by Brandi Evans
"No. I'm at the precinct. She should be at home. Why?" He stood straighter, every muscle going rigid, every instinct on alert.
"She texted me to let me know she wouldn't be able to make our session tomorrow, that there was some sort of emergency. I tried calling her to find out what's wrong, but my calls keep going straight to voicemail. And so, since I was close to y'all's place when I got her message, I ran by, but she's not answering. Sarge didn't even bark. I was hoping they were with you, and I was getting worried over nothing."
"I'm sure it's nothing," he lied. "But just to be on the safe side, I'm headed that way now."
Carter drove, and Maddox kept calling Kat. Like Caroline, he kept going straight to voicemail, which meant her phone was dead, she'd shut it off, or she was somewhere without cell service, and none of those possibilities sat well with him.
He'd pulled up the "Find my Phone" app on his cell, but it showed "No Location Found" for her phone.
The second they arrived at the apartment, Maddox leaped from the car. He took the stairs two at a time, and by the time he hit the landing, he already had his keys in his hand.
Caroline stepped aside, and he opened the door.
"Kat!" Maddox called. "Sarge!"
But neither woman nor canine answered.
The lights were off, and the place spotless. This certainly didn't look like a crime scene; that idea alone should have been enough to relieve some of the tension keeping his muscles like steel, but it didn't.
That was when he saw the folded paper sitting on the kitchen bar, a letter from Kat. His hands shook as he picked it up and began reading.
Maddox,
I'm sorry, but I can't let you put your life in danger because of me. I meant what I said this morning. You're so, so important to me, which is why I can't let you risk so much for me. It's why I must go.
I wish I could say this to you in person, but I know I wouldn't have the strength to leave if I were looking you in the eyes. I love your eyes. Did I ever tell you that? I can't remember.
I don't want to leave you. Please know that. What I want is more nights with you at the club, more lazy Sundays like yesterday, more boat rides with friends. I want to make a lifetime's worth of incredible memories with you, including many, many more nights like last night.
Reid and Amy love you so much. Your sister, too. I tried imagining how they'd react if something happened to you, and it broke my heart. You have people who love you and depend on you. I couldn't stomach the thought they might lose you because of me, because of the mistakes I made in my past.
I love you, Maddox. I love you more than anything. There are so many things between us I wish were different or that had happened differently. I think we could have been great together, the kind of together that lasts forever, but I can't wish my wants above your needs. And that's why I have to disappear.
Please, my love, don't look for me. Don't investigate the Group. Just live your life and, every once in a while, spare a thought for me?
Love Forever,
Katlyn
P.S. Please tell Carter, Raven, and Carrie I'll miss them terribly.
When he finished reading, Maddox collapsed and willed his heart not to shatter.
Chapter 22
Maddox was numb.
Caroline sat beside him on the floor where he'd collapsed. Rereading the letter, she seemed as shocked as he, but at least she was focused on something. Carter was on the phone, had been since he'd finished the note, trying to track Kat down.
Maddox needed a coherent plan to find Kat, but his brain was a frozen computer. He was back in the house in Oregon, standing in a familiar crime scene, only instead of the Warriors for Women guard murder by Harris, it had been Kat. Surrounded in a crimson splatter, she stared up at him with dead, lifeless eyes.
Goddamn it, he'd known something had been bothering her. Why hadn't he pressed her for more information before he'd left for work?
Carter knelt in front of Maddox. "Genny insists she has no clue where Katlyn is, and I believe her. She was near tears by the end of our conversation."
She wasn't the only one. Maddox's tears pressed against the backs of his eyes, but he wouldn't let them fall.
Maddox tried to get his inner cop to engage, but it was like trying to swim through syrup. "We'll need to put a BOLO out for her. She's in danger."
"Except, if the Group or Jeff is looking for her through their contacts, that would quickly tip them off that she's unprotected."
"Fuck, you're right." And Maddox should have thought of that himself. Fuck! He needed to find a way to maintain!
