by Tina Saxon
My eyebrows shoot up and my mouth hangs open. I huff. Is he insinuating that I’m acting like a Queen? “That’s okay, I’ll do it myself.” I pick my foot off the pillow and swallow the pain that shoots through it as soon as I put it on the floor.
“Stubborn ass woman, I was kidding.” He pushes me back on the couch and elevates my foot. He puts his hand on the couch to the side of my head and leans over. His lips sweep over mine. “I like taking care of you,” he murmurs against my lips. When he pulls back and stares into my eyes, the warmth of his breath hits my check. “Now, sit your ass down and don’t move. If you need to go to the bathroom, let me know.” He taps my nose with his finger and stands up. I watch him walk into my bedroom.
Staring at his gorgeous backside has me biting my lip. Broad shoulders all the way down to his sexy ass. I don’t know why he would ever get jealous of another man. I may find other men good looking, but none come close to the attraction I have for Aiden. One look at him and my heart beats faster, my skin tingles. My body reacts only to him. He must see that by now.
I’m still staring at the doorway when he reappears with my Advil. Our eyes lock as he struts over. He puts two pills down on the side table with a bottle of water and leans over to me and whispers, “I love you, sweetheart, but stop looking at me like that.”
“What?” I feign innocence.
He grabs my hand, shifting it to his obvious bulge. “This is what. I told you already, I can feel when you get excited. It’s like my dick is a fucking remote control toy and your pussy is the remote.” I feel my face flush with heat. Yep, he sees it.
***
“Good news,” Jake says, walking into the room. He sticks an X-ray on a light box hanging from the wall. He flips the switch to on and it illuminates my X-ray. “Nothing is broken.”
I blow out a sigh of relief. Thank God!
“You have an inversion ankle sprain.” He picks up my foot and points to the outside of my ankle. “You have lateral ligaments right here that were stretched too far. Since you can walk on it a little today, that tells us it’s probably a grade-two ankle sprain.”
“Okay, Jake. I have two weeks until my wedding. I need a plan of action so I’ll be able to walk down the aisle, not on crutches. And I’d like to wear heels.”
He crosses he arms and stares down at me. I feel like a little kid sitting on the table, patiently waiting for the doctor to tell me if I can go to school or not. “Two weeks is not very long.” I laugh bitterly. You’re telling me. We don’t even know where we’re getting married at this point.
“I’ll do everything you tell me, exactly,” I say. This time Aiden chuckles. I glare at him.
“You’ve never done anything you were supposed to do exactly,” he says sarcastically.
“Shush.” I point at him and then look back at Jake. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just mad I’ve never promised that to him.” Jake chuckles. Aiden mumbles something under his breath about handcuffs. I can imagine what he’s thinking. I roll my eyes, shaking my head slightly. Can we move on?
“I’m going to give you a splint to wear. I want you to use crutches until the swelling goes down. By the end of this week, I’ll have you start physical therapy to speed up the healing process. You can do the exercises at home, but it’ll help having a therapist making sure that you’re doing them correctly.” I nod, agreeing with everything he’s saying. “I can’t promise anything. Everyone heals at their own rate. But since you’re already physically fit, I don’t see it being a long-term problem.”
Half an hour later, I’m sporting an ankle brace and hobbling out of the doctor’s office on crutches. “I need to go back to the office,” I say, trying to hold my foot up, keep the crutches under my arms, and wave down a taxi. When Aiden doesn’t say anything, I look back. He has an I told you so expression. “What? I can keep my foot up at the office, and I’ll be at my desk the rest of the day. I can’t take off the next two weeks, Aiden.”
“Remember, we have Lexi’s adoption court date tomorrow.”
My eyes widen and the hand I’m holding up in the air falls. Oh, no. Lexi. My eyes start to blur from tears. I grasp the sides of the crutches and lean on them so they’re holding me up.
