“You did what?”
She had his full attention now. “Would you like more to eat?”
“No, thank you. I’d like to know why the hell you voluntarily went to that lowlife’s house.”
“I thought he should know about my living here part-time, and that our children might be in town from time to time.”
“What did he say to that?”
“Well, he said he already knew I was staying here. He also said he’d like to see the children. Of course, that’s completely up to them.”
“So, you gave this some thought.”
She nodded and sipped more wine.
“Why didn’t you tell me you wanted to talk to him? I could have gone with you.”
Maddie touched his hand. “It’s something I needed to do on my own. I hope you understand.”
“I want to, but your safety is getting in the way of that. What if he’d hurt you?”
“In broad daylight on his front lawn?” Maddie laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “That’s not his style.”
“Jesus, Maddie,” A.J. stood and carried his dish to the sink. “That’s not funny.”
“You’re right. It’s not.”
He came back to her, sat, and took her hands. “I get that we’ve both been alone for a long time, but at least give me a heads up when you decide to do something like that so I can come after you if you’re gone too long.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I know,” he said, squeezing her hands. “But you have me now. You don’t have to do everything on your own.”
Maddie melted into him, kissed him. “You’re right. Sometimes I forget.”
He smiled and kissed her back. “Stop doing that, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Let’s sit in front of the fire.”
Maddie picked up her wine glass and followed him into the living room. A.J. hit the remote and turned on the gas fire. “It’s not the same as a real fire, but it is convenient.”
They both sat on the couch, and Maddie snuggled into him. “Speaking of not being alone anymore, I have something to ask you.”
He rubbed her leg from ankle to knee. “Ask.”
“Thanksgiving is coming up, and the children are coming in from school.”
His eyes widened. “Oh.”
“Yes, ‘oh’. I want you to meet them.”
“Do they know about us?”
“I told them I’m seeing someone special.”
He laughed. “As opposed to just someone?”
She poked him in the side. “Could you be serious?”
“That’s a big step,” he said. “Are you sure?”
“Of course,” she said surprised. “Don’t you want to meet them?”
He rested his head against the back of the couch. “I figured I would at some point, but Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away.”
“What’s this about A.J.? I don’t understand.”
“I guess I’m nervous.”
“Why?”
He turned his head and looked at her. “I don’t want them to think I’m just some guy you’re sleeping with.”
“What do you want them to think?”
“Just give me a second. This is new. I’m processing.” He stared at the fire a few seconds. “Damn, do I need to ask their permission to date you?”
“We’re doing a bit more than just dating, A.J. We’re living together.” Maddie raked her hair back from her face. “That alone will tell them you mean something to me.”
“Why?” he asked.
“This is a first for me. I’ve never lived with a man before.”
He caressed the back of her neck. “You haven’t?”
“Surprised?”
“Yeah, a little,” he admitted. He kissed her then; kissed her until her toes curled. “I like being your first,” he said against her lips.
She undid a button on his shirt. “Will you come?”
“To meet your children.”
She kept working her way down his buttons, but slowed when she eased her hand inside to touch him. “Yes, silly. To meet my children.”
“Of course I will. Like you said, we live together. If they come to see you, they’ll have to meet me.”
“They won’t be coming here.” She held her breath while that sank in. “They’re coming to New York.” She felt his heart rate increase beneath her palm. Before he could refuse, she added, “I know you said you don’t go to New York—”
“Maddie—”
“But I want you with me, here and there. My office is there. It’s Dixon’s and Taylor’s home. Besides,” she rushed on, “it’s a holiday. It’ll only be for a few days, and then we’ll come right back here. I won’t have to go back to the city again until after Christmas.”
“Maddie, please . . .”
She continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “I thought you could check my company’s security system and my emergency plan while you’re there. I need to upgrade, and I want you to do it. I’ll pay you, of course.”
“Maddie.” He grasped her shoulders. “Stop talking for a second.”
But she couldn’t do as he asked. “I know this will be hard for you, A.J., but I’ll be right there with you. With your new coping skills, you can do this. I know you can.”
“I need to think about it.”
“Of course,” she said. “Talk to your counselor, too. You said you rescheduled for tomorrow?”
He nodded.
“What time?”
“Two.”
Maddie relaxed against him even though she felt tightly wound because he hadn’t agreed. She knew she was asking him to do something major that would be hard for him, but she also knew he needed to take this step if their relationship was going to work.
“The city is crazy at Thanksgiving,” he said.
“It’s always crazy,” she countered. “It’s New York. You can handle it. I’m sure of it.”
“I wish I had your faith,” he said as he stroked her back.
“I have enough for both of us.” She looked into his dark eyes and added, “If you come and can’t handle it, you can leave.”
He framed her face with his hands. “I don’t deserve you.”
“Stop saying that.”
“It’s true.”
“I love you,” she said.
He wrapped her up in a tight hug. “Thank God.”
