Wendy Madigan stood in the entryway to the kitchen, dressed in baggy navy-blue sweatpants and a T-shirt. I held a squirming Ernie.

“Funny to run into you here. I just came from a visit with your father.”

Before I could react, she continued, “That’s an adorable puppy. May I hold him?”

“He needs to go back out,” I said, knowing it might end with him whining at the back door again. But Wendy Madigan might very well be the kind of person to twist an innocent baby animal’s head off if the spirit moved her. After all, she’d had a child tortured and raped out of vengeance. No way was I letting her near my puppy.

She didn’t appear to be armed, but I backed away slowly, depositing Ernie back outside with Ricky. When I returned, I examined her closely.

I was wrong. Something protruded beneath the fabric near her right ankle.

She was armed.

Ryan came running in from the bedroom clad only in boxer briefs. “Ruby, are you all right?” Then he saw his mother. “What the fuck?”

“Watch your language, Ryan. And for goodness’ sake, put some clothes on. You’re clearly just like your father.” Wendy nodded to me. “You too. It’s the middle of the day.”

“Spare me any information about my father’s sex life, please. What are you doing out of psych?” Ryan demanded.

“Really? You think they can hold me there? I could have gotten out long ago, but it suited my purpose to be there.”

Ryan slowly inched forward, placing himself between Wendy and me. “Then why are you here? What do you want?”

“I came to see your father, dear. I know he’s home.”

“How do you know that?”

“Do you really think your father makes a move without me knowing it?”

Ryan and I stayed silent. Brad Steel was smarter than any of us had given him credit for. He’d allowed Wendy to find out what he was doing. That way, she thought they had no secrets, and it gave him the chance to hide Daphne away without Wendy knowing.

I’ll be damned.

“She’s armed, Ryan,” I said.

“No, I’m not.”

“You are.” My nerves jumped. “You’re carrying on an ankle strap.”

“I’m not. Where would I get a gun, coming right out of the loony bin?”

Good question. However, according to both my father and Ryan’s, this woman could make just about anything happen. Ryan strode cautiously toward her, and my belly clenched. I didn’t think she would harm her own son, but she was a madwoman.

He pushed up both legs of her sweatpants and found the strap. He took what looked like a derringer and examined it. “Loaded too. Any explanation, Mother?”

“That’s between your father and me.”

“What do you want with him?” Ryan asked.

“Closure,” she said. “This all ends today, Ryan.”

“According to him, you broke a promise by telling me that you’re my mother.” Ryan said, seeming to enunciate his words more than usual. “You’ve been the cause of everything horrible that’s happened to my family. My father won’t see you.”

“Oh, he’ll see me.”

“What makes you think he will?”

“You’ll make sure of it.”

“No I won’t.”

In a flash, she pulled another piece from inside her roomy waistband and pointed it straight at me. “You will. Because if you don’t, I’ll send your girlfriend here to hell.”

Panic bubbled in my gut. She’d fooled me. The ankle derringer had been a decoy. The woman was good. Once I noticed the one she’d wanted me to notice, she knew I’d stop looking. Rookie mistake. I should have known better than to take anything about Wendy at face value.

She’d played me just like Brad had been playing her, letting her find out what he wanted her to find out, and then she didn’t look any further to find Daphne.

“Don’t you dare harm her, Mother,” Ryan said through clenched teeth, his hands in front of him, “or I’ll never speak to you again.” He began inching backward toward me.

“I don’t want to harm her, darling. But I need to see your father. So take me to him and make sure I get in to see him, and your girlfriend lives.”

“Don’t listen to her, Ryan,” I said. “Don’t unleash her on your brothers and sister. They’ve been through enough. We can handle this right here and right now.”

Martial arts moves rushed through my brain. I could easily take Wendy down before she could pull the trigger…if I could just get close enough. I needed her to focus somewhere else. On Ryan. I had to keep him talking.

“Give me the gun, Mother.”

“I can’t, my sweet son. I’m sorry.”

“If you love me the way you say you do, please give me that gun.”

