“Oh, Ollie. What have I gotten us into?” she whispered, hugging the cat close. Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
Reentering the living room, she was relieved to see Adam had arrived. He and Mitch were in the middle of a hushed, heated conversation.
“No, I can’t do it…not a babysitter…don’t care.”
She could only make out bits and pieces of what they were saying.
When Adam finally noticed her, he quickly put on a smile and came to hug her. She melted into it.
“This sucks,” she said. “It has to be him, right?”
“We were just discussing that. It would be a big coincidence if this weren’t related to what happened at the store.”
Adam turned to Mitch. “Give me a hand with this, eh?”
Together they righted the couch and brushed it clean soshe could sit. She didn’t know what else to do, so she sat.
“I’ll go tell the guys they can go. They’ve got everything they need for the report. We’ll take it from here.” Adam left, and the awkwardness became palpable.
“You didn’t have to come, you know?” she said. “Nobody asked you to.” She sounded snotty but didn’t care.
“Yeah, I thought we talked about that. Why do I have to keep finding things out from Adam?” He seemed irritated. Was he jealous? No, that couldn’t be it.
Whyhadn’tshe called Mitch? Maybe because despite their physical attraction to one another, she didn’t know where she stood with him. Just because the sexual tension between them was off the charts didn’t necessarily mean they had any sort of relationship. Were they even friends? It was all so confusing. She began to wonder if she could go through with a casual affair with him.
She looked away without answering. She didn’t owe him an explanation for anything.
A minute later, Adam came back and shut the door. All three gasped in unison.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The death threat scrawled on the back of Maggie’s door was a game-changer. Things had gone from bad to worse, and she finally let the tears fall. They knew where she lived and were threatening to kill her.
She longed to fall into Mitch’s arms, but because that would raise suspicion from Adam, she fell into his instead. He stroked her hair and calmed her down with soothing words. Catching Mitch’s eye for a moment, she could see the fury burning.
After the initial shock wore off, they spent the next several minutes trying to figure out what to do next. After going around and around, Adam finally put his foot down.
“Look, I know this isn’t ideal, but we’ve discussed it too long already. We’ve got to get you out of here. You don’t want to go anywhere that will put people you love in danger, so it’s my place or Mitch’s,” he said, putting his arm around her. “I don’t like the idea of you being left alone all day, and I have to work. Also, my building has very little in the way of security. Mitch’s place is the best option right now. You don’t really have a choice, hon.”
“This is not negotiable, Maggie. Grab a bag, and let’s get out of here,” Mitch said bluntly. Feeling outnumbered, shequickly packed a suitcase, picked up Ollie, and followed them out. They snuck out the back, using the service elevator in case anyone was watching. Adam went first and made sure the alley was empty. The car ride to Mitch’s was quiet. Adam dropped them at the service entrance and waited to get the all clear before leaving.
Mitch’s building was much more secure than hers, and that made her feel a little better. The only way to get to the penthouse was with an elevator key card that took you there. Not completely foolproof, but they would get warning of attempted unauthorized access.
He hadn’t wanted to take her in and had tried every excuse in the book to get out of it, but when Adam finally called Jenny, he knew he’d been beaten. He couldn’t say no to her tearful plea.
Maggie’s life was slowly spinning out of control, and now, somehow, she was about to be roommates with a man who was as infuriating as he was enticing. God help her.
***
“I don’t like this any more than you do. We’re just going to have to deal with it,” Mitch grumbled as he pushed open the door to his condo and tried to wrangle Maggie’s large suitcase through it. She followed glumly, her cat snuggled up under her jacket.
He was frustrated. It’s not that he didn’t want Maggie safe—he did. He just didn’t need the distraction right now. He needed to focus on finding Manuel and didn’t have time to babysit a witness. No matter how good-looking she was.
The death threat made it obvious Manuel was upping the ante. There was no telling how serious the threat was, but the fact that he knew where she lived and worked made her an easy target.
Someone had to protect her, and as Jenny had reminded him repeatedly, he had no job, no one depending on him, andnothing tying him down, so there was no reason he couldn’t do it. That conversation had hurt. Harold needed him.
Maggie let Ollie down as soon as the door shut behind them, and he set off to explore.
