Page 70 of Mace

So many confusing emotions roll through me.

What if this is just a game to him? What if he just wants me for a good time, not a long time?

What if…

I have no idea how I keep my expression neutral, but I don’t want Toby to see the storm raging within me. The thought that none of this is real is a devastating blow I’m not sure I’d recover from.

Girl, you are crazy.He was worried about the bruise on my arm, so concerned that I called out of work that he came to my home to check on me and then took me to breakfast. He also kissed me in front of everyone at Temptation, and he sits night after night at the end of the bar just to keep me safe.

That’s not the actions of someone who isn’t interested, right?

The sound of the door opening draws both mine and Toby’s attention. I sit up straight, shuffling to the edge of the sofa. The only people with keys are Bernie and Ivy.

Please be the latter.

As I come to my feet, my sister appears in the doorway, her head ducked. Relief floods through me, and my shoulders relax for a millisecond until Link steps in behind her.

Fuck him.Ivy is my sister, my blood. He’s not part of this family, and he’ll never be.

I close the space between us, intending to hug her, but before I can reach for her, Link puts a hand in front of me, forcing me to stop.

I narrow my gaze on him. “Move your fucking hand,” I snap, and if I was in the right mindset, I would never use that language in front of Toby, but my anger makes my words terse.

Link steps in front of Ivy, forcing me to move back. “I’m getting pretty tired of your fucking attitude towards me.”

Ice fills my belly, fighting with the hot rage pulsing through my veins.

“I’m sick of you, period.”

His eyes lock to mine as he sneers at me. “She’s only here because I’m allowing it. Go and get your shit, Ivy.”

My sister casts a glance in my direction before heading towards her bedroom, passing our brother, who is glaring at Link like he wants to stab him.

Me too, kid.

“Toby, call the police.” Link is so big, I don’t know if I can stop him if he decides to take my sister out of here by force, and I can’t fight him without getting hurt. I already know this.

Even though I’m scared to death, I square up to him, putting myself between him and the hallway my sister just ventured down.

Link’s lips tug into a dark smirk that sends waves of anxiety through every nerve in my body.

“Toby, do that and I’ll break your sister’s face.”

“You touch her?—”

“And what, tough guy?”

I snort. “It must make you feel like such a man to pick fights with little girls and boys.”

His eyes flash dangerously. “Don’t get in my way, Maylie. You won’t like what happens if you do.”

Cold spreads through me at the open threat, but my time working in Temptation has hardened me to aggressive men. The only difference is, here I don’t have back-up. “You touch me, and I’ll have you arrested.” I get in his face. “She might be scared of you, Link, but I’m not.”

My words sound brave, but internally, my veins are filled with sticky terror. He could kill all of us, and we’d be helpless to stop it.

He laughs deep in his throat as Toby asks for the police on the phone. “I don’t need to do anything here, Maylie. Ivy will come to me no matter what you say to her. She loves me, and I love her.”

He steps back as Ivy emerges from her bedroom clutching a bag. As she tries to pass me, I stop her, throwing my hand out in front of her.

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