Trace shook his head no. “I was exaggerating. But there is a cleaning crew twice a week just for the damn pool. Did I mention the ankle bitter?”
Lex roared with laughter.
“Seriously, if you need any help, you know how to find me,” Lex said with a familiar tone.
Trace gave Lex a short nod. They never had to say much when it came to watching each others back.
Nate came running up with a big smile pasted on his face. “Oh man. You aren’t going to believe who’s here!”
“Beyonce?” Lex asked and rolled his eyes.
“Better!” Nate said with the squeal of a school boy.
“It’s probably Madison Jordan,” Trace said and rubbed his eyes.
Nate’s grin faded. “How’d you know?”
Chapter 7
Madison’s heart pounded madly as she pressed her back against the wall. She hadn’t expected to see Trace outside and wondered if he knew she had snuck out of the house. She watched as he stalked out to his motorcycle and raised one leg high to straddle it.
Wicked thoughts danced wildly through her mind on his ability to straddle so incredibly well that when the engine roared to life, she covered a gasp. He probably had super-hearing and would have dragged her back into the house.
She watched as he gazed up at the house. Madison followed his line of vision and almost teared up when she realized it was towards her room. She wanted to call out to him but embarrassment from earlier kept her silent. Though only a moment passed, it seemed forever before he rode off.
Madison tip-toed over to Carol’s car and slid in before shutting the door with a quiet click. She took several deep breaths to calm her racing pulse, started the engine and drove towards the gate. The guard waved her through without stopping her. She had to remember to thank Carol later for the scarf to cover her hair. She returned the wave and set off for her adventure.
Madison drove around aimlessly studying the houses around her, the twinkling lights of the city and the solitude of a deserted road. This was just what she needed.
She always enjoyed being alone with her thoughts. She would close her eyes and imagine that she was someone else with a different career; a nurse; a secretary with a demanding boss who couldn’t function without her; an astronaut.
A wife.
Madison gazed up at the stars and sighed deeply. Her life had never been more complicated than it was right now. Forget the crazy stalker apparently trying to kill her, she’d found herself drowning in her feelings for the most infuriating, incredible man. She imagined that life would be one adventure after another with Trace. She loved adventures too.
Madison heard a loud popping sound and the car began to shake. A tire on Carol’s car had gone flat ending her own adventure. She coasted as far as the bumpy ride would let her before ending up on the side of the road. Great. Just great.
She snagged her purse and dug through it until she found her cell phone. She flipped open the top only to discover yet another bump in her road. “No Signal?” Madison groaned out loud and after yanking up the antenna and shifting around the car in attempt to get a signal, she got out.
Madison examined the tire and after checking out the trunk, she made a mental note to get lessons on how to change a flat.
Tucking her purse under her arm, she wandered down the dimly lit highway, keeping track of the bars on her phone in hopes of getting a signal for her phone. Faint music caught her attention and she noticed a small building up ahead. Hopefully they would have a phone she could use.
A few minutes later, she stood at the edge of the parking lot. A row of motorcycles stood in the back while various types of pick up trucks and semi-trucks were parked haphazardly in the gravel lot. Could this get any worse?
Squaring her shoulders, she strode to the door and giving it a hard yank, found herself on the doorstep of a small bar. It was smoky and very loud. Taking a linen handkerchief from her pocket, she covered her mouth and wandered up to the bar.
“Excuse me,” Madison said in a loud voice. The bartender either ignored her or didn’t hear her. Giving a good clearing of her throat, she spoke louder. “Excuse me.”
The bartender glanced up from cleaning a glass and eyed her suspiciously. “What’ll it be babe?”
Babe? “Yes, do you have a phone that I might use?”
“Pay phone is back by the john.”
Madison wrinkled her nose. She hadn’t heard the bathroom referred to as “the john” in the longest time. She also noticed his finger pointed to the back of the bar. No way was she wandering through this place.
“Yes, well I was hoping you had a phone up here that I could borrow. Just for a minute or two.”
“Lady, the phone in the back is for the public. The phone up here is for the staff. And I don’t see you wearing my t-shirt so that means you don’t work here and you can’t use this phone.”
Madison swallowed hard. She could do this. She wasn’t helpless. She was an Academy Award nominee after all.
“I could pay you.” She allowed her voice to sound husky and slightly seductive as she had in a film a few years ago. Of course, that was scripted to work.
The bartender’s eyes lit up. “Really? How much?”
Madison discretely looked in her purse and pulled out a bill. “Twenty dollars?”
“Done.”
Whew. That was easy enough. She handed him a fifty dollar bill. “Do you have change?”
The bartender grunted. “Let me check.” He turned and wandered down the bar.
The sound of breaking glass and bottles being brought together in toast jolted her back to the reality she was facing at the moment. Please just let me get through this and I swear I’ll be good, she thought and experienced real fear. She could just imagine Trace finding her here. She gave a nervous laugh at that thought.
A small shot glass slammed down in front of her filled with an amber colored liquid. Swallowing hard, Madison followed the length of a tattooed arm up to a large man. A very large man. Oh boy.
