Page 48 of My Three Rivals

“No, you shouldn’t have, but now you did,” I yelled after him.

He rushed off, leaving me in the aisle, shaking my head.

What an asshole. Gossiping about a girl who’s been through so much.

But as I slowly filled up the cart, carefully crossing off each item as I went, I couldn’t get my mind off Teresa and how awful that must have been for her. I looked out for her as I moved through the massive warehouse store, but she wasn’t anywhere, it seemed.

Before checking out, I paused and pulled out my phone, suddenly eager to learn more about Teresa’s plight. But aside from the disgusting, everyday stories I had seen before, I couldn’t narrow down anything until I chanced upon an article from over a year ago that detailed the victims’ experience.

All the women recovered in the shipping container claim to have been held in a location before transport, which authorities believe was used as a distillery. The accounts are all similar, the smell of must or vinegar in the air, leading investigators to believe that they were kept in a processing plant. However, no definitive suspects have been named as of yet.

I stared at the article on my screen, my fingers shaking slightly as I shrugged away the mounting apprehension in my gut.

“There you are!”

For a moment, I was so lost in thought, I didn’t hear Maverick until he was right in front of me. His smile faded when he saw my expression.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him dully.

“You were gone so long, and Atticus got worried about his car,” he joked, but his aqua eyes remained shadowed. “Are you okay?”

I nodded quickly, shoving my phone in the back of my jeans. “I was just looking something up,” I replied, finally managing a smile. “I have everything. You can go home. I’ll meet you there.”

I gestured at the full cart to show him I wasn’t kidding.

“I’ll help you load up the car,” he offered. “And don’t refuse. You should have brought one of us with you in the first place.”

I grinned and nodded. “Yeah. I bit off more than I could chew with this one.”

Maverick brushed one of those strands of hair only he seemed to find away from my face. “It’s okay to ask for help, you know?”

I chortled. “Are you the kettle or the pot?”

Maverick shrugged, his thumb running over my lips before he pinched my chin, his gorgeous eyes still boring into me. “I’m learning, too.”

“Isn’t this cozy? I’m not interrupting, am I?”

For the third time, I found my attention jarred in the aisles of the hardware store, but this time, I had no idea who the attractive man in the shiny black shirt was. His smile was blinding, white but crooked, a contrast to his olive skin and black-lashed eyes.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” I asked, but before he could answer, Maverick stood between us, his shoulders raised like a pissed-off cat. Startled, I stepped back, realizing that the man wasn’t there for me at all.

“Interesting meeting you here,” Maverick said tersely. “I never took you as the kind of guy who buys his own nails.”

The man laughed too loudly, slapping a hand against his leg. “No, not nails. But I do like to try out my own hammers, if you know what I mean.”

My pulse quickened, the tension between them so thick, I was choking on it as a bystander.

“Who’s your friend?” he asked, sticking out his hand. “Hi, baby.”

“I’m—” I started to introduce myself, but before I could, Maverick jumped in.

“She’s just going to check out,” he interjected firmly, turning to steer me away. “Aren’t you, honey?”

The look in his eyes was unlike anything I’d ever seen before, and I understood his unspoken warning.

Go!

“Aw, don’t be rude, Maverick,” the stranger leered, his expression giving me the creeps.

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