Page 150 of No Headlines Please

"Well…if I didn't call the police on the other guy, why would I call them on you?"

My hand froze in hers. "Wait…the other guy?"

57

So Much for Toledo

Delaney

He was still holding my hand, except now it felt oddly rigid, like he'd forgotten he was doing it.

His question – if I could even call it that – hung awkwardly between us. But the truth was, there was no other guy, at least not in the way he seemed to think.

Gently, I slipped my hand from his. "I don't mean a boyfriend or anything."

"That's not what I meant. But who are we talking about?" His gaze darkened. "Someone threatened you?"

I tried to laugh. "I never said that."

His eyes held no trace of humor. "But you're not denying it."

He was right. And there was a reason I wasn't denying it. I didn't want to lie. Reluctantly, I confessed, "Okay, he might've threatened me a little."

"A little." His jaw clenched. "He either threatened you or he didn't."

"Well, it's not like he did anything." I spread my arms. "Look, I'm perfectly fine."

He studied my face. "Is that why you were hiding?"

The word caught me off guard. "Hiding?"

"Laying low, staying off the grid, avoiding your family." And then, he said it again, harder this time. "Hiding."

"Well, I couldn't have been hiding too good." I gave him a wry smile. "You found me in just a day."

He didn't smile back. "It's no joke."

"I never said it was."

"So, who is this guy?"

"See…that's the thing." I winced. "Actually, I have no idea."

"Okaaaay." He rubbed a hand over his jaw. "Why'd he threaten you?"

I shook my head. "I don't know that either."

He stared at me for several long moments. "Now you are joking."

"I wish." I let out a sigh. "Look, I know how crazy it sounds, which is half the reason I haven't told anyone – well, other than Lenny."

"The lawyer."

I blinked. "Wait…how do you know?"

"Because my people were looking for you, remember? Naturally we'd start with the obvious stuff…where you'd lived, where you'd worked." Suddenly, he was all business. "But we're getting off track. What's the other half?"

I was still stuck on the fact that Maddox had recalled the lawyer's name just like that. "The other half of what?"