I couldn't sit still. The thought of being so close to Maddox caused waves of fear to sink into my body.
I was stupid . In fact, I was more than stupid.
I was the.... stupidest .
'Are you okay?' Maddox glanced at me, his right hand rested on the steering wheel whilst his left hand held onto a lit cigarette.
I giggled nervously, 'I'm fine. Just shaken up.'
Maddox's expression hardened and his lips sloped into a frown, 'You shouldn't have stopped me. I would have killed the f*cker.'
His words caused my heart to skip a beat.
I felt myself growing nervous again but for an entirely different reason.
I shrugged off my deluded thoughts. I
didn't like Maddox. I couldn't. Guys with tattoos, piercing eyes and chiselled features were not my type.
I preferred cute guys; the ones with kind eyes, floppy hair and...and no tattoos.
My mind was playing games with me. It was confused at the moment because Maddox saved me but it will soon return to generating thoughts that did not include tattooed boys.
'Thank you though, for helping me.'
'No problem.' Maddox stopped and grinned,
'I was always going to win.'
'Win? I don't understand.' I blushed as I said this. I was never this freaking slow.
What was wrong with me?
Maddox's grin only grew wider, 'I'm a fighter.'
I nodded, remembering Brad mentioning that he was going to see Maddox in a boxing fight tonight.
'Did you have one tonight?' I asked, gesturing at the boxing gloves and equipment sprawled across the backseat of his car.
He chuckled happily, the sounding instantly warming me, 'Yeah I did. I won, of course.' He added with a mischievous wink.
I rolled my eyes, 'Of course you did,' I replied, joining in with his laughter.
Maddox stopped laughing suddenly, his stare lingered on me as if he was trying to work out something.
'Have I met you before?' He asked abruptly.
I coughed as blood rushed to my face, 'No, I don't think so.' I said, keeping my tone casual.
He seemed to accept my answer as his attention returned to the road ahead, 'Yeah you're right. I would have definitely remembered your face if I had.'
Is it possible to blush brighter when your face is already resembling a tomato?
Why Maddox was having this reaction on me, I had no idea. This guy attacked me .
Well, he attacked Patrick . But still. I saw him beat up a guy he was most likely drug dealing with.
Maddox was bad news.
Yet, I had agreed to catch a ride with him.
'Where to again?'
'Oakland Drive.' I replied quickly. There was no way I could go back to my apartment.
I was pretty sure news would have spread from social media accounts that I was at a party. The paparazzi would most definitely be camping outside my building.
I chose Oakland drive because it was a couple of minutes away from Wedefelt House. Once Maddox dropped me off, I would wait five to ten minutes and then I would walk to Wedefelt House.
This way, Maddox would have no chance of seeing me walk in.
'That's a pretty rough area. You don't look like a girl that would belong in a dump like that.'
My gaze dropped on my Versace dress.
I'm seriously getting it wrong tonight.
Never, ever was I going to risk my disguise for a party. There were too many factors that I had not considered.
'I didn't mean to offend you..er..what's your name?'
For the first time that night I considered blurting out the truth.
My name is Tessa Adams! I wanted to scream until my lungs burst.
I sighed inwardly, knowing I couldn't.
Tessa Adams? Mr. Aday? It was too much of a coincidence. Maddox was so close to recognising me. I couldn't give him a way of finding out who I really was.
'I'm Anna. Anna Winters.' I rushed, forcing a smile on my face.
If Anna ever found out I was using her name like this I was pretty sure she'd 'slap me up.' It was the first name that popped up in my head. I could have chosen any name. Why did I choose one that linked me to my correct identity?
Like I had mentioned earlier, I was the stupidest .
'Suits you. I'm Maddox Gunner.'
'Your name sounds like it belongs to a gang member.' I muttered, without thinking.
For a second, Maddox remained silent and then his lips turned up, 'Gang member,' he repeated, smirking, in a way that suggested that the phrase would stick with him.
'Oakland Drive,' I said out loud when I saw it come into view, 'Can you stop here? My house is at the end.'
'I'll walk you to your door. It's not safe here,' he scowled as his gaze landed on a group of drunk guys a couple of meters away from us.
'No. No. I-uh-I know them. We grew up together. They're nice .'
Maddox raised a single eyebrow when one of the boys swore at an elderly man walking past them. 'Really? If you're sure...'
'Yes, I'm sure,' I replied, already halfway out the door.
'Thank you for everything, Maddox.'
I didn't wait for him to finish. I walked towards the house opposite me. I just needed to hear his car move away. Only then I would dart away from this creepy place as fast as possible.
'Hey! Anna! You forgot this!'
I turned back. Maddox got out of his car, holding up my handbag.
'Thanks,' I muttered as I took the bag. Hopefully, he'd no idea what a limited Hermes Birkin bag was or looked like.
I watched him as he walked back to his car and drove off.
'Thank God.' I breathed with relief. I managed to pull it off. Maddox would now only see me as ' Mr. Adams ' and not Anna
With a triumphant grin I reached down to zip up my bag.
'What the hell?'
A rectangular paper hung out of my bag. I pulled it out, my eyes glazed over the content.
It was a ticket.
To Maddox's next fight.
October fifth.
I gasped when I saw the hand written note on the back of the ticket;
📝I expect to see you there,Anna. You don't wanna mess with a gang member after all.📝
Maddox Gunner.