by Brandi Evans
"Federal blowhards," Maddox said, coughing the words under his breath in a way designed to be heard.
Agent Logan's nostrils flared, and something deadly flashed through his eyes. "Stand down, Detectives, before I put you down."
Maddox laughed, but no joy resonated in the sound. "Oh, I'd really like to see you try."
Agent Andrei stepped between her partner and Maddox, her arms outstretched in a placating gesture. "Calm down, gentlemen, and put your dicks away. We're all here for the same thing."
"And that is?" Maddox asked.
Andrei regarded both detectives solemnly. "To keep Mrs. Harris safe and to locate her husband before he can hurt her again."
Panic expanded inside Katlyn, pulsing out in hot, brain-frying waves. Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god. They hadn't caught Jeff? Maddox hadn't said, she'd assumed—oh holy god! Jeff was still out there, and if he found her, he could take her back.
She clawed at Maddox's shirt. "Don't let him take me again. Don't let him—"
Fuck, she couldn't breathe.
Maddox turned to her, his kind eyes morphing into a steely resolve she recognized. "I'm not gonna let him get you again, Kat," he whispered for her ears only. "No matter what I have to do. Harris will never touch you again."
Chapter 4
Maddox eased Kat's hospital door closed behind himself, which was a miracle considering he wanted to throttle those fucking FBI agents. Hell, he would have torn them both to pieces if Carter hadn't been there to block his path.
"You fucking assholes!" Maddox whisper-shouted, not wanting to disturb Kat. She was finally resting again. "You caused her to have another panic attack. The doctor had to medicate her."
And, yes, part of that was his fault. He should have been upfront with Kat about not finding Harris. He'd just hoped the situation would change before he'd had to tell her, but these asshats had fucked everything up.
"Calm down, Detective," Logan said. "She's gonna be messed up a long time. There's no sense coddling her."
The barb landed, and anger spiked hot and hard. Maddox leaped at the other man, but Carter caught him and, with an elbow to Maddox's neck, forced him back against the wall.
"Easy, partner." Carter leaned hard into Maddox, keeping him wedged against the wall, and although his words were soft, they were resolute. "This won't help her."
Teeth grinding, Maddox sucked in a breath. Then another. And another still. Carter was right. Losing his cool wouldn't help Kat, but goddamn it! He didn't like these assholes, and he most certainly didn't trust them. After what he'd learned about Harris' probable mole, the only person aside from himself he trusted with Kat was Carter. That said, these asshats were the ones who had jurisdiction. If he wanted to stay involved, he had to find a way to make nice.
"Fine. We'll hear them out." Maddox managed not to say the words through completely clenched teeth.
Carter stepped back but not too far. He was still within bitch-slapping distance if need be. Smart man. Side by side, the detectives stepped in front of the FBI agents.
Agent Andrei held her hands out, still playing peacemaker. "We all want the same thing, Detective Westbrook, and that's to keep Mrs. Harris safe and bring Jeff Harris to justice. We'll achieve that faster if we work together."
Arms crossed, Maddox stared down the two agents. "So, talk."
Agent Andrei laid out their plan, which included taking Kat into federal protective custody. Everything inside Maddox screamed to send them away. The last time he'd trusted someone else to protect her, Harris had gotten his hands on her. Maddox couldn't live through losing her again.
Katlyn woke to whispers.
Maddox and Carter stood huddled together in front of her door, speaking in hushed tones. The sight sent her hackles rising.
Maybe they're just trying to keep from waking me.
Only she didn't believe that. For a few blissful hours, she'd thought her nightmare over, but it wasn't. Her personal demon hadn't been vanquished, only temporarily exorcised, and she'd lived with him long enough to know he'd come for her. He always did.
"Jeff's still out there." Her voice was soft but didn't waver.
Maddox was at her side in three ground-eating strides. He reached a hand toward her, pulled it back, and then reached out again, this time taking her hand and holding tightly. "Yes, Kat, he's still out there. I should have told you earlier. I was hoping they'd find him first, and I'd be able to tell you that instead."