“How about a drink, honey?”
“No thank you,” Madison said and covered her face with her hankie.
“Why not? You too good to drink with me or are you just afraid?”
The latter was closer to the truth than he knew and she figured admitting to the first would only insult him.
“Of course not,” she retorted, trying in vain to sound tough. “I’m just not, thirsty, right now.”
A small group gathered around Madison then. She wanted to rush screaming from the bar and for a moment thought about Trace. Where was he when she really needed him?
The crowd laughed. “Come on toots, drink with us. House rules for new comers at Del’s.”
Madison wet her lips under her hankie then stuffed it down towards her pocket, not noticing that it fell to the floor. “Very well, then. Cheers.” She lifted the shot glass and closing her eyes, downed the fiery drink.
Her scarf slipped from her head while she coughed. The drink blazed down her throat and set up a camp fire in the pit of her stomach while her eyes watered in protest. Carefully she set the glass down and gave a pained smile. Surprisingly, a cheer rose from the crowd. She grinned at how her blood warmed from the liquor.
“Set em up barkeep! My treat!” Was that really her voice? She giggled and waved off the phone the bartender set down before her to make room for another glass of the liquid with kick. Another cheer rose from the crowd as several shot glasses were passed around then clinked together. Splashes of alcohol spilled out and decorated her scarf, now around her shoulders.
Madison watched people tipping their heads back with a jerk and slam their glasses on the bar top. If in Rome, she thought and with a toss back of her head, she joined the slamming of shot glasses on the bar top with a smile.
“This is way better than champagne,” Madison said between wide grins and gales of laughter. She leaned into the arm that had quickly snaked around her shoulder and urged him to join her in a slow sway ba
ck and forth to an old ‘80s rock ballad playing in the background. This wasn’t so bad.
Another round of drinks that she volunteered to pay for appeared, this time in the form of beer bottles and foamy topped mugs. Madison chose a bottle figuring some where in the back of her mind that it had to be cleaner than the glassware.
More cheers rose along with the frosty, beer filled mugs. She swore to use the phone once she finished this drink. Her taste buds were numb. That had to be the only way she could sip the golden liquid that didn’t mix too well with the shots from before.
Oh God, she was seeing things. Is that what alcohol did to you? Because she swore she saw Trace’s angry face standing right in front of her.
Oh God, she was going to be sick.
“Time to go,” Trace said and held his hand out to Madison.
He had almost run Nate over trying to get across the room to the crowd that had gathered around the bar. There was no way that his Madison was here at Del’s. She was safe and sound at home.
His protective instincts kicked in seeing her surrounded by bikers and truckers. Watching Madison tipping back the beer bottle scared him. Seeing the thug who had harassed him earlier put his arm around her made him see red. The few steps left between them could have been miles instead of the few feet it really was. His heart raced while his palms itched to curl up and bash the drunken biker wannabe until he didn’t move.
Was she crazy? How the hell had she gotten here? He made mental notes to fire a security guard or two when they got back.
This was so out of control. Trace stopped in front of Madison and took a long, deep breath and with all the strength he could muster, held his temper in check. He had to. Madison was in the middle of danger and without his wits, so was he.
He had to get her the hell out of here before something dangerous exploded. Like his rage.
Of course, it wasn’t going to be easy. It never was where she was concerned. And he loved her for it.
Damn.
“Trace?” Madison’s voice slurred further raising the bar on the trouble about to ensue.
“Let’s go,” Trace said and pulled her to her feet.
“Hold on there, buddy.”
Trace sighed. Here we go.
Trace swung Madison around and pushed against the man who reached for her. He lowered his voice and spoke through clenched teeth in hopes the man would take his advice seriously.
“Trust me when I advise you to walk away.”
The drunken man laughed and gave a short whistle. Several men rose from the bar and surrounding tables. Chains dangled from their fists and pockets while several suddenly sported short pipes in their hands.
“This is gonna hurt,” Trace said with a shake of his head.
The man laughed and put his hands on his hips. “Which one? The chain? Or the pipe?”
Trace snaked out his fist and punched the man across the jaw then watched as his eyes crossed before he fell backward onto the floor.
“I’ll take clue number 3, clenched fist for a hundred, Alex.” Trace said and jerked Madison with him to the floor. Covering her body with his, he lost count of the number of times pipes were laid across his back or ribs. He was just grateful when they stopped after several seconds.
He looked up to see Lex holding out a hand to haul him up. “Get her out of here,” Lex said quietly and turned to step up on a chair, then a table before leaping onto a crowd of burly men heading their way. Always the mosher, Trace thought and leaned down for Madison.
His heart stopped seeing her pale face and closed eyes. No. God please let her be ok so he can strangle her himself. Thankfully, he was rewarded by a low groan.
He pulled her limp body up and bending, eased her body over his shoulder and walked cautiously towards the door. Del was holding it open and apologized to Trace several times.
“Don’t worry about it Del.”
Del held out the fifty dollar bill that Madison had handed him earlier. “Here, this is hers.”
