“We can only speculate what Todd would have done if you weren’t here.” Ethan looked pissed. “Think hard about what you’re doing…”

  “I already have.” And Matt was resolved. “Do you think I want to leave? Fuck no. There’s a greedy-ass part of me that would love to just grab her and run, but she’s right. We’d constantly be looking over our shoulders. That’s no way to live, and that’s no way to raise a kid. And this isn’t about what I want; it’s about protecting her and the baby.”

  The kid just shook his head.

  “Look, I’m not leaving her forever. I’m not even leaving the area,” Matt argued. “I’ll be working in the background to free her permanently.”

  “Will she see it that way? Or will she just feel vulnerable, alone, and abandoned?”

  Before Matt could answer, the kid stomped back into the apartment, shaking his head and slamming the door behind him.

  With a curse, Matt shoved down his frustration and marched on with his plan, calling Nash’s older brother, Trees.

  The big tech expert sounded surprised when he answered, kids crying in the background. “Hey, man. What’s up?”

  “Sorry to bother you at home on a Sunday night. Can you help me track down someone’s phone number and locate the associated device?”

  “That’s no bother at all. That shit’s just fun.”

  “Mi esposo, Wilder is repeating every word you say,” Laila, his wife, pointed out. “He already has a dirty mouth, and he is not yet three. Magnus and Landon emulate their big brother, so they will follow suit as soon as they are able to talk.” She huffed. “And I would not be surprised if this baby in my belly is another boy who comes out cursing the very day he is born.”

  “Sorry, little one. You’re right,” Trees placated. “We don’t need any more angry phone calls from preschool. I’ll do better.”

  Listening to their conversation felt like a hatchet to the chest, hollowing out Matt’s hope for the future, along with his heart. Based on what he’d seen, Trees and Laila had endured a more-than-rocky path to the happiness they now shared. Zy and Tessa had also somehow managed to come out of a year of torment to embrace their happily-ever-after, too. And Matt knew first-hand that One-Mile and Brea had survived a nightmarish road before finally sharing love and marital bliss. In fact, the danger and strife had only made them stronger.

  What were the chances he would ever share this day-to-day closeness with Madison and their child?

  “Still there?” Trees asked.

  “Yep.”

  “Sorry about that. Whose phone do you need me to find?”

  “I’m texting the name from a different device.” He dragged out the burner phone he’d brought for sensitive communications and sent the name, along with everything he knew about the person he needed to contact.

  “Got it,” Trees assured. “What else do you want to know?”

  “Anything you can tell me.”

  “Give me a minute.” While Nash’s older brother went to work. “You okay there? The bosses are tight-lipped lately, especially after yesterday’s news. Madison okay?”

  “Fine. She’s recovering.”

  “Can’t talk more? I understand.”

  Matt was grateful. He was being forced to walk away from the one light in his life, and he didn’t fucking feel like chitchatting. But he needed information. “Nash good? I haven’t talked to him since we left Lafayette.”

  “Yeah. He’s recovered—and pissed that he’s been grounded this long.”

  That would be changing pronto. “Glad he’s better.”

  After a silence that grated on Matt’s nerves, Trees finally hummed with satisfaction. “Gotcha! Sending you the information now. Need anything else?”

  “No. Thanks.”

  “Anytime. Hey, I’m getting another call. Looks like it’s Nash.”

  “You should get that. Tell him I’ll see him tomorrow.”

  With that cryptic message, Matt hung up, then let out a pensive sigh. The sun was sliding under the horizon, which meant Todd would be back soon. And…cue whatever bullshit would ensue. Matt had managed everything necessary. All he had left to do was tell Madison.

  At the thought of leaving, his heart jolted and his gut churned. He’d have to manage his own emotional shit, but this wasn’t the fucking time for second thoughts and regrets. He couldn’t afford them.

  Back inside the apartment, he spotted a half-eaten pizza on the kitchen counter, an episode of some trashy reality show on the TV, and Madison asleep with her head on Ethan’s shoulder. The sight of her so wiped out tore at him. But he had to look on the bright side. She trusted Garrison. That was obvious. She would need that.

