Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
When Winston’s stare landed on Madison, Matt saw his malice and exercised every ounce of self-control not to step between them to shield her.
The senator stamped on a smile as fake as his campaign promises. “Madison, welcome back.”
“Thank you, Winston. You’re too kind.”
He cupped her shoulder. “How’s your father?”
Matt felt the revulsion shudder through her. “Improving. Thank you for asking.”
“Of course. I’m glad you got to see him before we buckled down for campaign season.”
No one could fail to hear the warning in Winston’s voice, least of all Madison.
“Absolutely,” she murmured, her expression no less fake. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
The Westbrooks looked on, Montrose seemingly undressing her with his stare while applauding the senator for strong-arming her. Genie, on the other hand, cringed. Clearly, the grieving woman would give anything to be anywhere else. Matt suspected her husband had threatened her if she refused to come and make nice.
Winston and Todd sat at the massive table, the former settling at the head. Todd slithered into the chair on Madison’s left and grabbed her hand before she could pull away. The asshat shot Matt a mocking stare as he squeezed her fingers.
Despite his boiling blood, Matt refused to blink at Todd Pershing. He would not give that bastard an ounce of satisfaction. He fucking hated Todd touching Madison with his entitled, too-manicured hands, but Matt knew one thing: the bastard couldn’t—wouldn’t—dare to harm her in front of others.
Within minutes, the staff had served the food. Matt blended into the background, observing everything and everyone as he strategized. Somewhere along the way, that cocky bastard Madison had married must have left clues about whatever shady shit he was into. Matt intended to find them and, if he had to, blackmail the son of a bitch into giving her a divorce and leaving her alone for good. That was Matt’s number one goal. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder…how in-the-know about his grandson’s dealings was the senator? Because Matt was hard-pressed to believe that much passed under Winston’s nose without him sniffing it out.
But he wasn’t here to end one of America’s longest-serving senators, just his odious grandson.
“Here’s to good times with family and sticking together no matter what.” Winston’s voice boomed as he held up a wineglass with his gleaming politician’s smile.
“And to my husband’s successful reelection,” Agatha joined in.
“Hear! Hear!” Todd, Roger, and Montrose all proclaimed.
Cynthia had fallen asleep at the table again. No one seemed to care. Madison pried her hand free from Todd’s and used it to raise her glass in silence. Still without a drink, Genie looked at her plate, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze.
After everyone else took a swig, Montrose cut a glare his wife’s way. She pretended to be far too busy cutting her duck confit to notice.
The meal got underway with Montrose and Winston speculating about who was stabbing whom in the back among the Beltway players. The senator congratulated Westbrook on his new multimillion-dollar pharmaceutical lobbying gig, wishing him all prosperity. Well, that explained why the man had been willing to sweep his son’s murder under the rug.
Disgusting. How could Montrose Westbrook live with himself?
Chatter turned to specific pieces of legislation in the works, including the bipartisan, compromise-laden immigration bill that seemed to have decent support among American voters.
“The bill won’t pass,” Winston proclaimed, sending Todd a sidelong stare. “I’ve put some bugs in the right ears, and people are now coming around to my way of thinking.”
Why the fuck would he kill it? What was that about?
Montrose clapped Winston on the back like he was the hero the country needed right now, rather than the greedy sellout probably trying to down a popular bill for reasons that benefited him. The whole scene pissed Matt off, but he kept his face carefully blank and his attention on Madison, who pushed food around her plate and motioned to one of the maids for some water.
She didn’t look his way. Matt was proud of her for behaving as if he wasn’t in the room. Hell, she’d hardly looked his way since the Westbrooks had arrived. For him, that was a double-edged sword. After nearly two weeks of feeling the constant sun of her affection, he hated being cut off from her warmth. Mere hours in, he already wanted to crawl out of his skin, but he kept his shit wired tight.
Madison thanked the maid, then lifted her untouched stem of vino, passing it clandestinely behind Todd’s back. Cynthia, now awake again, took it gratefully and downed the wine in a handful of swallows.
When the rhetoric around the table got too heated, Agatha changed the subject. “The summer is turning dreadfully hot…”
As people finished eating and the servants began clearing away the plates, Genie excused herself. No one—except Madison—paid her any mind as she slipped out the door, then appeared a few moments later through the window, wandering the garden behind the house.