Her mom stood there, her eyes narrowed as she took in the two of them standing together in jeans, looking way too casual for the retreat.
“What do you think you’re doing?” her mother asked, her voice pleasant but with an edge.
“We were going to try and head home today,” Madison began, “but I don’t think the storm is going to let us.”
“You can’t just leave,” her mother snapped. Madison was grateful that nobody was around to hear.
“Yes, we can. We came, we schmoozed, and we can leave. Unfortunately, with this storm, we may be stuck here for another day or so.”
“You’re so ungrateful,” her mother snapped.
“No, I think you are. But this is not the time or the place for this conversation.”
“And where did you put Guy? I haven’t seen him since your little coffee trip, and I have no idea how it went.”
“You mean he didn’t report to you?” Madison said, her voice a bit snide even as fear slid over her. Where was Guy? Had he left? Or was he lurking? He was always creeping, something that really hadn’t clicked for her until he grabbed her yesterday.
Had he been there solely on her mother’s request or because he was just that creepy?
Her mother opened her mouth to say something, but then her dad walked towards them, a scowl on his face. Lightning flashed, and thunder boomed even louder than before, the chandelier above them shaking. And then power snapped off.
A few screams and a couple of gasps could be heard, and Aaron reached out, sliding his arm around her waist.
“Well, that’s great,” she said.
“Watch your tone,” her mother whispered.
Madison almost laughed. They were in the dark with no power, a storm raging outside, and there was no escape.
And, of course, her mother blamed her.
But Madison honestly didn’t care. And that was something. Maybe this whole fake fiancé thing had worked. She had stood up to her mother, and she was ready to walk away without a second glance. If only Mother Nature would allow that to happen.
Or maybe Mother Nature was giving her a second chance to find her way with Aaron.
Lightning flashed again, and the wind howled. People started shouting, and then all thoughts of Aaron and what they meant to each other fled as a sense of foreboding crept over her.
The storm was just the beginning.
She knew that much down to her bones.
Chapter 17
Aaron cursed under his breath before squeezing Madison’s hip and letting her go only to grab her hand and tangle his fingers with hers.
“You okay?” he asked. He looked down at her, the lights from outside barely enough for him to see her face.
“I’m fine. Mom? Dad?”
“We’re fine. I cannot believe a place like this doesn’t have a backup generator. What are they doing with our money if they’re not taking care of us in our time of need?” her mother asked. While Aaron might’ve thought that the woman was just complaining for the sake of it, he also heard the fear in her voice.
It seemed that when she was scared, she lashed out. It made sense. Aaron wasn’t particularly comfortable right now either with the storm and no power. People started milling around, the large windows on the other side of the room letting in the most light.
“Darling, I’m sure the manager will help us soon. You know Ralph, he’s always been a friend of the family.”
There was a gruffness to Mark McLard’s tone that said he wasn’t having fun with this either. Aaron had never understood the couple more. They didn’t like things out of their control, hence why they tried to control their daughter. When she fought back, they pushed harder.
Aaron just hated that they’d hurt her along the way.
“Okay, what are we going to do?” Maeve asked, and Aaron blinked, even though they couldn’t see him. He wasn’t sure she had ever uttered that phrase before in her life. Given how Madison stiffened at his side, he figured she hadn’t either.
Very interesting.
The manager came forward, a flashlight in his hand.
“The storm seems to have hit us harder than they predicted,” Ralph said. “We apologize. What we’re going to do, is get everyone into a central location. My team and I are working on a solution as we speak. It seems that when the tree fell down and knocked out the power lines, it also hit our generator.”
Everybody began speaking at once. Aaron made sure that Madison was close to him as others moved in on them to get Ralph’s attention.
People talked about refunds, asked about their stuff and other things. Honestly, Aaron could care less. He had Madison at his side, and her parents were near. Everybody that he had a connection to was safe. He was keeping an eye out for Guy, though. Hopefully, the man had already left.
If not?
He’d have to kick the man’s ass, storm or no storm.
“Now, if everybody could come to this side of the room, we’ll be able to keep track of everybody better. Please don’t go off on your own or return to your rooms just yet. We’re still waiting on the lights, and we don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’m going to sue your ass,” somebody growled from behind them. Aaron thought it might have been Joyce’s husband.
Dear God, Aaron was with a bunch of people who never had to fend for themselves and clearly lashed out when they were pissed.
This was going to be an interesting night.
“The generator should be up and running soon. Please, come with me.”
The storm raged on, the wind howling. Aaron looked down at his phone and cursed when he noticed that there was no signal.
“No signal, no calling out.”
“This is the beginning of a horror film,” Madison mumbled.
“There’s no need to panic,” her mother said, sounding as if she were already panicking.
“Maeve, stop rambling,” Mark said.
This was a version of hell. An actual hell that Aaron could not escape from.
“I hope it doesn’t flood,” Madison mumbled.