“I can’t go in there like this,” I cry, pointing down to my wrapped ankle. Emotions that I can’t control bubble up inside me. “They’ll think I’m an unfit parent. They’ll take her away from us, Aiden.” The words tumble out of my mouth before I can stop them. I hear myself saying it, but I don’t recognize the desperate tone in my voice.
Aiden stares at me, dumbfounded. I wipe the tears that have escaped my eyes. “Addison,” he says slowly, “they are not going to take Lexi away from us because you’re clumsy.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Are you feeling okay? Did you by chance hit your head yesterday?” He chuckles.
“Stop, it’s not funny.” I hit him on his arm. His eyes scan the area before making it back to mine. He cocks his head, running his hand over his mouth while accessing me. “I’m fine,” I say. “You’re right, it’ll be fine. I need to get back to work.”
I hurry and wave down a taxi, so I can escape the awkward moment I just created. “Meet you at my apartment after work?” I ask. He nods and places a quick kiss on my lips before helping me into a taxi. As we drive away, I lean down into my hands.
What the hell just happened? I must be emotionally exhausted from the last couple days that I’m starting to act crazy. My phone dings. I dig for it in my purse and pull it out.
Aiden: Make sure Dr. Jekyll comes home tonight.
That’s what I’m hoping, too. Seems I’m losing control of my sanity.
Chapter twenty-two
A loud noise jolts me from my sleep. I glance at my nightstand and see it’s only five-thirty in the morning. As I sit up, I wonder if I dreamed the noise because I don’t hear anything now. I should check on Lexi. Make sure it wasn’t her and she doesn’t need something. When I’m tightening my robe, another noise comes from the living room. It sounds like someone’s groaning.
I rush to grab my gun, but it’s not there. Where the hell did it go? I frantically look around the room, wondering if I moved it and just don’t remember doing it. I know I didn’t. Another groan. I run out of the room, not even thinking. I need to make sure Lexi is safe.
I stop. Frozen in place. Staring at the man tied to a chair in my living room, hunched over with blood running down his face. My heart stops.
Aiden.
“Aiden!” I scream and run over to him, trying to lift his head. It falls right back down. Then I hear a laugh behind me.
A laugh I used to have nightmares over.
A laugh that could bring me to my knees.
A laugh I thought I’d never hear again.
I jerk my head in his direction and shake it repeatedly. “No, you’re supposed to be dead,” I whimper, pointing at him. Everyone told me he was dead.
“Well, princess, I’m alive and well,” Joe says, standing up from the barstool. “You looking for this?” He holds up my gun and waves it in the air.
I look back to Aiden. “Aiden, wake up. Please, wake up,” I say in a panic as I shake him. Each step Joe takes, my heart skips a beat. My hands shake as I try to untie him, but I can’t make them stop long enough to do it. The sound of Joe’s footsteps suffocates me.
“You had to know I’d come back for you, princess.”
“Stay the fuck away from me!” I snap, taking a few steps away from Aiden. Away from him. Memories flood my mind, reminding me of the hell I was in when I was his prisoner.
“You are mine and always will be,” he grates out. When he reaches Aiden, he brings my gun up to Aiden’s head. No. No. No. Don’t kill him.
“Stop! I’ll do whatever you want. Please, don’t kill him,” I beg. My fear of Aiden being killed far outweighs my fear of what Joe can do to me. I survived once, I can do it again.
“Oh, you’ll do whatever I want whether he’s alive or
not. And I choose not.” His laugh echoes off the walls. I gasp, my chest burning as I try and find the strength to breathe.
BANG!
I scream at the sound.
“Noo! Aiden!” I run over and fall to my knees at his lifeless body. “Noo!” I scream out over and over. “You can’t leave me,” I cry.
Chapter twenty-three
“Addie, wake up.”
“No!” I hear myself yell. “Don’t leave me.”
“Addie, it’s me, Lexi.”
I feel little hands on me, shaking me. I gasp and bolt up in bed. My eyes dart around the room. They land on Lexi who is sitting in my bed, staring back at me with concerned eyes. Oh, my God. I hope Lexi didn’t see Aiden. I throw the covers off me, wincing when I put weight on my bad ankle but push through it and rush into the living room.
