Free 02 Madoc by Paige Tyler

the highway toward Billings, however, her curiosity finally got the better of her.
    “Why didn’t you turn me over to that state trooper back there?” she asked quietly. It was the first time either of them had spoken since they’d left the cabin.
    The muscle in Madoc’s jaw flexed, but he didn’t look at her. “Because it’s just as easy for me to take you back to Denver,” he said.
    Shayna felt her heart sink at his words, the small hope she had been holding onto collapsing. Blinking back tears, she turned to stare blindly out the side window. After last night, and then with what he had said to the trooper, she had truly begun to think Madoc might actually let her go. But apparently the fact that they’d slept together didn’t mean anything to him. He probably thought it was a mistake. She didn’t know what hurt more. That he didn’t believe she was innocent, or that he could still turn her in after they had had such amazing sex. Maybe it hadn’t been as good for him as it had for her, she thought bitterly.
    They made the rest of the drive in silence, and Shayna found herself wishing that Madoc would turn on the radio or something. Anything to distract her from thoughts of what awaited her back in Denver. In a couple of hours, she would be back in jail. The one night she’d spent there after she had been arrested had been awful enough, and the thought of going back made fresh tears well in her eyes. Because this time, she didn’t think she would be getting back out.
    As they reached the outskirts of Denver, Shayna glanced at the handsome man beside her, wondering if she should try to plead her case with him again, but then decided against it. She had spent the past two days working on him. If she hadn’t swayed him during that time, there was really nothing left to say. Besides, she didn’t want to spend the remaining freedom she had left arguing with Madoc. With a sigh, she tore her gaze away from the Marshal to gaze out the window again.
    Shayna was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t realize Madoc had turned into a parking garage until he pulled the SUV into a space. Her brow furrowing, she gave him a curious look.
    “Where are we?” she asked.
    He turned to look at her with those incredible golden eyes of his. “My apartment,” he said. “I’ve decided not to turn you in. At least not until I can check out your story.”
    Shayna blinked in surprise, unable to believe what she’d just heard. “What made you change your mind?” she said softly.
    Madoc said nothing for a moment, and Shayna held her breath as she waited for him to answer.
    “I didn’t say I changed my mind. I just said that I was going to check into it before I turn you in, that’s all,” he said gruffly.
    Shayna made no reply, but she knew from the way he said the words that it was more than that. If he were just interested in checking into her story, he could have done it while she was in jail. He must really think she was innocent for him to put himself at risk like this. Of course, some part of her was also hoping that his reasons might be a little more personal than that. That maybe last night had meant something to him after all. She tried to control it, but her heart began to beat wildly at the thought that not only might she finally have found a way to get out of this mess, but that Madoc might actually care for her.

CHAPTER 6
    What the hell was he doing? Madoc asked himself as he let Shayna into his apartment. He was risking his career, his reputation, even his freedom, all for a woman he had just met! And for what? Maybe going to his brother’s wedding had infected him with some kind of mental disorder or something, he thought. What else could explain such a serious lack in judgment?
    But no matter how much he tried to tell himself that he was being crazy, and that he should just drop Shayna off at the Denver PD, he couldn’t. She was innocent; he knew that deep down in his gut. And while he hadn’t said