****
“Madison West in the flesh and a widow, none the less.” Deputy Faith and Cole were sitting at the bar now.
“And?” Cole swallowed down his drink.
Faith shook his head. “Yes, it’s unfortunate that her husband is gone, but you cannot sit there and tell me that you aren’t the least bit happy.”
“No. I’m not happy. She lost the love of her life Faith, why the hell would I be happy?”
“She lost the love of her life over a year ago.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’m not trying to say anything, but this. If you don’t see all of this as more than just a coincidence, well then… I just don’t know buddy.”
Cole motioned to the bartender to send over another drink.
“What do you want me to do Faith? I’m leaving for Summerbridge in a couple of days. So even if I wanted to see if there was something between us, I couldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because it wouldn’t be fair to her. She deserves someone who will be there for her, not someone who is leaving in a couple of days. Look, she isn’t ready to get involved with me or anyone else right now. And even if she were, it couldn’t be me. She deserves someone who can be there for her." He repeated the words.
"I'm not exactly the best person when it comes to providing emotional and physical support, and if you need proof, just ask my ex-wife. In fact, I was so lousy at it that she looked elsewhere and found it in the arms of the contractor that I hired to re-model the master bedroom!” Cole slammed his fist down hard.
“Take it easy buddy,” Faith patted him on the back.
“All I’m saying is that you’re both single now. Just play it by ear and see what happens. That’s all I’m saying.” Cole followed Faith’s gaze to the back door where Madison was standing.
“Alright,” he said full of liquid courage. “Here goes nothing.”
After saying goodbye to the last of the partygoers, Hank and Donna closed the bar for the night. As the waitstaff began to clean up, Hank put on a fresh pot of coffee and left Madison and Cole alone, so that they could talk.
She put some money in the jukebox and soon, an upbeat melody poured out of the speakers. The song reminded her of Tristan. She remembered how she tried teaching him how to dance.
Although he wasn't much of a dancer, he had moves. She smiled again at the memory. I wonder if Cole likes to dance, she thought to herself as she made her way over to the table.
He smiled back and pulled her chair out so that she could sit down. "Do you like to dance?" The question came out in a mumble and Cole had been so enthralled with her being there, that he wasn’t paying attention.
"What's that?" He said.
Madison grinned and waved it off. "Nothing," she said and patted him on the hand.
“You really do look beautiful,” he said.
“You’ve got beer goggles on.” Madison giggled and looked away.
Cole shook his head. “No I don’t. I can see clearly and what I see is Madison West sitting at the same table as me.”
His words sounded like that of a lovesick teenager and she was flattered by them.
“I think you need some coffee,” she said and got up from the table.
Cole couldn’t help but stare as she made her way behind the bar. Her curvaceous body was that of perfection. The jeans she was wearing fit her like a glove and the spaghetti strap of her silky tank top fell lazily off her smooth, shoulder.
He struggled to maintain control of himself.
“Here you go. Cream, no sugar right?” She set the hot mug in front of him.
“You remembered.” He smiled.
“Of course I remember. You are not an easy man to forget Cole Harding.”
“Neither are you.” He raised his mug to her.
"I’ve never seen you act this way before.” She grinned easily at him.
“Well that’s because before, the circumstances were different. I was on the job. I was on duty. I had to protect you and I still want to.”
His eyes bore into hers and she thought about making up some lie so that she could escape.
“It’s not your job anymore.”
“I know it’s not. Especially now, but just because I’m no longer a marshal doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped worrying or thinking about you.” The words came out before he could stop them.
“Cole, I don’t know what to say,” she stammered.
A heavy despair fell over her. What the hell had she gotten herself into?
Somewhere, deep in the recesses of her mind she was elated. Cole was practically pouring his soul out to her and she was enjoying every minute of it.
He was telling her things that any woman would long to hear. But when she thought about her husband Tristan, those feelings of elation were replaced with extreme shame.
The air hung heavy between them and she needed to lighten the mood.
“Hank and Donna are having an anniversary party at their place tomorrow, will you come?”
Cole shut his eyes and rubbed his temples. “Hank already invited me. I told him that I’d think about it, but do you want me there?”
Madison didn’t have to think about it. “Yes,” she said. “Yes I do.”
He looked around and saw that they were the only ones left in the front of the bar. Hank and Donna were still in back and it was getting late.
“Well, I guess I should get going.”
Madison stood up and walked over to him.
“There’s no way you’re driving home buddy,” she said and reached for her purse.
After promising them that she’d be at their door, with luggage in tow, first thing in the morning, Madison led a tipsy Cole to her car.
The streets of Memphis were quiet and both relished in the cool breeze coming from the open windows.
