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"You're amazing, Kendra," he says. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe."
I smile back at him, feeling my heart swell with emotion. "I trust you," I say.
He stands up, pulling me up with him. "Come on," he says. "No matter how much I want to keep you in bed all day...we have work to do. Gotta make sure we get packed and that I get you some Plan B…"
Something twists inside me at those words. I don't say it…but I wouldn't mindnotworrying about that. I know Zane and I just met, but I trust him.
I want to be with him.
"Thank you for being responsible," I blush. "But can we get back in bed for just a little while?"
Zane grins, and his smile is beautiful.
"Yeah," he says. "Just for a little while."
11
Maddox
Ithinkthey'retryingto leave without telling me.
I won't fucking have that.
I'm willing to give up everything for this girl--I've already lied to the ACB, and I'll lose my job (and maybe my head) when they find out--and I'm being treated like the fucking enemy. It makes me want to scream that they're just going to leave me behind like this, when I'm ready to bail on the life I've lived for years to be withher.
Kendra is mine, even if she doesn't know it yet. Even if she fucked that tattoo artist, even if Carson fucking Connolly--and yeah, I know who he is--thinks he can swoop in and steal her out from under me.
She belongs to me.
I watch the shadows move in the tattoo parlor and the house behind Eve's Apple for most of the day, smoking cigarettes through the window and giving up completely on quitting. Carson told me he would keep me updated, but he's already proved himself wrong. I saw him leave through the front door of Eve's Apple, off to causesomekind of trouble.
I don't like it.
My phone rings and I glance down to see that Barnes is calling me again. It's been a couple days, and I told him I'd ring...but obviously that was a lie.
We're all playing games with each other.
I pick up anyway, putting the phone between my shoulder and my ear as I light up another cig.
"What do you want, Barnes?" I mutter.
"Maddox...what the fuck?" he says. "You told me you'd get in touch."
"And I will--when I have an update," I say.
There's a long silence over the line and I can hear Barnes shifting uncomfortably on the other end. I know what he wants to ask me. He wants to know if I found any leads on Kendra yet--if I have an update on public enemy number one.
The thing is, I don't have any answers for Barnes. I've been staking out this damn place for days and I still haven't gotten my hands on Kendra. My frustration is starting to bubble over and I can feel myself shaking as I take another drag of my cigarette.
"Listen, Barnes," I say, the words coming out sharp. "I'll call you when I have something to report. Until then, quit calling me and just let me do my job."
There's another pause over the line and I can practically hear the tension mounting between us. I know that Barnes doesn't trust me, and honestly, I can't blame him. I've been keeping secrets from the ACB, and he would be right to be suspicious.
But if he has too many questions...it could mean Kendra's capture and my execution.
My head is quite literally on the chopping block, and I need to defuse this situation before it gets ugly.
"Maddox," he says, his voice low and threatening. "I like you. You're a good kid. But you're starting to sound like an alpha in rut, and these girls...they'll get in your head if you let them. You don't know where she is, do you?"
