Chapter 3

Lucas Hart had found her.

Madison Vale.

And she was a shock to his very core.

He hadn"t known what to expect when he"d come after her. None of the Harts had. Until this moment, she"d been only a memory for his brother Jacob, and a name and address on a piece of paper.

And now…she was in front of him.

And he realized he hadn"t remotely expected her.

The way she spoke to her friends was pure warmth and loyalty.

The way they hugged her showed how much they loved her.

The bond between the foursome was real and powerful, the kind of loyalty that the Harts lived and breathed every moment of their lives.

Madison was sexy as all hell in that red dress, and her sneakers made him grin. Her brown skin was insanely beautiful, and the intricate braids cascading down her back were a literal work of art. Sassy. Beautiful. Bold.

He liked her immediately, which surprised him. He didn"t like many people. Trusted even fewer. But the energy between Madison and her friends hit right in the core of what made him get up every day. Love. Loyalty. Commitment.

She seemed like she had it all together.

His job was done. He"d seen her. He"d made sure she was all right. Now he was supposed to walk away and let her resume her life. His family was on alert. If Madison ever decided to unlock her past and started asking questions, the Harts would know and they would come forward.

But a family meeting had convinced the Harts not to confront her, because every single Hart had a past that they wanted to leave behind. Each Hart understood in their core that it would be cruel and brutal to force Madison"s past on her unless she wanted it, because none of them wanted that to happen to them.

Jacob had wanted to come find her, but he"d asked Lucas to do it instead, not trusting himself to keep his distance once he saw her…also fearing that if Madison saw Jacob, she"d recognize him, and be sucked back into her past without the Harts even saying a word.

So, Lucas was here.

And Madison was fine.

Time to leave.

But he didn"t move.

Because he couldn't take his eyes off her dog, and the bright orange Therapy Dog vest she was wearing.

They were at a black-tie affair in a five-star hotel. And yet Madison had a massive pittie by her side, even on the dance floor. She almost always had a part of her touching the dog, and the dog"s vigilance to Madison was constant.

As Lucas watched, the dog suddenly rose to her feet and put her huge paws on Madison"s chest, as if she"d sensed something was wrong with her owner.

Dammit.

At what point did he interfere? Madison"s life was clearly fine. She had friends, a business, and a support system.

But that orange vest on her dog was a blaring alarm that all was not well with the woman who had haunted his brother for so many years.

Madison suddenly turned her head and looked right at him.

Lucas stiffened, shocked but also not shocked, by the jolt of electricity that shot through him when his gaze met hers. He already knew that he was drawn to her energy, but the eye contact felt like she"d fucking climbed into his chest and lit a fire.

Fuck.

Walk away?

Walk over to her?

He hadn"t expected anything complicated, which had been incredibly short-sighted. He knew damn well what a traumatic childhood did to a person, even as an adult.

He realized that he"d hoped that she"d escaped unscathed, getting yanked out of that life at such a young age.

But the dog told other stories.

Madison said something, and immediately, her three friends all turned to look at him.

None of their faces were friendly, which he appreciated. He was accustomed to everyone idolizing him, wanting something from him, pretending to be his friend so they could get to his money or his family.

It was refreshing as hell to see four women studying him as if they were debating whether they needed to pull out their guns and take him out back into a dark alley.

Yeah. Good job, Madison. Friendship like that was everything.

The women didn"t take their gazes off him, but he could see their mouths moving as they discussed him. He wished he could read lips, but all he could do was watch their body language and their facial expressions to realize that they were deciding how to handle him.

He contemplated continuing to stand where he was and let them choose whether to approach him, but he was in the middle of a crowd. He didn"t like crowds, and he didn"t want his conversation with Madison to be overheard.

He shook out his shoulders, surprised to discover that his heart had actually sped up. Nerves? Anticipation? Didn"t matter. His connection with Madison had been opened. He"d been careless enough to be seen watching her, and now he had to handle this.

What he was going to say, he had no idea.

But he"d spent his life in survival mode, adjusting on the fly, so he was in his zone of genius.

Except as he started walking toward Madison, and saw her stiffen, he suddenly felt like he was about to step into a world he had no idea how to navigate.

He didn"t like that feeling at all.

At. All.

But there was no going back.