Page 53

Like I’m air and he’s suffocating. Like I’m water and he’s in the desert.
Like I’m home and he finally found me.
I try to kiss him the same way. Show him how much I appreciate all he’s doing.
All he is.
I want him to know I’m not sure how I’ll go on when he leaves. That I don’t know why or how I feel like I do, but I’m done fighting it. Done feeling bad it’s happening. Done?—
Maddox’s lips pull from mine and I gasp.
“No. Wait.” I cling to him, desperate to hang onto this moment. “Where are you going?”
That’s when I hear it. The vibration of his phone and whoever in the heck I’m going to kill for interrupting us.
Maddox pulls one arm from around me but the other keeps holding me close as he digs his cell free from one of the pockets in his pants. After swiping the screen, he presses it to his ear. “Becca? Is everything okay?”
I can barely make out her voice, but she seems to be talking really fast, which can’t be good.
Maddox’s eyes move to my face as he listens. His other arm relaxes, his free hand coming to my cheek for a second before he steps away.
“Okay. Listen to me carefully. I want you to quietly go into the closest bathroom. With the door open, lock the knob. Then gooutof the bathroom and pull it shut. Got it?” He strides to the door. “I want you to do that to as many of the bathrooms in the house as you can, then get into the farthest closet and leave the door open.” Maddox walks out into the hall and I follow behind him. “Hide as well as you can. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” He bangs on Luca and Owen’s door. “If someone finds you, go for their eyes. Use your thumbs to dig them out of their skull.”
A chill runs through my body at the directions he’s giving Becca. At knowing she might have to follow all of them.
And one day, I might too.
SEVENTEEN
MADDOX
THIS IS A fucking nightmare. The list of reasons for that is long and far-reaching, but at the very top is Audrey’s safety.
I can’t leave her here at the hotel by herself, but I have to take both Owen and Luca with me because I’m not sure what we’re walking into. It’s a fucking worst-case scenario and has me on edge in a way I’ve never been before.
Luca opens the door to the room he and Owen share, and Owen’s already gearing up in the background. There’s a certain kind of knock that happens when shit’s going down, and we all recognize it instantly.
“We have to go. Now. Becca just called me. Said there’s strange cars on the street outside her house and she’s got a bad feeling.” I wish I could’ve stayed on the phone with her, but it’s too risky. All it would take is one wrong move and her screen would illuminate, giving her location away.
Luca’s eyes move to where Audrey stands right behind me. “Are we all going?”
Scrubbing one hand over my face, I curse under my breath. “I don’t think we have any other option.”
Becca was a variable I didn’t plan for, and now we’ve got to make decisions on the fly, working with what we’ve got.
“Agreed.” Luca checks his watch. “We’ll meet you at the car in two minutes.”
That gives me time to see what I can do to make Audrey a little less conspicuous. She looks adorable in the new sweatshirt and jeans from the haul Luca picked up while we were meeting with Becca, but the light color of her top won’t hide well. Even behind tinted glass.
Hurrying back into our room, I grab one of my black shirts since I don’t have time to dig through her new clothes, and pull it over her head, blotting out the conspicuous pale pink. Then I frown at her head.
“I need you to pull your hair up.” Audrey’s long, wavy blonde locks are gorgeous, but easily identifiable. If I’m taking her somewhere Trevor might be, I need to make her as invisible as I can.
While Audrey twists her locks into a bun, I retrieve the knit hat I wear when I need to be fully camouflaged. It rolls down to serve as a full mask that will hide any remaining parts of her that could be visible. That way I can stash her in the car and she’ll blend in completely with the dark interior, reducing the chances anyone will realize she’s inside.
After quickly strapping on my personal arsenal, I grab her hand and we race down the hall, pushing our way out the door into the parking lot at exactly one minute, fifty-nine seconds.
“I should have fucking called for more backup as soon as we left Becca’s.” I’m pissed at myself. Pissed at Trevor. Pissed at the Memphis fucking PD for being so goddamn corrupt.