Rescuing Madison (Book 1)

Chapter Ten

I was so ecstatic that Madison had agreed to be my girlfriend. I felt like I had been waiting for this moment my whole life. Even though it had only been 3 years.. But, it still felt like forever. I was taking her on a date tonight, & this time it felt so much different. It felt like we were going on our first date. Thinking of her made me smile.

"What are you grinning stupidly about?" Kolt asked, walking into the living room.

"I'm taking Madison on a date tonight."

"Don't you two always go out on dates?" he questioned.

"Yes. But this is our first date as a real couple."

It took a few seconds for what I said to sink in. "You finally asked her to be your girlfriend? That's great, bro." he said, slapping me on the shoulder.

"It is great. I've wanted her to be mine for so long."

"I think she's always been yours. There was just no official title."

That made me laugh. I hadn't dated anyone since the day I had met Madison. & I knew for sure that she hadn't been with anyone else since then either.

"You look like a little kid in a candy store." he laughed.

"Whatever, dude. I can't help it." I grinned. "Hey, how'd your date go the other day?"

His smile faltered a little. "Our date was great."

"Then why does it not seem that way?"

He shook his head. "The date was perfect. We had a lot of fun. Just.. I haven't heard from her since then. I've tried texting & calling her. Nothing."

"Have you tried going over to her house?"

"Yes. I was told she wasn't home." he looked down, frustrated.

"By who?"

"She lives with her uncle. He didn't seem too glad to see me at his doorstep."

"That's weird. Wait. You said she had bruises when you saw her? Maybe that has something to do with it."

"I really have no idea, man. I'm going to keep trying to get ahold of her until she answers me. I might even go back to her house & wait there until she shows up or comes out to talk to me."

"You know I'll do anything to help, if it comes to that."

He nodded. Before he could say anything, my phone rang. I smiled when I saw that it was Madison.

"Hey, baby girl."

She didn't answer at first. Then I heard sobbing, & I quickly sat up.

"Madison, what's wrong?"

"I n-need you. P-please."

"I'm coming. Stay where you are." I hung up & stood up, grabbing my keys.

"What's going on?" Kolt asked.

"I don't know." I said, going out the front door & getting into my car.

Kolt got into the car with me. "Was she crying?"

"She was sobbing. & She sounded like she was starting to hyperventilate."

The ride to her house was quiet after that. I sped the whole way there, thankful that there wasn't any traffic. & I was glad that I wasn't pulled over. I had to be going at least 10 over the speed limit.

When we got to her apartment, we ran up the stairs to her floor. I didn't bother knocking on her door, I just let myself in. Kolt came in after me. I ran into the living room, & he ran into the kitchen. She wasn't in either room. I ran to her bedroom & slammed the door open. I wasn't expecting to see her like this.
She was in the corner of the room, on the floor, arms wrapped around her legs. I ran to her & pulled her into my arms.

"What happened, baby?"

She couldn't say anything. She was shaking & gasping for air. I put my forehead against hers & looked at her.

"Look at me."

She slowly opened her eyes.

"Breathe, baby. Come on. Deep breaths."

She slowly got her breath under control, but she hadn't stopped crying. I tried to wipe her tears away the best that I could, but they just kept falling.

"Please tell me what happened."

I felt so desperate to know what was going on, that I was seriously going to start begging her to tell me what was wrong. She handed me her phone & I was confused at first.

"Messages." she whispered to me.

Messages? Oh shit. I bet she had gotten a text from that unknown number. I instantly knew this wasn't going to be good. I pulled up her messages, & there it was. A text from 'Unknown.'

I opened it & read it. I felt sick right away, & I wanted to punch something. Someone had been looking at her in her room? She couldn't pass this off as a joke now. I felt Kolt next to me, & I handed him the phone so he could read the text. I felt him stiffen next to me. He got up & walked out of the room with her phone.

I kept gently rocking Madison back & forth, trying to soothe her. I ran my fingers through her hair. "I'm here, baby. You're okay."

She eventually fell asleep in my arms. I kissed her forehead, & walked to the living room with her in my arms. I needed to talk to my brother, but I wasn't letting her go.

"What kind of sick asshole peeps in girls' windows?" Kolt asked, when I walked into the room.

"Obviously this one."

"Do you think it's the guy that kidnapped her years ago?"

"I don't see who else it could be. She saw him in the restaurant awhile ago. I highly doubt that this is just a coincidence."

"You're probably right."

We were silent for a few minutes. Then Kolt broke the silence by saying "I couldn't track the number. This guy isn't going to be easy to find."

We were both pissed. I was still holding Madison in my arms. I kissed her on her forehead, & pulled her closer to me. I was going to try to do everything that I could to keep her safe. I couldn't lose her.