The Key To Micah's Heart (Hell Yeah!) Read online

  The flight had been long and although she was tired, the promise of a romp with Micah piqued Madison’s sensual interest and she was willing to work off her debt with great zeal.

  “Okay. I’m easily convinced, but when things settle down I hope you’ll work on your detective novel. I think it’s been simmering in your heart a long time. Don’t you think it’s time to put it down on paper?”

  Micah followed her into the house. “You may be right, love. I’ll give it a try.” As soon as he stepped through the door, his cat came and wound itself around his ankles. “Hey, jerk,” he picked up Thunderpunch and gave him a good head rub as he walked into the kitchen. “I see Saxon didn’t do a bang-up job as temporary cat food bowl filler-upper.” Thunderpunch’s bowl was low. He sat the cat down and poured some crunchies out of the bag for his little friend.

  In the bathroom, Madison turned on the shower and slipped in, letting the warm water wash away the residual effects of sitting on a jet for hours. Being in Micah’s house felt normal to her now. She felt like she was at home and that was a dangerous feeling to have.

  Micah carried their luggage and left it on the bed. Hearing the shower, he was almost tempted to give Madison a little company, but decided she needed a little time to pamper herself. Instead, he stepped into his study and sat down at the redwood desk to call up his email on the laptop. He was just about to respond to a new set of fan messages when he heard the front door open and close.

  “Anybody home?”

  “In here,” Micah called out to his friend.

  A moment later Saxon appeared at the entryway to the study. “Welcome home, Wolfe.” He had a dossier in his hand and Micah dreaded the thought of having to dive headlong into some sort of work.

  “Hey Sax. Good to be back. Any word on Noah and Sofia?”

  “Aron called Kyle and reported that Sofia and Mateo were fitting right in. He said Sofia was cooking up a storm. They’ve had burritos, enchiladas, tacos, fajitas, chalupas and tamales.” Saxon laughed. “He’s so sick of Mexican food he doesn’t know what to do. Kyle said Aron laughed and said Jim Gaffigan was right. He’d never noticed they were all the same before. It’s all a tortilla with cheese, meat or vegetables.”

  “I’m sure Aron eats whatever is put in front of him. What do they have Mateo doing?”

  “I hear Noah already has him on a horse. He’ll be riding rodeo before this is over.”

  “I’m glad it’s all working out.” Micah stared at the papers in Saxon’s hand. “How about Marisol? Any word on the Jaguar?”

  Saxon sat down in one of the leather chairs across from Micah. “Club Hidalgo is open for business again.”

  “That didn’t take long.”

  “No. Once the dust settled, Santiago had a guy go back into the club as a customer armed with a small camera. He took lots of photos. Santiago sent them to us. I’ll let you look at them in a day or two when you get some time. Tyson showed them to Marisol and she’s trying to match the photos with some others she has to see if any are a match. There was one odd thing I saw though.” At Micah’s questioning expression, he continued. “You know how some restaurants have a fish tank? These idiots have a big black jaguar pacing back and forth in a gilded cage.”

  Madison heard the voices when she got out of the shower. She didn’t feel right about barging in on Micah and his company, so she padded into the bedroom and decided to busy herself by unpacking their clothes. Later she would put on a load of laundry.

  First she towel dried her hair, then slipped on a clean dress. After she emptied both of her bags, proudly hanging the new clothes Micah had bought her in the closet, she began to empty his. The small domestic task made her feel good. She loved to do things for him. Reaching for the last of his underwear and socks, her hand bumped something hard. With a frown, she felt deeper.

  What in the world?

  She gasped as her hand closed around a lock. When she drew it out, she was dismayed to see it was their lock, the one they’d locked on the bridge.

  What did this mean?

  Did Micah go back and take it down?

  An odd feeling of discontent filled her chest. She sat down on the bed and just held the padlock in her hand, staring at their names and the small heart. All of a sudden she felt a little sick to her stomach. Being still, it was easier to hear the men talking. Although she didn’t intentionally eavesdrop, sound travelled well in the big place and it was impossible not to hear most of what they were saying.

