I pinch the bridge of my nose. Maeve has to forgive me. She has to. What is taking Tommy so long? I haven’t laid eyes on her since I got home and it’s driving me crazy. I know she’s safe, I’ve confirmed that much, but at what cost? What have I done to her with the terrible lies they forced me to tell? I used Rexy against her. The lowest of the low–bottom feeder status thing I could think to say, I said it. To keep her safe, I would have said far worse. I promised her I would never leave her, and that I would protect her. The first trip I go on, shit hits the fan. I’m at fault for this mess and there’s no one else to blame.
Someone raps on the door so I check the peephole and see Tommy’s goon face. I sling open the heavy metal door. “What took you so long?” Straightaway, I peer around his shoulder to see Maeve standing off to the side, arms folded across her chest, face covered in a pair of large sunglasses.
“Dude, I came as fast as I could. Remember, I had to talk her into coming with me, a perfect stranger, you’re lucky I got here as quickly as I did. She’s here. I wasn’t followed, but I’m going to get the fuck out of here now.”
I nod. “Remember the plan.”
Annoyed, Tommy nods and turns away. He tips his hat at Maeve as he passes by. “Ma’am,” he drawls. Maeve barely acknowledges him because she’s staring at me. Like she’s not sure if she wants to pummel me to a pulp or climb me like a tree.
I hold my hands out to the sides. “I’m sorry. God, Maeve, I’m sorry.”
Her lips tremble, and I’m thankful for her dark glasses, because God knows what I’d see if they weren’t there. More than I can handle right now. “Come inside and talk to me.” She doesn’t make a move. “Please, I need you in my arms right now, Maeve. Nothing I said last night was true. I had to say those things. Talk to me.” More silence.
Her bottom lip trembles. Then she sobs softly, covering her nose and mouth with one hand.
I go to her, pulling her small frame against my body. “Forgive me. Forgive me.” I usher her into the lobby and lock the deadbolt and the two key locks before turning to face her. I lift her sunglasses and place them on the top of her head. As expected, the pain reflecting in her eyes brings me to my knees. I drop down, pulling her body against me, my face pressing into her stomach. Her hand tentatively falls to my shoulders. I can’t read her actions when I can’t see her face.
“Maeve, you have to know I’d never intentionally hurt you. It was for your own good. They threatened to… harm you and Turner if I didn’t break up with you.”
“Who?” Maeve whispers, voice cracking. “Who is they?”
I look up to meet her watery gaze. At the same time, we both speak the same sentence. “This is all my fault.”
“How is this your fault?” I ask, standing to take her face in my hands to wipe away the streaks down her face. “This is my fault, Maeve.” My stomach flips and falters at the prospect of having to tell her the gritty details. “This is because of… Rena,” I choke out. “Turner’s mom. I told you how she was in with a bad crowd.” I exhale noisily. “I underestimated just how bad a crowd she’d fallen in with. Leave it to her to outdo herself in the worst way possible.”
“I don’t understand.”
Here goes nothing and everything. “She lives in Utah now, and this is going to sound crazy, but she found out I was dating you.”
This is a hard pill for me to swallow, and had I not talked to the guy associated with her in person, I never would have believed it.
“She’s out of her mind. On drugs. You know?”
Always making excuses for her, Lincoln. Maeve nods, urging me to go on.
“The guy she is… seeing is a kingpin for a Mexican cartel, and she had one of his lackeys come out here to watch me. When he reported back that Turner was your patient, she had him watch you. Keep tabs, figure you out.” This is where my fear abates and rage rises. “He wired your house, the office, and car. He tapped your phone, and he followed you. And Maeve,” I say, swallowing hard. “In the process of following orders, he became obsessed with you. Because he wasn’t reporting back to her about you anymore, she came here too. He watched you and she watched me.”
“What?” she squeals, breathing rapidly as she absorbs my words. I guide her to a ratty couch pushed against the wall. “Jesus, Lincoln. How much trouble are we in? I’m panicking here.”
I grab her hands. “I saw this guy Rufio last night, and he’s fucking unhinged. What started out as a surveillance job so Rena could keep crazy tabs on me, turned into something way… worse when he realized he wanted you for himself.”
She lays a hand on her chest. “I’m trying to make sense of this, Lincoln. Why does Rena care that we’re together? She left.”
I shake my head and blow out a breath. “Your guess is as good as mine. She doesn’t want anything to do with me.” I turn my gaze down to my lap. “Or Turner. Rena wanted Rufio to find out details about me, then you, and finally our relationship. Things kept escalating. She wanted to spook you,
