Page 41 of Between Secrets and Obsession

“Nothing, but this tool was suffering from a buzz, and he asked me three times to turn it down. Instead, I cranked it up louder.”

“What was that?” I asked, stretching my neck to the side. “You can’t hear it?” I turned the dial to the right.

“Asshole, I said turn it off!” Hank hissed.

“Ooh, let’s get the bass thumping, too!” I chuckled and sang the lyrics to “Bad Guy” while tapping my fingers on the steering wheel. I watched as he sneered through the rearview mirror.

That was what the fuckface got for using women as punching bags.

“That was mean,” Sophie says, but she’s too damn nice to understand the logistics of my job.

“Trust me, it was well deserved,” I tell her, then take a sip of my beer.

“Oh, Mads. You were gonna show me your backbend bridge thingy!” Sophie turns her attention to Maddie, who’s standing in front of the TV so I’m forced to look at her.

“Ooh, yes.” She sets down her Oreo mint ice cream on the coffee table, then stretches her arms above her head before leaning all the way back. My body hurts just watching the way she moves. Maddie’s flexible, but I’ve purposely avoided herat home when she’s practicing. It creates bad, dirty thoughts—thoughts I try to keep out.

She does a slow backbend until her palms reach the floor. As her body forms a bridge, she lifts one leg and points it to the sky before butterflying the other leg up into a pose. She holds them there a moment before flipping herself over until she’s standing with a smirk. The amount of strength and control she has is incredible.

“Ouch.” Mason laughs.

I’m impressed, but I don’t tell her that. Any compliment I give her is usually used against me later.

“Nice!” Sophie praises. “I couldn’t do that for a million dollars.”

Chuckling, I take another swig of my beer.

“What’d you think, Liam?” Maddie taunts. Sitting her little ass on the table, she gives me a perfect view of her tits. Ever since the night of her birthday less than three months ago, her underhanded comments and teasing have my willpower hanging by a thread. She knows damn well the attraction between us is mutual, but I need to protect her, and to do that, I have to stay the fuck away.

Hell, there are a dozen reasons we can’t be together.Shouldn’tbe together.

Her being a virgin, for one. She should save that for someone who can give her a helluva lot more than I can.

Too goddamn young. Too innocent. She should be treasured, not given to a man like me who’s shamelessly had more one-night stands than I can remember.

Yet the fact I’m running from the mafia—that’s the biggest fucking reason.

“Pretty decent,” I deadpan, not giving her what she wants—a reaction. I finish my beer and stand. “I had a long few days, so I’m heading to bed. G’night.”

After I throw my bottle away, I walk through the living room and look over my shoulder before taking the stairs. Maddie’s gorgeous dark hair is pulled up into a messy bun and her tongue slip out between her kissable, plump lips.

Fuck, I wish I could be what she deserves, but nothing will ever change the fact that I’m not.

CHAPTER EIGHT

MADDIE

“Where are you?”Liam’s panicked voice comes through the phone.

“I’m walking to the parking lot right now,” I tell him calmly. “What’s up your ass, Rambo?”

I hitch my bag up higher on my shoulder and pick up my pace. Class only ended ten minutes ago, and I had to rush across campus to our pickup spot. It’s Wednesday, which means I don’t have to work and can go home and finish packing for our flight on Friday morning. Hunter and Lennon are finally getting married in Utah this weekend, and we’re all flying there for the festivities.

He releases a sigh of relief. “You usually text me when you’re running late.”

“Sorry,” I say. “Joel was talking to me, and I lost track of time.”

He stays silent for a beat. I’ve mentioned Joel before, and while Liam pretends it doesn’t bother him, I know it does.