Soon. They’d be alone in the hotel soon and she would tell him.
As she pushed through a large cluster of spectators, strong fingers pinched the skin of her hip, almost on her bottom. She gasped, surprised. That was no accident. Rather, it had been an intentional grope.
Her head whipped around, searching for the man responsible. He stood there, a few feet away, giving her a slick smile. A black wool suit hung loose on his frame, his collar soaked with sweat. A sense of wrongness came over her like an icy wind. She shivered with the need to get away, to put distance between herself and this stranger.
Unfortunately, with people all around her, she couldn’t quickly step back as the man drew closer. She lifted her chin and pulled one of her hat pins from her hair. “Do not come any closer.”
As if he didn’t hear her, the man leaned in, using his size to intimidate her. “There’s no need for that.” He pointed to the hat pin in her hand and chuckled. “All I want is to see you smile, pretty lady.”
Alarm bells were ringing in her head. She tried to slip through the people standing behind her, but met only with resistance. “I don’t feel like smiling right now—and you need to move back.”
He reached out to touch her again, this stranger who thought he could take liberties with her person. She didn’t wait for rescue. Instead, she shoved the hat pin into his stomach. Hard.
Yelping, he doubled over, his hands covering where she’d stabbed him. People in the vicinity stopped talking, their gazes curious as they formed a wide circle around her and the other man. Siobhan arrived alongside, her eyes wide with concern. “Are you all right, madam?”
“I’m fine,” Maddie said, watching the man who’d pinched her. She didn’t trust him not to run off and escape, where he’d likely grope another young woman in the crowd.
Suddenly, there were shouts and the crowd instantly parted. Two men she’d never seen before each took one of her elbows and practically lifted her off the ground, towing her back the way she came. “Stop! Let me go!” She struggled in their grip, but it did no good. “Help! I am being kidnapped.”
“Please, Mrs. Archer,” one of them said. “You’re safe now.”
Safe? She was being dragged against her will by two large men she’d never met. “Help me!” She kept trying to twist away, to escape their strong hands, but it was no use. They didn’t release her until they were in one of the small rooms inside the clubhouse.
“Who are you?” She rubbed her trembling arms and backed away from these strangers. “How did you know my name?”
The door flew open and Harrison rushed into the room. His hair was rumpled, his eyes wild with panic before they landed on her. He reached her in three steps and pulled her against his chest. “Christ. Are you hurt, Mads?” His voice shook as he held her close, his fingers digging into her flesh through her clothing. As if he never intended to let her go. She rested her cheek against his shirt and necktie, the familiar scent of him soaking into her muscles, easing the fear and anxiety from moments earlier.
“I’ve got you, honey,” he murmured into her hair. “I’ve always got you.”
Her parents entered the room, as well, their faces laced with concern. “What happened?” her father asked. “We heard a shout and a man was on the ground.”
“I’m fine,” she told everyone. “A man in the crowd pinched me. I used my hat pin to defend myself.”
“A man pinched you?” Harrison let her go and rounded on the two strangers, his expression carved in fury. “You were supposed to keep her safe!”
Keep her safe?
“We apologize, Mr. Archer,” one of the men was saying. “She disappeared into the crowd for a minute. We only lost sight of her for a few seconds.”
“A few seconds is all it takes,” Harrison snarled. “She could have been harmed.”
“Wait.” She put a hand on Harrison’s arm. “Who are these men? Do you know them?”
“We beg your pardon, Mrs. Archer,” the other man said, wringing his cap in his fists. “We won’t let it happen tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” She looked at Harrison. “What are they talking about?”
Preston came in, dragging the man who’d pinched her in his wake. “I brought the man responsible inside while we await the police.”
“Good,” Harrison snapped. “We will be pressing charges.”
“We don’t need the police,” the man said, twisting in Preston’s hold. “It was an accident.”
“Goddamn mashers,” Preston muttered. “We’ll have him arrested, Maddie. Don’t worry.”
Harrison closed in on the man, his hands curling into fists. “How much did Thomas pay you?”
“I don’t know any Thomas. She’s lying,” the man said, pointing at her. “Whatever she told you, she’s lying.”
Thomas? Why was Harrison asking this man about his brother?
None of this made sense.
Harrison lifted the man up by his necktie and shook him. “You’re a liar. I know he put you up to this.”
The man’s face turned purple and he made choking sounds. Was her husband going to strangle this man, right here? “Harrison! Stop and tell me what is going on. Right now.”
He dropped the other man and dragged a hand through his hair. “Everyone, may I have a moment alone with my wife?”
Maddie cocked her head and studied her husband. He was acting strangely, avoiding her eyes, his movements jittery. Her stomach twisted, a portentous feeling settling inside her like a stone.
“I’ll keep him in another room with the police until you’re ready,” Preston said before departing with the masher. Everyone else quickly filed out and the door was closed.
She didn’t waste any time. “What is going on?”
“Let’s return to the hotel and discuss it there.”
“I’d rather discuss it here. Who were those men who dragged me back to the clubhouse?”
He folded his arms across his chest. “Guards I hired to keep you safe.”
“What?” She gaped at him. “You hired guards for me? Without telling me? Why?”
“My brother and mother threatened you last week, during the takeover. They knew you were the only leverage they had over me.”
She dropped heavily into a chair. “They threatened me . . . and you didn’t tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to worry before the tournament.” Striding to where she sat, he lowered onto his haunches and stared into her eyes. “I know how much winning this means to you. I didn’t want them to distract or upset you. I wanted to protect you.”
Her head was spinning from all this information and she needed space. Standing, she walked around him to the other side of the room. “Let me see if I have this straight. Your family threatened me and so you went out and hired guards. Without informing me. To protect me.”
“Yes.”
“Did you honestly think Thomas would hire someone to accost me in a crowd?”
“I put nothing past him, not after he sent you those flowers.”
“The flowers were from Thomas?”