24. OLIVIA #2
Instantly, I snapped upright and whirled around, wielding the loafer like a gun.
Madoc gave me his usual look of disdain and boredom. The bruises on his face didn’t make him any less intimidating. The cut on his brow was particularly gnarly, not that he cared. I knew firsthand that bullets didn’t slow him down. More proof he wasn’t all human.
My cheeks burned hot as I dropped the shoe. I tried not to think about the fact that he’d shoved his tongue down my throat. Or that he’d swallowed Jax’s cum directly from my mouth. Or that I’d viciously, violently liked it.
Nope.
Instead, I ruthlessly decided that we were going to ignore it. Pretend it never happened. We hated each other, and Madoc was Madoc, an unattainable, infuriating guy with so many issues he should come with his own disclaimer.
I wondered what reason he had for seeking me out. Part of me had suspected (and hoped) that he would avoid me after what happened. His exit hadn’t exactly been subtle. I had no idea what seeing Jax like that did to him, if anything.
I waited, but Madoc was Madoc. He just stared at me like I was the problem.
“You’re supposed to be in lockdown,” I said, not bothering to be polite. “That means not creeping around.”
“He told you.”
I sighed, not even bothering to question how he knew that. “Yeah.”
“Idiot.”
“Him or me?”
He smirked. “Both of you.” Then he reached into his pants pocket. “Catch.”
He tossed me a gold object. I caught it mid-air.
A watch.
No.
The watch.
The one containing half a billion dollars’ worth of stolen CIA cyberweaponry.
I fumbled it, nearly dropping it before clutching it to my chest and staring at him. “Are you insane?” I hissed. “Wait. Of course you are.”
Madoc shrugged and slotted both hands back into his pockets. His posture was loose, unbothered. But he never did anything without an ulterior motive. My calorie-starved brain just had to figure out what it was.
“You’re giving this to me?” I asked him, suspiciously.
“Looks like it.”
“Where did you even find it?”
His eyes tracked down my face to my chest, where I was clutching the watch. “The little dove was chatty,” he said, inclining his head thoughtfully. “She told me all her hiding spots.”
Something cold dripped down my spine. I didn’t want to know what Madoc did to get that information.
I looked down at the watch, the tiny engraving mocking me. I turned it over and popped open the back compartment, finding the device nestled within.
“That’s it?” I murmured in disbelief. A half-billion-dollar weapon and it was no bigger than a piece of gum. “It’s so small…”
“Small things can be deceptively dangerous, mouse.”
I grimaced. “Don’t call me that.”
I’d nearly died to get this prototype. I’d spent countless nights imagining myself handing it to Preacher and securing Molly’s ongoing protection.
“No matter what happens, darling,” Preacher had said. “You must make sure Jax does not leave with the prototype. This weapon in the wrong hands would be catastrophic.”
And now it was in my hands.
Just like that, the little bubble of happiness in my chest popped. The doubt seeped back in.
What if Jax was lying? What if there was no grand plan?
He was a thief. They were all thieves. They’d spent their lives bending the rules without considering the consequences. When I met Jax, he’d been one of Dr. Z’s most valuable assets. He’d seen the potential in Jax.
What if that same potential was leading me astray? Manipulating me into giving up everything?
“I’m the bad guy, princess. Shady comes with the territory.”
Jax told me that once. I chose not to believe it then.
Should I believe it now?
My stomach sank. First with dread, then with shame.
No.
Jax wouldn’t do that to me. I refused to believe the same guy who gave up a hundred-million-dollar score to thwart an international trafficking ring would betray me like that. The same guy who nearly died to save me in the cargo hold. The same guy who kissed my tears and told me he believed in me.
I had to believe in him, too.
Throat tight, I looked up at Madoc. He hadn’t moved an inch. Probably hadn’t even blinked. He was watching me intently, gauging my reaction. Dissecting it.
Typical.
I stepped forward and extended the watch toward him. “Take it,” I said.
He didn’t move.
I shoved it into his chest. “Take it and shove your stupid mind games up your—"
His hand slapped over mine, pinning my hand to his chest. I stopped short. Fear and something else shivered down my body. We were so close that I knew he felt it.
I forced myself to look up again and meet his eyes. Those terrifying, all-seeing green eyes that needled beneath my skin. Those same green eyes that had watched me take Jax apart.
My tongue darted out, licking my lips at the memory. Those eyes flicked down, catching it.
“You were testing me,” I said, my voice too breathy to be an accusation.
His eyes remained fixed on my mouth. “Yes.”
“You think I’ll betray Jax.”
He said nothing, but his heart skipped beneath my hand. I wasn’t surprised by his distrust in me. I was surprised that it hurt my feelings.
His cold fingers pried the watch from my hand. He put it back in his pocket as if nothing had happened.
Then he bopped my nose, causing me to flinch. “Good girl.”
Clearly, I passed the test.
“You’re such an asshole.” I swatted at him, then crossed my arms. I felt oddly vulnerable, like he’d picked me clean.
The asshole just looked amused, like he always did when he short-circuited my brain. It was clearly a favorite pastime of his.
“Hey,” I called when he started to walk away. He paused, looking over his shoulder. I cocked my hands on my hips. “How did he taste?”
Madoc’s jaw twitched. It was small, the tiniest of slips.
“Devastating.”
He walked down the aisle toward his seat, not looking back.