Precarious Possessions (Maxwell Investigations) (16 page)

Madison rolled her eyes as Troy and Belle entered the
kitchen. “Hello, still in the room,” she reminded them before looking at Troy.
“You’re about to head out?”

He easily wrapped her in his arms. As he pulled her against
him, he realized how well she fit against him. “Can you do me a favor?” he
requested. Her questioning look made him smile and caress her lower lip with
his thumb. “Mom wants to see my Wolf. You think you can be with her?”

Coffee colored eyes looked amused. Troy wanted to ease his
mother’s fears by letting her face them with someone he knew would help her. He
was such a momma’s boy. Something Aiden got from him. An overdramatic sigh left
Madison. “I guess,” she drawled. A glint then entered her eyes. “If you make it
worth my wild,” she said playfully.

Troy tangled his hand in her hair and kissed her
passionately. He couldn’t stop the self-satisfied smirk that crossed his face
as he felt her nails dig into his arms. He pulled away from her lips and looked
into Madison’s eyes. “I’ll fix you breakfast in bed for a week.”

“Oh God, I thought Dylan and Crispin were sickening,” Barry
said finishing his water.

Madison frowned as she turned to her brother. “You’re just
jealous. No female in her right mind would put up with you for a steady amount
of time,” she teased.

Victor cleared his throat and tried to hide a smile. “I’m afraid
I concur with Barrence,” he said before turning his attention to Belle. “Ms.
Davenport, would you like to come with me to talk, and then meet your
grandsons?”

Belle smiled as she stood. “Yes, I must meet the pair that
I’ll be spoiling for the next few decades.” She smiled as Victor gallantly
offered his arm. As she linked her arm with his, she glanced at Troy and
Madison. “They’re right. Please tone it down for the boys,” she whispered.

Barry laughed as Madison sputtered indignantly. He stood and
noticed that Troy was also trying to hide a smile. There were times that his
sister was just amusing, and he was still trying to figure out if she tried to
be that way for everyone else’s sake. He stood and walked over to the couple.
“My exit won’t be as graceful. But I need to check in with Thorne, then Eric
and Mathias.” He looked into Madison’s eyes and remembered the little girl that
wore dresses and pigtails. “I really owe you one,
Madi
,”
he said softly.

She shook her head. “Just call Tina. She was worried about
you,” Madison whispered.

Dark eyes looked at the new man in Madison’s life before
turning back his sister. “Someone needs to worry about you,” he said before
kissing her cheek and leaving.

Troy buried his nose in her hair. “You know I have even more
questions now, right?” he asked lowly.

“It’s possible,” she replied. When he frowned, she sighed.
“You and Dennis are about to go running. You don’t need all the dirty details
of my childhood on your mind. I can explain everything from the beginning tomorrow.”

A smirk crossed his face. “I’ll take that as progress,” he
said before kissing her again. “And just so you know, I will hold you to that.”

Madison slowly inhaled. She knew all of the basics of being
in a relationship, but that didn’t mean she knew how to be in one. Sharing
wasn’t something she was good at, especially when it was her own history. “I
know you will.” She wrapped her arms around his waist. Madison felt something
in her calm as she breathed his scent in. “We really should get moving,” she
whispered.

He held her tight against him for a moment longer. “I’ll
shift upstairs, and then find you and my mom.”

She moved away from him.
“Modesty from a
Werewolf?
Wonders will never cease,” she teased.

Dimples flashed as he smiled at her. “I just don’t want your
family to see my ass naked. It could traumatize Lacey and the boys.”

Madison laughed as they started down the hall. “The Princess
has won another suitor,” she smiled shaking her head.

“No. It’s just one royal being considerate of another,” Troy
corrected. He and Madison stopped and looked at each other before laughing
hysterically.

* * *
* *

Victor walked Belle into the living room. The woman’s mind
was in turmoil. On one hand, she just found out she has two grandsons. On
another, her son can turn into a wolf. Another hand held the fact that Dennis
had her memories altered and placed her with Connor. Then there was the fact
that she and Connor built a life based on a lie. Victor sat next to her and
gently held her hand. “You have to realize, not everything in your life has
been a lie,” he said lowly.

