The Key To Micah's Heart (Hell Yeah!) (9 page)

Micah froze for a moment. Not remembering a girl’s name was a dicey situation and one he’d found himself in on more than one occasion in his life. She’d either be fine with it and laugh it off, or a smack was on the way.

Staring at her lovely face, he calmed his libido long enough to think. Damn! “Fellows?” He finally said when the light caught her face just right so he could see the little freckles dancing on her cheeks.

“Nice to see you again, Micah.”

“My God. Give me a little twirl.”

She clutched her purse in both hands. “What? Right here?”

Micah’s engine was running red-hot. “If you want, I’ll do one too. But you go first.”

Madison felt a rush of dread. She didn’t know if her confidence level was high enough to pull this off. But his attitude was so forceful, in a somehow respectful way, that Madison found herself making an awkward twirl on a set of steps that were far too narrow to do such a thing gracefully in heels. “Oh!” Her ankle twisted and Madison began to fall, her purse dropping from her hands. She grimaced with embarrassment and the anticipation of the pain that awaited her after she hit the ground.

But the pain never came, Micah stepped up and caught her, scooping her up into his arms. “Whoops-a-daisy. I’d do my twirl now, but you made it look pretty dangerous.”

Embarrassment would have to wait, all Madison could do was focus on how good it felt to be in Micah’s strong arms and be held this close to him.

Sonya opened the door with a bag of garbage in her hand. “And all this time you’ve been telling me you weren’t ever going to get married. May I welcome you two over the threshold?”

“She didn’t give me the option,” Micah quipped, but Madison noticed he hadn’t put her down yet.

Feeling emboldened by his attention, she found her voice. “It’s everything I ever dreamed it would be, darling.”

“Out of the way, Sonya,” Micah commanded in an overly dramatic voice. “I must take my bride to bed,” he stepped through the door with Madison in his arms, “and ravage her immediately.”

Wow. Madison’s pussy clenched. Sure, Micah was joking, but she would welcome his ravaging any day of the week and twice on Sunday. When her feet finally found the floor, her sigh was audible.

“What are you doing here?” Micah asked when Sonya stepped away.

“I came back for my duffle.”

“Awww. The infamous bag with all your valuables and dirty secrets in it. You can be straight with me, you have Jimmy Hoffa in there, don’t you?”

“How could he possibly be in my bag when he’s beneath the end zone at Giants Stadium?”

Micah shuddered. “Damn. Quick wit and she fills out a pencil skirt? Should you be flirting like this with me, Miss Fellows?”

“Are we flirting?”

“I know I am.” He looked her up and down again. “And I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to.”

Madison’s body began to vibrate. She’d been hit on a few times in her life, but never this brazenly or by a man like Micah. “And if we are flirting, why shouldn’t I be?”

“I’m sure your boyfriends wouldn’t like it too much.”

“Boyfriends?”

“Oh, come on.” The phone in Micah’s pocket vibrated. He took it out, noted it was nothing important, then switched it off. The only thing he wanted to focus on at the moment was Madison. “Tell me the truth. You must have a different guy for every day of the week.”

The thought struck Madison funny and she laughed. “Oh, right. I don’t have
one
, let alone seven.”

Micah’s lip curled into his trademark smirk. “None, huh?” Her response was confusing, but music to his ear. “So, that must mean you’re free on Saturday.”

Madison didn’t realize what was going on. “Why, yes, I believe I am.” She regretted answering so quickly, she should’ve at least pretended to think it over.

“No, you aren’t.”

“I’m not?”

“No. You’re going out with me on Saturday. What time should I pick you up?”

Madison panicked. Pick her up?!?!?

Wait! Was he asking her out?

“I uh…ummm.” There were words in her brain, but Madison was unable to form them. Micah was asking her out and every nerve in her body was on fire. “I do!” she blurted out.

Micah threw his head back with a laugh. “I’d say that response didn’t make much sense, but it seems kind of appropriate considering our entrance a moment ago.” He couldn’t stop smiling at her. “We should probably exchange numbers.” Taking out his phone, he turned it back on. “What is that thing?” he asked when he saw Madison’s cell phone.

