Page 44 of Safe Haven

“Same.” I would love to have someone else standing beside me, but that will put them in the same line of fire. And I don’t want that for anyone.

Well... Maybe I’d want that for a few people.

The GPS directs us to get off the highway, and soon we’re pulling through a pretty upscale neighborhood. The houses at the frontof the subdivision are huge and high-end. Almost as nice as the one I lived in with Trevor, making it nearly impossible to find a single one appealing. Money and nice things impressed me once.

Not anymore.

Thankfully, the new McMansions are quickly replaced by smaller, older, more interesting homes. After a couple more turns, we’re pulling into the driveway of a cute tri-level with a perfectly manicured lawn and minimal landscaping. The outside is tidy, but simple, and painted in a neutral palette of browns and beiges.

Maddox parks, rounds the front of the sedan, and opens my door, reaching out one hand for me. “Make sure you stay behind me and keep my body between you and everybody else.”

I know the drill, but part of his statement concerns me. “Everybody else? Are you expecting other people?”

Maddox’s blue eyes scan our surroundings. “No, but I’ve been surprised before.” There’s something ominous in the way he says it, and it sends my stomach to my feet.

“Should we have brought Luca and Owen with us?” I know he didn’t want to overwhelm Becca with three giant mercenaries on her doorstep, but now I’m questioning that decision.

“They’re in the area in case we need them.” Maddox says it like that solves all our problems.

But even if they’re close, it will still take them at least a minute or two to get to us, and a lot can happen in two minutes.

“You’re wearing a vest, right?” I tuck close to him, looking around the same way he is as we walk up the driveway and along the sidewalk leading to a small, covered porch.

“Yes, but there are plenty of bullets that can go through it, especially at point-blank range.” When we reach the front door, Maddox positions my body behind his and up against the jut of the split-level portion of the house, protecting me from all but one side. “And even if they don’t make it through the vest, it still hurts like fuck to get shot.”

I don’t want to know how he knows any of this, but his explanation has me thinking about that scar I saw on him. It looked an awful lot like?—

The front door opens before we even ring the bell, and I’m a little surprised at the woman staring out at us.

“Becca?” Maddox seems as shocked as me as he takes in the tiny woman staring out at us.

“That’s right.” Her eyes narrow on Maddox before settling on me. “You must be Audrey.”

“That’s me.” I scan her makeup-free face for anything familiar. “Have we met before?”

Becca shakes her head. “No.” She steps back, motioning us inside. “You should probably get in here just in case somebody’s got eyes on my house.”

Maddox gives the street outside one more glance before stepping into the house and pulling me in behind him. As soon as we’ve crossed the threshold, he closes the door. Then he turns to Becca.

“I’m gonna have to go through this place and make sure no one else is here.”

“I get it.” Becca motions toward her home with one hand. “Have at it.”

Maddox turns to me, eyes moving over where I stand. “If you need me?—”

“If I need you, you’ll know it.” I give him a smile because I want him to know it’s okay to go do what he has to do. “But I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

Could this all be a set-up? Sure, but it doesn’t seem like it. After we got Becca’s message last night, Maddox called Pierce and forwarded everything we had on her, which wasn’t much. To my surprise, the team Maddox calls Intel was quickly able to figure out who she was and where she lived. When I responded to Becca’s message, she offered the information up willingly, and it matched everything they’d dug up.

Intel also looked for the connection between Becca and Trevor, but came up empty. So either she is the best, most unassuming criminal mastermind ever…

Or she genuinely wants to take Trevor down. After meeting her in person, I’m betting on the latter.

“Your house is pretty.” It’s actually more simple than pretty, but everything coordinates, it’s tidy, and it smells good, so I go with pretty.

Becca offers a tight smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Thanks.” She looks me over, gaze shrewd behind her large glasses. “Can I ask why you’re wearing pajamas?”

“It’s a really long story.” I sigh, the weight of everything bearing down on me. “But I basically had to climb out the bedroom window of my apartment two nights ago before running through the neighborhood in the dark to escape men who were likely coming to make sure I didn’t say anything to anyone.”

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