Bad Deeds (Dirty Money #3)

“One,” Cody informs her, glancing at me. “There’s no exit inside the restaurant and my presence might intimidate her. I’ll wait here by the door.”

Giving a quick, agreeable incline of my chin, I instruct the hostess that I’m meeting Maggie, and she allows me to find her on my own. Moving through rows of empty tables, I cut left and seek her out, finally locating her hidden in a corner, behind a large pillar. I approach the table, expecting to find her on the phone. What I find instead is her sitting there, elbow on the table, fingers curled under her chin. She’s also holding a tissue and seemingly oblivious to my approach.

I sit down in the brown leather chair across from her, and she jolts, balling her fist at her chest, mascara smudging the ivory skin just beneath her blue eyes. “You scared me,” she declares, and I don’t miss the absence of coffee on the table, instead noting the presence of whiskey.

“I was worried about you,” I say. “I heard you were rattled by what happened to Ted.”

“Aren’t you?” She downs the amber liquid in her glass and motions to the waitress. “I mean, this is one of Shane’s security people. It hits home.”

“It wasn’t related to us,” I say, watching her closely, looking for a blink, a reaction, but the waitress appears and gives Maggie a reason to focus elsewhere.

“Another, please,” she tells the woman, holding up her glass and then looking at me. “Do you want a drink?”

“No, thank you,” I say. “I still have press and stockholders to manage.”

“Right,” she says, waving off the waitress. That tremble to her hand mentioned to me by Cody and Jessica is easily seen now as she adds, “Of course you do.”

I narrow my eyes at her and then lean forward, softening my voice. “I know we are just getting to know each other, and I don’t want to be presumptive, but you are not yourself. I know you as the queen of the family, always in radiant control. Is this about Brandon Senior’s cancer?”

“You mean the cancer that might or might not kill him in the next two months? No. Why would it be about that?” Her tone is sharp, snappy. Sarcastic. “You know, of course, that my husband keeps his mistress here in this very hotel.” The waitress sets her drink down and then Maggie lifts it. “And yet he wants me to go to Germany with him.”

“Don’t you want to go with him?”

She downs her drink and stares at the empty glass. “I do,” she admits, her tone stark now. “I just want him to want me there.”

“He wants you there. He loves you.”

Her gaze cuts sharply to me. “I wonder if you’ll feel loved when Shane finds a woman on the side.”

“Nastiness is unbecoming,” I say, calling her on her words and shaking off their bite. “Ted’s situation has obviously triggered some sort of emotions in you.” I home in on what I believe to be her guilty conscience. “Are you worried about your own sons being next?”

She pales two shades and sets her glass down. “A mother always worries for her sons.” She stands. “You’ll excuse me, I’m sure. I need to go to the ladies’ room.”

I’ve hit the nerve I intended, and now I just need to decide how to use it, but first things first: I open my purse to remove my phone and make sure that Cody warns me if she tries to escape. Better yet, I think, zipping my purse back up, I’ll make sure. I stand and start walking, making fast tracks for the exit, where Cody greets me. “Is she in the bathroom?” I ask, eying the alcove beside the bar where I know it to be.

“She is,” he confirms, “and she was crying.”

I give a quick nod and cut left, walking under the archway and into the ladies’ room, where I find Maggie sitting on a vanity seat immediately to my right. “Oh good gracious,” she exclaims, swiping a tissue over her tear-streaked cheeks. “Can I not get a moment or two alone?”

I walk to her, standing above her. “What did you do?”

She blinks, and unshed tears pool in her eyes. “What?”

“What did you do, Maggie?” I demand, pressing her. Forcing her to face whatever she’s done. “Tell me now before it’s too late. Tell me so we can fix it.”

“We can’t fix it,” she declares. “Ted’s finger is already gone.” She bursts into tears.

Knots form in my gut, and I kneel in front of her, my hands going to her knees. “He’s alive, but he wouldn’t have been if Shane didn’t lay down the law with Martina. Why are you involved with Martina?”

“I can’t tell you. Shane and Derek will hate me.”

“You have to tell me, Maggie.”

“No. No, I won’t.” The words are strong, but she follows them with a sob.

I dig my fingers into her knees. “Pull yourself together,” I command, “and tell me now. You’re strong. You can do this.”

“I’m stupid. And I was lonely. I’d been alone so long and Mike and I just happened. But I don’t love him; I love my husband. I want him to live and I want him—”

“What does this have to do with Martina? And don’t tell me you don’t know who that is, because he’s the one who ordered Ted’s torture.”

“Martina found out about the affair. A man who works for him came to me. Ramon. He was scary. Very nasty and perverted. I thought for sure he’d rape me.”

“He might. He’ll come back. That’s why you have to tell me everything.”

“There’s not a lot to tell. He threatened to tell my husband about Mike if I didn’t help Martina get to your apartment. He said he just wanted to talk to Shane. Just talk. I swear I knew nothing about Ted being kidnapped and hurt. I mean, I met Ted. I distracted him to allow Martina to get by him. I didn’t think there was more to it than that. I just … I was desperate. I didn’t want my husband to live or die from cancer, knowing his wife and his best friend were together.”

“And you and Mike decided the two of you would take over the company?”

“What? No. No, I would never do that. The company is my husband’s and mine, not Mike’s.”

“What about the hostile takeover?” I ask.

“What hostile takeover? By Mike? Are you talking about Mike?” She doesn’t give me time to respond, her torment becoming anger. “That bastard. I’ll kill him. I will kill him.” She hops to her feet, and I follow, my hands going to her arms.

“No,” I say. “You can’t do anything of the sort. We need to get help. Sit, please.”

“No, I—”

“Sit down, Maggie,” I order harshly.

She sinks back onto the chair. “They’re all going to hate me and I was just confused. I love my family.”

I believe her. But I don’t respect her. This isn’t about money and power for her, at least not in the way I feared. I reach for my purse and unzip it, removing my phone. She grabs my hand where I hold it. “What are you doing?”

“Adrian Martina is a dangerous man. Ramon a brutal monster. He will rape you. And they will use you to hurt your family. We need help.”

“Seth,” she says. “Let’s talk to Seth.”

“Maggie,” I say. “We need to tell Shane. He’s the one Martina is targeting.”