Delivery

15. Envoy

The cologne that she was once drawn to, smelled rancid as the particulates infiltrated her nostrils. Her hand flew to the wall to steady herself as her fight or flight response kicked into gear.

"Hello, Maddie." He approached her from behind. "It's good to see you, pet." Instinctively, Madelyn stepped back as he came around and began to embrace her, one hand in the center of her back, the other snaking down over her buttocks. Bile rose up in the back of her throat.

"Jack." She tried to push his hips away from her middle. "Don't call me that. I am not your 'pet.' Let me go!" This time she was trying to shove him away. He was a good looking man; he had a muscular build, golden hair that he styled back, and blue eyes that would have been beautiful if not for the malice that flickered behind them.

"I miss this, miss your feistiness. I haven't seen you in a while, just wanted to say hello." He backed away slightly, but not enough for her to feel comfortable. This was an old trick of his. When he wanted to exert dominance he would always stand within the other person's bubble. He invaded personal space and either used his nearness to show control or to force the other person out.

"How have you been, doll? Is it student-teacher conference time? Your date appears a tad young, don't you think, and what's up with that hair and tattoos? Of course, you have managed to keep yourself in good shape," he leered at her body, eyes raking her from head to toe, "so he probably doesn't even realize he's out of his league. Maybe I could dump my date on him, she's probably about his age." She could smell the hint of sour under the scotch on his breath and recoiled.

"Are you watching me, Jack? And he isn't my student, not that it's any of your concern." The annoyance in her voice belied the weakness that she felt in his presence. Her only thought was to keep her cool and get away.

"Maddie, you will always be my concern, you know that." His words fairly dripped with venom. "I will never stop watching out for you. You do understand that, right? 'Til death do us part and all that shit that you promised."

"Jack, I swear to God, if you start this up again, I will go back to that judge and get a restraining order. What's done is done, and we are definitely done! Now I am walking out of here and you are going to leave me be." She twisted her body to one side in an attempt to move around the man she had once trusted.

Rather than allowing her to pass, Jack stepped into her path menacingly and threw his hands out to the wall, effectively trapping her between his arms. Turning her head to the right, Madelyn squeezed her eyes tightly and held her breath. Would he actually hit her here in public? She had carefully constructed her life after the divorce to create as much safety as possible and here she was, stuck, at his mercy, and contemplating how big a scene she would have to make in order to get away.

He took his right hand from the wall and encircling the back of her neck with his stubby fingers, he used his thumb to force her chin up. "You can run your mouth all you want, Maddie, but we both know you'll never find anyone better than me. Don't tell me you don't think about us sometimes when you're all shut up all alone in your little castle in the woods. Maybe you'd like me to come arou..."

"What the fuck is going on?! Take your goddamn hands off of her!" The force of Harry's shove to Jack's shoulder knocked him back several feet. Harry stood directly in front of Madelyn, shielding her. His feet were braced in a fighter's stance, hands fisted near his sides but slightly raised. "I don't know who you think you are, but you are absolutely done here." The anger in his voice seethed.

Harry could feel her hands touching his back, steadying herself, perhaps trying to calm him. He badly wanted to take her in his arms and reassure her, tell her she was safe, but that couldn't happen with this neanderthal in their midst.