2 Good

by Celya Bowers

Darnell knew a loaded gun when he heard one. Keisha had been the greatest help in all this, but she was still his biggest mistake. “Keisha, you know exactly why I can’t walk into that dinner with anyone else but Maddie. My boss loves her. Thinks she’s the best thing since sliced bread. He likes the influence she has on my life. And if I plan on becoming senior investment banker, then partner, which is the goal here, I need Maddie.”

  “So why did you cheat on her? If she meant that much to you, why betray her in such a horrible way? Only an idiot would have messed up a good thing like that. Maddie would have done anything for you.”

  “What can I say? I’m a man. Too much temptation.”

  “And that’s why you’re planning on kidnapping your ex? Too much temptation? You do realize that’s a federal offense and you’ll go to jail?”

  He actually laughed. He knew he’d lost all rational thinking when he came up with this idea. “If I do, guess who’s going to be in a cell next to me?”

  “You don’t mean me? I don’t have nothing to do with this!”

  Darnell felt some of his cool coming back. “Yes, you do. You’ve supplied me with Maddie’s whereabouts. You are what’s called an accessory. And although you may not have committed the crime with me, you’re helping me. That gets you a free trip to the cell next to mine.”

  “Bastard,” Keisha spat.

  “Yes, I am. But you’re ten times worse. You slept with your best friend’s man. So you’re up to your waxed eyebrows in this mess.”

  Keisha sighed, realizing that she was sunk. “So what’s next?”

  “You’ve got to figure out if she’s home or not. If she’s not, you’re going to have to get her out somewhere alone, so I can make my move.”

  “I can’t do that. Maddie’s been my friend since junior high. She was my friend when no one else would speak to me. I just can’t.”

  “It’s either you give her up or you’re going to jail.”

  * * *

  Monday morning, Aidan awoke to the sounds of the shower. It was a little past six and Madisyn was already up. He leaned against the plush pillows and grinned. He could definitely get used to sleeping with her every night. Although they hadn’t made love the previous night, he felt closer to Madisyn. They’d talked into the night hours and fallen asleep in each other’s arms.

  He was thinking about joining Madisyn in the shower when the phone rang. He knew only one person would have the nerve to call this early in the morning. Looking at the caller ID, he saw he was correct. It was Chase. He snatched the phone up and put it to his ear. “Hey, man.”

  “Where’s Madisyn?”

  “Right now, she’s in the shower. You mean your ghost couldn’t tell you that? What happened to you yesterday?”

  “Huh? Oh, something came up. I had to take care of it. Nothing to do with you.”

  Chase was bum rushing him, giving answers before Aidan could form the question. “Chase, what’s going on? Is there a problem with what happened Saturday?”

  “No, man. If you must know, I had some woman problems and I had to set her straight,” he said.

  Aidan grinned. “Don’t tell me you’re actually dating someone? I thought work was your mistress?”

  “I wouldn’t call it dating. More like we hit it and she split,” Chase admitted. “Now can we get to the matter of your lady?”

  “All right, man. I get it. You don’t want to talk about it. You don’t have to talk about it. I can wait until you’re ready. Why do you want to know where Madisyn is?”

  “There’s been a strange car parked in front of her house since about four this morning. I ran the plates and it’s registered to Harvey Slade of Dallas, Texas. This guy’s got a criminal record a mile long. I can’t find a link between him and Darnell, but I’m sure there is one. If he has someone watching her house like that, he’s raising the stakes. Make sure she doesn’t go anywhere alone, not even for lunch. Make sure she doesn’t leave her work building. I can pull a few strings with the security force, but that only covers her if she’s in the building.”

  Aidan felt the conviction in Chase’s usually upbeat voice and knew instantly something had changed. “I’ll make sure she understands.”

  “Is her brother still driving her to work?”

  “I was thinking about taking her to work,” Aidan confessed. “Should we keep the old arrangement?”

  “Yes, so we can keep you out of it as much as possible. You never know who is watching when you drop her off. With the center nearing its grand opening, you don’t want any negative publicity.”

