Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Maddyn hugged her friend, Livia. It felt good to have warm, caring arms around her.
Livia whispered, "Did he hit you, Mads?"
All she could do was nod. It came so fast and furiously; she didn't have time to duck. He raged about her being five minutes late. Five fucking minutes.
"Okay," Livia whispered. "You're done with him, right?"
"Yes."
"Good."
Maddyn pulled back and saw that Axel and Jami had left the barn. Tony too.
She took a deep breath. "Don't let them go after him."
Livia looked into her eyes. "Are you alright?"
"Yes. But he's volatile and unpredictable. I don't want anyone getting hurt."
"You stay here."
Livia stepped through the door of the barn, leaving her in the dim light and silence. She leaned against the wall of the barn; the cool, sturdy walls supported her. Her legs were shaking so badly she wasn't sure she'd make it to the sofa in the lounge.
She heard her friends and co-workers nearing the door and inhaled another deep breath.
She pushed herself off the wall and shuffled to the nearest sofa.
They had four sofas surrounding a large square coffee table.
It allowed all of them to sit and relax, and, to be honest, it felt like the safest place in the world right now.
The door opened, and her friends came back in.
One by one, they joined her on the sofas.
Axel sat across from her, Tony to her right with Livia.
Sean left the studio and saw them on the sofas and flopped down on her left.
Jami brought drinks from the coolers for everyone and plopped them on the coffee table before sitting on the sofa next to her.
Without a word, Jami put his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into his support. Her eyes landed on Axel's as he watched her. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, then licked his lips. He asked softly, "What happened?"
"I was five minutes late."
Axel's eyes rounded. Axel was incredibly handsome. She'd stared at him more than once over the last few years. But he was her friend and co-worker, and they had to remain professional.
"Five minutes late?" he asked slowly.
She swallowed. "He doesn't like me to keep him waiting."
Axel's eyebrows shot up in the air. "Fuck no, Mads.
" His voice rose. "You are not at fault for anything.
Especially not being late. You're working.
We're working." He motioned around to all of them.
"He does not tell us when we're finished with practice.
We tell him. Actually, I'll tell that motherfucker. "
She smiled at Axel's anger. Not that she was happy he was angry, but it made her heart swell that he was mad on her behalf.
Axel stood and stepped around the coffee table to sit on it in front of her.
She took a deep breath. The look in his eyes changed.
There was an intensity in them she'd rarely seen.
Maybe never. His hands rested palm to palm, as if he were praying.
"Please tell me this is the first time he's done this. "
She licked her lips and tried swallowing the lump in her throat. She sat up straight, and Jami removed his arm from her shoulders. From the corner of her eye, she could see Sean lean in, waiting for her answer. She felt incredibly stupid.
"No," she whispered.
Axel's hands reached out for hers, and he held them softly. "Please don't ever see him again. If he ever hurts you again, I'll need to kill him, and then I can't go on tour with you all."
She grinned at his joke. At least it was halfway a joke. "I won't."
Then Axel surprised her again. "Okay." He squeezed her hands. "I'm sorry you ever went through anything violent with that dirtbag. Or anyone, for that matter. But certainly not this piece of shit."
She nodded as her eyes filled with tears. He cared. She knew they all cared, but Axel's level of care seemed special. And it tugged at her heart in all the ways it shouldn't.
The door whipped open, and a loud, angry voice yelled, "Get your scrawny ass out here."
Axel jumped up so fast that it didn't register in her mind what was happening. Sean and Tony followed him. She heard several loud punches as fists landed against someone. Jami ran to the door, and Maddyn couldn't just sit there; she and Livia followed their bandmates outside.
Just as she stepped out of the door, she saw Axel lift Doug off the ground by his shirt and the back of his pants and toss him across the ground, where he landed with a loud thud against the side of his car.
"If you go near Mads ever again, I'll make sure you'll never be able to use your hands. Got it, you son of a bitch?"
Doug slid to the ground and stared blankly ahead. She wasn't sure if he'd hit his head against the car, but he'd certainly received several blows to the face based on the red welts and dark spots on his cheeks, lips, and around his left eye.
She stood stone-still, watching Axel stalk toward him.
Livia took her hand, and they hung on tightly to each other as Axel reached down and grabbed a handful of Doug's shirt and lifted him to his feet.
He opened the driver's door and tossed Doug inside as if he weighed nothing.
"I'll give you to the count of five to get your fucking ass out of this driveway. One."
Doug shook his head. He looked at her. She lifted her chin and stared.
"Two."
Doug swallowed and started his car.
"Three."
He put his car in gear and drove slowly down the driveway. He likely had a difficult time seeing.
Axel stood there, his breathing coming in gasps, and his hands balled into fists.
Jami put his arm around Axel and whispered in his ear. Axel nodded. Jami patted him on the back and turned toward the barn. "Let's give Axel a moment to cool down."
Livia squeezed her hand and moved toward her husband, Tony. They entered the barn together. She waited until she and Axel were outside alone.
He finally turned and stared into her eyes. The expression in his face seemed less wild than it had moments ago. His beautiful brown eyes nearly took her breath away.
He took a couple of steps forward and stopped in front of her. "Are you alright?"
She nodded. "Yes." Her eyes dropped to his hands. His beautiful drummer's hands. Scrapes and redness marked his knuckles. She reached out and took his hands in hers. Her thumb softly brushed over the braised knuckles. "Are you alright?"
"Yes." His voice was raspy. It sent chills down her spine.
"Let's go put ice on them."
He stepped forward toward the door, and she walked with him inside.
Their bandmates were sitting on the sofa, and Axel sat next to Jami.
Maddyn moved to the back and pulled a baggie from a drawer in the backbar.
Filling it with ice, she grabbed a towel and wrapped the ice bag in it, then took it to Axel.
He took it from her and grinned, and that sent many emotions flying through her body. She wasn't allowed to have emotions about him. "Thanks, Mads."
She sat next to Sean, at Axel's left. "Thank you. But, honestly, you shouldn't put your playing hands through so much torture."
He grinned, and again, goosebumps formed.
"You shouldn't have to be hit on. Ever. Never allow that again."
"I won't." She swallowed. "I promise."
They all sat quietly for a moment, then Tony cleared his throat. "How about some good news?"
Maddyn smiled and nodded.
"Okay, so two things. One, we finally hit the charts with “Born to Be My Baby”." He stared at Sean and grinned. "We're at number nineteen this week. But it's climbing."
Jami grinned and fist-bumped Sean. It was the song Sean wrote about his long-lost love, Gloria, who was now his fiancée. It came from deep within and resonated with women, especially.
"And two, we're playing six stadiums in three weeks' time, beginning in two weeks. Short notice, I know, but I've already hired a PR company to get the hype started. So, iron out your sets, and beginning tomorrow morning, practice in earnest; we're climbing the charts."
Axel looked into her eyes and smiled. Her heart raced as if she'd just run ten miles.