Marking Madden (Hearts of Hollis Book 1) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Copyright 2016. Nicole Dykes and J.L. Leslie. All rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reprod...

  Chapter 1Jade

  Chapter 2Madden

  Chapter 3Jade

  Chapter 4Madden

  Chapter 5Jade

  Chapter 6Madden

  Chapter 7Jade

  Chapter 8Madden

  Chapter 9Jade

  Chapter 10Madden

  Chapter 11Jade

  Chapter 12Madden

  Chapter 13Jade

  Chapter 14Madden

  Chapter 15Jade

  Chapter 16Madden

  Chapter 17Jade

  Chapter 18Madden

  Chapter 19Jade

  Chapter 20Madden

  Chapter 21Jade

  Chapter 22Madden

  Chapter 23Jade

  Chapter 24Madden

  Chapter 25Jade

  Chapter 26Madden

  Chapter 27Jade

  Chapter 28Madden

  Chapter 29Jade

  Chapter 30Madden

  Chapter 31Jade

  Chapter 32Madden

  Chapter 33Jade

  Chapter 34Madden

  Chapter 35Jade

  Chapter 36Madden

  Chapter 37Jade

  Chapter 38Madden

  Chapter 39Jade

  EpilogueMadden

  If you enjoyed Marking Madden (Hearts of Hollis: Book One) by Nicole Dykes & J.L. Leslie then ple...

  Marking Madden

  By Nicole Dykes and J.L. Leslie

  Copyright 2016. Nicole Dykes and J.L. Leslie. All rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes, promotions, authorized giveaways or teasers only.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Chapter 1

  Jade

  The bar is dead tonight.

  There are the usual locals. The few men who would rather be here than at home with their wives. They’re here almost every night. I wonder what their wives think about them coming here to get drunk while they sit at home with the kids. Then there’s the old man who’s lonely and comes here for human contact even though no one talks to him except me. The town slut. And the table with five younger people that I check, what seems like every five minutes.

  There’s no more than fifteen people in this bar and it’s a Friday night. That’s the town we live in. It’s small and it’s always the same people. Everyone knows everyone else’s business and you can’t do shit without someone knowing about it.

  I moved here a few years ago, when I left my hometown that had a population of twenty thousand and traded it for this town that has six hundred people in it. One stoplight. Nothing exciting ever happens and that’s the way they like it around here. I’ve grown to like it too.

  I found this job in the paper when I first arrived and luckily the owner, Jack, took a liking to me. He said I seemed like I could handle the shit that was thrown at me in here. He has no idea dealing with drunks has been one of my fortes since a very young age.

  “Jade, can I get a Coors over here?”

  I nod over at Hank, the older lonely guy I was talking about earlier. His hand is up and waving an empty bottle.

  “Hold your horses, I’m coming.” I walk over and hand him a cold beer bottle to replace the empty one. “$3.50.”

  He hands me a five-dollar bill. “Keep the change, beautiful.”

  I wink at him and thank him, ready for my shift to be over.

  I glance over at the table with five guys and girls who grew up here, old friends. All good friends of my co-worker and best friend, Casey. They were all in the same class of get this, twenty-one. They had twenty-one kids in their graduating class. One of them has kept my attention all night.

  Brady.

  We dated all last summer. He’s handsome and tall with a muscular build, formed from years of hard labor. With light brown hair that’s gotten a little blonde from the summer sun, blue eyes, dimples. Brady is used to lots of female attention. Especially in a town this small.

  I’ve been with a couple of other guys before, but I hate to admit that I was starting to fall for Brady. Little did I know all I was to him was a summer fling. He was born in this town and when he was offered a job in another state, he took it.

  Leaving me behind.

  That’s really all I’ve ever been to anyone, just a fling. A pretty little play thing. I get a lot of male attention because of my looks, but it’s always an infatuation. We have fun together. Great sex. I’m entertainment until they find something real, something better.

  I stare at the way he easily flirts with all of the girls at his table, like I’m not even fucking here. He catches me staring at him like a stray puppy dog out on the street and winks at me. Actually winks at me, like we didn’t spend nights at the park lying out under the stars dreaming about our future. Like he didn’t hold me tight at the local street dance last summer and whisper in my ear that he loved me. Even though I never said it back it was still nice to hear it.

  I look away from him, trying like hell not to let the tears fall that are welling up in my eyes. I refuse to let him see how he affects me. We had fun last summer and it doesn’t matter to me that he’s back. He sure as hell hasn’t even spoken to me since he returned. He’s probably already found himself another fling and despite the sexy wink, I’m sure I’m not even on his mind. I steal one more glance at him and then mentally kick myself for doing it.

  And then he walks into the bar.

  I’ve never seen him in here before. It’s hot outside, it being the beginning of summer in Texas and all, but this guy is wearing dress slacks and a nice button up shirt. Definitely not from around here. He’s stunning though. Not usually how I would describe a male, but I’ve never seen a more beautiful man.

  His dark hair has just enough length to it, he has a little scruff grown, but still looks clean cut. He’s lean, but there’s muscle under those pressed clothes. I’m almost certain of that. He makes his way over to the bar and I think I forgot my own name.

