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I turned toward him, crossing my arms. “You’re an insufferable bastard, Mike. When was the last time you really talked to him, and I don’t mean grilling him on his career choices after swilling down about seventeen beers.”
Huffing, he glanced down the length of me then took a deep breath. “You smell like him. That disgusts me. He’s a killer, Maddy. The sooner you realize that, the better.”
The lights flickered and I sucked in as much anger as I could, fighting the urge to knock his block off. “How. Dare. You. He’s your friend. He’s the one who got you a job after you walked out on two of them. Remember?”
He seemed shocked that I did, his mouth twisting.
“He’s the one who loaned you money for our parents’ funeral because Dad gambled it away. Remember?” Sadness welled into my system, the memories not ones I’d ever wanted to think of again.
“Did you ever stop to think how he got that money?”
“You sanctimonious son of a bitch. That man you call a killer just saved your life. You’d be dead if it weren’t for him.”
When he said nothing, I rubbed my eyes.
As another flash of lightning occurred outside, the lights inside flickered a second time. “You’re never going to change. I love you, Mike, but I don’t want you in my life. I’m sorry. Not for a while. But you will hear me. I love Danny with all my heart. Somewhere inside, you already knew that. And my guess is that you also know he’s a good guy.”
“Not good enough for you. You will not see him again.”
I backed away, laughing bitterly. “Thank you for caring about me so much, but don’t make me choose. If you do, you won’t be happy.” Without thinking, I threw open the back door, bolting down the deck stairs. I needed air or I’d suffocate or say something I’d regret for the rest of my life.
I knew Mike wouldn’t follow.
He hated storms.
And apparently, he hated the man I’d fallen hopelessly in love with.
CHAPTER22
Viper
Lights out.
Goddamn it. Madisen was no longer upstairs.
“What the hell?” I heard Gio bellow.
“The generator will kick in within three minutes,” I answered as I jogged toward the kitchen, noticing Mike standing by the back door. If he sensed my presence, then he wasn’t interested in talking with me. I flew into the garage, easily finding the flashlights and heading toward the side door leading to the generator.
“Is the generator up?” I asked over the howling wind. The rain was picking up in intensity, several lightning bolts flashing across the sky. I couldn’t remember the last time LA had gotten a storm of this severity.
“Yeah,” Stephen answered, although I could tell by the tone of his voice that he had something he needed to say to me.
I heard a whirring sound and noticed the light had come back on in the garage. He followed behind me, both of us shaking off water.
“I think someone tried to tamper with it,” he said, keeping his voice low.
“How can you tell?”
“Scratches. Whoever it was had no clue what they were doing. The cool thing about the system you bought is that it’s almost completely tamperproof. If I hadn’t seen one of these before I’m not certain I’d have known where the panel was.”
“Any idea how long ago?”
“Not in this weather.”
My thoughts drifted to what Max had gone through in New York. Another coincidence that left a bad taste in my mouth. “Go get dried off.”
“I’ll arm the security.”
