“Blow.” He held the tissue up for her.
She blew her nose and he wiped her face. Then he kissed her lightly on the lips.
“So does he just get away with it? Bartolli?” she asked.
Kent sighed. “I’m gonna keep in touch with the detectives in charge of the case, but Bartolli is smart. He wouldn’t leave any evidence. I’ll do my best to make him pay, no matter what the cops find.”
“No, don’t,” she said hastily.
He stiffened. “What?”
“I don’t want you going up against him, risking yourself. Max is gone. He’s never coming back, no matter what. I think we should just leave it alone. Please, Kent.”
“Okay, baby.”
“What now?” she croaked. She felt so drained. She couldn’t think. Couldn’t move. Max was dead.
“You let me take care of that. I’ll arrange to have his body released. Do you want a funeral back home?”
“I-I don’t know. I guess.”
“It will be okay, baby.” He held her tight. “I’m here.”
“Don’t ever let me go,” she whispered. “Losing Max is hard. But losing you, it would devastate me.”
“Never,” he swore fiercely. “You will never lose me. I know I can be overbearing and overprotective and demanding but I will always be here for you. I love you, sweet girl. Now and always.”
“Now and always.”
Excerpt from Mastered by Malone
Mia took a step and stood on the hem of her pants. She immediately dropped the linen, trying to grab for the railing to keep herself from falling, but her fingertips slid off the wooden banister as she flung forward. She tensed, letting out a cry of alarm as she waited for her body to hit the stairs. But instead of slamming against wood, she came up against a hard chest. The person who caught her, let out an oomph as they braced themselves against the banister to keep them both from flying.
She took in a shaky breath. Then another one. She didn’t want to look up. She knew it wasn’t West or Jaret or Tanner who’d caught her.
She knew it was him and she did not want to look up.
He just held her against his chest for a long moment. Her feet weren’t even touching the ground, they just dangled in the air. She had the crazy thought that she could just snuggle in against him as though they were cuddling.
Then he set her down. Disappointment hit her hard.
Stupid.
She took a step back. “Sorry about that. Thanks for catching me.” She tried to move around him, but he grabbed hold of her shoulders, holding her there. “Umm, Malone? You okay?”
Why wasn’t he saying anything? She risked a look up into his face, saw how tense his jaw was. He was glaring down at her. Was he mad?
“Uh, is there something wrong?”
“Something wrong?” he repeated.
“Yes, is there something wrong?”
Silence.
“You’re...um...acting odd. Did I hurt you?”
“Hurt me?”