Strong and Sexy (Sky High Air #2)(73)

She just wished Brody had a wish for her to fulfill…

“Is Shayne ready for me?”

Maddie looked up from her computer, managing to keep her features in a polite smile. Speak of the devil. Michelle stood there looking Barbie-doll perfect as always in a Prada suit, every hair in place, lipstick perfect, towing a large designer suitcase behind her.

Maddie pulled Michelle’s flight file. “You’re early. That’s no problem, I’ll call your pilot.”

“Shayne. Shayne’s my pilot. He’s my everything.”

Cuckoo.

“He is.” Michelle let go of the handle of her suitcase, and it fell over with a solid thud. “Whoops.” She looked around. “Is Shayne here yet?”

Yep. And probably doing the wild thing with Dani in the Learjet, if she had to hazard a guess. “You know he’s seeing someone.”

“He’s seeing me. I’ve made sure of it.”

“You’ve…what?”

Michelle smiled.

Maddie sighed. She didn’t owe Maddie anything, but as a fellow member of the female species, she had to try to get through to her. “Look, this is none of my business, but—”

“You’re right. None of your business. Not at all.” Michelle leaned over the counter. “Don’t try to understand, because you can’t.”

“Okay.” Another job requirement, ignoring rudeness. Her eyes were on her computer screen as she entered Michelle’s information for the flight.

“You’ve made some changes. Your hair. Your nail color.”

Maddie’s gaze was still on her screen. “Wow, that’s pretty observant. Are you stalking me?” she joked.

“Not you.”

Maddie went still, and when she looked up, Michelle raised her eyebrows like yes, you idiot, you’ve finally got it.

That wasn’t all she raised. She had a gun.

Pointed it right at Maddie.

Whose heart stopped short.

“Ask me what’s in my suitcase.”

She swallowed. “What’s in your suitcase?”

“Actually, it’s a who. Kathleen.”

Maddie crept her hand toward the phone. “Kathleen,” she repeated softly. My God…

“She’s dead, of course.” Calmly, Maddie yanked the phone cord out of the wall before Maddie could get an open line. “I was trying to pin it on Dani, but that bitch isn’t easy to pin. How about you, Maddie? You look pretty capable and tough, but I’m thinking everyone has their breaking point.”

Okay, surely someone, anyone, would come in and see what was going on. “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Brody. Brody’s your breaking point.”

Oh, God.

“Try to call for help again, and I’ll kill him next. In fact, do anything to annoy me and I’ll kill him him. Clear?”

Maddie forced herself to breathe. “Crystal.”

“Yep, just as I said, everyone has their breaking point. And I’m thinking now I should have just started with you. You, my dear, are my ticket out of here.”

The hell she was. So she’d been a little slow on the uptake, they all had. For one thing, Dani didn’t have a crazy stalker.

Shayne did. “So really,” Maddie said, “your problem is that you’ve gotten yourself hooked on an inappropriate man. Rookie mistake.”

“You know, you really should talk nicer to the woman who’s going to marry one of your bosses.”

Maddie managed a laugh. “You haven’t done your homework. Shayne isn’t the marrying type.”

“Seriously. I’m holding a gun on you, you’re supposed to be groveling and sniffling and desperate to get me whatever I need. And what I need is Shayne.”

“Sorry to be contrary, but I’m not going to help you.”

From behind the gun Michelle was pointing directly at Maddie’s head, she smiled coldly. “Yes, you are. Where is he?”

Maddie arched a brow.

“I know that you know exactly where he is and what he’s doing.” In emphasis, she cocked the gun.

Which sounded much scarier than it did in the movies. “Okay, let’s not doing anything stupid here.”

“Stupid? Of course not. I’m never stupid. Stand up, Maddie.”

Uh-oh. “Actually, I can’t. I’m really tired, and—”

“Stand up now.”

Maddie stood up. “So why did you go after Dani?”

“I’ve gone after all of them. Marie, Kathleen, Suzie…”

“But…” Maddie shook her head. “Those were women Shayne only dated once.”

“I know. One little scare each and they all ran like hell. Can you imagine?”

Maddie blinked. “You’re the reason he couldn’t get a second date?”

Michelle gave a little bow.

“He thought he was losing his touch.”

She smiled.

“But Dani wouldn’t scare, I’m guessing.”

Michelle’s smile faded. “You need to be quiet now.”

“You really screwed up there.”

“Be quiet.”

“Because by going after Dani, you just pushed them together. You realize that, right?”