Free Precarious Possessions (Maxwell Investigations) by Dawn Ibanez Page A

“Some
mother you are.”
    She closed her eyes for a second to try and reign in her
temper. “Casper, if you ever cared about our friendship, you will get out of my
house.”
    “Is there a problem?” Dylan asked from the stairwell. She
frowned at her brother-in-law as she read everyone's minds. She had hoped that
Casper would simply step aside and let Madison be happy, but after that comment
Dylan didn’t think that was going to be possible.
    Casper looked at Madison for a long moment before allowing a
slow breath to leave him. Without a word, he turned and went to the stairs.
    Troy turned to Madison and tried to take her hand. He
frowned when she backed away from him. “Madison?”
    She shook her head and backed away. “I’m gonna grab a shower. Why don’t you go to the kitchen and get something to eat.”
    Before Troy could say anything, Madison slipped into her
room and closed the door in his face. He closed his eyes and sighed. What
Casper had said hurt her. A blind man could even see that. Troy didn’t want to
leave her alone. As he was about to raise his hand to knock, her sister stopped
him.
    “Let her take her shower. After that she should be calm
enough to talk.” Dylan walked towards him and tried not to sigh. “That shot
about her skills as a mother hurt her. Give her some time to lick her wounds
and she’ll be fine.”
    Troy looked between Dylan and Madison’s door. “She’s a great
mother.”
    Dylan smiled as he turned and walked away from Madison's
bedroom. Troy was just as stubborn as Madison and he wouldn’t let her get away. She leaned against the door jam and
cracked open her sister’s door. “Get that? He thinks you’re a great mother.”
    Madison was leaning against the wall as she looked at her
sister. “He’s never seen me with the boys.”
    “True,” Dylan agreed. She stepped closer to the small
opening and looked into Madison’s eyes. “But he was thinking about how happy
and polite Aiden was last night. And how difficult and
protective Kayin was.” Dylan smirked as she saw Madison smile. “That’s
all you. Now get your shower before Victor comes back. I’d rather you skin
Casper than him having to do it.” Dylan closed the door and started down the
hall.
    * * *
* *
    Crispin frowned as his brother stormed out of the house. He
could only imagine what happened to make Casper want leave with Troy in the
house. There weren’t too many things that would force Casper from Madison’s
side. “Do I want to know?” he asked
mentally. Crispin carefully hid a flinch when Casper shut him out of his mind.
His green eyes then traveled to the archway leading into the hall.
    Troy simply walked into the kitchen and made his way over to
the fridge. “Is your brother always an asshole?” he asked conversationally.
    Crispin’s frown deepened as he watched the entire exchange
from Troy’s mind. “Only when Madison is involved,” he answered honestly. He
watched the Werewolf carefully as Troy started pulling out eggs, bacon and
various other dairy products. “I’ll talk with him. He has no right talking to
her that way.”
    Troy looked at Crispin for a moment. He then placed the milk
on the center island and took a slow breath. “I don’t want you to,” he said
seriously. When Crispin gave him a confused look, he went on, “I know she’s
like family to you, but she’s my Mate. I’m going to have to take care of her
sometime.”
    “That’s only fair,” Crispin said with a nod. He then took a
deep breath. “Though I doubt you’ll even have a say when my father hears about
this.”
    A rueful smile crossed Troy’s face. “Victor’s a little
protective of her,” he observed.
    Crispin snorted. “He’s a lot protective of her and the
boys.” He then waited until Troy looked at him before continuing. “He let you
walk away once. You break her heart again and there won’t be any stopping
either of us.”
    Troy slowly inhaled before nodding. It seemed like these
Vampires