“You want to talk about it?” Madison punched his address into the GPS.
“There’s nothing to talk about. I was away from home too much. She said that I was the most inattentive person that she’d ever met.
She said that even when I was at home… I wasn’t. How the hell does that even make any sense? I tried Madison, I really did. But after I met you, something inside of me changed. I came home a different man. I knew that, but I tried to hide it. I thought that if I buried it deep down inside of me, that no one, including my wife would see that I’d changed.
But my first night back, she said she'd felt it. She said that when I came home, I made love to her in a way that I’d never done before.”
Almost immediately, Madison noticed his body language had changed, and she grew weak at the thought.
“Cole, don’t do this.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
She moved as close to the door as she could, but Cole moved closer.
Her nipples hardened at the scent of his aftershave and she could feel his breath on her neck.
She remained still, her body still too close to his, but she kept her focus on the road.
“I tried telling her that she was mistaken, but it was no use. She knew that I was lying. It took me a couple of weeks to admit it to myself, but when I finally did, I realized that it was you that I was thinking about when I was making love, to her.”
One of the things that struck her while she was under his protection three years ago was the overwhelming emotional and physical attraction that seemed to overpower them, each and every time they were alone together.
But she’d resolved herself not to further instigate anything the moment she found out that he was married. She’d chalked it up to vulnerability and emotional weakness. You’re obviously suffering from hero syndrome or something, she told herself way back when.
But now here he was, coming onto her and coming on strong. She thought about pulling over and opening herself up to him, right there in the car. But she quickly banished the thought from her mind. It would be wrong Madison… you’re wrong for thinking such things.
“Cole,
you’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re saying. And you’re home,” she said and pulled into the driveway. She smiled when she saw the small, bungalow style house.
Before she could turn off the ignition, Cole reached over and wrapped his arms around her.
Her pulse quickened and her head swam as if she was on some sort of fantastical ride.
Adrenaline that she hadn’t felt in over a year poured into her system at the close contact. Yes, he’d hugged her earlier at the bar, but this time was different, they were alone, completely alone.
She felt him nuzzle the ultra-sensitive spot on her neck, just above her collarbone. How the hell did he know that was her spot?
Madison pulled away from his embrace before she lost all reason. She fought the urge not to wrap her arms around his neck and slowly slide her tongue into his mouth.
“Cole, we can’t do this.”
He took a deep breath and leaned back against the headrest.
“I’m sorry,” he said and flexed his hands then curled them into a fist, as if resisting the urge to touch her again.
Even though the windows were down, the temperature in the car seemed to have risen to unfathomable levels. She couldn’t help but notice that her body had betrayed her and she wondered if Cole noticed it too.
“I better get inside and take a cold shower,” he said and pushed open the door.
Thanks for the ride home Madison. Drive safe and call me when you get in, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He staggered a moment before making his way towards the front door. Madison thought about getting out to help him, but she knew that she didn’t have the willpower to resist whatever might happen, should he close the door behind them.
Twenty minutes later, she was back in her hotel room. Cole wasn’t the only one who needed a cold shower. After she got off the phone with him, that’s exactly where she headed.
Chapter Ten
Maria was tired of waiting. Paulo wasn’t answering the door, or her calls and texts.
It wasn’t like him to ignore her completely. She knew that he’d been upset last night after she told him that she wasn’t able to come over. But here she was, breakfast in hand, along with his favorite coffee and he wasn’t coming to the door.
“Spoiled little boy,” she moaned sarcastically and went around back.
The door to the kitchen was ajar and as she stepped inside, she saw the body of her boyfriend, Paulo Antunez, sprawled out on the kitchen floor.
The coffee cup fell to the ground as the light brown liquid burst out, running alongside the lines of the linoleum floor, eventually mixing with the deep, red puddle of blood.
****
“This was a one sided fight,” A detective said.
“Whoever came through the back door, knew that Mr. Antunez would be alone.”
“Tell me something that I don’t know.” Detective McCann of the Redmerrow Police Department slipped on a pair of booties and made his way into the house.
“I bet you didn’t know that our boy here is in, or should I say, was in, the Witness Protection Program.”
McCann turned and looked at the detective.
“I’ve got a friend down at the federal building,” he said with a smirk.
McCann nodded his head and took a step closer to the body. Paulo Antunez, (Juan Hernandez) lay on his back, his body splayed open like a gutted fish. His underbelly was full of stab wounds and his tongue had been cut off.
“Okay, it’s obvious that this was a professional hit. Better get the feds in on this one,” he told an officer.
“And would somebody please shut her up!” He shouted over Maria’s sobs.
