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After a quick check of all the rooms and deduce there’s no one here, I head to the kitchen. I make a coffee using the fancy machine they have, and find some crumpets, which I shove in the toaster.
I make light work of the coffee and crumpets and am just loading my dirty cup and plate into the dishwasher when I feel someone watching me.
A quick glance out the corner of my eye, and I know it’s Zak. Bending down to place the butter knife I used in the cutlery holder, it slips from my hand, hitting the floor and spinning away from me.
“Fuck,” I mutter, before standing upright and turning around. Zak is standing right in front of me holding the butter knife out to me and wearing a pair of suit trousers and a shirt, unbuttoned and displaying his tatted and toned abs.
Lord have fucking mercy.
“Morning, Rox,” he says as I take the knife. “Did you sleep well?”
I snort at his fucking dumb arse question. “No, surprisingly not.” I drop the knife into the cutlery holder and close the dishwasher. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I’m just ordering an Uber when Maddox stalks into the room. When my eyes lift to take him in, he’s wearing even less than Zak, and my tongue about falls out of my mouth and hits the floor.
Unable to talk while I metaphorically roll up my tongue, Maddox walks past me to the coffee machine.
“You won’t need an Uber,” he states, and I spin to face him.
“Ignoring the fact that it’s rude to read over someone’s shoulder, why don’t I need an Uber?”
“Because your car is out the front.” I glare at him, trying to make out the lie, but there isn’t one. Turning, I begin walking to the front door when Maddox’s voice carries down the hall to me.
“But you also aren’t going anywhere, so it doesn’t really matter.” I stop unsure I heard him correctly when he speaks again, “It’s not safe, so whatever it is you need, you can get delivered or one of us will collect it for you.”
I slowly pace back to the kitchen, all the while my mind fighting with which part of what he just said I want to question first.
“I’m sorry, but I’m almost certain you just told me I can’t go out like I’m a grounded teenager. But that can’t be right because I’m a grown arse fucking woman who can and will do whatever the fuck I want when I want. And I’ll be damned if I let you or anybody else”—I turn my fury towards Zak for a fraction of a second before glaring back at Maddox—“tell me what to do, Maddox-almighty-fucking-Lawler. So, let’s try this again. I say, ‘somebody burnt my house down, so I need to go shopping’, at which point you say, ‘have a nice time, Roxy’. Simple.”
“I’m certain there should be a curse in there somewhere, Rox, and Mad would never say ‘have a nice time’ like he has roses blooming from his arse,” Zak says, a humorous smirk curling one side of his mouth.
Although I appreciate him trying to make light of Maddox’s caveman act, it doesn’t deter from the fact Maddox thinks he can tell me what to do like I’m a piece of fucking property.
Maddox turns his icy glare to Zak. “Not helping, man.”
“Look, thanks for letting me stay last night, but I can’t be here. Aside from the fact I’m meant to be laying low, it’s wrong.”
“What the fuck does that mean, Roxanne?”
“It means, I may no longer be a cop, but how do you think it will look if I’m suddenly holed up with two of London’s most notorious criminals?”
“I don’t give a shit how it looks. You being here is what needs to happen, end of story.”
“No, Maddox, not end of story. In fact, you haven’t even given me the prologue, instead I’ve been dropped into this fucking shit storm inmedias res. This is not some fucking novel; this is my life. A life I worked hard for and have had to throw away because of you. So, excuse me if I’m a bit put out, although royally pissed better describes how I feel right now. I’ve lost my job and my house, and now you just expect me to move in here with you two? I don’t fucking think so. Unless you can give me a damn good reason, then it ain’t happening.” I spin on my heels and storm from the house without even taking a breath.
When I reach my car, which is as Maddox said parked out front, I realise my mistake.
No fucking keys.
ChapterFourteen
Zak
The front door slams shut as Maddox slams his fist down on the kitchen counter, cursing like a sailor.
“Mad—”
“Don’t, Zak, just go with her. I have some things I need to deal with here.” He throws Roxy’s car keys to me, which I catch, before I turn and leave him to it.
I run upstairs to grab a jacket and my phone before heading out. I’ve just finished buttoning my shirt as I step outside and see Rox kick the tyre of her car before striding off down the drive to the gates.
