Kate Hoffmann - The Mighty Quinns - Dermot-Dex

Kieran shook his head. “Nope. I would definitely have noticed a girl like that.”

The goon tucked the photo back into his pocket, then moved on. Kieran watched him. Had anyone else seen Maddie sitting next to him? They’d all turned to look at her when she’d laughed, but would they connect that girl to the scruffy-looking person in the torn jeans and hoodie?

Kieran cursed softly. There wasn’t much he could do for her now. He had no idea where she was hiding and if he got up and left, the guy in the suit might be suspicious enough to follow. Though every instinct warned him that she was in trouble, for some strange reason, he wanted her to make it onto that bus. After all, she still owed him a hundred dollars.

SHE SHOULD HAVE known her mother would send Nick and Rick after her. What she hadn’t expected, though, was that they’d start at the bus station. Why not the airport?

Oh, yeah, it would be easy to trace her movements at the airport. That’s why. And she didn’t have a driver’s license so a car was out of the question. The only way for her to get out of town without leaving a paper trail was by bus. Maybe she should have found a hotel room and holed up for a few days. Then again, she’d have to register and show I.D. “The train,” she muttered. “I should have tried the train.”

Of course her mother could never allow her just the slightest bit of freedom. God, she’d been under her mother’s thumb for years, doing exactly what was expected of her. But after this tour, she’d had enough. Now that she’d sung her last show on the calendar, she was going to start living her life in the way she wanted.

Maddie West, award-winning country singer-songwriter, had been transformed from a talented teenager into a multi-national corporation in the course of ten years. A multinational corporation who couldn’t get up onstage without a double dose of Xanax and a few hours of hypnotherapy.

But the drugs weren’t working anymore. And the hypnotist her mother had hired for this tour was sleeping with her make-up artist and no longer cared about solving Maddie’s problems. No one really cared about her needs anymore. Making money was all that mattered and touring was where all the money was made.

Maddie pulled her knees up to her chin and sighed softly. Maybe she ought to go back. There were a lot of people depending on her. And she was scheduled to head into the recording studio next week to start her new album. They’d booked the time with her favorite producers and there were meetings scheduled with her record company in Nashville.

She closed her eyes, brushing aside her doubts. A single image lingered in her mind. What was his name? Kieran. Kieran Quinn. Such an odd name. And yet, it suited him. From the moment she spied him at the food court, she sensed that he’d be sympathetic to her cause. He had very kind eyes—and a face that made a girl want to tear off all her clothes and find the nearest bedroom.

A shiver skittered down her spine. How long had it been since she’d felt that kind of chemistry? Maddie’s love life had always been the stuff of tabloid stories and never, ever lived up to the hype. She’d dated a few actors, a few singers, a smorgasbord of up-and-coming males who looked good on paper, but didn’t excite her in or out of the bedroom. But lately, she’d grown cynical about ever finding love, especially amid the pressures that the press exerted on romantic relationships.

“My life is a mess,” she murmured. There wasn’t one single element that she could point to as normal. Her mother was overbearing and unrelenting, running her career and her personal life as if Maddie were some prize racehorse. She was carefully groomed and trained, watched over twenty-four hours a day, told what to eat and when to sleep, when to practice and how to relax. Maddie wasn’t even sure she knew how to run her own life, given the chance.

A sliver of fear shot through her. What if she couldn’t do it? What if she finally made her escape and couldn’t exist on her own? She drew a ragged breath. For now, she had a protector. And maybe, she could convince him to stick around until she figured out her next move.

Maddie pulled her cell phone from her pocket. She’d shut it off when she’d snuck out of the hotel, but now she wondered whether they could track her using it. She glanced around the luggage room, wondering if she ought to leave it behind. Was that how Rick and Nick had found her?

As she weighed her options, Maddie heard the announcement for her bus. If she tried boarding too early, she’d be caught standing in line, a sitting duck for her two shrewd bodyguards. But if she waited too long, she might miss the bus entirely. Maddie took a deep breath. She’d just keep her head down and keep walking, no matter what happened.

She slipped out of the door and headed back into the waiting room of the terminal. “You can do this,” she murmured. “Just a few more minutes and you’ll be free.”

“Where have you been?”

She felt Kieran’s hand on her arm before she realized he was behind her. “Go away,” she whispered.

“They’re outside,” he said. “They’re watching everyone who boards the buses, but that’s a lot of people to watch. If you’re careful, you should be able to get by them.”

She stopped. “I can’t let them take me back. You have to help me.”

Kieran considered her, then nodded. “All right.

Wait right here. I’m going to see if I can distract them. As soon as I do, you sneak out and get on the bus. Just make sure you get on the right bus. And save me a seat.”

“Thank you,” she murmured. She reached into her pocket and withdrew another wad of money. “Here, take this.”

“How much cash do you keep in your pockets?” he asked.

“I don’t know. A couple thousand, maybe three.”

“Don’t go flashing that around,” Kieran warned, pushing her hand back in her pocket. “You’re going to get mugged.” He shook his head. “Just get on the bus.”

Maddie nodded. She watched him through the window as he strode outside. When he approached Nick, she held her breath. Between Nick and Rick, Nick was the smart one. He was naturally suspicious and very loyal to her mother. What was Kieran going to tell him? And what would she do if one of them stayed and watched the buses?

A few seconds later, the two men took off running, racing through the doors of the terminal, right by her. She waited until they headed toward the ticket counter, then slipped through the doors. She walked directly to her bus, handed the driver her ticket and got on. Maddie found a seat halfway to the back and slipped into it, sinking down and watching the activity outside the window through her dark glasses.

Kieran had disappeared. When the bus driver stepped onto the bus and reached out to close the door, Maddie stood up, ready to shout for him to stop and wait. But then, at the last moment, Kieran came bounding up the steps.

He handed his ticket to the driver, then made his way down the aisle to Maddie. With a grin he nodded at the space next to her. “Is this seat taken?”

“I was kind of saving it,” she said. “But you can sit here. For now.”

Kieran stowed his bag on the overhead rack, then dropped down next to her. As the bus pulled out of the station, Maddie closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

“And the adventure begins,” Kieran murmured.

“Thank you,” Maddie said. “I couldn’t have gotten away without you.”

“Are you going to tell me what you’re running away from?” he asked.

“Can we just wait on that one?” she said. “I’d really like to enjoy anonymity for just a little bit longer.”

Kieran nodded slowly. “All right. But there is one thing you have to do for me.”