The Key To Micah's Heart (Hell Yeah!)

by Sable Hunter

  “No chance of that,” she answered.

  He touched his lips to the top of her hair and left.

  Taking out the trash…

  Micah wasn’t tired anymore. He felt like he could turn the world upside down. Whipping Rudy’s ass was something he could handle alone. The rest…he was going to need a little help. “Hannah, honey, this is Micah. I need you to do something for me.”

  “You name it. Kyle’s kept me abreast of the situation and I want you to know that we support you a thousand percent. What can I do?”

  “I need you to go to the hospital and sit with Madison. I’m going to be gone for a few hours. There’s a man I need to see about a horse.”

  Hannah laughed. “Micah, you’re talking to a girl from the barrio. No further explanation needed.”

  “Thanks. She’s on the third floor, Seton on 183, room number 310. I want you to tell her that I’ll be back as soon as I can. It might be a few hours. I’ll have to get cleaned up and then there’s a stop or two I want to make.”

  “You got it, Micah. When things get settled down, I want to visit with you and Avery about the book tour. I hear it was a riot.”

  Micah groaned. “I love my fans, but I am not cut out for stuff like that.”

  “I can just imagine. Do you think Madison would like to meet Paulo? I’ll bring his nanny and if he gets fussy, they can come home.”

  “I think she’d love that.” He smiled. “And Hannah…she’s not too happy with me right now. I messed up, but know this... I love her so much it hurts and I’m going to convince her of that if it’s the last thing I ever do.”

  By the time he was through speaking to the Governor’s wife, Micah was pulling up to an old green and white building with a six-foot neon raised hand in front, declaring ‘Madame Rosa knows all and tells all.’

  “Yea, for a price.” Rudy wasn’t going to be needing a fortune teller to give him any advice. By the time Micah finished with him and the cops picked him up, he’d hopefully spend the rest of his sorry life in prison.

  Jet came walking up to Micah as soon as he stepped out of his black car. “I’m ready.”

  “Listen to me, closely,” Jet said. “The warehouse is dark. We’ve watched both exits. Douglas is in there by himself. I advise you to say nothing. Keep him out of the light from the windows and remember to leave the cops something to prosecute.”

  “He’ll accuse me, Jet, but I don’t give a rat’s ass.”

  “Let him. Right now, Micah Wolfe is in a meeting with Governor Kyle Chancellor and Secretary of State Destry Cartwright discussing the Austin Book Fest of 2017.”

  “Well, I hope Mr. Wolfe behaves himself in such fine company.”

  “Go get him, man.” Jet slapped Micah on the back. “Leave your car here and take that alley. Saxon and Tyson will be close by.”

  Micah did just as Jet directed. Every step he took seemed to fire up his determination to prove to Madison that he would do anything in his power to make her happy. This man, Rudy Douglas, would never harm a hair on her head again.

  When he was a few yards away from the old building, he heard a whistle. Darting to one side he saw Tyson. “Still a go?” he asked, finding Ty leaning against his ancient Jeep.

  “Yea, he’s holed up in there with a fifth of whiskey.”

  “Good. You keep a watch for me.”

  “If I see anything, I’ll toot the horn three times and you skedaddle out the back. Saxon is waiting for you out there. As soon as you finish, we’ll call a tip into the cops and no one will be the wiser. Saxon’s got a program in place that will make the call untraceable and his voice unrecognizable.”

  “What would I do without you guys?” Micah gave Tyson a hug. Yea, he might get cross-ways with them occasionally, but these men were his family.

  Micah walked the rest of the way with confident strides. The task at hand would be a pleasure.

  He opened the door slowly, not wanting to give Rudy any forewarning. As Jet had said, the interior was almost as black as night. He could smell the dust of a hundred Texas summers. The lights were so high in the three story building, that any illumination they gave in the fading afternoon could be easily avoided. Sticking to the shadows, he walked a few steps, then stopped to listen.

  Soon, Rudy Douglas gave himself a way with a great big sneeze.

