Bad Medicine

The photo in Sienna’s hand felt heavier than paper had any right to feel. The little girl’s smile was lopsided, like she’d been caught mid-laugh. Her hair—thick, chestnut curls—framed a face far too innocent to belong in any conversation with a man like Jax Maddox.Sienna’s fingers tightened around the edges before she could stop herself. “Missing? How do you even know her?”“That’s not the right question,” Jax said, peeling his wet leather cut off with a hiss of pain. “The right question is why no one’s looking for her.”Rainwater dripped onto her floor. Her doctor’s brain registered the way he favored his right side, how his shirt was sticking to his skin where blood seeped through. He’d been shot—or stabbed—again. But instead of focusing on that, her eyes stayed locked on the picture.“Where did you get this?” she asked.“Her aunt gave it to me,” he said. “Right before she turned up dead.”The words hit like ice water. Sienna blinked at him, trying to piece together the jump from g

The figure under the streetlamp didn’t move. Just stood there, the glow catching the edge of a hood, hands shoved deep into pockets.Sienna’s mouth went dry. “Is that—”“Not a friend,” Jax said quietly.Her fingers dug into the curtain. “What do they want?”He gave her a look that made her feel stupid for asking. “Same thing they wanted when they sent that photo. To scare you into shutting up.”“It’s working,” she whispered.“No,” he said, stepping back from the window. “Scared people make mistakes. We don’t.”We. Like she was part of this now. She wasn’t sure when that happened, but it had.“What do we do?” she asked.“We wait,” he said, grabbing his jacket from the back of a chair. “If they try the door, I’ll handle it.”“And if they don’t?”“Then they’ll try something else.”She stared at him. “That’s not comforting.”“It’s not meant to be.”They didn’t wait long.Five minutes later, a faint scrape echoed from somewhere below. It was the kind of sound you wouldn’t notice unless you

The blond man’s smile was too calm for someone picking up strangers off the street. It wasn’t smug like in the alley—it was worse. Controlled. Like a wolf that didn’t have to snarl because it already knew it would eat you.Sienna’s fingers dug into her coat. “Where’s the man from the phone?”The blond man tilted his head, eyes flicking to the driver. “Change of plans.”Her chest tightened. “Meaning?”“Meaning,” he said, settling back in the seat, “I’ll get you where you need to be. And then you’ll have all the answers you’ve been begging Maddox for.”The SUV turned sharply onto a narrower street. Buildings loomed closer, brick walls and dark windows sliding by like watchful eyes.She forced herself to keep her voice steady. “You know where Emily is?”“I know where she’s going to be,” he said. “Which is more useful than where she’s been.”“That’s not an answer.”“That’s the only answer you get until we get there.”She glanced at the driver, who kept his eyes on the road. Big guy. Shave

The message glared back at her like a lit fuse.Check your apartment. Top drawer. Don’t trust Maddox.Her hand shook as she gripped the phone, pulse slamming against her throat.She felt Jax’s gaze burning into her before he even spoke.“Who was that?”His voice wasn’t raised. It didn’t need to be. The quiet edge in it curled under her skin, prickling with danger.“Wrong number,” she said too quickly, tucking the phone against her leg.He arched a brow, eyes narrowing. “Bullshit.”“I’m serious. Probably spam.”Jax leaned closer, his big frame closing in, and plucked the phone from her grip before she could react. He scanned the screen once, and his jaw locked.“Who sent this?”Her stomach dropped.“I don’t know.”“Think.” His voice snapped like a whip. “This is a setup.”She swallowed hard, forcing herself to meet his eyes. “It could be someone trying to help me.”“Or someone trying to put a bullet in your skull.”The room felt smaller with every word he spoke. She didn’t want to beli

The red blink of the camera light vanished as quickly as it appeared, but the chill it left behind stayed.Sienna’s blood iced in her veins. She clutched the papers tighter, pulse roaring in her ears.“They’re watching us,” she whispered, more to herself than him.Jax was already moving, swift and silent, gun in hand as he strode to the window. He yanked the curtains shut with a sharp snap, then turned to her with eyes gone hard.“They’ve been watching you,” he corrected.The correction sent a shiver down her spine.Jax holstered the weapon, grabbed his phone from his cut, and tapped a few buttons. “Stay down. Don’t move.”Sienna let out a short, incredulous laugh, raw from fear. “Don’t move? Someone just broke into my home, attacked us, and now there’s a camera pointed at my window. Forgive me if I’m not great at following instructions right now.”He turned on her, eyes narrowing. “Sienna—”“No.” She pushed herself to her feet, anger bubbling up with the terror. “You waltzed into my