Mad Love

by Ashlyn Mathews

  He’s hunting me.

  Oh, God, am I wrong about the silent, brooding man?

  Is he more foe than friend?

  Is he hiding under a guise of friendship when he all along is the threat I didn’t see coming?

  I stop at a dead end, having placed myself in further danger when I made the mistake of entering a maze. Who the hell has a maze in their backyard these days? I start to turn. He stops me with his hands on my waist. He pulls me back against his solid body. His erection presses into my back.

  “Got you.”

  I suck in a breath. “You–you can talk,” I stammer.

  “Just like you take off your gloves for that damn husband of yours, I’ll only speak to you, doll.”

  Doll.

  My vision goes in and out. My mind screams at me to come down on his shin with my heels. Jab him on the underside of his jaw, followed by a hard hit to the stomach with my elbow. After he lets me go, I’ll sucker punch him in the throat and kick him in the balls.

  Except he’s stronger. Can easily catch up to me in my three-inch heels. Then what? He’ll hurt me. Drag me off to wherever he wants to bury me alive. Maybe for good this time.

  “What do you want?”

  “I want you, doll.” He lets go of me, pulls a pack of cigarettes from his front pocket, and lights one up. “I’ve always wanted you.”

  “How could I forget? You come to me in my dreams.”

  He tsks. “Sarcasm not appreciated.” He steps closer. Blows a smoke ring. “Say it again.”

  “Say what again?”

  “The part about your dreams.”

  “You come to me in my dreams.”

  He slips a finger under my chin. Tips my face up until our eyes meet. “Is that so?”

  “Yes,” I whisper. “How do we know one another, Hale?” If that’s even his real name. “How do we know one another intimately? How did I give you the gift of time?”

  He swipes aside my hair. Drags his nose down the column of my neck. Nestles his face in the curve of my neck. His breath is warm on my skin. And when he cups my jaw in his hand, there’s a lingering scent of lilacs. He brings my face to his. Brushes his lips over mine. I close my eyes and imagine it’s Maddox kissing me.

  “We met when you were thirteen and I was seventeen. In the same neighborhood you met your friend Collins. We spent every waking hour together. You snuck off to come see me more than you did Collins.”

  “I don’t remember you.”

  “I counted on it.” He takes a long draw of his cigarette then tosses the butt on the ground, stomping it with his shoe.

  Is that the reason he kept checking for my reaction in the rearview mirror?

  “Cillian said you manipulated Maya into falling in love with you. Is that true?” I ball my hands at my sides. “How could you bury me with her? How could you keep her body from her family? My family?”

  “I hate your family,” he spats, the kindness and humor gone from his eyes. His stare is cold and dark. “It was your father, Cillian, who murdered my father. He wiped out my entire family. Do you know how he got the scar on his face?”

  I shake my head. Dread wracks my body. I don’t want to hear how my father manipulated and destroyed more lives.

  “He confronted my dad after hours at his restaurant. He accused my father of betraying him. My father denied sending his men to off your dad. Cillian took it a step further. Rather than killing my dad, he would give your hand to a different man. You were my betrothed, Blaise. My father was so angry, he threw a pan of hot oil at Cillian, burning his face. Cillian shot him then went after the rest of my family.”

  “He killed your family?” My hand flutters to my throat. My father is a murderer. God, how will I live with his crimes? Violence begets violence. Kindness and forgiveness begets kindness and forgiveness.

  “How did you come to work for Cillian if you hated him so much?”

  “To understand that part, you have to hear the rest of the story.”

  I gesture with my hand for him to proceed. Inside, I’m formulating an escape plan. Forgiveness is peace, but not if I’m dead or buried alive six feet underground.

  “I saw the fire. You were with me. I took you with. I rushed inside and demanded you wait outside. You didn’t listen. Of course you didn’t. You never do.”

  He rakes his fingers through his hair. Blows out a breath.

  “I got knocked out by a falling beam. Somehow, you lifted that beam off me and dragged my ass out of the building. On the way out, you were knocked unconscious.”

