Page 28 of Tropical Inferno

She inhaled sharply, tightness filling her chest. “I don’t believe it,” she whispered.

“It’s hard for me to listen to as well.” He paused. “What are you going to do? Are you going to stay until Saturday?”

“I think I am,” she said softly. “He paid for the room, and frankly, swimming in the ocean is novel for me. Besides, I’m dealing with a lot of emotions right now and being here allows me—”

“Madison Teller!”

“Maddie, how does your brother feel that you’re dating Hawk Hawkins?”

“Is Hawk still here, Maddie? Is he going to make a statement?”

Maddie was too shocked to respond as reporters surrounded her, throwing out questions faster than she could process them. She was frozen in place and it wasn’t until she heard Jamie yelling through the phone that she realized what was happening.

“Maddie! Do you hear me? Is that the press? Say ‘no comment’! Listen to me, is there security nearby? Maddie!”

“N-no comment.” She wasn’t sure anyone heard her because they were still firing questions at her as she tried to get past them.

“Maddie, don’t hang up, just keep walking.” Jamie sounded a little frantic.

She wasn’t sure where to go and looked around, desperate for an escape.

“Maddie!” Her brother’s voice penetrated her haze.

“I’m here,” she whispered, fighting off tears. “I can’t… I don’t…”

“I’ve got the resort on Viggo’s phone—they’re sending security to get you out of there. Breathe, honey, it’s going to be okay.”

She saw hotel security coming and stopped, taking a shaky breath as they pulled her from the melee and guided her into a back hallway. Someone took the phone from her hand and reassured Jamie while someone else handed her a bottle of water and offered her a chair. She sank into it and burst into tears.

15

Hawk walked through the gate at the airport in Los Angeles with his baseball cap low on his forehead, shades on and head down. He was the worst kind of punk. He’d walked away from the best thing that had ever happened to him—leaving her with nothing but a stupid note. He was a jerk and a coward and he had no idea what he was going to do to make this right. Giving up Culkin wasn’t an option, but he owed his fans, his friends, and his career some type of explanation. He hadn’t said those horrible words, but everyone thought he had and if he wasn’t going to tell the truth about what had happened, he still had to get in front of it. This wasn’t going away—he’d realized that when he got online and saw the media storm still raging—but he wasn’t giving up hockey without a fight.

He’d just gotten in his rental car when his phone rang. He looked down and froze, his chest constricting painfully as he read the name of the caller: Jamie Teller. He’d forgotten he had Jamie’s number in his contacts. It rang a few times and he started to wonder if Maddie was okay. Jamie had probably heard about what he’d allegedly said minutes after he said it; if he was mad about that, he would’ve called sooner.

Unable to help himself, he put it in the hands-free unit and took the call on speakerphone. “Is Maddie okay?”

“No, she’s not okay,” Jamie yelled. “Do you know what’s happening over at the resort right now?” He didn’t wait for Hawk to respond. “The press somehow saw you two together and cornered her in the lobby! What the hell were you thinking, leaving her there alone? I’m not pissed about what you said about me or even that you broke her heart, but I’m seriously considering getting on a plane to wherever you are and knocking the shit out of you for what’s going on now!”

“I don’t… what?” Hawk’s brain finally kicked into gear as he realized what Jamie was saying. The press had seen them together and found her at the resort? And he was more than two thousand miles away. He couldn’t believe this was happening. Not to her. Not to his sweet, innocent Maddie, who hadn’t had anything to do with what he’d gotten himself into.

“You heard me,” Jamie growled. “How could you leave her like that? You couldn’t just put her on the plane on Saturday like you were supposed to?”

“I had no idea they saw us. Dammit!” Hawk slammed his hand on the steering wheel. “Is she okay? Did security take care of it? Where is she?”

“Physically she’s fine. Security got her out of there pretty quick and removed the reporters from the premises. I spoke to the head of security down there and he’s putting Maddie in one of their private suites or something, until she can get on a flight out. She should be okay until then, but now everyone knows who she is and where she lives. There’s a very real chance they’re scanning flights and will be waiting for her when she lands in Toronto.”

“I’m sorry,” Hawk sighed into the phone. “I never meant to involve her… I didn’t know who she was until we got to the resort and she told them her name. There weren’t any other rooms available and I couldn’t let her go back to that piss-ant motel, so I just kept her with me and then I fell—” He stopped abruptly. He was rambling, trying to explain how he’d screwed over the sister of the man he’d supposedly said horrible things about.

“And you fell?” Jamie prompted quietly.

“It doesn’t matter. I apologize for what’s happening to Maddie. I can call over there, make sure she’s okay…”

“Not necessary, I’ve taken care of it.”

Hawk hesitated. What was he supposed to do now?

“That’s it? You’ve got nothing to say to me?” Jamie sounded pissed and Hawk couldn’t blame him.

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