“Keep it. For damages.”
“I can’t. It’s my fault this happened. I didn’t know who she was or that she was with you.”
Trace pressed it back to Del. “It’s ok Del. I’ll be back later. I just want to get her home.” With a final nod, he stepped out into the cool night air, heading for his Harley.
Damn. How did she get here? He was definitely losing his touch. Never had he had this problem happen during a job. Of course, he hadn’t taken a job past three mistakes.
And he hadn’t ever taken a job and let it get personal.
He set her down on the leather seat and shook her shoulders several times. She groaned a protest, refusing to open her eyes.
“Come on, Madison. Wake up.”
Madison cracked open one eye, then the other and gave Trace a bright smile. “Hey! Whatcha doin’ here?” Hiccup.
“I was drinking with my friends until you showed up. Which brings up the question of how you got here?”
Madison stuck her finger over Trace’s lips and gave him the quiet noise. “Shh. I told Carol I wouldn’t tell.” Her eyes widened then and she slapped her hand over her mouth and laughed. “Oops.”
Trace shook his head. It didn’t take much for her to get drunk. He removed her hand from her mouth and put it on the seat in front of her. “Steady yourself while I get on.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.”
“No, I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I’m going to be sick,” she said and slapped her hand back over her mouth.
Trace quickly hauled her off his bike and towards the edge of the parking lot before she retched long and hard. He felt bad for her. This was probably the first time she had ever had a drink. No, scratch that. All Hollywoodites drank champagne. This was her first real drink. And probably her last if she has the hangover he had when he first did shots.
The thought almost made him smile.
“Trace?”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t feel so good,” she whispered and turned to cling to his body for support.
With ease, Trace swung her up once again, this time cradling her close to his chest and walked back to his bike. He set her down again and quickly climbed on, instructing her to hang onto his waist. He should call for a car but the night air would do her good.
The low rumble of the engine broke the silence of the night as he shifted the gear and eased onto the road.
Madison had slipped closer to him and gripped his waist tightly. He tried to ignore the softness of her body against his and cursed the thick leather jacket that denied him the softness of her breasts against his back. You can’t have it both ways, Trace.
He should leave this job. It was out of control and too personal. He couldn’t concentrate on protecting her from whoever wanted to hurt her. All he could think about was burying himself so deeply inside her while tasting the sweet cries that came out of her mouth.
Realizing his speed, Trace slowed down. He took the upcoming curve in the road easy and forced his thoughts on getting her back home and safe again.
He would talk to Jay in the morning, make arrangements for another guard and be on his way by the afternoon. Simple as that.
Slowing to a stop at a red light, he turned to check on Madison. She glanced up with sleepy eyes and gave him a smile before kissing him on the lips.
“I love you.”
Simple my ass.
Chapter 8
Madison tugged the blanket higher to cover her eyes when the drapes were pulled open. She groaned out loud when the blanket was yanked away from her head.
“Go away,” she managed to croak out and turned on her side before raising a hand to grip her forehead.
“Hung over?”
Her eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly. “Mother?”
Too quickly. Scrambling, Madison stumbled past Maggie and into her bathroom, barely making it before emptying what was left in her stomach into the porcelai
n bowl.
Flicking the handle, she collapsed onto the floor, leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. A chuckle brought them back open again.
Her mother was laughing at her.
She almost wanted to make her laugh and cry at the same time, but she didn’t have the strength for it. Madison couldn’t remember the last time when she and her mother shared a funny moment.
“What’s so funny?” Madison asked, lifting her hand to push her hair behind her ear.
“You, my dear. I haven’t seen you drunk in a long time.”
“I’ve never been drunk,” Madison protested.
“Oh, but you have. Remember five years ago at the premier for your third film? You insisted on the fourth glass to celebrate fourth billing. I believe you said, four for four.”
Madison squeezed her eyes shut and let out her own small chuckle.
“Of course, later that night you were trying to create some new tongue twister out of it and spit all over that reporter.”
“Oh, God. I remember that,” Madison said with a groan, then rubbed her temples in protest. “Still, I don’t remember feeling this rotten the next day.”
“Shots will do that to you.”
Madison looked at her. “How did you know…”
“I helped Trace get you up stairs,” Maggie answered with a smile.
Madison hung her head. “I apologize for my behavior.”
Maggie walked into the bathroom with Madison and lowering the lid on the toilet, sat down. “Shit happens.”
Madison looked at her in wonder. “You’ve changed.”
All thanks to Trace.
Oh, God. How would she ever be able to face him again? Somewhere in the back of her mind, she recalled throwing up on the side of the road.
Worse, she recalled telling him she loved him. Please let that be just a bad dream and not reality.
“I suppose I have. Getting up there in years will do funny things to a person. Not to mention a bit of advice from a wise young man.”
She had never thought of Trace as wise, but she supposed he was in his own way. Wasn’t it his job a combination of both brains and brawn? Hopefully. He had to keep one step ahead of whomever this madman was that was out to get her.
Guarding Madison (Bodyguards, Inc.) Page 6