Page 44 of Psycho

He winked back at me.

Chapter 18 – Maddox

How are my sloppy seconds?

My blurry eyes fought to focus on the words as I sat up in Liv’s bed, untangling her naked body from mine as I stared at the nameless text that popped through my phone. Not only was there no name or number with it, but it broke through my do not disturb feature too.

Which meant it wasn’t accidental. I looked down at Liv as she turned over on her other side, seeking comfort in my absence, and snored softly as I put my feet on the floor. Another ghost text popped up, pushing the first up.

Return what’s mine, and I’ll let you live. Keep fucking around by killing men I don’t give two shits about, and I’ll use every contact in my book to get her back.

And if you make me work hard for it, I’ll take it out on her when I get my hands on her.

Then again, she always liked it more when I slapped her around while I fucked her.

Bile rose in my gut from the cowardly words across my screen seconds before it blacked out and they disappeared. Damon knew where she was. He knew I had her.

Which meant she wasn’t safe until he was dead.

“Maddox.” Liv’s breathy voice called from behind me as her soft fingers brushed across my back. “Everything okay?”

I hit the power button on my phone and hit the internal kill switch under the back cover, completely deactivating it and any track that might be on it.

“Yeah, Storm.” I replied, dropping it onto the floor and rolling back over behind her, wrapping her in my arms. “Everything is fine.”

“Good.” She sighed, snuggling deeper into my hold and lacing her fingers through mine, laying our hands on her baby belly that was hardening by the day. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Storm.” I replied, staring at a spot on the wall across the room as she fell back to sleep in my arms while my mind raced and my heart spasmed at the idea of any harm coming to her because of my faults.

“Talk to me.” Dane snapped when I turned on a burner phone and called him.

“He knows.” I replied, “He texted me last night.”

“Fucker.” He growled, “Bring her here.”

“No.” I sighed and ran my hand over the back of my head. “She hates it there.”

“Who fucking cares?” He yelled, “She’s safer here than she is in the city. There are too many people milling around there.”

“And if a blitz attack hits there in the middle of nowhere with only the two of us around, who are you going to protect? Liv or Peyton?”

“Damnit!” He roared, knowing he’d always protect his wife first. Which was fair. “So, what are we going to do?”

“I’m calling in reinforcements to protect her while I’m gone, and then we’re going to hit the ground harder.”

“There are only six names left on the list, Madd. Maybe fuck the rest of them and just focus on him.”

“No.” I clenched my teeth, “That’s what he wants us to do. He knows if the other four men die and all that’s left is him and his silent partner, then he’s going to be a fucking wanted man, by far more than just us. They’ll all turn on him once they figure it out.”

“I don’t like this.”

“Me either. But we don’t have a choice. We stick to the plan, eliminating the remaining four Johns, and then we’ll focus on Damon and his partner. Until then, just work on finding out who that is. It shouldn’t be this fucking hard to find out a name on the scum bag funding Damon Kirst’s Velvet Cage.”

“I know. It’s almost like I designed the smoke screen myself and that’s why I can’t see through it.”

“Figure it out. Until we do, she’s at risk.”

“Got it.”

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