Crime & Passion (44 page)

“But why kill Maria?”

“You still didn’t stop helping the
investigation and I thought you might figure things out. I didn’t
know at the time how little you actually saw.” He sighed. “Plus,
when I tried to convince you it was Donovan that day we talked at
your apartment, you refused to even listen to me. Since you
wouldn’t agree to go out with me, I knew I was going to have a hard
time getting you away from him. You wanted him.”

“You never let me see the real you. I might
have chosen differently if I’d seen this side of you.” She forced
herself to stroke his cheek with gentle fingers. “So you decided to
kill me, but I wasn’t at the store. That doesn’t explain why you
killed Maria.”

He caught her hand in his free one and moved
it from his face, holding it in his lap. “You always work Monday
morning. I slipped inside as Donovan left and turned off the open
sign. I can’t tell you how shocked I was when Maria walked out of
the back room instead of you.”

Poor Maria. Madeline still felt terribly
guilty about her death. It hurt, hearing confirmation that Maria
died in her place. “Why not leave her alone and come after me
later?”

Eric squeezed her hand. “That woman was too
crafty. She saw the gloves on my hands and asked some pointed
questions. She knew, Madeline. Can you believe that?”

“Frank was a bastard,” Madeline said quietly,
“but I wish you’d spared Maria.”

“Well, it was a lot of work pinning that
death on Donovan. Everyone knows how close he is to that family.”
He sighed. “It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have gone after you,
since you had no way to identify me. If I’d just left everything
alone, Donovan would be in prison for Frank’s murder.”

“Tell me why you hate him. What did he do to
you?”

He shifted his arm off her shoulder, dragging
the gun up her arm and across the back of her neck. Madeline’s
heart skipped into overdrive, wondering if she’d just recalled him
to his original purpose of killing her instead of encouraging him
to talk further.

“I don’t think you really care. You’re trying
to distract me. I wish you really wanted to be with me instead of
him—that would destroy him worse than prison. Maybe even worse than
your death.” Tilting his head to the side, he put the barrel to her
temple. “I’m done talking.”

***

Donovan was stuck right outside of town. Two
more miles to the apartment, and he couldn’t get through the
congested traffic surrounding the pile up on the highway.

The ambulances had arrived, but it looked to
be a long time before the road was clear enough to get his car
past. He had to get to Madeline. Eric still wasn’t answering his
cell phone and Madeline’s seemed to be turned off, sending him
directly to voice mail now.

He pulled his car onto the shoulder of the
road and turned it off. Two miles would only take him sixteen
minutes to run. From the looks of things here, it would be faster
than waiting.

Fear his constant companion, Donovan took off
on foot, running faster than he ever had in his life.

“Wait, Eric. You’re wrong about something. I
do want you.” With her pulse pounding in her temples, Madeline
struggled for breath. Her life hinged on how convincing she could
be. “I like this new side to you. Besides, Donovan’s not as much
fun now that he wants to settle down and get married. Killed his
whole bad boy image.”

“You’re full of shit, Madeline.” He laughed.
“Don’t think for a second you can fool me by flirting. I know what
you’re up to.”

Damn it. He’d just nullified her whole plan.
She couldn’t use her sex appeal to get the gun away from him if he
didn’t trust her.

He slid the weapon down her face and stuck
the barrel under her chin. “I’m sorry things aren’t different. We
could’ve had fun for a while.”

“Please don’t.” Tears streamed down her face
and she squeezed her eyes shut. “You’ll never get away with killing
me. People know we’re together right now. Don’t ruin your life for
Donovan.”

Seconds ticked by and the only sound was his
breathing. The expected shot didn’t come and a spark of hope
ignited in Madeline’s chest.

“Is killing me worth trading the rest of your
life?” she asked quietly. “Donovan obviously already took a lot
from you. Why don’t we work out a compromise? Something that gets
us both what we want.”

The gun eased away from her skin and Madeline
cracked open her eyes, blinking away the tears until she could see
him clearly.

“I’m listening,” he said.

