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

  “Sir, you can wait in the lobby.”

  The nurse, Alma Simms, so her name tag stated, was about to say more when the room suddenly became extra crowded.

  Saxon, Jet and Kyle burst in.

  “Wolfe, you drive like a bat out of hell. If you don’t slow down, you’re going to set my safety goals for the city back ten years.”

  Alma was just about to go off on a rant when her eyes became focused on Kyle’s face. “Governor, what an honor. May I help you?”

  Jet and Saxon left Kyle with the nurse and they came to his side.

  Words of despair burst from Micah’s lips. “I don’t know a damn thing, guys. I don’t know how she is or what happened and that woman won’t tell me anything because I’m not a relative.”

  Micah’s voice was tired, he was tired.

  Jet put an arm on his shoulder. “Come on, Micah. Let’s step down to the lobby. We can see the hall from there. Let Kyle deal with the nurse. We’ve got a little news for you and we’ll stay with you until we find out more.”

  “She’s hurt and I don’t have any idea how bad.” Micah knew he wasn’t telling them anything they didn’t already know, but he didn’t know what else to do.

  “Of course, Governor, I’ll have the doctor come speak to Mr. Wolfe straightway. I don’t know the details of her accident, but a policeman has asked to be notified when she gets back to her room.”

  “Police?” Micah looked at Saxon. “What does she mean?”

  Saxon felt like shit already. But seeing Micah looking disoriented and scared didn’t make things any better. “Let’s get you some coffee and I’ll tell you what we know.”

  “I don’t want coffee. Where’s X-ray?”

  Micah started toward the elevator, but Jet used his big body to force a course change. “It’s on another floor and they wouldn’t let you in there with her anyway. Sit.”

  Micah sat in one of the green padded chairs that lined the wall. A TV blared Fox News at one end of the room and a coffee table covered with assorted rag-tag magazines sat at the other. A soda vending machine offered refreshing drinks until one noticed the ‘out of order’ sign over the money slot.

  Jet sauntered over to the messy coffee station and poured Micah a cup. “Here, you look like you’re on your last legs.”

  “I’m fine.” Micah took a sip. “Ye gods,” he coughed, “motor oil.” He swallowed, grimaced, then squared a stare at Saxon. “Tell me what you know.”

  “Madison’s car was struck by a brick thrown from the top of the MLK overpass.” Saxon ignored the blue streak coming from Micah’s mouth and just kept talking. “The brick didn’t strike her, but she lost control of her car, skated off a concrete barrier and hit the guard rail. She was unconscious when they found her. I don’t know her current condition.”

  “Son-of-a-fuckin’-bitch!” Micah exploded. “The last time I saw her, she was happy and smiling, going to take a shower in my house. What’s the odds that the damn brick would land on her car? Now, she’s laying somewhere broken and I…” he stopped, unable to go on.

  Jet hunkered down in front of him, a veritable mountain of a man.

  “You’ve got to have faith. She’ll be fine. In a few minutes, they’re going to wheel her down this hall and you’ll be with her. But I need you to listen to me a minute, buddy.”

  “You don’t understand. She left my house thinking I didn’t care. I’ve never even told her how I feel. Oh…I’ve skated around it, but I’ve never said the words.” His voice broke. “Women need the words.”

  “I know and I understand. You’ll make this right.” To have such a gruff voice, Jet kept it on an even, soothing keel. “You need to hear me, Micah. I’ve got to tell you something important.”

  “I’m listening,” Micah said evenly.

  “Kyle got a call when we were high-tailin’ it over here. A camera on the overpass recorded the whole thing. We know who the rock-thrower is. And this time, it doesn’t look like an accident. We think Madison might’ve been targeted.”

  “What?” Micah wasn’t processing the information very well. “Targeted? How?”

  “Yes. We had our suspicions, but the police have made a positive identification. It seems he was in custody a few weeks ago, at the same time you were.”

  The wheels in Micah’s head were turning, albeit slowly. “No. You don’t mean…”

  “Yes.” Saxon leaned nearer Micah. “It was Rudy Douglas, her mother’s husband. We can’t say for sure that he is responsible for the other incidents, but we’re suspicious that he is.”

