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Zak stands behind me, and I can feel his agitation. He clearly has things to tell me, as do I him, but they will have to wait till there are less ears around.
Zak shows the doctor out, and I take a seat in the doctor’s vacated chair. Roxanne’s eyes track my every move, then come up to meet mine as I face her. My fingers itch to reach out and touch her, instead I turn to Smithy.
“Nathan, right?” I ask, purposely demonstrating that I already know who he is and not just him as a cop.
“That’s right. You’re a bit late if you’re wanting to try and intimidate me. Your brother here”—Zak steps back into the room just then—“already tried that.” Roxanne turns and arches a brow at Zak, and he simply shrugs.
“And you’re here because?”
“Maddox, eno—”
“It’s okay, Roxy, let him ask his questions. If I was him, I’d be asking too.” I chuckle and nod to Smithy. A man who understands the necessity of demanding answers from those outside your circle. I know who this man is, but I don’tknowwho he is other than a cop. In my line of work, that’s not normally a good thing unless he’s in my pocket. Nathan Smith definitely isn’t. Yet!
“Your Kavanagh’s man on the inside,” Zak says, beating me to it. “Our man from the Lock was able to give us some useful info before he…well, you know. Who’s the female cop from Kavanagh’s?” He looks back and forth between Roxanne and Smithy.
“That’s Hughes,” Roxanne replies with a sneer. “She’s not trustworthy. I don’t know exactly how she fits into this, but I don’t fucking like her. She gave me bad vibes at the station.” A look passes between Smithy and her, but I let it go for now.
“Your instincts about her aren’t wrong. She’s not to be trusted. We don’t know who’s she’s working for, but it’s not the Metropolitan fucking police that’s for sure,” Smithy confirms Roxanne’s suspicions, but also makes it clear that not one of us knows who’s pulling all the fucking strings. I realise that Smithy didn’t confirm or deny whether he was Kavanagh’s man, but it would explain how Kavanagh had access to Roxanne whilst she was locked up.
“And you are?” I question, still not satisfied that he can be trusted.
“Here we go again!” Roxanne groans with a roll of her eyes. “You two”—she indicates me and Zak—“let’s go. We need to talk.” Rising to her feet, she heads for the hall, and Zak and I follow. Thankfully, Maria comes in and I stop to ask her to keep an eye on Smithy and Bowser for a while. Nodding, I join Roxanne and Zak in the office, closing the door behind me. The desk is a mess and there’s the distinct scent of sex still hanging in the air.
I look to Zak, who is already watching me with a smirk on his face. “Really?” I whisper out of the side of my mouth, to which he just shrugs.
“I want answers about that night, Maddox. I don’t want any more brush offs, no more snippets here and half-truths there, you need to tell me what the fuck happened that night.”
I look to Zak, but that just pisses her off.
“Don’t fucking looking at him. I get it, your brothers and do everything holding hands, but that’s not going to fly with me. I know Rogers killed my mother, and I also know that sick piece of shit took my sister and… Look, just tell me how it got to that, Maddox. Tell me how it is that my mother ended up dead and my sister missing, leaving me alone.” Her voice breaks a little with those last words. And as usual when it comes to her, my humanity wakes from its slumber, causing a sharp pain to hit me right where my heart should be.
Silence hangs over the room like a shroud, a veil, of secrets and deceit that is about to be lifted revealing all.
Our reasons for doing what we did were with the best intentions, but it’s become my greatest regret and was the hardest challenge of my life, second only to this moment right now.
This revelation to the woman I love will be what determines the rest of my—our life.
ChapterFourteen
Roxy
Maddox’s eyes lock on to mine with an intensity I’ve not seen before. There’s been anger, there’s been desire, lust and even love, but this look right now…it’s regretful, full of fear and almost pitying. My stomach knots with what I know will be the ultimate test, above all else, to us. Where we go from here on out will be determined from this conversation. One that’s been ten years in the making and long overdue.
Maddox steps towards me, and I have to consciously think about not moving away from him. He grasps my chin, dropping his lips gently to mine before saying, “Sit, Roxanne.”
My breath is stuck in my chest, making it ache, but I have enough to say, “I hate it when you tell me that. It never means anything good, Maddox.” He rolls the desk chair out for me to sit on, and I do. I see his mouth kick up at the corner and a spark in his eyes, and I know where his mind went. “Now is not the time,” I state, attempting a firm tone but failing miserably.
“With you, any time is good,” he says, leaning down into my space with a hand on the arm of the chair either side of me. “But make sure you listen carefully, hear it all, Roxanne. Don’t let your knee jerk reaction rule over everything else you know, everything you feel.” Zak joins us, sitting on the desk where I sat earlier while he ate me out and gave me the quickest, but one of the best, orgasms in history. I cross my legs, ignoring the way my clit pulses at the memory. Now is really not the fucking time.
As soon as Maddox begins speaking, his grave tone and the slow and careful way in which he tells the story, shuts down my libido instantly.
“Before I tell you anything else, you need to know that we had no idea what was waiting for you in that flat, Roxanne.” He crouches in front of me, gripping the chair handles tightly and making sure I’m listening.
“But?” He nods, knowing as well as I do that there was always going to be a but.
“Yeah, okay, after you walked away, I got a call from Theo, he sounded agitated and wanted to know where you were. I told him we had just dropped you off and were heading back to his. He told me that no matter what, we weren’t to turn back and go to you, it was an order.
“Earlier that day, Rogers had a made a threat towards you, in fact he’d made several in the previous couple of months ever since thefuckercornered you in the lift.” He holds up his hand when I go to interrupt. “Yeah, we know all about that!” I shift in the chair, uncomfortable that they know about it but unsure if they know the full extent of our conversation. When Maddox doesn’t elaborate, I don’t question it and let him continue.
