And that realization scares the absolute fuck out of me.
I scrub a hand down my face and let out a slow breath. None of that matters right now, I can hate myself for it later. Right now, I have something far more important to focus on.
Maddie.
Every second I spend dwelling on my own bullshit is another second that psychopath has to make his next move. And I refuse to let that happen.
I push off the doorframe and head for the bathroom, twisting the shower on as hot as it will go. Steam quickly fills the room, fogging the mirror while I strip out of my clothes. The pounding spray beats against my shoulders as I step beneath it, washing away the sweat from my workout, but doing fuck all to rinse the tension from my body.
I make quick work of washing up, barely spending five minutes under the spray before shutting the water off. We have more planning to do today and I want to get ahead of this shit. This guy wants her, and men like him don’t just give up because they’re inconvenienced. If he knows we’re here, then he knows we’ve built a team around her.
Which means he's already planning his next move, and I need to be ready before he makes it.
I get dressed and walk back into the bedroom, toweling the last of the water from my hair, to find Maddie awake in bed. She looks over at me and smiles as she stretches, her arms reaching above her head with a soft yawn. I can’t help but beam right back at her.
She’s so fucking stunning, even when she just wakes up. I’m convinced she can never look bad.
“Good morning, Princess. How’d you sleep?”
I lay on the bed next to her, holding my arm out for her, inviting her to cuddle up to me. She curls up next to me andmolds into my body perfectly, like she was fucking made to be here in this spot.
“I slept pretty good, actually. That was probably the best sleep I’ve had in my life. What is this bed made of? Clouds?”
I chuckle and kiss her forehead. How could one person be this fucking cute? Man, this girl has me whipped.
“Only the finest clouds plucked specifically for you,” I laugh. “You hungry?”
“Starving!”
“C’mon, I’ll make you some breakfast.”
Maddie is eatingthe waffles I made for her when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I already know who it is before I open the text.
Chase: I’m outside. Can you buzz me in?
“You okay?” Maddie asks, and I look up at her.
She’s staring at me like she knows what's going on, but there’s no way she could. Maybe I’m just being paranoid.
“Yeah, Chase just texted me and said he was here. I’m gonna go outside real quick. Eat your breakfast,” I say, kissing her swiftly and leaving before she can ask more questions.
Buzzing Chase in, I head outside, checking over my shoulder to ensure Maddie isn’t watching me. I watch his car pull into the circle drive before I walk over to it and hop in the passenger seat.
“What’s up, man? How the hell have you been?” he beams, giving me a bro hug and a hard slap on the back before pullingaway. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever. How long has it been?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. It hasn’t been that long.”
I look over at one of the windows that faces us and I feel like I can sense her watching me.
“Hey man, you alright? Why are you so paranoid all of a sudden?”
I turn to look at Chase, my expression filled with annoyance. Why does he have to ask so many fucking questions? Why can’t he be like every other drug dealer out there that just gets straight to the point? Everything has to be a whole ass conversation with him.
“Yeah, I’m fine. My girl’s inside and I just want to hurry and get back to her. So, do you have the stuff or what?”
“Uhh, yeah man, sorry I asked. You know I worry about you sometimes. I just think…maybe you’re taking too much.”
What the fuck? Why does he fucking care? If I knew he was going to start questioning me, I would have called someone else. I don’t need him.