  “Knocked unconscious or did you knock me out?”

  The pieces come to me slowly. Hale rising to his feet. Anger contorting his handsome face. A fist flying at me. Hale ignores my accusation.

  “When I came to, Cillian had you in his arms. He demanded an explanation. I hated him so much, I couldn’t speak. He asked if I was mute. That’s how my ploy came to be. I wrote on the back of a menu that you saw the fire, played hero, and got knocked out before I pulled you out. He offered me a job, thinking I was a nobody off the streets.”

  “How could he not know who you are?”

  “He’s never met me. My father doesn’t post or keep pictures of his kids. No one knew what I looked like.”

  “What is your real name?”

  “Brady Fitzpatrick.”

  I tip my chin at him. “I like Hale better.”

  He smirks. “You can call me anything you’d like when we’re in bed, doll.”

  “I’m married.”

  “Divorce Maddox. Announce your upcoming nuptials to me. Do so, and I won’t go to the FBI and the DEA with evidence implicating your father in distributing weapons as well as committing murder.”

  “If that was your plan all along, why did you kidnap and torture me? How were you able to explain your absence to Cillian when you kidnapped Maya then me?”

  “More damn questions, Blaise? Doesn’t it matter that I’m here for you when your husband isn’t? Tell me it matters, doll. Tell me you give a fuck.”

  He reaches out and grasps my chin between his fingers. I don’t give him the satisfaction of crying out in pain when he tightens his grip.

  “Answer my questions, and I’ll answer yours.” I glance to the side, freeing me from his grasp.

  “A trip to see my only family, my grandmother, back in Atlanta, explained my absence. Your father ate up the lies like he goes through his hard liquor; without a care in the world so long as I came back.”

  “And my kidnapping and torture?”

  “To teach you a lesson. You are not my equal, my dear future wife. You are beneath me. You do not walk alongside me; you walk behind me. Understood?”

  “I would rather die than hurt Maddox.”

  He grabs ahold of my arm and yanks me up and against his body. We’re eye to eye.

  “I can make that happen.”

  “You’ll always be looking over your shoulder. As long as my kidnapper is believed to be out there, my family and my men will never stop looking for him.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. The news should be out by now.” He lets go of my arm.

  I don’t rub the pain from where he gripped me. What he says numbs me. “What news?”

  “Answer my questions first. I answered yours. A tit for tat.”

  I blink. “You being here means the world to me.”

  “Good. That’s good, doll.” He holds out his arm for me. I growl low in the back of my throat and rein in the urge to sucker punch him in the throat.

  He tsks. “Play nice, Blaise, or else I send the files to the authorities. You wouldn’t want your father to spend time rotting behind bars, would you?”

  For as much pain and suffering he’s caused, I can’t do that to Cillian. Someday, he’ll answer for his crimes, but he won’t be doing so because of me. I’m not a snitch. And . . . I’m starting to care for the old guy with the sick sense of humor. He doesn’t think I catch on, but he’s as lonely as I am. Cillian McCabe needs more lau
ghter and love in his life.

  I slip my arm through the crook of Hale’s, and we make our way back to the ballroom. On the way, he shares the reason he won’t need to look over his shoulder.

  “Your kidnapper is in police custody.”

  Sure enough, the news broke. People rush up to us, showing us their cell phones.

  “Blaise, your kidnapper showed up at Oakland’s Police Department and confessed. It was one of your security guards all along. Tobias Phelan.”

  If I could, I’d cry out, “Bullshit. My kidnapper is right here.”

  Except from across the room, I feel his eyes on me. I glance up and lock gazes with the sexist man in this room. Lucky me, he has the most gorgeous eyes I’ve come across.

  Too bad I have to break his heart.

  I walk over, and all eyes on me, everyone leaning in to hear what I’ll be saying to my husband while holding on to a different man’s arm, I deliver more gossip-worthy news.

