DOUBLE TROUBLE WITH THE TWIN WOLVES 16

C H A P T E R S I X T E E N - - - M A D D I S O N

When the door of the room closed behind the twins, Maddison awoke. Tim vanished in a blur of blue pants, nearly in sync with his phone vibrating somewhere in the blankets again. Maddison yawned and tossed through the sheets, reaching for the phone to turn it off. When she discovered it, her vision blurred by sleep, she was going to push the off button and lock the screen, which was still unlocked for the time being, when she read the message.

"You better send my fucking money to me tonight, or everything I have on Tom is going to Criminal Appeals."

Maddison blinked many times, reading and re-reading the message to ensure she was seeing it correctly.

Appeals for crimes? What in the world?

“Tim? Tom? She nervously spoke out, waiting briefly to hear if anybody was responding.

Silence. She wondered when her finger would lock on her and conceal the message as it lingered over the screen.

What if they're in some kind of trouble? She questioned.

She gave it one more second before committing. She could always make amends, but she'd despise herself if she let either of the two men—to whom she was becoming increasingly attached—suffer because they were too preoccupied trying to save her. Appeals for crimes? What in the world?

“Tim? Tom? She nervously spoke out, waiting briefly to hear if anybody was responding.

Silence. She wondered when her finger would lock on her and conceal the message as it lingered over the screen.

What if they're in some kind of trouble? She questioned.

She gave it one more second before committing. She could always make amends, but she'd despise herself if she let either of the two men—to whom she was becoming increasingly attached—suffer because they were too preoccupied trying to save her.

Blake lost a leg and his left arm when the device exploded while being disassembled. He asserted that it happened as a result of improper assembly of the explosive. Blake was convinced that it was Tom's fault and he had the papers to back it up even though the official investigation into the case had turned up nothing, seemingly never even reaching Tom.

Dread steadily gripped Maddison as she paged through reams of lab papers, burn patterns, and explosion descriptions. Now that she was upright, she was concentrating on the phone while swiftly reading everything. Even though she hadn't truly used explosives herself, she knew a lot of Ellia employees who had. She had even assisted them on a few occasions by performing spectro analysis work. One item kept drawing her attention as she turned through the digital data stacks.

The explosion's chemical makeup didn't look appropriate. Blake was hurt in the explosion, and various samples had been retrieved from the scene, but when she looked at the chemicals involved, they made no sense. She couldn't conceive of a reason why a very volatile, extremely unstable molecule like that would be used in official SEAL weaponry because SEH-985, one of the compounds, was not something that was often seen in common mixes.

Maddison adjusted the phone's settings while biting her bottom lip so that she could use it without Tim's passcode. It wasn't too far-fetched to think that whomever had carried out this research in Blake's case had merely overlooked the largely minor, minute dosage of an uncontrolled chemical found at the scene. Had she not overheard her boss, Charlie, talking about it once when she stopped by the office after having Ryker and Reidan, she would have missed it as well.

Maddison reminded herself, "You shouldn't be spying, Maddison," as she carefully undressed.

Nonetheless, she continued to stealthily peek at the phone, and when it buzzed once again with a new menacing message, she somewhat leaped out of her skin in alarm.

You son of a bitch, I really mean it. I'll kill your brother today, or else. Bring me my cash.

In the pit of her stomach, guilt accumulated. Maddison didn't have to speculate as to why Tim was ignoring this man. She was solely to blame. She could see that they had agreed to have an exchange the day before, but he had missed it since he was watching her. And now it may imply that Tom's reputation is in jeopardy. He might run into difficulties even with the appeal that is being reviewed by the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals. The last thing she wanted was that.

Maddison walked back and forth while repeatedly turning her phone over in her hands. What could she do? Tim would likely simply let it go and attempt to work things out with Tom later if she remained silent, she knew. Tom even knew, huh? I doubt it.

She frantically reflected, "I should have never gone to Sta Rosa that day. This is ruining everything." She knew full well that feeling sorry for herself would not assist anyone, but she indulged herself for a moment nonetheless.

