Repented (17 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

FIGHT INSIDE

Waking up from a dead sleep, my heart was racing. I begged Madison to come stay with me. She refused. I asked her to let me stay; she told me to go. I tried arguing with her, but she said she wanted to be alone. While debating strong arming her into letting me stay, Jake came in and gave me a knowing look. I had to leave, and it was breaking me.

"If you need me, just call and I'll be right over." I kissed her and held the side of her face. She meant the world to me.

It had been four days. Enough was enough. She didn't leave the house. She didn't go to the office. I had finally gone and picked up her car and brought it to her. She had dark circles under her eyes. She was in ratty sweatpants, her hair was disheveled. She thanked me and gave me a smile that didn't meet her eyes. When I leaned to kiss her, she pulled away. I couldn't believe she was letting this affect her as much as it was. I tried my hardest to let her go through the motions, but this was extreme, for anyone.

She was spending all her time alone. She was holding onto all her pain. I was growing increasingly concerned as the days passed. I knew she was hurting while I was sleeping; it killed me. I wanted to make it better. I wanted to fix it all and make it go away. Her pain was my pain. That was the thing about our connection. I usually knew without talking to her. The days since have felt like years. Emotionally, she had shut down. Not knowing what else to do, I had to take a drastic measure. One I wasn't sure she'd forgive me for, but I didn't see any other option.

I sat in bed, contemplating until four-thirty. Throwing on some clothes, I headed to my truck. I couldn't wait any longer. There was no way I was involving police just yet. I didn't know what exactly this Damon guy was holding over her. There were still secrets she wasn't telling me; I wasn't stupid. Over the years, I held onto my fair share of secrets. They eventually either come out or eat you alive. I wasn't letting that happen to her.

From memory, I drove through the still dark streets. I stopped in front of her house. Her bedroom light was the only one illuminating the house. I wanted to knock on her door. I wanted to beg her to let me hold her.
Was this going to be it for us?
My heart began to break at the thought.
Could it end before it ever really  began? Would I survive it?
Even though, it had only been a short amount of time, something in me changed when I met her. I was forever altered by her touch alone.

Taking a deep breath, I put the truck back in drive and headed to my intended destination. It was coming up on five in the morning, and Mike was most likely up by now. Dinner was rough at first, but he started coming around toward the end of the night. He was my only hope at this point.

Pulling up into the driveway, I hesitated. Showing up at people's doors this early wasn't always the best idea, but I was out of options. Cutting the engine, I walked up the stairs and rang the doorbell. Seconds later, he opened the door in a navy robe, pajama pants and slippers. His face was concerned.

"Kevin, everything okay?"

I ran my hands through my hair. Did I just fuck up by coming here? He stood to the side in invitation. I stepped  into the entryway and collected my thoughts. "I don't know. No. Fuck. Sorry. I don't know what else to do." I paced the floor, nervously.

"Come on. I was just making some coffee. Mary won't be up for a bit yet."

Following him into the kitchen, I took a seat at the island. He poured us each a cup and took a seat on the stool next to me.

His face turned serious. "What's going on? Showing up unannounced at the break of dawn isn't exactly normal behavior." He eyed me suspiciously.

I ran my sweaty palms on my jeans. There was no turning back now. "I didn't know who else to turn to. Something happened last week with Mads. She's not herself, and I'm worried. She's completely shut down."

"Son, she's just busy at the office. Mary talked to her on Wednesday."

"She hasn't been to work all week."

Surprise shocked his face. "What do you mean? "

"I mean she hasn't been to work since Monday. It's now Friday. The incident happened on Monday. I begged her to come stay with me or let me stay there, but she refused. It's that Damon guy." His blue eyes widened; fury crossed his features. He obviously wasn't a Damon fan either. "She's going to hate me for telling you, but I love her. If hurting myself is the only way to keep her safe, then that's what I'm going to have to do."

He let out a deep breath and placed his hand on my back. "What exactly happened, son?"

