"Lay off of her and lay off of me," she said sternly. "Stop worrying about your precious egos and back the f.u.c.k off."

With that last barb, Jo turned to walk back to her car. She caught sight of his face as she did so. He looked like the words had delivered the final knockout blow. Great, he'd gotten the message finally. Maybe now he would leave her the h.e.l.l alone.

Chapter Fourteen.

John paced back and forth in his hotel room. He needed to get in touch with Madeline-needed to let her know that her secrets wouldn't stay that way if she tried to screw him out of his share of their money.

He had tried both of her phones, and both had gone straight to voice mail. Apparently she was in no mood to talk to him and was ignoring his calls. She carried those d.a.m.n things everywhere, so he knew she must have received his voice mails. He had avoided being forceful or threatening in them, but he had gotten his point across, he thought. He hadn't heard a word from her, though-not so much as a peep.

A bulb lit up above his head as the solution came to him. He went to the front desk. In a place as shady as this one, he knew he could get the front desk clerk to do anything for an extra buck. Moments later, after a little coaching on his part, he waited while Elena, the front desk clerk dialed the phone, with a masked number.

"h.e.l.lo?" she finally said. "I'd like to speak to Madeline please." There was a pause. "Yes, this is her sister, Cynthia."

John's palms were sweaty. This would work. Cynthia rarely called, but whenever she did, Madeline took the time to talk. Madeline desperately wanted a closer relations.h.i.+p with her sister, but Cynthia had always been the free-spirited type, flitting off to wherever the wind blew her and forgetting about her family completely.

Elena handed him the receiver and walked away from the counter. He had asked her to give him a moment of privacy once the call was made. Just as he thought, a crisp fifty-dollar bill in her pocket had made anything attainable.

The hold music on the other end of the line made his blood boil. She HAD to answer this call. Finally, he heard her voice, "Cynthia?" The words were laced with disbelief.

"h.e.l.lo, Maddie," John replied, grinning.

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"You don't have to speak, but I need to say some things," he instructed, doing his best to keep his voice even.

"You have thirty seconds, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d."

"That will work. I've got a little proposition for you. I know that since I was caught, you think you get to take all the money and run, isn't that right?"

"This is about money, John? Are you f.u.c.king kidding? You slept with another woman-and not just any woman-and you want to talk about money?" Her voice was quiet, but she couldn't hide her contempt.

"Yes, I do want to talk about money, darling. Here's the deal-I cheated. And yes, with you-know-who, but you checked out a long time ago, and we both know why. I wasn't what you wanted, now was I?"

"What?" Madeline's breathing increased, and John knew he had gotten his point across.

"You wouldn't want me going to the press about how Mayor Stratton likes the ladies, would you?"

"You wouldn't."

"Oh, Maddie, I believe you know I would. And I will, unless you promise me half of everything."

"That's blackmail."

"I suppose it is." John laughed. "You let me know if you want to take your chances and call my bluff."

"I can't split everything down the middle and go on like nothing happened, John. You slept with someone else."

"This isn't a negotiation. You can hand over half of what you're worth or you can try to explain to everyone that you were blackmailed-after you're labeled a lesbian by the media and all your const.i.tuents. You know, the ones who elected you. If you're even thinking about a second term, this should be of importance to you."

Madeline didn't respond. John knew she had only run for mayor to stop the corruption in local government. While she had higher aspirations, this was her current, most pressing goal. She had worked hard to do that this term and accomplished a great deal. Earlier this year, she had hinted that maybe one term was enough. That said, he knew that this was not a story she wanted to share with anyone-let alone the media.

"You have until tomorrow to decide. I'll be expecting a call around five p.m. If I don't get one, the media gets a juicy story."

He hung up the phone, feeling very pleased with himself. He would be set up after the divorce settlement, and he could move wherever he wanted.

Madeline let the receiver fall from her hand. This was exactly what she had hoped to avoid by having the staff hold her calls and by ignoring every one of John's attempts to contact her. When she heard that Cynthia was on the line, though, she had decided to speak with her. Now what? How could John be so insensitive? How was she going to deal with this?

It wasn't about the money. She would still have enough to live comfortably for the rest of her life. It was about her pride. If he walked away with half of everything she had, it would feel like he had won. She wanted that cheating b.a.s.t.a.r.d to suffer just a little bit-especially when the face of his mistress continued to cut into her heart.

Then again, what he had already done was going to mar upcoming campaign efforts. If he made good on this threat, it would threaten everything.

She could resort to his games, she knew. She knew plenty of his secrets and could beat him to the punch by secretly spreading those to the media. She wasn't sure she wanted to resort to those tactics, though. In politics, she had learned early to be careful how quickly you pull the trigger.

She sighed. She would pay him off. The thought made her angry, but it would get her one step closer to having him out of her life for good. Maybe then she could move forward.

She wanted to talk to someone who would understand. But the truth was she had no one. Not any longer. She glanced at the staff chart beside her phone, letting her eyes linger on Jo's name. She couldn't disguise what she felt. She was hopelessly drawn to her, wanting to be her friend-and so much more.

She picked up the phone, placed the receiver to her ear and let her fingers hover above the number keys. Never before had she been so at war with herself. She tightened her grip on the receiver and slammed it down.

"I won't do it," she said with a sigh. This was something she was going to have to do on her own-completely alone.

An apartment that until recently had seemed perfectly normal was now hauntingly quiet with walls that seemed to be closing in on her. Jo had done anything and everything to occupy herself. She had taken Jaws out for a walk, but when the temperature had turned colder, she opted for cleaning the apartment top to bottom. With nothing left to do, she had to get out of the house.

Jo made her way through her neighborhood to a place she knew all too well. As she stood on the sidewalk and stared at the sign above the door, she felt the sadness settle in her heart. She had never expected to care-but she did.