“I do love you, Ryan. More than you’ll ever know.”

“Then take the gun off Ruby. This has nothing to do with her.”

“Wrong,” Wendy said. “This involves all of you as well as your father. And I can assure you this. Someone is going to die tonight. It’s up to you, Ryan, who.”

Up to him? I resisted the urge to wipe the sweat out of my eyes. Perspiration framed Ryan’s face, and he held himself rigid. Surely Wendy could see how tense he was, how frightened.

“The only person who might die tonight is you, Mother. You will not hurt Ruby. Now hand that gun to me.” He extended one hand to her.

“I might very well be the one to die tonight. And after I have the closure I seek, I will not hesitate to accept my fate. But to get to that point, I need to see your father. You will take me to the main house and get me in to see him. Now go get dressed, and bring her some pants.”

“Hell, no. I’m not leaving her.”

“Have it your way.” She gestured to me. “We’ll come along with you.”

Chapter Forty-Nine

Ryan

“I’m sorry,” I said to my father and my siblings once we’d gotten into the main house. “I had no choice.”

My esteemed mother was holding on to Ruby, the gun pressed into her side. Ruby was a trouper. She’d mouthed to me that she could overtake Wendy while we were walking to the main house, but I’d begged her with my eyes not to. She must have understood. I would not take a chance with Ruby’s life.

I couldn’t lose her. Not when happiness was finally within reach.

Ruby hadn’t flinched once, and though I knew she was nervous, no one could tell by her demeanor. This was far from the first time she’d been held at gunpoint…although perhaps the first time by someone as psychotic as my biological mother.

“We understand,” my father said, turning to Wendy. “How did you get out of lockup?”

“Come now, Brad,” she said. “You know me better than that. You know I could have gotten out at any time.”

My father nodded, clearing his throat. “Yes. I know.”

“Look,” I said. “I got you here. Now state your business. My family has been through enough these past several weeks. Let’s just get this over with.”

“I am part of your family too, Ryan,” she said. “Or have you forgotten?”

How I wished I could forget. But I didn’t voice the words. I couldn’t risk setting her off, not when she still had Ruby at gunpoint.

“Your business is with me,” my father said. “Let Ruby go.”

“My business is with all of you,” she said. “I came to finally get what’s coming to me.”

“You said you wanted closure,” I reminded her.

“Yes,” she said. “By the time I’m done here, we will all have closure.”

My brothers and sister had been uncharacteristically silent throughout this. My father had called them all to the house, and now they stood together on one side of the large office, Jade holding tight onto Talon’s hand. Thankfully, Melanie had gone to a doctor’s appointment and wasn’t available.

Joe’s eyes betrayed his thoughts. He was getting ready to strike.

I shook my head slightly at him, hoping I was conveying my message for him to stand down. I couldn’t risk Ruby being hurt. But I knew my big brother. Once he set his mind to something— “Take that gun off my daughter, Wendy.”

Marjorie gasped as we all turned our gazes to the doorway. Theodore Mathias stood there, gun in his hand, pointed at Wendy’s head.

Wendy didn’t turn around to face him. “I figured you’d show up, Theo. You’re the one person who’s better at covering his tracks than even I am.”

“I learned from the best. Now get that gun off my daughter, or I’ll splatter your brains all over this room.”

“You don’t have the balls,” Wendy said.

Was she kidding? This was the man who’d spent the better part of his lifetime stealing and torturing people, and she didn’t think he had the balls to shoot her? According to what he’d told Ruby, she’d been the reason for his downfall. He should have been thrilled to do her in.

“You have something in place, don’t you, Mother?” I said. “A failsafe. Something that will take my father and Mathias down if you die.”

She smiled. “I always knew you were brilliant, darling.”

Of course. That was why my father and the others hadn’t blown her head off years ago.

I regarded my siblings. Talon’s face had gone pale. Blankly pale. He’d come face-to-face with the last of the men who’d tortured and raped him all those years ago, and paralysis seemed to grip him. Jade snuggled into him, rubbing his shoulder, soothing him.