Madeline

"You're famous!"

I groaned at my best friend, Veronica, over the phone.

"Infamous. There's a huge difference." I sighed, biting my bottom lip as I paced up and down my room.

I'd switched off the television because seeing the helicopter footage of the high-speed chase on the local news broadcast made my stomach churn. It was a small mercy that the footage of my face was grainy and that they hadn't caught onto my name – yet. Flashing news headlines had clued me in that Travis was involved in operating a sophisticated auto theft ring. I was referred to as his "female accomplice," and every time those words flashed on the screen, I wanted to die of mortification because it made me sound guilty by association.

"Who knew Travis was into car theft? You're totally a badass, Maddie! Dating criminals and making news headlines – damn, I completely underestimated you." Veronica sounded like she was in awe of me, which wasn't surprising because she'd led a fairly sheltered life, much like I had. We'd met in junior high and had been best friends ever since, and the most daring thing she'd ever done was to skip curfew by five minutes at most.

"I'm scared they're going to kick me out of Eastwood," I admitted one of my biggest fears. One mistake and my entire future could be wiped out because no one would want to hire the female accomplice of a criminal who led police on a high-speed car chase down the interstate.

"You did nothing wrong. You haven't been charged with anything, right?" Veronica's voice went up a pitch.

"Right. My dad intervened. I'm a witness, not an accused." I sighed, raking a hand through my long hair, studying the pink highlights weaved through the dark brown locks. They were starting to fade a little from their bright pink a few weeks ago into a more subdued, almost-baby pink.

I frowned as I caught my reflection in the mirror. My hair was starting to annoy me – it was way too long – the tips were grazing my lower back. It had been the same length since high school; perhaps it was time for a change because I still looked like a teenager with my petite frame, and it didn't help that I'd never gotten the hang of wearing makeup either.

"They can't kick you out; your dad will go apeshit on them if they try anything," Veronica said dryly, and I had to agree with her there.

"True, but I have a feeling they could argue I've brought Eastwood University into disrepute because of my association with the whole episode," I voiced what had been weighing on my mind.

Veronica was quiet on the other end for a few seconds.

"They won't. You're Maddie Powers. Your family has influence."

And for once in my life, I hoped that she was right. That my family's name and, more specifically, my dad's influence would be enough to save me during my very public fall from grace.

*****

"Oh, look, Grand Theft Auto Barbie is back," Archie smirked as I passed him on the way to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

I narrowed my eyes at him. He was only sixteen, but he had one hell of a mouth on him.

"And if you're not careful, Black-Eyed Ken will be in the house, too," I threatened, shaking my head at him.

He openly laughed at me.

"Just teasing, sis. This is just too good not to get some mileage out of. You being on the news as the, and I quote, female accomplice, in some seriously messed-up criminal shit, is giving me tons of street cred at school.

I rolled my eyes at him before I reached for a glass and filled it with water, thirstily gulping it down within seconds.

"How did it go at the police station?" he asked with more sympathy.

"It was torture," I admitted, reliving the three hours of hell I'd just been through.

I'd been questioned thoroughly by two detectives in a tiny, stuffy interrogation room. My dad had been with me, thankfully, jumping in before I could say anything that could be remotely incriminating. So much so that they looked fairly frustrated with me by the end.

"They're drafting a witness statement. Once it's done, I'll sign it, and that will be it, until the trial." I sighed, knowing that this hell was far from over.

"That won't be for a few months at least, though," I relayed what they'd told me. Because the wheels of justice took time to turn. In fact, I'd been warned that it could take a year to get Travis into court, depending on how clogged up the system was.

And just then, as though he somehow knew that I'd just formally agreed to testify against him, my phone rang, and Travis' name appeared on the screen.

"Shit!" I exclaimed with wide eyes, and Archie looked over my shoulder, then topped my expletive with a string of his own.

"Don't answer." He frowned, motioning to grab the phone out of my hands, but I ripped it out of his reach just in time.

"I won't; I'm not stupid," I told him off, but the truth was, I'd gone cold. My hands shook, and my eyes were glued to the screen, as though somehow, by looking at it, I could compel the phone to stop ringing.

Thankfully, after a few rings, the phone went silent, but a few seconds later, my phone beeped again, signaling that he'd left a voicemail.

"Don't even listen to it, Maddie," Archie warned, and in a spectacular display of just how bad my luck had been lately, my dad walked into the room right at that second.

"Don't listen to what?" He frowned, looking between Archie and me.

"Travis-the-car-thief tried to call her just now; he left her a message," Archie ratted me out, and I swear, I was this close to killing him.

"You didn't answer, did you?" Dad looked like he was about to burst a coronary, eyeing my phone with the kind of suspicion that should be reserved for a venomous snake.

