Chapter Nineteen
Madison bobbed her knee while they drove through an older residential neighborhood. The houses were all spaced farther apart, trees lined the properties, creating a little bit of privacy. It was nice. She’d expected Aiden to live somewhere flashy, maybe in a loft like where they’d stayed last night. Instead, it was a bit more rural, with elbow room and trees between the houses, each with a bit of land, maybe an acre or two. Hell, she was pretty sure she’d seen goats down the street. He turned into the gravel drive of a large, white ranch-style house with blue shutters. The hedges needed trimming and it didn’t appear as though anyone minded the grass, but other than that it was in good condition.
She’d woken up pleasantly enough, but at some point before they’d left the loft, the weight of her omission settled on her shoulders. In the beginning, she hadn’t mentioned that Michael Evers flew in and out of her airport because she hadn’t known if she could trust Aiden or not. She’d allowed herself to forget that detail because it was easier that way. Except Evers was flying something into the airport tonight that he didn’t want documented by customs.
Aiden pulled the car around behind the house. He clicked a fob on his keys and the doors of a large, wooden barn slowly rolled open. He drove into what had once been a horse barn and parked the Chevelle in the back. The stalls had been opened up for three other cars. The Challenger she’d ridden in, and two other cars she couldn’t name.
“Damn, it’s getting late,” Aiden muttered.
Late was almost eight in the morning. They needed to find the drive. She needed to get to work. Somehow they needed to evade the Eleventh—or something. And hopefully Dustin would continue to stay out of her life. Amidst all of that, she had to figure out how to tell Aiden about Evers.
“Let’s dig around for the drive really quick. I’d like to get that to my guy for analysis before I meet with Dustin.”
“You’re meeting with him today?” Madison scrambled to get out of the car and circled around back to the trunk.
Aiden already had it open and was sifting through the contents that had spilled out of the boxes when his phone rang.
“Yeah, something’s up with him. I just don’t know what.” Aiden glanced at his phone. “Give me a second.”
Madison stared at him. What was the chance that the thing Evers was flying in had to do with the drive? It was unlikely, but—what if? Did she keep it to herself?
Aiden stepped away, pressing his phone to his face. “Yeah? . . . Good first . . . Well that’s what you expected, now what’s the bad?”
Her stomach churned. She was keeping things from Aiden and he’d proven time and time again he was just helping her. She had to tell him.
“What? Are you serious? Why? Any reason at all?” Aiden paced the width of the barn, his frown deepening.
She probably should have told him earlier. . . .
“Damn it. That doesn’t make any sense. Fine. We’ll figure something out.” He listened to whatever the person on the other end of the line was saying for a few more moments before hanging up.
“Something wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing you need to worry about,” he said.
Madison bit her lip. She didn’t want to rock the boat, but damn it, she had to tell him.
“Aiden?”
“Yeah.”
“I . . . uh, need to tell you something.”
“What is it?” Aiden glanced up from the trunk, his brows drawn down.
“I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you this since yesterday. I just—don’t be upset, please?”
He straightened, his face going completely blank. That couldn’t be good. She opened and closed her mouth, wishing she could go back in time and just tell him. But she hadn’t known him then like she knew him now.
“Michael Evers and another guy arranged for a shipment to come into our airport.”
“You just found out?” No emotion. Deadpan. So not like the man she’d come to know who laughed and felt so deeply.
“No.”
“And you just remembered that he uses Everglades Air?” The uptick in tone made her cringe. Anger. Well, she’d expected that to some degree.
“Aiden, please.” She took a step toward him, and he backed up. She stopped, letting her hands drop to her sides. “When you came to me, I didn’t know who you were. I didn’t know that I could trust you. Talking about my life was one thing. My boss’s clients were a whole other thing. I mean, Lily’s parents gave me a chance when no one else would. How could I just tell you stuff about their business like that?”
“Why didn’t you tell me yesterday?”
She opened and closed her mouth. In the moment, when she’d come face-to-face with Michael Evers, she’d thought about it, but then she’d been afraid. Afraid of Evers. Afraid of losing Aiden. Fear was one thing she was sick of.
“I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d instantly suspect me again.” Like he was now. It was written all over him from the narrowing of his gaze to the tick at his jaw. “Aiden, please.”
She took a step toward him and he retreated one.
That was how it was going to be?
“I trusted you.” His voice was a growl, deep in his chest that made her want to cower. “And this whole time you’ve been lying to me?”
