“You’re welcome, beautiful.” I take the stool next to her and am about to open my mouth to ask her questions about Chicago, when there’s a knock at the door. Maggie tensesand her features fall. My fingertips graze her back. “I’ll get it.”
Her only response is a jerky nod.
When I pull open the door, I immediately recognize who’s standing outside. All those times I saw a man coming and going from Maggie’s apartment, thinking it was her boyfriend, and it was this asshole. My stare hardens for the sheer fact that I hate how he’s treated Maggie and that I ever thought he was with her, even if I was completely incorrect.
He glares right back. As he addresses Maggie, his narrowed eyes stay on me. “Maggie, what the fuck is he doing here?”
“I’m coming.”
“He’s coming.”
Maggie and I speak at the same time.
Jenson pushes past me. “Abso-fucking-lutely not.”
I step to the side and block his path, not wanting him any closer to Maggie. “I’m coming to Chicago. End of story.”
I’ll give it to the idiot. He doesn’t back down, even though I’m significantly bigger than he is. He moves closer until he’s inches from me. “Listen, lover boy, that isn’t how this works. You can’t just come with us. This is confidential official business.”
I smirk. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. Do you know a Ken Simpson?”
Jenson’s eyes widen in surprise, and he takes a step back, but stays quiet.
“Of course, you do. That’s your superior here in Nashville.” I close the distance between us again. “Well, funny story, I know someone who knows him, and I explained the situation, and he got it cleared for me to accompany Maggie to Chicago as her personal security team.”
He scoffs. “Personal security, my ass. Besides, he would have told me if you were.”
I shrug, as if I couldn’t care less, because frankly, I don’t. “Not my problem that your boss didn’t tell you something. Iwillbe on that flight.”
Jenson yanks his phone out of his pocket and storms out the door.
As I pivot back toward the kitchen, Maggie watches me with an indiscernible expression. I’m unsure if she’s mad at me for pushing back with Jenson.
Before I can ask, the corners of her lips pull up in a sexy smirk. “That was kinda hot.”
I bark out a laugh and stalk over to her, placing a loud kiss on her mouth. “Save that thought for later tonight.”
She bites her bottom lip. “I can assure you. I’ll save that thought for tonight and probably for weeks to come.”
I shake my head with a chuckle, picking up her cup. “Do you want some more coffee?”
“No, not right now.”
While we wait for Jenson to return, I start cleaning up the mess I made while making the coffee. I owe Carlos big time. When he called me with the name and phone number of his marshal contact, I didn’t know what to expect. But when I spoke to Ken and explained the situation and the company I worked for, he shocked the hell out of me when he said he was familiar with Nash. He told me he couldn’t guarantee he could get it approved, but said he would try. And that was more than I could have hoped for. I was floored when he called back and told me that I would be able to go as Maggie’s security, which was perfectly fine by me since that was what I intended to be anyway.
The most interesting thing he told me was that Jenson lied. There’s no rule about someone in Witness Protectionbeing able to date. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with that information, but I do know I’m going to keep a close eye on Jenson. I trust him even less than before, when I just thought he was a shitty marshal.
The door slams back open, and Jenson reenters, looking more pissed and disgruntled than he did when he got here.
“Get your shit. We have a plane to catch,” he snaps.
Maggie hops off the barstool and holds out her hand for me to take. I waste no time in doing as she silently requested. Grabbing our suitcases, we follow a steaming mad Jenson downstairs and across the parking lot to his blacked-out SUV.
Once I get Maggie buckled in the backseat, I climb in beside her, blowing out a calming breath.
We just have to get through the next few days, then we can focus on figuring out the future for us.
Only a few more days.
