Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 506

He rested his chin on the top of her head, his gaze drifting toward the floor-to-ceiling window.

Beyond the glass, the Chicago skyline stretched out, millions of lights flickering brilliantly in the dark.

Holding his entire world in his arms, he finally let himself drift to sleep.

...

The next morning, Nora was jolted awake by the shrill ringing of her phone.

Half-asleep, she blindly patted the nightstand, dragged the phone to her ear, and mumbled, "Hello..."

"Morning, Mrs. Lancaster."

A deep, lazy voice drifted through the speaker, dripping with casual amusement.

The remnants of sleep instantly vanished. She opened her eyes, pulling the phone away to check the screen. The caller ID showed an unknown Chicago number.

But the number itself was a ridiculous string of repeating eights...

There was only one person arrogant enough to have a number that flashy.

"Vincent?"

"Sleep well?"

Nora cast a deeply irritated look at the time flashing on her screen—7:50 AM.

Waking someone up at the crack of dawn just to ask if they slept well...

Was this guy a psychopath?

"Did you need something, Mr. Vaughn?"

Vincent chuckled, clearly picking up on the suppressed annoyance in her tone. "Don't be mad, Mrs. Lancaster. I'm not trying to ruin your morning. It's just that I despise owing favors..."

"No matter how you slice it, you saved my life last night. And one of my very few redeeming qualities is that I always repay my debts."

"Great. Hanging up."

Nora let out a breathless, exasperated laugh. Just as she set the phone back on the nightstand, a heavy arm wrapped around her waist, dragging her flush against a solid chest.

"Who was that?" The man's voice was hoarse with sleep, radiating a rugged, magnetic charm.

"Vincent."

Hudson's brows furrowed instantly. "What did he want?"

"He said he wanted to thank me for saving my life, and that if I ever need a favor in Chicago, I can call him."

Hudson let out a cold scoff, pulling her closer and resting his chin on her hair. "Ignore him. Stay as far away from that guy as possible. He's a walking curse—anyone who gets close to him ends up in the crosshairs!"

Nora blinked, turning her head so he could read her lips. "Really?"

Hudson toyed with a lock of her hair. "You probably don't know the politics, but Vincent has zero brothers. Sisters, on the other hand... he has a literal army of them. As long as he's breathing, he's the sole heir to the Vaughn Family empire, which means none of the women get to sit on the throne. That hit squad last night? I'd bet everything it was ordered by his own siblings."