The next day, they drove outside of town to the V.A. Center together. It had turned cold, so they’d taken his truck. A.J. held Maddie’s hand. The counseling sessions were hard, but knowing she was with him helped. Maddie anchored him. No matter what feelings, emotions, or anxiety overtook him, he focused on her and got through it. She was his miracle. Knowing she was home waiting for him got him through the day. Waking up in the same house with her kept the nightmares at bay. He hoped soon he’d be able to fall asleep and wake with her in his arms. He wanted that badly, but he had to be sure he wouldn’t harm her first.
He glanced over and caught her looking at him, smiling. “What?”
“I’m so proud of you. So glad you were willing to let me into your life.” A tear fell, and she brushed it away, laughing.
“Babe, don’t,” he said squeezing her hand.
“They’re happy tears. I’ve never been this happy, A.J.”
He pulled over to the side of the road then because he had to hold her.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He unbuckled and popped her seatbelt as well. “Come here.” He wrapped her up tight and held on. “I love you.” The words came easier each time he said them, but he hadn’t said them nearly enough.
“I love you, too.”
He closed his eyes. The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint her, but he didn’t know if he could go to New York. He wasn’t sure he was ready.
“I believe in you, A.J.”
“I know,” he said, inhaling the scent of her hair. Lavender and vanilla.
“I believ
e in us. I’m stronger because of you. I never thought I could be in the same town with my ex, but look at me now. We’re actually co-existing.”
“You also released a lot of pent up rage on his ass,” A.J. said, chuckling.
Maddie laughed as well. “I won’t lie. That did feel good.”
“Remind me not to get on your bad side.”
“Done.”
He rested his forehead against hers. “Maddie?”
“Mmm?”
“I don’t want to let you down,” he began.
“You won’t.”
“I’m not sure.”
“I am,” she said confidently. “You will be, too. Soon.” She kissed him. Once, twice, and again. “You can do this.”
Hearing her say it, he believed maybe he could.
They got back on the road and a short time later, pulled into the V.A. Center. They walked inside together, down the long hallway to the psychiatric wing. Maddie sat while A.J. signed in. After he re-joined her, he looked around the room. One other guy was there. He looked uncomfortable. Antsy. A.J. knew the feeling. He smiled and nodded at the guy. The man acknowledged him, then looked down, playing with one of those fidget gadgets that were so popular.
Maddie eased her hand into his, and he felt her strength like always, shoring him up, helping him do what he knew was needed to get better.
“Mr. Johnson?” the receptionist said. “You can go back now.”
Maddie squeezed his hand, and he kissed her. “See you in a few.”
“I’ll be here,” she promised.
Maddie watched A.J. walk away until he was out of sight, then she pulled her iPad out of her bag and settled in to return some emails.
“Those things will fry your brain, you know.”
Maddie looked up at the man across the room. “Is that right?” she said, smiling.
He nodded. “They spy on you through them, too. Get all your information and then take over your life.”
He bounced his legs in a fast, erratic rhythm that made Maddie nervous just watching him. The spinner in his hand whirred and flashed multicolored lights. “Can I get you anything?” she asked. “Water maybe?”
In response, he got up and left the room. She looked at the receptionist, who seemed oblivious to the exchange. Maddie tried to shake it off, but the man unnerved her. She leaned forward, but didn’t see him outside in the hallway. At least he was gone.
Refocusing on her emails, she lost track of time, but glanced up when the man came back into the waiting room, this time wearing a bulky sweatshirt. Maddie found that odd since the room was uncomfortably warm, but she decided to ignore him and keep working.
“I told you, turn that off,” he said forcefully.
Maddie looked up, surprised to find the man standing close to her. She glanced at the receptionist, willing her to look up. “Okay.” Maddie closed the cover on her iPad and put it away. “There.”
He stared at her bag. “It’s still on.”
“No. It turns off when I close the cover,” she said.
“Mr. Ross,” the receptionist said. “Is everything all right?” The woman had stood and opened the window to speak to them.
“She had an iPad,” he said, pointing to Maddie, “and she wouldn’t turn it off.”
“Why don’t you have a seat, sir?” the receptionist asked.
“I don’t want to sit. If I wanted to sit, I would.”
The woman picked up her phone and spoke quietly into it.
The man returned his attention to Maddie. “Give it to me. I need to destroy it.”
The receptionist stepped into the room. “Mr. Ross, can you come with me, please,” she said.
“No, I can’t come with you. She wouldn’t do what I told her to, and now I have to do something about it.”
“It’s just a misunderstanding. We can straighten it all out if you’ll just come with me.”
“Give it to me,” he said to Maddie.
She took the iPad out of her bag and handed it to him. He removed it from the case and threw it against the wall. The iPad crashed loudly in the silent room and shattered. Its broken pieces scattered across the floor. Eyes wild, the man pressed his hands against his ears.
“Look what you did!” he said to Maddie.
“Justin,” a man in a white lab coat came into the room. A.J. was behind him.
In one motion, Justin yanked Maddie out of her seat and put a gun to her temple. The cold metal pressed painfully into her skin.
“They took over her body, and now she has to die.”
Fear froze Maddie in place. She focused on A.J. and prayed.
