Bad Boy’s Revenge(13)
“Son of a bitch.” I nearly kicked the kitchen table. Figured that’d scare her more. I settled for slamming a palm against the wall. She jumped.
And a cascade of papers fell from her table.
The way she flinched, I’d have thought they were images of her as a centerfold. I batted her hand away, bending down to grab the oversize sheets of paper, an arm span wide.
“Maddox—”
“What are these?” I knew electrical plans, but these were general building construction blueprints. “Are these…for a rebuild?”
“It’s a long story…”
No, it wasn’t. It was a very short story, and I got it as soon as I saw the dates stamped on the fucking plans.
“These were created before the fire,” I said.
“I know, it’s—”
“Nolan Rhys.” I spat the name on the corner of the documents. “He had an engineer draw up plans for your store a week before the fire?”
Josie stilled. She tried to avoid my gaze. “The night of the fire he offered to buy the property from me. I don’t remember much after the dinner.”
“Why?”
“It was…I don’t know. Fuzzy. I must have hit my head in the shop.”
“What do you remember?”
“Maddox—”
My voice hardened. “What do you remember?”
She sighed, shrugging her shoulders. “Nolan wanted to take me to dinner to offer on the property. We ate, I told him unequivocally no, he ordered a drink just to show we had no bad feelings, and then…I got the call. I think. I know I went to the shop, and I know you pulled me out, but I can’t remember anything clearly after the drink or before the hospital.”
That fucking bastard.
It wasn’t the fire that stole her memory—it was Nolan and whatever the hell he put in her wine.
She had no idea, and no one at the hospital thought to check…
Fuck!
Had it not been for the fire, Josie would have spent the night passed out on his mattress.
And then I would have been put in jail for murder.
“What?” She bit her lip. She pulled the plans from my hand before I tore them to shreds. “Maddox, of course I knew you were innocent. You’d never hurt me, no matter what the town says. I know you. I trust you. I—”
She silenced, but those unspoken words weren’t enough to ease the churning, gut-aching rage that threatened to rend through my sanity.
Nolan.
This confirmed it. No more hunches. No more suspicions.
He wanted her. He nearly stole her. And, when she refused him, he destroyed her store, her life, her future. And he framed me for it.
She knew it too. Hell, only one reason she would have those plans. She stepped away from me, her eyes wide with hesitance.
“Nolan Rhys torched your shop?” I asked.
She swallowed. “I’m going to prove that he did.”
“And then what?”
“I’m going to put him in jail.”
That wasn’t enough. It wouldn’t be enough. I turned, stalking to the door.
Josie called for me to stay. Her hands wrapped over my bicep, pulling me back. “What are you going to do?”
Like she had to ask. Like she hadn’t already figured it out.
“I told you. I’m getting revenge on the son of a bitch who hurt you.”
“How?”
I didn’t answer. Josie stepped before me, preventing me from leaving.
“Maddox…how?”
What I should have done before the bastard tried to ruin her.
“I’m going to find Nolan, and I’m going to kill him.”
Chapter Seven – Josie
Saint Christie wasn’t a dangerous town, but in the past year, I’d dealt with arsonists who ruined lives, villains who threatened to kill, and heroes who vowed to murder.
This was what happened when people were denied desserts. Chocolate made everyone happy—cookies, cakes, ice creams, candies. Give a person a sweet in both hands and they couldn’t hold a weapon. My new motto. World peace and spun sugar.
Nolan emailed, asking for a second chance to talk with me. He chose the location—one of Saint Christie’s little bistros. It was the nicer of the two, though some in the town insisted the local Subway shouldn’t count as an artisan restaurant.
No way was I actually eating with him, but Nolan ordered a salad for me before I arrived. He waved me to my seat, grinning as though he weren’t the one responsible for my lost store, love, and life.
“Thanks for coming, Josie,” he said. “I hope I’m not inconveniencing you.”