“I didn’t lie. I didn’t know how to tell you.”
“I’m not going to say anything else. I’m too pissed off.” His voice was cold, hard, and unlike anything she’d heard from him. “Stay here. The walls are reinforced and there are cameras on the property. Anyone shows up, call me. Find the drive. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Aiden turned and walked away from her. No arguments, no accusations, just silence.
“Aiden?”
He clicked his key fob at the Challenger and the car beeped. She watched him climb in the white car, rev the engine, and roll out. The heavy door slid shut after him, the locks engaging. She shivered and glanced around the barn-turned-garage. There was another side entrance, but other than that the place appeared secure. So was she a prisoner? Or locked up for her own safety?
Was this how it would end? She knew this fragile relationship wouldn’t last, but was this it?
She sat down on the bent bumper and pulled her phone from her pocket. He could walk away from her, but he couldn’t completely ignore her. Could he?
Please believe me. I didn’t want to keep that from you. Evers has a plane coming in this evening. It’s going to sit overnight for customs to come in the morning. According to the flight manifest, he’s flying in six cars.
She hit send on the messages and hoped he believed her. Could the trust they’d built up be eroded so quickly?
Madison stared at her phone for a minute, and then another one. No reply. No call. He really wasn’t going to talk to her about it. She sucked in a deep breath as an invisible pain stabbed her in the chest. Stupidly, she’d given him a piece of her heart, knowing full well he’d carve it out of her flesh when things ended. Was this it?
She pressed a hand between her breasts.
There were a hundred scenarios and what-ifs circling her mind. He could preach trust all he wanted, but Aiden had never given her much to go on. If he wanted to be upset with her, so be it. Their deal was about the drive and Dustin. That was it.
She went back to the Chevelle and began upending the boxes in the trunk. They were mostly Dustin’s belongings, not hers.
One box held a couple stacks of discs and CDs, another random bits of paper and a marble pen holder. Odds and ends that weren’t worth much. She reached back into the trunk and hauled the last couple of boxes toward her. She tossed the top off one and stilled, looking down at a gray external hard drive nestled in a bunch of cords and charging stations. Dustin had always lost his chargers. It would make sense that an important box to him would contain those, and the drive.
She picked the drive up and turned it over in her hands. She’d never seen it before. But, then again, she hadn’t cared so much what she took as long as she stole from Dustin like he stole from her. It was petty and stupid. She’d regretted it at the moment she’d done it, but he’d taken so much from her.
Time was getting away from her. There was no way to make it to work on time, but she’d already preemptively texted her boss after her bike turned up in pieces. If Aiden thought she was going to stay put while he was pissed at her, well, he was wrong.
Lily was going to hate her.
Madison dialed Lily’s house phone, which she couldn’t put on mute, and held her breath. It rang and rang, easily a dozen times. Was Lily angry with her too? They hadn’t exactly had a lot to say to each other last night.
“What?” Lily groaned through the phone.
“Morning, sunshine.” Madison’s throat constricted and she smiled at nothing. Lily had forgiven her. If she hadn’t, she would have simply picked up the phone and waited for Madison to apologize.
“Fuck you.”
“Fuck you, too. How was last night?”
“Not as much fun without you, but you aren’t calling about that. Need a ride?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry. I promise I’ll figure something out.”
“I have no doubt about that. Where are you?”
“Uh, give me a second. I’m not sure.” Madison put the call on speaker. There were no message icons waiting for her. She activated the GPS on her phone and pulled up her map app.
“What did you do last night?”
“Showered, ate, slept.” Fucked like bunnies.
“You’re lying. You got some.” Lily’s voice was smug. The sounds of a coffee machine started up in the background.
“You don’t like him, remember?”
“I don’t know him.” She sighed.
One thing about Lily, she was pretty awesome about admitting when she was wrong. That, and she always looked out for Madison.
“Do you feel better?” Lily asked.
“I don’t know.” Madison’s throat constricted once more and it was hard to breathe. Her eyes instantly filled with tears and the ache in her chest was back again.
“What did he do? I will kill him. I don’t care how much of a badass he is, he’s dead.”
“No, no, we just—had a thing and I screwed up. It was really me, but he’s being an ass and not giving me a chance to explain. I just want to throat-punch him.”
“Oh, it must be bad if you’re going for the throat, but at least you aren’t wanting to knee him in the balls. If it was that level, I might not let you talk me down from kicking his ass.”
Madison laughed despite the pain.
“Where are you?”
