“Not as mad as he is now. Watching you ride Remington was bad enough, but seeing you shot at just about killed him.”
Tears filled her eyes. Her throat was too choked up to speak so she nodded. “I don’t know how to fix this, Jackson.”
“I know my brother, Addison. If you want to heal this breach you’re going to have to accept your punishment no matter how he decides to punish you.”
“I know.”
“He’s waiting for you. The sooner you face him the better.”
Addison left Remington’s stable, her hands fisted, bracing herself for what was to come. She entered the house and went to the den. Cade was sitting at his desk talking on the phone when she entered the room. She closed the door, then undressed and knelt by his side, her eyes down.
“In an hour,” he told the person on the other end of the phone before he hung up. After a moment she felt his hand on the top of her head stroking her hair, and her shoulders dropped a fraction with relief. She would take her punishment and things would be okay. “Stay here,” he told her as he left the room.
She waited for him to return, her fear increasing with each moment that went by. Her knees were aching when the door opened and he returned. Cade walked over to her, dropped a pile of clothes on the floor in front of her, and told her to get dressed.
She slipped into the jeans, shirt and shoes he had brought her then stood by the desk, eyes down, waiting for him to tell her what to do next. She heard him unlock a drawer and toss a paper onto the desk. Glancing sideways through her lashes, she saw her purse on the desk along with the contract she had signed that morning. Cade picked up a pen, marked through the contract, wrote void across it in big, bold letters, then signed his name and dated it.
Her body betrayed her, trembling uncontrollably. “Cade, what are y—”
“Be quiet.” He folded the paper and shoved it into her purse along with her cell phone. Someone knocked on the door and he told them to wait a moment then leaned back and stared at her, his eyes cold. “Bringing you to the ranch was a mistake. I’ve called Thor and he’s going to make arrangements to have you taken into protective custody.”
She trembled, her voice shaking as she bargained with him. “No, no. You can do whatever you want to me. Anything. I’ll never go near Remington again, I swear. Just don’t send me away. Pleas—”
Cade laid his fingers over her lips. “Be quiet. I’ve had your things packed and put in the car. Ben and Mac are waiting to take you to Dallas. Thor will take care of you.”
Another knock sounded on the door and Cade told them to enter. Panicking, Addison threw herself at him, clinging to him. “Don’t do this, don’t do this.”
Mac and Ben stepped into the room. Their bodies tense, frowns on their faces, as they realized what was going on.
Cade gently pushed her back away from him. “Go with them, Addison.”
“Why, why?” she choked out. “I love you.”
Cade surrounded her face with his hands, threading his fingers into her soft, reddish-gold hair. “I know, but I don’t love you and I never will.” When he had heard the gunshots and seen how vulnerable she had been, his gut had clenched and the wave of terror he had felt had nearly killed him. In that moment he had decided to end their relationship. She was his weakness and he was determined to stop this insanity. “Like you said, I’m moving on, without you.”
A sob broke from her lips as she clung to him, refusing to let go. Cade pushed her purse against her chest then picked her up and carried her over to Mac, forcing her into his arms. “Get going. Thor is waiting at the office for you.”
Mac glared at him then pulled Addison closer to him, trying to comfort her. “You’re a fool, Ramsey.” He turned with her in his arms, his unusually loud steps echoing in the hallway. “Let’s go, Ben.”
Cade watched from the den window as Mac put Addison in the car. Her purse fell to the ground and he swept it up then jumped into the front seat with Ben. Addison’s bent head was his last sight of her as Ben started the car and drove away. He heard Jackson walk into the room behind him.
“Do you think sending her away will fix what’s bothering you?”
“She lied to me, Jackson. I can’t trust her.”
“Seems to me Addison said the same thing to you not too long ago.”
Cade nodded. “Just more proof we never should have gotten together in the first place. Thor will take care of her while I concentrate on finding the person who took those photos of her. They’ll lead me to Carlos Mendez. Then I can end this thing and we can all get back to our lives.” He sat back at his desk. “It was just a D/s relationship anyway. It would have ended in six months.”
