Page 10

TWO HOURS BEFORE

MADISON

The knock on my apartment door halts my stride to the back of my apartment so I change course to look through the peephole on the door. I open the door to the apprehensive look of the Dauntless security chief, Carl, and a hot buff blond man. I recognize him as a Campbell cousin that always seems to be on the periphery of the Campbell owned places I visit.

Carl sighs as I push the door open further. “Hey, Madison. This is Maxim Petrov. He runs Campbell Petrov Security and Protection. He’s here because there’s a security issue with the team.”

Dread creeps up my spine and settles around my neck like a frightened cat. “What happened?”

Maxim smiles a killer smile and moves his hand asking permission to enter my apartment. “May we?”

I turn. “Sure.”

They follow me into my apartment, and I walk us to my kitchen table, turning to sit on the end bar stool as they take two other seats.

Carl frowns. “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just blurt it out. Someone sent threatening letters and packages for you to the stadium.”

“What?” Carl’s words swirl in my brain as I try to make sense of what he’s saying. “Who?”

Maxim pipes up. “We don’t know. Yet. It seems someone is obsessed with you, and what started out as just overly-interested notes has become a little darker.”

My stomach rolls. “How dark?”

“Someone sent a blue bunny stuffed animal.”

My brows nearly touch as I try to comprehend what Maxim is saying. “A blue bunny isn’t dark.”

His face expresses concern like Carl’s. “It had a veiled threat with it.”

Sighing, I sit up in my seat. “What threat?”

Carl pulls out his phone and shows me a photo of a headless blue stuffed bunny in a box. There’s red stuff on the fabric.

“Okay. That’s not nice.”

Carl cringes as he swipes to the next picture. A photo of ‘Die Benny’, sits on his screen.

“Wait? Someone wants to kill me?”

Maxim speaks with a low voice. “We’d like you to relocate to the Quad apartment complex while we investigate this threat.”

“I can’t afford to move.”

“The team will cover the expense, and when the issue is resolved, you can move back. This apartment complex doesn’t have adequate security. If he were to find out where you live, you’d be vulnerable.”

Carl gets up from his stool. “Just agree. Let CPSP handle the person and your personal security.”

Something about the way he said it smells like rotten fish. “What personal security?”

Maxim pats my hand. “We’re going to need to give you a bodyguard until we resolve the situation. They’ll be with you outside of the stadium.”

“We travel on Thursday.” How inconvenient is it going to be to have someone tag along with me?

Maxim nods. “Your bodyguard will travel with you. It’s inconvenient, but necessary. Our CPSP team is on this. It will be handled soon.”

“Fine. Let me pack a bag.”

“We’re going to send out the moving team to your apartment in the morning. We’ll bring you any personal stuff you want and put anything else in storage at the Quad. If your stalker figures out you live here, we want to throw him off the scent.”

“Fine. I have little here, anyway.”

An hour later, I’m walking into a swanky apartment in the mile square area known as the Quad. My friend and boss, Lily, lives in the condo side of the area. I open my mouth to thank Maxim as Dixon strolls through the door. “What the hell?” His smile brightens the room and makes my stomach flip. “What are you doing here?”

He flicks his head to Carl and Maxim as the two men nod before leaving. Dixon leans against the sofa. “I’m your bodyguard.”

“Fuck. No!”

He purses his lips. “I’m sorry. Yes. I’m the most familiar with the team and you.”

“Seriously? We aren’t friends.”

He nods. “I know. You’re still angry. I get it, but I need you to be safe, and I’m good at that.”

“There has to be another option. I don’t want a bodyguard.” He shakes his head. I knew this was going to be difficult to have someone around, but Dixon… Steadying myself, I smile. “We can keep this professional.”

He flares his nostrils as he takes in a breath. “I’ll do whatever I need to do to keep you safe.”

I flick my hand at him. “It’s late and Maxim said I was safe here, so we can get into whatever specifics tomorrow.” I walk toward the door, leading him. “Good bye, Dixon.” He steps out of the apartment as I close the door and lock it. Why the hell is this happening to me, and how do I get away from him? Answers don’t come from the empty apartment as I grab my bag, walking into the primary bedroom. Sleep. It’ll all seem better in the morning.

MADISON

Looking out the plate glass floor to ceiling window at Glenwood Elite Sports and Talent Management in downtown Dallas, I’m not focusing on anything. Sleep eluded me after Dixon left.

“Benny?” Lily Dornan, my boss and friend calls my name.

“Hey, Lily.”

She pulls me in for a hug. “Why did I have to hear about your stalker from Maxim?”

I sigh. “I was too tired to deal with it last night.”

Lily motions for me to follow her into her office. I grab a seat in front of her desk as she leans against it. “SportGym wants to put you in their ‘women of sports’ calendar.”

“Really? They usually have women athletes that look like supermodels.”

Lily scoffs. “That’d be you.”

“What? I’m not a supermodel.”

She raises her hand and lifts it up and down in front of me. “Tall, beautiful, great body. Hello, Madison.”

“I never thought of myself as any of that.”

She nods. “Of course not. But you are, and SportGym knows it. You got October.”

The smile pings on my lips. “I love October.” Questions swirl in my brain. “What do I have to wear?”

“No swimsuit. That’s the July athlete, a swimmer.”

“Excellent. I’m good. What do I have to do?”

