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She scoffed. “Since our honeymoon.”
He swiped an agitated hand down his face. “Tell me more about Todd. What prompted him to kill his cousin? That’s why he threatened you, right? You know too much?”
“Yes. And he resents me.” When Matt dragged in a rough breath loaded with anger, Madison nearly fell apart. “Look, you can tell me I was stupid and gullible and made an incredibly reckless decision when I agreed to marry Todd. Go ahead. You won’t be the first. Haisley has let me have it more than once. Gracelyn and Charli, too.”
He scowled. “You didn’t tell them you’re in town, I hope.”
“I would never…” She shook her head, fighting more tears. Her gal-pals would be a huge comfort, but she didn’t dare. “I can’t risk them.”
“Good. Let’s go back to the murder. When Todd killed his cousin, did you see or hear anything that stands out?”
“You can watch the video yourself.” She handed him the USB drive.
He tucked it in his fist. “I will, but I want to hear from you.”
“Besides screaming and the sounds of someone gasping their last breath?” She drew the blanket tighter around her. “Todd and Brent were arguing. I don’t know why. Like I said, Todd had a whole life I knew nothing about. He warned Brent not to fuck with him. Since I’d never heard them argue, I was shocked. I mean, they’ve shared cocaine and strippers for years. They even shared a mistress for a while.”
“Any chance that’s what they were fighting about?”
“No. She’s been gone for a few months. She was a model, and she moved back home to Brazil. Most recently, Brent was sleeping with his lawyer’s trophy wife. Todd moved on to fucking one of the barely legal interns on Winston’s summer campaign staff. He likes them young.”
Disgust twisted Matt’s face. “Anything else?”
“I actually didn’t see all of it, but I overheard Brent warning Todd not to threaten him. After that, Todd told Brent he was ‘fucking up a good thing’—whatever that means—and vowed to stop him. But Brent said people would ‘find out’ and that it was ‘a matter of time.’ That’s when Todd got really angry. He accused Brent of trying to ‘pin everything’ on him. Brent said, ‘it’s the swamp’ and that if he had to ‘drown a rat to get ahead,’ he would.” She shrugged. “From the second I escaped DC, I’ve been asking myself what they argued about. What would make Brent turn on my husband? What would make Todd kill his best friend? Honestly, I don’t know.”
“Something shady.”
“Knowing those two? Yes.”
“If you knew what, you would have even better leverage.”
“I wish I did, but Todd and I lived under one roof strictly for appearances. We haven’t been together in any capacity in well over a year. As long as I stayed quiet and didn’t ask questions, he left me to my own devices.”
Matt’s fists clenched. “Do you have access to any of Todd’s electronics? Computer? Phone? Cloud storage?”
“No. He’s very secretive. He rarely used his computer. His phone is always with him. I’m half-convinced he keeps a safe somewhere, but it’s not at our place. I doubt it’s at his grandfather’s estate, either.”
“It wouldn’t be.”
“It’s probably at his party pad, but I wasn’t there long enough to investigate. And I don’t know anything else.”
“We’ll come back to this in the morning. Go to sleep. You sound exhausted.”
Madison was—and not just by the day but by her very life. She was running just to survive, and there was no place safe for her in this country, maybe even the world. So where did she go next? She was well beyond hoping for a happy ending. She would settle for peace. But after what she’d witnessed, there was no way Todd would let her have that. Winston would probably want her offed, too, just to tie up loose ends.
She risked another glance at Matt. “I need to be realistic. The Pershings won’t rest until I’m dead. I don’t know how to fight their money and influence. By coming here, am I just putting off the inevitable?”
Her tearful question sent Matt vaulting out of the recliner and straight to her side. He sat beside her, then lifted her onto his lap, fisting her wet hair until they were nearly nose-to-nose. “No, you’re fucking not. Don’t ever think that again. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Madison ached. Of course he wanted to save her; that’s who Matt was. A defender. A protector. If she’d ever fooled herself into believing she’d stopped caring about him, tonight had proven her wrong. “I shouldn’t have come here. It’s not your fight.”
“The fuck it’s not.”
“Matt, that weekend was three years ago, and as soon as we got out of bed, it all fell apart.”
“We’ll hash that out and assign blame another time. I’m not letting this go. Iwillmake keeping you safe and getting to the bottom of whatever dirty business Todd is into a priority. Finding that out is how we shut him down.”
“No, that’s how we get you killed—or worse.”
