Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
M adison leaned into the open back door of the car, to give the baby a dose of his medicine. Staring at her perfect round ass while she took care of her sick child was definitely a new low for him, Alex decided.
When she stepped back, Alex draped his coat over her again with a gruff. “It’s cold.” Then held the front passenger door open for her.
After a brief hesitation, she sat in the front seat. They listened to Jax babble for a few minutes, but once he fell asleep, a thick silence enveloped the car.
Alex caught the soft snort just before Madison turned her head to look out the window, her hand covering a quiet giggle. He hadn’t expected that—her ability to find humor in a moment like this. Of all the things he thought he might expect from her, that glimpse of lightness was unexpectedly disarming… and more than a little addicting.
“What’s so funny?”
She shook her head. “Sorry, just thinking about how bizarre this day has been. I thought Jax being sick and not sleeping was the worst my day was going to get. I wasn’t expecting to see a man shot right in front of me.” She grimaced, the humor disappearing instantly. “I didn’t mean that the way it came out.”
His shoulders tensed. “I know you must think I’m a monst?—”
“I don’t…” Madison cut him off. “Or at least if you are, then I’m one, too.”
His eyes swung to her again.
Her fingers knotted in her lap, and her words came out in a rush. “Because I’m glad you did it. You saved our lives today.” She let out a heavy sigh. “Maybe I should feel bad he’s dead. Wish you’d shot him in the leg or something. But I’m not. I’m glad he’s dead, and if I’m being truthful, I don’t have a single ounce of regret in my body.”
Be very careful, asshole.
Madison had handled the entire situation better than he could have ever hoped. He didn’t want to scare her off by saying the wrong thing. When her face twisted, Alex realized she had taken his silence as recrimination.
“I must sound like an awful person.”
“No.” He inhaled a deep breath. “I’ve known a lot of bad people in my lifetime, and you aren’t even in the same universe. You recognized a man who needed killing. He would have kept hurting innocent people. That doesn’t make you a monster, Angel. It makes you human.”
Alex pulled into the now dark shopping center with her car one of the few left in the lot. Lifting Jax and the car seat out of his car, he reinstalled it in her back seat while she deposited the rest of their belongings on the floor. Madison tightened the boy’s straps, shut the door, and turned to face Alex.
The temperature had fallen significantly from earlier in the day, and their breaths appeared like an intermingled white cloud.
“Alex,” she began, and before he could help himself, he settled his hands on her hips.
If she’d drawn back, given him any sign that she didn’t welcome his touch… He would have stopped… Or at least that’s what he told himself.
Her navy eyes sparkled under the streetlights, and when she leaned closer, he slid his hands to the small of her back under his heavy wool coat and pulled her flush against his body.
She tipped her head up. Watching. Waiting.
Alex took a deep breath, a primal part of him savoring the mix of his cologne lingering on his coat and the unmistakable scent of Madison. His blood surged even as his brain told him to go slow.
Her tongue darted out to wet her lower lip, and his pulse accelerated in anticipation.
“My pumpkin is waiting, Charming.”
The husky sound was his undoing. Using the arm clamped around her back, he lifted her against him and slanted his lips over hers.
Madison moaned quietly, and then her fingers were tunneling through his hair, gripping hard as his tongue swept in to duel with hers, and she made a low sound in her throat.
Her shirt rode up a little, and his fingers skated along the impossibly smooth skin of her back. She tasted even sweeter than he’d imagined.
Madison pressed her hands against his chest and leaned back breaking the kiss. He wanted to growl and pull her back so that he could feel her soft curves pressed against him, but he slowly lowered her to her feet. Her rapidly rising and falling chest and flushed cheeks partially mollified him.
“I have to go.”
Alex nodded but didn’t release her, and Madison didn’t step away. He saw the conflicting emotions war in her eyes and let his hands drop, stepping back to give her space.
Madison shoved a hand through her hair. “As hot as that kiss was… I can’t do this.”
Alex stayed silent, not exactly sure what ‘this’ meant.
“It’s not that I don’t want to,” she amended. “My life is already beyond complicated right now, and adding you into it would just make things...”
“Adding me into it?”