“We need to throw salt over our shoulder again,” he began. “Because if it floods? The whole side of the mountain’s coming down. With the dry season and that fire? It’s ripe for a mudslide.”
He mumbled the words so only Madison could hear. There was no need to start a panic, but he had a feeling that others around him, people with clearer heads, were thinking the same.
The storm wasn’t supposed to be this bad. If he had known, he wouldn’t have come up here at all. But then again, his head had been in the clouds when it came to Madison, and he hadn’t really been paying attention.
Now, someone might get hurt because of that.
“We’ll get out of here quickly,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head. He kept touching, kissing as if they were a real couple. And maybe they were, but right then, all he could worry about was making sure she was safe.
“Excuse me, Mr. Montgomery?” Ralph asked as he came forward.
“Yes? How can I help?” Aaron asked, wondering why Ralph was singling him out.
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” he asked, gesturing to a corner with fewer people.
Aaron nodded, and Madison walked with him. He didn’t mind. He didn’t want to leave her alone. Not with the storm, and not with Guy perhaps lurking about.
“Sorry for taking you away from your family.”
“My family’s right here,” he said without thinking, gesturing towards Madison.
She gave him a weird look, one that even he could see despite the dimness of the room, but he forced himself to turn to Ralph and not dwell on the words he had just uttered.
“We could really use your help with the generator.”
Aaron frowned. “And how can I help with that?”
“You do work on your furnace, don’t you? And you have a generator for that. My maintenance man is out sick. Honestly, I don’t know what I’m doing. I could use a second pair of hands, and
you might have noticed, but not everybody here has been out of the office in a while.” He whispered the last part so softly that Aaron knew that he didn’t want to offend his clientele.
Aaron didn’t mind helping. Not at all. He only hoped he could.
“Of course. Let me make sure Madison’s safe with her parents, and I’ll follow you out.”
Relief spread over Ralph’s face as lightning flashed again, lighting the room.
A couple of people screamed when the thunder followed, and Aaron shook his head. “We’re going to need light in here quick.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Okay, let’s get you over to your mom,” Aaron said to Madison.
“I don’t need to be held and mothered,” Madison whispered.
“I don’t know where Guy is. So, yes, I’m going to make sure you’re with your parents. You don’t have a choice in the matter,” he said through gritted teeth. Madison froze, and he cursed under his breath. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“No, it’s the whole storm and potential mudslide thing. And thinking of everything else. It sort of pushed up in my mind. I need to be alert. Much more than I am. Thank you.”
He leaned down and kissed her hard, tugging on her hair just enough to make her part her lips.
“Be safe. I’ll be right back.”
He told her parents what was going on, and they placed Madison between them as if on guard. He made his way with Ralph to the generator.
Outside, the rain lashed so hard that it slapped at his face, stinging his skin. It was coming down so hard, he was afraid he might bruise, but they kept going.
The wind howled, and they had to shout at each other to get things done. The downpour raged, and lightning arched above them. He worried they might get electrocuted if they weren’t careful.
The generator was in a small outbuilding behind the main one, and honestly, he didn’t think it was going to be enough to power the whole place.
“Is this it?”
“We’ve got four more, but the fifth one was damaged beyond repair. And now these are having issues.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Aaron said. “I’ve got one like this at home. But shit, they’re not easy to work with.”
“So I’ve discovered. You can bet your behind I’ll be learning how they work inside and out the next chance I get. Never again will I allow myself to get into this situation.”
Aaron liked this Ralph guy. Soon, the two of them were setting up the generators, Aaron’s body aching from the exertion.
Going from building to building wasn’t easy. Both of them slid in the mud, falling at times, bruising and cutting themselves on jagged rocks.
The rain came down in sheets, and Aaron knew a few trees were already down. There would be no going home tonight.
If they weren’t careful, though, the mudslide could be a real thing. He looked up the mountain, trying to see through the storm, but he couldn’t tell if anything was forthcoming. The scariest thing was that they would never know until the mud was already there, bringing down half the mountain with it.
He just hoped to hell that didn’t happen.
They kept moving, working as a unit until his knuckle’s bled, and he was cursing up a blue streak. Finally, however, the low hum of the generators hit his ears, and light filled the building.
“Jesus Christ, thank God.”
“Thank Aaron Montgomery,” Ralph said with a laugh, and Aaron snorted, shaking the other man’s hand.
“My staff was instructed to keep all people where they were. We’re trying to conserve energy, but I have a feeling we’ll need to call the authorities for help. The storm is twice as big as I thought it would be. Nobody thought it was going to be like this.”
“Seems like,” Aaron said. “I need to get back to Madison.”
“Of course, you do. Thank you again. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.”
“You would have muddled through. We all figure out things when we need to.”
They made their way back, the rain coming down even harder now, the ground beneath them a muddy, slippery mess.
He shook himself before he went in, knowing he probably looked a fright.