  “Thank you, dust.”

  He changed his course and walked deeper into the cavernous warehouse. As his eyes adjusted to the dimness, Micah was glad he’d had a haircut. The change gave him a slightly different look. As he neared, he saw the scumbag sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. The idea that this was the moron who’d been raining down bricks on unsuspecting drivers infuriated him. The fact that he’d hurt Madison was unforgivable.

  Without a word, he marched up to the man, seized him by the collar of his shirt and hauled him to his feet.

  “What the hell?” A stunned Rudy asked.

  Micah didn’t bother to answer his question. He just drew back his fist and punched the worm right in the mouth. The sound of his teeth rattling gave Micah extreme satisfaction. Rudy squirmed, trying to get away, but Micah didn’t give him a chance. He landed a second blow to Rudy’s jaw, followed by an uppercut that knocked a cursing grunt from bloodied lips.

  “Who are you?”

  Micah answered silently, ‘your worst nightmare’. He didn’t stop when he could have. Rudy was too drunk to fight back. But this wasn’t a fight, this was punishment. So, Micah landed a few more blows until Rudy was on his knees coughing blood. Only then did he begin to back out, leaving as silently as he came.

  But something stopped him. He wanted Rudy to know someone loved Madison enough to fight for her.

  Going back, he hauled Rudy up one more time. Taking him around the neck, he squeezed the asshole like Rudy had choked Madison.

  While he was gasping for breath, Micah whispered. “This was for Madison; you piece of shit.” Then, he threw him down – walked out into the night and took a cleansing breath of fresh air.

  “Micah, over here.” Saxon whispered. “Get the job done?”

  “It’s taken care of.”

  “Good.” Saxon picked up his phone, placed an anonymous call to the police and the deed was done.

  The Key to Micah’s Heart…

  On the drive to Johnson City, Micah found a new appreciation for his writerly skills. He’d penned enough stories to know the value of the climactic scene. What he had to do in the next couple of hours was set the stage for the most important question he’d ever ask. Micah intended to make sure that Madison had no doubt of his love and he intended to do it in a way that would touch her heart and make saying ‘no’ to his proposal an impossibility.

  In other words, he was going to pull out all the stops. Women loved romance and Madison was no different. Looking back over their history, he knew the lock he’d given her at the shelter had somehow become symbolic of their relationship. He understood that, it had become meaningful to him also. In a way, both of them had locked their feelings away.

  Afraid to trust.

  Afraid to open up.

  Afraid to make themselves vulnerable again.

  But somehow, fate had brought them together at the one place where Micah let his guard down. That one night out of the year, Micah let his true feelings hover near the surface. He left the door to his heart open just a crack–and, lo and behold, as the fairy tales read–Madison appeared and nothing had been the same since.

  He could still remember the look on her face as they’d fastened that old lock on the fence at the bridge in Paris. If she tried to deny that she loved him, he wouldn’t believe it. She’d shown him how she felt in countless ways.

  Now it was his turn to show her how he much he loved her.

  Driving up to his ranch, he hopped out, knowing he couldn’t waste any time. He didn’t ignore Thunderpunch, he wouldn’t allow that. But he did feed him in record time and hit the showers to make himself presentable. When he emerged t
o get dressed, his eyes cut to the bed. When he’d been in here earlier, he hadn’t noticed the old lock lying on top of the suitcase.

  “Damn,” he breathed.

  She’d found it.

  He didn’t know what she’d made of it, but he would bet his life it wasn’t good.

  No matter, he’d fix this.

  Dressing quickly, he took the lock in hand and headed back to Austin. He had some shopping to do.

  At Seton Center, Madison was feeling better. No one could feel down around Hannah. She was a hoot and a half. Even the Governor had been by to check on his wife and ‘their patient’ as he called it. Neither one could give her any information on Micah, other than he was taking care of business concerning her accident. She hoped he wouldn’t try to get her old car fixed again. Madison hadn’t seen it, of course, but she doubted if anything on the old rattletrap was salvageable.

