Once Upon A Half-Time: A Sports Romance - Sosie Frost Page 0,254

ground. He didn’t want the land. He had plans for the shop, for that bed-and-breakfast he thought he’d open.” Maddox turned away. “You sacrificed me because you were too hell-bent on revenge.”

“I don’t want revenge.”

“Bullshit. Maybe yours isn’t bloody, but don’t pretend you’re after justice. You wanted to humiliate Nolan as badly as I wanted to kill him. That’s the only reason you lied to the police about me, why you got me out of your way—”

“Christ, Maddox. I didn’t frame you because you’d ruin my plans. I wasn’t sending you back to jail for murder.”

“What’s another twenty years to my sentence? You’d already ruined enough of my life. Why not fuck over the man you love, lose your property, and get tangled in Nolan’s perversions?” He didn’t let me answer. “I’m amazed you think Nolan Rhys is capable of hurting me. Not when you do it so well.”

“I never meant to hurt you.”

“Glad to hear it.” He banged a fist against his chest, over his heart. “Because this feels like shit.”

Everything fell apart, and I had no idea how to stop it. My worst crises came in bags of the wrong brand of flour or when I burned the last of the butter. Losing Maddox was worse than losing the store to the fire, if only because I had no idea how to rebuild a love that precious and rare and broken.

“I’m trying to fix things,” I said. “That’s the only reason I was with Nolan tonight. I told him I’d sell the property, and I hoped maybe that would satisfy him.”

Maddox shook his head. “You’re not that naïve. Did he ask you to sleep with him?”

“I wasn’t going to do it.”

“Fuck. You never should have been in that position. You shouldn’t have met him at all.”

“I had no other option,” I said. “Granddad is sick. He can’t care for himself anymore—he can’t even take his own medications without accidentally hurting himself. Don’t you get it? I’m trying to keep us all alive here, Maddox.”

He didn’t answer. The fight extinguished from him, the fire burned out, starved of any reason to care. A shell remained—cold and hollow.

A shadow.

A fading memory of what we once had together.

“I didn’t have a choice,” I whispered.

He lowered his head. “Well, I’ll make this one easy on you, Sweets. I’m leaving.”

“Please, let’s just talk—”

“I’ve wasted enough time talking, trying to prove I could take care of you…” He swore again, the word torn from his throat. “I never said I was a good man, but I thought I’d pretend for you.”

“Don’t go yet. I can make you understand.”

“Save it.”

“Maddox, I love you.”

His eyes darkened, and I couldn’t stand the way he stared at me.

“Yeah, we all make mistakes. Just so happens, most of mine were made for you.”

The door closed behind him.

I sank onto the bed and clutched my cellphone. The text message came immediately. Nolan must have followed us, watched as my life crumbled and Maddox left me with my regrets.

His text set my teeth on edge.

I hope you said goodbye.

Goddamn it. This ended now. No more threats. No more warnings. No more buying my body so I could buy my freedom.

Nolan wasn’t hurting either of us anymore.

I opened the app on the main screen, replaying the sound recording I made of Nolan.

“Like I would trust you around Maddox.”

“You can trust this, Josie. If I wanted Maddox dead, he’d be buried by now.”

“I’m tired of your threats.”

“Meet me at Jackson’s in an hour or it won’t be a threat any longer.”

My thumb hovered over the send button.

Even if Maddox left, I could still protect him from Nolan’s jealousy.

Maybe it was revenge, and maybe it would eventually destroy the little of me that remained, but I wasn’t letting Nolan Rhys control my life any longer.

First, I’d protect us from Nolan.

Then, I’d get the man I loved back because it was never a mistake loving him. It was a mistake to lose him.

I sent the text and recorded clip to Nolan, wrapped in my own dire threat.

Come near us, and I’ll end your campaign, your reputation, and your life. Your move, Mayor.

17

Josie

The knocking echoed through my apartment.

Damn it. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. The papers bundled over my chest. They made lousy blankets. I tossed them on the couch and checked my watch.

Seven o’clock. A three-hour nap?

Ew. I figured I’d be tired, but this was downright lazy.

The persistent thudding on the door chased away my grogginess. I listened, wishing to hear Maddox call for