A couple of people glared over at them and gave them sneering looks, but they could go fuck themselves. They were safe inside, dry, and now warm with the lights on because Aaron had worked his ass off right alongside Ralph to ensure it.
Aaron couldn’t find Madison right away, so he went over to where Maeve and Mark were talking, both of them whispering.
“Where’s Madison?” he asked without preamble.
They each gave him a look and then glanced into the corner. A look of shock crossed their faces.
“What?” he asked, his adrenaline pumping.
“She was in the corner. We just left her in the corner. She was feeling lightheaded. Oh my God, where’s Madison?” Maeve began, her voice going high-pitched.
Others started to turn towards them, and Aaron did his best to look over everybody’s heads, trying to find her.
But he couldn’t. There was no sign of her.
“Maybe she went to the restroom. Or back to your room for something,” Mark began.
“I’ll go check. You go look for her here. And then we’ll meet back here in five minutes.”
“She’s fine. She’s fine,” Maeve said, repeating the words over and over again. “She wouldn’t have gone out in this.”
“Did Madison tell you about Guy?” Aaron asked, trying not to panic.
“What do you mean?”
“He hurt her,” Aaron growled out.
“What?” Maeve said, her hand going to her throat.
“I’ll talk to you about it later. But, yeah, he hurt her. We need to find Madison right now. She wouldn’t have just gone off like this.”
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Mark said, giving Aaron a look. Aaron understood. He didn’t want Maeve to panic. And he wouldn’t add fuel to the fire.
No, he would simply let all the panic slide through him.
Because while he couldn’t fucking find Madison, and it terrified him, she had to be okay.
If she wasn’t?
He had no idea what the fuck he would do.
Chapter 18
Madison dug her heels into the mud, doing her best to pull away from Guy. He only tugged on her arm harder, nearly ripping her limb from its socket.
“What are you doing? Let me go!” she roared over the din of the pounding rain and thunder.
“Stop fighting. This will all go easier if you come with me.” Guy tugged her harder, and she cried out, tears forming. He was so much stronger, and the fact that he had a kitchen knife in his other hand, one that he had threatened to use but hadn’t yet, worried her more.
She had been sitting in the corner, trying to see where Aaron was, when someone came around from the blind spot in the room and put their hand over her mouth.
She hadn’t had a chance to scream because as soon as she realized that she was being pulled away, it was too late. Guy had her outside almost immediately, the roar of the rain masking any sound that she might have made.
Now, he didn’t bother covering her mouth but was practically dragging her down the side of the mountain towards wherever he planned to go.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked, fear crawling over her skin. Nobody was out here to hear her scream, just like before. She didn’t know how she was supposed to get out of this. How was she supposed to save herself?
Even if a storm weren’t hurting everything and making it already far too dangerous, she wasn’t sure they would make it out of this. She wasn’t sure she would make it out of this.
“Why? Because I have to. You’re supposed to marry me. And nothing’s going off the way it should.”
“What? I’m not going to marry you. This isn’t going to work out. If you just let me go, we can forget any of this ever happened.”
Guy let out a shocked laugh, only
barely audible over the rain.
“You stupid bitch. Fuck you. Your mother promised me your money. Yet you had to go and get with that stupid artist and lie. That blue collar bitch. Who the fuck do you think you are?”
Madison didn’t understand Guy’s need or desperation. It didn’t make any sense to her.
He tugged her under a tree, his chest heaving, and while she wanted to run away, he still had the knife pointed at her. Plus, she was all turned around from the mud and the rain. She couldn’t even see the lodge anymore.
She didn’t know where they were going, or even if Guy had a plan, but she knew that she wasn’t going to make it out of this if she didn’t get away soon. She had to make a move. She had to find Aaron. She had to get help.
Aaron was out here somewhere, she reminded herself. Or at least he had been. Maybe he’d find her. But he may not even know that she was gone.
She was going to die out here if she wasn’t careful.
She tried not to panic, but the emotion was welling up inside her.
She let out a breath as Guy glared at her. She licked her lips, trying to calm herself so she could think. It wasn’t easy when all she wanted to do was scream and fight, but she knew she wasn’t strong enough. Not with this man.
She had to find a way out of this.
“So, you wanted to marry me? All of this for marriage?”
“I don’t give a shit about you. I need your fucking money. I made a few bad investments, and now the people I owe are sick of waiting. I need what you have to give to them. You were my meal ticket. But then you had to go and grow a spine. All of a sudden. What the fuck? Your mother told me that you would be pliant. That you would do whatever she and I said. That you—and your money—would be mine.”
Madison knew that her mother could be cruel sometimes, but she knew those weren’t her mother’s words. They were all Guy’s.
He had twisted her mom’s cruelty even more.
Madison had to get away.
She just didn’t know how she was supposed to do that, not with the knife he held on her, or the fact that she didn’t know where they were on the property.
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