  “So you enjoyed the trip? Lots of fans?”

  “Oh, yea. The readings and signings were quite an experience. I really wasn’t prepared for it all.”

  “I bet you had to beat the women off with a stick.”

  Micah begged off. “Sorry, Saxon, my man. Wasn’t interested in a single one. I had my special lady friend there with me. She was all I needed.”

  Madison’s heart filled with joy when she heard Micah’s words.

  How about that, World?

  Poor little Madison Alicia Fellows was Micah Albert Wolfe’s ‘special lady friend’.

  Maybe she was wrong about the lock. She shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Sometimes things weren’t exactly as they seemed at first. Madison wanted to go to him and just kiss him to death right then and there. And that was just what she was about to do when she heard Saxon start to speak.

  “I want to talk to you about her actually.” He fidgeted with the dossier on the desk.

  Micah leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other. “Okay. What about, hombre?”

  Madison was curious also. She stood and walked out into the hall, close enough to the study door to hear well, but far enough that she would be out of sight.

  “I did some digging around and I found this on her.” Saxon pushed the dossier across the table to Micah. “It seems your new special lady has a bit of a checkered past.”

  Madison’s heart fell into her shoes. What could Saxon possibly have found on her?

  Micah began leafing through the file. Words jumped out at him. Ugly words. “Pandering and soliciting prostitution. What the fuck?” He stood up from the desk, staring at the piece of paper in his hand.

  Madison recoiled in on herself at Micah’s tone. She wasn’t sure what Saxon had found but whatever it was, none of it was true. She held her breath, expecting Micah to come to her defense, but he didn’t.

  “I can’t believe this,” Micah said. He was exhausted from the flight and the last month or so of his life. He couldn’t believe what he was reading. “That’s her name all right. Madison Fellows.”

  “Perhaps you don’t know this girl as well as you thought you did,” Saxon said. “Those reports say that Madison Fellows has been questioned numerous times by the Vice squad and has even been detained on more than one occasion.”

  “Fuck, I can’t believe this.” Micah cursed, pushing his chair back so hard against the wall that the sound of the blow echoed through the house.

  Madison couldn’t believe it either. She wanted to barge into the room and defend herself, to assure Micah none of that was true, but he didn’t sound like he would be interested in her version. He seemed to be buying what Saxon was selling and that made Madison’s heart feel like it was being squeezed in a vice.

  Micah took a seat back at his desk. “I don’t know what to say.” A large part of him wasn’t buying what Saxon had put forth to him, but there it was. “Madison’s name right here in black and white, over and over again.” He stared at the notes of the vice detective’s report.

  Madison couldn’t take it any longer. She ran back to the bedroom, placed the lock on the top of his closed suitcase and quickly packed all of her old clothes she could find into her duffle. As silently as she could, she slipped out the front door and into her car. She fired it up, praying the noise would go unheard and she could just drive off without Micah knowing she’d left. As quickly and quietly as she could, Madison drove away, tears streaming down her face.

  “I don’t know, Saxon
.” The first rush of shock was passing and Micah was able to think straight. What he was reading didn’t make sense. He knew Madison. And what he was reading sounded nothing like the girl he knew. “This seems like some pretty flimsy evidence. All that’s here is just notes. There isn’t even a picture of her.”

  Saxon huffed. “Are you kidding me? How many other Madison Fellows do you think there are here in the Austin area? I checked and there’s only one. I also did some other checking around. Miss Fellows has a pretty sporadic work and housing record. She seems to bounce around a lot.”

  “She works as a temp.”

  “I looked into that and she’s only been with a temp agency for the last four years. Before that I couldn’t find any work history on her at all.”

  “I know it may burn your ears off to hear me say this, but not everything is on the internet, you know. And so what if she’s only been with the agency for four years?”

  “Look at the notes, Micah. They’re from five years ago. You know what I think? I think Madison Fellows fell on hard times early in her twenties. Maybe she partied too much or hooked up with the wrong guy, then she needed some money and decided to give hooking a try.”