She nodded. She would not break down again.
She would not break down again.
She.
Would.
Not.
Break.
Down.
Again.
She managed a shaky breath. "What about the place I escaped from?"
"We found it," Carter answered, drawing her attention to him. He'd moved to the opposite side of the bed as Maddox. "But Harris wasn't there. By the time we arrived on scene, he was long gone."
"But we got you, Kat," Maddox said, "and that's the most important thing."
She swiveled her head back in Maddox's direction. That same steely determination she'd noticed the day they'd met cooled his blue-gray eyes. He'd said getting her back was the most important thing, and she wanted to believe he meant that—wanted, even more, to believe he meant it in ways he didn't mean.
"What happens next?" she asked. "Do I get to go back to Dallas with y'all?"
Her gaze pin-balled between the two men as she waited for an answer, but neither looked at her. They stared at each other, anger lurking in their eyes. She didn't think their anger was directed at each other or at her, but they were livid.
Dread snaked through her. "What?"
"Your case no longer falls under our jurisdiction," Maddox finally answered. His words sounded as if he'd chewed them and spat them out.
"You're sending me away again?" Katlyn yanked her hand from his and hugged her arms to her chest as if he'd slapped her. Actually, slapping her may have hurt less. She'd learned how to take a hit over the years, but the emotional blow from Maddox nearly undid her.
You're just a job to him. Just a job. Remember that.
Even as she thought her mantra, Maddox flinched as if she'd slapped him. "No, Kat, I'm not sending you away, not unless it's what you want."
"But you said—"
He recaptured her hand between his larger ones and drew it to his heart. "The investigation isn't officially ours anymore, that's true. We might be able to pull some strings and maybe work the investigation in some capacity, but ultimately, our hands are tied."
"That's not making me feel better," she said.
This time, Carter answered, "The feds want to put you back into protective custody. New name, new location… everything. And they want to do it on their terms."
"Away from… y'all?" She tried not to look at Maddox. She knew her longing to stay with him would show through. She felt safe with him; every moment he'd not been with her had been what had left her terrified of every shadow.
Carter nodded.
Maddox picked up the thread. "But they can't force you into their custody, Kat. You're the victim. You've done nothing wrong."
She returned her gaze to Maddox. "I don't understand. Carter said—"
"Refuse their protective custody," said Maddox, tightening his hold on her hand.
"And then come back to Dallas with us," added Carter. "We might not be able to investigate the crimes committed outside of Dallas, but we can still investigate those within our jurisdiction. It'll give us some leeway in continuing to pursue him."
"Charges were filed against Harris before you left," continued Maddox, "and the system kept working. We've kept working for you. Do you remember all the legal paperwork we filed?"
She nodded but couldn't remember what all paperwork he was talking about. She'd signed so much of it before leaving, and she hadn't been in the best frame of mind. She'd been in a constant loop of terror, both for leaving Jeff and Maddox.
Maddox
squeezed her hand again. "Well, hopefully, you'll be happy to know you're not married anymore."
"I'm not… what?"
"Jeff Harris isn't legally your husband anymore," answered Maddox.
Fear burst dead center of her chest—oh, dear god, what would Jeff say when he found out—but relief immediately followed.
"Jeff and I, we're not… married anymore?"
Maddox shook his head.
"Wow. Wow." She couldn't quite get her head around the new information.
"Harris has several criminal charges in Texas," Maddox said. "We can keep pushing on those, using those as leverage to locate him. We can't get him for the abduction or for keeping you prisoner, but I can keep you safe, Kat."
"How so?" Hesitation damped hope. The last time Maddox and Carter had tried to keep her safe, they'd sent her away.
"By coming home with me," Maddox answered.
She gripped his hand tighter. He wasn't sending her away! She couldn't help the tears pressing against the backs of her eyes.
"Carter and I have talked this out, and I want you to stay with me until we know you're safe. Carter's place isn't big enough, only one bedroom. My apartment isn't big or spacious or anything, but I've got a spare room. I'm using it as an office right now, but we'll find a way if this's what you want. I completely understand if you don't quite trust us to keep you safe this time."
