Maddie looked at Sylvia. “Do you notice how none of them bother to ask me what I want?”

Sylvia nodded. “Typical.”

Okay, yeah. She made her point. Both women did. Evan might have him revved up and pissed off but the person he was trouncing on was Maddie. “Message received.”

“Between the notes and the dead body, your choices just got limited to one. You need to be back in the program.” When Maddie started to respond, Evan talked over her. “We’ll relocate you, set you up with a new name and—”

Sylvia looked confused. “Wait.”

Maddie didn’t. “No way.”

The marshal looked ready to blow. “We should talk about this alone.”

“She gets a choice.” Jesus, this guy and his attitude made Connor want to hit something.

He wasn’t the violent type, but the way Evan mowed over Maddie and her feelings pissed Connor off. Danger or not, there were better ways to handle this. Hell, he’d issued some orders of his own when it came to her safety and gave her little choice, but he didn’t do it this way . . . damn, he hoped he hadn’t because this was bullshit.

Evan turned on him. “Did you read the fucking notes?”

“I’m referenced in one, dumbass.”

Evan didn’t say anything for a few seconds. He stared at Connor as if assessing how much of a rival he might be. “And just who are you in all of this? I mean, I’ve done a background check and got the basics.”

“Evan.” Maddie’s stern voice sounded like a warning.

“You don’t exactly have a great track record for keeping women safe, now, do you?”

The shot landed but Connor refused to flinch. He kept his expression neutral. He would not let all this ranting get to him. Not from this guy.

Maddie stood up. “Evan!”

Even Ben, who had been silent and watching, straightened away from the door. “That’s out of line.”

Connor appreciated the show of solidarity. He hadn’t expected it and wasn’t sure he’d earned it, but he vowed not to take it for granted. “Do you think you can intimidate me, Marshal?”

“You’re a businessman on a mandatory vacation.” Evan smiled as if he’d scored some sort of victory. “Right?”

Ben started moving. “We should take a break.”

The only acknowledgment from Evan was that he sat forward in the chair. But his glare never left Connor. “Your family sent you here. Didn’t give you a choice because they thought it was here or a hospital.”

He had the information mixed up and turned around, but Connor guessed that was the point. Evan wanted everyone in the room to know that his family had conducted an intervention. He might not know that much, but he knew too much.

Connor acted like he didn’t care. “You done?”

“Am I wrong?”

“No, you’ve proven you’re an asshole.”