  “Hello, Maddox. My lawyer will be contacting yours. Our marriage is done. I’m in love with Hale. He and I plan on marrying as soon as our divorce is finalized.”

  “So it’s like that, eh, Blaise?”

  So it’s like that, eh? I pinch myself. Am I having a nightmare? This can’t be real. His reaction, so cold and blasé, can’t be real.

  “Good riddance. Have a nice life.”

  My heart shatters. I’m right. I was a temporary fascination. He could never love me, oddities included. Maybe I am destined to be with someone as odd as me. I mean, how can someone pretend to not speak since he was nineteen?

  A freak, that’s who.

  31

  Blaise

  When we arrive at Cillian’s estate, ending our time at the party promptly after my disastrous and short interaction with my husband, Cillian congratulates me and Hale on our engagement, but never once questioned me about my pending divorce from Maddox.

  After news broke of my kidnapper’s confession, news of my divorce from Maddox circulated on various news sites as well as trending on social media. Cillian would have to be somewhere without service in order to have missed the breaking news.

  Does he hate Maddox that much?

  What’s worse is he’s set us up in the guesthouse that’s on his estate. The place has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. We’ve been living in the guesthouse on Cillian’s estate for a week now. I hide from the media storm. For Hale, it’s business as usual.

  At night, I lock my bedroom door. Hale, for now, leaves me alone. He conducts business for Cillian during the day. On some nights, he pulls extra shifts as a bouncer at Cillian’s nightclub, the Venus. It’s on one of those nights that a visitor pays me an unexpected visit.

  There’s a knock on my window. I stop reading, and holding my breath, I listen again. Another knock. I set the romance book down. Reading is my escape. Otherwise, I’ll bawl my eyes out, replaying in my head my time with Maddox and how badly it ended.

  I exhale softly and wait for more knocking. Or some other noise. Nothing. Irked, I gather my satin robe around my nakedness and pad to the window with an aluminum bat in my hand, courtesy of Granger. He dropped by with the large package yesterday for in case I have unwanted visitors. This knocking at my window counts.

  Who the hell is knocking on the second-floor bedroom window? Why didn’t they ring the doorbell?

  Standing off to the side, I free the latch on the lock and lift the window, giving the person room to climb inside. I lift the bat over my head. Am ready to slam it down across the person’s shoulders, when the person lifts his head and I’m staring into the most beautiful blue-green eyes.

  “Maddox, what the hell are you doing here?” I put the bat down.

  “Shh.” He places his finger over my lip.

  My insides quiver from his nearness. I long to lick his finger like a lollipop. Take the length in my mouth and suck and suck until he groans and demands I go down on him before he goes down on me. After he makes me come, he’ll slide his length and thickness inside my heat and make me come while kissing me breathless. Except, he doesn’t want me. He told the world that.

  I step back, away from his reach and his heat. He drops his hand to his side.

  “No one’s here except me. Why didn’t you ring the doorbell?”

  “Didn’t want to show up on the security cameras.”

  “You snuck into Cillian’s place? He’ll kill you.”

  “Good. I might as well be dead if I can’t have you with me. I’ve been miserable this past week, baby.”

  “And drinking way too much. You reek.”

  “I haven’t showered either, babe.”

  He’s slurring his words. He stinks to high heaven. But what sticks out is he misses me as much as I’ve missed him.

  “Maddox, why are you here?” I sit on the bed. He takes a spot next to me. Scrubs his palm over his face. He hasn’t shaved either, and my girl parts are singing at seeing his unshaved face. Goodness, he’s sexy as hell.

  “I came for the truth after a shit ton of thinking on my part. You see, when Kris left me, I conceded to her wish that I not contact or follow her to Massachusetts. I thought conceding and compromising was my road to heartache. It’s not. What I did was give up. Did a disservice to myself when I didn’t demand an answer. How can anyone have closure when the answers are kept from them? I love you, Blaise, and refuse to give up on you unless you don’t love me back.”

  “How can you say that when you’re still in love with that Kris woman? When you spend the night with Evie?”