Blue eyes saddened. “How can I know that?” she asked. “How
can I know what I thought was a solid marriage and stable family wasn’t just an
implanted suggestion?”

“You could find a Vampire and ask how memory alteration
works,” Victor suggested. When she blinked at him, he smiled. “While you were
unconscious, I asked Dennis. He took you to the only Vampire he trusted at the
time.
My daughter Jacquelyn.”

Belle felt her inquisitive side take over. “I thought
Vampires were the walking dead. You can have children?”

Victor went to the refreshment tray and poured two glasses
of brandy. “Let us cover one thing at a time, my dear.” He waited for her nod
of consent before continuing. “Jacquelyn is a master at memory manipulation. We
cannot simply go into a mind and rip specific memories out. They are like a
spider’s web. If one is destroyed, then there is a risk of doing major damage
to others. Vampires never want to run the risk of turning the subject into a
vegetable. What was done to you was a layering of sorts. Your memories were
clouded, and you would have a headache every time you thought of things
connected to Dennis. Over time, you simply gave up trying.”

Belle sipped her drink. “I always blamed those headaches on
being pregnant.” She leaned back and frowned as she thought of all the tears
she cried over her “betrayal” to Connor. “I felt so guilty. There was no way I
could have expected him to want to take care of another man’s child.” An
inelegant snort left her before she finished her drink. “But he wanted me and
my baby. No one would have thought I was being handed off like an unwanted
fruitcake.”

“I doubt either Dennis or Connor believe you to be a
fruitcake, my dear.” Victor finished his drink and took Belle’s glass back to
the tray. “As far as Dennis is concerned, you were the one that got away.” He
then paused and looked at her with a small grin.
“Romantically,
not predator/prey wise.”

She appreciated his attempts at humor, but bigger things
kept her from enjoying the moment. “What does that make me to Connor?” she
asked. “A reward for services rendered?” Belle wiped at her eyes, knowing that
Victor watching her. Breaking down and crying in front of someone she just met
was just plain rude. A slow breath escaped her as she thought about the
situation. “And you know I understand the need for secrecy in your world. I
even get why Dennis had my memories wiped, or altered, or whatever you call
it.” Her eyes filled with tears as she thought of her husband. “But I don’t
think I can forgive being passed off and lied to.”

Victor walked over to where Belle sat and knelt in front of
her. He gazed into her eyes, knowing that while she was a strong woman, her
entire world was falling down around her. “My dear, I want you to think about
one small thing,” he said quietly. “You and Connor spent years together, I can
guarantee that there were good times and they were not a lie.”

Tears fell from Belle’s eyes. It was tempting to believe
him, but she simply didn’t know. She stood and walked over to the terrace doors
and looked out at the setting sun. Before she could continue the conversation,
she saw two curious faces, hiding just off the terrace. She wiped her eyes
again and forced a small smile on her face. “Hello?” she called.

Aiden smiled at the woman. He glanced at his brother before
walking over to her. “Grandma, do you have cookies?” he asked innocently.

Belle blinked before looking at Victor. “Cookies?” she
asked.

He met her skeptical eyebrow with a grin. “It has been tried
and tested that the best way to a man’s heart is his stomach. The twins are the
same,” he explained. “Give them cookies and sweets and they are yours forever.”

Movement in the bush pulled Belle’s attention away from
Victor. She smiled as she saw Kayin watching her with critical eyes. “I’m
afraid I don’t have cookies right this second, but I’m sure we can get some in
a little while.”

Kayin looked at his brother.
“See, told
you.
She’s
gonna
make us wait for Daddy and
Grandpup
to get back,” he complained.

Gold eyes looked Belle over again. “Nah, she’s
gonna
make us wait for dinner,” Aiden countered. “She’s
with Grandfather. He’s always on our side.”

Again, Belle looked at Victor. “They consider you their grandfather?
What about James and Tina?”

