Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
He tapped his thumb on the island, watching her. “He cheated on you.”
To her credit, she barely blanched. “Yes.”
“A lot.”
“Constantly.”
Jesus… “Have you always known that?”
“We went to Nice for our honeymoon. I was excited, because I’d never been to France, and he promised to show me everything. He did, especially things I didn’t expect…like him banging a high-class prostitute four days into our marriage.”
What a bastard. “Why didn’t you leave him then?”
Madison shook her head. “Does it matter anymore? I can’t undo the past. The future is what’s unwritten. All I can do now is focus on staying alive. And keeping my father safe. He’s got cancer.”
Matt hadn’t heard that…and he had a feeling she’d intentionally changed the subject to dodge his question. He left it alone—for now. “I’m sorry. Where is he?”
She rattled off the name of a prestigious facility in Houston. “He has no idea any of this is going on. I don’t want him to. He’ll only check himself out to come ‘save’ me.”
“I’ll take care of it. EM’s Security merged with another firm, the one owned by Jack Cole and Deke Trenton. They have ties in Texas. I’m sure they know someone who will keep your father from harm.”
“I can’t afford to pay—”
“Don’t worry about that now. They’re my friends.” None of whom would let her or her sick father be killed over a buck. “Is the incriminating video on the USB drive in that plastic bag?” He nodded toward it.
“Yes.”
“Is that the only copy?”
She nodded. “I offloaded it from my device and deleted it from my cloud. I worried if Todd or Winston realized exactly what I’d captured, they would be more ruthless.”
“Probably, but it’s leverage. We need to back that up ASAP. I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you.”
He didn’t want her appreciation. He wanted answers. “Why did you come to me, Madison?”
She hesitated. “Everyone else has children. I couldn’t put them at risk. But if this isn’t okay—”
“I said I would help you.” He cleared her plate and set it in the sink. He needed to do something with his hands or he’d give in to his terrible need to touch her. “What do you see happening next?”
“I don’t know. I panicked, and I ran. A thousand times, I’ve questioned my decision not to stay and call the police, but…” She shook her head. “Unspeakable things happen to innocent people in DC. I’ve seen it.”
That was true, which made him wonder… “Did Todd force you to marry him?”
“No.”
Her immediate comeback shot down his hopes that she’d actually wanted a future with him once upon a time. They were better dead anyway. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You’ll stay here tonight. In the morning, I’m sending you into hiding with Trees’s younger brother, Nash. You met him at the wedding, remember?”
“Yeah.” She looked confused. No, upset. “Why him?”
Because he doesn’t want to kiss you, strip you down, possess you in every way possible, and find out if any part of you still responds to him. “The Pershings have no idea you know him.”
“Good point.” But Madison gnawed on her lip like the situation was anything but. “Will I see you again?”
He hesitated. “It’s not smart.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I didn’t come here to be in your way.”
She wasn’t, and god knew he’d love to take her straight to bed, keep her there, and sink deep inside her body until she forgot her husband—and every other man who’d ever touched her. But that notion was somewhere between unrealistic and ridiculous.
“What about tonight?” she whispered.
The way she looked at him tempted him so goddamn much. “Rest. For the next ten hours, I won’t let you out of my sight.”
Matt probably didn’t mean those words to sound sexy or possessive or like anything she’d ached to hear since the last time she’d been in his arms. But heat rushed through her. Her heart lurched.
“W-what do you mean? If you don’t have an extra bed, I can sleep on the sofa or—”
“No. You have serious adversaries. Do I think it’s likely they’ll look for you here tonight?” He shook his head. “We haven’t spoken a word in nearly three years. But they know I’m the last man you slept with before you married Todd.”
“They do.” Winston Pershing’s political enemies had spread it all over social media mere days before her wedding, and it had been utterly humiliating. Todd claimed it was one reason they were honeymooning overseas, to give the story time to die down.
“You can’t stay here long without risking yourself.”
“And without risking you. I understand.”
He shrugged like his safety didn’t matter. Given what he did for a living and how reckless his reputation said he’d become, Madison wasn’t surprised. “I’m not worried about me.”
“I am. I won’t darken your door again, I promise.” She leaned onto the counter, linking her fingers together and digging her nails into the backs of her hands, trying not to give in to her desire to touch him. “How have you been?”