  So would his sanity.

  “She ate a piece and a half, then gave out,” Ethan murmured. “I tried to wake her up to finish, but⁠—”

  “It’s fine. Her body knows what it needs, and that must be sleep. I’ll take it from here if you want to go to bed. Your alarm clock will buzz early tomorrow.”

  “Don’t I know it.” Ethan collected his empty plate and Madison’s with a few bites remaining, dumped them in the can, then headed down the hallway before turning back. “If you need anything overnight⁠—”

  “I know. Thanks.” Later, he’d make sure Ethan knew how much he appreciated all the tattooed operative had done for him. Now, he had a bigger priority.

  “I just hope you’re not making a mistake. Night.”

  “Night.” Matt scooped up Madison and her discarded purse in his arms. The fact she didn’t stir told him how exhausted she was.

  In her room, he dropped the bag in a chair, then bent over her bed until he tossed back her duvet and sheets with one hand. Then he eased her onto her mattress, her head in the middle of her pillow. Immediately, she settled back into a deep sleep.

  He studied her, hoping like fuck this wasn’t the last time she ever trusted him to be this close to her or allowed herself to be this vulnerable with him. If not for Toddhole’s surveillance, he would brush the stray hair from her cheek, ply her lips with the softest kiss, then slide into bed beside her to keep her safe all night.

  None of that was possible, and he hated knowing that, by tomorrow, she might not be speaking to him at all.

  Matt gave her one last, lingering look, bit back a silent I love you, then swallowed all the regret choking him, closed her door, and stood guard just outside to wait for trouble to come.

  He didn’t have to wait long.

  Twenty minutes later, Toddhole blew into the apartment slamming doors. “Where the fuck are you, you scheming cunt? And what did you say to my grandparents?”

  Matt met the son of a bitch halfway down the hall. “Madison is sleeping. Since we both know you drugged her yesterday, you may not be shocked to hear that she’s still recovering.”

  “Oh, boo hoo. I wasn’t trying to kill her, and she lived. She’s going to be fine, so don’t act like it’s a big fucking deal.”

  “Her heart stopped! Did you know if she was allergic to whatever you pumped her with? Did you have any idea if she had any other underlying health conditions that might not interact well with the shit you put in her system?” Matt tried his best to hold onto his temper and nearly failed. “I won’t ask if you cared, because I already know the answer.”

  “But I know you care.” Todd closed in with an evil grin. “I finally figured you out. You weren’t swayed by money or tempted by pussy because you’re so in love with Madison. In fact, you banged nearly a hundred women trying to feel exactly the high you felt when you fucked my wife…all to no avail.”

  Matt didn’t need Todd going down this road, not after he’d already proven he had no qualms about using his feelings for Madison against her. “No. I fucked nearly a hundred women because I could. I thought maybe I was hung up on her, but now that I’ve been with her again…I have perspective. She’s hot. We had a great time in bed. But⁠—”

  “Don’t try to bullshit me. When it comes to deception, I play in the World Series every fucking day. You haven’t even made the minor leagues. You are so gone for my wife, and you’re never going to be able to pull your head out of her pussy. So don’t even try that line.”

  Fuck. “If thinking that makes your twisted heart happy, you do you.”

  “I will, because I’m right,” he sneered. “That’s why I’m going to make you a deal, and you better take it if you want that bitch to survive this election season.”

  Matt froze. Todd better not fucking dare. After the aborted family dinner, he’d half expected the weasel to retaliate against Madison, and he’d known her husband would keep trying to come between them. But to threaten her life… “You better not touch a fucking hair on her head, or there won’t be a hole deep enough for you to hide in.”

  “You want to spare her?” Todd raised a brow. “You pack your little suitcase, walk the fuck out my door, and don’t look back.”

  Since he’d already made arrangements to do just that? Fine. “Is your previous offer still open?”

  Todd grinned crudely. “Why not?”