  “Wait, what? What gives you that idea?”

  “Hale showed me a picture of you at the diner with your first love. Said you stayed at the same hotel Evie was at when she was in town.”

  “Shit.” He rests his elbows on his knees and holds his head in his palms. “I had agreed to meet Kris thinking you would be okay with it. You told me to get my closure. I got my answer, Blaise. My father paid for her graduate degree in exchange for breaking things off with me. He told her love was a distraction I didn’t need. What I needed was to make loads of money.”

  “Oh, Maddox, I’m so sorry.” I comfort him the best I can. I slip off my glove and interlace our fingers.

  “I should’ve run the plan to see her by you first. I’m sorry. As for Evie, yes, I stayed at the same hotel as she, but in a different room. Nothing happened. I walked her to her room, then went to mine. I couldn’t go home knowing you weren’t there, Blaise. I missed you, babe.” He looks up at me with earnestness in his eyes. “Do you believe me?”

  I nod.

  “Do you love me, baby?” He grasps me by the chin and forces me to look at him. “Give me the truth.”

  “Even if the truth hurts?”

  An agonizing, “Yes,” from him.

  I blink. “I don’t love you.”

  “Liar,” he growls.

  “How—”

  “You blink before you tell a lie, Blaise.”

  “Like when?” I challenge.

  “That you weren’t in danger. Or how about when you said you didn’t want my money or my body.”

  “I’m not in danger any longer, and being with you isn’t about your money or your body. You make me laugh. You listen without judging. You’re smart and driven. You compromise but also ask for what you want. There’s no guessing with you except with how you feel about me.”

  “I love you, Blaise. I’ll scream the words at the top of my lungs. Make sure everyone on this planet understands the depths of my feelings for you. I never want you to doubt what I feel for you, babe. So help a guy out and tell me why you’ve changed your mind. Why are you so intent on marrying this Hale guy?”

  My eyes tear up. “He’ll hurt Cillian if I don’t marry him.”

  “How?”

  “He has files on my father. Said the files will prove Cillian is selling weapons and has committed murder.”

  “He has the nerve to blackmail you?”

  “He’s done worse. He’s my kidnapper, Maddox.” />
  “What. The. Fuck. I’m gonna kill the bastard. Where is he now?”

  “The Venus. He’s pulling a shift as a bouncer.”

  Maddox stands and heads for the door. I hurry after him. “Maddox, the authorities won’t believe you. Tobias confessed.”

  Maddox wipes away the tear running down my face. He pulls me into his arms. “Are you sure Hale is your kidnapper?”

  “Yes. His voice sounds just like my kidnapper’s.”

  “I thought the bastard was mute?”

  “He fooled everyone.”

  “That mother-effer.” He lets go of me, and pulling his cell phone from his back pocket, he begins making calls to his security team and Granger.

  “Come get her, Granger. Take her home. Cillian? What about him? If he or his men get in your way, I’ll kick their asses. Hey, no need coming to my rescue, man. I can take them all on.”

  Granger must’ve given Maddox a smart-aleck response.

  “Go fuck yourself, Granger. First, come get my wife. My fist has a coming to Jesus with Hale’s face. While you’re at it, send men to Oakland’s police headquarters. Find out why Tobias confessed. I have a feeling Hale’s holding something over his head.”

  After he instructs his security team to meet him at the Venus, he paces in the living room.

  “What the hell could he have over your ex-bodyguard?”

  “It could be anything,” I mumble, wracking my brain for what I remember of Tobias.

  “He does have a little sister he loves more than life itself.” A sister he loves more than life itself. My words echo in my mind. “Oh, God, Maddox, what if he took Tobias’s sister? What if he hid her away? Buried her under the ground?”

  Maddox grabs at his hair. “Shit, shit, shit! We gotta rewind.”

  He makes another call. “Roland, buddy, get me what you can ASAP on Tobias’s little sister. Get the address. Do a welfare check.”

  He hangs up and paces some more.

  “Now what?” I wring my hands.

  “We wait.”