  “Right,” Aidan agreed. “The press would eat this up and that would defeat the purpose of the center.”

  “Exactly.”

  Aidan ended the call and waited for Madisyn to come out of the shower. He had hoped she would come out dressed in nothing but a towel, but his morning quickie thoughts were dashed when she came out tightening the sash on her silk bathrobe.

  She smiled at him. “Good morning, honey.” She leaned down and kissed him.

  He loved the way she smelled. He wanted to bury his face in her neck and work his way down her body. When he tried to put his plan into action, she backed away. “I don’t have time for that, Aidan. Mike will be here in less than an hour.”

  “You don’t want me to take you to work?” Although Mike was the designated driver, Aidan was still hurt.

  “Mike and I thought it was best to keep to the original plan. I don’t want people noticing that Aidan Coles is dropping me off at work on a regular basis.”

  He nodded. “You’re right, baby. I wanted to take you, but Chase said exactly the same thing. He said some guy has been camped out in front of your house. Do you know a Harvey Slade?”

  Madisyn shook her head. “The name doesn’t ring a bell. What kind of car was it?” She sat down on the bed. “Maybe I would recognize the car.”

  “Chase didn’t say, but I’ll check. He said that Slade was from Dallas.”

  Madisyn sat there, her hands clasped together in her lap. Tears filled her eyes. “This only going to get worse, isn’t it?”

  He moved closer to her, drawing her into his arms. “Baby, we’re in this together. With all the security I have in place, I know we’ll catch him before he can get anywhere near you. We just have to stay on our toes.”

  She wiped her eyes. “I wish I could just stay here forever and never go outside.”

  Aidan stroked her hair. “You’ll get no argument from me.”

  “You know I can’t do that, Aidan, don’t you? I have responsibilities at work and I have to finalize things for the grand opening gala in a few weeks. In a way, I’m glad I have something else to focus on now.”

  “How’s the gala coming?” He continued stroking her hair and shoulders. He’d never thought love would feel so comforting.

  She sniffed and sat up. “Pretty good. I’m ordering the food this weekend. Mom wants to try out a few more catering places this week. And before you ask, Mike has volunteered to accompany us.” She took a deep breath and gazed at him with those pretty green eyes. “Don’t think I don’t appreciate all that you’ve done, because I do. I just miss being able to be on my own some of the time.”

  Aidan wanted to lay her cares to rest. “I understand about being independent, baby, I really do. But we’re going to have to be careful right now.” He wanted to show her that he truly understood. He hoped the ghost would be able to keep up with her when she was out alone. “You can drive my SUV whenever you want. If you’d rather drive a car, I have a BMW, too.” He wished he could take the words back, since he’d never mentioned it before.

  She shot him a look. “I’ve never seen it.”

  “Because it’s kept at my condo downtown.” He had just opened a major can of worms. He was going to have to explain why he had another place to live when he had this large house. “Madisyn, I can explain.”

  “You don’t have to, Aidan. We aren’t married. If you want to tell me, that’s fine, but don’t feel you have
to tell me something you obviously didn’t mean to slip out.” She walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

  Aidan listened to the quiet until it was shattered by the quiet sobs of the woman he loved. Now he was really in a kettle of hot boiling water and there was only one way out.

  * * *

  Get over it, girl, she told herself. So he’s got another place, big deal. You know he hasn’t been there, so what’s the problem?

  Madisyn gathered her dignity and looked at her reflection in the large bathroom mirror. She was over-reacting, she knew, but what did she expect? Perfection?

  Yes, she did. She wanted him to be her shield, but in reality she was her own shield. When it came down to it, it was her life hanging in the balance, not Aidan’s, Chase’s or those of the mysterious security team.

  After she finished her morning routine, she left the security of the bathroom. Aidan wasn’t in bed anymore. In fact, he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. She guessed he’d gone downstairs. She went to the closet, retrieved a black suit, a cream-colored blouse and her sensible shoes. Keisha would hate the entire outfit. She chuckled.