“Tell me something, big brother. You actually believe the lies you tell yourself? Because from where I’m standing, you love that girl and you always have.” When Cade ignored him he walked to the door. “Well, then, I guess its best you sent her away now. She’s young and eventually she’ll get over you.” He stuck his hat back on his head and adjusted it. “I imagine about now Thor Larkin’s housekeeper is busy changing the sheets on his bed. He’s always had a thing for Addison and I’m sure he’ll be happy to help her get over you.” He glanced at Cade. “See you at lunch.”
* * * *
Cade’s words repeated in Addison’s mind, each one cutting into her, over and over. He had looked into her eyes and said he didn’t love her and never would. Her emotions cycled from despair to grief to anger so rapidly, a hysterical giggle broke from her lips as she imagined a macabre image of her head spinning off and exploding. Ben’s eyes met hers in the rearview mirror. He looked as if he was waiting for her to freak out on him and Mac. Another giggle broke through her lips followed by another, until she was laughing and crying at the same time, out of control and more scared than she had ever been before. She covered her mouth, trying to stifle the deep croaking sounds coming from her throat.
Mac unclipped his seatbelt then threw it aside as he climbed into the back seat next to her and took her into his arms. “Addison, shhh, honey, shhh.” He held her close, rocking her as his worried eyes met Ben’s in the rearview mirror.
Mac continued to mumble to her, his lips against her hair. She couldn’t understand what he was saying but the tone of his voice and his arms around her began to calm her. Feeling weak and hollowed out, she let her body collapse against him as he rocked her. Shattered, a tremor flashed through her, beginning at the top of her head and ending at her feet. She hugged her arms over her belly, huddling into herself, her hands absently grasping and releasing her elbows.
“Addison? Better now?” Mac asked.
She nodded her head and slid closer to the door, pushing Mac’s arms away from her. For months she had been focused on what Cade needed and all she had succeeded in doing was hurting him. He was right…It was time she gave up. Remembering her mother telling her once that no matter where she went Ireland was always her home, she decided it was time she went home, too. In Ireland, away from him, she might have a chance to get over him. To heal and move on the way she had told him she planned to do.
The sound of Mac’s phone ringing reminded her that her cell phone was in her purse. She tapped him on his shoulder, interrupting his conversation, and asked him for her purse. He climbed back over the seat then handed it back to her as he quietly continued his conversation, his sharp gray eyes watching her.
She dug around in her purse, found her cell phone, and dialed her travel agent’s number. When they picked up she told them she needed first class tickets from Dallas to Shannon, Ireland. She waited as the agent looked up the information then came back on the line and told her they had a flight leaving Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Friday. Four days from now at eleven in the morning. She told them to book the flight and to charge it to her account.
“This fell out of your purse,” Mac told her as he held the folded contract out to her.
“It’s trash. You can throw it away.”
Mac read the pap
er just in case it was something she needed then cursed and held the paper out so Ben could see it. Ben mumbled a curse, too, and Mac told him to turn the car around.
“No, don’t, Ben. I want to go to Dallas. I have a lot of things to take care of before I leave for Ireland.” She was dialing the number to her shop when Ben asked her why she wanted to go to Ireland. “I inherited a house there from my mother,” she told him as she waited for the phone to be answered. “Well, actually it’s a small farm but it’s very secure. I’ll be safe there. The villagers all know each other and any strangers would be noticed right away.
When Marcy answered she quickly told her she would be out of town for a few weeks, possibly longer, and that she was promoting her to manager with a substantial raise, and if she needed more help to hire someone. When Marcy told her that her cousin was willing to work full time, Addison told her to hire her and let the accountant know. They spoke for a few more minutes then she told her she would keep in touch and hung up. Ben took the next exit then got back onto the highway, going in the direction of the ranch.
“Ben, what are you doing? I told you I want to go to Dallas.”
“I’m taking you back to Cade where you belong.”
