Page 49

Mindy

“So, you remember our cover story?” Why am I so nervous? Maddox looks amazing. Fabulously sexy and rich, which is everything that’s important to Mom.

“Yes.” He nods.

“Good. Maybe we should go over it again?” Why am I so nervous? It’s not like I haven’t done this several times already. It’s easy; smile, wear a few dresses, tell Mom she looks amazing and that they’ll last forever, and avoid catching the bouquet.

“Mindy, relax. This is supposed to be a happy event.”

“Mom’s weddings are never happy. They’re something you make it through.” Those are the times I wish I could get drunk. “Do you drink at weddings?”

“According to our cover story, I do.” He winks.

“But really?”

“I’ll have a beer or two, but no, I never get drunk, at a wedding or not.”

Really? “Why?”

“Because my father was a drunk. He’d choose a bottle over me or my grandmother any day of the week. He only worked enough to ensure he had a roof over his head and a bottle to fall asleep with. So, no. I don’t ever get drunk.”

Oh. Oh. “Maybe we—”

“—should tell the truth?”

“She won’t believe us.”

“So what? It’s the truth. She won’t be able to catch us in a lie if we tell the truth.”

The only problem is you don’t love me. When do I say you fell in love with me? Do I tell her the truth that I gradually fell in love with you, but I don’t trust that it will last, let alone actually believe you could ever love me?

“Do you ever go against your mother?”

I cringe. “No. Life is just easier if you do what she wants.”

“But what about what you want?”

“What I want?” Those words don’t feel right.

“Yeah, what do you want? If you could do anything, be anywhere, learn anything, what would you choose?”

An image of the apartment I’ve been staying in with a chessboard set up and a cozy fire pops into my head. Maddox is on the other side of the fire with a smile on his face.

The perfection of that image strikes me. “I don’t know.”

“You’re lying again.”

“How do you know that?” Even my mother doesn’t know when I lie anymore.

“Your smile. It’s just slightly different.”

“And you can tell them apart?” Do I really want the answer to that?

“Yeah. I can.”

My heart leaps. Change the topic before you say something stupid. “What do you want to do?”

He glances over at me quickly. “Exactly what I’m doing.”

It feels like he means doing this with me, but that’s just wishful thinking. “I think that’s what I love about my 911 job. I get to help people. Your job is the same. Only you get to help them in a different way. I can see why you love it.”

“Mindy.” Maddox’s tone changes.

“Yeah?” What’s wrong?

“Who did you say your mother’s fiancé was?”

“Percival.” Why is he asking now?

“Look ahead.”

There’s nothing to see. We’ve been driving down a desolate tree-lined road for twenty — “What is that?”

“That’s a private gate.”

“But it’s huge. Are those men holding guns?” Did we make a wrong turn and end up on a border?

“Yes, they are. What’s Percival’s last name?”

Men with guns… “Percival Linckester.”

“Linckester.” He whistles. “You weren’t wrong about your mother’s taste in men.”

“You know him?”

“Not well.”

“Is there anything I should be worried about?” Not that Mom would listen now that she has her talons in a man rich enough to have guards like this.

“I think your mother knows what she’s getting into.” Maddox stops the car at the guard shack by the gate.

There’s another one just inside the gate. All of them are carrying very large guns.

“Name and identification.”

“Um, we’re here for my mother’s wedding.” I lean over Maddox so the man can see me.

“Name and identification.”

He seems friendly. I take my license out and hand it to the man, and Maddox does the same.

“Are there any weapons in the vehicle?”

“Yes,” Maddox answers simply.

The guard freezes and lifts his weapon. “What do you have?”

“Weapons.”

I’m tempted to smile at Maddox’s non-answer, but gun guy is kinda scary.

“Names and quantities.”

“I have weapons, and that’s all you need to know. Either let us in or we’ll turn around and go home.”

The guard looks like he wants to fight, but instead, he walks into the guard shack and makes a phone call.

Maddox rolls up the window.

“Weren’t you scared of the men?” If Mom heard me utter those words to a man, she’d slap me silly. You never question a man’s bravery.

“Nah. Guards rarely shoot. They generally try to apprehend. The guns are just for show. The people that should scare you are in that shack.” He nods to the other guard house. “They’re the ones that do the damage.”

“You know that’s not helping.”

“We’re fine. We were invited.”

The guard walks out to our car again. “Mr. Linckester welcomes you to his home. Follow the road to the main house.”

Main house? How many houses are on this property?

The guard backs up as the gate opens.

“See, told you nothing to worry about.” Maddox reaches out and pats my leg.

Guns don’t seem like nothing. But I smile at him, anyway.

This road is just as empty, but the trees seem to be perfectly spaced and landscaped. They don’t naturally occur that way.

It takes a good fifteen minutes of driving to reach the house. “That can’t be a house.” It’s got to be a university or government building…maybe even a palace.

“But it is. The Linckesters like their space, it seems.”

Who needs this much of either?

Maddox drives around the massive loop that leads to the porte cochere.

Mom and Percival step out of a two-story-high steel door. Not at all imposing.

“Ready to put on a show?” I feel anything but.

“I’m ready to meet your mother.” He leaves the key in the ignition and hops out to open my door.

“Mindy, sweetheart, we’re so happy to see you.” My mother only has eyes for Maddox. “And this must be your boyfriend. It’s so wonderful to finally meet you.” She reaches a hand out to him.

“Maddox Locke, ma’am, and the pleasure is all mine. Mindy has told me so much about you. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding.”

“Thank you.” She assesses the cut of his clothing and his watch. “This is my fiancé, Percival Linckester.”

“We’ve met, my dear.” Percival shakes Maddox’s hand.

“You have?” Her eyes widen.

I can just see her counting the money in Maddox’s bank account.

“Yes, we’ve done business together several times.”

Why can’t I see Maddox working with this man? Percival gives me the creeps.

“We have so much to do. Why don’t you come with me, Mindy, and we’ll get your dress fitted. Maddox can spend some time with the boys. I think they’re shooting some guns.”

Percival stares at Maddox. “Yes, we are. It should be right up your alley.”

What did I get us into?