  “What’s so funny?” Aidan asked, walking into the room.

  “Nothing,” Madisyn said. “I’m going to change.” She headed for the bathroom.

  “Why can’t you change here? I mean, I’ve seen you nude before.”

  “You want to watch me get dressed for work?” Madisyn didn’t know if it was sexy, crazy, or he just wanted to get her mind off the condo thing.

  “Yes, I do. I know, it sounds a little out there, doesn’t it?” Aidan shook his head. “I’ve never asked a woman to get dressed in front of me before. It’s something about you.”

  Madisyn decided it was somewhere between sexy and crazy, but leaning more toward sexy. Since she already had on her bra and panties, he wouldn’t get to see that much. As she started to dress for work, he started explaining about the condo.

  “Chase suggested I buy a place in town to take my dates to. I didn’t want people knowing my address. That seemed the best way to do it.”

  “You needed a place to take your dates,” Madisyn said calmly. “I understand, Aidan. There are a lot of women out there who will do just about anything to get a professional athlete. You never know who’s psycho and who’s not. So how did I rate a trip to your house and not the condo?”

  “You were different from the start. I felt it. I’m sure you did, too. I feel closer to you than most of the guys I’ve been playing ball with since college. For the record, I haven’t been in the condo for months. I was thinking of putting it on the market.”

  She was completely finished dressing by the end of his story. “Thank you, Aidan. But you shouldn’t sell ’cause you think it’s what I want. That’s part of you.”

  He stood and walked to her, hugging her hard against his body. “But it’s not part of us.”

  Madisyn thought her knees wouldn’t support her much longer. She held onto Aidan. “Really?”

  “Yes, baby. This is about us. I’ll have the car brought here so you can have something to drive, but I do have one rule.”

  She smiled, already knowing what he was going to say. “I know I can’t go anywhere alone. One of my brothers or you must be in the car, right?” She kissed him softly.

  “Right.” He kissed her hard and long, easing her down on the bed and covering her with his body.

  Madisyn toyed with the idea of a morning quickie, but the doorbell halted all those wicked, naughty thoughts. “Mike is early,” she said against his lips.

  Aidan kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll go let him in.” He left the room, leaving Madisyn to collect herself.

  After she straightened her clothes and fixed her makeup and hair, she grabbed her purse, heading down the hall. She heard both her brother and Aidan in the kitchen laughing about something. The laughter stopped when she entered the kitchen.

  “Okay, what is it?”

  Mike smiled at her. “Nothing. The security guard was telling me how some guy tried to bribe his way in a few weeks ago. It sounded like Darnell. I told Aidan it was nice to know some people can’t be bought.”

  “Oh,” Madisyn said. “Yeah, that’s nice to know.”

  CHAPTER 26

  After her brother dropped her off at work that morning, Madisyn had had nothing but one surprise after another. First of all when she reached her desk, she found a dozen red roses in a crystal vase waiting for her. She knew they were from Aidan, but how could he have had them delivered so quickly?

  She looked at the card and her heart started beating out of control. They weren’t from Aidan, they were from Darnell. He wasn’t stupid enough to sign his name, but the one sentence on the card spoke volumes. Don’t think I can’t still get you.

  With shaky hands she dialed Aidan and told him. Funny how he could make her feel better over the phone. “I can be there in twenty minutes, baby. You should take the rest of the day off.”

  “No, that’s what he wants me to do. He wants me to run scared, but it’s not going to happen. That was the old Madisyn. The new Madisyn isn’t having that kind of mess anymore. I just wanted to tell you. Thank you so much for listening.” She noticed Keisha walking in her direction. “I love you, Aidan.”

  “I love you, too, baby. If you need me, call me. I’ll be there quicker than lightning.”

  “I appreciate that, honey. Talk to you later.” She ended the call just as her friend reached her.

  “I heard you got some flowers.” Keisha entered her cubicle and took a seat in the chair. “Who sent them?”

