Chapter 6

6

Ten minutes later, Madison still hadn’t cleared her head. Even with the cool night air whipping through the Jeep, she still felt slightly off center. She couldn’t ever remember being that surprised by a man before. He left her feeling…uneasy. No, that wasn’t correct. Madison glanced at Charlie. He’d moved up into the front seat when Dante had vacated it, but he was curled up and relaxed. Apparently she hadn’t emitted any panicked feelings. So, not uneasy.

She blew out a long sigh as she turned onto the street that led to her house. It had been so long since a man had kissed her. Hell, it had been over…three years? That couldn’t be right. Okay, it was probably right because it was before she went to Afghanistan. She didn’t think it was smart to mess around while in country. It was probably stupid, but she hadn’t wanted anything getting in the way of her job. Of course, she had been pretty uptight about it when she’d been stationed at Pendleton before shipping out. Madison had always thought that personal relationships could wait until she made Field Grade. More than once, she had turned down invitations for parties and dates.

What had she missed out on because she’d been so damned determined to prove to her father she was a true Marine? Fun. And she was still doing it. That needed to change. Not that she was ready to jump back into the dating pool, but she definitely enjoyed herself tonight. There had been a few moments that had given her worries, but thanks to Charlie, she’d been all right.

Then she remembered the way Dante had brushed his hand casually on her back. It was during a moment when a loud burst of noise had filled the bar and grill and she’d jumped. Her heart had started to pound in her chest. Before Charlie could assist, Dante had touched her, bringing her back from the edge.

He had known—at least subconsciously. And, being the kind of person he was, he had assisted a fellow Marine. It wasn’t something that everyone would do, but he was a Santini. They were raised right. Elena had tried over and over to hook up with Madison for a lunch or dinner after she’d returned from Afghanistan, and Madison had avoided it. While most of her friends hadn’t even emailed, Elena had gone out of her way to make contact. It was the Santini way.

With that her thoughts drifted back to Dante. He might have irritated her in college, but he was a good man. And a damned good kisser.

No. She couldn’t think about that. Never again. She couldn’t think of the way his mouth had felt against hers, or the way he had tasted. She definitely was going to forget the fact that there had been a moment where she would have willingly followed him into his house and jumped his bones.

“You’re supposed to have my back, Charlie.”

Her companion gave her a look out of the side of his eyes, then huffed.

“Men. You all stick together.”

She pulled to a stop at a red light beside a park. This time of night was kind of quiet, even on a Friday night. Her therapist’s office was two or three minutes down the street. Then, it hit her how close she lived to Dante. It would only take her another five minutes to make it to her house from where she sat. She hadn’t realized how close she and Dante lived to each other.

Damn. Temptation was less than fifteen minutes away.

“It doesn’t matter, Charlie. He’s been drinking tonight and tomorrow he’ll come to his senses.”

Even if he claimed he’d been attracted to her from the moment he met her. Sure, he could remember what she was wearing but that didn’t mean anything. Not really.

Dammit. Having a man remember what she had been wearing the first time he met her over seven years earlier was a little too much for her to handle at the moment. There was only one solution. She was going to have to avoid him. He had all these feelings tangled up inside of her and she didn’t know what to do about it. That kiss had left her mind scrambled. She ran her tongue over her lips. They still tingled from the kiss.

To get her mind off the issue of Dante Santini and his amazing mouth, she glanced over at the park. She had come here once or twice with Charlie. Walks were good for her and she often needed a break after her appointments. The fresh air was good for both of them.

As she scanned the area just beyond the walking path, a movement caught her attention. For a moment, she couldn’t tell what it was. A struggle of some sort. She narrowed her eyes and realized there was a woman and a man. They were so far away, it was hard to tell if they were really fighting or just goofing off. She couldn’t see the woman’s face, so it was hard to tell if she was scared or not.

In that next instant, the woman broke away from his grip and turned to run. Madison heard the woman scream, or she thought she did. She knew the woman had opened her mouth. Before Madison could discern what was going on, the man pulled out a gun. Madison froze, her heart in her throat, panic and fear chilling her blood. Before she could react, the man squeezed the trigger and shot the woman. Madison watched, unable to do anything—to even react to the scene. Then, she shouted and the man looked toward her. He turned in her direction, running easily. She couldn’t see his face, he was too far away, but she didn’t have to guess his intent. He raised his arm and pointed his gun in her direction.

She didn’t have to think twice about what to do. She slammed on the gas and sped off. Charlie apparently sensed her panic and tried to climb closer to her. Her head was spinning as she drew in huge gulps of air.

She had to get to the police station, but her brain wasn’t working. Right now, all she wanted to do was get as far away as possible. Panic morphed into all out terror as she sped through the deserted streets. She couldn’t try to call, not while she was driving and she wasn’t about to stop. Before she could even think of where she was going, she turned onto Dante’s street. She didn’t stop until she parked in front of his house. She barely had the Jeep turned off before she undid her seat belt and hopped out to run up to the front door. Charlie was hard on her heels.

Black spots appeared before her eyes as she reached the stoop. She blinked trying to hold onto her sanity for at least a few moments longer. The world around her was spinning, her throat was dry, and her heart beating so damned hard she was amazed that it didn’t leave bruises. She rang the doorbell then started to knock. Dante opened the door with a frown. He was wearing a pair of boxers and nothing else.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“We need to call the police. I think I just saw a murder.”