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protruding gut is seriously testing the buttons on his pink dress shirt.
 Apparently, he has something to say, Mason. This should be interesting. To the study,
Maddox. I trust you can find the way. I need a drink. She walks away and leaves the two brothers
standing in the entryway.
If things come to blows, there is no question that Maddox will win. He towers over his
brother. His thickly muscled body is a machine of power and his brother looks like he wouldn t even
be able to open a pickle jar.
 Never thought I would see the day that the rat came crawling home. He laughs when
Maddox snarls, shakes his head, and turns to walk away.
This time, Maddox doesn t need a second to consider if he will take the next steps. He
stomps through the house, his boots sounding off the walls with thumping echoes. I double my stride
to keep up with him, never once letting go of his hand.
After we have been standing in the study by ourselves for ten minutes, they enter. Only this
time, there is a third person with them. Her blond hair hangs down her back in soft waves. Her blue
eyes are hard and calculating. And much like his mom, Maddox s ex-fiancée is perfectly put
together. My palms itch to tear her apart.
 Oh, this is fresh. I thought he was a cripple now? she asks his brother while looking down
at his legs.
I instantly notice the size of her wedding band hell, it s hard to miss. How can she even
keep her arm from dragging on the ground with that gaudy thing? And how could she have ever left
Maddox for the weasel next to her?
 It s called an amputee, Mercedes.
Her eyes snap to his.  That s the same thing, bastard.
Maddox laughs and I look over at him with a smile, my heart light when I realize that I
worried for nothing. He s too strong to let them hurt him.
 Sit the fuck down, he thunders.
Their eyes widen slightly, but they don t recognize the threat in front of them.
 Get it over with, Mason grumbles.
 Don t worry, big brother,  he sneers.  I won t take up too much of your precious fucking
time. I just have a few things to say and then we will leave.
I m guessing that the arrival of her long-lost lover was too shocking for her to notice the other
woman in the room. I recognize a threatened woman when I see one. After all, I ve been watching
her husband rake his eyes over me with lust-filled want for the last ten minutes. This is one crazy
madwoman.
 Who the fuck is she? Her question isn t directed at me, but I answer anyway.
 Emersyn. It s a pleasure. And, sweet cheeks, I m his future wife.
I don t know what made me say it. Maybe I just wanted to slap it in her face that I won the
priced Locke. Or maybe it was just wishful yapping. Either way, the words taste delicious.
The hand Maddox has wrapped around mine flexes, but he doesn t outwardly react nor does
he dispute my words.
 HA! You mean you actually found someone who you think loves you? That s hilarious.
I take a page from Maddox s book and growl deep in my throat.
 Shut the fuck up, Mercedes. Maddox scolds.
She huffs at his reprimand, but she does shut her mouth.
 I was thinking one night that I never knew why you hated me so much. It just didn t make
sense to me that you could give birth to someone and hate them instantly with everything you had. I
really don t give a fuck what your reasons are now, but let me tell you a little fucking bedtime story
this time. There once was a man who thought he was broken and unworthy. A demon that walked the
Earth, causing nothing but pain to others with only a touch. Then he met an angel that was just as lost
as he was, and he realized, with her help, that it was never him that was broken. It was never him
that spread his villainous evil. You see, that evil that he was told he had been born with& It came
from only one person you. And once that man was free from the webs of her darkness, he realized
he wasn t some giant fuck-up. He had just been born from evil and it took a little longer to clean that
bullshit from his skin.
 Now you little 
 You don t fucking get to speak! he bellows.  Let me ask you, Diana. How many years have
you been afraid that I would show back up? That I would question everything you told me when I
was at my worst? I should have thought about it sooner, but I ve been a little busy since. It didn t
take long for me to sit at my computer and tap into your lives with just a few keystrokes. You made a
mistake though. When you went to sell the company, I m assuming because you were either drunk or
had spent all of your worth, you couldn t do anything without the one person who still holds twenty-
five percent of Locke Oil, could you?
I want to snap my eyes to his. The shock of what he s saying is making my head spin. I didn t
even know about this.
 Ah, I can tell by your shocked and wonderfully terrified faces that you really did think I
would never find out. Isn t it just fucking good fortune that I showed up when I did? I don t fucking
want your company. I didn t when you assumed I did and I didn t when I was fighting to rebuild my
life twelve years ago. But you can be sure of one fucking thing I don t care if it sinks you in the
ground. You want my shares take them. I know you need my signature to sell and you need to sell
just to keep afloat.
I can see the wheels turning in their heads. They think they ve won.
 Just like that? Mason asks.
 Just fucking like that. Oh& I forgot. I won t accept a check since I m pretty sure it would
bounce to the fucking moon. You want them, then be prepared to bleed that money you don t fucking
have.
 We don t have that kind of money, his brother fumes.
 Well, then, I guess I m not fucking going anywhere. He laughs.
 Is this what you think will intimidate us? Coming into my home with your slut and acting like
we give a shit?
My eyes narrow at Mercedes.
 That s the thing, Mercedes. I don t really give a shit what you think.
 You loved me once. It sounds like she is trying to talk herself into that one.
 I didn t fucking love you. I ll admit I thought I did, but that s what happens when you have a
bitch willing to spread her legs. You were easy, Mercedes. Let s not get that thought crossed with
any affection you might think I have left for you.
 You were going to marry me.
 Jesus fuck, Mercy! I m right fucking here, his brother yelps.
 Diana, Maddox speaks, ignoring the domestic argument happening between his brother and
sister-in-law.  Find your precious lawyer, Jefferson, and get this shit rolling. I don t really give a
damn if you have to sell this very house to be able to afford to buy me out. You want it that much,
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