Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
I nodded. “He was when he needed to be, Maddie. It’s the nature of undercover work, playing both sides.”
She nodded. Her expression seemed worried, almost afraid as she geared herself up to say whatever she needed to say next.
“In the spirit of sharing information and loyalties, I need to tell you something.” She nibbled her bottom lip, with her gaze lowered, so she wasn’t quite looking me in the eye. I hated that I’d put this fucking distance between us.
“You can tell me anything, Maddie.”
“I know, but I didn’t tell you about it sooner because none of it made any sense to me, not because I don’t trust you. I didn’t have any context because I wasn’t part of the conversation. Okay, and yeah, I am afraid, which says more about my current living situation, but we’re not talking about that.”
“Maddie.”
“Yeah?”
I smiled. “You’re rambling.”
“I am.” She nodded and closed her eyes like she had to talk herself into speaking, and then she let out a sigh.
“I overheard Jasper and Sadie talking the other day.” Another lip nibble. And then a deep breath. “I don’t know which came first, the murder or the intel. It sounded like they were both at the hotel, but Jasper said he didn’t pull the trigger.”
“You heard all of that?” I tried to keep my expression even because for all my talk of trust, I didn’t want Maddie to know how important this information was to the investigation. “Anything else?”
She nodded. “Jasper said something about Sadie’s obsession with priests biting them all in the ass. Oh, and they know Beck has them in her crosshairs. I don’t know what it means, but that’s what I heard.”
I shook my head as I took in all the details she threw at me, wondering if it was the truth, or if this was her way of trying to salvage things between us.
“Thanks for letting me know.”
My mind was full of too much shit, and I couldn’t think straight with those big brown eyes staring at me, begging me for…something.
Maddie opened her mouth to say something, probably to tear into me for my curt words, but then she snapped her mouth shut, and I started to worry. Gone was the woman who was full of fight, who never met an argument she shied away from, who was quick to tell someone to fuck off without considering their size or power.
She didn’t tear into me. She didn’t even roll her eyes or grunt at me in anger. Instead, tears shimmered in her eyes and her shoulders fell in disappointment or resignation. I couldn’t be sure because she turned on her heels and walked away.
It felt like she wasn’t just walking away. It felt like she was leaving. For good.
I should have gotten up to stop her, to run after her and tell her I was confused as fuck, not angry. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t move at all. My ass was stuck to the seat while my mind raced with all that Maddie had revealed.
All the trust she put in me without regard to the danger she might now be in. In one fell swoop, she’d proven her love and her loyalty without regard for her own safety. How did I repay her? By being a dick. A silent, withholding asshole who didn’t deserve her.
“Fuck. Maddie, wait!” Finally, I pushed to my feet and rushed through the condo toward the front door, but when I got there, all I saw was her taillights turning out of the parking lot.
“Phone.” The word was so loud in my head, it was as if my guardian angel shouted at me to get busy.
I searched for my phone and called her, knowing if she heard my voice, she would come back to me.
“Hey, this is Maddie. Leave a message.”
“Maddie, call me. Please. It’s Jameson.” I tried her two more times, and her phone went straight to voicemail both times.
“Dammit!” She was ignoring me and I deserved it, but that didn’t mean I was ready to walk away.
I called her again and left another message. “Maddie, I was an asshole, and I’m sorry. Come back so we can talk.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Madison
“We’re sorry, the voice mail messaging service has not been set up—”
“Goddammit!”
I ended the call before the message ended and tossed my phone on the bed with more force than necessary. Every damn time I tried to call Molly, I got this stupid message. I tried again, determined to get her stubborn ass on the phone.
I wondered why Molly was afraid now that I knew Mueller helped her. But if Mueller was a good guy like Jamie said, what did that mean for Molly’s fear? Was it genuine, or did he help her and she’s worried her captors are still looking for her? I didn’t know jack shit, and it pissed me off. It pissed me off more that she wouldn’t call me back, too.