  What the First Couple had told her of Micah was enlightening. Tale after tale of the Equalizer’s adventures, funny stories, and sad stories from the war – all designed to convince her that Micah Albert Wolfe was a good man.

  Well, she had news for them. Madison already knew he was a good man.

  She loved him with her whole heart. There was no denying that fact.

  She just wasn’t convinced she was the right woman for Micah.

  The very people he’d asked to watch after her was fairly good proof she was playing out of her league.

  What other patient could boast of the Governor and his wife playing nursemaid for them?

  “Really, you two need to go on home. I’m fine,” she told them for the third time.

  Kyle checked his phone. “Soon. The Wolfe’s on his way. He just has another stop to make.”

  Kyle didn’t let the cat out of the bag. Micah was at a jewelry store making an important purchase. The Wolfe said he’d called eight different jewelers before finding exactly what he wanted.

  “We promised him we’d take care of you. Paulo’s already in bed and we’ve got nothing to do, old married couple that we are.” Hannah fluffed her pillow.

  “Paulo is a doll. Micah showed me the photos from his birthday party. You must be so proud.”

  They made small talk for a few more minutes, until Madison saw the door move. Her heart began to pound.

  “Look who’s here.” Kyle rose. “How’d things go?” Kyle asked evasively.

  “I took out the trash and cleaned myself up. Thanks for staying with my girl.”

  “It was our pleasure.”

  “Thank you two for taking care of me. I enjoyed getting to know you.” Madison was sincere, giving Hannah a hug.

  Once they’d gone, she felt shy. Micah kept giving her heated glances as the night nurse came in to check her vitals. He was carrying a brightly colored bag. She hoped he hadn’t spent too much at the gift shop.

  “You’re back,” she said inanely once they were alone. “It’s late. You should have rested. You must be exhausted.”

  “I feel fine. Now that I’m back with you.”

  Damn the torpedoes.

  Full steam ahead.

  Moving to the bed, he invaded her space, framing her face and feasting on her lips. He was relentless, pouring every bit of the love and devotion he felt for her into the embrace.

  Madison couldn’t help it, she kissed him back. Sensing her surrender, Micah deepened the kiss, ending it only when they needed to breathe.

  “God, I love you,” he whispered. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you too, but then you knew that.” Madison sighed. “I think we need to talk.”

  “Okay. Actions speak louder than words, but I’ll have the rest of my life to prove to you how I feel.” He caressed the soft skin of her neck. “When I get you home, we’ll play show and tell. I’ll show you how much I adore you and you can tell me how good it feels.”

  “Micah, please,” she fought her own desire. “You’re not playing fair. I want to discuss what I heard you and Saxon talking about.”

  “There’s nothing to discuss,” Micah assured her. “Saxon was wrong and I was too slow on the uptake to defend you like you deserved. Like I said, if you’d waited just a few more moments, you would’ve heard me challenge the stupid things he accused you of.”

  “But I don’t know where those charges came from, all I can tell you is that they didn’t happen.” She felt helpless, afraid something else she didn’t expect would crop up.

  “Well, I know where they came from.” Micah sat down on the edge of the bed. “I wanted to prove to Saxon that you were as innocent and wonderful as I knew you to be. I went to the Detective who filed those reports and talked to him. I showed him your photo and after a few minutes, the truth came out.”

  “What?” Madison’s worry showed all over her face. “Tell me.”

  Micah took her hand. “This may hurt you. The only thing I can promise you is that I won’t give them the chance to ever hurt you again.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Your mother was picked up several times off the streets for one thing or the other.” He refused to say the word ‘prostitution’. There was no use rubbing salt in her already wounded heart. “And to protect herself, she used your name.”

  Madison gasped. “My mother gave my name to the police?”

  Micah had no trouble defining the emotions crashing through Madison. Realizing a mother was willing to jeopardize her own child to save herself was a bitter pill to swallow.

  “Your mother has led a hard life.” Micah could think of no kinder thing to say.