"No, Dad, I told you I wouldn't!" My voice rose an octave, the stress of the past two days catching up with me.

"Play the message," he demanded.

I sighed, knowing I didn't have much choice in the matter. And then, I pressed play...

"Maddie, I need to talk to you. Could you please return my call? Sorry about yesterday; I can explain everything. Don't talk to anyone before talking to me. I need your help."

Then there was a second of background noise, which sounded like a muffled conversation, before the message ended.

I gripped the phone tighter in my hand, feeling a mixture of rage, sadness, and hurt at hearing Travis' voice. Demanding that I call him back and not even asking if I was doing okay after everything he'd put me through. And even though we'd only been together for a month, the fact was that he clearly felt nothing for me. Travis said that he'd planned a weekend away so we could get to know each other better, but now I wondered if the whole weekend away-thing hadn't been just a ploy to get into my pants. Thankfully I hadn't slept with him; otherwise, I would have felt so much worse than I already did.

"That's it; you're getting a new phone number!" Dad declared unceremoniously. "A new phone, too, just in case he's tracking you."

My jaw unhinged a little, because that was just overkill.

"That's not necessary..."

"Maddie, you have no idea who you're dealing with. I've done some digging into Travis' background. And if he'd been honest and given you his real first name, I would've known that he was bad news as soon as you mentioned him to us."

I gasped in shock. "Real name?"

My dad nodded, looking a hint of sympathetic, along with furious.

"His full name is Leroy Travis Williams, and he has a rap sheet that reads like a drive-thru order: a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, with an extra serving of grand theft auto thrown into the mix," he said dryly, and Archie smirked as though he'd just hit the damn jackpot again. No doubt he would be using that tidbit of information against me sometime soon.

"Larcenous Leroy, it suits him." Archie didn't waste any time - smartass. But I ignored him, feeling way too upset and confused to get into an argument with my brother right now.

"Are you serious, Dad?" I asked softly, feeling tears stinging in my eyes.

"Deadly." His stern facial expression confirmed that he wasn't joking. "Hand over your phone, please; I'll replace it with a brand new, upgraded one first thing tomorrow, I promise," he said firmly, but with just a hint of sympathy again, letting me know that he was still on my side.

"Okay," I conceded, switching off my phone and handing it over to him, knowing defeat when I saw it.

"If it's any consolation, I reckon he'll be fairly popular in jail with that baby-face of his that has been all over the news," Archie chimed in again. If looks could kill, he'd be dead right now, because both Dad and I were shooting round after round of bullets at him with our eyes.

"Archer – go to your room, please; your mother and I need to talk to Maddie in private," Dad admonished him, completely unamused by his wisecracks.

"Fiiine." He raised his hands, knowing he'd overstepped the line this time.

Dad's gaze met mine as Archie left the room, muttering something under his breath as he made his exit.

"That boy, I swear - sometimes I wonder what's going to become of him," he shook his head, smiling a little at me.

"He's going to be just like you one day, Dad," I said softly.

Archie had grand plans to get into Stanford Law, just like dad, and take over the family business. On the other hand, I never had any interest in working at a law firm. Not that I had any idea what the hell I would do after I'd finished my degree, but still, at least I knew what I didn't want to do.

"Let's hope not," Dad teased, raising an amused brow. "Come on, let's head into the study. I hear your mom's car; she just pulled into the garage. I'll go get her, and we'll talk."

He gestured for me to walk first, and I nodded, wondering what else there could possibly be to talk about in private.

I took a seat and kept myself busy staring at Dad's framed degree certificates until both of my parents entered the study, holding hands. That was my parents for you – after twenty-five years of marriage, they were still stupidly in love, holding hands in public and buying each other Valentine's Day cards.

"Maddie," Mom leaned down and pecked my cheek, "how are you holding up after this morning's questioning at the police station?" She studied me with a little frown, although I knew that dad had already filled her in as soon as we got home.

"Fine, thanks." I gave a little defeated smile and waited on them to tell me what this gathering was really about. Dad's study was reserved for serious conversations, and I could count on one hand the times when he had called me in here my entire life.

"Really?" Mom's concern didn't fade. Her flawless makeup couldn't hide the tired dark rings beneath her usually sparkly blue eyes, which looked much like mine. She was sharply dressed in office attire, being an attorney-at-law just like dad. But even though she looked the part, she'd always just be my mom.

"I'm fine, Mom," I reassured her as best I could. She squeezed my hand, looking as though she wanted to say something, then bit her lip and nodded. I already knew that I had Mom on my side, because rather than judging, she always listened and tried to see my point of view.