“If you won’t take me to Dallas then please take me to my house in Rendezvous. I can drive myself to Dallas.”
Mac turned to look at her. “We can’t protect you at your house, Addison. And we can’t let you leave the country alone. That was Thor on the phone a few minutes ago. Mendez is here in Texas.”
“Then I would be safer out of Texas,” she insisted as she dialed the phone again and spoke to her attorney’s secretary. A minute later Augustus Rosie was on the line. She told him why she was calling and he agreed to have the paperwork she needed ready by Thursday. “I’ll call you on Wednesday and let you know where we’ll meet you on Thursday, Mr. Rosie,” she told him as the gates of the ranch came into view. She hung up. “Please, Ben, don’t go back to the ranch.”
He ignored her, stopped the car, and punched in the entry code then drove through the gates when they opened. When he stopped the car in front of the house, Addison shoved her phone into her purse then refused to get out of the car. Mac sighed, leaned in, pulled her to the edge of the seat then picked her up. “Nothing’s ever easy with you, is it?” He tossed her purse to Ben then carried her into the house.
“Please, Mac, don’t do this to me. Not right now.”
He stopped, hearing the pain in her voice. Giving her a little hug he told her, “It will be okay, Addison. You’ll see.” He kicked the den door open, walked over to Cade, and dropped her onto his lap.
“Oomph! That hurt, Mac!” she said, frowning.
“Then you should have walked in here,” he told her with a shrug then turned to Cade. “You want her gone then you do it.” He tossed the contract onto the desk. “You have a six month contract. You can’t just get pissed off and void it.”
Cade cocked his brow at Mac then spoke into the phone. “I’ll call you back, Thor. They’re already here.”
Mac disappeared into the hallway as Addison leapt off Cade’s lap. “I told them not to bring me back here but they wouldn’t listen,” she told him as she followed Mac.
Cade shook his head then followed her. She was already on the kitchen phone ordering a cab by the time he caught up with her. He reached over her shoulder and broke the connection.
“Hey! I was using that,” she told him.
“Rule number three, Addison. No phone calls,” he told her and walked away.
She trailed behind him. “Rule number three no longer applies. In fact, none of the rules apply. You were right. I can see that now.” She stepped out of the way as Ben walked past her carrying her luggage, and started up the stairs. “Leave them here, Ben. The taxi will be here to get me in a few minutes.”
Ben glanced at the two of them. “I’ll call and cancel it,” he told Cade as he continued up the stairs.
Deciding that it looked like she would be buying another new wardrobe, she told him she needed her purse.
“I lost it,” he told her.
“Bullshit,” she snapped back, beginning to really get irritated with them. “How could you lose it? You just had it.”
“That’s five, Addison,” Cade told her.
“You voided the contract so you no longer have any say-so over anything I do,” she told him then glared at Ben. “And, you can’t make me stay here. If I need protection I’m sure I can hire another security agency in Ireland.”
“Ireland? What the hell are you talking about?” Cade asked her, exasperated.
“I’ve decided to go to Ireland for a while,” she told him, her voice calm. “Mendez won’t be able to get to me there. I’ve decided it’s the perfect solution to all of this.”
“You are not going to Ireland. In fact, you’re not stepping foot off this ranch.”
“I already have a flight scheduled for this Friday,” she told him. “It leaves at eleven and I’m going to be on it.”
Ben yelled from the top of the stairs. “I’ll cancel the flight, too.”
Feeling the beginning flashes of a migraine coming on, she sat down on the stairs and leaned against the bannisters. “I know this mess is my fault. I hurt you by forcing you into a D/s relationship you didn’t want. I absolutely know now that you don’t love me. Not the way I love you. I accept that and I understand why you voided the contract. You were right to do that. I just want to go home to Ireland for a while.”
Cade’s gut clenched. If she left him now she would never return to Texas. He watched as she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. Her face pale. Her lips narrowed with pain. “When did the migraine start?”
“A while ago,” she told him, her voice soft. “My pills are in my purse.”
