Chapter Eight
Madison stared out of the hangar, the cool sea breeze bringing with it the scent of salt and rain. Out in the distance, dark clouds gathered over the water. The tropical storm all the pilots were worried about was not picking up speed to become a hurricane, but it was sure messing up their flight plans. Between the tropical storm south of them and spring downpours up north, almost all of the flights in and out of Everglades Air today were canceled.
The mechanics hadn’t even bothered to come in. The only people here besides her were security and the guys in the tower.
She’d come into work hoping for a day of rerouted flights to keep her mind busy, and instead, all she could do was replay those last minutes with Aiden over and over and over again. Why hadn’t she stopped herself? Couldn’t she have pushed him away and kept a little piece of her self-respect? Leave it to her to completely muck up a situation.
Her phone vibrated and she cringed. Since it was during work hours, she couldn’t ignore it. She peered at the screen and Aiden’s number flashed across it. Again.
He’d already called her twice, once from each number he’d given her, but she hadn’t answered. She knew she couldn’t avoid him, but how did she act after last night?
Only one way to find out.
She sighed and clicked the green answer button.
“Hey.”
“Sleep late?” The low pitch of his voice brought the memories into sharp focus in her mind. The way his stubble had scraped her cheek, the tight grip on her body, the way he’d had her bent over the bike.
“Uh, no. Been working.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Shouldn’t it be?”
“Yes, but I wanted to make sure.”
“Well now you know.” She turned and her hair whipped around into her face.
“Are you outside?”
“Yup. It’s an airstrip. We do our business outside.”
“Someone’s sassy in the morning.”
She pressed her lips together. Her morning habits were going to stay an off-limits topic.
The silence dragged on to become awkward.
Madison paced a couple of feet and turned around.
Should she bring up last night? Apologize for the wet spot?
God, could her life get any more embarrassing?
“Okay, well, let me know what happens,” she said.
“Are you trying to get rid of me?”
Yes.
“No.”
“Any chance you could get off early and meet up with me?”
She seriously doubted he just wanted to hang out. This was about the drive. Business.
“Mm, maybe. It’s pretty slow today, but don’t bet on it.”
“Make time. I’m not going to be able to stall Dustin forever.”
“I know, I know. Got to go, plane’s coming in, bye.” She ended the call and stared at the dial pad. Her and her stupid crush. Should she trust him already? When she thought about it, there was no reason to trust him—except he’d been completely honest and straightforward with her. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t hiding something, did it?
Madison walked out of the hangar and to her office, a little addition on one side of the main building for administrative purposes. When she’d first worked at the strip, she’d been a janitor, did some security and whatever else needed to be done. Over the years and her different employments, she’d worked her way up. She stepped into her office and closed the door behind her.
If her job didn’t need her, maybe she could figure out which of the many locations she’d stashed her things when the divorce turned ugly.
There were a few places the boxes could be. She needed to make a list and then a few calls. The entire task took no more than twenty minutes. Three storage units and two friends, none of whom were answering.
The office line rang and she grabbed it.
“Everglades Air. How may I help you?”
“Madison, it’s Nathaniel.”
“Hey, I was just about to call you.” She smiled, a reaction not many had to their boss, but Lily’s parents had become her family.
“I just talked to the boys in the tower and nothing else is coming in or out today. The rain’s mostly going to miss us, but it’s hitting everyone else. Why don’t you go on and get out of there? I don’t like the idea of you on that bike if the weather report got it wrong and we get some of that storm.”
“You don’t have to do that.” And yet it was just like him to worry about her as if he were her own father. She was lucky.
“No, no, I know, but I’d rather you be home safe. Or, you could come over here for dinner. Unless you and Lily have practice tonight?”
“Not tonight. We don’t practice the night before a bout.”
“Oh, that’s right, that’s right.”
“Are you coming tomorrow?”
“Wouldn’t miss it. My wife had shirts made for us.” He grumbled about it, but Madison doubted there was any ill will behind it.
“Great, I’ll see you guys tomorrow then.”
“Not tonight?”
“I’ve got some school stuff I’d like to get ahead on while I’ve got the time. The summer semester’s going to start soon and between classes and practice, I’m not going to have a lot of time to get the reading done, so why not get a jump on it now?”
“Think you could talk some of this sense into Lily?” He chuckled. Lily was naturally bright, but not inclined to go back to school. Her grand plan involved doing hair and painting, not exactly jobs her business-oriented parents understood.
“I’m not even going to try to go there.”
“All right, all right. Get on the road, okay?”
“Thanks.”
She hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment.
The weather radar had Miami clear until well into the afternoon.
Did she go searching on her own? Or call for backup?
If she didn’t tell Aiden she was looking for the drive he might become suspicious. She wanted him to trust her for some crazy, stupid reason. Maybe knowing he trusted her would make her feel better about trusting him.
She took a deep breath and hit dial on Aiden’s number, the second one he’d given her. It rang and rang. She bounced on the balls of her feet and stared out of the window.
