Dirty Sexy Alphas (Twenty Book Box Set) - Hannah Ford Page 0,362

of keeping any of them. They were part of the weekend, the fantasy. Hopefully his driver kept my bag and didn’t throw it in the nearest garbage can.

“Are you ready?” Madden asked from behind me.

I knew he’d come into the room a few seconds before, not by the click of the door, but because the room felt smaller all of a sudden. I turned and he stood only a foot behind me. He looked far too handsome in his suit. It fit him perfectly, I’m sure because it was made for him.

He looked even better out of it.

I shook my head to clear the image and took one last look at the ocean. It was the same one in Boston, but it looked different here and I wanted to remember it.

“Thank you,” I said, finally turning back around. It should have felt weird thanking him for a weekend that he’d paid me to participate in, but I really was thankful. I never would have been able to do something like this on my own.

“If there’s something going on, Skylar, I can help you. But you need to tell me what it is.” His jaw was tense with determination. The hard planes of his face were more pronounced and even though he was wearing a designer suit, the coiled tension in his frame bespoke something dangerous lurking just underneath the surface.

But just because we spent two days together didn’t mean that my problems were his now. Despite everything that happened, we were still pretty much two strangers. I didn’t trust him enough to tell him the truth.

“There’s nothing. I’m ready to go.” I ignored the way his mouth tightened and pushed past him.

We were less than two hours away from being back in Boston and then, I could disappear.

Chapter 2

A slick black town car was waiting for us when we landed just after noon.

A different driver loaded our bags into the car and I slid onto the plush leather seat. Madden was right behind me, and the car seemed to grow smaller when he settled into it.

I kept my gaze focused on the passing scenery as the driver made his way back to the motel. Nice houses faded to run down apartments until the one story building came into view. In the light of day, it was even worse looking. It didn’t matter though, because I wasn’t going to be there much longer.

There were a lot more of cars in the parking lot of the motel, and about a dozen people milled around outside.

I wondered what the commotion was about.

It wasn’t the best area and maybe someone had gotten hurt, mugged—perhaps a car had even hit someone. The driver slowed the car to a crawl, getting as close to the building as possible before stopping.

The crowd turned as one and then rushed our vehicle, encircling it.

“What’s happening?” I said, feeling like they were going to rip the doors off like zombies in a horror movie.

“It’s a circus,” he said. “They must’ve found out where you were staying.”

“They?”

“The media,” Madden clarified, looking at his phone, typing into it as he spoke. “Everyone.”

Everyone. I couldn’t believe it had gotten this bad, this fast.

“What the hell?” Madden growled. He pushed a few buttons on his phone. “Shit. This is what brought them out in force.”

I turned from the faces pressed against the glass, trying to see into the blacked out windows. Madden turned his phone toward me slowly, revealing a large headline from the Daily Globe.

Cinderella and Prince Charming! How An Ordinary Girl Landed the World’s Most Eligible Bachelor!

I read further down and sucked in a breath.

Skylar Kinsey; what do we know about the mysterious girl that stole Madden Cross’s heart?

It went on, listing facts about my life without a care for my privacy. Where I was from. Where I went to college. When my grandmother died. My life was exposed for anyone to see.

“How did they get all this?” My voice came out as a hoarse whisper. My chest hurt. “How did they find me so fast?” I glanced outside and saw the cameras pointing at the windows. They were waiting for us to make a move. My body started to shake. If they found me this easy, then Jacob would have no problem either.

I had to get my stuff and my car and go. Leave this city far behind. Right now.

“Let me out of the car,” I whispered, as the paparazzi banged on the glass and shouted questions that were inaudible.

“We should