Taking a Chance (26 page)

Her eyelids fluttered open and Austin looked up at her. He rolled on a condom and made his way back up to her mouth, never looking away. He began brushing feather light kisses on her mouth while watching her. His tongue ran over her lower lip and she moaned. Maddie placed her hands on both sides of his face. She pulled his mouth harder to hers. As he kept his eyes steady on hers, he slowly pushed inside her and she saw the wave of desire wash over his face. She wrapped her long legs around him and he sank even deeper into her.

“Baby, this is where I’m meant to be.”

As he slowly moved in her, he mirrored each thrust with his tongue. She desperately ran her hands over his back and arched her hips as high as she could. He dropped his head and buried it in her neck and held her tight. He continued his slow, deep rhythm and Maddie climbed so high she was afraid her orgasm would shatter her. The moment it hit she yelled out his name and he came with her.

He lifted his head and shifted some of his weight to the side of her. He ran his hand over her stomach and up to her face. He gave her a quick kiss.

“Mad, how am I going to live every day without you next to me?”

“I don’t know, but we have to try.”

“I need you.”

“I know. We’ll make it work. You said so yourself.” She smiled at him although she was not sure how she was going to go one day without feeling his mouth on hers. That was going to be the hardest thing she’d ever done.

• • •

M
addie stood in Austin’s arms dreading the release of his hold. She inhaled his cologne and the scent of her body wash on him. Their relationship had changed since she arrived yesterday morning and she was thankful he had made the last minute decision to fly her to Austin. She felt content with their relationship and confident with her decision to go to California for a couple months.

She leaned back so she could look up into his eyes. She could not help the few tears that had formed in her eyes.

“Please don’t cry, baby,” Austin said softly, “we’ll see each other again soon.”

“I know, it’s just …” Maddie hesitated unsure with her words. “What if …”

“Please don’t worry about anything right now. We’re in this together.”

Maddie believed him, but some things would be out of their control.

“I have a short gig I have to be at in about an hour, so unfortunately I have to go. I should be done by the time you land. The group is planning on going out for a few drinks after since we have the night off. Please call me the moment you land, so I know you’re home.”

“Okay, have fun. I’ll call you as soon as I’m down.”

He leaned down to kiss her one final time. Maddie tried to push back the tears she could feel gathering behind her eyelids.

“I love you. Please be careful.”

“I love you too. I promise I’ll watch out for the bad guys.” She laughed.

“I’m serious, Maddie.”

She ducked her head down to avoid his look. After a moment, she brought her head back up to look him in the eyes again. “I know you are.”

She waved to him as she made her way through the security gate. He waved back and mouthed the words
I love you
.

B
rad was driving Austin to meet the rest of the band. Austin was running late, but did not care today. He was always on time for everything and if he wanted to spend five more minutes with his girlfriend that was just something the band would have to accept. Actually, he assumed the band would not have an issue, but Charlie was a different story.

Austin’s phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked down at the screen. Maddie was still in flight, but he recognized the Chicago area code. He took a chance and picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Austin?”

“Yeah, who is this?”

“It’s Molly.”

“Hey, Molly. Is everything okay?”

“Yes…um, well, I was hoping I could talk to you about something.”

“Sure, but I only have a few minutes. I’m running behind schedule.”

“I’m sorry to be calling and please know I don’t want to cause any problems between you and Maddie. I love Maddie and I just want to make sure she’s safe.”

“Do you think I would do something to hurt Maddie?”

“Absolutely not! Quite the opposite, I think you’re perfect for her and the one to take care of her.”

Even though Molly could obviously not see him, he nodded his head. “Good.”

“Ah,” she paused, “I’m curious if she’s talked to you about George? I know it was a sore subject early on, so I’ve hesitated calling you.”

How long has Molly been hesitating to call me?
Austin knew that Maddie had not talked to Molly yet, but she was planning to tell Molly everything on Monday night. They had talked about it last night. He did not want to betray Maddie’s confidence, but he was not sure why Molly was asking.