“Tell me what he did that was so horrible.
Let’s talk this out. You know you don’t really want to kill me.
We’re friends, Eric, even if you’re right and I’m not attracted to
you.”

The gun in his hands dropped a little lower.
He at least seemed to be considering her request. “How good of an
actress can you be? Could you pretend to be attracted to me?”

I thought that’s what I’ve been doing.
“What did you have in mind?”

“Convince Donovan you want me, break his
heart, and then come away with me.” He smiled and reached out to
brush her hair behind her ear. “We really could have some fun, even
if you’re only acting. If you do a good enough job, I might even
let you live once we’re out of the country.”

“Might let me?” Madeline took a deep breath,
trying to settle her nerves. “Why only might?”

“You’d never be able to come back to him or
even contact him. I’ll give you time to prove whether you’ll abide
by that. If you don’t, I’ll stick to my original plan.”

She’d have to see Donovan to ‘break up’ with
him. All she had to do was figure out a way to signal him about
what was really going on. She’d have to be sneaky enough that Eric
wouldn’t realize it, but this might be the only chance to save her
own life.

It wouldn’t do for her to seem too eager. She
had to convince Eric she really wanted to follow his plan. If he
trusted her and thought she was on his side, it was less likely
he’d want her dead.

“Tell me why I should hurt him so badly.
Choosing you over Donovan will hurt him much more than my death
would. I’d have to destroy the man I love. What did he do to
you?”

Eric’s hazel eyes narrowed. “It’s none of
your business.”

“Even though I like you, Eric, I love
Donovan.” She shrugged. “Convince me I should do this or kill me
and get it over with. With my help you can get revenge
and
keep your freedom.” She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to
seem unconcerned, though she knew she was taking a calculated risk.
“I suggest you start talking.”

“I already tried to tell you.” His jaw
clenched tightly and he looked away.

Madeline wondered if she should try to run,
but she was so afraid he’d shoot her in the back before she took
more than two steps. Perhaps baiting him like this was the wrong
approach too. She couldn’t figure out how this man’s mind worked.
Bent on revenge, he shouldn’t be thinking clearly, but so far he’d
seen through all her tricks.

Perhaps the tender approach, now that she had
him thinking. She steeled herself against her revulsion and softly
grasped his hand. “Tell me, please. I haven’t known Donovan very
long, but I do know he’s not always a nice person. Maybe he
deserves to suffer. Maybe you
are
the person I should be
with.”

Eric faced her and tears glistened in his
eyes. “He killed my brother!”

***

Donovan raced into the parking lot, his
breath coming out in short gasps as a stitch of pain tweaked his
side. Eric’s car sat in Maddie’s normal space. He was in there,
with her. Donovan could only assume he was Suzie’s accomplice.

Dread settled on his shoulders. It had been
so long since Lindsey’s shooting. Anything could have happened to
Madeline. She might already be...No! He wouldn’t think that
way.

He ran into the building and punched the
button on the elevator. Eric was still in the building. If he had
killed Madeline, surely he would have left already. She had to be
okay.

He exited the elevator and rushed to the
front door of the apartment. Resting his hand against his gun,
Donovan inserted his key into the first deadbolt lock.

“Benny Stark,” Madeline whispered.

“At least you haven’t forgotten about him.
Benny was my kid brother. Donovan murdered him.”

She shook her head but kept her mouth shut,
not daring to contradict him. “I’m sorry,” she finally said.

“If only Donovan could have said that,” Eric
snarled, bitterness in every word. “Maybe Mom wouldn’t have drunk
herself into an early grave three years later. I needed her. I was
only eighteen. She left me all alone.”

Sadness settled over her. That news would
crush Donovan. If the department had allowed him to tell Mrs. Stark
Benny loved her, it might have helped. She might have moved past
her grief, and Eric would have kept his mother. “I don’t know what
to say.”

Tears dripped down his cheeks. “I’ve been all
alone, Madeline. The department finally gave me some money the year
after that, once they realized I’d never drop the civil suit. They
thought that would make things better. All I ever wanted was an
apology, a public announcement that Donovan Andrews screwed up.” He
shook his head. “He was too proud to give me that.”

