He opened his bedroom door, stepped inside, and flipped on the switch. He took two hasty steps towards the closet where his gun safe was.
And then stopped.
Because there, lazing in the chair in the corner like a king on his throne, a black nine-millimetre in one hand, was Alexander Cane.
Mav had run into plenty of wild animals on the ranch. He saw the shy bobcats every now and then and, once, had faced a black bear at thirty feet when he’d rounded a trail corner on Zeph’s back and almost run into the damn thing. But none of those encounters had filled him with the same wariness facing Alexander Cane did. It was unpredictability that made animals dangerous, but better an unpredictable animal than an unpredictable man.
Alexander grinned, and it was feral. Unhinged. He waved the gun nonchalantly. ‘No Nina?’
It said something about Alexander that he looked better than ever, almost unaffected. As if the havoc he’d wreaked had had no impact on his mental or physical health. Unlike Nina, Amanda Black, and the other women, whose lives had been turned inside out by the man sitting in front of him like a king on the precipice of full-blown insanity.
‘You’re breaking the terms of the restraining order,’ Maverick said calmly, trying to use reason. If Nina had called the cops, they’d be about ten minutes out by now. All he had to do was stall. ‘If you leave now, we’ll forget all about this.’
‘Hmmm, tempting.’ He laughed gleefully, like a sadistic child who’d just killed a puppy, Mav thought. As if to prove his train of thought, Alex cackled. ‘And you think I’m stupid enough to believe you’d just let me walk?
‘No.’ Alexander shook his head mock-mournfully. ‘Unfortunately for you and your family, you fell victim to a home invasion gone wrong.’
‘Use your brain,’ Mav said patiently. ‘Do you really think, after the scandal you’ve been involved in, that the cops won’t look to you first?’
‘Maybe. But they’ll have nothing to tie me to it. As we speak, I’m having a romantic dinner with a beautiful blonde who wants to be a movie star.’
In a desperate attempt to stall, Maverick said, ‘Your fake alibi won’t hold up. We have cameras at the front gate and on every building on the property. So, unless you walked here, we have you on video.’
‘You’re lying,’ Alexander spat. ‘Just like that whore!’
‘Nina never lied.’ The words were spoken quietly but firmly.
‘Yes, she did!’ he screeched. ‘She wanted me! She led me on!’ He pushed to his feet and started pacing. He tapped the gun grip to his own forehead. ‘I fell into her trap – just like you! Can’t you see what she is?’
‘I do seewhoshe is. She’s brave and strong and kind and generous.’
Alexander cackled again. ‘See, the only difference between us, is that I can see the truth so clearly.I’mstrong enough to end it.’
‘Alexander—’
‘No. Shut up!’ He paced constantly, that same wild animal. Caged.
Mav took a deep breath. As Alexander worked himself up, Mav worked to calm his own heart rate. He bought time. He waited for an opportunity to strike back.
‘They don’t believe me,’ Alexander said, his eyes glinting with panic and fury. ‘They don’t believe that she led me on, that … that she paraded herself in front of me like a bitch in heat! She used me. Shewantedme, and it was only once we’d cast her that she changed her mind. Manipulative bitch!’ He waved the gun about erratically. ‘Dumb, manipulative bitch. They’re all the same.’
‘Why don’t we sit down?’ Mav suggested quietly. ‘Talk about it?’
Alexander’s eyes snapped to him. For one single breath it looked as if he might consider it.
But the moment passed.
The Joker-like grin spread. ‘Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you.’ Raising the gun, he pointed it at Mav. ‘We’re done talking. Where is she?’
‘She’s at a ranch barbecue, just down the road,’ Mav lied.
‘You really think I’m stupid.’ He laughed. ‘Why don’t we test that theory? I’ll put a bullet in you, and then while you lie on the floor bleeding out, we’ll wait and see if she hears it and comes running …’
Mav’s muscles shortened as he prepared to duck and then dive. His only chance was if the first shot missed, and he could tackle Alexander to the ground where he would have the size advantage.
As if he’d sensed his thoughts, Alex smiled maniacally.
He hitched the gun one inch higher.