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Micah groaned. “He had it in for her. Her place was the first stop I made when I left to look for her. She wasn’t there, but her mother was and I would bet everything I own that the scumbag knew what the mom knew. She told me that Madison would probably end up at the shelter. I bet that asshole went and waited for her. Ambushed her.”

  Kyle walked up about that time. “Dr. Harris will come talk to you as soon as he’s checked out Madison’s X-rays. She has regained consciousness and her condition is stable. I understand she’ll be brought back to her room shortly.”

  Micah let out a long breath. “Thanks, Kyle.”

  “Hey, Gov, Micah tells us that Madison’s mother is at Madison’s apartment.” Saxon relayed the info. “Do you want to tell the cops to go pick her up for questioning? Hell, that idiot might have gone back there too. We haven’t hidden the fact that we’ve got cameras up, it’s been on the news. Apparently he was none the wiser or too stupid to care.”

  “Too stupid,” Micah inserted, his eyes on the hall where Madison would appear.

  “Good idea,” Kyle stepped away for a few seconds to make the call.

  “I want ten minutes with him.” Micah began. “Ten uninterrupted minutes. Kyle’s the fuckin’ Governor and he can make it happen. I got hauled in for defending her before, but now it should be damn evident the kind of lowlife fucker we’re dealing with.”

  “I understand how you feel, buddy,” Jet commiserated, but made no promises.

  The squeaking of an ungreased wheel alerted Micah that someone was coming down the hall. When a gurney came into view surrounded by two white-coated attendants, he held his breath until he saw a familiar profile. “Here!” he thrust his coffee cup into Saxon’s hands and took off. “Madison! Madison!”

  Madison kept her eyes closed. The fluorescent lights passing overhead hurt her eyes. Her head felt like it was three times normal size and every time her heart beat, her brain throbbed. “Madison! Madison!”

  Every nerve cell in her body seized. Micah was here. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter.

  “Madison, I’m here.” Micah pushed in next to the gurney, laying his hand on Madison’s shoulder. “God, baby. Are you okay?”

  Madison was saved from answering when the nurses guided the smaller bed she was lying on up close to the regular bed.

  “I want Madison taken to a private room.” Micah announced.

  “No.” She feebly answered.

  “You’ll have to take that up with the nurse’s station on this floor. We work in X-ray,” the nurse said.

  Madison held her breath as she was forcibly picked up and eased from one flat surface to the other.

  Standing impatiently to one side, Micah waited until the nurses, one male and one female, hooked Madison back up the monitors, checked her IV and asked her if she needed anything.

  “No, I’m good,” she answered with a small voice.

  Micah wanted to argue with her. She wasn’t doing good. He couldn’t believe how small and fragile she looked. The more they’d been together, the more his estimation of her had changed. As she’d grown comfortable with him, as she’d felt more secure in their relationship, Madison had emerged from a cocoon of meekness to be a little fireball of sass and sweetness. For the first time in a long time, he saw that same hesitant, timorous person who doubted her place in the world.

  And whose fault was that?

  His shoulders felt sto
oped, bearing the burden of guilt.

  He’d done this to her.

  As soon as the nurses stepped away, he expected her to look for him, to say something. She didn’t. Without fully turning over, she drew up and angled her body away from him.

  “Madison, baby. Please God, look at me. I need to know you’re okay. How do you feel? What did the doctor say?”

  “The doctor says he’s behind you.” A deep, cultured male voice behind Micah caused him to whirl around. “Dr. Harris.”

  “Micah Wolfe.”

  “The Governor gave me a bit of insight.” Harris said vaguely.

  “Good to meet you.” Micah shook his hand, taken aback by the doctor’s presence. He didn’t look like any doctor Micah had ever seen. The man looked like one of those actors who played a doctor on TV–a McDreamy/McSteamy character.

  “How’s our patient?” Harris moved closer to the bed and placed a hand over Madison’s.

  Micah’s lip turned up in a silent snarl and he felt his proverbial hackles rise.