  “Then I’ll take it. Now get out of my face.”

  “All right, but I’m not through making demands. Before you go, you tell Madison you don’t give a shit about her and never have.”

  “Why? If I leave, she’ll get that message loud and clear.” And it would hurt her. That knowledge ripped his gut in two.

  “You’re going to do it because she loves you, too. I want to watch her goddamn heart break all over my floor. I want to see her bleed tears. I want her to hate every minute of her life until I’m ready to get rid of her annoying ass.”

  “If I don’t?”

  “You know the answer. I have one-point-five million dollars earmarked in an overseas account for a very professional Dutch assassin I’ve got on speed dial. With one phone call, he’ll be on a plane. In twenty-four hours, he can be in Madison’s space, lining up his shot…ready to blow out her brains.”

  “When you agreed to the divorce, that’s not the deal we made. And your grandfather wouldn’t take kindly to the scrutiny on the family if Madison didn’t survive.”

  Todd shrugged. “Grandpa just wants the sympathy votes. If we can’t get a fake pregnancy out of the bitch, a wrenching, well-publicized funeral will work, too.”

  Toddhole was serious—and right. Brent Westbrook’s death proved the prick could get away with literal murder. Fuck.

  “But I need you gone,” Todd insisted. “Madison only gets these fucking rebellious notions when you’re in her head. So you’ll rip her heart to shreds on your way out the door. Then she’ll crawl into her shell and go back to being her manageable, manipulatable good-girl self. You’ve got until nine o’clock tomorrow night to be the fuck out of my apartment and out of our lives. Get me? You make her not just believe it, but feel it. Or she’s dead.”

  Matt didn’t want to negotiate with this motherfucker. He didn’t trust Todd, but he also didn’t doubt that Madison’s husband meant every word he said. What choice did he have? Fighting his way out wasn’t an option. Sure, Todd’s ultimatum dovetailed with the plan he’d cobbled together, but Matt had never intended to crush Madison. Fuck, he’d rather cut off his goddamn arm. But fucking Todd didn’t want his blood, just her destruction.

  He tried not to dwell on the anguish he would cause Madison and find a bright side. If she believed that all love and hope between them was lost, she wouldn’t do something risky like chase after him or devise a half-baked plot to expose Toddhole to the world. She would stay exactly where she was. Ethan and Nash would keep her safe. Then, after the midterms, he’d find her and grovel and hope she could forgive him.

  “What’s it going to be?” Pershing demanded.

  Despite reaching the logical conclusion, Matt fucking hated it. He prayed he wasn’t making the wrong decision, even as he started crafting a plan to destroy this son of a bitch for good. “Fine. I’ll break Madison’s heart and leave tomorrow night.”

  Todd laughed like the joke was entirely on Matt. “God, this is delicious. She will never forgive you, and you’re going to be brokenhearted for the rest of your petty, unnecessary life. There’s no one more deserving, and I’m going to enjoy every minute of your misery.”

  Chapter Ten

  Something was wrong. Madison glanced Matt’s way again in the back seat of their Uber, hoping she had misinterpreted his mood. But she kept coming back to the same conclusion.

  “What’s bothering you?” she whispered.

  The stare he swiveled her way looked hard and flat, but his gray eyes raged. “I’m fine.”

  He was lying. But why? Just yesterday, they had each promised to communicate better. But from the moment Matt had emerged from his room at five, he’d been closed off and shut down. He and Todd had exchanged a glance that left her with a sense of foreboding before he’d grabbed her arm, pulled her from the apartment, and tossed her into the back of the hired car.

  “You’re not,” she insisted. “What did Todd say to you last night? What did he do?”

  “The usual.” With a noncommittal shrug, he focused out the window. But his jaw worked as if he struggled to hold in a fury at odds with his blasé tone.

  Maybe Todd wasn’t the issue. Maybe Matt was just impatient to reach the Dungeon of Discipline. After all, they hadn’t been alone in what felt like forever, so maybe every part of him ached for her the way she craved him.