Madison rattled off the address from her phone’s GPS. Thank goodness for modern technology.
“Dang, okay, that’s going to take me at least twenty to get there. At least. Think you can hold on that long?”
“I can.”
“Okay, I’m going to be a few more minutes—oh dang. The cable guy is here. I friggen call him and call him and now he shows up? Let me tell him to come back and I’ll head over. I don’t have time for his lazy ass right now. Good?”
“Thanks, Lily. You’re the best.”
“Only for you. Muwah.”
Madison hung up and blew out a breath. She couldn’t ask for a better friend. Whatever she’d done to get Lily, it was luck.
She closed the trunk and rested the drive on top of it for a quick picture. Even if Aiden wasn’t replying to her—probably because he was driving, if she were being honest—she could at least let him know she’d found it. This was the bone of their bargain, after all. She took the picture and sent it to Aiden before deleting it off her phone. The last thing she wanted was to be caught with anything resembling evidence of it on her.
“What to do with you now?” She glanced around the garage.
Madison carried the drive over to the stall reserved for the Challenger. There was a small workstation built into the side and a red rolling set of drawers. She opened one at random and set the drive inside. Anyone who didn’t know where to look for it would be stuck performing a very long search.
Did she tell Aiden where it was?
Nah, he’d have to call her if he wanted the location.
Madison tried the side door. It opened easily, but judging from the weird locks, she was betting it was a one-way trip, unless she had the key. She hauled her derby gear and overnight bag with her out of the garage and closed the door behind her. The locking mechanism clicked. She grasped the handle and shook it to be sure, but it was secure.
Whatever Aiden was mixed up in, it was serious and she wished him well.
She sucked down a deep breath and tipped her chin up. Someday, when she got her life together, she’d find someone who would love her—and chances were, he’d be cut from the same cloth as Aiden. She had a type she couldn’t shake, so why fight it? Good guys didn’t come in one shape. He’d proved that. She’d just have to kiss a few more frogs—but she had a few things to do first. Finish her degree. Get a real place—maybe a small condo. She was going to make something of herself.
The gravel crunched underfoot. She walked out to the roadside to wait. Every couple of minutes she glanced at her phone, but there was still no reply.
Oh well, she didn’t have time to cry or pine over him. There were bigger problems to solve. Summer semester was starting soon, and she needed some wheels. But it would be awhile before she recovered financially. It was just the facts.
Lily’s hatchback zipped around a tight turn a couple houses down. Madison shouldered her back and held out her thumb. The car came to an abrupt stop, kicking up gravel and dust.
“Sheesh, how much coffee did you drink this morning?” she asked. She opened the front door and tossed her bag in.
The person sitting in the driver’s seat was not Lily.
Madison froze, staring down the barrel of a gun, held by her ex-husband.
“Get in,” Dustin said.
Could she run fast enough? Was Aiden secretly hiding around the corner? Would Dustin shoot her if she got in? What if she died with Aiden still angry with her?
“I said, get in.”
Madison dropped into the seat, staring straight ahead. She didn’t even bother with the seat belt.
“What the fuck are you doing way out here?” Dustin tucked the gun under his left leg before spinning the car around.
“What do you want, Dustin?” Coldness swept her body, making her limbs numb.
“I want my fucking property, dumb bitch. Where is it?”
“I don’t know,” she said automatically. It was an argument they’d had several times, and each time she had the same reply.
“You’re going to remember.”
“Or what? Kill me?”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
Damn it all to hell. Why did she have to open her mouth?
She glanced around, no idea where they were. The streets and businesses were unfamiliar. Where was Lily? Did he have her? Why hadn’t she told Aiden where the drive was? If he had it, could he trade it for her? Would he?
Madison needed to get away. No one knew she was in trouble except Lily, and she might be worse off than Madison.
She placed her hand over her keys clipped to her hip. The pepper spray.
Dustin eased to a stop at a red light.
The gun was under his left leg. If she sprayed him first, could she get away before he drew it?
She slipped the plastic head of the pepper spray around, holding her breath. She tried to mute the click of it settling into place.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Dustin grabbed her hand, pulling it up.
Madison held on to the spray. Her worn belt loop snapped. She pressed the button on the bottle and the hiss of aerosol spray filled the car.
“What the—ow, fuck! You bitch!”
She held her breath, squeezed her eyes shut and yanked her arm out of his hold while clawing at the lock. The passenger-side door opened and she tumbled out onto the pavement. Madison rolled, got to her feet and ran, blinking bleary eyes. Her face stung from the spray, and it hadn’t even been aimed at her.
