Boss Me (Private Listing #3)

“Come on, tiger. You can hang out with us while we search files. Maybe you’ll see something we don’t.” It’s a lame excuse, but I wasn’t the only one concerned.

Her lips press together. For a moment, I feel like she’s going to refuse. When I got her text, all I could see was Jeff holding her, his hand tight around her throat. The panicked look in her eyes and then the relief when she saw me. And then she dropped to the ground like a rag doll.

I wasn’t supposed to be there. If I hadn’t gone…

I can’t relive that. Back then, I didn’t love her. Now…

Fuck, I can’t lose her.

“Please, Madison.” I hold my hand out to her.

Whatever she sees in my eyes makes her gaze soften. She takes my hand. Hers is so small and delicate compared to mine, but she isn’t afraid of me. I don’t think she ever was. Wary maybe, but never truly scared.

Something slips into place inside me. I don’t know that I’ll be able to let her go. That’s the deal though. We let her go when the time comes. But maybe that time won’t ever come.

“Everything okay?” Noah stops as he’s carrying files to the conference room.

“Hope’s brother was unconscious. She had to take him to the hospital.” I clear my throat. “It’s a good thing Madison was there for her.”

Madison’s gaze darts up to me, but I keep my focus on Noah. Her fingers tighten around mine.

“Good.” Noah nods and jerks his head toward the conference room. “Let’s get to work then.”

“Come on,” I say roughly and walk with Madison into the conference room.

Seth looks up when we enter. The tension eases from his shoulders when he sees her.

“Madison, you can work on those files.” He straightens and gestures to a chair with a stack already in front of it. “We’re looking for commonality among projects. So we’re going through old files, trying to pick up on who we can eliminate from the staff as a suspect.”

“Okay.” She draws away from me with a glance over her shoulder. Our eyes meet, and that edge of stubbornness is gone now.

We all settle in to work, trying to unravel this puzzle. After a few hours, Madison stretches and covers a yawn. Seth nods to me. The amount of work we have in front of us is monumental. We’re searching for a piece of hay in a pile of hay.

“All right, tiger.” I stand and gesture to Madison.

“What?” She straightens and almost pulls off looking alert.

“You and me are headed downstairs.” I move to the door.

She bites her lip and looks at the piles of paperwork remaining.

“Go take a nap, princess. You didn’t sleep well last night.” Seth takes her hand and presses a kiss to her knuckles. “We’ll survive an hour without you.”

She nods slightly and joins me at the door. “Only an hour.”

“Sure, love.” I wrap my arm around her shoulders and draw her into my side as we make our way to the elevator.

“Are you still mad at me?” She tips her face up to look at me.

The elevator doors open and I lead her in, pressing the button for our floor. “I wasn’t mad at you. No one would be there if something happened to you. Again. Val, Jeff, your professor. I can’t protect you if I don’t know where you are.”

She rests her head against my chest. “It’s not your job to protect me. I need to protect myself.”

The doors open on the apartment floor. Instead of leading her to the main door, I take her to my bedroom. She walks in and sits on the edge of the bed. Another yawn takes over for a second.

“We need to get you a self-defense instructor then.” I brush her hair out of her face. “A woman self-defense instructor.”

She smiles at my qualifying statement. “Are you going to be my attacker?”