“It’s not what you think, Justin,” the doctor said. “That’s Maddie, A.J.’s girlfriend. Isn’t that right, A.J.?”
“Yeah. That’s my girl,” he said. Maddie heard the tremor of fear in his voice when he spoke.
“Just let her go to A.J., and we’ll work this out, okay?”
Justin shook his head. “No, I can’t. This is how it starts. Once they take over someone, that person has to be eliminated or they’ll infect us all.”
“No one has taken over Maddie. That’s just your mind playing a trick on you. Remember when we talked about that?” the doctor said.
The man relaxed his hold on her a little as he considered. “Tricks?”
“Yes. Some things are real, and some things aren’t. They’re tricks your mind plays.” The doctor slowly moved toward Justin with his hands outstretched. A.J. followed. “Look at Maddie. You’re scaring her, Justin. You don’t want to hurt her. She’s a nice lady—like your sister.”
“My sister?” Justin’s looked around the room. “Is Cassie here?”
“Yes. She’s just in the other room. I can take you to her, but you have to let Maddie go first, and then you’ll need to give me the gun.”
He looked at Maddie, considering. “Cassie’s here?”
“Yes,” the doctor reassured.
He and A.J. were closer now. Maddie’s eyes never left A.J. He was here. He wouldn’t let anyone hurt her. “Please, Justin. Let me go to A.J. He needs me just like you need your sister,” Maddie said.
“She’s ruined now,” Justin said to A.J., shaking his head sadly.
“I can’t live without her, Justin,” A.J. said. “Please. Don’t do this. You don’t want to do this, soldier.”
That got Justin’s attention.
“Let her go,” A.J. said firmly. “That’s an order.”
Justin released Maddie, and she ran into A.J.’s arms.
“Sir, yes sir,” Justin said as he snapped to attention, and shot himself.
15
A.J. got Maddie out of the room. She clung to him, crying. “Oh my, God. Is he okay? Is he—”
“Shh. You’re all right. You’re all right,” A.J. repeated. Guards and medical personnel rushed passed them into the waiting room where they’d just been. “I’ve got you,” A.J. said, but all he could think was he’d almost lost her because of a man who’d been to hell and hadn’t returned. Dear God, he’d put her in jeopardy just by bringing her here.
“Miss?” a nurse asked. “Please come with me.”
“I’m not leaving her,” A.J. said.
“You can come as well. I need to examine her to make sure she’s not injured.”
“I’m okay,” Maddie insisted.
A.J. picked her up and followed the nurse. The fact that Maddie pressed her face into his neck and held on tight without complaint scared the hell out of him. What if this scarred her, the way his seeing so much death had scarred him? How could he have done this to her?
“Sit her on the examination table, please,” the nurse instructed after they’d entered a quiet room. She wrapped a blood pressure cup around Maddie’s upper arm and put a pulse monitor on her finger.
A.J. brought her cold hand to his lips and tried to rub warmth back into it. The nurse said, “Lie back, please,” then stacked a few pillows under Maddie’s calves. Next, she put several blankets over her. “S
he’s in shock,” the nurse said to A.J. “Talk to her.”
A.J. continued holding Maddie’s hand and soothed her hair back from her face. “You’re okay. I’m right here with you. I’m not leaving you.”
She pressed her lips together and nodded. God, her face was so pale.
“I’m so sorry, honey.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “I’m okay, right?”
“Yes. You’re perfect.”
“I’m so cold,” she said.
“We’ll get you another blanket when the nurse comes back,” he said. Maddie nodded, but her eyes darted around the room. “You’re safe here,” he reassured.
Maddie nearly jolted off the bed when the nurse came back into the room. A.J. pressed her shoulders back down to the gurney. “It’s okay. It’s just the nurse.”
“Ms. Greene, I’m going to start an IV, okay?”
Maddie nodded, but stared at the door. “Look at me,” A.J. said. “You’re safe now. I promise. Do you believe me?”
“I want to,” she said. Her breathing was shallow. Her voice, weak.
The nurse plugged in oxygen tubing and positioned it on Maddie’s nose. “Take some deep breaths for me.”
She tried, but struggled. “Watch me.” A.J. took a deep breath and blew it out. “Just like that.” Maddie did as he asked. “Again.” She was so focused on her breathing, she said, “Ow,” when the nurse stuck her.
“I’m sorry,” the nurse said. She taped down the needle then attached the tubing and adjusted the flow of the fluids. She also injected something into the IV with a syringe. “This will help her relax,” the woman said.
“I’ll be back in a bit. I’m going to see if we can find her a room,” she said before she left.
When A.J. turned to pull a chair up, she said, “A.J.?”
“I’m here, love.” He took her hand and kissed it as her eyes fluttered and closed.
“It’s not your fault,” she said just before she drifted off.
When Maddie woke, her mouth felt dry, her head heavy.
“Hey,” A.J. said. “How do you feel?”
Dark golden whiskers covered his face and head where he hadn’t shaved. He looked rumpled, pale, and anxious.
She touched his face. “I feel sort of weird.”
Ridden (Scandalous Moves Book 3) Page 11