"Maddie." Dad cleared his throat as soon as they both were seated - Dad on his chair directly opposite me, and Mom next to me on the other visitor's chair.

I raised a brow in a question, and Mom smiled at me, then nodded at Dad to continue.

"Your mom and I have been discussing this situation you're finding yourself in. It's all over the news, as you know, and it's probably only a matter of time until they name you publicly and hunt you down, although I'm trying my best to stay a step ahead of the game. I'd told those police detectives their fortune if they leaked any information to the press," he said, sounding irritated at the prospect.

"Thanks, Dad," I said softly, knowing I was lucky to have Henry Powers as a dad. He'd always been a fighter for justice, for what he believed in. And no one dared harm a hair on his loved ones' heads, or they'd feel the full fury that he could unleash, should he wish to do so.

"Travis – scrap that – Leroy – calling you earlier was the last straw. He will undoubtedly start turning up here, at your classes and who knows where else, to try and influence your testimony. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he asked you for an alibi, although it's too late now because you've already talked to the police, but he probably doesn't know that yet."

I sighed, shrugging, knowing that he was right and having no response for him.

"With all that said, your mother and I both think it would be best if you distanced yourself from the situation for a little while."

I looked at Mom, who nodded in agreement.

"Distanced, how?" I frowned.

"Get out of town for a few weeks," Mom clarified, carefully gauging my reaction.

And that's when I remembered my hastily thrown-together plan to join a convent if I got out of the situation unscathed. I could be just like Sister Maria from The Sound of Music. A singing nun, chaperoning slightly unruly, but lovable children. I loved to sing, and I loved kids. I even played a little guitar on the side. Maybe I could look for a nun-slash-chaperone gig in Austria, although I did want to hear my parents' plan first.

"Where would I go?" I asked, raising my brow curiously.

Dad smiled, clearly one step ahead of me again.

"I've talked to your cousin, Aria; she can do with some help doing Scarlet Shadow's public relations," he dropped the bombshell. My jaw dropped in disbelief because his plan was definitely better than mine.

Aria was married to Austin Johns – lead singer in the biggest rock band in the world – Scarlet Shadow. I didn't see her much these days because of the band's relentless touring schedule, recording commitments, and media engagements, but we were close growing up, even though she was eight years older than me. That was, until she became famous by marrying legitimate rockstar royalty, and started spending most of her time on the road with the band.

Incidentally, dad was her husband's attorney-at-law after helping Austin with a get-out-of-jail-free card when he had some issues with his contract a few years ago. And although dad kept client matters confidential, I knew he also represented some other guys in the band.

"You mean..." I was close to hyperventilating because working with Scarlet Shadow could make any potential career in marketing and public relations, which was directly related to my field of study.

He nodded with a smile. "Exactly. Aria was very happy to accommodate you, given the circumstances. The band leaves to go on tour three days from now, so you'll be on the road with them for eight weeks. Not to mention that she will also give you a reference, which, as you know, would be highly advantageous work experience for after you finish your degree."

"It's the opportunity of a lifetime, Maddie." Mom smiled brightly, clearly fully briefed on what Dad had been planning behind my back.

My mouth was still gaping wide open, but then I frowned.

"Hang on." I lifted a hand. "What about my studies?"

Reality smacked me in the face, as exciting as the opportunity sounded. Because, contrary to the situation I currently found myself in, I actually was quite responsible, and particularly so when it came to academics.

My dad nodded, his expression sobering again. "I've talked to the Dean of the faculty this morning. We both agreed it would be best if you took a semester off, Maddie. The risk is just too high at the moment of Travis – Leroy - turning up on campus, trying to get to you. Not to mention the media, chasing a story, or even the police. After you sign your witness statement, you won't be needed here for at least a few months, because the criminal justice system takes time."

"Take a semester off?" My voice rose an octave. "It means..."

"It means you won't graduate with your friends," Dad said, one step ahead in the game yet again. "But it's just one semester, Maddie. Your safety is more important than graduating one semester after your friends until the worst of the situation settles down. Not to mention the fantastic work experience you'll get, directly related to your field of study."

Dad was selling this deal to me hard. And although I knew that he was making good arguments, there was only one little problem with this grand scheme of his... and that was Dominic Johns, the heartthrob bassist in Scarlet Shadow. He was Austin's younger brother and the guy I'd fallen in love with when I was seventeen when he asked me to dance at Austin and Aria's wedding reception. It took a mere few seconds for my heart to be lost, and I'd never quite found it again since.

I didn't know if it was more dangerous being around Dominic Johns than staying around here, because the truth was that I didn't know if my poor heart would survive a few weeks in close proximity to him, either.

*******

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