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Maddix glanced up from the drinks. "Is that a problem?"
"Only if you weren't here when Mikayla was attacked," Nik stated coldly.
"Then we don't have a problem." Maddix shrugged. "Would you like a drink?"
"No, thanks. We're fine."
Maddix fixed his own as Mikayla watched him. Surely there would be some hint of nervousness, something other than confusion, as he fixed his drink, glancing at them with a frown.
"Nik, why are you and Ms. Martin here?" he finally asked as he moved to the butter-soft leather sofa in front of a cold fireplace and took a seat. "I'm going to assume it has something to do with the shooting."
Mikayla stayed close to Nik as he shifted and glanced to the open doorway.
"I saw you there, Maddix."
Maddix stared at them as though he couldn't process Nik's words. "Excuse me?"
"I saw you." Nik moved, sliding his hand to his side to release the weapon holstered there.
"I'd leave that gun there if I were you, Steele."
Mikayla swung around, her heart in her throat; the only thing overriding her fear was her anger as she saw Luke Nelson standing just inside the doorway, gun in hand and pointing to them.
"What the fuck is going on here?" Maddix moved slowly to his feet as Mikayla glanced at him, his gaze widening, shock and bemusement marking his face. The same bemusement she was beginning to feel herself.
Maddix acted innocent. Luke was d
efinitely guilty of something, but he looked nothing like his father, physically; there was no way she or Nik could have mistaken him for Maddix if he had been the one at the house.
"Luke, put that damned gun away," Maddix ordered harshly. "What the hell is 215
going on with you?"
Luke's smile could have rivaled Nik's for icy disdain.
"You're inherently stupid," Luke drawled. "I realized that before Mother ever divorced you. You'd think you'd be smarter with all the success you've had with the business Grandfather gave you when he retired."
Maddix's eyes narrowed. "What have you done, Luke?"
"Let's say I made my choice and picked the winning team." Stepping back, he glanced to the hall, and a second later Mikayla well understood how Maddix Nelson could be in two places at once.
The man who stepped into the door was his exact likeness. He was even dressed in the same clothes Maddix was wearing.
"Good evening, Ms. Martin," he greeted her, his voice an exact match to Maddix's as well. "It seems my marksmanship isn't all it should be. Though if it were, where would my witnesses be?" He chuckled, a low, evil sound that sent a chill racing up her spine. It was almost impossible to believe. Maddix Nelson had no brothers. How many times had she heard that Maddix Nelson was his father's sole heir when he had taken over the business? As though being an only child were a handicap.
If the look on Maddix's face was anything to go by, then the belief was mutual.
"Luke?" Maddix spoke to his son, but the disbelief and confusion in his voice were heavy.
Luke laughed. It was a mocking sound, heavy with cruelty.
"Maddix Nelson, meet your twin brother, Floyd Cantwell. Did you know your grandfather was the one who made the decision to split the two of you up at birth?" Luke's smile was hard, brutal. "To raise Floyd with the knowledge that he was the lesser son, the one he threw away? I understand how he feels."
Maddix pulled his gaze from the brother to the son. Mikayla could see the disbelief in Maddix's gaze, the agony, and the fear.
"I never threw you away," he whispered as though in shock.
"You threw me away for your first child, that fucking company you prize so highly," Luke snarled. "But I've decided you're not the best father and now I'm choosing the father I want. And I chose the new Maddix Nelson."
