Page 88 of Protecting Maggie
“It’s okay. You’re okay,” Shawn said, squeezing her hand.
She wasn’t. She wasn’t okay in the least. But Shawn thought she was strong, had told her so more than once. And she didn’t want to do anything that would make him think otherwise.
The truth was, she was terrified of Roman. The man had proven time and time again what he was capable of. How he’d use anyone and everyone to exert his dominance.
They needed more than the recording of his threats over the phone to take him down. Proof that he’d killed hiswife would be a good start, but if Roman was going to be held accountable for the things he’d done, she needed to be brave and face him.
Being bait for the Russian soldiers had been scary, but necessary. She’d told Shawn that she never wanted to do anything like that again, but frankly, if she had to make the same decision twice, she’d do everything just the same to protect those she cared about.
And now that she thought about it, Roman was probably the one who’d called her probation officer and informed her that she’d left the country. It was an easy thing to do, calling in an anonymous tip. If she was going to confront Roman face-to-face and get the proof needed to make sure the man didn’t exploit and hurt anyone else, she needed to get through this meeting with her PO. Explain what was going on, give her the contact info for Shawn’s commander so she could verify everything Maggie told her. Luckily, the woman was reasonable and not prone to report her probationers for every little infraction. She believed in second chances, which right now would hopefully be Maggie’s salvation.
Her little internal pep talk made her feel a little more confident. This place scared the hell out of her. The building itself felt as if it was a portal straight back to prison. But she’d done everything she was supposed to do in regard to her probation. Every drug test had come back clean, she reported to her PO right on schedule, was never late to her meetings. This meeting would work out as well…ithadto.
“Maggie Lionetti?” a man called from another doorway.
Shawn put his hand on her cheek and turned her head so she had no choice but to look at him.
“I’ll be right here. We’ll call Tex when we get home and see what he thinks about the recording you made. This is gonna be over soon, Maggie. I swear.”
Swallowing hard, she nodded.
Shawn leaned forward and kissed her. “You’ve got this,” he reassured her.
She took a deep breath, then stood and headed toward the man who’d called her name. He nodded at her but didn’t smile. The door behind them clicked as it closed. Shivering at the sound of the lock engaging, Maggie tried to block it out.
She was thinking about the most succinct way to explain to her PO what had been going on in her life when the man she was following suddenly turned. He took hold of her upper arm—and she felt something prick against her side.
“Don’t say a word,” he hissed quietly. “If you do, I’ll gut you right here and now.”
Looking down, Maggie saw a wicked-looking serrated knife at her side. Instinctively, she attempted to pull away from him. He jerked her close and the knife he was holding penetrated her shirt. She gasped at the instant pain that bloomed when it broke her skin.
“I’ll do it. I have nothing to lose. This isn’t personal. Robertson is holding all the goddamn cards—my career,my marriage, my literal fucking life. So come along nicely and you’ll be just fine.”
She wouldn’t be. Maggie knew that better than most. But it was obvious this man would hurt her too, if she didn’t do what he wanted. She was screwed either way.
He dragged her down the hall and through a door that led to a stairwell. She almost tripped several times as he practically ran down the three flights to the ground floor. Every other step made the knife prick her skin, and Maggie could feel blood soaking her black shirt and making it stick to her skin.
Leaving a trail of blood drops would be good, but she didn’t think her wound was that bad…or at least she wasn’t bleeding that badlyyet.
Then something else occurred to her. Cameras. Looking up, she saw one in the corner of the stairwell aimed at the door that led outside.
“They aren’t working,” the man holding her said almost nonchalantly. “The cameras. I see you looking. You think he wouldn’t have thought of that?”
Shit. There would be no trail of where she’d gone. Shawn would eventually get concerned when her meeting ran too long, and when he realized she wasn’t in the building, he’d do everything in his power to find her. But how could he?
Maggie was beginning to think she’d end up just like Roman’s wife had so many years ago. Gone without a trace. The police would be baffled, her new friends would be worried and pissed off. But itwouldn’t do any good. If Roman had his way, she’d never be found.
Despair filled her. She supposed she should be scared or trying to figure out how to escape this latest predicament, but at the moment, all she could think about was how she’d miss out on spending the rest of her life with Shawn. She’d never get to know Remi, Wren, and Josie better. Would never be a mother. Wouldn’t grow old with Shawn at her side. All the dreams she had for her life were disappearing in a puff of smoke.
The man holding her was surely leaving bruises on her upper arm. He was gripping her so tightly, it felt as if he was cutting off the circulation to her entire limb. He exited the building and walked toward a black four-door vehicle that was sitting at the curb. The windows were tinted, and Maggie couldn’t see who was behind the wheel.
The man wrenched open the back door and practically threw her inside. He didn’t say a word, simply slammed the door behind her and turned back toward the building. As the car pulled away from the curb, he disappeared through the stairway door, probably to go back up to the third floor and pretend he didn’t see anything after leading her to a room to wait for her probation officer to arrive.
“Hello, Maggie.”
She spun around, gaping at the man behind the wheel in disbelief. She’d been so fixated on the asshole who’d forced her out of the building that she hadn’t thought to look at the driver.
“Roman,” she breathed.