  Micah’s temperature spiked. “I’d tread lightly here, Saxon. You’re talking about the woman I love.”

  Yea, love.

  He’d said it.

  He’d been denying it for some time, and now the truth just burst from his lips.

  “I’m your friend. What am I supposed to do? I’m just trying to protect you, Micah. Austin probably isn’t the only city where she’s been picked up. Hell, there’s no telling how many different names she’s used. Do you even know if Madison Fellows is her real name? I think her hooking got her fired and she was on the streets for a while before she decided to do temp work. Tell me, Wolfe. What do you really know about her? The way Kyle tells it, she lived at your place the entire time you were on the run in Mexico. Then you come home and she goes with you on this lavish book tour. I’d wager a guess that she didn’t foot the bill for the trip on her temp’s salary.”

  “You’re full of it, Saxon. Why don’t you get the hell out of here before my lady hears you?”

  “She’s here?”

  “We just got home. We’re tired. She went to take a shower.”

  Saxon scooped the dossier up off Micah’s desk and headed for the door.

  “Where are you going?”

  “We might as well just ask her.”

  Micah followed him. “You hold on a minute.” He stopped Saxon with a hand on the elbow. “I’m not going to let you just waltz into my bedroom and confront the woman I have very strong feelings for.”

  Saxon jerked his arm away. “Either you go in and ask her or I will.”

  Micah gave his friend a hard look. “You best be right about this, partner. Because there’ll be hell to pay if you aren’t.”

  Saxon steeled his determination. He was fiercely protective of his friends, especially Micah. “We’ve known each other since we were kids, Micah. I only have your best interest at heart. Here. I’ll let you go talk to her.” He held the folder out to Micah.

  Thunderpunch stood guard at the bedroom door. “You wanna let me in, buddy?” Micah asked before rapping a light knuckle on the door. “Madison? Can I come in?” He looked back at Saxon who stood his ground. Micah knocked again. “Fellows? I’m comin’ in.”

  Micah pushed the door open and stepped into the room, Thunderpunch hot on his heels. They both looked around the room first, then in the master bathroom, but Madison was nowhere to be found.

  “Where is she?” Saxon asked when Micah and his furry partner came back with only each other for company.

  “I don’t know. She was in the shower. Madison! Are you here?”

  They searched the place together but Madison was nowhere to be found.

  “Where are you going?” Saxon asked when Micah broke for the door.

  Micah pulled open the front door and right away he saw her car was gone. “Fuck!” He cursed loud enough to be heard in Lubbock. “Are you fucking happy?” Micah stormed by his friend.

  Saxon felt like an ass. “I didn’t even know she was here when I arrived.” He’d come over here to present Micah with what he’d found. He was still confident in his findings, but he hadn’t known how strongly Micah felt for Madison until this moment.

  Micah went to the kitchen and gathered his phone. “Get the fuck out,” he ordered with a pointed finger when Saxon came to the kitchen to talk to him.

  “Fine. Don’t blame me for finding out the truth, Micah,” Saxon said before slamming the door on his way out.

  “Madison. It’s me. I don’t know what you heard or thought you heard, but come back. We need to talk. Baby, call me when you get this.” He hung up and immediately called her cell again.

  Madison drove through the tears. Micah had her car fixed while they were away, but she wasn’t sure the poor little engine would hold up against the push she was giving it. She ran stop signs, weaved across traffic and screeched to a halt in her parking spot back at the apartment. The building looked drab compared to the lavishness of Micah’s place. She’d only been back a couple of times in the last weeks, but it was still home, still somewhere she could rest her head.

  As she turned off the car, Madison felt the phone in her pocket vibrate. Pulling it from her pocket, she saw there were at least seven missed calls from Micah and that he’d left a message each time. There were also a dozen texts or more from him, but Madison refused to look at any of them. How could she have been so foolish to believe he’d ever feel anything for her? All it had taken was for one of his friends to come in waving false accusations in the air and Micah had believed them.

