by Brook Wilder
He was hoping that Schuman said someone went by and saw. But it was worse.
“Maddie and Beth snuck over and took the car before they went to lunch.”
Jace stared.
“She went out? Is she insane? There’s someone out there who wants to kill her!”
Jace couldn’t believe it. He had thought Maddie was level-headed and wouldn’t put her life in jeopardy. Clearly, he didn’t know Maddie as well as he thought. Her hormones were making her do some very stupid things.
What if she had been killed? Jace didn’t know how he would be able to cope if he ever discovered she was dead.
“Go and see her.” Schuman nodded towards the back hallway. “She’s upstairs. I think she needs someone right now.”
His jaw tightening as he gritted his teeth, Jace hurried out and went up the stairs. What he wanted to do was shake some sense into Maddie for putting her life in danger. Something could have happened to her, to their child. She could have put Beth in danger.
Then again, Beth had enabled her without question. Right now, she was as bad as her friend.
But the angry words Jace wanted to say stalled when he went into the room and found Maddie sitting on the bed, her legs crossed as she hugged a cushion to her belly. The TV across the room was on a mindless show, but Maddie’s expression said she wasn’t really paying attention.
Jace didn’t like seeing her like this. It was scary to see a strong woman so vulnerable.
“Maddie.”
Maddie looked up and blinked up at him.
“Jace?”
Jace’s arms tingled. He wanted to hold her. But when he leant over and tried to pull her into his arms, Maddie ducked away, shying away from him. Jace froze.
“Can’t I hold you?”
“Not right now.”
Maddie didn’t even look at him. That hit Jace in the gut. He didn’t like having her shirk away. Lowering his arms, he eased back and stood up.
“Tell me what happened.”
“It was the Wild Leopards.” Maddie hugged the cushion closer to her body. Her face was pale. “They found out where I was and vandalized my car.” She gnawed at her lower lip. “Then Beth called me after she got back to the surgery and found out they had been there first.”
“What?” Jace stared. “They went to your former workplace?”
“Yes. According to Beth, they didn’t cause a stink, but Martin went into the parking lot to talk to them. They left shortly after. Beth said she found it suspicious.”
That was suspicious. From what Jace had gathered, Martin Roberts wasn’t an affiliate of any biker gang at all. He showed no indication that he was part of a group. His hatred for biker gangs was obvious whenever he looked at Jace, and Maddie had told him that Roberts would be scathing to any Broken Hounds member who tried to make an appointment.
So why would he even consider talking to a biker?
A thought came into his mind and Jace couldn’t shake it.
“Do you think he’s involved?”
Maddie shrugged as she shook her head. She looked like she was about to break.
“I don’t know. I don’t know what to think anymore. First my home, then my former job and now my car. Not to mention the attempt on my life.” She threw the pillow across the room and it hit the wall. “It’s too much.”
Jace swallowed. He didn’t like seeing Maddie like this. He wanted to hold her, but he didn’t want to be pulled away from again. That had hurt badly.
“I’m so sorry,” he mumbled.
“Yeah. You should be sorry.”
Jace blinked. What was that about?
“Say what?”
Maddie was glaring at him, scowling with enough venom that Jace took a step back.
“Whoa, Maddie. What’s got into you?”
“I don’t know,” Maddie sneered. “Maybe I’ve been struggling with the fact I was alone when all this happened?”
So that was why she was pulling away. Because he wasn’t present when another incident happened. Jace shook his head.
“Don’t start this again.”
“Why not? You said you would protect me!”
“And I will. But I can’t be there all the time,” Jace shot back. He began pacing, resisting the urge to punch the wall. “Do you want me to lose my job? Or are you expecting me to bring you around all the time when I’m working? I’d never get any work done and I’m sure Jeremy would have something to say about that.”
“Well, it’s nice to know I’m a distraction.,” Maddie snorted.
Jace glowered at her and cupped his crotch.
“My cock thinks you are and, right now, I need to think clearly.”
He had some slight satisfaction seeing Maddie’s eyes widen. Then he turned away and hurried towards the door. The situation was going to get out of control and Jace didn’t want another fight. He was too tired to fight.
But there was something he needed to do.
“Wait!” Maddie climbed off the bed. “Where are you going?”
“I need to go and speak to someone.”
“But we’re not done!” Maddie shouted.
Jace gave her one last look as he opened the door.
“Yes, we are. I’ll see you later.”
He could still hear her screaming as he went towards the stairs.
Chapter Nine
Jace was still seething as he drove his bike through the suburban streets. Maddie had been attacked again and he wasn’t there to prevent any more heartache. She was blaming him and Jace didn’t like taking the blame.