She had an old clunky flip style phone. “It’s my cell.” She hadn’t been able to afford one of those fancy new touch screens that was more computer than phone in her opinion.

Micah took it out of her hand and looked it over as if it had been invented a week before the wheel. “How long have you had this?” Madison snatched at her antiquated possession, but Micah was too quick. He opened it up and saw the screen was cracked and the number five button was missing. “It’s a good thing my number doesn’t have any fives in it or you wouldn’t be able to call me.”

“Hey, now,” Madison defended her poor little phone that had been so good to her. “It may not be the fanciest one around but it helps me get by.”

“If you say so.” Micah handed her phone back after putting his number in her contacts and putting hers in his. “I’ll take your word for it.”

In a happy daze, Madison went in to collect her bag. Sonya was busy with a family needing some assistance, so she just retrieved it from the locker, holding the lock Micah had given her in her hand like a precious treasure. To her surprise, Micah waited for her.

“Here, thanks for this. I appreciate you letting me borrow it.”

Taking her hand, he closed it over the lock. “Keep it, you might need it again.”

A memento. “All right.” She tucked it in her pocket, patting it to make sure it was safe.

“Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.” She trembled at his side as he walked her out of the shelter and through the parking lot. “You’ll be hearing from me,” he promised.

“I look forward to it,” she whispered.

The urge to kiss her was strong, but he pushed it back. This seemed too important to rush. She was special and he didn’t want to come on so strong that he scared her. He played the gentleman, opening her door and waiting until she was seated and her seat belt fastened. After he shut the door, she rolled the window down a crack. “Take care,” he said, patting the side of the door. “Drive safely.”

“I will. Thanks.” Madison gave him a smile and a wave, driving the whole way home with that smile still on her face. She’d gone there to collect her bag from the locker, but she’d left with something even better.

Madison had a date…with Micah Wolfe!

Meanwhile, back in Mexico…

“This is crazy,” Mateo whispered. “We’re going to get ourselves killed. Are you sure it’s worth it?”

Sofia looked at her young friend. He was such a good man. “Your safety is worth a lot to me. And that’s why you’re not going today.” She ignored his noise of protest, continuing to study the online map of the city. “I think this club, Hidalgo’s, is at the center of our search. I’ve questioned as many people as I can and they tell me the policio in this neighborhood have been paid off. The girls are stolen off the street, off of buses, out of stores–and brought here.” She sat back and chewed on her fingernail. “I need to get in that club.”

This white woman was certifiably crazy
, Mateo thought. He didn’t really know how old Sofia was, but she was still an attractive woman. He loved her like a mother and he believed in what she was working for, but she was trying to take on very powerful men–with armies–single-handedly. He was willing to do what he could, but even together, they were no match for what they faced. “I think we need help.”

Sofia threw up her hands. “And who would I ask? I’m a former puta. I walked the streets until…” Her voice softened and she smiled. “Until I met Jose.” She blushed, glancing at Mateo. “He came to me one day and bought all my time. Jose Salazar paid a fortune to buy me from the man who owned me. He was good to me, and when he passed, he left me with enough to survive and do good. I’m not rich, but I’m secure.” She stood abruptly, causing her chair to rock on the tile floor. “But even at that, I am marked. The desperate know my name, they know my face. The girls know who to call if they have the strength to walk away. But I have no one to ask for help. I can’t trust the authorities. The one time I went to them for help, the next day we had to run because soldiers were banging on the door!”

Mateo stood and walked to the window, lifting one edge of the blind to peer out into the streets. “I have seen the news. I have used the internet. Your son is from a powerful family. He has powerful friends. He is searching for you. Don’t you think if you told him what you knew–what you suspected–that he would help?”

Sofia almost reeled with the impact of Mateo’s words. “Call Noah? Call the McCoy hacienda?” She began to pace across the floor. “Sue and Sebastian are dead.”

Turning back to her, he spread his hands as if asking for a hand-out. “These McCoy brothers, they are grown, your son is a fine man. Call him. Explain what we’re doing and ask for his help. He’ll know who to talk to. He’ll know who we can trust.”