"Kay's Pub," the sign read. Jo let out a depressed laugh, thinking that it would be better if it simply said, "Welcome back."

She opened the door and stepped inside, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness around her.

"We're not open until five," a woman's voice called out of the darkened room.

"Not even for a regular?" Jo questioned, knowing the answer.

"Is that you, Jo?" Kay appeared from behind the bar.

Jo smiled and walked over to hug the woman.

"Back from the dead? On hiatus? Sabbatical?" Kay asked, laughing. "Where the h.e.l.l have you been, girl? We've missed you around here."

"I've only been gone for a few nights," Jo said with a laugh.

"A few nights around here is like a lifetime," Kay said, returning to stocking the fridge. "I know we don't see you every night, but you come around every little bit to have a drink, play a new role and leave with some poor unsuspecting girl."

Jo shook her head and smiled. "You know me too well, Miss Kay."

This was one of the few places that she had never had to hide who she was. It was Jo's safe haven. Kay was one of the only people who knew that Jo was a lesbian, and thankfully she never asked questions or probed too deeply about what Jo did for a living, even though there was little doubt she already knew. And right now, it was the only place Jo wanted to be-the only place that she could be without causing more trouble.

"So what have you been up to and why do you look so down?" Kay asked as she poured Jo a beer.

"Troubles of the heart," Jo said with a shrug, taking a seat on a barstool.

Kay stopped wiping down the bar to look Jo in the eye. "Someone finally got to you?"

Jo took a long swig of her beer. "Something like that."

"d.a.m.n," Kay said, shaking her head. "Never thought I'd see the day. Who is she?"

"Let's not talk about it, okay?" She had never made a practice of spilling her feelings out for others, and she was certainly not going to start now.

"Okay," Kay replied. "But I will say one thing. She must be some girl to have caught your heart. Don't let her go without a fight."

The words stung, though Jo knew Kay meant well. She gulped the rest of the beer down and set the empty gla.s.s on the bar. "Thank you, Kay," Jo managed before slipping off the stool and dropping a ten-dollar bill on the bar.

"You leaving already?"

"I may be back tonight," Jo said. "I need to go now."

She had no clue where to go or what to do-only that she could not sit around and talk to Kay about "the girl" who had her head so messed up. Kay had said she should fight for her, but Madeline obviously did not want that, and she certainly wasn't a "girl." She was a woman and a brilliant one at that.

She leaned against the cool side of the brick building to compose herself. "I'm Jo Carson. I'm strong, and I'm going to get through this," she whispered to herself. Taking a steadying breath, she straightened her shoulders and began her walk home.

Of one thing Jo was certain-she was not going to change from the strong person she was to some broken soul because of Madeline Stratton.

Chapter Fifteen.

Knowing exactly what she needed in order to deal with her stress and feelings of isolation, Madeline picked up her office phone and called Jo.

After a ring, Jo's sweet voice filled the line. "This is Jo. Can I help you?"

"I sure hope so," Madeline said with a laugh.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll be right in." The amus.e.m.e.nt in Jo's voice was evident.

Madeline heard the click and was grateful to see Jo approaching her doorway. There was a look of concern on her face. Without saying a word, she seemed to be asking if everything was okay.

"Please shut the door."

Jo nodded and did as she was told.

"Lock it," Madeline whispered.

Jo silently slid the lock into place.

"What's going on?"

"I need you to do something for me," Madeline said.

"Okay, whatever you need, just let me know."

Always one to comply and provide help, Madeline thought with antic.i.p.ation. She took a deep breath. Simply being in Jo's presence alleviated her stress.

"Come closer," she whispered, thankful there were no windows in her office.

Jo smiled. "Right here, right now?" Her eyes sparkled with interest.

Madeline nodded. As Jo moved closer, Madeline whispered in her ear, "I need you to help me deal with the stress and confusion."

Jo leaned in to kiss Madeline's neck. "I think I can help with that."

Without wasting a second, Jo slipped her hand up Madeline's skirt and began to relieve all the worries and erase any thought other than the pleasure she was receiving.

She came quickly and had to bite her lip to keep from making any sound.

"You're incredible," she whispered as she s.h.i.+vered from the excitement of it all.

"Glad I could help," Jo said with a wink.

Madeline woke with a start. What the h.e.l.l had she been thinking? She sat up, rubbing her forehead in frustration. The last thing she needed was to be having s.e.x dreams about Jo Carson. She had been stupid to get a hotel room so close to Jo's place, though she hadn't had a lot of choices since she had been walking and hadn't wanted to attract attention by calling a cab. Doing that had been almost as idiotic as taking the afternoon off to nap and letting her mind wander. Recalling the dream and the defeated look on Jo's face this morning, Madeline was strongly tempted to pop over to her place and talk about all of this. She decided that a trip to the hotel bar would have to suffice.

Jacquelyn was tired of the games. Both Madeline and Jo had disappeared from the office today, and she wanted to know why. She pulled Gabe into the hallway, knowing that she should show more professionalism, but she was unable to stop herself.

"What did she say this morning while you were getting coffee?" Jacquelyn demanded. "Why are the rest of us banished from Madeline's presence while she gets to be the golden girl?"

Gabe shook his head, looking tired. "Enough, Jacquelyn."

"No, it's not enough. I need to know. We all deserve to know. Madeline can't drop out of sight and shack up with Jo Carson. The media will start questioning where she is."

"She was in the office today," Gabe replied. "Besides, they're not 'shacking up' anymore. Madeline got a hotel room yesterday."

The news came as a surprise to Jacquelyn, and she was not fond of surprises when they related to her boss. "Why didn't they say anything? And how long should we expect this to last? When is she going to slip off again and not tell anyone but Jo?"