  “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!” Madison scolded herself, hitting the steering wheel harder with each word. “Rudy was right about Micah.” She crawled out of the car with her shoulders slumped, the feeling of defeat and anguish heavy on her heart. “What would a good-looking rich fella like that want to do with me? He’s probably back there right now having a big laugh with the rest of his buddies. I bet he called them to brag the second he saw I was gone. God, Madison. What is wrong with you?”

  Before she went inside, Madison turned the sound on her phone off and put it in the very bottom of her purse. She didn’t intend to use it again. If she ever saw Micah again, she would return it and she’d stop the service to the number as soon as she got her next bill.

  The stairs of her apartment building offered some comfort as Madison ascended them. The very act of putting one foot ahead of the other gave her something to do. Micah had been correct at their first meeting, she was indeed Cinderella and the clock had struck midnight, time for her to return to life in her ramshackle apartment and rusty pumpkin-mobile.

  Her front door had been properly fixed while she was away. “Damn you, Micah.” She didn’t understand why he’d bothered. Just as she was about to open the door, it flew open from the other side.

  “I’ll be back in a bit. Just going out for a drink or two.” Rudy said over his shoulder, looking back into the apartment.

  Madison gulped in a breath of air. “What are you doing here?”

  Rudy sneered at her. “Looks like the bitch is back,” he said, spitting on the already dingy carpet of the hallway. “I was just about to leave, but I think I’ll stick around to properly welcome you home.”

  Sunny came to meet her daughter. “Oh, honey, there you are. We’ve been so worried. Where have you been?”

  Where had she been?

  Madison had spent her entire life asking her mother that exact same question. “Mom. What are you two doing here?”

  “I’m sorry, baby. Rudy got into a fight with his boss up in Fort Worth about a week ago. We came home to Austin to see if we could stay with you but you weren’t here. I still had a key so we’ve been staying here, waiting for you to come home. What’s wrong, baby? You look like you’ve been crying.” Madison turned to leave, but Sunny caught her. “Where are y
ou going?”

  “I guess I’ll go to Angel House.” The situation back at Micah’s had been heartbreaking. To know the man she loved believed nasty things about her hurt Madison to the bone. But coming home and finding her mother and Rudy was just too much for Madison to handle.

  “Not so fast. We still need money.” Rudy said.

  “Not now, Rudy,” Sunny spoke up, but Rudy just pushed her aside.

  “No, she owes us. We raised her, fed her, clothed her. It’s time she paid us back and if you won’t shake her down, I will.”

  Madison could see this was going downhill fast. “I can’t be here right now, Mom. Just leave me alone.”

  Rudy reached for her, but Sunny held him back. Madison ran down the four flights of stairs as fast as she could, jumping behind the wheel of the car as if it were her only sanctuary.

  “Arghhhhhhh!!!!” Madison screamed into the steering wheel as she drove down the street.

  She glanced back in the rearview mirror only to see Rudy standing on the sidewalk giving her the finger.

  Micah had been her salvation, her safe haven and now that wasn’t an option. The only other place she felt at home was at her own apartment, but seeing Rudy and Sunny there had ruined any chance Madison had of finding peace tonight, so she drove around, parking in a Hardee’s parking lot for almost an hour.

  Even though she had nowhere else to go, she didn’t look forward to staying at the shelter. Even the thought of seeing Sonya didn’t cheer her up. She might find refuge at Angel House, but it would also remind her of Micah and Madison didn’t know if she could deal with that right now. She looked for any excuse to delay the inevitable, deciding she might as well fill up her gas tank.

  Stopping at a station, she pulled up to the gas pump. Taking out her wallet, she thought how little money she had left. Not working for the last few weeks hadn’t been very smart. Taking a twenty out, she paid for ten dollars’ worth and pocketed the other ten. She’d be eating tuna for the next few weeks.

  Leaning on the top of the car, she waited for the gas to fill her tank. Everything felt strange, like she was trapped in quicksand. Breathing wasn’t an easy task. Once she was through, Madison got behind the wheel and decided to just leave.