Madison dodged into a parking lot and ran between the cars. She glanced back, but Lily’s hatchback was gone. Had Dustin left her? Or was he still around? What a time to not have a police shadow!
Her heart hammered against her ribs and fear pumped in her veins.
She crouched between two cars, with a light pole at her back, and squinted at her phone. She wanted to call Lily, but she needed help bigger and badder than she was.
Since she couldn’t be certain Aiden would answer her distress call, she clicked on the other number he’d given her. The in-case-of-emergency number.
The line only rang once.
“Hello?” a woman said.
“Hi, this is Madison, Aiden said to call if something was wrong and shit is fucked up.” She hated how scared and frantic she sounded, but damn it, what about Lily?
“Madison, it’s Roni. Take a deep breath. Where are you? What happened?”
Aiden’s backup was . . . his mechanics?
“Lily was going to drive me to work, but my ex-husband had her car. I just sprayed him with pepper spray and jumped out. I’m—I don’t know where I’m at. I can’t see a fucking thing. I was at Aiden’s house, but he left and he’s pissed at me.” Her eyes were watering now, fat tears rolling down her cheeks uncontrollably.
“You’re on your cell phone? Tori, come on. Gabriel, listen for your phone, find out where the fuck Aiden is.”
“Yeah.” The twin sounded awfully competent for just a mechanic.
“Tori, get Emery to track her.” A car’s engine revved. “Madison? I’m going to be there in a minute. What’s around you?”
Emery? But, Emery was Aiden’s tech guy or something. Were these people all connected? What exactly was going on?
“I’m in a parking lot, one of those pay-to-park things.” She hissed as her skin started to burn.
“Okay, keep moving. You’re out in the open, Dustin might still be around and we don’t want him to find you.”
“Hurry, please, I don’t know what happened to Lily.”
“Shit. Tori, find Lily’s address and get Julian over there.”
Madison peered up over the hood of the car to her right. There was a building, but she couldn’t make out what it said.
“I can’t see.”
“You said you pepper-sprayed him? Dang. In a car the spray probably got you, too. The blurry vision will wear off in a minute or two. Unfortunately you’re going to burn anywhere you got the stuff on you, but it’s probably a lot worse for Dustin,” Roni said. “I’m getting closer, and Emery’s given me an approximate location.”
“I hope that fucker crashes and dies.” Wait . . . Madison hadn’t mentioned Dustin’s name, had she? How did Roni know it?
“From the sound of it, I do too,” Roni replied. There was a deadly edge to her voice.
“I can see better now.” Madison straightened, looking around her. “I don’t see Dustin.”
“Okay, I’m half a mile away. Look for a sky-blue car.”
Madison straightened and turned in place, her heart hammering in her throat. Her phone beeped, but she didn’t have time to look at it. Instead, she jogged toward the street and started walking north on the sidewalk.
“I see you,” Roni said.
“I don’t . . .” A blue two-door car zipped down the street. “I see you.” Madison dashed across the two lanes as the car pulled up.
Tori popped out and flipped the seat forward. She folded herself into the back faster than it took for Madison to find her balance.
“Get in,” Roni said.
Madison collapsed into the seat and Roni accelerated, the passenger door closing from inertia alone.
“We got her, Aiden,” Tori said from the backseat.
Madison’s heart twisted painfully in her chest. Aiden.
“What about Lily?”
“We don’t know anything yet,” Tori replied.
“The drive—”
“Here.” Tori thrust her phone into Madison’s hands.
She stared at the screen for a second before pressing it to her ear.
“The drive is in the garage, over in the red shelves—”
“Are you okay?” Aiden spoke over her, sounding more like a roaring engine than a human.
“I’m fine. I got pepper spray in my eyes and on my arm. It burns like a bitch.”
“I’m going to fucking kill him.”
Why was it statements of violence warmed her heart? There was clearly something wrong with her. A few too many knocks on the head in practice or something.
“The girls are going to take you to the garage. I’ll meet you there. You are not going to work today,” Aiden said.
“What about Lily?” They’d talk about him assuming he could order her around later.
“Julian should be getting to her house soon. Let me talk to Tori.”
Madison handed the phone back, feeling even more adrift. He couldn’t even talk to her? She glanced at her phone. One missed call hovered on the screen with a single name below it.
Aiden.
He had called her back.