AT LAST

by Melissa Schroeder

  He opened his mouth, but there was a knock at the door. With a scowl, he stomped toward the door. He looked through the peephole, then opened it. Detective O’Reilly stood on the other side of the threshold.

  “Hey, Fitzpatrick. I was hoping…” she trailed off when she saw Wendy. “I needed to make sure I had all your information.”

  “Okay.”

  Aeden stood there for a good long while, then he finally stepped back. “She should be resting.”

  “I only want to clear up a few things before I go do some more interviews.” She turned to Wendy. “You said you had an altercation with a Dr. Davis?”

  Wendy glanced at Aeden, then back to the detective. “I wouldn’t call it an altercation, but he was annoying. As always.”

  “As always?”

  “Yes. He’s made the round with the nurses, if you know what I mean.”

  Detective O’Reilly nodded. “Gotcha. And he thought he could take a chance at you.”

  Wendy shrugged. “We had dinner once, before I went to work in Africa. He asked me out again when I returned, but I told him I was involved with Aeden, but truth is, I would have said no either way.”

  “Any reason for that?”

  Wendy sighed. “As I said, he was making the rounds. But, then, he was just…boring.”

  “But last night was different?”

  Again Wendy glanced at Aeden, who was showing no emotion at all. Bad sign. When Aeden was truly pissed, he went stone faced. Out of all the Fitzpatricks, he was the most emotional, but when he was furious, a stranger would never know.

  “Not really. He just wanted to tell me that our fathers know each other.”

  “And you didn’t know that?”

  Wendy shook her head. “I’m sure you’ve figured out I have nothing to do with my family, and less to do with people who call them friends.”

  “Okay. I’m going to have to talk to him.”

  “I got that. He was already pissy about the first conversation.”

  The detective smiled. “That just made my day. I’ll let you know what we find out. Fitzpatrick. Ms. Reynolds.”

  Aeden saw her to the door, then returned with another scowl. How could a man with that irritated look on his face be so pretty?

  “What?” she asked.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about that?”

  “About what?”

  “That Dr. McDreamy knows your family.”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t think it was important.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t care who knows my family.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “But he knows them. Which means you know him.”

  “No. I have no idea how he knows my father, or if he ever met him. My father does a lot of business, and some of his acquaintances are what my father would call friends. Ryan was making assumptions.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah, because if he knew my father, then he would know that we don’t talk, and that I have nothing to do with my family.”

  “But let me guess? You don’t think it was him? Even though he was there on his day off.”

  “No, I don’t. In fact, I think he’s too lazy to attack me. He sees that kind of thing as beneath him.”

  “But he wouldn’t be beyond hiring someone.”

  “He just wouldn’t do it. I understand his kind.”

  Something moved over his face and, at that moment, Wendy realized she had said something wrong.

  “Of course, I wouldn’t understand it, would I? Coming from that working class family like I do.”

  She blinked at the venom in his voice. “What?”

  “You understand him because you came from the same background.”

  “I understand he’s an ass.”

  “Still. He is up to your family’s standards, right?”

  “Have you lost your mind? When did my family get to be so important to you?”

  “When you start covering for people like Davis.”

  “I’m not covering for him. I just don’t want Detective O’Reilly to waste her time.”

  “Or maybe it’s because your kind always stick together.”

  “What?”

  “Let’s face it. You’re just slumming it right now.”

  She opened her mouth, but no sound came out of it. Not initially. Pain hit her first. It twisted her heart so hard she was surprised she didn’t pass out. In the next instant, anger came rushing forward.

  “Get out.”

  “What?”

  “Get the hell out of here. If you think that of me, I don’t want you around.”

  He hesitated. “I don’t want to leave you alone.”

  Oh, but he wasn’t going to take back anything he said. “I’ll call Connal. He’s off today, right?”

  He nodded.

  “Get out. Now.” She held onto her anger, holding it close to her heart so she wouldn’t cry. Not yet. The one thing she retained from her family was never let them see you cry. “Out. Now!”

  “Fine.”

  He grabbed his coat, wallet, and keys, then headed to the door. “Call Connal.”

  Then he slammed the door behind him. He even locked it before stomping away.