  “You believed in me?” she asked, finally comprehending that Micah hadn’t rested until he’d uncovered the truth.

  “Yes, I absolutely do. We’re going to try and get your mother some help and Rudy has been arrested for attempted murder and will be investigated for the death in Fort Worth, not to mention the other rock-throwing incidents here in Austin. He won’t be around to threaten you anymore.”

  Madison’s body went limp with relief. “I guess I was lucky.”

  A chill swept over Micah. “When I think how it could’ve turned out, I can’t breathe.” Taking Madison’s hand in his, he turned it over in his, kissing the palm. “I have a question to ask you.”

  Madison began to shiver. “You’re making me nervous.”

  “Don’t be.” He gave her a big smile. “It’s all good.” Reaching into the bag, he took out a box. “Here, open this.”

  The box bore the name of an area jeweler, but it was far too big to be a ring box. Opening it slowly, she saw a mound of tissue paper.

  Delving beneath the fragile pink paper, she gasped. “Our lock.” She held it tightly in her hand. “I found this in your suitcase. I was going to ask you about it, but then I heard you and Saxon talking. I thought you’d taken it down before we left Paris because you didn’t…love me. I thought you just let me put up the lovelock because you couldn’t tell me no.”

  Micah laughed. “I’ll probably always have a hard time telling you no. But this lock means a lot to both of us. And since it’s broken and we don’t have the key...” He pulled out another one. “I bought you this one to replace it.”

  He gently laid a beautiful lock in her hand, it was no ordinary padlock. This one was sterling silver and engraved with their names. Micah Wolfe loves Madison Fellows. Below it was a small etching of the Eiffel Tower. “Oh, Micah. It’s beautiful.”

  “We’ll put it in a glass box like I kept Colton’s notebook in.”

  She smiled, placing it against her heart. “That makes it precious.”

  “No. The lock only represents how precious you are to me.”

  “Oh, Micah!” She threw her arms around his neck. “I love you so much. I’ve loved you for so long.”

  “As long as you love me forever.” He kissed the tears from her cheeks. “Dig deeper in the box, there’s something else.” She sniffed and set to digging in the paper, pieces of the confetti like tissue raining every which a way. “Easy there. You are
n’t digging to China.”

  His teasing didn’t slow her down. And when she found the ring box, she cried. “Oh, Micah. Is this what I think it is?”

  His answer was to go down on one knee.

  “Oh, no.” She looked at herself. “I’m in a hospital gown with no makeup. Don’t ask me now!”

  Micah shook his head. “Yes, now. I’m not letting one more day go by before I make sure I have my ring on your finger. I want to lock this deal up air tight.”

  He took the box from her and opened it.

  Madison couldn’t believe her eyes. “Oh, how gorgeous!”

  A beautiful white gold ring with a setting of diamonds twinkled up at her. The jewels were set so there was a tiny keyhole in the middle and a small key charm hung off to one side.

  “If you don’t like it, we’ll get you anything you want.” He stared at her face. She was going to cry again. “I promise.”

  “Oh, no. I love it.” She held out her hand. “Put it on me.”

  “Madison Alicia Fellows, I give you the key to my heart. Will you marry me?”

  “Yes, yes! A thousand times yes!”

  He slipped the ring on her finger and then she propelled herself into his arms, coming off the bed.

  As soon as he held her close, Micah felt a sense of peace envelop him. This was right.

  This was home.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN - EPILOGUE

  A Long Time Coming…

  “Keep me informed, Micah. I want to know everything. My mother’s home, but this won’t be over for either one of us until the men responsible for those women’s death are brought to justice.” Noah sat in Aron’s study sipping on a shot of tequila. The drink seemed appropriate after all the Mexican food they’d been eating.

  “We won’t let up, Noah.” Micah assured him. “I can promise you that much. There’s a trap being set to catch them as we speak. Kyle doesn’t give up on those things, you know that.”

  “Yes, the Equalizers saved my brother and my mother. I have every reason in the world to trust you. I hear congratulations are in order?”