“For sure. I’ve read a ton of romantic suspense. I know how to hide a body and not get caught.”
“Okay, that’s frightening as fuck.”
“That’s love, buddy.”
“It is. And I love you too.” He sighed. “But I can’t. I’m not ready to talk about it.”
I stared at him in silence. I wished like hell that he’d let me in. But I also understood he wasn’t ready. “’Kay. But just so you know, when you are ready, I’ll be there. Shovel or no.”
Dylan chuckled unsteadily. “You’re fucking whacked. But thanks.”
The rest of the drive passed in silence. Only this time, I had a million thoughts running through my head. Instead of just being sad about Nathan, now I was wondering what trouble Dylan had caught himself in. Was it a girl? Maybe she was pregnant? Or had an STD? Who else would be texting him bad news so late on a Thursday night?
I blinked and we were pulling up to his condo in Midtown. But instead of pulling into his driveway, Dylan idled at the curb.
“I need to go take care of something. Do you mind taking my cheesecake in for me?”
“Your cheesecake? Did you seriously not grab me a slice?” I tried for a teasing tone, but I was seriously worried about him.
The smile Dylan gave me in reply was nowhere near his usual dimple twinkling grin. “Maybe. If you’re nice to me.”
“Sure. Take care of yourself, okay?”
“Always. Lock the door behind you.”
I grabbed the plastic containers from the backseat and gave Dylan another searching look that he avoided. Sighing heavily, I pushed my door open and climbed out of his lifted pickup.
I don’t think I’d made it even five feet up the sidewalk before he left in a screech of tires. That wasn’t out of the ordinary. All the Burns brothers—even Sabrina—drove like bats out of hell. I tried really hard not to read anything into his urgency to leave.
But it didn’t make me worry any less.
When I got to his front door, I juggled the dishes and my purse as I dug for my key. But of course, me being me, I dropped one of the dishes then my purse. Cursing, I ducked down and thanked god that the lid had stayed on. Dylan wouldn’t be happy if I got gravel in his cheesecake. After shoving everything else back into my purse, I found my keys and had a better handle on my load as I stood up again. I moved to push the key into the lock when I felt something press into my back.
“You Dylan Burns’ girl?” A deep and threatening voice asked from behind me.
It felt like everything slowed down except my heartbeat. It thrummed in my head so loud I swear I could taste my pulse.
“Well, are you?” He asked again, pushing what I was pretty sure was a gun deeper into my back.
“I-I-I am.”
What the hell? Why did I say that?
“You tell him that the guys aren’t happy with him. And if I have to come back and deliver the message again, I won’t be so fucking nice about it.”
My eyes widened as I felt him step closer to me. A waft of tobacco, sweat, and peppermint had me gagging. Or maybe it was the way he rubbed his erection into my lower back.
“Or I can be really, really nice. You get me, sweetheart?”
“I-I do. Get you. I understand. I’ll tell him.” The words left me without conscious thought. I’d tell him the sky was green if it would make him leave me alone. Oh god.
“You be sure to do that. I’d hate to come back out here again.” He dug the gun deeper into my back while rubbing against my lower body at the same time. “Or maybe I’d really love it. We could have some fun together—me and you.”
Bile tickled at the back of my throat. Oh god.
“I’ll tell him.” I whispered. “I promise.”
“Mmmm, too bad. You’re all soft and round. The way I like my women.” He grunted low in his throat then pushed harder against me. “What the fuck?”
“That’s what I want to know,” Nathan’s voice thundered from somewhere behind us. “What the fuck is going on here?”
Chapter Two
Nathan Burns
I seriously couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Little Madison Roberts was all but being dry humped on Dylan’s front step by a fucking biker. I mean, the guy wasn’t wearing club colors, but I knew a biker when I saw one. What the hell kinda bizarre alternate reality had I stumbled into?
The guy stepped away from Maddie, but kept one arm around her back like it fucking belonged there. Like he had a claim to her.
What the fuck?
“Nathan.” Maddie’s eyes were wide as they swung from me to the asshole and back again. “You’re here!”
