Page 33 of Belle

“Holy shit, she’s a bitch,” he says between bites of cereal.

“She’s always been like that. Always wanting what’s mine.” He raises his eyes at me, and I realize my slipup.

“So, I’m yours, huh?”

I ignore him and sit down to eat. He grins and joins me in silence.

I can’t fucking stand him.

Chapter 10

Maddox

Idon’t know what I’m doing. I came here to kill Belle and her family for what they did to my dad, and here I am having breakfast with her.

“Wipe that fucking grin of your face,” she mumbles.

“What are your plans today?” I change the subject. If she thinks I’m just going to forget that she finally admitted I’m hers, she’s wrong.

“Nothing that involves you.”

I find it hilarious that she’s trying to get pissy with me right now. “That’s fine. I’m not expecting you to spend every minute of every day with me. But you will spend your nights with me. At least until we get everything figured out.” I give her a hard stare, and she doesn’t even blink.

“We’ll see.” She shrugs.

“Yeah. We’ll see.” I walk over to the sink and rinse out my bowl from breakfast.

“Where are you going?” She turns around in her chair as I’m walking out the door.

“I’m leaving.”

“Motherfucker,” I hear her mumble before I pull the door closed behind me.

I don’t even try to hold back a laugh. My phone rings just as I’m crossing through my yard.

“What’s up, man?” I haven’t heard from Chet in a while, which is odd.

“I had a free minute and wanted to call and see what you were up to.”

I debate whether or not to tell him about Belle. Is there anything to tell? I don’t want to blindside him if I’m planning to bring her back to California with me.

“Not too much. Just living the dream.”

He laughs. “I doubt that.”

“I met someone,” I blurt out.

He’s silent on the other end.

“You met someone in Deadhorse?”

“Yeah. I think she might come back to California with me.” I’m met with more silence.

“You’re bringing a girl home?”

“Yeah. I think so. It’s not serious or anything. She just wants out of this town. I offered to let her come back with me. Give her a place to stay until she gets back on her feet.” That’s a damn lie. Belle isn’t going anywhere once she gets to California. I have every intention of making sure she stays with me.

“Isn’t that a little fast, man?” It’s not like Chet to doubt the decisions I make.

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