  “I’ve been better,” she whispered.

  This response Micah could believe. He felt helpless. Isolated. He wanted to push this handsome Dr. Do-me aside and lay claim to the woman he loved.

  “How’s your headache?” The doctor’s hand moved to her brow as he shone a light in her eyes.

  “Bad.”

  “We’ll get you something for that.” He checked his iPad, then made a note on it.

  Micah could remember when doctors carried clipboards. Medicine was keeping up with the times.

  “I checked your X-rays. You have a slight concussion. I want to tell you that after talking to the EMT’s about the incident and your subsequent crash, you are a very lucky young woman.”

  “I know,” was her only answer.

  “Dr. Harris, I have a question.”

  “No need, Micah.” Madison addressed him for the first time.

  “There’s every need,” he answered, a bit too forcefully because he saw her tense and close her eyes once more. He’d attend to her in a moment. “What can I do? I want her to have a private room. I want her to have the best of care.”

  “No, Micah, I don’t have any insurance.”

  The doctor looked between them, then motioned for Micah to follow him outside. “I think we’re upsetting, Miss Fellows.”

  “She’s…we…had a misunderstanding before she got on the road.” Micah felt ashamed to admit the truth.

  Harris waved his hand. “The Governor spoke highly of you and explained just a bit of the situation. But I think you’ve got an uphill battle in there.”

  “I’m afraid your right,” Micah agreed. “And she doesn’t need any insurance. I’ll pay whatever it costs. Gladly.”

  “I’m sure the business office will be glad to hear that. But as far as the room. I don’t think moving her is warranted. The air bag did its job. Her concussion came from banging her head on the driver’s side window. Her ribs are bruised and she’ll be sore for a while. I need to keep her overnight, but if everything checks out, she can go home tomorrow–if she has someplace to go where she can be monitored.”

  “She’ll be with me.”

  Harris pursed his lips and tried to hide a smile. “I wish you luck.”

  A few seconds later, Micah stood just outside Madison’s door. He felt like a fuckin’ coward. He wanted to be with her more than he wanted to breathe, but he was afraid. He was afraid that she wouldn’t listen. He was afraid she’d push him away.

  “Cowboy-up, Wolfe,” he lectured himself before pushing the door open.

  Madison lay perfectly still, trying to hear what was going on outside the door–which probably wasn’t a good idea. The last time she’d eavesdropped had led her to this point. Remembering made her wince, which sent a sharp pain lancing through her head.

  No, she couldn’t blame this on Micah. It was all her fault. She shouldn’t have run out like some scared rabbit. She should’ve stood up for herself. Not only with Micah, but also with her mother and Rudy. Leaving Micah’s was the only thing she could’ve done, but she should have stayed at her apartment, called the police and had Rudy forcibly removed.

  What she needed was a backbone. And now would be as good a time as any to grow one. What was Micah doing here anyway? She’d been in an accident, but nothing had changed. She was still the same person.

  Madison felt him before she heard him. Just as before, there seemed to be an electric field that arced between them. She steeled herself against an attraction that could go nowhere.

  She expected him to say something, but he didn’t. The next thing she knew; he’d pressed his face to her chest softly. This wasn’t Micah joking around or being flirty, he buried his face against her and let out a long ragged breath.

  Her first instinct was to touch him–place a soothing hand on his hair. But she couldn’t…she just couldn’t… “Micah.”

  “Don’t send me away, please.”

  Again, Madison’s hand rose to touch him–again, she forced it down. “What are you doing here?”

  “Where else am I supposed to be? You’re here.”

  “You need to go, Micah. I’m fine. Nothing’s changed.”

  Micah stood up. “Everything’s changed.” His face was pale. He wasn’t crying. “I let you down.”

  He could see the hurt swimming in her big eyes. Her lips trembled and he wanted to kiss them so much he ached.

  “I hate this happened.” She spoke so softly Micah had to lean in to hear. “And I don’t really know what happened, but I think it’s probably best if we let it go. Our worlds are too far apart and…”

  “Stop.” Micah needed for her to hush and listen and the only way he could think to do that was to just cover her lips.

