While Alfonso checked Maggie’s ankle, I stretched out on the couch. My thoughts were a brawl. I hadn’t found one clue to who Fred Madsen was or where he’d gone, nothing that didn’t involve the girl sitting across from me, wincing at Alfonso’s touch. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing taking care of her. She’d proved she could take care of herself. And yet I still wanted to. Wanted to be the one with her foot on my knee while I felt her skin under my fingers. Wanted those fingers to trail further up her leg and—

I squeezed my eyes shut. This girl was doing a number on me. She was trouble—the kind of trouble that could get me killed. I needed to forget her and do my job. Simon was losing patience and I had to come up with something soon.

Find Fred, find something on Simon to take to Hopkins. Then my life could be my own, not Simon’s and not Maggie’s.

“Jay.”

I twitched. My eyes snapped open. I’d fallen asleep. Maggie was standing above me, a tensor bandage wrapped around her ankle.

“All done?” I asked, sitting up.

“Thanks for waiting.” She bit her lip. “Could you drive me home?”

I rose from the couch and she started to hop after me. “Do you need crutches or anything?”

“He doesn’t have any.”

Of course not. I slipped my arm around her waist and helped her out of the house, ignoring the smell of apples in her hair and the desire to be even closer. To pull her into me and taste her lips again, deeper than before.

Inside my truck, Maggie lifted her bad ankle and rested it on the dash. “Ice and elevation,” she said. She leaned her head against the seat and looked at me. “The usual.”

I put on the radio, hoping she’d take the hint that I didn’t want to talk. My fingers tapped along to the beat as I drove. I was antsy with Maggie so close, nervous and angry, my heart beating inside my chest from desire and disgust.

“Thanks,” she said. “For the help tonight.”

“No problem.” Which was a lie, it was a problem. She didn’t want to be around me, and I couldn’t be around her anymore. Not when I knew what she’d done. Not when I still had feelings for her and hated myself for it. Not if it meant Simon might find out about her connection to Fred.

The silence was a thick barrier between us, like boxing gloves, protecting one of us from getting hurt. Problem was, I didn’t know who. She’d already hurt me. But I’d never let Simon lay a finger on her.

“Can I ask you a question?” I said. With my eyes on the road, I massaged the back of my neck with one hand. “That guy you were with—”

“What guy?”

As if she didn’t know. “On the street outside your work. About a month ago, I saw you with someone. You were hugging.”

I glanced at her in time to see realization dawn on her face. “What about him?”

She was trying to contain a smile. My fists tightened on the steering wheel.

“Are you still seeing him?”

“Is that any of your business?”

“I’m afraid it is.”

She folded her arms over her chest and huffed. I cursed her stubbornness. If she told me the truth, it would be easier for me to protect her.

I parked in front of The Crampton Oasis. She lowered her ankle from the dash and leaned down to grab her bag.

“That guy,” I said before she could open the door. “He took out a loan.”

“What?” She snapped her mouth shut. Even in the darkness, a flush was visible on her cheeks.

“A sizable loan,” I said.

She shifted in the seat. “So?”

“He disappeared. Do you know where he’s gone?”

“No.”

“Look at me, Maggie.”

Her eyes met mine, she didn’t blink.

I put my arm over the back of the seat and leaned toward her. “Simon won’t let this go. Your friend, Fred, screwed him over. He had references and a complete cover story that turned out to be a sham.”

She swallowed. “References?”

“All fake.”

“How much?”

“Fifty thousand.”

She gasped. But was her surprise genuine?

“I need to find him,” I said. “It’s my job to find him. You get that, right?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t know where he is.”

“You’re lying.”

“No—”

“You looked pretty cozy on the street that day.” I’d seen the way he looked at her, like he’d do anything for her. I knew that stupid look. “Don’t think I don’t know he gave you the money to pay off Nico’s debt.”

She didn’t reply but she started blinking as if struggling not to cry.

“I didn’t tell Simon.” I clenched my fist, trying to hold onto my anger. It was better than the alternative. “Simon doesn’t know you know Fred. He doesn’t know Nico’s debt came from that loan. If he did…”

Her eyes widened, welling with tears.

“Just tell me where he is, Maggie, and this will all go away. It won’t have anything to do with you.”

She clenched the strap of her bag, her hands in fists against her chest. “I can’t,” she whispered.

“Maggie, please.” Why was she taking the fall for this guy? Did she love him that much?

“I can’t,” she repeated, firmly this time.

I reached across her and opened the door. “Fine.”

“Are…are you going to tell Simon?”

My jaw tightened. She was right to worry about her own skin. “No. But if he finds out from someone else, there’s not much I can do.”

She looked away, staring at the dashboard, then slowly nodded. “I understand. Thank you, for tonight.” She slid from the truck.

I didn’t reply and I didn’t help her get out. I kept my hands on the steering wheel and my eyes on the road. As soon as she shut the door, I peeled away.