“Well, maybe I’m getting mad because you insist that I was upset.” His ability to fluster her only made it worse.
“So you weren’t upset?” He listed his head to the side as he asked.
Mila started to answer but couldn’t bring herself to argue. Maddox’s smile only grew. “It had nothing to do with you,” Mila snapped.
His eyes danced. “If you say so.”
Mila took a breath to steady herself. She hated how much she could give away to Maddox while he disguised his feelings perfectly well. “If you don’t need anything else, I’ll be going.” Her temperature had risen, and she doubted she’d recover in his presence.
“Actually, I do need something else.” He pushed off the side of the treadmill and stepped closer.
Mila resisted the urge to step back while also trying to keep her eyes on his and not gawk as his bicep flexed. “What?”
Maddox took another sip of water. “I need your help to pack.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do.” He collected his things and zipped up the black gym bag. “Let’s go.”
Maddox took her wrist and led her out. As they marched to the elevators, Maddox stopped abruptly, spun back around, and dragged her back the way they came.
Mila struggled to keep up as they reentered the gym and Maddox cornered her against the same treadmill.
“What are you doing? Who’s chasing us?” Mila’s breath caught in her lungs as Tiffany entered the gym. Panic seized her. Tiffany could not find out she was working for Maddox. It would be much worse than if her mother knew. “She can’t see me,” she breathed. “She can’t see us.”
Maddox shielded her but as Tiffany breezed past them on the other side of the gym, Mila was certain she’d spot at least one of them.
Maddox kept peeking in Tiffany’s direction, which was good because Mila couldn’t see her now without turning around. Finally, he whispered, “Go. Stay in front of me.”
Mila did as ordered and they rushed out with Maddox trying to block her. Somehow, following Maddox to Europe was more dangerous than staying in San Francisco. It was probably a good thing they were headed to the south of France. Surely, these people wouldn’t follow them there.