“Yes…um, she did tell me all about him, but I don’t want to betray Maddie.”

“I understand. You don’t have to tell me any details, but can you just tell me if she told you why they broke off the engagement? The reason I’m asking is that none of us know and we’re getting more concerned. I don’t need you to tell me the reason, but I just need to know if I should be worried about her.”

Shit. What did Maddie not tell me? I swear, if she’s still in danger—

“Yes, I believe she told me everything. But you’re scaring me, Molly, is there something else I should be concerned about?”

“Well, it’s just that I talked to her assistant Sheri the other night and Sheri said she thought George had hurt her, but Maddie always denied it.”

Austin took in a deep breath. He hated hearing about her getting hurt. He hated even more that she had lived a year of her life alone in fear and pain. She had never confided in anyone and it broke his heart every time he thought about it.

“Okay, but whether or not that happened when they were together, why would you be concerned about it now?”

“Well, George has randomly appeared at places she’s been at over the last month. He shows up at events he should have no idea about. She’s never told me what he wants or what he says. Maybe he just wants to get back together, but she’s not said that to me. I don’t know. Austin, what I’m really asking is if I should be worried? Is George a threat to Maddie?”

Austin’s entire body went rigid. He sat straight up in the car with his fist clenched. “Molly,” he couldn’t hide the fury in his voice, “when was the last time he confronted her?”

“Friday night. He showed up at the restaurant at Maddie’s surprise party.”

Austin punched the back of the seat in front of him.
Dammit, Maddie, why didn’t you tell me he was stalking you?
He should have asked more questions. Now Austin knew she was still in danger.

“All I will say for now is that I need you to please keep an eye on her until I can get there. Are you at home tonight?”

“Oh my God …” Austin heard the catch in her voice. “He hurt her, didn’t he?” Austin heard the sob escape. Molly was going to go through the same wave of emotions that he’d had, only Molly would feel guilt on top of hate. Austin knew her well enough to know that. Molly was going to feel like she should have known and been able to stop it.

“Molly, I need you stay calm. Let’s not talk about the past, but focus on what we can do for her now.”

“Okay.” Her voice had grown soft and Austin knew she was trying hard not to break down. “Travis and I are flying home in a couple of hours. Do you think I need to go over and stay with her tonight?”

“Yes, and take Travis with you.”

“Now you’re scaring
me
!”

Brad pulled up to the building and gave Austin a look that told him Charlie was waiting and not happy.

“Molly, I’m sorry, but I have to go. I need to see what I can do to change my schedule, but I may not be able to fly to Chicago until Tuesday at the earliest. I know she’s scheduled to leave, but I don’t want her going anywhere until I can make sure she has protection. I’ll talk to her tonight about delaying her trip. Please take care of her until I get there. I love her and I can’t have anything happen to her.”

“Okay. We’ll take care of her until you get there.”

“Thank you. And, Molly, please understand Maddie is doing much better, but it will take time for her to fully heal. She loves you and needs you just as much as me. She’s afraid you’ll be angry with her.”

“I would never be mad at her! I just wish she would have…I could have helped…I just …” Molly was crying and Austin didn’t know what else he could do right now.

“I know you’re not mad, but she needs to hear it from you. She was scared and embarrassed, but you can help her now. Okay?”

“Okay.” Molly sniffled.

“Thanks again. I really have to go, but I’ll talk to you later.”

When Austin got out of the car, Charlie was standing just outside the door. He didn’t look happy and he opened his mouth but got cut off.

“Charlie, one wrong word and I’m going to get back in that car and you can either find yourself a new band to represent or a new lead singer. I’m not in the mood tonight!”

“Fine, but can you at least be nice to the client and the fans?”

“Of course.” Austin looked hard at Charlie. “Have I
ever
let you down?” When Charlie didn’t utter a word, Austin went on. “I need you to check on flights to Chicago on Tuesday.”

“But you have shows next week.”

“Please just figure it out. I need to get to Chicago to get a few things taken care of for Maddie.”