****
It was early and Madison was already packing up her things. As she placed the neatly folded clothes inside her suitcase, she didn’t notice that the fabric had been cut and re-sewn.
Check out time wasn’t for another few hours, but she knew that Hank and Donna would be expecting her and she wanted to get there early. After taking one last look around the luxurious room, she picked up the key card and made her way towards the lobby.
She welcomed the hour and a half ride to Jackson, Tennessee. It was an area she’d never visited. When Hank and Donna purchased a new bar, they also purchased a new home. And since they didn’t have to be in the bar every night, there was no worry about the long commute.
They were living a life of leisure, they'd told her. "We own the bar, but we don’t have to run it like we used to. We've hired people to do that, much younger people." Donna joked.
Madison was looking forward to spending time with Hank and Donna. She didn’t know how long she'd be staying with them though. But one thing was for sure, there was certainly no rush for her to go back home.
Home. She thought it odd that she felt more at home being here in Tennessee than she did back in Maine. There was a simple reason for that, her husband was dead. And although she loved Zoe like she was her own, she suddenly felt conflicted. What exactly was there to go back to? Nothing, that's what, nothing," she whispered.
Tristan was gone from her life and now it seemed that Cole was trying to work his way back into it.
"I'm sorry Tristan," she spoke out loud. "I don’t know what to do."
Speaking out loud to her dead husband was something she did quite often.
She remembered one day when Helen heard her talking to him. It was several months after his death and she was alone in her room having a full on conversation with him.
When Helen knocked on the door, she kept talking. It was as if she truly believed that he was there, in real-time, talking and listening to her.
When Helen suggested that maybe she go and see someone, someone professional, Madison stopped talking to him out loud. She didn’t want to get locked away in some kind of institution, she told him quietly one night. But then again, she thought to herself, maybe that's what I need. I can talk to you all I want if I'm in the psyche ward.
It was a very difficult time in her life to say the least, but even now, she found comfort in talking to Tristan. She needed him now more than ever. The temptation to be with Cole was strong, very strong.
She needed some kind of sign from him, something to let her know that it was okay to let go and that he understood. But until that time came, she would have to keep her distance from Cole. Easier said than done. Did you forget that he's coming to the party tonight? Her conscience reminded her.
"They'll be plenty of people around at the party tonight and all I have to do is make sure that I'm not left alone with him.
After tonight, I won't have to worry about Cole Harding," she told herself.
"In a couple of days, he'll be gone… off to West Virginia and I'll stay here for a while. There, problem solved. Looks like I won't be needing a sign from you after all." She spoke out loud again.
Castillo was not a happy camper. Even though he'd taken care of Juan, he was now haunted by the resurrection of Madison West.
She was in Memphis, and had just checked out of the Madison Hotel.
According to the GPS locator, she was on the I-40E. It looked as though she was heading towards Jackson, Tennessee. "I wonder what's in Jackson." He turned and looked at Manny.
"I'm on it boss," Manny said and walked out of the room.
Castillo liked Manny. He was so much more attentive than Juan had ever been. He didn't have to tell Manny what to do.
Castillo regarded Manny, like one would regard a well-trained butler. He knew exactly what to do before any words needed to be spoken.
If there was anything that Castillo hated though, it was being humiliated. Juan and Madison had tried getting the better of him. They tried putting him away for life. Now that Juan was gone, he would take his time getting to Madison. He'd keep tabs on her, play with her like an animal plays with its prey.
He was tracking her, like a hunter would track an animal that was already injured, quietly and until the end.
He'd let her think that the continuous torture
was never going to end. She'd think that no matter where she went, or what she did, she would always have to look over her shoulder.
There would be no more protection. Not from marshals, not from friends, and not family. She'd be alone and vulnerable, just like he liked them. "Hell, maybe I'll put her to work in one of my brothels." He chuckled loudly.
"I bet she'd earn me a pretty penny." He grinned and looked down at the locator.
Manny came back into the room holding his smartphone.
"She's headed to 214 Ridgecliff Road. Jackson, Tennessee."
Not only was Manny practically a mind reader, but he was a whiz at the computer as well. While some would've called him a hacker, Castillo simply thought of him as a nerd. A nerd who'd spent several years in prison working out and learning, code.
It paid off though, because he'd managed to tap into the GPS of Madison's rental car. Manny had managed to find out the exact location of where Madison was going and he did it faster than the personal GPS locator that was tracking her.
"Damn. Technology has certainly changed these past three years," he said to Manny.
"If you ask me boss, it's changed for the better." Manny produced a toothy grin.
Witness Protection: Hide and Seek Page 5