When she was ready, she took the phone and slipped it into her back pocket before entering the bathroom to do some light cleaning. She brushed her hair, gave a tiny grimace at the mirror when she saw her smudged makeup, and looked in the mirror intently. Nevertheless, despite the anxious expression on her face, she had beautifully glowing skin and appeared much younger than she had in a very long time. The damage two appealing ex-SEALs may inflict upon a female.

She took a deep breath and rested her hands on the sink so she could take a time to consider the opposing points of view that were living in her thoughts.

You may sit back and relax knowing that they will take care of things. Or you might attempt to assist—those chemical patterns are puzzling. But Charlie, they most likely would. Can I just give him a call? Ask him about it. I would have to go visit him because he would never respond to a subject that may be so sensitive over the phone. I am unable to go, though. I could?

Maddison straightened up as a thought suddenly occurred. Tom and Tim were absent. She was aware that getting out of the Bear Den's security was not particularly safe, but her kids would be secure here. Perhaps she could go for an hour or two, chat to Charlie, and then return before anyone really realized what had occurred. She owed Tim and Tom so much, after all, to at least attempt to help them when they were doing so much for her.

Maddison exhaled deeply before putting her shoes on and leaving the bedroom. When she returned to her room, Mary was having fun with Ryker and Reidan. Immediately, both of the lads stood up and extended their hands to her while grinning broadly. She grinned as she knelt down and hugged her boys tightly.

"How are you two doing this morning? I'm very sorry, Mary, that I left them with you. I, um…"

Mary chuckled as she built what appeared to be a castle out of building blocks while sitting in the center of the floor. I've been having a great time with the young men, and I believe their mother could use a little T & T. Mary enquired while giggling nervously.

Maddison stood back up while blushing hysterically. "Are you aware of Tom and Tim's whereabouts?”

"They claimed they needed to conduct an errand and that Jerome would be here any minute to keep an eye on us. They seem to believe I can’t drive that stupid tank if I need to,” Mary sniffed, appearing almost belligerent for a minute. Maddison had to confess that if she had to choose a force in this home not to mess with, it would probably be Mary above both the retired Colonel and the twins! "They'll be back in no time." But you should go have some breakfast and maybe read a book. I'm not going to give you your guys back today, and I suppose you might need some alone time, hmm? ”

At that, Madison immediately perked up. Before moving toward the door, she carefully grinned and nodded, running her hand once more through the infant boys' hair.

"I believe you are correct, you know. I'll need some time. Mary, thank you very much! ”

As Maddison was already sprinting down the hallway and toward the stairs that lead below, she heard Mary cry behind her, "You're welcome."

If she knew anything, it was that none of Tim's and Tom's pals would permit her to walk anywhere in the open. She needed to go before Jerome came. She reached downstairs and grabbed her coat and one of Tom's sweatshirts, putting them on and pulled the hoodie over her face and hair. When she heard her own name spoken, she knew it was time to flee. She had just arrived at the back door when she heard voices, clearly male, talking about something at the exit that led to the bar.

She snuck out the back door after unhooking and unlocking it, running across the street to elude detection among the other abandoned warehouses and manufacturing structures. Maddison had kept a close watch on where they were going when driving the day before and had remembered the route back to the highway and any familiar sections.

Struggling with the heavy, oversized hoodie she had thrown on, she slid the phone with determination into her jacket's pocket and continued to walk. Although it was a long way to go to Ellia's primary research laboratories, she knew Sta Rosa well enough to manage it and she was aware that time was of the importance.

Hopefully Charlie will be there today. She ruminated anxiously, "I really hope I'm correct and I'm not wasting everyone's time and worries for nothing."

She felt more certain about her decision the further she went from the Bear Den. In her opinion, that was the proper thing to do. She had no idea what would happen to her after all was finished and the guys were no longer chasing her. If she hadn't done anything to assist one of the men she loved, it would have haunted her for the rest of her life.

Love? She was surprised by the immediate, intense impression that the word had not been a mere slip of the tongue.

Possibly, she did love them. Maddison accelerated her speed while grinning. In the end, wasn't everything allowed in love and war?