The living room is pitch dark, other than the soft glow coming from the windows. The only thing I hear is my heartbeat. I turn my head toward the living room and everything seems normal. All four chairs are properly pushed in at the kitchen table. Then I glance at the clock. Twelve-thirty. I grab my chest and close my eyes. It was only a nightmare. Tears flow down my cheek as the feeling of relief spreads throughout my body.
“Addie, are you okay?” A warm little hand slips into mine and squeezes. “You were having a bad dream.”
I wipe my tears and look down at her. Her big, caramel eyes look at me with worry. “I’m much better now,” I say and manage a weak smile. We walk back into the bedroom, and I sit on the bed, grabbing my heart, trying to control my erratic heartbeat. She crawls up on the bed beside me and leans her head on my arm.
“I heard you screaming, and I didn’t know what to do.”
I grimace and my shoulders slump. Wrapping an arm around her, I say, “I’m so sorry, Lulu. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
She shrugs. “We can’t help what we dream about.” Her arms wrap around my waist. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
We stay like that for a few minutes. I can feel her body getting heavier, sleep pulling her under. “Hey, sweet girl, let’s go back to bed.”
“Can I sleep with you?” She yawns.
When I nod my head, she crawls up my bed and wiggles her body under the covers. I look around once more and then reach behind my side table to feel for my gun. My fingers graze it, and I let out a sigh of relief.
It was a dream, Addison. A fucked-up dream.
It takes Lexi mere minutes to fall back asleep. The dream sits at the forefront of my mind and still feels too real for me to go back to sleep. I grab my phone off the table and turn it to silent and then open the text app.
Me: I need to hear your voice. Are you up?
When I don’t receive an immediate response, I lay my phone on my chest, close to my heart. It’s like my lifeline to Aiden right now. I can feel the thumping of my heart and glance at the phone every couple seconds to see if he’s responded. I softly moan. He’s not going to wake up to my text. Maybe I should just call him. When I see the three little dots, I close my eyes and send out a silent thank you.
Aiden: I’m up. Call me.
I look over at Lexi again before slowly pulling the covers off and slipping out of bed. I wobble into the living room, grab a throw blanket, and sink into the couch. With my feet tucked under me, I try and take a few calming breaths before calling Aiden so I don’t sound too freaked out.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart,” Aiden’s concerned voice greets me.
“I just needed to hear your voice.” My voice shakes with emotion. So much for not sounding freaked out.
“Addison, what’s wrong?”
I draw in a ragged breath. “I had a nightmare about Joe.”
“Oh, baby. I’m sorry. I promise he won’t ever hurt you again.”
“It wasn’t me,” I whisper. It was you.
“Addison, he won’t hurt anyone ever again.”
“How do you know? He was supposed to be dead before and he wasn’t.” Seeing him in my nightmare has brought back the fear I’ve held onto for so long. He’s still alive.
“Because I know.”
“Aiden, what if he escaped—”
“He didn’t,” he says confidently. “I know he didn’t because I was the one who took the shot.” An audible gasp escapes my lips. “I made sure he would never hurt you again.”
“Aiden,” I say slowly.
“Sweetheart, I have no regrets. I’d do it again. That bastard deserved more than he got,” he growls.
I let out a soft sigh and run my hand through my hair. “Thank you.”
“I’m sorry,” he mumbles. I hear his sheets rustling, like he’s sitting up. His apology catches me off guard.
“Why are you sorry?”
“That I didn’t tell you before. And I’m sure this is happening because of what I said.” His comment about my dress crosses my mind.
“I think it’s a little of everything. Everything keeps going wrong the closer we get to the wedding. I’m so afraid it’s not going to happen, and we still haven’t heard back from the judge about Lexi’s adoption.” I pull my legs out from under me and lie across the couch, spreading the blanket over me. I stare up at the ceiling, wondering if there will ever be a time in my life that’s easy. The court date we had went well, so I don’t know why we haven’t heard back yet, but it’s killing me, not knowing.