"We could tap Kirkland," Carter suggested. "He thinks he knows something. If what he's found out is actionable, then maybe, it could help us find her.
"We could, but going to him was already a wildcard." As trustworthy as he seemed, Kirkland was still an outsider.
Caroline spoke. "She didn't tell you to say goodbye to Viv."
Maddox turned to her, too emotionally strung out to care about who Kat had or hadn't wanted to say goodbye to.
"Is that important?" Carter asked.
"Very," she answered. "Jeff systematically cut Katie off from friends and family. Then, she came here and met Raven and Viv. She and I reunited. And while this skirts the line on doctor-patient privilege, I can tell you she valued each of those friendships deeply, even her new friendship with Viv."
"Great," said Maddox. "Kat was on her way to having another BFF at the club. How is that possibly important right now?"
Caroline shook her head, frustration rolling off her. "Dear god, for detectives, you two morons are asking the wrong question."
"And what question should we be asking?" Maddox replied.
"Why?" Caroline held the note out and pointed to the P.S. line. "As in why Katie didn't ask you to say goodbye to Viv when she asked you to say goodbye to all her other new friends?"
Maddox looked at Carter, realization illuminating his partner's eyes even as the light bulb went off in his own head.
"Because she was planning to talk to Viv herself," Maddox and Carter said in unison.
Viv silenced an incoming call for at least the third time in as many minutes, and Katlyn didn't need to be a detective to figure out who was calling.
Maddox.
Katlyn longed to see him almost as much as she needed to leave. She hated putting Viv in the middle, but she hadn't devised a better solution. She needed to disappear, so who better to help than a fellow sub, especially when that sub is friends with another sub who happens to be engaged to a billionaire?
"I'm sorry I got you involved in this," said Katlyn as they knocked on the front door of the enormous rock house. No, not house. House didn't do this structure justice. This was a mansion.
"It's okay," Viv said. "I know something about asshole exes."
While that might be true, Viv didn't approve of the way Katlyn was handling her exit. She was trying to hide her disapproval with nonchalance. She was trying to be a good friend, which only made Katlyn feel shittier.
The door opened to reveal a heavy-set woman with graying hair and a kind smile. "Viv, dearie," the woman began, Britain weaving through her words. "Ms. Bree told me to expect you." The woman turned to Katlyn, her smile still as brilliant. "You as well, Ms. Katlyn. Come in, come in. Max and Bree haven't made it home yet, but I expect them soon. She said for me to make you comfortable. The name's Patricia."
Max and Bree…
They sounded so average when said that way, but given the way Viv described them, average was an inadequate word. He was a self-made billionaire, and she'd survived not one but two attacks by a madman who intended to kill her. Yeah, average totally wouldn't do them justice.
Katlyn followed Patricia inside, but when an overweight tabby cat sauntered into the entryway and wound itself through Patricia's legs, Katlyn choked up on Sarge's leash.
"Sarge, stay," she warned.
The cat froze and then let out a loud, warning hiss. Sarge shook and mad
e excited whines, his tail wagging, but otherwise, he didn't move.
"Good boy." Katlyn stroked his head soothingly. "Good boy."
Patricia picked up the angry cat. "Be nice, Tabs. They're our guests."
Tabs kept hissing.
"Stop it." Patricia looked back to Viv and Katlyn. "I'm just going to relocate her highness and be right back. Make yourselves comfortable."
"I can't stay," Viv said when the older woman was out of earshot. "Maddox and Carter keep calling me. Somehow, they know I'm with you. It's only a matter of time before they start pestering Brock for my location."
"I understand, and I'm truly sorry I put you in this situation. I don't know how they figured out I was with you."
"They're detectives," Viv said simply.
Yeah, they were. They'd found her once already, hadn't they? She should have known they'd find her again.
Viv took Katlyn's free hand and squeezed. "Please reconsider this. I don't know Master Maddox that well. I really only know him through Brock and Raven, but this will break his heart."
"I'd rather have him heartbroken than dead."
"But shouldn't that be his decision to make?"
