He tried for a smile, but felt the stretch of his mouth wasn’t exactly relaxed. The reporter in her wasn’t going to miss that little detail. “Don’t worry; it’s all taken care of,” Maddox said.
She pointed a finger into his chest. “Don’t dismiss me. I know something isn’t right, and since it’s my butt in danger I deserve to know what it is.”
Maddox leaned over to check on Skylar, whose head was buried in the fridge. “Fine, but I can’t get into it too much right now. Louis Vargas is the biggest drug-runner in the state of Florida. He has his hands in everything, and he’s practically untouchable. He’s known for his penchant to handle things on his own, if you know what I mean.” Maddox shoved a hand through his hair. He’d never explained these things solo before. The group always figured out the plan of action and had a conference call, where Maddox sat back and kept his mouth shut while Athena and Grey kept the client calm.
Maddox sucked at calm.
And there wasn’t a chance in hell Brynn was going to let it go. She’d practically stuck her nose in the air, sniffing out the story like a dog catching the scent of a neighbor’s barbecue wafting through the air.
“On his own? What do you mean by that?” She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. Impatience rolled off her in waves.
“Yeah, he has a team that’s with him at all times, but if there’s someone needing to be dealt with he gets a perverse pleasure in doing it himself. He likes to slice and dice. I never would have guessed it was him, based on a gunshot.” Maddox clenched his fist. “None of us would.”
“What does this all mean?”
Maddox checked to make sure Skyler was still distracted. The boy was shoving lunch meat into his mouth by the fistful. Normally he’d reel him in, but he needed a few minutes.
“Vargas has been under investigation for a while. And by showing restraint in Shepherd’s killing, it shows that he probably knows it. He didn’t follow his normal pattern. Ordinarily, he could have gotten away with a whole lot more in that part of town, had it been anyone else. Hardly anyone is around. Anyone who is won’t talk. He would have had all the time in the world. But Shepherd is too high-profile.”
Her arms fell to her sides and she smiled. “So he’s afraid. This is a good thing.”
“No, it’s not. I’d guarantee he’s playing with us to buy time. He’s likely hiding some of his activities, hoping that when the authorities pounce they find a whole bunch of nothing. At best for him, the higher-ups get their hands slapped and never get approval to dig into his affairs again, and he goes on doing whatever the hell he wants with no one to stop him. At worst, they find something but he forces their hand, so they aren’t fully prepared with as much info as they need to put him away for good.”
“So all they have to do is stay on him until they have something that will stick, right? I mean, that seems easy enough.”
Her ponytail swung with her words, making her look like a teenager. “Except he knows who you are. Which means it’s only a matter of time before he goes for you again.”
“He doesn’t even know where I am. Besides, I have you to protect me,” she said with a smile.
He shook his head slowly. His eyes found hers and held her stare. “No, but he’ll use whatever he needs to draw you out. Your family, your friends; no one is off limits to him. And he doesn’t stick to just adults.”
He should have been more careful the way he said it. Her blue eyes widened, and the blood drained from her face, leaving her with an ashen pallor. She threw a hand over her mouth and ran for the bathroom.
Way to go, Maddox.
Brynn hadn’t hadanything other than that soda, but her body purged it anyway. The thought of a madman with a sadistic love of knives and torture getting his hands on her father, mother, brothers, their wives or, God forbid, their young children, reached into her gut and ripped the contents right out.
Hugging the toilet, uncontrollable tears streaming down her face, she took ragged breaths, trying to control the terror coursing through her, but it just kept coming.
A knock sounded on the door. “Brynn, let me in.”
She couldn’t answer because a fresh round of heaving had begun spasming her stomach muscles, leaving her breathless.
Her skin had gone clammy and cold, but inside searing heat poured through her. She forced deep gulps of air in and out of her lungs.
Panic attack. She was having a damned panic attack.
The door slammed open and Maddox lifted her from her knees. He sat on the edge of the tub and situated her in his lap.
“Breathe with me. In and out. Deep breaths.”
She clutched his shirt and tucked her face into his neck. All she wanted to do was climb inside him and pretend that none of this was happening. That she hadn’t just put everyone she loved at risk for something as stupid as her job.
“This is my fault,” she sobbed into his skin.
“Shhh. This is his fault. It’s his illegal doings. You were just doing your job.”
“At what cost?” She pulled back, and found his alarmingly blue eyes full of concern. “I have nieces and nephews. They’re just babies. If he ever… they… the pain—” A sob tore from her again, despite how hard she tried to fight it.
