Jill Shalvis - Strong And Sexy

“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?”

“Shut up!”

“In fact, they’re together right now, they’re probably f-”

The gun went off. Maddie slammed back into the wall, white-hot agony shooting through her body.

Michelle frowned at the smoking gun. “Now look what you made me do.”

Shayne awoke with a start. He and Dani were still on the Lear, in the master bedroom.

On the bed.

Entwined.

They’d fallen asleep. Must have been all the late nights and extremely gratifying sex.

Or maybe it was the fact that suddenly he had more on his mind.

Like Dani.

All the time…

And then he realized what had woken him. They weren’t alone. Someone was standing over them in the dimmed room. “Hello?”

The shadow twisted, then vanished.

As he heard the sound of the plane door closing, he leapt up and flipped on a light.

But he and Dani weren’t alone now either. There was a body with them, crumpled on the floor, and he’d recognize those kick-ass heels anywhere.

Maddie. With blood pooling beneath her. “ Christ .”

In the bed, Dani sat straight up, confused and baffled. “What?”

Heart in his throat, Shayne tossed her his cell phone and dropped to the floor. “Call 9-1-1,” he commanded hoarsely and put his fingers to Maddie’s throat, where he found a pulse, slow and beady, but there. Thank God. “It’s Maddie.” And it was bad, very very bad, but even that wasn’t the worst of it.

Because whoever had shot Maddie was just outside the plane, waiting for them.

Dani’s fingers shook as she tossed Shayne his pants. Pulling on her clothes, she dropped to the floor next to Shayne. “Police are on their way. Ambulance too. Ohmigod, is she-”

“Alive. She’s alive.”

Dani gulped for air. Alive was good, very very good.

Maddie’s eyes fluttered open. “Shayne?”

He leaned over her, grabbing her hands. “Right here, I’m right here.”

Maddie gasped. “She’s completely lost it.” Her face was a tight mask of pain. “Goddammit, getting shot hurts.”

Shayne was peeling her shirt away so he could see the wound. “Maddie, you’re bleeding like a sieve.”

Dani leaned over Shayne and saw that Maddie had a bullet hole in the region of her collarbone. One that was pumping out a shocking amount of blood.

Maddie coughed. “Shayne-”

“Don’t talk,” Shayne begged her, pulling his shirt from the foot of the bed and pressing it against Maddie’s wound.

“Listen,” Maddie said, grabbing his hand. “She’s not Dani’s stalker. She’s yours.”

Shayne gently pushed her hair from her face and cupped her jaw. “I love you, Maddie, you know I do. But when you talk, you’re pumping blood out like a hose. So shut the hell up, okay? Just shut up and hold on.”

“No. Please.” She licked her dry lips. “Get Dani out of here, okay? Or Michelle’ll shoot her too.”

Michelle? Dani looked at Shayne, who appeared just as shocked as she.

“She’s been scaring off all your dates since she became a client and fell all in psycho love with you,” Maddie managed. “But Dani didn’t scare off-Oh, God.” She closed her eyes, her face pasty white and damp with perspiration.

“Maddie,” Shayne said hoarsely. “We’ve got help coming, so you just hang on. You hear me? Hang on.” He pulled back to look down into her face. “Christ.” Setting her back on the floor, he checked her pulse.

“Is she-”

“Alive.” His mouth was grim. “The bullet went all the way through. Maddie?”

No response.

“Shock is going to set in.” Dani covered her with a blanket from the bed. “We have to keep her warm.”

A funny ping sounded, and Dani would have sworn something whizzed right by her ear as the window cracked above her.

And then the wall splintered.

“Down.” Shayne accompanied this demand by fisting his hand in Dani’s shirt and tugging hard. He hunched over both her and Maddie, craning his neck, eyeing something behind her. “We’re sitting ducks in here. We have to get out, and that’s our only chance.”

“What is?”

“Back door. Come on.” Hoisting Maddie up into a fireman’s hold over one shoulder, he grabbed Dani’s hand and yanked her to the exit on the opposite side of the plane. “Stay low.” He cracked the door.