The Final Countdown

Chapter 29

Cameron

The morning after Maddie and I's heated discussion, I woke up with bags under my eyes from our lack of sleep. Arguments are never fun, but the aftermath is sure as hell worth it. I spent the entirety of my night between her thighs, and there was absolutely nowhere else I would have rather been.

That being said, I've been running on fumes since five this morning, but I couldn't fall back asleep when Maddie's side of the bed was empty. She had to leave for work, and I had to be here for the pass-off with Izzy to Nina.

While I waited for Izzy to get up, I went for a run around the gated community to try and lower my stress levels, but it didn't seem to help. Two weeks. I have two weeks to find something on Katie or I'll have to agree for her to release the video. I can't let that happen.

I already wrote an email to the private investigator before my run. If he can't find anything in two weeks, he's fired, and he can kiss the rest of the money I had set aside for him goodbye. Maybe that will light a fire under his ass.

It's not his fault he can't find anything on her when Katie seems to be an angel on and off camera. Anything the press captures her in is charity foundations or feeding the homeless. It's as if she knows she's being watched. I'm not sure how since we've been so discreet, but the entire time we dated, I never once saw her lend a helping hand to anyone. Something isn't right.

Circling my way back to the house, my chest is dripping with sweat, and my calves are on fire, but I've always loved the clarity a run brings me. Plus, it energizes me for the day. I'll be more alert when I get to practice.

Checking the app on my phone with the monitor, Izzy is still sound asleep. She only has about thirty more minutes before I'll be forced to wake her up, which I hate doing. My daughter loves her sleep, and if anyone dares interrupt it, well, she'll be miserable.

As soon as I open the front door, the smell of bacon wafts into my nose, which can't be right because nobody else is at home except me.

With my t-shirt slung over my shoulder, I stride down the hallway into the kitchen, freezing dead in my tracks at the sight before me.

Nina is flipping pancakes on a griddle stretched across the length of the oven, her hair tied into a loose bun on top of her head. Eggs and bacon are beside the pancakes, and three plates are on the island beside her.

Her eyes briefly dip to my bare chest before she meets my eyes. "Good morning," she says brightly. "I figured you'd want some breakfast."

"I..." What the hell is she doing?

I mean, not that she can't make breakfast, but she doesn't come into the house unless it's for the pass-off with Izzy. She certainly doesn't flip pancakes wearing a set of pajamas that are a little too form—

Stop!

Eyes up, Holden!

I hastily put my t-shirt on, averting my eyes to stare at the food instead. Not that I want to look at Nina, but the pajamas she's wearing aren't appropriate, and I refuse to give her any sort of indication that I like them. "I'm not hungry, but I'm sure Izzy will love some pancakes."

"Oh, come on." She sets the spatula down beside the griddle, arching a brow. "You just got done for a run and you're not hungry?"

I'm starving, actually, but I'm not going to tell her that. Her job is to provide for Izzy and no one else. Maddie would not like the idea of the three of us eating breakfast together, hence my denial.