Except Katlyn already knew his decision because he'd already made it, which was why she'd made hers.
"What would you do if leaving Master Brock was the only way to save his life?" Katlyn asked.
Viv didn't hesitate. "Then I'd find another way because, for me, there's no way forward without him. I lived without him too long already. Now that I have him, I'm not giving him up."
The response filtered through Katlyn's brain long after Viv left. Katlyn didn't want to leave Maddox, but she couldn't think of another way to keep him safe from himself. If she were gone, if she'd left of her own volition, he'd eventually stop looking for her. He had to. At least, he'd refocus his efforts, right? He'd be looking for her and not into the Group. That was better than nothing.
But doubt was evil, and it dug deep into her stomach.
Patricia returned with a steaming mug and a muffin on a serving tray. "Come along, dearie. I'm going to get you settled in the living area until Max and Bree return."
Katlyn followed Patricia into a room filled with sleek furniture and earth-toned fabrics. The room's focal point was an oversized leopard-print ottoman that fit perfectly with the brown leather sofa.
Patricia set the tray on the ottoman. "Ms. Bree's a big health-food nut, so I was making these for her. They use ground oatmeal flour instead of regular flour, so they're going to be a bit denser than you'll expect. They're good, though, especially when you pair it with a nice vanilla latte."
"Thank you." Katlyn almost added, 'you didn't have to do this,' but she held it back. "I needed this."
With a smile, Patricia left Katlyn alone.
Katlyn sipped the latte and nibbled the blueberry muffin, but doubt and guilt wouldn't leave her alone. Was Maddox mad at her? Part of her hoped he was. If she hurt him so much that he stopped caring for her, then maybe, he'd cut his losses and let her quietly disappear. And if he weren't looking into the Group, hopefully, they'd let him be.
The idea he might do just that stabbed her through the chest, and she slid to the floor. Sarge placed his head comfortingly on her shoulder, and she wrapped her arms around him and cried.
Maddox and Carter split up. They needed to know what Kirkland had found and where Kat was. The two might be related; they might build off each other. At this point, Maddox would commit all the Hail Marys in the universe to get Kat back safe and sound.
So, while Carter met with Kirkland, Maddox and Caroline went to the club and straight to Brock's office. Raven had met them upon arrival, called by Carter as backup. Without knocking, they went into Brock's office as a unified front: Kat's lover and two of her closest friends.
"Where is she?" Maddox aimed his words straight at Viv and leveled her with a stare he hoped showed every bit of his pain. If he terrified her, all the better. Oh, he wouldn't ever hurt her—he was restrained enough for that—but by god, he wanted her as terrified as he was.
Brock pushed to his feet, stepping in front of his sub like a human shield. "I know you're hurting, Maddox, but unless you want to hurt a lot more, I'd advise you to calm the fuck down. Because if you lay a single finger on Viv, I won't let our friendship stop me from laying you the fuck out."
And rightfully so. Maddox would have done the same in Brock's place.
"Just tell her to tell me where Kat is," Maddox said. "I just want to find her before Harris does."
Brock opened his mouth to speak, but it was Viv's voice that Maddox heard. "I don't know where she is."
"Bullshit," countered Maddox. "Tell me where she is, Viv."
Viv remained silent.
"Tell me where she is, Vivian!"
"Maddox…" Brock's voice was a deep growl. "Back. Off."
How was he supposed to back off when six feet of solid muscle and menace guarded the only connection he had to Kat?
Caroline stepped between the two Doms as two sets of fists balled. "For the love of god, going at each other won't do anything to help Katie. Now sit! Both of you!"
Maddox worked with Caroline outside of the club, so he'd seen the sub's spine plenty over the years, especially in the courtroom as she'd testified to the trauma she'd witnessed from the many victims she'd helped over the years. Brock, on the other hand, gaped at her. The big Dom was having trouble meshing the meek little sub who played in the club with the commanding woman standing between them.