I didn’t answer. He knew my schedule. Part-time work at the newspaper was the best I could get. Apparently, lunch on the city’s tab was a perk of being a mayor. Nolan ordered us iced tea. I sipped my water instead, my own form of silent protest. It wasn’t very effective.
“Josie, I want to apologize for my behavior a few days ago. I lost my temper, and it was…a stressful moment while I was organizing the campaign. Your cookies were the hit of the event.”
Usually cookie complements won me over. Not today. I said nothing. He expected it.
Or he preferred it.
At least we’d be done with this quickly and quietly, before Maddox knew I snuck out to lunch with the man he planned to kill.
I wasn’t doing Nolan any favors. He didn’t deserve my protection, but I wasn’t losing Maddox to any more jail time. I refused to compromise the only thing I wanted more than my store, my life, or another night with Maddox.
Justice.
I wanted Nolan to live, to face the judge, and to suffer, humiliated and ashamed, as the newspaper published his crimes to the entirety of the town.
He slid the folder across the table. His eyebrows were blonde, but thick. They gave him that insistent look as I delayed opening the offer.
“It’s generous.” Nolan grew impatient. “Please.”
I flipped the pages open and read through the appraisals. Then I eyed the sales number.
“This is more than the land is worth,” I said.
“It’s the same amount I offered you the night you lost the store.”
I closed the folder. “I don’t remember that night.”
He nodded. “I do. You looked lovely.”
Creeper. “I’m not interested, no matter how good an offer for a vacant lot.”
“I know it’s hard to part with the property, but…just take as long as you need to consider it.”
Ten seconds did it. I counted them silently. “No.”
“This deal would be in your best interests, Josie.”
“How would you know what’s in my best interests?”
“Because I know the kind of girl you are.” He smiled like it’d make a damn difference. “You’re too sweet for this world. Wholesome. I know you’ve been…led down the wrong path, and you’ve done some things you will regret in time—”
“What will I regret?”
“You’re so innocent, even after your…experiences with a man like Maddox.”
Nolan had an odd obsession with my bedroom, and an even worse fixation on the only man I ever invited inside.
“We’re done here,” I said.
“You don’t understand the world.” Nolan’s voice hardened. “It isn’t all chocolates and gumdrops.”
Maddox used to say the same thing, and I wasn’t about to be condescended for it.
“This world is built on hard work and sacrifice.” I shook, but it was frustration that claimed me, not fear. “This world is nights spent baking until three AM just to make a twenty dollar profit the next morning. It’s inventory and accounting, chiseling sugar from the walls and floor, health inspections and permits.”
“Josie—”
“It’s donating cake after cake in the hopes that just one person might recommend me to their friends. It’s taking a loss because you can’t sacrifice quality. It’s losing opportunities because the family business is more important than your own personal goals.” I stared him down. “Don’t you dare patronize me, not when you’ve never worked a hard day in your life, Mayor.”
Nolan didn’t argue with me. He struck for the kill.
“Look at the offer again. How much of that money will pay for Granddad’s gambling debts?”
“We’re done here.”
The chair squeaked as I kicked it back and stood. Nolan gestured to the waitress. He buttoned his suit jacket and took my elbow before I made it to the door.
We stepped outside, but he didn’t release my arm. He forced me to his SUV, and for one heart-pounding second, I feared he’d force me inside.
He hesitated like he shared the thought.
I twisted. He pushed me against the door the Escalade and held me there, too far from the restaurant and parked between the post office and Paul’s Fish and Tackle. It wasn’t a good place for an assault, but I couldn’t scream and accuse Mayor Rhys of anything more improper than checking over the mural Ms. Patch’s second grade class painted outside the Bistro.
Nolan stepped close. Too close, just how Maddox used to trap me, but it lacked that playful danger that gave me the good shivers. I was glad I didn’t eat. Nolan’s gaze turned my stomach.
I usually trusted my instincts. The last time I felt this way in Nolan’s presence, the night my store burned, I couldn’t remember everything that happened. I ignored the chill chasing those lost memories. No way was I letting Nolan Rhys scare me. Not now. Not when he already took so much from me.