It was going to go to voice mail.
“Hey,” Aiden said. The sound of a radio and the garage filtered through behind him. Duh. Of course he was at work.
“Oh, hey.” She sat down, suddenly at a loss for words.
“Madison. Everything okay? What’s wrong?” His tone completely changed, dropping to that deadly pitch.
“Nothing, sorry, I just got off work. Unexpectedly. The rain’s messed with flights. So . . . yeah.”
“Do you know where Flagler Dog Track is?”
“The Magic City Casino?”
“That’s the one.”
“Why not just meet at Classic Rides?” It was a strange place to meet, but it wasn’t like her life had been normal since she’d left her mother’s house.
“If one of the Eleventh guys is watching the garage I don’t want them to see you. You’re more mobile on the bike, but also vulnerable. Cops following you?”
“No, they don’t check up on me during work since we have security here.”
Thoughts of the Eleventh had worried her, but honestly, she could only handle so much. The Eleventh might be the straw that broke her.
“I’m taking care of the Eleventh. Don’t worry about it.” A door closed in the background and the sound of the tap turned on.
He sounded so sure of himself, like he knew what he was doing. Only a crazy person could trust him. Maybe she’d hit her head a few too many times in practice, because she did. When Aiden said he’d take care of it, she didn’t doubt him.
“What time?” She glanced down at her jeans and tank top. If she’d thought she was going to see Aiden before she went home, she’d have dressed cuter.
“Ten minutes ago.”
“I’m on the road.”
And damn it if butterflies weren’t kicking up a storm in her stomach.
* * *
Madison peered up at the sky and bit her lip. The clear morning had turned gray and was beginning to rain in earnest. She stood under the awning at the once-sparkling casino and stared out at the parking lot. For some reason, despite all the people around her, she felt vulnerable. Unprotected. Her cop shadows had no idea where she was, and what if Aiden was right? What if the Eleventh, or worse, Dustin, followed her?
“Come on,” a deep voice said behind her. A hand pressed against the small of her back, propelling her out from under the covered drive in front of the casino.
She glanced up at Aiden. His eyes were obscured by sunglasses and his lips were tightly compressed. It was crazy how relieved she was to see him, but she was not going to admit that to him.
“Hello to you, too. What gives? I’ve been waiting for twenty minutes.” She veered toward her bike, but Aiden grabbed her hand and pulled her in the other direction. “My bike’s over there.” She’d parked next to a light pole so it was easy to find.
“We’ll come back for it later, just move.”
“What the hell?” she grumbled, but something about the way he spoke or the way he carried himself made her excuse his lack of an answer. For now.
She had to quicken her step to keep up with him. The orange car he’d driven the first time they’d met sat a few rows back. He pushed her a little harder.
“What’s the rush?” she asked again, glancing around.
“Just get in the car.”
He stayed with her all the way to the passenger-side door and unlocked it for her. She’d have called him a gentleman except he didn’t stick around to close her door, and she didn’t think he was doing it to be polite.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
He sank into the driver’s seat and twisted to peer through the back window. “I’m being followed. That’s why I didn’t come straight to you. I had to see what they’d do.”
“What? How do you know that?” She turned, but couldn’t see anything through the rain-splattered glass.
He had been right. And—he’d used her as bait?
“There’s a Shelby Mustang I saw earlier today at a light near the shop. Now it’s parked two rows back.”
“How do you know it’s the same one and not a different car?”
“Because it has blue-on-blue stripes. That’s not stock. It’s a custom paint job and it stands out.” He clicked his seat belt into place and tugged. “Buckle up and hold on.”
The engine roared to life with a vengeance that shook the whole car.
Madison scrambled to grab the nylon strap. She shoved the clip into the buckle as the car shot backward, throwing her forward into the belt. It locked, holding her safely in place, but the inertia whipped her head around. Tires squealed and she smelled burning rubber one second before the acceleration of the vehicle shoved her into the plush seat.
Her heart pounded in her throat and she couldn’t suck down enough oxygen.
The car skidded and fishtailed. Aiden steered them around a turn and gunned the engine. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of blue.
“Take a damn breath already and stop squealing,” Aiden said.
Madison clamped her lips together. If she was making any noise at all, it was his fault.
He turned hard and cut off a pickup truck, but in a matter of seconds the irate driver was eating their exhaust.
“Who was that?” she demanded.
“Who do you think?”
“How am I supposed to know?”
“It was the Eleventh.” He kept glancing in the rearview mirror.
At the next intersection, he turned, and turned again on the first side street they came across. They pulled into the parking lot of a nondescript building with no sign out front to denote what type of business it was. He shifted into park, pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and tapped the screen a few times before holding it to his ear. Every few moments he’d twist this way and that, looking up and down the street.
“Hey. Something’s up. Eleventh is tailing me,” he said to whoever was on the other end of the line. “Uh-huh . . . Okay . . . That’s not good . . . Keep me posted.”