Charlie looked furious, but all he said was, “Fine, I’ll see what I can do.”

M
addie couldn’t rest on the flight. Last night had been the best night of her life, but she was on edge now. As soon as the plane landed, she sent a text to Austin and was disappointed when she did not get his usual immediate response. She tried calling him when she got in the cab. His voicemail picked up and she left a quick message, assuming he was still at his gig.
It must have been longer than he had expected.

She called her mom to tell her she was back home. Her mom didn’t pick up either, so Maddie left her a voicemail. Trying one more person to try and ease her tension, she dialed Molly to confirm what time they were meeting tomorrow. Maddie tried to contain her disappointment when Molly’s phone went right into voicemail. She felt alone right now and wanted a familiar voice to distract her from her own thoughts. Calling her brother to check on Ashley would help, but she decided against it on the chance Lola picked up his phone. Lola was the last thing Maddie wanted to deal with right now.

Maddie made her way into her building after paying the driver and was again disappointed when she saw Tim behind the counter rather than Sid. Even though he was typically off Sunday evenings, she still had been hoping to see his friendly face to lift her spirits.

“Hi, Tim.”

“Good evening. Did you just get back from a trip?” He nodded toward her suitcase.

“Yeah, I was in Austin for the weekend.”

“Sounds fun. Hope you had a great trip.”

Tim went back to his computer screen and Maddie made her way over to the elevator. Tim didn’t get involved with the residents’ lives the way Sid did. She nervously rode the elevator up to her floor and stepped out into the quiet hallway. Dread consumed her knowing it would be quiet inside her condo making her feel even more alone. Maddie sighed and turned her key in the lock. She was willing her phone to ring so she could hear Austin’s voice.

She opened the door and put her suitcase down just inside the door. As she made her way across the hallway to her security panel, she stopped dead in her tracks.

“I was wondering when you would get back.”

The sound of his voice always gave her the chills. However, the sound of his voice inside her condo with no one else around sent panic through her.
How did he turn the security alarm off?

“How the hell did you get in here?”

“Nice to see you too, Madison. No ‘I’ve missed you.’ No ‘It’s nice to have you home.’”

The tone of his voice chilled her even further.

She saw it only a split second before she felt it. She didn’t have time to react and felt the back of his hand hit her cheekbone hard. Her eye started watering and the heat of the blow spread across half her face. She was too stunned to feel the intense pain immediately. She jerked her head up to meet his eyes. Worn down right now, she just wanted to give up and drop to the floor. But she knew she had to stand up to him, or he would take advantage of the situation.

“What do you want, George?”

He stepped closer and stood within inches of her. His breath was coming fast and she could smell liquor. He gently brushed his thumb over the same cheek he had hit. His touch sickened her. She wanted to shove him away but had to calculate her timing perfectly. She didn’t know how far he would go, but she had to assume the worst. It wasn’t as if someone would come through the door at any moment to rescue her. The battle was hers to fight.

“I thought you would be happy to see me home. Although I’m disappointed you’re running around the country like a groupie whore. Why are you doing this to me?”

“To you?” Maddie tried to remain calm. “You left me. You walked out on me. I moved on with my life.”

“No, no, no, Madison. I didn’t say you could go around whoring yourself out. I just wanted a break from you and your constant whining.” He raked both of his hands through his hair. “Now I’m back and I want you to give me what you’ve been giving that rock star.”

Maddie’s stomach tightened. She knew all she had to do was make it to the panic button and it would send a 911 call request downstairs. George knew about the panic button, but didn’t know she had changed the instructions for Sid and Tim. They were to call 911 no matter what if they didn’t hear her voice. She just hoped Tim would be at his desk because every second would count.

George put his arm around her waist and roughly pulled her to him. The feel of his arousal digging into her hip made her want to scream. Maddie took a deep breath to try and calm herself.

“Sweetheart, I didn’t realize you still felt this way about me. Why didn’t you just say so?” She smiled as pleasantly as she could, “I
have
missed you.”