She purses her lips and her face tightens. Bad news, folks. “You’ll need to be in New York on Sunday, so you’ll travel with your bodyguard to Seattle for your Friday game and then go straight to New York.”

I nod. “Okay. I can do that.”

Her face falls further, and she opens her mouth just to close it again.

“Just say it, Lily.”

“Dixon is going with you.”

The sound of the blood rushing to my brain pounds in my ears. “What? What the fuck, Lily?”

She holds up her hand. “He’s who CPSP picked. I tried to convince Banner and Maxim to no avail.”

Gritting my teeth, I stand up. “I don’t trust him.” My little voice scoffs in my head. I do trust him to protect me from danger, but my heart is a different story.

Lily stares at me with that knowing look that’s well beyond her years. “This is for your safety.” Cocking her head, I see the smallest smirk. “Protecting your heart is up to you.”

“Whatever. Should I take anything special to New York?”

“Nope. Just your wonderful self.”

I pull her into my arms and hug her. “And to answer the text you sent, I know I don’t have to work my side job with you anymore, but I want to.” I stare at her pleased expression. “Unless you don’t want me to.” She shakes her head. “No. You’re an excellent paralegal, and I don’t want to lose you.”

“Great.” I stroll out her door and get into the elevator. The doors close as I clench my fists, grit my teeth, and growl. “Fuck.”

DIXON

Madison’s teammates swarm her at the end of the game. She scored an impressive goal that vaulted the Dauntless ahead of the Seattle Thunder. It’s not her first goal, but it certainly isn’t typical. She made a critical save on a penalty kick that led to a teammate tying the game. The four-three win puts them at the top of the standings for the playoffs. She nods at me as she walks with her team to the locker room. I sigh. Let’s see if she puts on her security necklace without my having to nag her.

Twenty minutes later, Madison strolls out of the locker room. I’m used to killing time, waiting. I clocked eleven people walking out of the locker room. Three didn’t seem like they should have been in there. I texted Ella at CPSP to get me access to the cameras outside the locker room. There’s one on the other side of the locker room, by the offices and this one. Madison steps out and nods at me as she waves to teammates.

“Ready?”

She nods. “Can we get food?”

“Of course. We’ll grab a sit-down dinner on our way to the airport.” I stare at her for a moment before turning to walk with her down the stark hallway. “Is the necklace on your neck?”

“Duh.”

I reach for her bag and gain a scowl. “I’ve got it.”

“Of course. I just thought I’d stow it in the back of the SUV.”

She casts her eyes to the vehicle and hands me her bag. “Okay. Thank you”

I’m not sure I like the forced formality any better than her typical annoyance. Blowing out my breath, I set her bag in the back and shut the lift gate. I get into the driver’s side and tip my head. “You had an awesome game.”

She beams. “It was good. We play Phoenix next and I’d love to have this kind of game repeat.”

“I get that. I’m sorry about how that all shook out.”

Annoyance flits across her face. “Life is a small fishbowl. Even if I could have seen the future and known my freshman coach would come to Phoenix and mess that up, I still wouldn’t have stayed. She was toxic for me.”

“I’ve known people I wish I could have gotten away from. It’s interesting that someone like that can move into a role with a professional team.”

“It’s not really. It’s all about politics of who you know. She knew the Phoenix owners, and that made all the difference.”

I nod, not really sure what to add. I turn into the parking garage for the Il Terrazzo Carmine, an upscale Italian restaurant, right by the stadium. Madison is busy checking her phone and hasn’t asked where we’re going. It will be a nice surprise. I turn off the engine as her eyes ping to mine. “Oh. We were close.”

“Yep.” I open my door, trying to get around to open hers before she does. I miss the chance, but meet her at her door to close it.

She looks up at me and for a second the typical annoyed face is absent. My heart beats faster until the look arrives. “Thanks for dinner.”

“Of course. I thought you’d like Italian.”

A half hour later, Madison’s face shows contentment. She devoured her dinner. It’s no wonder considering the number of calories she burns during a game. She looks up and a blush starts to rise. I race to find a question that won’t piss her off. “What do you do for Lily Dornan?”

The blush ebbs as she reaches for her lemon water. She takes a drink and sets it down. “I do paralegal work for her company.”

“Huh?” Come on Dix, dig for more. “How’d you meet her?”

“I met her through my friend, Caitlyn. She’s married to a Campbell and was a rodeo star during college. She suggested I meet Lily for representation.”

I raise my brow. “How did you work for her from Phoenix?”

“I do online work for her and we kept couriers busy with our documents.”

“That seems like a good gig. You can work from anywhere.”

“Yeah. I’m lucky. She’s a great boss and a good friend.”

The server arrives and I pay the bill while Madison gives me the stink eye. “What?”

“I can pay my way.”

Will there come a moment when I don’t do something to piss her off. “I know you can, but I had my card out.”

She shrugs. “What time do we get into New York?”

“Around seven-thirty.”

The server returns the slip for me to sign, and as we get up from the table, I scan the room. It’s a habit. There hasn’t been any additional letters or packages since the bunny, but I’m still concerned. Stalkers don’t just go away. I open her door and extend my hand to help her get into her seat. I hold back the smile that wants to burst forth on my face. Every little battle brings me one step closer to Madison. I can’t expect that she’ll ever feel for me what I feel for her, but maybe we can find a friendship.