  Shit. I never let men get to me like this. Not even good looking ones. And this guy hasn’t even opened his mouth yet.

  He’s carrying two duffle bags and he clutches them both over his shoulder as he taps on the bar. He looks directly at me and says, “Is Jack here?”

  I shake my head, suddenly I’ve gone mute. His gray eyes are staring back at me and I just want to look at them all night. He arches his eyebrows in question at my blank stare and I swallow, averting my gaze to the floor.

  “Do you know when he’ll be back?” he asks, shuffling the two bags to his other shoulder.

  Again, I shake my head, struggling to form words. Jesus Jade, snap the hell out of it. “No, he’s in and out of here. Is there something I can help you with?”

  “I talked to him earlier about renting a room.”

  He’ll be living here?

  “I can give him a call.” I offer.

  He nods and grunts, “Thanks.”

  Man of little words. I pull my cell phone out of the back pocket of my jeans and give Jack a call. He hates when I call him. Likes things to be handled ourselves while he’s gone.

  “Hello.”

  “Jack, it’s Jade. There’s a man here who said he talked to you about renting a room?”

  “That’s why you called me, Jade? The key is in my office. Just give it to him, collect his rent money and make sure
the bar doesn’t burn down. You have a simple job,” he barks into the phone.

  He’s an ass, but really not as bad as you think. “Okay. No problem.”

  I hang up and look at the mysterious stranger. He hasn’t budged from his spot at the bar. He doesn’t make any effort to mingle with the locals. At least, he has let the two duffle bags drop to his side.

  “I’ll go get the key.” I tell him and he gives me a brief nod.

  I retrieve the key, after moving some nudey magazines out of the way in Jack’s top drawer, and bring it back to the bar.

  “Do you have first month’s rent?”

  He turns his back to me and rifles through one of his bags. When he turns back around, he hands me an envelope.

  “It’s all in there.” he assures me.

  I nod and hand him his key. For a brief moment our skin makes contact and I feel the warmth from his hand radiate through my fingertips. His gaze rakes over me as he leans down to pick up his bags.

  “Rent is due on the first each month. I wouldn’t be late if I were you. Jack’s not the forgiving type.”

  He just nods his head, not saying anything.

  “Would you like a drink?” I ask, motioning toward the whiskey bottles lined up on the shelves behind the bar. I don’t know why I’m trying to make him stay. It’s clear he doesn’t want to.

  “I’d just like to go to my room.”

  “Okay, I’ll show it to you.”

  I yell over at Casey that I’ll be right back. She’s flipping through television channels trying to find a game on to please the few customers.

  She grins over at me and hollers back, “Take your time.”

  I roll my eyes. Casey has become my best friend since I moved here. She isn’t much older than me, being twenty-two, but she’s as opinionated and blunt as I am.

  As I lead him out the back and up the stairs I try to make a little conversation. If he’s going to be staying here, he should feel comfortable and so should I. Chances are, I’ll be seeing him often.

  “So, you aren’t from around here, huh?”

  He shakes his head. “Nope.”

  “Not to be rude, but that’s a little obvious. So, where are you from?”

  “Can you just show me my room?” he asks, irritation clear in his voice.

  Okay, he doesn’t like to talk about his past. I get that. Mine isn’t something I go screaming from the rooftops about.

  We reach his door and the stubbornness in me kicks in. I don’t know why I can’t just let it go and walk away. I should. I know that, but I don’t.

  “Okay, well if you’re going to be living where I work, at least tell me your name?”

  He sighs before answering. “Madden.”

  I try not to smirk in satisfaction and hold out my hand. “I’m Jade.”

  He reluctantly shakes it. “Nice to meet you, Jade.”

  This guy is trouble. Once again, I can feel the electricity zing through my body when our hands touch, something unlike anything I’ve ever felt and much more powerful than our brief encounter earlier.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Madden.”

  If I were smart, I would stay far away, but suddenly I feel myself wanting to know more about this man before me.

  Chapter 2

  Madden

  I walk into the apartment and close the door behind me. After I lock it, I drop my duffle bags to the floor. I close my eyes as I lean against the door and ask myself how I got here. The past forty-eight hours seem like a total fuck-up. As much as I’d like to think it was all some kind of nightmare, I know that isn’t true.

  The buzzing of my phone in my pocket stirs me from my thoughts. I pull it out and Amelia’s face appears on my screen reminding me that everything I saw was real. Amelia. Damn. I press ignore and pick my bags up.

  The apartment is a shithole. I’m not surprised. When I saw the ad, it advertised a furnished apartment above a bar for three hundred bucks a month. I certainly wasn’t expecting luxury. It’ll make the money I took stretch though.

  I sit my two bags on the bed and unzip the one that contains the contents from my father’s safe. Stanton Steele keeps an even one million dollars in his wall safe that’s hidden behind the Picasso painting in his bedroom. The password has always been his birthday. Not very original.

  It hadn’t taken him long to notice it was gone. He just doesn’t know why. Him and my brother who has actually called me, are both clueless. They think I don’t want to go to work at Steele Industries. A job I’ve been primed for since middle school. I knew the moment I graduated college in May that I was heading for Steele Industries. That’s not why I left.

