mess?
She leaned her forehead against the windowpane and squinted, trying to see better. It was Roger and Heidi.
No. That wasn’t Heidi, it was the woman Maddie had seen in the woods. The woman who told her to leave the island.
Roger passed her an envelope. “I couldn’t get what you wanted. This will have to do.” Lightning flashed out over the water. They both turned to watch it crackle and disappear before facing each other.
“Anything less won’t do,” the woman said. Maddie could barely hear her from all the way up on the second floor with the wind blowing and the rain hitting the window. “I was promised the title to the property and I want it back.”
Roger held up his hands. “He couldn’t get it. Don’t shoot the messenger.”
Maddie’s door swung open. “You’re not marrying him,” MJ said, striding toward her. “And you owe me an explanation.” His brows sat low over his eyes, a dark, haunted expression lingered on his face.
This day had drained her. She had nothing left inside her to give. “I’m not doing this, MJ. Please leave.” She pointed to the open door.
“I’m not leaving.” He sat down next to her and leaned against the windowsill, staring at her expectantly.
“Then I will.”
She stood and he grabbed her arm. Both of them froze at the sound of the woman outside yelling. “This isn’t what we agreed to. I’m not keeping my end of the bargain if he’s not.”
MJ jerked his head around to look outside. “That’s her,” he said. “That’s the woman I saw in the woods.” He glanced back at Maddie. “She told me not to trust you.”
Maddie swallowed past the knot in her throat and knelt beside MJ. “Why would she say something like that?”
MJ traced his finger down the glass. “I don’t know Maddie. You didn’t tell me about the Old Man threatening you, so maybe she’s right.”
Maddie fisted her hands, and outside, Roger laughed. “What are you going to do about it?” he called after the woman.
She chuckled. “Reveal his secret. What else?”
Unease spread through Maddie’s stomach. The secret. Could she mean the same one Maddie had been hiding for a year and a half?
Roger took his glasses off and let his head fall back, looking up at the dark sky like he wished it would suck him up and take him away. He turned and faced the hotel, and Maddie swore he saw her and MJ watching out her window.
She darted back out of the window seat. “Did he see us?”
When MJ faced her, she flinched. She’d never seen him so angry. “I don’t know what he’s hiding, but I’m in no mood to put up with his bullshit.”
He stood and stalked out of her room.
Lightning flashed, followed by a deafening crack, striking somewhere on the island. Tonight she was on the edge of losing everything, all because of one man and his secret. If it came out, Maddie wasn’t sure what would be left for her in the light of day.
She followed him downstairs. Her feet hit the entryway as MJ disappeared down the hallway toward the lounge. Someone had set up a candelabra in the corner by the archway into the kitchen. Five flames flickered, sending shadows across the murals on the walls, transforming redbirds into winged demons.
Maybe she was the one who had never grown up and was afraid of ghosts.
She made her way across the tiled floor feeling the air thrum around her, alive with the raging storm.
More candles blazed on the fireplace mantel and hearth in the lounge. The large, wooden sliding door to the patio was open, the air rushing in made the flames sway and dance. Beck, Joan, Heidi, Merrick and Rachael glanced at her when she