The Auction (Club Indulgence Duet, #1)(91)

She reaches her arm back and slaps him, the sound of it echoing in the air. It shocks me. I've never seen Madelyn become violent.

Anger flares in his eyes as hot as his cheeks. He steps toward her, and she backs up until she's against the wall.

I lunge across the room and pull Hugh away from her, ordering, "Settle down."

He shrugs out of my grasp and threatens Madelyn, saying, "Your time in my house is limited."

She screams, "The house we're going to lose?"

I pretend to feign innocence. "What?"

"He hasn't paid the property taxes," she yells, her bloodshot eyes glaring at him. She adds, "They sent us a tax foreclosure."

"It's not my fault, you witch," Hugh spits out. It flies from his mouth and hits her arm.

She glances at it, wrinkles her nose, then whines, "How could you put us in this situation? You promised you would always take care of us."

He seethes, "You ungrateful woman. I paid for your sorry ass and your ungrateful daughter all these years."

Madelyn's eyes widen. She snarls, "You mean our daughter. Not that you've done anything to get her back."

Hugh shakes his head in disgust and stomps over to the bar. He pours more scotch and turns. The alcohol sloshes out of the glass, hitting the marble floor. He pins his wrath on his wife, insulting, "If you weren't such a lousy mother, she wouldn't have run away."

"Me?" she mocks. "Now, that's calling the kettle black."

Having seen enough of their shit show, I interrupt, announcing, "I'm going to let you two deal with your family matters alone."

Madelyn spins, begging, "Take me with you, Riggs."

"What? No. Sorry, but I'm not getting involved in this," I state.

"Fucking whore," Hugh blares.

"Oh shut up, you pig!" she screams.

Hugh tosses another mouthful of the scotch back.

Madelyn grabs my arm, pleading, "Riggs, please. Don't leave me with him." She bats her lids, but she's so intoxicated she can barely stand up.

I pry her off me and lead her to the chair. "Sit down, Madelyn."

She obeys.

I order Hugh, "Take care of your wife."

He shoots me a sharp look.

"Riggs, don't go," she says and leaps off the chair, trying to come after me.

I open the front door and step outside.

"Riggs," Madelyn shouts.

"Stop embarrassing yourself," Hugh demands.

I walk faster, slide into my driver's seat, and rev the Porsche. I speed out of the driveway. I look in my rearview mirror, and Madelyn's dropped to the ground, sobbing.

Part of me feels sorry for her and Hugh, but then I remind myself what he's done and how she's been a horrible mother to Blakely all these years. She doesn't deserve any mercy either. They deserve everything they're getting and all the wrath that's still to come.

I turn up my music, ecstatic this is almost over. It's been a huge test of my patience, and I know I'm playing a dangerous game, even though I've covered my tracks.

I race home, ready to announce Blakely to the world at the charity event tonight. Things couldn't be more perfect between us. I've kept the name of her wing under wraps, but all of Hugh's friends will be there, and more gossip will fly once they find out I've married her.

But it doesn't matter if he finds out tonight. Tomorrow, he'll know I'm the one who's taken him down. The company will be mine, and his daughter is mine. She loves me, and I love her. We'll do good things together, and nothing will ever break us.

Things couldn't be better in my life.





29





Blakely





Warm air hits me as I step out of the plane. Riggs stands at the bottom of the steps, and I bounce down them, leaping into his arms.

He squeezes me tight, then kisses me, asking, "How was your interview?"

"Awesome," I gush.

Noah clears his throat behind me, adding, "She did great."

Riggs locks eyes with him. "I don't doubt it. See you tonight. Make sure you bring your checkbook." He leads me over to his Porsche and opens the door.

I slide inside.

He gets in the driver's seat, starts the engine, and asks, "So, what was it like?"

I shrug. "It was the same as all the others." This month, Noah's kept me busy with interviews. They're fun, and my single is climbing the charts. It's currently at number five, which is beyond my wildest dreams for my first single. Ears and Noah claim it will hit number one, but I'm grateful for all the initial success I'm having.

"Something happened while you were in the air," Riggs claims.

"What?"

His grin widens. He kisses the back of my hand and declares, "You're at number four."

I gape at him. It only hit number five yesterday.

He chuckles. "Don't look so shocked. You're going to the top, pet."

"It's just surreal," I mutter.

He squeezes my hand and veers into another lane. "Well, get used to it, Mrs. Madden. Your album is amazing."

My butterflies kick off. It happens every time he calls me Mrs. Madden.