by Celya Bowers
She helped her dad back to the couch. After she fetched him some aspirin and water, Madisyn made two calls. The first one was to the police. The second was to Aidan. That call took much longer to finish. Aidan wanted to talk to her father. After much debating, she let her father have the phone.
She waited patiently as her father regurgitated the events of the last hour. “I was waiting for baby girl to change so we could have our Saturday night date. I heard a noise in the garage and thought it was you, but it wasn’t.”
After a few nods, her father handed her the phone. “Aidan said he’ll be over in about an hour. I really like him.” He smiled rather smugly. “He’s dependable and you can count on him in a crisis. What did the cops say?”
“The usual. They’d send someone over in a while.”
* * *
Aidan set the phone on the counter carefully. In the mood he was in at the moment, he could have shattered the phone into a million tiny pieces. He cursed at the room. “Where the hell was that infernal ghost I’m paying three thousand dollars a day?”
He dialed Chase’s home number. Luckily his friend picked up on the first ring. Aidan didn’t get a chance to light into him. Chase beat him to the punch.
“How’s Mr. O’Riley? Cadence said he received a bump on the head.”
Aidan was furious and that was putting it mildly. “What the hell? Do you mean she was there and he still got hurt? What am I paying for?”
“Aidan,” Chase said in his most comforting voice, “you need to let me do my thing. Cadence said it wasn’t Darnell and it was two of them. They had come there to do more than just hit him on the head if he got in their way. They’d come to kidnap Madisyn. The intruders won’t be bothering anyone for a while. They’re in custody.”
Aidan took a deep breath. “There was a kidnapping attempt in Madisyn’s garage?” He rubbed his hands over his face. “Please tell me that you found Darnell at least.”
“I wish I could. Wherever he’s hiding, it’s the last place anyone would look. The cops should be at Madisyn’s in about ten minutes. The thugs have been taken into FBI custody for the time being.”
Aidan forced the thought process to communicate with his brain. “FBI?”
“Yeah?”
“Why? Isn’t it just breaking and entering since they didn’t kidnap Madisyn? ”
“Attempted kidnapping is still a crime. I wanted them out of the picture for a while. Maybe it’ll bring Darnell out of hiding.”
Aidan hoped this fiasco would be over soon.
“Don’t worry, Aidan,” Chase said. “It’s all taken care of. Now you need to get Madisyn out of that house. Darnell has definitely just upped his game and is not above causing her serious harm. Somehow he’s getting inside information on her. Any ideas?”
“I think I might know how,” Aidan said. His thoughts immediately centered on Keisha.
“Care to enlighten your attorney?”
“I don’t have enough proof, but I think I’ll have all the proof I need by next weekend at the opening of Kameron’s club. In fact, I know I’ll have the proof I need.”
Chase sighed. “Is this a subtle hint that I need to get bail money ready?”
“If it’s who I think it is, then yes, you’d better start channeling Johnny Cochran’s legal spirit.” Aidan ended the call. Then he made another call. The caller picked up on the fourth ring.
“This is Kam. How can I rock your world?”
Aidan hoped that this wouldn’t bite him in his butt. “Hey man, it’s Aidan.”
“What’s up, brother? You mean the little woman lets you talk to your boys?”
In a million years, Aidan would never consider Kameron one of his true friends. He used people. He’d used Aidan often enough when Kam’s wife suspected him of cheating, which he did on a daily basis. Aidan had always been the shield, but this time, he was going to do the using. “She’s not like that. I think I can make the club’s opening next weekend, if you can do a little favor for me.”
* * *
Madisyn watched the policemen inspect the garage with narrowed eyes. As a rule she didn’t have much interaction with the police.
They began their investigation by taping the entrance to her garage with crime scene tape. It looked more like a murder scene on TV than just a simple breaking and entering. Two uniformed police dusted her SUV, the garage door and the door leading into the house for prints.
A plainclothes detective drilled her like a repeat offender. “You say your father was hit with a blunt object?”
