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Arabella walked into the lobby of the building with Milo acco to two uniformed police officers She was evenstiffly beside one of the cops As soon as she entered, her heels clicking on the smooth stone floor, everyone turned and looked at herthe officers with concern, Gavin with an arrogant, possessive stare, and as for Maddux, she couldn’t read his neutral expression at all, though the clench of his jaw gave her a hint of his irritation

Disht past hi twice about where her loyalty auto okay?” The fact that Gavin was there with law enforcement made her distinctly uncomfortable

Before Maddux could say anything, Gavin jumped in “Jesus, Arabella! I’ve been worried sick about you You haven’t returned et you out of this messed-up situation!”

He stepped toward her, and it was a good thing that one of the police officers put his hand out to hold Gavin back, because Maddux’s entire body tensed, and his hands curled into fists at his sides No doubt, he wasn’t going to let Gavin touch her, and that protective de rush of pleasure

With a calh hiaze, his voice composed “The police are here for a welfare check”

“Welfare check?” she echoed, dumbfounded

One of the cops nodded toward Gavin “Mr Scott here claiainst your will by Maddux Wilder”

“I’ both of the officers in the eyes so they could see she wasn’t hiding anything

“You don’t have to lie, Arabella,” Gavin said, his tone enraged “Tell the you captive”

She laughed at his insistence as she came to the realization that if she had to choose between leaving with Gavin or staying with Maddux, it was a surprisingly easy decision And re her father any her forbidden desires with athe wo Maddux on board with that idea wasthe hands-off approach he’d suddenly erected between the his mind

“I don’t knohat you’re talking about,” she said, addressing Gavin directly “I just spent the day at work and stopped at a o as I please” Okay, not one hundred percent the truth She could leave as long as she had a security guard with her, but she honestly didn’t feel restricted at all

“He’s already brainwashed you,” Gavin hissed, then glared at Milo, as standing casually off to the side “And what about this guy? Who is he?”

“That’s Milo My driver” She shrugged “He took me to work and picked me up”

Gavin’s complexion reddened, and it was all he could do to keep his temper in check

“Well, that’s about all we can do here,” one of the officers said, and glanced at Arabella “You don’t appear to be in distress and you’re in good health, and there isn’t anything suspicious or illegal going on that we can see, so we’ll be on our way”