five
Brynn waiteduntil Skyler got settled with breakfast before finally trusting Maddox with him, so she could take a much-needed shower and put on some real clothes. She might as well have walked out naked for the way the T-shirt she slept in put her nipples on full display.
And the way she’d thrown herself at him. Ack.
She wouldn’t have even gone there had he not pulled the truck over last night, in an effort to use his sexual prowess to show her who’s boss.
That kind of crap wasn’t supposed to work on someone like her. Someone intelligent, worldly—a professional, dammit. Overgrown men with too much testosterone, and moody as all get out, belonged in romance novels.
And she had fallen for it—hook, line, and sinker. She’d turned into a simpering damsel in distress.
Ick.
Well, it changed now. She wasn’t sex-starved. She and Ross had enjoyed a mutually- beneficial arrangement with no strings attached. The minute either of them wanted out, that was it.
He was a perfectly acceptable lover. There was nothing showy about him, nor was he soft. Average. Perfectly average and…
Safe.
She smoothed her hair back, securing it with an elastic at the back of her head, and studied her expressionless face in the mirror.
Okay, so things with Ross had become ho-hum. She could admit it. But then, wasn’t that the way those things went when there was no love involved? No passion?
Sterile.
What had once been a twice a week thing had dwindled to twice a month, but they had been busy with this pesky little thing called work.
She shook her head in frustration and spun away from the mirror. Dammit! One kiss with Maddox would not have her second-guessing her life decisions.
It’s not like they were a suitable match anyway. He lived in a cabin in the middle of the woods for goodness’ sake. Granted, with its granite countertops, stainless-steel appliances and knotty pine floors and walls, it stunned; making her think of long lazy days drinking coffee on the deck, overlooking a pristine mountain lake with water so smooth it sharply mirrored the cloud-dotted sky. But she had a life waiting for her in Tampa.
She needed to focus now so she could get out of this cabin and perpetual loop of self-doubt.
She found a pair of Nikes in the closet in just her size and pulled them onto her feet. She’d meet them in the kitchen and get the ball rolling getting the information for her story, getting Skyler safe, and on getting out of Georgia.
She headed for the kitchen to find it empty. She followed along into the dining room where it opened to a massive living room with leather furniture, a stone fireplace, and Navajo rug protecting the floor, but found no sign of them.
Her heart climbed up into her throat and set anchor there. Fear crept in, making it hard to breathe as she scrambled about looking for Skyler. She ran into his room, then Maddox’s room, and came up empty.
Dread replaced the blood pumping through her veins.
“Skyler!” she called, running through the cabin, to the sliding glass doors that led onto a deck overlooking the same water she had just pined for.
Only now it didn’t matter, not without knowing Skyler was safe.
“Skyler!” she yelled again as she scrambled onto the deck, tripping over the padded lounge chair jutting out.
“Son of a bitch!” The words flew out of her mouth in angry, fearful frustration.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Maddox asked from in the yard, near a wooden dock leading out into the water. He tucked Skyler in behind him, his eyes darting about as he pulled a gun from his waistband.
She froze at the sound of his voice, skidding to a stop on the lawn at the bottom of the steps. “You scared the hell out of me. Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?”
He glanced about one more time and frowned. “You’re okay? There’s nothing wrong?”
His finger rested on the trigger, ready, and she swallowed. “Other than the fact that I came out and you were gone, I’m freaking great.” She threw her hands up, and angry tears sprang up in her eyes.
The idea of Skyler being in danger or hurt slashed at her heart. He was trapped in this because of her. Not that the streets were better, especially being a witness to a murder, but she had set the wheels in motion that brought them here and he was just so young.