"Monday we were in the studio doing press when she called. She was upset about something. She could barely talk. When I showed up at her office, there was a box sitting on her desk. It contained photos, intimate ones." Bile rose in my throat.

"Son of a bitch." His hand slammed on the granite. "Continue."

"Anyway, I took her home. My band mates, who are also my best friends, met us there. We found a webcam by her curtain. He'd been secretly taping her. He tapped us. He tapped them. He sent her the photos, and she's barely spoken to me since. I went to pick her up for the office the next day since she didn't have her car. She said she was using a personal day. I did my best to convince her to let me stay or come with me. She pretty much told me she loved me and closed the door in my face. The next day, the same thing. I finally got her to give me her keys, so I could at least bring her car home. Every day it's been the same thing. She tells me she loves me and closes the door in my face. Her responses are vague if anything at all. I know it's hard to believe, but I do love your daughter, Sir. It seems very fast, but she's all I want. I'd do anything to protect her and make her happy. This is killing me, and I don't know where else to turn."A lump formed in my throat. I felt close to tears.

He stood. "Let's go." I followed him out the door off the kitchen and into the three car garage. He clicked the fob for an Aston Martin. "Get in."

Not feeling like I had a choice, and even if I did I was going anyway. I climbed into the passenger side. The engine roared to life. He backed out and floored it. The houses whipped by in a blur as we started heading to the outskirts of town. We left Smithville and entered the town of Abel. Abel was run down. I'd only ever come here once. It was by accident during the day right after we moved here. It was filled with vacant warehouses and high rise apartments. Homeless people slept on benches and bus stops. The streets were littered with trash and debris. My gut told me that we were going to be paying Damon a visit.

We pulled up to a rundown, two family house. Mike climbed out. Still in his robe, flannel pants, and slippers. He motioned to me to come with him. I had no idea what the plan was, but followed him to find out. He walked up the raggedy, falling apart wooden steps and started banging on the door to the right.

Finally, the door opened. So this was Damon. I couldn't get a good visual from the pictures. He was probably just under six foot, not overly muscular, but not lean either. His dark, shaggy hair was in disarray and his almost black eyes stared holes into us. He only wore a pair of athletic shorts. Mike grabbed him by the throat and pushed him inside the house. I glanced around to make sure no one had seen us, and closed the door prepared to follow his lead.

The room had one gross, maroon colored couch, a lamp, and a dated television. The walls were a dingy, off white from smoke and dirt. The brown shag carpet was filthy, stained and completely gone in other spots. I stood behind Mike and watched to see if I needed to intervene. Though I didn't get in as many bar brawls as the other guys, I could still hold my own. Especially right now. Under these circumstances, my only problem would be knowing when to stop before I killed him.

"What kind of sick shit are you playing, Damon!" Mike growled. "I paid you off to get rid of you! You're toxic to her. You've always been toxic to her." His hand reared back, and kidney punched him.

Apparently Mike wasn't as clueless as I originally thought. I wondered what Madison would think if she knew the reason Damon left her alone for months was because of her dad paying him off.

"The money's gone,
Michael.
" Damon sneered. "Besides, little Madison is the best fuck I've ever had. Now she thinks she can just move on and be with this fucking clown." He jerked his jaw in my direction. "Not going to happen. I'm not done with her."

I wanted Damon's head on a stake for what he's put Madison through. I despised him for being a low life piece of shit. The blackness of his eyes was giving me the creeps. If he weren't on a bender, I could see him cleaning up decent. Right now, he had dark circles under his eyes. His facial hair was well past a five o'clock shadow, and he just looked menacing. My fists clenched at my sides. I needed to keep myself in check.

"Besides, she's nothing better than a fucking blow doing whore." Damon spat.

I saw red. Pushing Mike out of the way, I lunged for his throat. Rearing my hand back, I got a powerful shot in on his jaw. Another to his nose. Another to his ribcage. Then he started struggling and trying to fight back. Drugs have the ability to give you super strength. He was no match for the two of us though. We essentially kicked the shit out of him. Violence didn't solve anything, but it sure as hell made me feel better for the moment.

