Page 194 of Cowboys & Navy SEALs

“Yes.” He forced a smile. “So you see, you have nothing to worry about.”

Her eyes went harder than granite. “That’s good to know.” She scooted back her chair and stood. “You know what? I appreciate you coming, but I don’t need any help.”

He jumped to his feet. “How can you say that?” He lowered his voice. “You don’t know why someone killed Jordan or why your home was broken into. Corbin’s worried sick about you. Even as we speak, he’s getting his boss to check into the situation.”

“You mean the billionaire philanthropist Sutton Smith. Who’s also your boss.”

“Yes.” He didn’t know how much Addie knew about Sutton’s private security company, so he figured it was better to keep the conversation generic.

She raised her chin. The look in her eyes reminded him of a headstrong horse about to bolt. “I’m sorry you wasted a trip, but I don’t need your help.”

He caught hold of her arm. “Don’t be ridiculous, Addie. This is a serious situation. From the sound of it, you need all the help you can get.”

Fire flashed in her eyes. “Not from you.” She jerked her arm out of his grasp. “Go back to your girlfriend,” she muttered as she stomped out.

Crud!He couldn’t let her go like that. He needed to keep her in his sight at all times. She was the most stubborn, infuriating woman on the planet. He thought she’d be relieved if he told her he had a girlfriend, but she was acting ticked about it, which made no sense. Addie had broken up with him, not the other way around.

He pulled his wallet from his pocket and slapped down a twenty-dollar bill before rushing after her.

Chapter Six

Addie’s mind was on fire as she drove away from the diner. Too furious to go back to work, she headed for home. When she turned onto the highway leading to the cabin, she reached in her purse for her phone. Holding the steering wheel with one hand, she called Corbin with the other.

He answered on the first ring. “Hey, sis.”

“How dare you get Maddox to come here!” she exploded. “You had no right to interfere with my personal relationship.”

There was a stunned silence on the other end of the line. She clutched the phone tighter. “Are you there?”

“I’m here,” came his curt reply. “You called me for help, remember?”

She blew out a breath. “Yeah, that was my first mistake.”

“Seriously?” Corbin barked out a laugh. “What crawled up your shorts? You need to take it down a few notches, so we can discuss this like adults.”

A hysterical laugh bubbled in her throat. “You’re telling me to be an adult? Ha! That’s ironic.”

“What do you mean by that?”

It was on the tip of Addie’s tongue to unload on Corbin, rehashing events from their past like how when Gram got sick,Corbin left, leaving her holding the bag. She stared at the ribbon of road ahead, tears stinging her eyes as she clutched the steering wheel with both hands, the phone cradled on her shoulder. She and Corbin were in a good place now. She couldn’t keep blaming him for the past. Corbin had done a one-eighty, turned his life around. He was worried sick about his wife and baby. She didn’t need to add stress to the situation.

Concern sounded in Corbin’s voice. “Are you okay?”

She gulped, trying to keep a lid on the avalanche of emotion building in her. “I’m sorry. I’m just so frustrated about everything.” Tears spilled down her face.

“I know. This isn’t something you can handle alone. You need help, which is why I sent Maddox.”

She gritted her teeth. “Surely there’s someone else who?—”

“I trust Maddox,” he inserted. “Him being there with you is as good as me being there.” He paused. “Look, whatever’s going on between the two of you … well, my advice is to table it until this ordeal is over.”

“Excellent advice from an outsider looking in.” She barked out a laugh.

“I don’t exactly qualify as an outsider, sis.”

She drew in a ragged breath, trying to calm down.

Corbin switched gears. “I’m glad you called. Sutton’s guys were able to gather some intel on Jordan.”

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