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SIX

AUDREY

I CAN’T brEATHE. I’m going to suffocate.

“Slow breaths, Audrey.” Maddox’s forehead drops to mine, his eyes slipping shut. “Close your eyes and breathe with me.”

He makes it sound so simple. Like I can simply feed air into my lungs. I can’t. Not after admitting I chose to marry a man who turned out to be capable of such unspeakable acts.

I’ve never said it out loud before. Never admitted the full extent of what Trevor did to anyone. Not even the police hotline I called months after leaving. I gave them everything else. The theft. The violence. The coercion and laundering.

But I couldn’t make myself say the last part. It was too shameful.

I was hoping if I gave them enough they would start looking and find it on their own. That once they started investigating Trevor, they’d come across the same things I did.

But nothing happened. No one seemed to be looking at anything . They were just going to let him get away with it all.

Then someone started following me. That man out there now, the same one who came to my door this morning, drives a car that is suddenly everywhere I go.

And there’s only one person who could have sent him.

I knew I was screwed well before this morning.

Because it has become clear that Trevor is untouchable.

And I am not.

“ Audrey .” Maddox’s voice sharpens. “I can take care of this, but I need you to breathe, because I’m not leaving until I know you’re okay.”

That gets a reaction out of me, and breathing isn’t it.

I hold tighter to him, my voice pitching with panic. “You’re going to leave me?”

I shouldn’t have told him the truth. I should have held back. He’s probably looking at me the same way I look at myself now. Has decided I’m not worth protecting because of how stupid I’ve been.

“That’s not what I meant.” Maddox straightens, his eyes fused to my face.

“You aren’t going anywhere near that guy out there, so that means I have to go handle it.

But you’re going to stay back here behind a locked door while I do it.

” He lays it out slowly. “When I’m done, I’m coming back here to get you, then we’re going to have a long talk.

” I think he’s done, but then Maddox adds on, “And you’re probably going to be taking a leave of absence from your job. ”

Relief floods my veins. He’s not leaving me. Not walking away now that he knows how terrible I am at knowing who to trust. “But you’re staying with me?”

I need confirmation. To hear again that he’s not walking away.

“I’m staying with you.” Maddox strokes down my arms with even passes of his hands. It’s been so long since anyone—especially a man—touched me with so much care, and without realizing it, I begin pulling in oxygen again.

“That’s it. Good job.” His eyes continue holding mine. “Five minutes. I just need five minutes to handle this and then I’ll be back, okay?”

I can probably survive without him for five minutes. I managed to make it nine months. But that was before I knew how good it felt having him around. How nice it was to have someone like Maddox in my corner. Protecting me. Reassuring me. Listening without judgment.

Because he’s doing so much for me, and I don’t want to make his job harder than it already is, I nod. “Okay. I’ll be okay.”

Maddox gives me a soft smile. One hand smooths over my hair and I lean into his touch. “I know you will be.” He gives me one last look then goes to the door, unlocking it and stepping out. Turning back, he says, “Lock it and don’t open it for anyone except me.”

I nod again, my head working on autopilot. “Okay.”

He pulls the door shut and I lock it, forcing in a quick breath before turning to the bank of screens displaying the security cameras positioned throughout the store.

I watch as Maddox moves through the space, weaving his way around the racks, following an indirect route.

It takes me a minute to realize he’s doing it so he can assess the situation, and I feel silly for not figuring it out sooner.

Maddox has a sweet, easy-going side to him, but there’s another, darker part fused in his personality. And it is not one I would ever want to be on the wrong side of.

That's the side of him running the show now. Gone is the man who was holding me close and whispering soothing words as he worked to calm me down. He’s been replaced by a laser-focused and calculating individual on a mission.

I watch, breathless again, as he closes in on the man he’s already faced once today, wondering how in the hell either one of them is going to explain their presence here.

Maddox moves in close, dismissing Dane with a tip of his head.

Once my keyholding associate is gone, he faces down the unexpected visitor, looking every bit the predator he is.

Even casual jeans and a relaxed shirt can’t hide the way every muscle and ligament is primed and ready to attack.

Prepared to hand out a level of violence most people couldn’t imagine, let alone execute.

