Witness Protection: Hide and Seek (7 page)

"Will do Harding."

"Give Hank and Donna our
best!" Jessica shouted after them.

Castillo stared at the GPS tracker. Madison was still at the
house in Jackson. He'd expected it to start beeping, notifying him that the
target was on the move. But as he looked down at it, there was nothing, not a
squeak, blip, nothing.

"What the hell is going on?" He shouted at Manny.
"Didn’t I tell you to call the minute that it was all done?"

Castillo couldn’t understand a word that was coming out of
his mouth. He wasn’t even sure if Manny was speaking the English language. All
of his words sounded jumbled.

 
Manny had just shoved
a handful of fries into his mouth before he answered the phone.

He swallowed hard and made a gulping sound when he heard
Castillo screaming at him on the other end of the line.

"Sorry boss, we stopped to get something to eat."

"Did I tell you to stop and get something to eat? Or
did I tell you to call me first? Which is it Manny? You incompetent
bastard!"

"Sorry boss."

When there was a long silence, it took him all the strength
he had not to smash the phone to bits.

"PUTA! I'm waiting! Are you going to tell me what
happened or not!" Castillo screamed into the phone. His shouts so loud,
Reggie and Carlos could hear him above the music that was playing inside the
car.

Manny licked the ketchup off his fingers and rolled his
eyes.

"It's done boss. We did like you asked. We got the
flowers and balloons, and waited until she was alone in the house. I knocked on
the door and when she answered, I grabbed her by the neck and told her to get
Madison West out of the house and to do it now."

"Very good," Castillo said and blew out a
frustrated sigh.

"But the tracker has her still inside the house."

"That's because the old woman had to be rushed to the
hospital boss. She's probably sticking around until the old lady
recovers."

"And how do you know all of this?"

Manny turned around and handed the phone to Carlos.
"Hey boss, it's me Carlos. I've got this scanner app on my phone. Anytime
you want to listen to police, fire, or ambulance calls, you just punch in the
name of the town and it plays any and all calls. I turned it on right after we
left Ridgecliff Road and almost immediately, a call came over the wire to send
the police and an ambulance over there because of a possible heart
attack."

Castillo was beginning to like technology more and more.

"Excellent work Carlos, now tell Manny to head back
here. We've got a lot more planning to do."

"Heading back towards you now boss. See you soon."

****

Madison shifted uncomfortably in her
seat as they drove to the hospital.

"Everything is going to be alright," Cole said and
placed his hand on her thigh.

She was so wound up in her thoughts
that she didn’t bother to push him away.

She wouldn’t look at him, she couldn’t. Too many images
flashed through her head when she did. He kept his hand on her thigh a moment
longer before putting it back on the steering wheel.

Finally, she said, "What am I going to do?"

"Don’t worry, we'll figure something out," he said
and kept on driving.

When they reached the hospital, Madison could hardly wait
for Cole to stop the car. He held onto her as they walked into the emergency
room.

Madison breathed a sigh of relief when the nurse told her
that Donna had been moved to a private room and was resting comfortably.

In her happiness, she grabbed hold of Cole's hand as they
walked down the corridor to Donna's room.

She smiled when she saw Hank. He was standing outside of the
room, talking to the doctor. When he finished, he moved hastily towards them.
Cole took notice of his body language. Hank was mad, he was mad as hell.

He held up his hands barring them from coming any closer.

"Hank how is she?" Cole asked.

"She's going to be alright. Doc said it was a mild
heart attack. They're going to keep her here for a couple of days though, just
to make sure everything is alright."

"Oh thank God!" Madison rested her hand on her
chest and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Hank I was so worried, I want
you to know…"

Hank took a step closer towards Madison and through clenched
teeth said,

"I don’t want to hear anything that you have to say
right now Madison. Now that may come off as rude, but right now, I don’t really
give a damn if it does. I told you that coming back here was a mistake, but you
wouldn’t listen. Now because of you, my wife, the only family that I've got
left is lying in a hospital bed."

Madison could see the anger and bitterness in his eyes. And
she couldn’t blame him, not one bit. It was her fault. She was foolish for
thinking that things had died down.

"Hank, I just wanted to see you and Donna. I missed you
guys and I …" Hank cut her off.

"That's what Skype is for Madison. You've got to start
thinking about other people besides yourself. Ever since you witnessed that
awful thing, you knew that your life would never be the same, am I right?"

Cole rested a hand on Hanks shoulder. "Now listen Hank,
I know you're upset, but let’s try and calm down. You can't to talk to her like
that."

"Harding, don’t tell me what I can and cannot do. This
needs to be said and if you don’t want to hear it, then I suggest you walk
away!"

Cole moved closer to Madison, he could feel her trembling
and placed his hand on her back for support. Instantly, she calmed.

"Madison, we appreciate you making the trip out here to
surprise us, but to be honest, I'm more than upset by your ignorance. Did you
really think that a man with such connections was going to let this whole thing
go? If you did, you're too naïve for your own good. We don’t live in that kind
of world Madison, we don’t live in a world where people like Castillo forgive
and forget. Some people will stop at nothing to seek their revenge and Castillo
is one of those people.
 