"Sit!" Caroline repeated, gaze bouncing back and forth between them before settling on Brock. "One of my oldest friends in the world is in danger. Viv knows where she is. Now, you're going to step aside and let us talk to Viv, or I swear to god, you will need a safe word because I will kick your goddamn ass."
Brock chuckled and let out a laugh as he dropped into his chair.
"Thank you." Caroline turned to Maddox. "And now, you. Sit!"
"I don't fucking have time for this!" But Maddox sat.
This time, Caroline looked directly at Viv. "Where is she?"
Viv shrunk closer to Brock and placed her hand on his shoulder as if drawing strength from him. "I don't know." But her voice was much softer than when she'd answered Maddox. Oh, she would fold. Caroline was scary when she needed to be.
"Where is she?" Caroline repeated.
"Safe."
Caroline's fists landed on her hips. "How do you know she's safe if you don't know where she is?"
Viv swallowed, her throat working.
"Jeff Harris is looking for her, Viv, and do you want to know what he'll do to her if he gets his hands on her?" Caroline didn't wait for Viv to answer. "He'll start by beating her, but he'll see it as punishment for her transgressions. After that, he'll probably rape her, not because he wants sex but because he can and because he knows it'll hurt her worse than the beatings. After that, he'll beat her again until he's ready to kill her. I've seen the degradation of men like Jeff Harris. He's out for revenge now. He's not trying to get her back; he wants to make her pay for leaving him."
Maddox felt the impact of each of Caroline's words like punches to the chest, knives to the gut, and kicks to the balls at the same time, and the pain doubled him over. He hadn't realized he'd slipped from the chair until his ass slammed into the ground. He wasn't aware the sob that pierced the air had come from him until Raven knelt beside him and wrapped him in a hard hug.
God, he couldn't fucking breathe. The visual Caroline had painted played on a never-ending loop in his mind's eye. Kat was his heart. He'd never be the same if something happened to her. He hadn't lied about that when he'd told her losing her would destroy him.
Somehow, he managed to focus on Viv through blurry, tear-filled eyes. "Please help me find her. I can't lose her, Viv. I can't. If she dies—" He couldn't finish the sentence aloud.
Viv knelt on his other side, and her arms joined Raven's, holding him close. He didn't need to see her face to know she was crying.
Her tears fell steadily onto his shoulder.
"Bree," Viv said with a watery voice. "I took her to Max and Bree's. Max is going to help her disappear."
Relief speared through Maddox, and he wrapped Viv in a hug so fierce that she yelped.
"Oh, god. I'm sorry." He released her and took her face in his hands. "Thank you." He risked bodily harm and pressed the softest of kisses to her lips. "Thank you so much."
"I don't know when or where they're planning to move her. I didn't want to know."
Nodding, he pushed to his feet, annoyed at how badly his legs wobbled.
Brock caught Maddox by the arm and held on until he was steady. "Just to let you know, I'm gonna have to lay you out for kissing my sub."
"Understandable," said Maddox. "But I'd super appreciate it if you could do it after I've got my sub back."
Brock nodded. "Go get your girl. I'll deck you when you've got time to be unconscious a while."
"You're all heart."
After a two-minute discussion that took two minutes too long, Maddox had convinced Raven and Caroline to let him go alone. He was the reason she'd run, so he would need to be the one to talk her into staying. Caroline had agreed; Raven had called him names that would have made a sailor blush.
He'd just stepped outside when his cell rang. It was Carter.
Maddox connected immediately. "I know where she is, but I have to move fast before she's relocated."
"Thank god. Is she safe?"
"For now. She's with Maxwell Penn and—"
"Good. If she's safe anywhere, it's in that fortress he calls a house, which means she'll also be safe there a little longer. I need you to get your ass up here. Kirkland found something, and it's big."
"Fuck that! I'm gonna get Kat and—"
"This's bigger than her or you or us. We need you here so that we can move on this. If we do this right, we can deal a huge blow to the Group."
"You'll have to do this without me." Maddox reached Caroline's car and hit the unlock button on the key fob. "I need to get—"