“What’s not good? What about my bike? Were you just going to let them shoot me?”
“What? No.” He frowned at her. “We’ll get your bike later. It’s raining too hard for you to ride that thing now. The tires are practically bald. You need new ones.”
“Thanks, Captain Obvious. When I can afford new ones, I’ll get them.” She glared at him, but he was just stating the truth. Another paycheck and she’d have the summer semester covered, then she could concentrate on new tires.
“And your lawyer did what?”
She laughed. “What lawyer? Dustin scared away the few I could afford. I got nothing from the divorce.”
Madison stared out of the window. Well that was a mood killer. For several moments neither of them said a word. The only sounds were the idling of the engine and the rain hitting the car. It was kind of soothing, actually. She’d always liked the rain.
A warm hand closed around hers. “We’re going to get him.”
She turned her head to face him. “I’ll believe it when I see it. Sorry.”
“I get it.” He swiped his thumb back and forth across the back of her hand, each movement sending tendrils of awareness curling through her body.
There was no doubt that Aiden believed it when he said he’d take Dustin down. But one man against Dustin, his boss, and all their thugs? The cops couldn’t even protect her from Dustin. How could Aiden do what a whole police force couldn’t?
“What’s this?” He pointed at her left arm, one of the last expanses of clean flesh on her arms.
“That would be a perfect outline of A’thing’a Beauty’s shoulder. She got me in practice last week real good and it’s started to turn pretty colors.”
He shook his head. “I’m going to have to see this sometime.”
“I’ll save you a seat in the crash zone.”
“Crash zone?”
“It’s one of those things better left experienced.” She grinned and one side of his mouth kicked up. That little dimple winked at her and, man, if it didn’t twist her stomach into knots.
“Well, guess I’m coming to your next game.”
“Bout.”
He shrugged. “Bout.”
Was it her imagination, or was he closer now than he’d been a few moments ago? It was hard to look at anything except his eyes, but she did like the pleasant twist of his lips.
She could feel his breath across her mouth, and he turned his hand under hers so that his palm was splayed over her thigh.
“This is not how this is supposed to go. I’m not supposed to want you. At all.” His gaze flicked from her eyes to her mouth and back again.
“You can’t control who you want. It just happens.” And didn’t she know it? Her whole life, one hot, bad choice of man after another. But Aiden wasn’t bad, not really, right? He helped people.
“Do you want me?” His gaze narrowed and she felt the moment stretch tight.
The air in her lungs turned to ice and her body went hot, then cold. Whatever she said, it was going to change things. He had to know she wanted him, but if she said no, would he respect that? Her gut said yes. Whoever Aiden DeHart was, she couldn’t help believing he was different. Maybe not entirely good, but honorable. He’d respect her wishes if she said no, and once that barrier was in place, she didn’t think it could be torn down.
“Yes,” she said with a sigh.
“But you aren’t happy about it.”
“I promised myself I’d only date good guys from now on.” She lifted her hand and traced a small scar on his jaw. It had grown faint with time, but this close, she could make it out. “You aren’t a nice guy.”
“Good and nice are two different things. I think you’d roll right over a nice guy.”
“Maybe.” She chuckled. Hadn’t Lily said the same thing to her before?
His hand coasted up and down her thigh, but she felt the caress much higher up. The little orgasm, the taste of bliss he’d given her last night, it hadn’t sated anything. It had just made her hungrier for more.
Aiden leaned as he had last night, slowly, giving her every opportunity to turn away. Well wasn’t that sweet? She cupped her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him closer. Their mouths met in a hard press of skin. Her teeth bit into the inside of her lip, but the pain only made the feel of his lips sharper, more pronounced.
His fingers slid between her legs and he squeezed. She gasped, needing air, and he deepened the kiss, breathing her in and tasting her. For a moment, she was swept up in his touch, the acceptance of this kiss, this chemistry, this crazy mess swirling around them and she surrendered to it. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and she groaned. The sound was loud in the confined space. She shoved her fingers through his short hair, relishing the feel of it against her palm.
Aiden’s hand grazed her breast and she gasped, arching slightly. His mouth stilled against hers, as if her reaction had surprised him. If he had any idea how long it had been since someone touched her outside of derby practice, it wouldn’t be quite such a shock.
She kept her eyes closed, unable to look at him. He shifted and cupped her breast. His lips grazed hers and she could hear his breathing along with the pounding of her heart. He lifted her breast, swiping his thumb over her nipple. The thin lace did little to inhibit the feel of his firm touch.
“We don’t have time for this right now.” His voice was deeper, the frustration real. Well at least she wasn’t alone in this.
Aiden cupped her face and crushed his mouth against hers, kissing her hard and fast. Her body thrummed with arousal. He sat back in his seat, staring at her with brows drawn down. He might not like the attraction, but she wasn’t alone in it. At least he wanted her as much as she wanted him.