“Uh, yeah. I live here. Remember? Right next door.”
“Right. No, I know that.” She laughed unsteadily. “I just meant—”
“What I want to know is what are you doing here?” I watched as the biker stepped even closer to Maddie. I ground my teeth as I took in the implication of their body language. “I thought you were swinging by your place?”
“I was—we were—but Dylan had to take care of something instead.”
I nodded like what she’d said made sense. Like she hadn’t somehow acquired an asshole biker boyfriend in the ten minutes since I’d last seen her. Tilting my head, I took in the guy’s appearance—his leather jacket, thick beard, and the visible tattoos on his neck. One tattoo in particular had me clenching my teeth. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”
“I uh…” Her eyes swung from me to the asshole again.
The asshole patted Maddie on the back and then swung his arms around his back in an awkward movement. “I’m gonna get, babe. Remember what I said.”
He jerked his chin at me and strutted away, knocking into my shoulder as he passed.
Ass.
I watched him go then turned back to Maddie with raised eyebrows.
She gulped and blinked innocently back at me.
Fuck that.
“What the hell are you doing hanging out with bikers, Maddie?”
“I…what? How did you know he’s a biker?”
“His jacket was worn in some spots but not others. Like he usually wears a vest over his jacket. Besides, I know his type. I could spot a biker who’s not wearing club colors from a hundred yards away. Those assholes are all alike.”
“Right,” Maddie whispered as she looked down at her full hands, her knuckles white. She took a couple of deep breaths but didn’t say anything else.
“That’s it? You’re seriously not going to tell me what the fuck is going on?”
Maddie’s head jerked up and her eyes sheened with emotion. “Because it’s so crazy that a guy might like me?” She shook her head and gave a bitter little laugh. “I don’t see how who I’m seeing is any of your business.”
“Hey, don’t you fucking even. You’re the one seeing the enemy here. Or are you forgetting the fact that those bastards were responsible for Ryan ending up in the ICU?”
Because he’d had the nerve to date their president’s daughter. Like Hope wasn’t a grown adult who could make her own decisions.
“He’s in the West Coast Kings?” Maddie’s eyes widened like it was a revelation to her. “How do you know that?”
“The Ride Free tattoo on his knuckles? The tip of the crown tatt on the side of his neck? How long have you been seeing him? You didn’t know who the fuck you were dry humping on Dylan’s front step? What the hell is wrong with you?”
A minute ago, Maddie looked so pale that I would’ve been afraid she was gonna pass out, but not anymore. A red wave of color swept across her face, and she was back to glaring at me.
“Look I’m not dating him. Not that I have to run all my decisions by you. He was just someone I…met recently. I doubt I’ll ever see him again. Can we drop it now? I’ve gotta get Dylan’s cheesecake in the fridge.”
She seriously wasn’t going to tell me anything? I was still pissed that she’d been cuddling with a fucking King. It was like a kick to the nuts. I’d
always thought of her as part of the family, and this was a betrayal.
But Maddie wasn’t waiting for permission. The door clicked open and she was stepping inside.
“I’m not done talking to you.”
She paused with her back to me. She wouldn’t even turn to look at me. Who was this woman who’d been my little sister’s partner in crime? I almost didn’t recognize her. And I’d spent the past two hours sitting across from her in Aunt Wendy’s living room and table.
“Well too bad. Because I’ve got nothing else to say about that.” She finally faced me as she tipped her head toward the step where I was standing.
Seriously? She was all but dry humping a King and we were just not gonna talk about it? Bullshit. “Fine. How about I take you to your apartment then. You said something about needing clothes?”
If I couldn’t get any answers out of her now, I’d just pump her for information later.
She closed her eyes and sighed. After a beat, she turned her doe-eyes to me. “It’s been a long day. I’ll just handwash something. It’s fine.”
“Nah, come on. I’ll take you.”
She looked at me like I’d asked her to walk over hot coals or something.