I stepped away when he was a heap on the floor telling myself not to go for a final blow. It would have been so easy to end this guy. There was a good chance I was going to live to regret letting him live, but I didn't want to have his blood on my hands. Besides, I wouldn't be able to be with Madison if I went to prison.

"Stay the fuck away from my daughter," Mike growled giving Damon one final swift kick to the ribs. I heard them crack, as he most likely broke a few.

My gut knew this wouldn't be the end of it. We got back into the Aston and sped back to Smithville. It was already nearing six-thirty by the time we pulled back into the garage. My knuckles were swollen and bloody. Fist fights were not the smartest move when you made a living using your hands. We parked next to Mary's white Escalade when Mike turned to look at me.

"There's some things you need to know. They don't leave this car. You understand?" I nodded in agreement. "That piece of shit has nearly killed Madison. He's not a nice person, but he's smart. He's extremely calculating. He's been holding onto all his cards waiting for an opportunity to strike. I wasn't sure he had it in him. About six months ago, I paid him a visit and offered him one-hundred thousand dollars to go away and never look in her direction again. It was my hope that he would relocate. That he would never darken her doorstep again, but I was wrong. Madison went through a period very similar to this not too long ago. She shuts down. She thinks we don't know what's going on, and admittedly sometimes we didn't. She's going to push you away. She's tenacious and stubborn. I'm sorry if I seemed harsh the other night, but this is what we've been dealing with for years. She's lucky to have you, and it's evident that you truly do love her." His face softened. "There's more, but you'll need to hear it from Madison. She needs to be the one. I'm not even sure she knows that I know."

We made our way into the kitchen where Mary was frantically pacing.

"Where have you been?" She demanded.

"We went for a ride. Had to show off my new toy."

She wasn't buying him downplaying. "In your robe, at five in the morning?"

Busted. "It's nothing you need to worry about, Darling. There was a situation, but Kevin and I took care of it. Everything is fine. Sorry to have worried you." He walked to where she was standing and kissed her.

Mary looked like she wanted to ask more questions, but closed her mouth and let it go. I needed to get to Madison. She was coming to stay with me, whether she liked the idea or not. I did not trust that creep. It was only going to be a matter of time before he put his next play into place. With that, I excused myself and told them to have a nice day. Mike scribbled his number down on a piece of scrap paper and handed it to me. He clapped my shoulder and walked me to the door. "Thank you, Son."

Climbing into my truck, I sped to Madison's. Her 3 Series sat in the driveway. It was still in the exact spot I'd parked it. The bedroom light was still on. Heading up the walkway, I knocked on the door. It was almost seven by now. Desperate, I waited for five minutes before lifting up the planter and grabbing the spare key.

Unlocking the door, I slid the key into my pocket and made my way toward her bedroom. I called out to her, but there was no answer. Panic began rising. What if she had a relapse? Worse, what if Damon got to her? Preparing for the worse, I hurried to her room. She was nowhere to be found. My heart dropped. I checked Bri's room. Empty. The house wasn't big. I went back and checked the kitchen and living room. Frantic, I checked the bathroom. The shower curtain was closed; I slid it open. She was in the tub sleeping. Her lips were blue.

Reaching my arms out, I grabbed her out of the tub and pulled her to my chest. I curled up on the floor with her, wrapping her in a towel. She had to have been sitting in there for a long time. Her skin was pruned and her teeth were chattering.

"Madison, look at me." When she didn't, I moved her face to look at mine.

Never in my life had I been more terrified than that moment before I found her. It was hard to imagine a life without her in it. She filled a void in my life that no one else could. Finally, she started crying. I picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. She had to have lost at least ten pounds this week. She was beginning to lose that light. I knew it because it was the same light that went out when Bryn left me standing at the Ritz Carlton. It was scary, and I just wanted to hold her. I wanted that light back in her eyes. The sparkle. The megawatt smile of the happy girl I met. No matter how hard it was, I was going to get it back.