Page 50 of Stolen Love

“That’s all right, Jackson.” I slump against the leather. I don’t know how I could be so bad at reading people. I know it took me a long time to realize that the monsters weren’t in my head. That I wasn’t weak or useless or pathetic. That it was my own family who were the monsters. But I thought I’d learned how to tell the difference.

Dizzy not existing before two years ago… that’s a giant red flag. And honestly, there were other signs. I just didn’t want to see them.

“I’m sorry, baby,” Rogue says.

I bite down on my lip when my eyes burn. “How could I be so stupid? How am I so naïve?”

“You care.” He puts a hand on my belly. “You want to see the good in people. That is never a bad thing.”

“But it is when I can’t tell the difference. When I ignore the flags that are clearly there.” When she could be another cog in Nicole’s scheming, and I’ve been an open book. Becoming her friend and telling her my secrets. Well, not all of them. “I believed she was on my side.”

She even offered to end Alec in a weirdly serious way. And encouraged me to stand up to Nicole. And then there’s the fact that I ended up safe and sound in my bed after hitting my head the other night.

But then I had this niggling feeling that she toppled those roses in an attempt to scare me the other night. I’d brushed it off when she said she was moving them so I wouldn’t have to see them, but I shouldn’t have.

And there’s every time she’s popped up randomly. The weird and violent suggestions she’s made. How she acts like we’re the closest of friends when Rogue says we weren’t.

I guess the only thing I know about her that is probably true is she wasn’t lying when she kept talking about what it was like to love a Maddox.

“I wish I could tell you that she is on our side,” Rogue says. “But I think we have to be prepared for the worst.”

The crowd swells in as we clear the garage. They put their cameras up to the tinted windows and shout out their questions. One of them slams up against my door with his whole body. A black sweatshirt fills my view.

I flinch back from the door as our eyes lock. He’s wearing a ball cap over his sandy hair and his sweater has one of those necks that sits up around his jaw, but the malice in those eyes is unmistakable.

“Alec?”

“You…” he mouths as he jabs the glass barrier between us. “I’m coming for you.”

“What the fuck?” Rogue roars as he lunges over top of me, only to be jerked back by his seatbelt.

Alec grins like a demon and then he steps back into the crowd. I surge toward the window while Rogue fights with his seatbelt, but my brother has vanished. He might as well have never been part of the crowd.

“What?” Rebel turns to face us.

“Alec,” I say as Rogue scans the throng of bodies. “He was in the crowd.”

“How the hell is he here?” Rogue bellows in the too small space of the vehicle. “How didn’t any of them notice him?”

“They’re like fucking zombies,” Rebel snaps. “You two are the objective right now. Your building. Your car. They weren’t expecting him to rock up here anymore than we were.”

Rogue yanks on the door handle, but the central locking is activated. “When I get my hands on him—”

“You’ll what, bro?” Rebel thunders back. “Are you gonna handle him in front of this crowd? Like that isn’t exactly why he’s here.”

Jackson calls in to building security. “Alec Hawthorne has been spotted in the vicinity.”

“He threatened her,” Rogue snarls. “And we both know he’s capable—”

“Only if he can get Ivy alone.” Rebel plays the voice of reason. “And that’s not going to happen. We are never going to let him get her alone again. But if you go after him with that crowd around…”

“Don’t,” I beg, gripping Rogue’s arm. “We’re stronger together, remember?”

“Yeah. Okay.” Rogue stiffens before he eases back against the seat. His hand settles on my leg, the tension in his grip obvious even though he tries to relax. “He can’t get near you, Ivy. You know that. You’re safe with me. He can’t do anything but make empty threats.”

“I know.” I rub at my forearm. I have a feeling if I took my coat off I would see that I’m covered in goosebumps.

“You’re totally safe within the confines of the car, Miss Love.” Jackson makes eye contact with me in the rearview mirror. “Mr. Maddox, I suggest we continue to our planned destination. Unless you would like me to take us back inside.”

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