“Masks off. Now,”Ace commands, already ripping his away.
I don’t hesitate. I tear mine off, and it takes Maddie a second to process what she’s seeing. Her eyes go wide, confusion flicking across her face, followed by recognition.
“Rhodes?” She’s looking at me like she’s never seen me before. Her gaze darts to Ace, then to Vander. “No—no, you didn’t...”
“We did,” I confirm.
The sound of breaking glass cuts through the apartment, and I don’t have time to explain or apologize. I grab her and move.
“We need to go. Now,” I say, wrapping a blanket around her nearly naked body.
“Don’t touch me.”
“Maddie, someone’s in your apartment. We need to move.”
She’s fighting me, trying to pull away, but I keep my grip firm. Behind us, I hear Ace and Vander fighting the threat. There’s no time for Maddie to process what she’s figured out, and no time to deal with her anger.
I guide her toward the bedroom, to the fire escape.
“Get off me!” she shouts. “How long have you been lying to me?”
“Not now.”
“Every time? Was it every fucking time?”
I get the window open. She’s barefoot and barely covered, which isn’t ideal. I know this is terrifying, but staying here is worse.
“Come on,” I say, while trying to show her I’m still the same person, even if I’ve been deceiving her. “Please trust me.”
“Trust you?” She laughs. “You guys literally catfished me into a sexual fantasy. How am I supposed to trust you?”
I don’t have a good enough answer, so I simply guide her toward the fire escape, one hand on her lower back, the other holding the blanket secure around her.
We’re halfway down when the first shot rings out.
Maddie screams, and I pull her against me, shielding her body with mine as we move faster down the metal stairs.
“What’s happening?”
“I don’t know.”
Another shot echoes as we hit ground level, and I pull her toward the bulletproof SUV that’s parked right where Ace left it this morning. I throw her into the backseat and slide behind the wheel.
Maddie sits up in the back, wrapped in a blanket that’s sliding off her body, and scowls at me with an expression that is angry and scared all at once.
“You used me,” she snaps as I pull away from the curb. “You all used me.”
“We protected you,” I counter, checking the mirrors, making sure we’re not being followed.
“By pretending to be strangers so you could, what, get off on the power dynamic? Rhodes, you’re my fucking bodyguard. You’re supposed to?—”
“Supposed to what?” I cut her off. “Tell you no? Tell you that you can’t have what you want?”
“Tell me the truth!” She’s practically screaming now. “You could have asked. You could have said, ‘Hey Maddie, we want to fuck you.’ Instead, you played a sick game and?—”
“We kept you safe!”
Ace would say the same if he were here, but he’s not. He’s back at the apartment, helping Vander deal with the man who’s been obsessing over her for months.