She folded her arms across her chest, since it seemed to occupy the detective’s interest at the moment. “Yes, I say, the paramedics say, my father says.”
He smiled. “Touché. Maybe the butt of a gun or a pipe or something?”
Madisyn grinned tightly. “I guess that qualifies as a blunt object. Now what are you going to do about it?”
He glanced around the room slowly. “I’d say it’s already been done. I would caution you not to stay here. I know you have a restraining order against Darnell Whitfield.”
Madisyn didn’t need a ton of bricks to fall on her, at least not now. She watched as Aidan’s black Escalade parked in the driveway next to the police cruiser. He was like a beacon in the storm of craziness. He was her shield from everything wrong in her life.
He walked up to her and took her in his arms. His strong embrace was exactly what she needed. The tears she’d been holding back since the police arrived broke free and she wailed like a baby.
* * *
Aidan took charge of the situation. He noticed the detective’s puzzled gaze. “What did you say to her?” The tone in his voice was unmistakable. And the fact that he topped the slender man by at least five inches helped.
“Mr. Coles, it’s a pleasure. I’m a big fan.” He took a deep breath as if transforming himself from neurotic fan to cop. “I was telling Ms. O’Riley that she needs to find other lodging until we can get Mr. Whitfield in custody.”
“My thoughts exactly. I trust this will be treated with discretion and the media won’t be alerted to my presence here.”
“Of course.” The officer resumed his work.
Aidan ushered Madisyn inside to where her father was resting on the couch. Aidan had to see for himself that the elder O’Riley was all right. Ben lay on the couch, a large bandage around his forehead.
“I’m glad to see you here, son,” Ben said, struggling to sit up. “This has been some kind of mess.”
Aidan nodded, noting the purple bruise under Ben’s eye. “Looks like you took the worst of it. You remember anything?” Aidan sat next to Madisyn on the love seat.
Ben sat up slowly, groaning in the process. “Yeah, bits and pieces. You know, I could have sworn I saw two people in the garage, but I guess whoever it was got scared.”
Aidan didn’t want to refute the man’s words out of respect for Madisyn. “You probably scared them away.” Aidan hated not being able to tell the truth, but he knew it was the only way to get Darnell to force his hand.
Madisyn was uncharacteristically quiet. She sat beside Aidan and held his hand in an iron grip. “I’m just glad you weren’t hurt any worse than you were, Daddy. I don’t know what I’d do if you were hurt.”
Aidan hugged Madisyn. “Now baby, we’re thankful for the blessing that it is. Ben will be just fine in a few days, and when it gets dark we’re going to take you out of here.”
She looked at him with teary eyes.
“Under the cover of darkness,” Aidan said. “If Darnell has someone watching the house, they’ll have a harder time seeing us.”
“It’s going to be all right, baby girl. Now usually I don’t cotton to this kind of arrangement, but that Darnell is a slippery fox and we need all the help we can get. So if you have to stay at Aidan’s for a while, I understand.”
If he’d had on a shirt with buttons, Aidan was sure every button would have popped off in pride, knowing that Ben trusted him with his only daughter.
* * *
Something wasn’t right. He could feel it in his bones. It had been three hours since Trev had checked in. All he had to do was knock the old man out and take Madisyn out of the house so he could talk to her. They were supposed to meet in the parking lot of the Dallas Mall thirty minutes ago. All he wanted was to talk some sense into her head without the pretty-boy professional football player in the picture.
He hoped nothing serious had happened to Trev or Dante. Trev was a two-time felon. If he was caught, he’d go straight to prison and he wouldn’t be getting out for a long time. Texas was a three-strike state and Trev would be out of luck. Dante didn’t have a prior record so, if they were caught, he would be okay.
He took out his cell phone and dialed Trev’s cell number one last time. If he’d chickened out or something, Darnell was going to have to go Plan C, and that was definitely going to land him in a whole lot of trouble.