“Come on.” I pushed my way into Dylan’s apartment, grabbed the food containers from her, and shoved them into the fridge. Turning around, I found her still standing in the doorway with a bewildered expression. “It’ll be quicker to grab your clothes. If you’re tired, you won’t want to stay up to do a load of laundry tonight.”
“You mean it’ll be quicker to agree with you,” she muttered as she flipped the lock on the knob before closing the door behind us.
I smirked. “That too.”
She gave me that not-impressed look that was becoming her norm. I seriously missed the puppy eyes she usually gave me. But I guess I had been harping on her a lot lately. And now with the biker. But in my defense, I was worried about her. She was like a little sister to me—like Sabrina. And as an only child, she didn’t have any older brothers to worry about her—unlike Sabrina.
“Come on.” I tipped my head toward my driveway where my black Range Rover was parked. Since we were bringing stuff back, it didn’t make sense to take my bike. I lead the way to my SUV, not bothering to check if Maddie was following me.
It was turning out to be a fucking strange night.
I didn’t look in Maddie’s direction the entire time it took to drive to her house. She had made some seriously screwed up decisions lately. From her apartment, to choosing to sleep on Dylan’s couch instead of my spare room, and now with a goddamn King showing up for a fucking cuddle session on my front doorstep. What the hell was she thinking? Was this like a quarter-life crisis? Was that even a thing?
When we pulled into her building’s parking lot, the scene that met us didn’t make me feel any better. Thursday night, and someone—probably the dealer neighbor—was having a fucking party. People were everywhere, drinks in their hands, and very little clothes on their bodies. I had to swerve to avoid a couple lying down in the middle of the fucking lot. Booming music that even my fancy soundproofing couldn’t diminish vibrated my SUV.
I pulled into a spot far away from the craziness and turned to look at Maddie.
Her eyes were large as she took in the scene before us. “It might not be a good idea for you to leave your fancy Range Rover unattended here.”
“If you think I’m letting you walk through that alone, you’re the one with a drug problem. Because you’d have to be high to think that’s a good idea.” Sighing heavily, I pushed my door open and climbed out. I could feel the music pounding deep in my bones. “Come on!” I hollered. “It’ll be faster with two of us!”
I didn’t know if Maddie heard me, but she followed my lead and climbed out of the SUV before I could round the vehicle to help her. Grabbing her hand, I closed her door and set the alarm.
This was bound to be a clusterfuck of epic proportions.
I kept her hand firmly in mine as we wound through the insanity of people shot-gunning beers, a screaming fight between two rail thin women, and more than one needle within eyeshot. And this was a Thursday night? What the fuck.
It was almost a relief when we reached the staircase, until I saw the caliber of people coming in and out of the apartment next door to Maddie’s. All rail-thin with stringy hair and hungry eyes.
It burned like hell to know that she’d been living in the middle of this for months—months—and hadn’t said a fucking word.
I waited impatiently behind her as she struggled with her lock. I was almost ready to take it over for her when she pushed her door open with a whoosh.
We stepped inside as she flipped the lights revealing her sparse living room, just a sofa, coffee table and the smallest tv I’d seen in a long time.
Maddie crossed the room before hesitating in the hall entry. She rocked back and forth on her heels in indecision before swinging around. “I’ll grab a bag. It shouldn’t take long.”
I jerked my chin in a tight nod. Message received. Stay put.
I pushed the door shut behind me and stood there with my hands in my pockets. The urge to snoop around her place was overwhelming, but I restrained myself. Barely.
I still swung my eyes around, trying like hell to find what the draw had been to get Maddie to live here for as long as she did. What I saw didn’t make me feel any better. Water spots on the ceiling. A pretty substantial crack running up the common wall with the drug dealer. And shitty locks that wouldn’t hold up against a stiff breeze, let alone an intruder.
I’d be damned if Maddie spent another night in this hellhole.
She popped back into the room, clutching the smallest suitcase I’d ever seen. More like a backpack really. “Ready.”
I opened my mouth to reply when the door behind me popped open.
I whirled around and found a stringy haired man with overwhelming body odor standing in the doorway. “Ah, fuck, there’s a line?”