  The touch of his mouth to hers awakened a familiar joy. A joy she couldn’t afford.

  With the simple kiss, Micah tried to convey everything he was feeling. But she wasn’t responding. For the first time, his Madison wasn’t kissing him back.

  “Tell me you’re okay first, please.”

  “A brick came crashing through my windshield.”

  “I know. The police are on their way to your apartment now.”

  She studied his dear face. “My apartment? I don’t understand.”

  “They have a tape of who dropped the brick off the overpass. It was Rudy.”

  Madison recoiled. “Rudy? Then the death in Fort Worth…”

  “Could’ve been him. An investigation will tell them if he was the only culprit or if he was taking advantage of a situation. Either way, in your case, it’s attempted murder.”

  Madison’s mouth went dry. “Can I have a sip of water?”

  “Sure. Sure, baby,” he hustled to give her what she needed.

  She allowed him to help her with the water. Madison was shocked to find out Rudy had tried to kill her. “I knew he hated me, but I didn’t expect this.”

  “You didn’t deserve this, Madison. You didn’t deserve any of it.” Micah picked up her hand and kissed it. “I told you I’d protect you and I did a damn poor job.”

  Madison tried to extricate his hand from her grasp. “No, Micah. You think…” The words stuck in her throat. “You think I did things for money.” The tears began to flow. She couldn’t hold them back. “I don’t even know how to defend myself against that.”

  Micah felt his heart break. “You don’t have to. I know you didn’t do anything wrong. When Saxon came, I’ll admit it, he took me by surprise. I was taken aback, and God, I’m so, so sorry you overheard us. If you’d stuck around a little bit longer, you would’ve heard me tell him to shove it. I know you, Madison. I know who you are. You’re the woman I love.”

  Madison heard him, but she didn’t comprehend his words. “I don’t blame you for believing Saxon. My life is so far removed from yours. I just want to start over,” she ended on a sob.

  “Me too.” He didn’t let her weak protests deter him. Micah gathered her against him in a gentle embrace. “I wan
t to start over too. I want to start anew with you in my life. I love you. I love you so much.”

  At first, his declaration took her by surprise. This was what she’d longed for. The moment she’d dreamed of. Madison wanted to believe him so much she could have died from it. Giving in to her heart, she wrapped her arms around him and held him close.

  “Excuse me, Miss Fellows. We’d like to ask you a few more questions.”

  The police had arrived.

  Micah pressed his lips to her forehead. “To be continued.”

  “Okay.” The one word served to answer both requests.

  “Alone, if you don’t mind, Sir.” The officer meant for Micah to leave.

  “I don’t think so…” he began.

  “It’s all right, Micah.” Madison said. “I’ll be fine.”

  He would’ve argued more, but about that time his phone rang. “Wolfe.”

  “Hey, you got your ten minutes.” Jet muttered.

  “Really?” Micah’s adrenaline spiked. “Where is he?”

  “Madison’s accident has been all over the news. Apparently Rudy caught a report in some bar or something and realizes he’s been spotted. He didn’t go home. So, the guys and I figured he wouldn’t go far or risk boarding public transportation. We called in some favors and someone gave us a tip. He’s in one of the abandoned warehouses on E. 5th Street. Before we call the cops, we thought you might want to have a word with him.”

  “Thanks, man. I’ll be right there. Keep an eye on him.”

  “Will do. We’ll meet you one block west next to the palm reader’s shop.”

  “I’ll be there.” Micah wasn’t about to leave without saying something to Madison, not after gaining as much ground as he’d been lucky enough to do. He wasn’t all the way to home plate yet, but he’d get there. Slipping in, he could hear the police questioning Madison about Rudy.

  “Do you have any idea who his friends are here in town?”

  “No, I don’t.” she answered.

  Micah felt no remorse about keeping what he knew from the police. Madison belonged to him and this was his battle to fight. “Hey,” he slipped up by her, “I’ll be back in a couple of hours. I promise. Don’t go anywhere,” he teased her with a tender smile.