Maddox's eyes pleaded with her to say yes—or maybe she was projecting her feelings onto him. Still, she doubted she could have told him no if her life depended on it.
"I want to go with you." She said the words quickly, quietly, hoping to disguise the combination of joy and relief assaulting her. "There's no one else I trust more to keep me safe."
Relief washed over Maddox's face, swift and powerful, like an avalanche, and for a brief second, she let herself believe his reaction had nothing to do with her being a job or an obligation. For just one moment, she gave in to the fantasy that had helped her weather the worst of her abuse, let it take root and steady her, a fantasy in which a sexy Detective Maddox Westbrook took her home, not as a victim in need of comfort but as a woman.
She would pay for this betrayal. By god, she would fucking pay.
Jeff Harris stood camouflaged at the tree line bracketing the Cabinet Peaks Medical Center as the two cops who'd been chasing him loaded his wife into an SUV. His goddamn wife. Both cops were pains in his ass, but the tall one, the blond one, oh, he was the one making all the trouble. He was the one fucking Jeff's wife.
Oh, Katlyn had sworn the two weren't, but Jeff knew better. A man knew when another man was fucking his wife. He always knew.
Jeff would have snuck into the hospital last night and taken her back, but he wasn't stupid. Katlyn's fuck-buddy cop wouldn't have left her alone, but that was okay. Jeff was a patient man. Plus, he had connections. No matter where she went, he'd find her, and he'd take her back.
He grinned as the SUV pulled away from the hospital. When the time was right, he'd take back what was his, and he'd damn well make her pay for leaving him. To punish her, he'd kill her lover cop in front of her. That'd certainly teach that bitch a lesson, wouldn't it?
Perhaps, for shits and giggles, he'd torture the cop some first and make her watch. And then, with the asshole tied up and bleeding, he'd force that fucking cop to watch while Jeff fucked the hell out of his wife. Yeah, he'd show that fucker how a real man treated his property. Then, afterward, with his dick still wet from Katlyn's pussy, he'd shoot that mother-fucking cop right between the eyes.
Chapter 5
The clock on the far wall ticked from seven zero two to seven zero three as Maddox locked his apartment door behind him, and for the first time since leaving the hospital, relief loosened the band around his chest.
Kat had stayed glued to his side the entire trip and still was, not that he was complaining. He'd gotten her back, and he wouldn't fuck up this time. Harris was still out there, and Maddox knew, all the way down to his bone marrow, the asshole would eventually come for her, but not tonight. With law enforcement searching for him, Harris wouldn't be able to get here directly, which meant no commercial flights. He'd have to drive, and even if he drove straight through without stopping, the trip would take over twenty-four hours.
Maddox dropped his travel bag on the sofa and turned to Kat. She'd pulled her long blonde hair into a messy knot on the top of her head. Since she'd had no clothes, Carter had run out to get her something to wear. The result was a pair of yoga pants, a long-sleeved sky-blue tunic, and a pair of flip flops. Carter had said he'd gotten the smallest size he could find, but the clothes still hung off her under-nourished frame.
"Something smells good in here," she said softly. If he wasn't mistaken, she suddenly looked uncertain, as if he had a surprise wife or roommate that he hadn't mentioned before.
He opened his mouth to explain the smell and the situation to her, but Raven's voice sounded from one of the bedrooms. Kat jolted alert and jumped into him.
"It's okay," he murmured to Kat as Carter hurried past them. "She belongs to Carter."
Raven emerged from the hallway, and Carter caught her in a fierce hug. If Kat had any follow-up questions, she never voiced them.
Maddox leaned toward Kat and whispered, "You'd think they'd been apart for a year or something."
Kat's lips curled up. "I think it's sweet."
He returned her smile. He couldn't help it. She had a positively adorable smile. It was a little crooked, and when her grin was big enough, a cute wrinkle formed at the bridge of her nose. He loved it. Seeing her smile had been something he hadn't thought he'd ever be able to see again.
He forced himself to turn from Kat and to focus on Raven. "Thanks for the assist tonight. I owe you."