I looked at Maddie, incredulously, but she was slowly backing away deeper into the hallway. Her eyes were so huge, they swallowed her face.
Stepping closer to Captain B.O., I pressed a hand against his chest and pushed him back out of the apartment. “Wrong apartment, asshole. You want the fucker next door.”
When he was clear of the door, I slammed it shut and twisted the puny lock on the handle. She didn’t even have a fucking deadbolt.
“Maddie, grab your shit—all the clothes we can fucking carry. There is no way in hell you’re coming back here. I’ll get with the guys and figure out when we can come back for the furniture.”
She stood in the hallway, her eyes still large as fuck, while her whole body shook.
“Fuck.” I crossed the room to her. Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her into my chest and felt her body shake against mine. My anger drained out of me. It wouldn’t do a bit of good to rail at her now. She was fucking scared, and something told me that this wasn’t the first time someone had walked into her apartment. I wanted to know more, but this wasn’t the time. “It’s okay, Mads. You’re not sleeping here tonight. You’ve got a cozy space over at Dylan’s house with his fancy alarm system. No one will bug you there. Well, except me. And Dylan. And probably Sabrina. And Ryan. And Hope. I take it back. Everyone will bug you there.”
She laughed wetly against my t-shirt.
I smiled and ran a hand over her silky-smooth hair. “But you’ll be safe. I swear it. Come on. Let’s grab the rest of your shit and get the hell outta here. I don’t want you here another minute longer than we have to be.”
“All right. Thank you, Nathan.” She pulled away from me but wouldn’t look at my face.
Which I hated for some reason.
“You got more suitcases back there?”
She nodded.
“Fantastic. You start in the closet, and I’ll take the underwear drawer.”
The glare she sent me wasn’t as ferocious as the one she’d given me at Aunt Wendy’s h
ouse, but I’d take it. Anything was better than that broken expression she’d been wearing a moment ago.
“Stay away from my underwear drawer,” she muttered as we walked down the tiny hallway to her bedroom.
“That’s fine. I’ll take your nightstand drawer. I bet you haven’t emptied that yet.”
“Nathan! Oh my god!”
I grinned to myself. That was more like it.
Chapter Three
Maddie
Friday
I stared sightlessly at the bookshelf in front of me. Shelving books at work was a brainless task, but I was grinding on empty today since I’d hardly gotten any sleep last night. When we’d arrived at the condo Nathan took me inside, got me settled while bitching the whole time that he had a spare room with a bed. It was sweet…and grating. After I’d kicked Nathan out of Dylan’s condo, I’d set the alarm and curled up on the sofa, just staring at the door. I knew it wasn’t my old apartment. I was safe at Dylan’s place. But I’d still felt that same rush of fear every time I heard a random creak or door shutting in an adjacent condo.
It didn’t help that Dylan hadn’t come home last night. I hadn’t seen him since he’d disappeared after getting that text. And his bed hadn’t been slept in either. I’d checked.
He also hadn’t replied to my text about our little biker visitor last night.
Or my other text this morning asking him what the hell was going on.
I had no clue what was going on. Dylan definitely owed me some answers.
“Madison? You okay?”
I jerked back into the present and found Elaine Perez, a fellow librarian, staring at me with that false sympathy she was so famous for.
“Yup. I’m fine. Just thinking about—” I glanced at the book in my hand. “Romeo and Juliet.”
“Oh really?” She raised an eyebrow in that infuriating way of hers. “What specifically about Romeo and Juliet? How hot Leonardo DiCaprio was in the movie?”
I tried not to roll my eyes. I didn’t get the whole Leo obsession—he seemed…soft to me. I preferred my guys have an edge or two. But I wasn’t gonna give Elaine the upper hand—I could talk about that play all day, any day. “Just how crazy it is that people trot out Romeo and Juliet like it’s an example of romance. It’s not. It’s a tragedy. They all die at the end. Not a romance. Shakespeare plays aren’t even categorized as romances. They’re comedies, histories, or tragedies. Not romance.”
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