And he’d be doing it for me.

After a string of men who couldn’t be bothered to buy me flowers, having one ready and willing to kill for me is doing strange things to my insides.

My grip on the desk gets tighter and tighter.

Soon, my knuckles start to ache and the muscles in my hands begin to burn.

Why is Maddox talking to him for so long?

Every second he’s out there is another second he’s in danger.

Trevor doesn’t like people who go against him, and by protecting me, Maddox falls strongly in that category.

If Trevor hurts Maddox...

The cool weight of rage settles into my belly. Fury like I’ve never felt before, certainly not for myself, simmers under my skin.

Because if Trevor hurts Maddox, I’ll ruin his life.

I’ll spill every secret he has. I’ll make so many copies of that memory stick they won’t be able to count them all.

And I’ll send one to every news station in the country.

In minutes, everyone will know what Trevor Hawthorne III, the man with hopes to be the next governor of Tennessee, really is.

When Maddox’s eyes finally shift to the camera with the best view of him, I straighten. He discreetly holds up a finger, letting me know he’s almost done, and I breathe a little easier.

But only a little. He nods to the other man once, then turns and walks away, putting his back to the guy who came to my apartment and now my work.

The same man who’s been following me for the better part of a week.

I keep my eyes on the suited stranger, watching for any hint he might be thinking of taking advantage of the offering Maddox has gifted him.

If he does, he’ll be the second person I ruin. I don’t know how I’ll do it, but I’m sure I can figure something out.

I’m watching the other man so intently, I nearly jump out of my skin when Maddox knocks. “Audrey. It’s me.”

Racing to the door, I flip the lock and fling it open, jumping at him. Locking my arms around his big body, I squeeze tight. I’m relieved he’s okay, but also a little mad that he took such a big risk when walking away. “That asshole could have shot you in the back.”

Maddox glances around the storage room, then wraps an arm at my waist and hauls me back into my office, closing the door behind us. “He’s not interested in shooting me.”

My stomach bottoms out. “Because he wants to shoot me.”

It’s a crazy thing to know someone wants you dead. It’s even crazier to know there are people willing to make it happen.

“No. Actually, he doesn’t.” Maddox continues holding me, and I’m not going to complain, because I want to continue holding him too.

“He’s a private investigator for a company in Chicago. It sounds like your ex-husband called and hired them to follow you, but he started to get a bad feeling about it and decided to warn you.” Maddox smooths a circle over my back. “That’s why he came to the apartment this morning.”

I lean back, my eyes jumping to his. “Trevor must know I took proof of what he’s done.”

“Maybe not.” Maddox moves to the large chair behind my desk and sits, situating me on his lap. “From what the PI said, Trevor claimed you were trying to take advantage of him and nullify the prenup you signed. He wanted them to collect dirt on you that might help him in court.”

I shake my head. “I’ve never contested the prenup.

Not once.” I snort, bitterness rising like bile.

“I’ve always been willing to walk away with practically nothing.

I only asked for one single thing, and he refuses to give it to me.

” My throat tightens. I try not to think about this part of what I lost, because it’s too painful.

Reminds me how helpless I was and am. It drives home how Trevor has the power to take everything from me.

And that might include my life.

Maddox studies me. “What did you ask for?”

I sniff, overcome by emotion for the second time today. “My dog.”

I lower my head, because I hate letting anyone see me cry. I don’t think Maddox would exploit it, but it’s so hard to be that vulnerable. Not after having it used against me for so long.

“She was all I wanted, but since he’s the one who paid for her, Trevor claimed she belonged to him. Just like my clothes, my car, my cell phone and my business.”

When I lift my eyes, it’s not cute, easy-going Maddox staring back at me.

It’s murder Maddox.

His jaw is tight, nostrils flared, when he asks, “Where is your dog now?”

I wipe at a dry cheek, managing to corral the last of my tears, a little proud I didn’t allow a single one to fall. “I don’t know. Probably at Trevor’s house, locked up in her crate because he doesn’t even like animals.”

That was the hardest part about all of this. If I genuinely believed Coco was being taken care of, I could make peace with it. But I know she’s not. I know she’s being left to waste away in a crate, only being fed or given water when a member of his staff remembers.