Position of Honor The Honor Series Book Two

Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

She had fallen asleep somewhere between finding out her father's murderer was still loose and the cup of coffee right before daybreak that made her stomach churn. She lay still, tightly curled into a ball in front of the fire on the hard wooden floor of the house that was more of a small cabin.

Matt didn't sleep. He had stayed with her, against her wishes, but stayed and watched over her. He said he was doing his job and the road was too hazardous to drive on until morning. Matt wasn't about to admit to himself, much less to her, that he was staying because Madison made him feel something he hadn't felt in years. There was something pulling him to her and like a mystery book or one of his cases, he had to figure out the reason why.

He watched her sleep through the night. She snored, she talked and she cried. All he wanted was to scoop her up and hold her. Just to help her through whatever misery she was feeling, but he knew it would be impossible at this point.
Madison Stone was a job, a family member of the deceased, even a suspect at this point. As the only living relative, Matt assumed Madison would be getting the fortune Stone left behind. Not that there was much to go on for her to be a suspect. Not at this point. But from what he could tell, Madison didn't own much herself and the millions the old man left behind would surely help her out. Money always seemed to be a good starting point for a motive.

It didn't make sense though, Matt thought. They weren't close. Even when she was young, especially when she was young, the old coot ignored her. The old man had sworn up and down Madison wasn't his child. If that were the case then why would she think he would leave any of his estate to her? The money motive, in his mind, was therefore shot.

Madison was a loner from what he could tell. She didn't have much in the way of social skills. In a way, Madison seemed almost rude because of her shyness. Her social skills were so under-developed. She was quiet, shy and timid, very timid. It was as if she were afraid of what he might do to her.

They were alone in the middle of a nasty storm and there would be no one to help her, even if she had someone to call. So why would she chance coming if she was truly the wallflower that she seemed? The question just kept coming back up.

Why was she here?

Matt had kept his distance, stayed on the other side of the room observing her. He tried to give Madison the space she obviously needed to feel comfortable with him. That feeling never came to pass. He could tell from her body language it wasn't going to happen easily.

Madison finally fell asleep out of pure exhaustion, but not because she felt safe. Quietly, he got up and stoked the fire again. The snow was still falling outside, not as heavy as it had been an hour before. He hoped that she would sleep... rest. She had needed it.

He saw it from the moment he looked at her on the porch. She must have driven for hours without stopping. The questions he had for her could wait. She was in no shape mentally to deal with a police inquiry. Morning would be here soon enough.

Matt had removed his coat hours earlier and sat on the floor near her feet as he warmed up the room with the heat of the fire. His dark hair was rumpled as were the clothes he was still in from the night before. The uniform wasn't the most comfortable thing he owned, but he had been a lot more uncomfortable during the long nights on the job. The stake outs he did in metro D.C. were the worst of them. Murder capital of the world was what all the cops called it. If a cop wanted action, D.C. was the place to be.

Madison was awake. She didn't move, but opened her eyes and watched him. The way his arm muscles bunched and bulged under the sleeves of his shirt intrigued her. They seemed to stretch the limit of the material, almost breaking the seams. The taut pull of his pants outlined his muscular thighs. She wondered to herself if the material was as stretchy as it looked.