Page 222 of Cowboys & Navy SEALs

Her voice cracked. “I’m so sorry you got caught in the middle of this.”

“Me too,” Addie sighed, “but it’s not your fault.”

“Hey guys. I think I found something,” Maddox said.

For an instant, they looked wide-eyed at each other. Addie removed her arm from Piper’s shoulder. Hurriedly, Piper wiped her eyes as they rushed back to Maddox. In one hand, he held alarge padded envelope. In the other, a black rectangle box with a cord attached that Addie recognized as a computer accessory.

Piper frowned. “That looks like the external hard drives we have at Therapia.”

Maddox turned it over in his hand as Addie shined her flashlight. On the back, was a small white label with two words: Therapia. PZT.

Addie’s heart began to pound. “This has to be what Jordan wanted me to find.” She looked back and forth between Maddox and Piper and could tell from their expressions that they agreed. “Do you think Jordan’s copy of the formula is on it?” Addie asked, eagerness rising in her chest.

Piper nodded. “Probably so.” Her tone grew speculative as she turned to Addie. “I’ll bet Jordan realized someone was after him that day he had lunch with you. He probably dropped the key in your purse for safe keeping.”

Addie thought back to the events that occurred. “Yep, I believe you’re right.”

Piper reached for the hard drive. “If I know Jordan, it’s probably encrypted, but I can take it back to Therapia and have my tech team look at it.”

Maddox held it out of her reach. “Not so fast. I’ll hold onto this for now.”

“But it’s my property,” Piper protested, her voice going an octave higher. “If that drive contains the formula, I can’t risk it falling into the wrong hands.” Her voice quivered with intensity. “It could undermine my business, everything Jordan and I worked so hard to achieve.”

Maddox squared his jaw. “This could be the missing piece in all of this. I have no intention of relinquishing it until I get to the bottom of what’s going on.”

“You have no right,” Piper fumed, her hand going to her hip. She turned to Addie. “Tell him.”

Addie felt like a pebble caught between a car tire and the hard pavement—with Piper being the tire and Maddox the pavement.

“Please, Addie,” Piper continued. “You know how important this is to me, how important it was to Jordan.” Piper’s gut-wrenching expression cut Addie to the core.

Addie homed in on Maddox. “Piper’s right. Once that hard drive leaves your hands, you can’t guarantee that the wrong person won’t get ahold of it.”

His eyes were as unyielding as stone. “I’m sending it to Sutton.”

She lifted her chin. “And who will Sutton get to look at it? Someone you don’t know.”

“All right, I’ll insist Sutton makes sure it goes to Logan Steele. He served with me in the SEALs. I trust him implicitly.”

She leaned closer. “Uh, huh. You trust him because he’s a close friend, right?”

“That’s right,” he snapped, wariness creeping into his eyes.

Triumph surged through her, and she knew she had him. “Well, Piper’s my closest friend. I trust her implicitly.”

Maddox’s brows crinkled. “Don’t turn this around.”

The two of them going head-to-head wouldn’t accomplish anything. Addie gave him a pleading look. “Would it hurt to give it to Piper? That way, we can make sure the formula won’t fall into the wrong hands. Piper can keep us updated on what her tech team learns.”

“You bet I will,” Piper said quickly.

Maddox belted out an incredulous laugh. “Are you listening to yourself, Addie? Whatever’s on this hard drive could’ve cost you your life. You’re still in danger. No way am I handing it over to anyone—” he looked at Piper “—best friend or otherwise, until we find out what’s on it.” He stood there glaring. In another situation, Addie would’ve thought him magnificent with his tallstature, rock hard muscles, chiseled features and blazing eyes. He was every bit the diehard warrior.

“Come on, Maddox,” she urged. “Piper’s business is on the line. She lost her husband. Like Piper said, Jordan most likely dropped the key into my purse because of the situation. Had Piper been there, he would’ve given it to her instead.”

“Maybe he would have, maybe he wouldn’t.” He blew out a breath, his eyes never leaving Addie’s. “While I appreciate your loyalty to your friend, my job is to protect you, even if that means protecting you from your good intentions.” His jaw clenched. “The hard drive stays with me.”

Piper gave him a rigid look. “How do we know we can trust you?”

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