  At least Madison hoped that’s why Matt seemed so off.

  The black SUV stopped at the corner of the upscale shopping strip. He sprang from the vehicle and seized her wrist, all but pulling her out before he slammed the door. He was already striding for the dress shop, tugging her behind him, when the car rolled out of sight.

  She jogged to keep pace with Matt as he dragged her up the stairs. Disquiet gnawed at her belly as he unlocked the apartment and hauled her in, slamming the door shut and locking it behind him. Before she could even blink, he shoved her against the slab, covered her body with his own, and swooped down to seize her mouth.

  “Wait.” She pressed her palms against his steely shoulders. “What is going on? Why are you upset?”

  Something dark glittered in his eyes. “Forty-eight hours ago, I didn’t know if you were going to fucking die. That fear doesn’t just go away. I close my eyes, and I see you crumbling back into my arms, limp and clammy and—” He growled out a vile curse. “I will never forgive that son of a bitch for what he did to you. If you believe anything I ever say, believe that I will take him down if it’s the last goddamn thing I do.”

  Madison had no doubt he meant that.

  But there was more. He scanned her face, dissecting her with an intensity that made her heart lurch. She’d seen Matt in protective mode, in pleasure, in sleep, and in laughter. She’d never seen him look as dangerous as he did right now. It should scare her. The lengths he looked ready to go to in order to end Todd should disturb her. Instead, she felt protected. And incredibly wet. That had to be pregnancy hormones, right? She wasn’t aroused by his sense of barely leashed violence.

  Liar.

  “I don’t want to spend our time alone thinking about him,” she breathed. “Do you?”

  “No.” He eased back to stare at her mouth before raking his gaze down her body. “I fucking don’t.”

  “Good.”

  Matt didn’t respond. Silence stretched between them. Madison hesitated. She was so accustomed to him taking charge, to him being assertive and insistent. Dominant. But he just stared.

  Her impatience stewed. The longer he drank her in and shared the air she breathed, the more she smelled his need and melted at his nearness. And the more she wanted him.

  Someday soon, he would realize she’d missed a period. He would notice her changing body. Then she would have to distract and deny him. But until that day came…she was desperate to spend every moment she could with him.

  Madison gathered the hem of her tank in her hands and yanked it over her head, dropping it on the floor beside her.

  His eyes narrowed, darkened, and devoured her. “You’re inviting danger.”

  “I’m inviting you.” She licked her lips and grazed the valley between her breasts with a slow, teasing touch.

  “Like I said, danger. Be sure.”

  Her breath hitched. “Will you hurt me?”

  “Not more than you can bear.”

  That answer shouldn’t turn her on, but Madison swallowed down a thick knot of lust. “I want it.”

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Before she could ask what he meant, Matt lifted her against his body, urging her legs around his hips, then crushed her lips under his, fusing their mouths together as he trekked with ground-eating steps to the dungeon.

  Inside, he tumbled her on the bed, throwing off her shoes and ripping at her shorts, dragging them down her legs, along with her underwear, in one strong yank. Madison blinked at him as he hauled his shirt over his head in a one-handed tug while he toed out of his shoes.

  “Have you been a good girl?” he demanded as he attacked his fly with impatient fingers.

  “What?” she asked over her chugging heart.

  “Have you touched my pussy? Have you put your fingers in that pretty cunt, aroused yourself as you thought of me, and come without my permission?”

  “No, Matt. I contemplated…” This morning, she’d awakened needy and wriggling, knowing that she would spend this evening with him while he unraveled her in every way he wanted, as many times as he wanted. “But I didn’t.”

  Roughly, he shoved her knees apart and stepped between them, his breaths harsh as he inhaled her. “Good. That’s mine.” He slapped the pad of her pussy. “Are we clear? No matter what happens. No matter where you go or what you do, you always belong to me.” He struck her sensitive flesh again. “Don’t ever forget that.”

  Madison couldn’t shake the feeling he was trying to tell her something.

  “No, Matt. I won’t.” She spread her legs wider. “This is just for you.”