Raven waved off his gratitude. "It was nothing. All the steak I can eat for the low, low price of simply cooking it? Count me in."
But having dinner ready when they returned hadn't been the only favor he'd asked of Raven. He'd asked her to deconstruct his home office. He hadn't wanted Kat to see it, to know she'd been front and center in his mind for the past month. If she figured out the truth of his feelings, if she looked him in the eyes and asked why he'd devoted so much time to her, he wasn't sure he'd be able to lie.
Maddox motioned from one woman to the other and made proper introductions.
"It's amazing to finally meet you," Raven said to Kat. "I've sat with these boys on too many nights to count while they've pored over your case. I almost feel as if you and I are already old friends, Katlyn. I mean, may I call you Katlyn?"
Kat opened her mouth but then froze, as if something short-circuited on its way from her brain to her mouth, but just as quickly, her beautiful, quirky smile made a comeback. "I'd like that very much." She paused, and if possible, her smile shone brighter. "Raven."
"Awesome." Raven raised a hand in a "hallelujah" gesture just as the ding of a timer sounded. "And that would be the potatoes. If y'all wanna get cleaned up or whatnot, I'll get dinner on the table."
"I can help." As soon as she'd spoken, Kat looked from Maddox to Raven as if wanting some sort of confirmation. No… as if waiting for permission.
Realization struck. "You don't have to help," Maddox said gently, "but you can if you want to."
He stressed the two most important words—have and want—to emphasize that she wasn't required to do anything here except be safe.
Kat's expression softened. "I want to help. Kinda feel like I need to as well. Besides, I'm starving. I hadn't realized just how much until I'd walked in and smelled the food."
"Great!" Raven motioned Kat to follow. "There's not much left to do—the steak's resting on a platter in the microwave. Salad's in the fridge. All I have to do is reheat the rolls."
"Mmm, steak. It's been sooo long since I've had steak," Kat was saying as the two disappeared around the half wall where the galley kitchen hid.
Katlyn stared at the stranger in the mirror and didn't like what she saw.
&
nbsp; She was a skeleton with skin stretched over bone—skin colored with a myriad of bruises in different stages of healing. The woman in the mirror was so ugly. Even in her college days, she'd never have considered herself attractive. At best, she'd been average, but a lifetime with Jeff had taken its toll.
Jeff's words came out of the darkness of her memories to taunt her. You're such an ugly bitch. I don't know why I bother keeping you around. I should just fucking kill you and cut my losses.
"Stop it." She kept the words soft, for the voice in her head alone. "Just stop."
She'd escaped him. She'd beat him. She'd saved herself. She wasn't helpless or useless or a pathetic, worthless cunt—or any of the vile things he'd called her over the years. She had value. She didn't deserve to be treated the way he'd treated her.
She backhanded away the single tear that had leaked free, pulled her shoulders back, and stood tall. "You deserve to be happy." And someday, she would be, even if it took a lifetime.
Tonight, had been an excellent first step on the road to happiness. She'd spent a lovely evening with Maddox, Carter, and Raven—oh, she liked Raven, too. It had been so long since she'd had friends, longer still since she'd had an evening laughing with friends. Raven had even volunteered to go shopping with Katlyn soon. She'd wanted to take Raven up on the offer because she didn't exactly have a supply of, well, anything to wear, but she also didn't have any money.
Money! She hadn't spared a thought for money until tonight, mainly the fact she didn't have any. Not even a damn penny. She'd have to figure out how to make her way in the world again, but not tonight.
Until she figured out her financial situation, she'd make do with the yoga pants, T-shirt, and flip flops Maddox had arranged for her. She'd wash them every night when she changed into the nightshirt Maddox had lent her, and then lather, rinse, and repeat.
She ran her hands down the hips of the shirt he'd lent her to sleep in, a Dallas Police Department T-shirt. The blue material was sweat-wicking and cool against her skin. A replica of his badge sat over her heart, something she liked a lot. It made her feel connected to him in an almost intimate way. She traced the badge with her fingertips.