He loved her, yes, but he wasn’t about to take the fall for something out of his hands. Jace needed a while to get some space and cool off.
This was exactly why he stayed out of relationships. They were messy, and the women were volatile. You didn’t know what was going on in their heads and you would always come out of it being the one in the wrong. Jace had stayed away for that reason. The one time he ended up falling for a woman and Jace was dragged into it all.
He didn’t want that. While the white-picket fence was out of the question, he did think that he and Maddie, with their child, could be happy together. It wouldn’t be difficult to get that. But Maddie’s fluctuating temper and their burning fire was going to make that a struggle.
One of these days Jace was going to up and leave, despite his promise to stay. It wasn’t an environment for a kid.
Finally, he found the house that he was looking for. Pulling up in the driveway behind the flashy BMW, Jace climbed off and went up to the front door. These types of houses were the ones that made Jace angry. A lot of people got these houses because of their income, which was often in six figures, and they just didn’t appreciate what they had. In his experience, anyone who owned a house like this didn’t deserve it.
Maybe that was his prejudice talking.
He banged on the door with his fist. Lights were on; there was definitely someone home. He wasn’t leaving until someone answered the door.
Finally, the door opened, and Roberts was there. He was wearing sweatpants and a white t-shirt that clung to his torso. He looked like he had been working out on the treadmill. His eyes widened when he saw who was on his doorstep.
“You! What the hell are you…?”
Jace didn’t let him get any further, shoving him hard in the chest. He was shorter than Roberts but, with enough force, he was able to knock the taller man into the house. Jace shut the door so the neighbors wouldn’t see and turned to Roberts, who had regained his balance.
“Why did you send the Wild Leopards after Maddie?” he demanded.
“What?” Roberts scoffed. “I never did such a thing! I don’t know where you got that idea from.”
“Don’t lie to me!” Jace bellowed. “Wild Leopards were seen at the surgery and you were seen speaking to them. Shortly after that Maddie’s car is vandalized.”
Roberts folded his arms and shrugged.
“Nothing to do with me.”
Jace d
idn’t like the smug look. He wanted to wipe it away with a swing of his fist.
“I don’t believe in coincidences, Doctor Roberts. They didn’t turn up to discuss the weather.” He shook his head. “You know Maddie’s pregnant. Why would you hurt her like this?”
Roberts snorted.
“I think you’ve been snorting too many drugs. What makes you think I was involved? Maddie’s involved with bikers. She doesn’t need any outside influences to get into trouble.”
Jace bit back a snarl. He was very close to losing his temper and lashing out. While he knew fury would be driving him, Jace had a feeling Roberts would easily win this fight.
“You were supposed to be Maddie’s friend.”
Roberts scowled.
“I was her friend. Until she fucked you and got herself pregnant. I’m not touching that after what she’s done.”
Not touching that? ‘That’ meaning Maddie? Jace didn’t think it was possible to bubble over with anger. He jabbed a finger in Roberts’ direction. The smug man didn’t even flinch.
“You’re disgusting,” Jace snarled. “I know you did this to Maddie.”
“I’d like to see you prove it.”
And that was the problem. Jace wouldn’t be able to prove it. Martin Roberts would show no connection to the Wild Leopards at all. He was a respected young doctor who lived in the perfect community. Handsome, charismatic, he could get away with anything.
No one would believe him if Jace declared that Roberts was connected to a biker gang.
Snarling, Jace shoved Roberts in the chest and put his hand on his gun, which was tucked into his waistband.
“Keep away from Maddie. If I hear you’ve met her or passed on information to the Wild Leopards, I’ll kill you.”
“Try it.” Roberts didn’t seem to blink at the gun, still smirking and he went towards the landline phone on the wall. “I hear jail’s very comfortable at this time of year. You’ll be experiencing it very soon if you don’t leave in five seconds.”
Jace wasn’t planning on hanging around and he knew Roberts would call. He would be no good to Maddie inside. With one final scowl he left, slamming the front door behind him.
Chapter Ten
Maddie sat at Jeremy’s desk, staring at the computer screen. She had gone in there to try and take her mind off what she had to do, but it wasn’t working. The words and numbers in front of her were running together and all she could think about was Jace.
Where the hell had he gone? Maddie had wanted to get some answers out of him and the man had just left without saying goodbye. The bastard’s cell phone wasn’t on, so she couldn’t even scream at him on that.
In the back of her mind, Maddie knew that she was being irrational and unfair to Jace. But everything in her body was kicked into high gear and everything seemed to put her on edge. The best thing she could do was to minimize those problems, and Jace seemed to be falling into that category.
