Page 27 of Safe Haven

“My parents were terrible. My mother was an alcoholic and my dad was a cheater and a narcissist who wasn’t interested in being a dad.” My upbringing was something I wouldn’t wish on just about anyone.

I grew up without physical affection or emotional connection. And it left me hungry. Starved and desperate. As a result, I ate whatever crumbs came my way and was grateful for the tiniest of scraps.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been with a man who genuinely liked me. Looking back, I was so desperate to have someone, I didn’t recognize that they were all just using me for one reason oranother.” Or maybe I didn’t care. “When I met Trevor, I thought everything was going to get better in my life.”

That’s what he promised me, and I believed him. He was older. Successful. Well-groomed and respected within the community. I let myself believe he was my knight in shining armor. My happy ending.

But he was just another mistake. Just another man using me for his own gain.

“It can be difficult to find someone in this world who you’re compatible with.” Maddox slides his fingers into my hair, gently stroking through the strands as he continues. “Especially if you’ve never seen what a healthy relationship looks like.”

I lift my eyes to his face. “Do your parents have a healthy relationship?”

He gives me a small smile. “My parents are very happy together.” He continues petting me, each touch making my lids heavier and heavier. “But I’m not like them, so looking for what they have wasn’t really an option for me.”

I snuggle closer, the muscles in my body turning to liquid as his warmth soaks into me. “You mean they don’t kill people for a living too?”

Maddox chuckles, and I hear the sound rumble through his chest beneath my ear. “No. My parents are in marketing.”

A laugh sneaks out of me, because I cannot imagine what Christmas must be like at his house. “Do they know what you do?”

“Yes, but they pretend like they don’t, because they don’t get it.” His voice is softer when he says, “To be truthful, they don’t get me.”

“Oh.” My amusement is gone, replaced by sadness. “Do you have siblings?” I’m hoping he says yes. And that they are like him and they understand who he is and why he does what he does.

“A brother and a sister.” His fingers snag on a tangle, and he gently works it loose. “They’re in finance.”

Looping an arm around his middle, I squeeze him tight. “I’m going to guess that means they don’t understand you either.”

“No. They don’t.” Maddox seems to relax a little now that I’m holding him back. “I’m pretty much the black sheep of my family.”

“What you do is important.” It’s easy for me to defend him. Way easier than it probably should be to argue that the world needs mercenaries.

But knowing what I know?

“Actually, the world could probably use a few more people like you going around taking out the evil around us.”

NINE

MADDOX

AUDREY AND I are halfway through our second day working together, and I’m folding that fucking tan shirt for the five hundredth time, when my cell phone starts to ring in my pocket. I’ve got it on vibrate, but Audrey’s so close, she can hear it and her eyes jump to mine, full of uncertainty. I tip my head toward the back room, motioning for her to follow me, and weave through the clothing racks.

Dane is working again today—because of course he is—and gives me a strange look as I pass. I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m fucking Audrey—using her to get what I want—but that’s at the bottom of the list of my concerns right now. As long as he does what she tells him to do, I don’t care if he thinks I’m the biggest piece of shit walking the earth.

I quickly reach the back room and duck into Audrey’s office, waiting to close the door until she joins me, then I answer the call from Shadow’s tech coordinator. “What’s going on?”

Isaac knows what I’m doing today. I made it clear he can only call me if it’s an emergency, because for now, I need it to seemlike I’m genuinely an employee here. One who follows the rules, and the rules are no phones on the floor.

“We got a call from your private investigator friend. Apparently, his company has a connection with us.”

I motion for Audrey to sit down. She’s been on her feet all day, and now that I know how much that sucks, I want her to sit as often as possible. “He didn’t mention anything when I talked to him yesterday.”

“He didn’t know yesterday. I guess he called his boss and found out the guy used to work here.”

I scrub one hand over my face, because it’s starting to seem like Isaac doesn’t understand what the term emergency means. “You called me to tell me the boss of the private investigator Audrey’s ex hired used to work for Alaskan Security?”

“No. I called to tell you Pierce asked his friend to have his investigator continue keeping an eye on Audrey’s ex, and said ex seems to be up to something.”

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