Hush - Anne Malcom Page 0,107

didn’t have anything in her hands to defend herself, but if someone was intent on hurting her, they wouldn’t be banging like this, announcing themselves to all of her neighbors.

She also had a vague idea of who this was. She’d been expecting this. Maddox was a good cop. He was observant, more than most. If there was anyone who could catch the connection, it would be him. Which is what she had been counting on.

She knew there was no such thing as a perfect crime. Orion wasn’t a perfect criminal. It took ten thousand hours to become an expert at something. She did not have ten thousand hours under her belt. Not yet at least.

But she was pretty darned good.

Because she had planned for failure. For getting caught. She’d gambled on Maddox figuring it out. And she’d gambled on him coming here first, too tangled up in his feelings for her to arrest her. He was a good man and a good cop, but he loved her. So it could go either way. She was manipulating him just like April did.

She should’ve cared more, but she didn’t. There was something broken in her.

The light in the hall was harsh and bright, but his anger, his fury, made it look like a fucking single match next to an inferno.

He pushed past her.

Physically.

She had never seen that from Maddox before. She’d never seen the fury, never seen him so close to the edge that his awareness of her, his instinct to protect her was swallowed.

Some sick part of her liked it, the ugliness of this. At least it was honest.

Orion stared at the empty hall for a beat, took a breath, and closed the door.

When she made it to the living room, Maddox was pacing. He stopped when her eyes locked on his.

“Tell me I’m wrong.”

His voice was so soft it was the sharpest blade she’d come in contact with.

Orion took great pains to jut her chin upward, to maintain eye contact. Keep her dignity. She had planned for this. She knew Maddox looking at her like this was a possibility.

With everything she’d planned, Orion thought the killing part would be the hardest. That it would hit her soul, fracture the remaining pieces. But if she were being honest with herself, it didn’t bother her that much. What bothered her was how little it bothered her.

But Maddox, standing here in the living room his sister designed, looking at her like she was a monster, that was the hardest.

And she was a monster.

“Tell me I’m wrong,” Maddox repeated. His voice was rougher this time. There was something else in it too. He’d turned it into almost a plea.

Orion stayed silent. That was something else. She couldn’t rule out the fact he might be wearing a wire. She wasn’t about to incriminate herself.

“Fuck,” he whispered. He paced the living room. “Fuck!” he roared.

Orion didn’t think she had any fear left in her. She didn’t think she had the ability to flinch away. But she did. She knew it wasn’t possible, but she was sure that the walls had rattled.

Then he advanced. He prowled forward with murder and violence in his eyes.

She wasn’t proud of it, the fact she retreated until her back hit the wall. Maddox got close enough to box her in with his body. And he didn’t stop. He didn’t respect her space, her aversion to body contact. He had no concern for her in that moment.

“What the fuck are you thinking, Ri?”

“It’s Orion,” she said, almost on autopilot.

His eyes flared. “You’re right. It is Orion. Because I have no idea who the fuck I’m looking at right now. Do you know what would’ve happened to you if anyone else but me could pick you out of those videos?”

Something moved inside her. A little hope. Not just for herself, but for them. For her and Maddox. She could’ve been wrong, but it sounded like . . .

“Did anyone else recognize me?”

His face cleared of all fury and went blank. For a few moments, he didn’t speak at all—nothing but a cold and violent stare. His breath was hot on her face.

“No. The video was shit. And circumstantial at best, because nothing puts you at the crime scene. But, my God, Orion. What the hell were you thinking?”

His eyes cleared, and he looked at his arms, framing her body and caging her in, as if they were foreign and not his. Maddox quickly stepped back, putting space between them.

Orion exhaled in relief, but