Victor smiled and sat on one of the terrace chairs. “It’s a
long, long story.” Before Belle could counter, Madison walked into the living
room. “Are you all finished being affectionate with your Troy?” he asked her.
When her dark eyes simply narrowed on him, he laughed. “Shall I take that as a
yes for the moment, or no for the night?” he teased.

Madison simply smiled as she sat on the patio railing. “Are
you finished with Rebecca?” she asked in turn. When his smile faded hers
widened. “Is that a yes for the night, or a
no
for
the decade?”

The Vampire turned away from Madison and scoffed. “You are
too impertinent for your own good,” he told her. “Men larger than you have felt
my wrath.”

A fond smile left Madison as she went to the boys and picked
one up in each arm. “I felt it too,” she countered. When Victor gave her a
confused look, she smiled and winked at Belle. “One Halloween, I went as the
Grim Reaper. He made me eat my entire haul that night. I was sick for a week. Then
there was a time when I hotwired his beloved Mustang. One little scratch and he
made me ride a real horse for two months. And I can never forget the one time I
tried to pull rank on a Gargoyle. I was trying to tell him I was the daughter
of the King of Vampires; he made me fight my way out of trouble.”

Pale green eyes rolled. “Yes, I was a horrid father. I
should have spoiled you and given you a sweet sixteen that rivaled that MTV
show. Never mind the fact that as a Necromancer, even wearing a costume of the
Grim Reaper, you are telling the public what you are. You wanted to eat your
candy, even after I told you why you could not, so I let you find out the hard
way. As for when you hotwired my car… most girls your age were dreaming of
having their own horse. I thought you loved Raziel.”

“I adore Raziel,” Madison said quickly. “As soon as that
viper you call a horse breeder gives the word, I’m bringing him and his lot
home.”

“You know Gargoyles and Vampires have iffy relations. Being
my daughter would only anger them, not impress them. I did intervene. Antonio
is the result.”

Madison kissed her boys and looked at Victor. “Old coot,”
she mumbled.

He still simply smiled. “Disrespectful urchin,” he
countered.

Belle shook her head. “Are you two always like this?” she
asked.

“Only when the mood strikes,” Victor answered. “Madison and
I know each other well enough to know that there is never any real animosity
between us.” He then winked at Belle and smiled. “Even when there is, she can
never stay mad at me for long. She is a marshmallow that way.”

Madison snorted. “And you say I’m disrespectful.”

“You mean to say you’re not?” Dylan’s voice asked. She
smiled at her sister as she and Crispin walked into the room. “I think I can
find proof that counters that.”

“Et
tu
Dylan?”
Madison asked in amusement. She clutched her hand to her
heart and pretended to be hurt. When the boys started to laugh, she smiled and
messed up their hair. “Alright you two, no trying to get extra cookies out of
Grandma. You both have had enough for the day.” She ignored the complaints from
her two boys and continued. “But that’s not saying that you can’t go upstairs
and clean out Uncle Casper’s room. If you find it, it’s yours.”

Aiden and Kayin looked at each other for a moment before
taking off into the house.

Madison nearly fell over laughing as the boys started up the
stairs. “Oh, that brings a whole new meaning to release the hounds,” she
gasped. When Dylan looked at her strangely, she wiped at her eyes. “Casper is a
cookie junkie. I know he has something hidden in his room. And while I’m over
what he said to me earlier, I’m still a little vindictive.”

Belle leaned against the railing and sighed. “I feel like
I’m down a rabbit hole,” she said softly.

Dylan gave her a comforting smile. “Don’t feel bad. She
makes everyone feel like that. You get used to it after a while.” When Belle
chuckled, Dylan settled in Crispin’s arms. “And now that you know more about
us, I’m sure she’ll be even more over the top,” she commented.

Madison turned to the house and smiled when a large red wolf
slowly entered the living room. She knew Dennis was a red wolf, but to see Troy
as one as well, she wanted to laugh, cry and gush all at the same time. “Belle,
you okay?” she asked going over to the nervous woman. Wide blue eyes met hers.
“You’re fine, it’s only Troy,” she said easily.