He waited patiently as the phone rang continuously. Finally Trev picked up. Darnell was so rattled he didn’t realize he was yelling at his cousin. “Trev, where the hell are you? Are you trying to get me killed?”
“This ain’t Trev. He won’t be able to assist you, Mr. Whitfield. Why don’t you save us both some time and turn yourself in?” The call disconnected.
Darnell had always prided himself on being one step ahead of Aidan Coles’s high-priced attorney, but he hadn’t seen this one coming. He was almost sure that was Chase’s voice. Almost. He couldn’t imagine an attorney getting his hands dirty. Apparently he was getting help. Now it was time for Darnell to call in reinforcements. No more Mr. Nice Guy.
CHAPTER 23
Chase shook his head. How had something so simple in the beginning gone so wrong so quickly? Cadence had done her job without a doubt, but this was more than he’d signed on for.
The phone rang, jangling Chase’s already jittery nerves. Glancing at the display, he took a deep breath, answered the phone and spoke to the one person who could actually settle his nerves. “Cadence?”
“Hartman, we need to meet. Now.”
“Where?” He walked to the counter, looking for his car keys. After he located them, he headed to his garage, then stopped cold. “How the hell do you do that?” He stared at Cadence Callahan’s tall, sleek form. “This is supposed to be a high-security subdivision.” This was also the second time she’d breached his very expensive monitoring system.
She was dressed immaculately as always in a designer black suit and had had the nerve to park her lovely behind on the hood of his Jaguar. She slid off the car gracefully and walked to where he stood. Her honey-beige skin, compliments of her Irish father and African-American mother, glowed with irritation. “It’s nice seeing you, too, Hartman. I thought this would be better since your house is wired. The security guard has sold you out. He’s been listening in on your phone conversations through the intercom system inside your house and selling the information to Darnell.”
If Chase had been a less-than-honest attorney, he would have been a little nervous about his business being out there. But he was a good attorney with only one superstar football player for a client. No, Chase was pissed because of a worthless man trying to get away with everything. “I’m calling the board as soon as you leave.”
She shook her head. “Forget it. Already done. Darnell had refused to pay him, so he went to the police and told them everything, not realizing that he would also go to jail. The police just arrested him. That’s why I got in so easily this time. A source in the PD tells me that Darnell offered the guard a grand to keep tabs on your phone conversations, but kept stalling on the payment. Luckily, we set all the major parts of our plan in your office or Darnell would be home free.”
Chase leaned against the wall of the garage. “Not as long as I’m breathing. That asshole just made this very personal. He invaded my personal space.” He walked to his tool chest to retrieve his nine millimeter. Just as he opened the drawer where he kept his gun, he felt the unmistakable sensation of metal against the back of his neck.
“Chase, don’t make me have to use this. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if you hinder this investigation,” Cadence said. “I can’t have you gunning for Darnell. You’re going to have to be strong enough to trust me to do my job.”
She was right, of course. He also knew she meant every word. “All right, Cadence, but I need some real answers about earlier today.”
She smiled at him and holstered her gun. Then she did something totally out of character for the serious Cadence Callahan. She kissed him with those soft full lips of hers. “That, counselor, is privileged information.”
Chase’s usually sharp mind was actually blank. Well, maybe not blank, but his brain was still on that kiss. Cadence had had her tongue down his throat. In true Cadence fashion, she had taken the situation in her hands and dealt with it.
“Hartman, are you going to say anything or what?”
“Huh?” He wanted to say something sharp and astoundingly funny, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t get his brain wrapped around the fact that she had kissed him.
She invaded his personal space and wrapped her arms around him. “You know, I waited three years for you to bust a move and I was tired of waiting. Your lips looked soft and now that I’ve solved that mystery, I’ll be on my way.”
“You can’t leave,” Chase choked out.
“I think I can.”
Since this was the chance he’d been waiting on, Chase decided to state his case. “Cadence, you can’t kiss me like the plane is going down and then say you’re leaving. That is cruel and unusual punishment.”