I mean, think about it, you were the one who saw what he
did. You were the one who got the ball rolling. So it's only natural that the
animal would forever hold a grudge against you. What in God's name made you
think that he wasn’t going to bide his time and wait for the perfect
opportunity?"

"Hank, please, I…" she stammered.

But Hank was relentless.

"Now listen, if you think you are invincible Madison,
you aren’t, no one is. You want to jeopardize your own life, that's fine, but
you will not jeopardize the life of my wife. Now here's the key to the
house," he said and handed her the key.

"Harding, take her back to the house so that she can
pack her things. Madison, I don’t care where you go, but I want you out of my
house. I'll tell Donna that you had to go away again, but I don’t want to hear
from you until all this has blown over. If it ever blows over and if it
doesn't, well then, I'll say good bye right now."

Silent tears fell from her eyes as she looked at the man who
she thought of as a father figure.

"Tell Donna I'm so sorry." She choked out the
words through her sobs, and then took off running down the hallway.

"Hank, that was too much," Cole said before going
after her.

Hank leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Donna was his
world, his life. Without her, he had nothing. Just as Madison needed
protection, so did his wife and it was up to him to see that she got it. Even
if it meant forcing Madison out of their lives for good.

****

 
By the time Cole caught up to her, she was
leaning against the car, panting and sobbing uncontrollably.

"I don’t think that I'm invincible." She turned to
him and fell into his arms.

Her body let go and the sobs came on stronger and harder
than she'd thought possible. Her head was pounding and her stomach hurt.

 
Cole held her so
tight, she hoped that he would never let go. She buried her head in his chest
and let the tears flow while Cole tried soothing her as best he could.

"He's just upset. His wife is in the hospital and he
doesn't know how to fix it, that's all. He loves you, they both do. You know
that right?"

Madison's sobs quieted as she looked up into his face with a
glance that told him how she felt being near him again.

His arms tightened around her and his eyes darkened with
desire as her own, clouded with emotion.

"So much has changed," she whispered. "Maybe
too much."

Cole slammed his hand against the car door.

"Dammit Madison, don’t say that things have changed
just because of what Hank said to you. He's upset. I told you that."

Madison lowered her eyes and stared at the ground. Cole
pulled her to him once more, he held her as close as he could without hurting
her. She felt his hands run up and down her back and it felt good.

"Come with me." There was urgency in his voice and
for a moment, she didn’t understand.

Then it dawned on her, she took a step back and looked up at
him.

"To West Virginia? Cole, have you lost your mind? I
can't do that."

He took a step closer. "Give me one good reason why you
cant."

While she stood there thinking of a reason, Cole thought
about what losing her would do to him. He put himself in Hank's place, what if
Madison was his wife? Wouldn’t he go through great lengths to protect her? Of
course he would. And being a marshal would have had nothing to do with it. He
did it before, because that was his job, and he'd do it now because nothing
else mattered more to him, than keeping her safe.

We're supposed to
protect the ones we care about
, he thought to himself.
And you not only care about Madison… you love her.

Madison tried hard to think of a reason not to go to
Summerbridge with Cole. There was no one back home in Maine. Zoe, Helen, and
George would be gone the entire summer and she had no close friends to speak
of, none that would miss her anyway.

But what would Zoe think? And Helen and George? She didn’t
want them to think that she was running away, abandoning them for her own
selfish needs.

Needs that have not
been met in over a year
, she silently contemplated. Was it time to move on?
She'd have to go back to Maine eventually, but not until this whole business
with Castillo and his hit men was taken care of. She couldn’t put her family's
lives in danger, she wouldn’t.
Maybe it
would be better for everyone if I did go to Summerbridge
.

She remembered the conversation she'd had with Donna earlier
in the day.

You did not give him
all that you had honey. You let him borrow it. And now it's your turn to
reclaim it for yourself. You've got to live in the moment. You have nothing to
feel guilty about, you're a human being, and it's alright to want to feel
again.

"Cole, what would I do…?"

The ringing of his cell phone interrupted their
conversation.

"Hold that thought," he said and answered the
call.

She watched the expression on his face turn from calmness to
rage as he listened to the person on the other end of the line.

"Fucking bastard," he cursed. "Listen; meet
me at my place in an hour. Yeah, she's with me and I'm not letting her out of
my sight. Oh and send someone over to the hospital to keep an eye on Hank and
Donna too."

"What's going on? Who was that?" Her voice raised
in fright.

"Deputy Faith. He just received a call from a marshal
over in Redmerrow Oklahoma. Juan Hernandez was found dead in his home, the
police think it was a hit. They're sending a couple guys over to Riverbend to
interview Castillo."

Madison stood unfazed and stared off into the night sky.

 
"This is never
going to end is it? I suppose that I'm next, right? Maybe I'll let his goons
find me and we can end this once and for all."

"That's not going to happen. You're coming with me
right now. We'll go pick up your things from Hank and Donna's. Then, you're
coming back to my place. Deputy Faith is going to stop by so we can figure out
what we're going to do.

And right now, it would be in your best interest not to
argue with me."

Madison shrugged her shoulders. "I'm too tired to argue
with you," she said. "Besides, I'm much more pliable when I'm
tired." She sighed heavily.

A smile tugged at the corner of Cole's mouth.
She must be really tired,
he thought to
himself.

****