She wanted to tell him that they wouldn’t let
Donovan, but that would lose all the trust she had gained. “Your
last name is different,” she said instead.

“Money can buy a lot, including a new
identity.” He hefted the gun in his hand, looking between it and
her face. “I soon realized what I had to do was get justice for my
family. I set all the money they gave me aside for that purpose and
came up with the plan to frame him for murder.

“It took years to set up and lots of money to
be assigned as his partner. Stone never did like Donovan, and hated
him more once he dumped Suzie. The Chief didn't even ask why I was
willing to pay so much to be his partner.” He leaned forward and
set the gun on the table, and Madeline breathed a sigh of relief.
“Donovan made it so easy to frame him. He really is an
asshole.”

She nodded and slipped her hand over his arm,
patting it in sympathy. “I understand why you hate him.”
Surprisingly, she really did. That was a big burden for Eric to
carry his whole life, and all his grief and pain had fixated on
Donovan. It made sense; he was the most obvious target for Eric's
pain. “It’s horrible he did that. I
do
want to help you,
Eric. Donovan should pay.”

The sound of a key entering the lock and the
deadbolt sliding open broke the silence. Eric’s head whipped toward
the front door. “He’s got two more locks to get through, Madeline.
What’s the plan? Do you really want to help or are you lying to get
me to trust you? It’ll be pretty bad for Donovan if I kill you in
front of him, and I’ll kill him too, if you force me down that
path.”

“I’m not lying.” She threw her arms around
his neck and planted a soft kiss on his mouth. “I told you, I agree
with you. I’ll stay with you forever, start a real life together,
but we have to get away from Donovan first and keep your freedom.”
Even though bile rose from the depths of her stomach, she nuzzled
her face into his neck. “When he walks in, we should look like
lovers. It’ll hurt him more if he catches us, rather than me just
telling him.”

It would also keep Eric’s hands off his gun,
though she did fear Donovan might believe she really cheated on
him. She’d have to take that chance. The more Donovan believed in
the beginning, the greater chance she had of getting them out of
this alive.

His hand ran under her shirt and caressed her
stomach. “That’s a good plan.” He used his free hand to lift her
face to his and stuck his tongue in her mouth roughly.

Madeline forced herself to kiss him back. If
she didn’t seem eager, he might decide she wasn’t being honest with
him. She broke off the kiss and pulled her shirt over her head.

Eric smiled as he caressed the fabric of her
bra. “Nice to see you’re committed to this.”

She twisted her face into a passable smile.
“Of course I am.”

The front door creaked when it opened. A grin
lit Eric’s face as he closed in on her, laying hot kisses against
her neck. “Show time,” he whispered.

“Oh, Eric, yes” she said softly, running her
hands through his hair. “That’s just what I like. Right there.”

He pushed her back against the couch and laid
on top of her, taking her lips with his once more and groaning into
her mouth.

“Maddie? What the hell are you doing?”

Madeline looked past Eric’s shoulder to see
Donovan standing on the other side of the coffee table, legs
spread, gun drawn. The confusion and hurt on his face struck her
like a knife shredding through her heart. And she had to hurt him
more if she wanted to save their lives.

***

All the fight flowed from Donovan as he
slowly lowered his gun and took a step back from the coffee table.
Maddie making out with Eric? What the hell was going on?

She sat up, pushing Eric’s shoulder and
shooting him a flirty smile before glancing at Donovan. “I didn’t
know you were coming home already.” She ran her hand along Eric’s
side and kissed his mouth. “You told me we had more time before he
got back.”

Eric turned his head to smile at Donovan and
shrugged. He looked back at Maddie, caressing her face. “Oops, my
bad.”

She grinned at him, not even glancing at
Donovan. “Guess you’ll pay for that later, bad boy.” She pushed him
off her and stood from the couch.

Donovan couldn’t believe this. It couldn’t be
real, could it? Then again, he was having a hard time thinking of
anything past the shock of seeing his fiancée partially undressed
and making out with Eric.