This couldn’t go on. They would be fighting every day and Maddie would end up worrying about the baby. Stress wasn’t good for pregnancy and Maddie had to reduce it as much as she could. Someone coming after her with a hit was bad enough but fighting with the father was something else.
She had fallen for Jace, Maddie could admit that to herself. In spite of everything, she was in love with him. But she couldn’t have him in her life if he wasn’t going to be there when he made the promise. And she had to focus on the baby instead of herself. Screw what Jeremy said; her baby was more important.
There was a slight tap at the door and opened. Jace came in and Maddie felt the hair on her arms stand up. She hated that he could do this to her. Why couldn’t they be as they were as teenagers, where she actively hated the man?
Because life sucked.
“Hey.” Jace gave her a tired smile. “I wondered where you’d gone. Jimmy said you were in here.”
Maddie grunted, trying to focus on the computer.
“I thought I’d try and sort some of the numbers out. I’ve been letting it pile up and Luke’s not available for it yet.”
“So, you decided straining your eyes and your brain was a good idea.” Jace came around the desk. “What you need to do is go to bed and rest. Let other people spoil you.”
His hands went to her shoulders and Maddie felt the heat from his palms. Her nipples tightened. With a growl, she shrugged him off.
“You mean like you would spoil me?” she snapped. “You’re never around.”
Jace sighed heavily and moved away.
“Don’t start this again, Maddie. I’m working hard for you and our child. Unless you handcuff yourself to my side, it’s going to be impossible to earn money and protect you at the same time.” He ran his hands through his hair with a frustrated groan. “I’m sorry, okay?”
Before, Maddie might have accepted it. She would have understood that she was being irrational. But she was too angry and hyped up on her hormones, which were driving her into what felt like hysteria.
“That’s not good enough, Jace.”
Jace stared at her. Then his mouth curled into a sneer.
“That’s right. It’s not good enough.” His voice was low, almost a growl. “Because, with you, it never is. You have to have things just so right now. You’re pregnant and it’s something new, yes. You’ve had a few scares, yes. But there’s no need to take it out on me.”
Maddie smarted. She spun the chair around to glare up at him.
“Are you accusing my hormones of getting in the way?”
“Yes! The old Maddie wouldn’t be accusing me of things that were out of our control. She would be rational.” Jace shook his head. “I don’t see you being rational at all.”
“I am rational,” Maddie shot back. “I’m very rational right now.”
Why did that feel like a lie? Jace’s expression said he clearly didn’t believe her either.
“I don’t see it at all right now. And it’s driving me mad.” Jace paced around the desk. “I’m doing my best and nothing seems to be good enough for you. Unless you’d like to invent a teleportation device, so I can get to you as soon as you snap your fingers?”
Maddie scowled.
“That’s not funny.”
“It wasn’t meant to be. Nothing is good enough for you. Blame other people for things they done but don’t go after me for something I’ve not done.”
Maddie seethed. Deep down she knew Jace was right, but she wasn’t about to back down. They could go around in circles, fight and make up so many times, and it would be the same. She wasn’t doing that, not with her health at risk. It would be too much.
“I can, and I will.” She pointed at the door. “Get out.”
“Fine. I will.”
Jace started towards the door when Maddie gave him a parting shot.
“But if you walk out that door right now, you and I are done.”
That had Jace stopping, his hand inches from the door handle. He turned and gave her a startled look.
“What?”
“If I can’t trust you now, how can I trust you to look after my baby?” Maddie could feel herself shaking. “I can’t guarantee that you won’t let it down as well.”
Jace was staring at her as if she had grown another head.
“You’re ending it because your hormones are making you an insufferable bitch?”
That was it. Maddie lost it. She charged around the desk and came at him swinging.
“Out!” Her punch hit Jace on his raised arm as he protected his head. “Get out! I want nothing to do with you. Neither does my baby.”
Then she saw Jace’s eyes blaze as he lowered his arm. It was the same look she had seen on him when they were teenagers, when he was about to torment her. Instinctively, that made Maddie shrink back.
“You’re going to cut me out of the child’s life?” Jace was incredulous. “After telling me you want me there?”
Maddie said nothing. She knew she had pushed it too far, but she was too proud to take it
back. That was not how she had been raised. Plus, where could you go after saying something like that? Jace’s expression went blank, his eyes blazing down to quiet fury.
“Then there’s no point in me staying in Tucson, is there?” he said coldly. “When people ask if I’ve got any kids, I’ll tell them the truth. That I wanted to be around but the mother got so bonkers she refused to let me even see my child.”
