Why are they here, and how do they know where I live?
SETH
Madison’s pale face, tense with pain, will haunt me for the rest of my life. An officer takes her statement while she sits on the back of the ambulance, an emergency tech bandaging one of her feet. I push my way toward her, ignoring the calls of a police officer to stay back. He knows I’m not a threat, especially when Madison calls out my name.
“Seth? What are you doing here?” Her focus moves behind me. “And Damiano?”
I open my mouth, but all I can say is, “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“I’m fine, it’s just my foot.” She wraps her arms around herself, shaking, clearly in shock.
Taking off my jacket, I wrap it around her shoulders.
An EMT pauses next to her, one of those foil blankets in his hands. “Miss? I brought you a blanket.”
“Thank you, I’m okay,” Madison tells him before turning to Damiano and me. “Now would you please tell me what’s going on? I gave my statement, but it’s pretty fucking short because I know nothing.”
“There are two men in your house that we sent to protect you,” Damiano says. “They were guarding this place when they saw someone break in. They went inside to stop the intruder.”
As he speaks, officers emerge from the front door of Madison’s house, Buster and Fletch with them, along with a guy wearing all black. The guy in all black has a large cut and bruise on his forehead, and his lip his split. Blood trails over the sparse whiskers on his chin.
“Do you know that man?” I ask Madison.
She shakes her head while staring intently at the guy. He doesn’t even look over at her.
Damiano takes one of her hands. “Is it true you just moved into this place? Has it been empty for a while?”
“My cousin was living here, but he moved out a few days ago.”
The blond officer who had been taking Madison’s statement nods. “Could be the perp was staking out the house and thought it uninhabited. All the lights were off when he broke in?”
“Yeah.” Madison can’t seem to stop shaking.
I want to bundle her against me, share my body heat. I have to settle with standing very close. Kyle would want her supported right now—I’m doing this for him.
Fletch and Buster are giving their own statements to officers, but now that Madison has been evaluated and the intruder is in custody, the energy in the driveway goes down.
“Can she return to the house?” Damiano asks the blond officer.
“Yes.” She nods toward the door. “Be careful of the glass, and you’ll probably want to board up the broken window, to prevent more unwanted guests.”
Before I can lead Madison inside, Damiano stops me. “One of us needs to go to the station with Buster and Fletch.”
Unspoken are the words, And one of us needs to stay with Madison.
The idea of leaving her side physically pains me. I don’t know why; I can’t explain it. Perhaps it’s a residual feeling of wanting to honor my brother’s wishes. He would want her protected and helped. I’d be disrespecting him if I left her alone.
“I’ll stay here.” I flick a glance to Madison. “If that’s all right with you, Madison.”
“Yes…I’d appreciate it. Thank you.”
Her formal words put distance between us, but I obliterate that distance when we reach her front porch and I lift her easily into my arms to carry her past the broken glass. She sucks in a surprised breath, but doesn’t say a word until I set her down.
“You didn’t have to do that.” She looks down, away from me. “And you don’t have to stay.”
“I know I don’t. Where’s your room? Can you walk there?”
“Yeah. I can walk.” She starts toward the stairs. “There are other rooms up here, too, but none of the beds are made.”