“Oh, our wedding will happen, even if I have to whisk you away to elope. We will be married by the end of the month.” His confidence helps calm my irrational thoughts. “This…won’t ever happen again though,” he growls.
“This?”
“Calling me in the middle of the night, needing to hear my voice. It’s killing me that I’m not there holding you right now. Addison, it’s taking every ounce of self-control I have to not get out of bed and come over.” I can hear his hand run over the stubble of his jaw. “Fuck, I want to be there for you.”
“You are. God, Aiden, you have been here for me through so much.” My voice shakes as tears well up in my eyes. “I couldn’t have gotten through the past year without you. Whenever I felt like I was losing control, you were always there to ground me. Like right now,” I add. Tears break free and run down the sides of my cheeks. “I wish I could express how much I love you.”
“You are…by marrying me,” he murmurs. “For better or worse, till death do us part.”
Chapter twenty-four
Aiden
“Everything set for the wedding?” Damon asks from the passenger seat. I nod, not taking my eyes off the road. We’re on our way to question a guy who called in a tip regarding a child’s murder that happened last week.
“We just have to get the band there, and we’ll be good.”
“How’s Addison’s ankle?”
“It’s getting better. She’s pushing it, probably too much, but you know Addison. She doesn’t listen to anyone.”
“Sounds like someone else I know,” he chuckles. I take my hand off the wheel and flip him off. I’m assuming he’s referring to when I was shot. That was different. Addison’s life was in danger.
I talk about some of the details of the wedding and what time we’re heading up there. We’re going up the night before. I want to make sure everything is perfect. Addison’s so stressed with everything going on, I will kill anyone who messes up our wedding. Max has his whole crew working security, so I’m not worried.
Travis called the other day, asking if he could come see her the day of the wedding. My mouth opened to say “fuck no,” but who am I to say Addison can’t see him. I think, deep down, she wishes there could be more, but she knows he can’t be a part of her life. At least at Max’s place, we’ll be able to slip him in and out without anyone noticing.
“She still acting weird?” he asks, looking over at me. I told him about her random breakdown about going to the court on crutches. I seriously thought she was kidding until tears started to roll down her face. And then her nightmare about Joe. After we hung up, I was so on
edge that I went to her apartment and kept watch from outside in my car. If I could kill the asshole again, I would have. I grip the steering wheel, remembering the terror in her voice on the phone.
“Today she seems to be okay, but that doesn’t mean anything. She’s all over the fucking place. I’ve never seen her so emotional.”
“It has to be from stress. Have you heard back from the judge?”
“No,” I murmur. “Jax thinks it went really well, so he doesn’t think we have anything to worry about. He said it takes time, but Addison thinks it means we’re not going to get approved.”
“If you guys need any help with anything, let us know.”
“Sydney has been a lifesaver, helping Ava set up the wedding. I didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing.” Addison was hesitant to let me plan the wedding. She had good reason to be because when I figured out where it was going to be, I had no idea what to do next.
“I guess she’ll know what to do with her own, then,” he says.
I jerk my head in his direction. My brows lift over my sunglasses. “Are you about to start planning one?” I ask then turn my head back toward the road.
Addison will be ecstatic. The bond between those two has always scared me a little. Damon and I are close like brothers, but we’re not dependent on each other like they are. Maybe it’s a girl thing, but I’ve been a little worried about how the dynamic will be when we get married. But Sydney getting married will help ease my concern because she’ll have someone else and not depend on my wife. Call me an asshole for being selfish, but Addison will officially be mine. I chuckle to myself. If Addison could hear my thoughts, she’d rip off one of my balls. I wince and adjust myself just thinking about it.
“I hope so. Can you believe it?”
“Fuck, if I’m getting married, nothing surprises me anymore.”
He slaps me on the shoulder. “That’s for damn sure.” I laugh, knowing all the guys thought I’d never settle down. “I have a plan, but it involves you guys.” I glance his way.
