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I’m a little confused at the sudden change in his demeanor. For a second there, I thought we were making plans for the future. But in the blink of an eye, he’s closed off, and I’m not sure what happened.

“I should probably go check in with them now.” Maddox starts to turn away, and I chase after him.

Reaching out, I grab his arm, holding tight to stop him. “What’s wrong? What just happened?”

Maddox shrugs. “Nothing.”

It suddenly becomes very obvious Maddox has never lied to me. Because he’s really fucking bad at it. “Tell me the truth.”

Maddox’s blue eyes go everywhere but on me. “That is the truth.”

I laugh, because his terrible lying ability is only getting worse. “Bullshit.”

Maddox’s gaze snaps to my face.

I lift my chin, standing taller as I repeat myself. “That’s bullshit, and you know it.” I move to stand in front of him, hooking one hand into the waist of his pants and gripping tight. He’s not getting away from me. Not now.

Not ever.

A tiny voice in the back of my brain offers up that little nugget of wishful thinking, but I can’t let it distract me.

“We were talking about going to Alaska and somewhere warm. Then I mentioned coming to Nashville to visit you and Savannah, and everything was going great until I brought up my apartment.” I give his waistband a tug. “Why is that?”

“I just don’t like to think about you going back there.” Maddox shakes his head. “It’s not safe.”

“It will be once Trevor’s handled, won’t it?”

“If Trevor is handled, it’s possible you wouldn’t be in extreme danger.” Maddox speaks slowly. As if he’s choosing his words carefully. “But that’s only if we can find someone at the Memphis Police Department to help us accomplish that.”

I get what he’s saying, but where will it leave me if that doesn’t happen? “And if we can’t?”

Maddox works his jaw from side to side. “If we can’t, then maybe you should come to Nashville where I can keep you safe no matter what.”

I’m shaking my head before he even finishes.

“I can’t bring this to Savannah.” A weird laugh jumps out of my mouth.

“I can’t bring this to any of you. And I can’t afford round-the-clock protection indefinitely.

” I’ve saved money, but not that much. Even if I miraculously manage to get some sort of divorce settlement, there’s no way it’s going to be enough to pay that kind of a bill.

“We can worry about that when the time comes.” Maddox tries to step away again.

But we’re not finished here, so I tighten my grip on his pants.

“No. I want to worry about it now. I’ve been in freaking limbo for so long I don’t even know which way is up.

Now it’s looking like there may not be an end in sight if we can’t figure out who the fuck will help us take Trevor down.

” My voice pitches higher, taking this from a conversation to more of a rant.

“And if we can’t take Trevor down, then we can’t take down everyone else who’s involved, and we can’t save Becca’s sister.

” The last part makes my throat tight. “And we promised Becca we would find her.”

Maddox sighs, his eyes closing as he pulls in a deep breath.

When his lids lift, I notice how tired he is.

“I love my job, but sometimes it’s not always simple.

” He shifts toward me, abandoning his plan of escape.

Bringing his hands to my shoulders, his voice softens.

“There are certain promises I can make you, Audrey. I can promise I will always save you. No matter what.” His hands move up to cup my face.

“I can promise I will save Becca’s sister.

But I can’t guarantee the means involved in accomplishing that won’t ruin our chances of finding everyone involved. ”

“They can’t get away with what they’re doing.

” Knowing what’s happening and seeing the realities of it are two different things.

Now that I’ve met Becca—heard about her sister—my determination to see this through has only intensified.

“If there’s only certain things you can do, then I want you to focus on saving Becca’s sister and bringing down the men involved with Trevor. ”

“ No .” Maddox’s rejection of my request is clipped and immediate. “ You are my priority.”

“Pretend I didn’t hire you, then. I can talk to Pierce. Tell him Alaskan Security’s contract with me doesn’t take precedence over Becca and her sister’s safety or taking down those assholes.”

Maddox’s expression hardens. “This isn’t about your contract with Alaskan Security, Audrey.” He leans down, once again bringing me nose-to-nose with Murder Maddox. “This is about you staying safe.”

I hold my ground. I’m not any more scared of Murder Maddox than I am the man who plays with my hair and cooks me dinner. “But at what cost?”

“ Any fucking cost.” His answer is short and sharp.

And wrong, but I’ll dwell on that later.

Right now I’m gonna focus on how much I like his willingness to put me above everything else. No one’s ever done that for me. Not my parents. Not the man who became my husband.

Not me.

It’s probably a great explanation of why I’m falling for him faster than a skydiver without a parachute.

It’s also a great explanation for why I keep accidentally kissing him.

Before he seems to know what’s coming, I’ve got both arms around his neck, pulling his body against mine, and my lips on his.

I love so much about this man. The way he smells. The way he can be happy and laid back or intense and dangerous. The way he keeps me safe and the way he makes me feel seen.

But I think I love the way he kisses me most of all.

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 go out of 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.