“Let’s see what’s under the hood.” She kissed him with such force, he was slammed against the nearest wall and she started unbuttoning his shirt.
For the first time in a long time, Chase Hartman’s well-ordered life was not his own, and he liked it.
* * *
Later that evening, Madisyn let out a tired sigh. Her life wasn’t her own anymore. Not only did she not have her car, she wasn’t in her home and she didn’t get to have her date with her father.
Madisyn now resided in Aidan’s guest room. She glanced around the room as she unpacked her clothes. As rooms went, it was quite nice. A 32-inch plasma TV screen was mounted on the wall, she had a king-sized bed, and she had ample closet space. The room had a definite woman’s touch. What woman?
She sat on the bed deciding how to ask her new lover just who exactly had decorated his house. Did she even have the right? After all, he was going out of his way to help her and her family, just to keep her safe. Just suck it up, girl. It’s not your business, she told herself.
“Madisyn, can I come in?”
She rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. They’d been at Aidan’s for an hour and each time he knocked before he entered her room. “Come in, Aidan.”
He entered the room, walked to the bed and sat beside her. “Are you all settled in? Are you hungry?”
With all that had happened in the last few hours, the last thing on her mind was food. “No, thanks, Aidan. I think I’ll just turn in early.” She wanted to feel safe and there was only one way she could. In his arms.
“My door is always open, Madisyn. I didn’t want you thinking that sex was my motivation for getting you under my roof.”
She shook her head. “Aidan, I know you’re not like that. You have only my safety in mind, right?” She winked at him. True, he did invite her for her to be safe, but there were perks for being honorable.
He leaned over and kissed her. “If you want to sleep in my bed, you’ll get no argument from me.”
“I want to,” she said softly. “You’ve done so much for me in the name of keeping me safe.”
“Baby, you don’t have to keep thanking me.” He rose and headed for the doorway. “And don’t come to my bed because you think it’s for services rendered. I want you in my bed because that’s where you want to be and for no other reason.” He left the room without another word.
> Madisyn took a deep breath. Now she’d gone and done it. Aidan thought she wanted to sleep with him out of gratitude, which couldn’t have been farther from the truth. She strode down the hall to his bedroom, but he wasn’t there.
Where could he have gone so quickly? Hearing a loud noise and the mutterings of an angry man, she headed downstairs to the kitchen. He was standing at the counter, drinking a beer. He stared at her as she took a seat at the table.
He finished the beer and pulled another one from the fridge. “Change your mind?”
“I want, no, I need to talk to you.”
“Talk.”
“You don’t make this easy,” Madisyn said. “Aidan, I don’t do anything with you out of thanks. If I want to sleep with you, it’s because I feel safe in your arms. I feel you shield me from harm.”
“I’m not your shield, Madisyn. I’m your man. I do this because I want to keep you in my life and not for any other reason.”
She heard the conviction in his voice and it thrilled her heart. Without another thought she walked to where he stood, took the beer out of his hand and kissed him as if he were getting deployed to some unknown third world country and never to be seen again. When neither could breathe anymore, their lips parted. “Does that feel like I’m pitying you?”
Aidan grinned, wrapping her in a hug. “No, that feels like my baby.”
“Good. Now feed me.”
* * *
Chase woke from the best dream he’d ever had. He didn’t know what he’d done, but his body was making him pay. Every muscle hurt, but it was a good hurt. As he pried his eyes open, he heard the distinct sound of voices in his house. He threw back the covers on his bed wondering what he’d done yesterday. His always tidy bedroom was a hot mess, as his younger siblings would say. Clothes were scattered all over the hardwood floor. He put on his bathrobe and went downstairs. He grabbed the nearest object for protection, which was a hockey stick, and headed to where the voices were the loudest, the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, he walked inside the kitchen, then stopped cold. Cadence was standing at the counter cooking and talking on her cell phone! She was dressed in one of his shirts and looked as sexy as hell. The minute their eyes met, she cut her call short.