Page 18 of Obsessed Fox

"Your brother took over for Atlas."

I could feel my legs giving out from under me. My vision darkened and the wordnoplayed on repeat in my mind over and over again.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Hendrix

"No! No, no, no, no,no…"

I don't think Maisie realized she was screaming the words out loud. Her legs buckled and I rushed across the kitchen tile to catch her before her ass planted on the hard floor. I managed to slide to her rescue just in time to cushion her fall.

She didn't stop there though. Her screams echoed throughout the small kitchen and each word she yelled at me was punctuated with a fist to my chest.

"You're lying! You're lying! You're lying!"

I wanted more than anything to take her pain away. My soul ached knowing I was the one causing her so much agony.

"I'm so sorry," I soothed her. I held on tight despite her pummeling me and thrashing in my arms. She wanted nothing to do with me but I refused to let her go.

"It can't be true!" Her wail was a knife straight to the heart. Since the moment I met her, Maisie was the epitome of strong and resilient. Nothing ever fazed her, and believe me, I tried. She perfected the art of shutting her feelings off. So to see herbreaking down in my arms was nothing short of excruciating. I didn't have the first clue how to fix it.

"I'm sorry but the proof is in black and white. We triple-checked it just to be sure."

"No . . ." The one word howled throughout the otherwise silent kitchen.

I have no idea how long we sat there on the hard floor as Maisie sobbed into my chest and soaked my shirt. Eventually, the tears slowed down, and based on the way she slumped further into my lap, I figured Maisie fell asleep. My assumption was confirmed when her breathing evened out and she became dead weight in my arms.

Thankful for the hours I worked out a week, I used my core muscles to get up onto my knees and then pushed up as gently as possible to stand. The last thing I wanted to do was wake Maisie up after she passed out from exhaustion.

I contemplated taking her to my bed to rest, but quickly shot the notion down. I needed her to listen to me when she woke up and my gut said that wouldn't happen if she found herself in such an intimate spot.

Going against every instinct I had, I moved toward the living room and got comfortable in one of the recliners. I cradled her like a parent would a newborn baby and watched her sleep.

A million scenarios raced through my mind. Each one of them centered around her brother’s motive or lack thereof. I might not know the man but I couldn't fathom how anyone could turn their back on the beauty that was currently snoring softly in my arms.

She was exactly the kind of woman I envisioned myself finding one day. A body covered halfway in tattoos, chunky combat boots, cargo pants with a million pockets, t-shirts with the neckline cut so the one side hung off her shoulder, and a bandana tied around her head to control her unruly hair. Shehad a don't-give-a-fuck attitude that matched my own. Most people said opposites attract but I disagreed. I preferred a woman who could match me step for step.

Maisie had proven time and time again she was up for the task. If only she could see how perfect we could be together.

It was nearly an hour of me watching her sleep like a creeper before she stirred. I knew the second she realized where she was, the lazy stretch Maisie had going on would tense up, and I was right.

"What happened?" Every muscle in Maisie's body locked up as she tried to push me away. I banded my arms even tighter around her, not ready to let her go.

"You cried yourself to sleep, so I carried you into the living room."

Maisie looked around the dimly lit room. I never bothered to turn on the lights, so the only illumination came in through the thin slit between the two blackout curtains I had on the windows.

"How long was I out?"

"An hour, give or take." I wouldn't know for sure unless I looked at the time but I was in no hurry to shift her out of my arms to check. If I gave her even the slightest space, she would bolt.

"Can you please let me go?"

Prime example.

"Nope."

I didn't think it was possible for Maisie to tense even more but I was wrong. "What do you mean, nope?"

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