away.
And I want to kill this guy for putting that look on her face. I want to destroy him for being the reason she feels even an ounce of insecurity.
I step forward, forcing him to back up until he hits the side of his car. I’ve got about five inches and forty pounds on him, and I’m all muscle. He’s not so stupid that he doesn’t know he’s outmatched, and his expression goes from taunting to fear.
“Stay the hell away from Hannah from now on,” I say forcefully. “Unless she reaches out to you, leave her the fuck alone. Are we clear?”
I wait until he nods before I back up. Then, I take Hannah’s hand and help her up into the truck.
“Doesn’t mean I have to leave Vegas,” the coward says as he ducks back into his car. “I’m going to hang out here tonight, too. So maybe I’ll see you two around.”
I wait until I’m inside the truck with the windows up before I say to Hannah, “We need to get that app off your phone.”
Chapter Sixteen
Hannah
“I’m already on it,” I say as I start searching through my phone.
I successfully find and delete the app just as Maverick’s large hand covers mine, stopping me from typing.
I look up at him in confusion.
“That’s a good start, but I think we should get you a brand new phone,” he says. “We don’t know what else he installed. He may have done more than just track your whereabouts.”
“You’re right.” I pull my hand out from under his and toss my phone onto the floor in frustration. “Fuck, he was so paranoid. So controlling. Shit, it pisses me off. Sorry for cursing.”
“Your mouth puts mine to shame.” He shoots me a half-grin. “I like a dirty mouth.”
I laugh. “That’s good because my ex suddenly pushes all my swear buttons.”
I glance to my right and am relieved that Craig has already left the parking lot.
“Use my phone for now if you need to look up anything.” Maverick unlocks his phone before handing it to me.
As he pulls back out onto the Strip, he says, “Was he like that when you were together?”
“What do you mean?”
“Paranoid. Controlling. Was he like that in other ways, besides how he invaded your privacy with the app?”
I freeze, Maverick’s phone forgotten in my hands. “Let’s just say he was a worse boyfriend than I was willing to admit for a long time. His main focus was his work, and I’m beginning to realize I had just become a means to an end.”
Maverick’s jaw clenches. “He didn’t deserve you.”
I swallow.
After a beat of silence, I say quietly, “Thank you for saying that. And for defending me against him. I’m not…used to anyone having my back.”
Maverick
I don’t answer her.
For the entire drive along the Strip, while we find a store to get Hannah a new phone and turn in her old one, and then when we pull up to the hotel we decided on, I don’t respond to Hannah’s thank you.
I hand the concierge the keys to my truck, and Hannah and I grab our bags and head for check-in.
As we wait in line, both of us quiet, I finally shift to face Hannah directly.
“You’re welcome,” I say to her. “But I don’t want you to feel like you have to thank me for doing something you’ve always deserved.”
Her pretty pink lips part in a surprised “O.” God, the things her expression makes me think of should not be crossing my dirty mind right now.
I tug at the purse strap slung over her shoulder playfully. “Are you planning on risking a lot at the casinos tonight?”
She laughs. “Not a chance. Being unemployed can make a person go conservative real quick.” She sucks in a breath. “Maverick.”
I tilt my head. “Yeah?”
“What do you think about sharing a room again?”
I blink. “Um…”
“Not in a romantic way,” she goes on hurriedly. “But Craig said he was staying here for the night. Knowing my luck, I’m going to bounce right into him somewhere. I’d rather keep up the charade of us being on a date. So on the off-chance that he sees us here, it makes sense…”
“To share a room.” I finish her sentence smoothly and not like my throat is thick with discomfort. “No problem. I’ll ask for two beds.”
“Great.” She smiles at me brightly like this will be no big deal. “Good idea.”
Good idea, my ass.
This entire trip was a terrible idea, and the deeper in I get with Hannah Walsh, the worse