“I don’t know…” Sofia covered her eyes. Could she do this? Was she brave enough to expose herself to the son she’d given away–abandoned.

“Do it. Even now, I suspect they are looking for you, and he wouldn’t be searching for you in the very places where you’ve walked…if he didn’t know the truth. Or at least part of it. There isn’t anything you can say to your son that would diminish his joy in being reunited with his mother.” Mateo put a hand on her shoulder. “Call him.”

Sofia wrapped her arms about herself tightly. The chill of shame and dread overwhelmed her. Still…Mateo might be right. This could be the answer. She could get help for those who needed it, bring justice to those who deserved it.

But would Noah accept her? Forgive her? Even after she told him the whole truth?

Probably not.

But it was worth a try. Lives were depending on her and she had no better place to turn.

“All right. I’ll do it.”

Madison’s Adventure Begins…

Madison’s day just kept getting better and better. When she arrived home after her trip to the shelter, she was greeted by the sight of Rudy loading bags into the trunk of a cab. She ran over to talk to them before the cab pulled away. “Mom. Where are you going?”

Sunny, already in the backseat, rolled down the window to speak to her. “Oh hey, baby. Rudy got a call from a friend of his up in Fort Worth who needs an extra hand around the shop, so we’re headed up there for a while. Rudy’s friend said we can stay in a room in the back of the shop while we look for a place.”

As much as she hated having Rudy near, in a way, it’d been nice to see her mother again. They’d all avoided each other for the most part, but Madison and Sunny had managed a few good talks. No doubt Rudy had some type of a shady job lined up in Fort Worth. As sad as she was to say good-bye to her mother, after what Rudy said to her about Micah a few days ago, she was certainly glad to see him go. If they’d stayed much longer, Madison might have done something rash.

He didn’t even look at her, not so much as a ‘thanks for the hospitality’ or even a nod, he just got into the backseat beside Sunny and waited.

“Thank you for puttin’ us up, Maddie. I’ll call when we get to Fort Worth.”

The cab was gone before Madison could kiss her mother goodbye. She watched it until the taillights disappeared, then headed upstairs to her apartment.

“Whew!” She fanned the air. The stink was unmistakable. It smelled of Rudy, like stale cigarette smoke and engine parts. She hadn’t taken a survey of the apartment since they’d moved in, but Madison knew the likelihood that something, be it valuable or not, would be missing was strong. Rudy had sticky fingers, he’d steal the batteries out of a smoke detector if you left him alone with it for any length of time. At a cursory glance, Madison couldn’t see anything obvious missing. Of course, she’d have to count the spoons and forks and check to make sure Rudy hadn’t been rifling through her trash, trying to find her banking information. But all that could wait, right now she was too ecstatic about her date with Micah to worry about such negative things.

Excited, Madison ran into the bedroom and jumped up onto her bed. She bounced up and down a few times before falling onto her back and settling into the mattress. The bed felt softer and fluffier than it had ever felt, as if Disney creatures from the forest had come and stuffed it with feathers and pine needles.

After all, he’d called her Cinderella.

This wonderful expectancy was a feeling Madison hadn’t experienced often in her life. Oh sure, she’d been on a few dates. Three to be exact and two of those had been in high school at a time when she was constantly moving around because of her mother. None of those three dates had been memorable.

Madison sat bolt upright in her bed. “Oh my God. Where are we going?” Her head started to spin. What did Micah even have planned for their date? “Oh don’t be silly, Madison. He couldn’t possibly have something planned yet. You just exchanged numbers a while ago. There are still two days to go until Saturday.” Cuddling a teddy bear to her chest, she lay back down and stared at the ceiling. “How am I going to stand the wait?” She kicked her feet in excitement like a small child. “Maybe he needs a few days to arrange for a horse and buggy.” The thought thrilled her, but Rudy’s words crept back into her mind. “Or maybe he was just being polite and he’s going to blow me off tomorrow.” Doubt flooded her heart.