  Madisyn didn’t like the feeling she was getting from her friend. “Like you don’t know,” Madisyn accused.

  “It could have been the football player thanking you for working on his charity board or something. Darnell, most likely. Sounds like he’s ready to act right, girl.”

  “Too little, too late. Darnell will never change. He was cheating on me for so long, I guess I started blocking it out of my head, ignoring all the signs.”

  Keisha toyed with one of the roses. “Well, maybe he knows what a good woman you are. You know you guys belong together. This way he can take you to that dinner and he can get that promo and you can move forward.”

  “What’s in this for you? You’ve been singing his praises since I finally broke up with him. When I was with him, you could never say anything good about him. You used to call him a sellout.”

  Keisha shrugged. “People change, Maddie. You should know that. You’ve changed a lot in the last few weeks. It’s like aliens came and took over your body and put a spunkier, sexier Madisyn in your place.”

  Madisyn thought about the changes in her life in the last two weeks and realized that although she’d had Darnell for two years, she didn’t love him. She loved Aidan. “Maybe not aliens. I just made a few changes. The first one was not to take the idiot back again. Let’s talk about something else.”

  “How about lunch at the pub across the street? We could walk, ’cause I know you didn’t bring your car.”

  “Where’s your car?”

  “My sister borrowed it.”

  Madisyn knew Keisha loved her car more than her sister and would never let her younger sister borrow her car. “I can’t do lunch today.”

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you didn’t want to be seen with your friend. Is that it?”

  “Keisha, you know that’s not true. I have some work to do. We can do something later in the week.” Madisyn hoped lightning didn’t strike her for lying.

  “How about going out this Saturday night? I think I talked Chayla into going. Unfortunately, I think she’s bringing Jared with her.”

  “I think it’s cute that they’re still crazy about each other after being married for so long. You’re just hatin’ on her for no reason.”

  Keisha grinned at her. “I heard a lot of Dallas Cowboys are going to be there, and I want to make sure I get seen. I don’t want anyone messing up my game, including you.” She left t
he cubicle.

  Madisyn thought about Keisha’s departing words and wondered at them. Could Keisha really mean her harm? Did she really want to find out?

  * * *

  That evening when she arrived at Aidan’s house, he had a surprise for her. The car had arrived as promised, but that wasn’t the dealmaker. Aidan had cooked or, more likely, he had purchased a meal from his favorite restaurant. Either way, the house smelled wonderful.

  The table was already set. Wine greeted her as she took a seat at the table. She waited for Aidan. He soon arrived with a plate of chicken spaghetti and placed it in front of her. “I hope you like this. It’s my mom’s recipe. This is the first time I tried to make it.”

  It smelled good and looked even better. He also brought in a salad and garlic bread. “This looks great, Aidan.” She took a bite and moaned. “This is delicious. Tell your mom I’m going to need the recipe for this.”

  He sat down and began eating. “You can tell her yourself in a few weeks.”

  “That’s right. I’m going to have to have a long chat when they get here. What do they usually do when they’re here?”

  Aidan lowered his head. “Actually, this is the first time Lester has been to Dallas. Mom has been here loads of time.”

  “You made your mother choose between you and your stepfather? How could you?”

  “Baby, I didn’t make her choose anything. Lester knew he was welcome in my house ’cause he’s so good to my mom, but something always came up.”

  She looked up from her plate and studied him carefully. “Couldn’t you tell that he was hurting inside? You have so much to make up for, Aidan. Lester must have a heart the size of Texas.”

  “He does. He’s a good guy and loves my mom to pieces. He treats her like a queen. Always has. I won’t bore you with the horrid details but when we left my dad and we moved in with Lester, he was always telling me how much our dad still loved us.”

  Madisyn nodded, respecting his privacy. “I know that must have been a trying time for you, but you see now who really cares for you, don’t you?”

  “And how. I don’t eat crow often, but I know I will be eating plenty of it when I do talk to him.”