He didn’t think it was possible, but the red in her cheeks deepened.
“Not that I thought you were going to be a part of my life… but I can’t…” She blew out a breath, clearly flustered. “I don’t have time or space right now for anything new. And I don’t know what you expect from this…”
He could see the vulnerability in her eyes and suspected it wasn’t a sight many had the privilege of seeing.
“I’m not going to make your life any more difficult than it is. However…” Alex pulled a small black card from his pocket and pressed it into her hand. “If you need a friend, I’m here.”
Her brow wrinkled. “Why? You don’t even know me.”
“I killed a man for you, Angel. We’re bonded.” He grinned as her mouth dropped open. He opened her door and gently guided her into her seat.
“But—”
“No buts.” Alex leaned in, clicking her seatbelt in place before pressing a soft kiss to her lips. Partly to silence her, but mainly because he couldn’t resist another taste. “I’m going to follow you until you’re home and make sure that you are inside safely.”
Closing the door, he strode to his own car and waited until Madison finally pulled away. Her gated townhome community wasn’t far away, and after following her under the automatic arm, he waited at the curb while she gathered Jax and her bags and walked to the front door
He watched with a vague sense of relief as she typed in a code to the security panel. Alex hadn’t been sure how he would convince her to get a security system if she didn’t already have one.
Alex didn’t drive away until Madison was safely inside, the door shut behind her. Just before he left, she glanced back and lifted her hand.
This isn’t goodbye, Angel.
Alex was surprised when Liev strolled into his office a few days later. He arched a brow as his cousin flopped onto the couch in his office.
“What do you want? I have a lot to do.”
It was true. His schedule was packed, and the list of things demanding his attention felt endless.
However, his brain hadn’t gotten the memo, because no matter what he did, his mind circled back to a certain stunning podcaster.
“I’m bored.”
Alex wanted to throw something at his cousin, but settled for tapping his pen against his desk. “And you thought irritating me at work was the best solution?”
“I work here.”
That gave Alex pause. “Technically, that’s true.”
His cousin even had an office as head of security, but he rarely put in an appearance. Even with the infamous last name, Alex hadn’t been targeted by Kovalyov enemies in years. Primarily, because by all appearances, an attack on him wouldn’t gain Mikhail’s enemies anything.
“Why today?”
Liev rolled his eyes. “Why do you think? Your brother, and because of him my father, want me to encourage you to think about the list of names they sent over.”
Alex’s jaw flexed. “ Encourage me? ”
“Their words, not mine.” He shrugged.
“So, you’re spying on me.”
Liev made a face. “Not really.”
Alex swallowed a vicious curse, and kept a bored look on his face, refusing to give away any indication of his agitation.
“I’m your cousin, Alex.” He lifted his eyes to meet Liev’s serious expression. “I have to follow orders the same as you, but that doesn’t mean I’ll betray you. I prefer a creative reporting approach.” He smiled. “Just throw them a bone. Showing that you’re open to what Mikhail wants doesn’t mean you have to book a caterer.”
Alex reclined in his chair, studying his cousin for a moment before picking up the pen he’d set down.
“Fine. Your first report can be that I’ve met someone.”
Liev abruptly sat up straight from his sprawled position with a comically shocked expression. “What? Who?”
“You don’t need to know details yet.” His lips lifted in a humorless smile. “Give them that tidbit. It should tide them over.”
“Alex—”
“If you’re bored, I have a job for you.”
Liev perked up. “Really?”
“Madison Amherst. She’s a podcaster here in Atlanta. Find out everything you can about her.”
“Madison, huh? Is she the woman?—”
“Anything you find is for my eyes and ears only.” He sent his cousin an icy glare. “Do you understand?”
Not intimidated, Liev laughed. “I hear you. You can trust me, bratan .”
“I also want background on her partner, Camellia Messina, and James Bloom. Any pressure points.”
“Bloom. As in one of Declan’s brothers?”
Alex didn’t bother to answer. The Blooms and Camellia Messina could be an obstacle to his plan. He knew that when he made his move, Madison’s friends would try to talk her out of it. He needed something to make sure they didn’t.
She might not realize it yet, but Madison was going to marry him.