Beautiful Redemption (The Maddox Brothers #2)(14)
Author: Jamie McGuire

After a few laps, I pulled one earbud out and let it hang down over my shoulder. I turned to look at the wall of mirrors on my left and spoke to Maddox’s reflection, “By the way, I’m onto you.”

“Oh, yeah?” Maddox said, puffing in the background.

“You’re damn straight I am.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m not going to let you do it.”

“Do you really think I’m trying to sabotage you?” He seemed amused.

“Aren’t you?”

“I already told you no.” After a short pause, he was standing next to the treadmill, his hand resting on the safety handles. “I know I made a negative impression on you, Lindy. Admittedly, it wasn’t unintentional. But I’m motivated to make agents better, not tank their careers.”

“Does that include Sawyer?”

“Agent Sawyer has a history in our squad that you know nothing about.”

“So, educate me.”

“It’s not my story to tell.”

“That’s it?” I smirked.

“I don’t get your meaning.”

“You’re not allowing him to speak to me because of someone else’s story?”

Maddox shrugged. “I just like to get in his way.”

“Your tantrum in my office after Agent Sawyer left was you getting in his way. Right.”

Maddox shook his head and then walked away. I started to put my earbud back into my ear, but he appeared at my side once again.

“Why am I the asshole for keeping a fuckstick like Sawyer away from you?”

I pushed a button, and the treadmill came to a stop. “I don’t need your protection,” I puffed.

Maddox began to speak, but then he walked away again. This time, he pushed through the door of the men’s locker room.

After eight minutes’ worth of stewing over his attitude, I hopped off the treadmill and stomped into the men’s locker room.

Maddox had one hand on the sink, the other holding a toothbrush. His hair was wet, and he was covered only in a towel.

He spit, rinsed, and then tapped his toothbrush on the sink. “Can I help you?”

I shifted my weight. “You might be able to charm the brass all the way up to the director, but I’m onto you. Don’t think for a second that I don’t see through your bullshit. I’m not going anywhere, so you can stop whatever game you’re playing.”

He dropped his toothbrush in the sink and walked toward me. I stepped backward, quickening my pace as he did. My back hit the wall, and I gasped. Maddox slammed his palms against the wall on each side of me just above my head. He was inches from my face, his skin still dripping from his recent shower.

“I promoted you to supervisor, Agent Lindy. What makes you think I want you gone?”

I lifted my chin. “Your bullshit story about Sawyer doesn’t add up.”

“What do you want me to say?” he said.

I could smell the mint on his breath and the bodywash on his skin. “I want the truth.”

Maddox leaned in, his nose tracing my jaw. My knees nearly gave way as his lips touched my ear.

“You can have whatever you want.” He leaned back, his eyes falling to my lips.

My breath caught, and I braced myself as he moved closer, closing his eyes.

He stopped just short of my mouth. “Say it,” he whispered. “Say you want me to kiss you.”

I reached up with my fingers, sliding them down his rippled abdomen, smearing the beads of water until I touched the top of his towel. Every nerve in my body begged me to say yes.

“No.” I pushed past him and walked out the door.

I climbed back onto the treadmill, chose the fastest setting, and replaced my earbuds in my ear, changing songs until something screamy began to play.

Forty-five minutes later, breathless and sweating, I slowed my pace, walking with my hands on my hips. After my five-minute cooldown, I showered and then dressed before pinning my hair into a damp bun.

Val was waiting for me on the other side of the skywalk. “How did it go?” she asked, genuinely concerned.

I continued to walk toward the elevators, and she kept pace.

I tried my best to keep my shoulders and expression relaxed. “I ran. It was great.”

“Lie.”

“Let it go, Val.”

“You just…ran?” She seemed confused.

“Yes. How was your lunch?”

“I brought a sack—PB and J. Did he yell at you?”

“No.”

“Try to kick you out?”

“No.”

“I don’t…understand.”

I chuckled. “What’s to understand? He’s not an ogre. Actually, at this point, he might think I’m the ogre.”

We entered the elevator together, and I pressed the button for our floor. Val took a step toward me, getting close enough that I leaned back.

“But he is—an ogre. He’s mean and ruthless and yells at people when they walk into the fitness room during his hour even if it’s just to retrieve a left sneaker. I know. I was that agent. He screamed at me, totally lost his shit, over me trying to retrieve a fucking forgotten sneaker,” she said the last few words slow and emphatic as if she were standing in front of a snapping audience, sharing her slam poetry.

“Maybe he’s changed.”

“Since you got here? In three days? No.”

Her dismissive tone annoyed me.

“You’re being a tad excessive.”

“Dramatic?”

“Yes.”

“That’s just how I talk.”

“Dramatically?”

“Yes. Stop listening for ways to judge me, and hear what I’m trying to say.”

“Okay,” I said.

The elevator opened, and I stepped into the hall.

Val followed me toward the security door. “Joel insisted that I eat my PB and J in his office.”

“Who’s Joel?”

“Agent Marks. Pay attention. He texted me last night. He said Maddox has been weird. His baby brother is getting married next month—well, not married but remarried. No, that’s not right either.”

My face compressed. “Renewing their vows maybe?”

Val pointed at me. “Yes.”

“Why are you sharing this with me?”

“He’s going to see, you know…her.”

“The one who burned him?”

“Affirmative. The last time he went home and saw her, he came back a new man.” Her nose wrinkled. “Not in a good way. He was broken. It was scary.”