That’s when I move.
Fast.
Silent.
My hand wraps around his wrist, stopping him cold.
He startles.
He didn’t hear me coming.
Didn’t expect me.
“Who the hell?—”
I don’t let him finish.
I twist his wrist just enough to make him feel it, to force him back a step. A branch snaps behind me then and I see Maddie, stepping out from the evergreens.
Dammit. That woman is too stubborn for her own good.
“Stay away from her,” I say.
My voice comes out low.
Controlled.
But there’s no mistaking what’s underneath it.
His eyes flick over me, quick and assessing, and I see the moment it clicks.
Recognition.
Not of me.
Of what I am.
“Ah,” he says slowly. “You must be the help.”
My grip tightens.
“Wrong answer.”
He tries to pull his arm back.
Doesn’t succeed.
“Look,” he says, forcing a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes, “this is a misunderstanding. Maddie and I?—”
“You don’t get to say her name.”
The words cut him off.
Sharp.
Final.
Maddie’s breath catches behind me.
