Page 17 of Broken Bodyguard

“You need to let me dosomething,” I told him.

“You did plenty,” he said, plunking Grace in the booster seat as though she weighed nothing. “You got in my Jeep when I told you to come to the cabin. And you let me pay inside just now.”

“That seems like a technicality,” I said.

Grace giggled as he fumbled briefly with the seatbelt. “You can do the seatbelt, I guess.”

He stepped away, smirking at me, and I caught a puff of his woodsy scent. My eyes fluttered shut—dear lord.I wanted to crawl inside his jacket and live there.

I got Grace buckled in and kissed the tip of her nose. Once I’d settled back into the front seat, I had an incoming call. My mother.

My stomach pitched to my feet as I answered.

“Hello?”

“Maddie, sweetie. How are you two doing?” My mom sounded nervous.

“Doing well,” I said. “Slept great. Just picked up some stuff to make dinner. What’s up?”

“Jericho just came by again.”

My eyes slid to the clock in the Jeep. It was barely nine-thirty.

“He demanded to know where you were,” my mom went on. “I didn’t tell him anything, but…” The tremble in her voice betrayed the emotion there. “He was mad, sweetie.”

Troy’s attention sizzled on me as I spoke to my mom.

“Was Dad there? Did he say anything when he left?” I asked, my voice sticking to my throat.

“Yes, your father was here, thankfully. Jericho said he hoped you didn’t plan on staying gone because he needed to see his daughter.”

I pressed my head to the back of the seat, the familiar knot of anxiety cinching tight in my gut. “Thanks for letting me know.” Truthfully, I had no idea how long it made sense to stay away. Was forever an option? At some point, I’d have to face him. “If he bothers you again or you get scared, call the police, okay?”

I couldn’t believe I was recommending calling the police over my soon-to-be ex-husband. But deep down inside, I wasn’t surprised at all.

I’d known since the beginning that Jericho wasn’t the one for me…but I’d thought that marriage and starting a family would change him. Help him tame that dark, insidious thread inside him.

And though I’d always done my best to make sure that thread never snapped…it had snapped anyway.

Now, it was time to get to work cleaning up the mess. Claiming a new future for me and my daughter.

CHAPTER SEVEN

TROY

“Doyouwantmeto pour you some more?”

Maddie’s simple question and big, hazel eyes were like a spear through my chest. With the fireplace crackling behind her and the entire cabin coated in warmth and ease, I knew the answer to her question.

“I think I’ve had enough beer.” If I took another sip, I’d scoop her into my arms and take her up to the loft. After a full day of exploring town, crunching through the woods around the cabin, and sharing both lunch and dinner with her and Grace, my heart felt fuller than it had in…it was too long to remember.

As a result, I was hanging by a thread around this woman.

“Well I hope you won’t judge if I have some more. After all, it’s adult time.” She stuck her tongue out at me as she filled her glass again. We’d been sharing one big bottle of beer that we found tucked in the back of Len’s fridge, something light and locally brewed. Grace had gone down to bed about twenty minutes ago, after a bustling evening of playing a game I’d accidentally invented with her calledTwisty Monkey.I’d let her dangle from my bicep earlier, made the mistake of spinning, and then Twisty Monkey was born. The girl was obsessed with it. I could almost feel myself still spinning. Maddie and I were now alone at the kitchen island. I told myself this was just a regular adult hangout session.

I needed to convince myself it wouldn’t go further.

“Have as much as you want, Maddie.”

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