Page 92 of Beauty & Chaos

Three rings later, Maddox answers, his voice full of sleep. “You better be almost dead.”

“I fucked up.”

I hear the rustle of sheets. “Tell me there are no dead bodies, Travis.”

“None.”

He curses, and there are footsteps, then the sound of the fridge door opening. “Then what happened?”

“Mama had a heart attack.”

“Jesus, man, I’m sorry. Is she okay?” He’s now wide awake.

“For now. But she called me Terrance in front of Brook, so that’s fucked things up. She took off, and I’ve had my lawyer send a letter.”

He curses.

Maddox knows how much it cost me to create this new identity. It’s not just a bunch of new documents.

“She might not say a word, but she also won’t forgive me.”

Maddox is quiet, and I sense he’s sat down with whatever drink he pulled out. “Do you care?”

My eyes cast around the dark neighborhood. As dark as Manhattan gets with all the light and activity. I purse my lips as I consider his question.

“I’m not a dick. I didn’t want to hurt her,” I reply.

“Answer the question, Trav.”

Shit.

Why did I choose Maddox? He always calls us on our shit, no matter what. Which was why, when he kidnapped Kyra, it was such a shock to all of us.

I guess I know that—therefore, I likely chose him so he could slap me into reality.

“Yes, I care. This was not meant to happen. I should’ve locked her in the goddamn car before running into Mama’s house.” I slam my hand down on the steering wheel.

“She’s not a puppy.” Maddox slurps his drink, calm as fuck. “Which means she can rationalize why you did all this. Talk to her. Tell her the truth.”

Brook’s a fucking journalist; I’m not doing that. Just knowing my name and the information I shared last week about my father is too much.

“You know I can’t.”

“I know you like this girl, and given you are thirty-one years old and have pussy on tap, that means there is a strong possibility she is important to you.”

She’s mine.

“Put it this way.” He yawns. “If she started seeing someone else in a few weeks’ time, and you saw him kissing her, how would you feel about that?”

Sudden anger slams into my chest.

The vision of Brook with another man is pretty easy to imagine. My fist clenches and teeth grind, ready to do battle.

“I’d fucking kil—”

Chuckles fill the airwaves.

“You know, for someone who had to kidnap a woman to find a wife, you’re an arrogant motherfucker,” I reply, then hang up.