  I look at the money in the bag and almost feel guilty.

  Almost.

  The voicemail my father left me keeps me from crossing that line into guilt. He hadn’t been concerned about why I’ve left or where I’ve went. He wants his money back. Pure and simple. Money’s all he cares about. His three sons are just heirs to the fortune. Landon, Keegan, and I are just needed to keep the family legacy going. He doesn’t really give a shit about us.

  Since I haven’t heard from my oldest brother, Landon, I’m assuming he doesn’t know shit about the stunt I’ve pulled. His business trip in Tokyo is too important to be interrupted.

  Then there’s my other brother, Keegan. I want to be angry with him, but I can’t. I don’t really blame him at all. He thinks I took the money to go on some kind of vacation. I almost chuckle out loud when I think about his voicemail.

  “Madden, man what the hell are you doing?” he’d said. “If you wanted to go to Cancun before you started work, all you had to do was say so. We could’ve taken the jet and stayed at the villa. You didn’t have to take dad’s money. He’s fucking pissed now! Come back and we’ll plan the trip then start work. Quit being a shit!”

  I take a few hundreds out and zip the duffle bag up before shoving it under the bed. I unzip my other bag and start putting my clothes away. The small oak dresser is just big enough for the amount of clothes I was able to cram in the bag.

  I flick the television on and see nothing but static on the screen. I turn it back off. Maybe I should’ve taken Jade up on her offer for a drink. It would get my mind off everything.

  Damn. Jade. We only met briefly, but there was something in those baby blues that I couldn’t ignore. A feistiness that could be beneficial for me to befriend her. Maybe she could take my mind off everything instead of the whiskey. I was a total dick to her though. I’m sure she’ll be avoiding me as much as she can. Good. In all honesty, that’s probably for the best.

  My phone buzzes. Amelia. Again. This time I answer.

  “Madden, where are you? Everyone’s worried.” she tells me. Her voice sounds like she’s been crying. It’s clear she’s upset. At least I think she is. I thought I knew her, but I don’t.

  “Is he with you?” I ask, quietly.

  My mind goes back to two days ago when my world came crashing down. My father’s birthday celebration at the Country Club was supposed to be a good day. It was supposed to be the day.

  “He’s inside. I came outside to call you. Please tell me where you are.” she pleads.

  When Amelia would say please before, I would have done anything for her. Please help me study. Please take me to Mills Pizzeria for pizza. Please rub my shoulders. She was my closest friend. We graduated college together. She even grew up just three houses down from me our entire lives. She was mine. That’s what I thought anyway.

  “I…can’t.” my voice breaks as I answer.

  “We didn’t mean to hurt you, Madden. I thought you knew.”

  I don’t believe her. “You kissed me back, Amelia. You can’t tell me you didn’t feel anything in that kiss. I know you did.”

  “Madden, I…I don’t know. Will you please come back?”

  I don’t say a word. Instead, I pull the phone away from my ear and disconnect, turning the phone off. I already purchased a burner phone. Knowing my father, he’ll figure
out a way to trace my cell phone.

  I thought you knew. How can she even say that? Her and Keegan never said a word to me. No one did. I stood in the Country Club banquet hall with my family and wished my father happy birthday. I listened as my brother stood up and proposed to Amelia Kensington, the woman I’m in love with, in front of hundreds of guests. I listened to her say yes.

  When I walked out, she followed me. When I kissed her, she let me. For just a moment. Then she ran back inside. And I ran too. I’d gone home and packed as many clothes as I could fit into a bag. I walked into my father’s bedroom and took down the Picasso painting. I’d entered the code to the safe without thinking twice about it.

  I drove like a bat out of hell out of Dallas and I didn’t look back. Fuck them. Fuck them all. Keegan can have Amelia. They can get married. Make babies. I don’t give a fuck.

  I’m starting over. I don’t need Steele Industries. I don’t need my family. I sure as hell don’t need Amelia Kensington.

  Even though a small part of me knows she wants me too, by the way she kissed me back.

  Chapter 3

  Jade

  I cautiously knock on Madden’s apartment door. He’s going to think I’m a total psycho stalker or something. He’s only been here for an hour and I’m already here at his door.

  He answers it cautiously. He’s looking at me like I’m a lunatic, but I don’t even notice his handsome face because he’s now removed his button up shirt and his sculpted upper body is on full display.

  Holy hell, I knew he had muscle under those clothes. Nice Jade, just keep staring at his chest like a fucking, drooling moron.

  “Can I help you?” he asks, breaking through my dirty thoughts.

  I finally coax my eyes upward and stare into his dark steel, gray eyes. They soften just a little, but then that hardness is back.

  “I’m sorry, I hope you weren’t asleep.” I apologize, hoping to see some of that softness again. Just a glimpse.

  “I wasn’t.”

  His curt response shows that the first impression I had of him earlier was correct. This guy isn’t here to make friends and meet new people. I wonder if he’s running from something. It’s all very mysterious and my curiosity is really killing me. I know I should just steer clear of him. Give him what he wants.