Maxwell

 

 

 

Malibu wasn’t exactly a small area and I didn’t have an exact address, so I was just driving up and down the streets, searching for…something. I didn’t even know what it was. A motorcycle parked out from with the license plate reading Cain? Or maybe I was supposed to be looking for a conspicuous cab that said out of service due to kidnapping.

 

The houses weren’t just houses, I noted. They were mansions. Probably a mixture of McMansions and custom jobs, but they were all huge and excessive. I wouldn’t mind some of the finer things, I supposed, even a bigger place to live, especially if Nicole and I—

 

I cut off that train of thought before it could go any further. And not because I didn’t think I’d find Nicole. I would find Nicole, but I wasn’t the settling down type, and she had been furious with me. It didn’t seem like a match made in heaven.

 

Still, I had to admit I wanted to keep her.

 

The road was smooth as I drove, a sign that this area definitely had the money to keep up with. From the stupid McMansions with their gaudy colors and gold trim, to the lush yards that probably went out several acres before merging into the neighbor’s lawn to the Mercedes, Ferarris, and Volvos parked in the driveways, it made me want to roll my eyes and sneer a little bit at these people. With that kind of money, why waste it on a five-story mansion when you didn’t have enough people to fill it, or cars you couldn’t maintain or drive?

 

It all just seemed a bit much to me. I could come up with some better things to do with that sort of money.

 

The problem that I noticed as I drove was that all these houses looked the same. Mansions, they’re fucking mansions. Not that I really expected a neon sign to lead me to Martin—Cain—but how was I supposed to have any idea where he was when there were no distinguishing features to the houses? At least if they looked a little different, I could make a wild guess, but this…I’d have to search all of them one at a time to figure it out, and that wasn’t likely to be very stealthy.

 

These people didn’t look like the type to hesitate to call if they thought someone didn’t belong in their neighborhood.

 

Still, I didn’t have a lot of other options. I was about ready to pull up to a house—any house—and get out to check it. Maybe look around the grounds first, check a few windows or the garage if I could, then go to the front door if all else failed. It wasn’t a great plan, but it was the only one I had. But just as I was slowing down, pulling closer to the curb, I saw a figure running.

 

Slim, so either young or a woman, sprinting across the lawn of one of the huge mansions. Her dark, wild hair whipped out behind her and as she got closer I noticed two things. One, her expression was flushed and one of barely restrained terror. Two, the woman was Nicole.

 

I jerked the car into park and popped the door open, hopping out of the car and coming around the front of it to intercept her. She hesitated, nearly stumbling as she slowed down, preparing to stop abruptly as soon as she saw me. Something funny twisted in my stomach. Was she still pissed? Was she pissed enough not to stop, to turn around and risk Martin and his men rather than come to me?

 

The fears seeped into my mind and heart, clutching at me, but they were unfounded. Recognition crossed her face, and suddenly she was running again, maybe even faster than before. She slammed into me full force, wrapping her small, delicate arms around me. Her face pressed against my chest and I heard a sob amidst her heavy breathing.

 

Automatically, I clutched her, holding her tightly to me. “Jesus,” I breathed into her hair. “Jesus.”

 

She held me tighter, pressing herself as close to me as humanly possible, needing to be near me.

 

“Are you okay?” I asked when I could finally spit out something other than Jesus.

 

She nodded her head, but I needed to hear her say it, so I pulled her back just a little bit. Not so far that we weren’t still wrapped up in each other’s embrace, but just enough so I could see her face. Her eyes were red rimmed and her mascara was sloppy, her hair was in disarray, but she was beautiful. I was grateful to have her in my arms, to have her at all.

 

“Nicole?”

 

“I’m okay,” she croaked out, though her voice was thick with emotion. I could see it in her shaking limbs and her exhausted expression that whatever adrenaline boost had gotten her this far was finally wearing off—and taking its toll as a result.

 

“Thank god,” I murmured as I put a hand under her chin, tilting it up to me, right before I kissed her.

 

Her lips were as soft as I remembered and I was met with no resistance. In fact, she pulled herself closer to me and this time she wove her hands through my hair, holding my face to hers, keeping our lips fused together. The kiss was all intensity, mouths open, tongues dueling, passion spiking because I had been afraid I would lose her forever. When we broke apart, she was breathless again for a different reason.

 

I dug into my pocket, searching for the keys. “Take the car,” I told her, fishing out the keys so I could hand them to her. Her eyebrows went up in surprise, then pulled down in worry and confusion. She didn’t want me to leave her. I kept talking before she could say anything in response. “Get the hell out of here. Drive somewhere safe—not back to the motel. Go somewhere Martin won’t think to look for you. Or better yet, get to the airport and book a ticket out of here. I’ll…” I hesitated, not sure if she wanted me to say this and not sure if it was true. “I’ll meet you when I’m done here.”

 

She shook her head even as I pressed the keys into her hand. “Don’t do this. Just come with me!”

 

“I’ve gotta take care of this first. I’ll meet you after.”

 

She hesitated, worry written plainly across her pretty features, and I felt a twist of pleasure race through me at the knowledge that she felt that for me. She was worried about me and suddenly the fight from before, all the bickering, all the uncertainty was gone.

 

Whether she was still pissed off at me or not, she was happy to see me and cared enough to worry. It was enough for now.

 

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she nodded once. “I…I’m sorry about earlier. I freaked out and overreacted and I was just so scared that you were like Ben, but you’re not, I know that and I’m sorry —”

 

I silenced her with a kiss, sealing our lips together and pulling her close to me again. My heart felt lighter, like someone had taken a huge weight from it, and whatever anger I might have felt at being compared to a dick like Ben evaporated, lost in the knowledge that she apologized. That meant we still had a chance. and I’d be damned if I’d miss it.

 

When the kiss broke, I opened my eyes to see hers still fluttering. When they finally opened enough to search out mine, I reached out and cupped her cheek. I caressed her face gently, letting my fingers trail across her full lips. “It’s okay.”

 

She nodded. “Please come back to me. Stay alive.”

 

I smiled grimly, doing my best to seem confident, but I wasn’t. Not this time. “How did you get out?” I asked, gesturing back towards the mansion—it was at least four stories and maybe had a basement.

 

“They let me use the bathroom,” she admitted. “It was the only way to get untied. I was going to try to go out the window, like we did at that hotel, but we were too high up. I was on the third floor, I think.” She shook her head. “But I got lucky. The bathroom connected to a master bedroom and it had a balcony. I climbed down a trellis. Then I ran…and found you.” She said the last part quietly, almost like she couldn’t quite believe I was here and had come for her.

 

I had to resist the strong urge to wrap her up in my arms again, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to let her go. I’d get in that car with her and fly wherever she wanted and this would never be over. I had to finish things now so we could stop looking over our shoulders. Then I could have my moments with her—and I planned to have a lot of them.

 

“Go. Take the car. I’ll meet you at the airport.”

 

She nodded and reached up to me, pressing her mouth to mine one last time, fierce and willing. “Hurry.”

 

Then she turned away, because I thought she knew we were running out of time, too. She rushed to the car and I watched her until she got in, slammed the door, and had the engine running. With one last look between us, I moved out of the way, rushing towards the lawn and the house she’d just come from. I looked back at her just in time to see her pull up the road and turn down a street. When she was completely out of sight, I ran across the lawn towards the mansion.