Cade picked her up and carried her up the stairs even though she stiffened in his arms, holding herself away from him until the pain forced her to bury her face in his neck, protecting her eyes from the light. When he saw Ben coming out of his room, he quietly told him to find Addison’s purse.
“It’s on the dresser,” Ben told him. “I put her cases in the closet. Is she okay?”
“Migraine.” He entered the room and placed her on the bed then removed her shoes and reached for the buttons on her jeans. She pushed his hands away and rolled over onto her side, wrapping the pillow around her head as he closed the shutters. He found her pills and shook two of the quick acting pills into the palm of his hand then got her a tumbler of water.
Addison sat up, grimaced with pain, then swallowed the pills with a gulp of water. Sighing she curled up on the bed and closed her eyes. “I’ll leave as soon as I wake up. I promise.”
Cade brushed a few strands of her hair from her cheek. “Rest as long as you need to, baby.” He sat by her until the medication took effect, her body relaxing and sinking into the soft comforter. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. One of the things he and Addison had in common was no tolerance for anyone who hurt one of them. Without meaning to, he had convinced her that she was hurting him, and now she would do everything in her power to protect him, even from herself.
* * * *
When Addison woke the clock read five. She stretched, feeling the drowsiness left by the pills, but forced herself to get up. She found her cases in the closet and her purse on the dresser. She opened it, relieved to see her cell phone. Grabbing the handles of her cases, she blessed whoever had thought of putting wheels and telescoping handles on them, then rolled them to the spare room at the far end of the hallway. Once there she quickly showered and changed her clothes, then repacked her cases and rolled them to the stairs, then bumped them down one step at a time until she reached the bottom and left them against the far wall.
Smelling Jane’s famous grilled steak, her stomach growled with hunger and she moved closer to the dining room. Hearing voices from the dining room, she hesitated, having a moment of déjà vu, wondering if they were having another “party.” She recogn
ized Logan’s and Luc’s voices, then let out an uneasy breath when she heard Thor’s voice.
The conversation stopped as soon as she appeared in the doorway. She forced her lips into a small smile, then seeing an empty place setting across from Thor at Jackson’s end of the table, she moved to it. Jackson jumped up and held out her chair for her then scooted her closer to the table.
“Sorry to be late,” she told them. “I just woke up.”
“How are you feeling, Addison?” Jackson asked her, glancing at Cade and seeing him move his chair back, closer to the table.
“Fine,” she told him. “Headache all gone, and I’m starving. I missed lunch.” She laughed as her stomach rumbled again.
“Well, we can’t have that,” Logan told her as he passed a platter of steak to her.
She chose a small piece of steak and placed it on her plate. “Your beef?”
“Of course,” Logan told her, surprised she was talking to him.
Addison smiled at him then looked across the table. “Hello, Thor. How are you?”
“Better now that you’re here, little one,” he told her then chuckled when she blushed. “Cade has been telling me about all the excitement today.”
She lowered her eyes then glanced at Thor, then gave Ben an apologetic glance. “I almost got poor Ben shot.”
“You almost got yourself shot, Addison.” Cade’s voice was incredulous. He couldn’t believe that she was apologizing. “Ben was just doing his job.”
She smiled at Ben. “Well, I don’t want you, or anyone, getting hurt trying to protect me.” Jackson put some potatoes on her plate and handed her a dish of orange marmalade. She thanked him. “That’s why I’m going home to Ireland.”
“You are not going to Ireland,” Cade told her, fed up but trying to make his voice sound reasonable.
“What part of Ireland?” Thor asked.
Cade hid his sigh behind his napkin. They all knew he had fucked up so now they were going to fuck with him.
Addison leaned forward, her voice excited. “County Kildare,” she told him. “It’s so beautiful there. Very green, with lots of rivers. The people are so kind and it’s the perfect place for horses.” She looked at Jackson. “That’s why I want to buy Remington, Jackson. I want to take him with me to Ireland.”
To Love and Obey [The Doms of Club Mystique] (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 21