  What the hell had just happened? They’d had a great meal, even talked about shopping together later this week…and then this. She walked to her bedroom, almost numb to everything around her. She wanted to run after him and stop him; although, she knew he was gone. When Aeden got mad, he needed time alone. She had seen it throughout the years. Where had this come from though?

  Needing answers, she grabbed the phone and called the one person who could answer her questions. Kaitlin picked up on the first ring.

  “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill your brother?”

  “Oh, no, what did he do?” she asked.

  “He accused me of slumming.”

  “With him?”

  “Yes.”

  Kaitlin sighed. “Oh boy.”

  “What?”

  “Well, you know how some women view firemen, right?”

  “Sure. Gods who fight fire for a living and save kitties.”

  “So.”

  “So what?” Wendy asked still confused.

  “Women hit the bars they know firemen hang out in. It’s like that with a lot of professions that are seen as heroic. They do it with Marines too.” She heard a male murmur in the background. “Yeah, sure, Brando. And you were a virgin when we first went to bed.”

  Wendy smiled despite feeling like someone had ripped her to shreds emotionally.

  “Anyway, the women show up and have no intention of sticking with the guys. I have a feeling that Aeden might not have understood the game early on. Once he did, that’s when he stopped having relationships, if you get my drift.”

  “Why would he think I was slumming though? I don’t get it.”

  “Okay, I’m sure he knew you didn’t have much to do with your family, but until you got involved, he didn’t really know about your family. A lot of those women come from your background.”

  “And he thought I was like them?” The anger returned. “Of all the dumbass things to think.”

  “Yeah, but guys do that when they’re in love.”

  “Kaitlin…” she said in a warning voice, but her friend wasn’t going to listen this time.

  “I know my brother better than he knows himself. He would only react that way if he was in love.”

  “I want to go find him and hit him with something.”

  “He’s not there? You’re not supposed to be alone.”

  “I’m going to call Connal. Or, more than likely, your brother called him.”

  “Oh, okay. Cool. Well, let him work it out. He’ll come back and apologize.”

  “I’m not too sure of that.”

  “One thing I understand is a Fitzpatrick male. They’re sometimes stupid, but as my mother says, they are teachable.”

  She rubbed her forehead as it had started to pound. Sh
e was supposed to be resting and now she wanted to do something, anything to work off her irritation and hurt.

  “I hope you’re right. How’s Little Mike?”

  Kaitlin laughed. “Getting fat and sassy.”

  And instead of worrying over Aeden for the moment, she decided to enjoy her friend. She slipped under the covers and listened to all the happenings with the newest Santini baby.

  * * *

  Aeden sat in the kitchen of his brother’s restaurant and nursed a beer. He had what they called the chef’s table in the kitchen, and Aeden had planted himself there after his fight with Wendy. Well, first he had gone home, but he felt uncomfortable. He had the night off, but here he was, sitting in the kitchen drinking. He should be at Wendy’s, but he didn’t trust himself.

  “I see this might just become a habit with our kind,” Declan said as he sat on the opposite side of the table. It was a red leather u-shaped booth Declan claimed harkened back to the days when the mob owned the property.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Just seems that our brother-in-law showed up here complaining about a woman.”

  “I haven’t complained about her, have I?”

  Declan shook his head. “What happened?”

  He growled and took a swig of beer. The woman would just not listen to reason. She had always been such a smart woman, but now he wasn’t too sure of that assessment.

  “There’s this doctor at the hospital.”

  “The one you wanted to beat up for talking to her?”

  “Yes. Well, that’s not why I want to beat him up now. That Detective O’Reilly has him on her list of suspects, but Wendy immediately said it couldn’t be him.”

  “And that upset you?”

  “Well, yeah.” He shook his head and took another small sip of beer. He didn’t need to get too drunk. He needed to drive over to her house later to relieve Connal.

  “Why?”

  “Because.”

  Declan threw his hands up in the air. “How could she argue with that reasoning?”

  “Listen, the guy has it all. He’s a doctor. Hell, they call him McDreamy at the hospital.”

  “So, you let your jealousy get in the way?”

  He grunted. “I’m not jealous.”

  “Yes, you are.”

  “I’m being reasonable. She’s being unreasonable.”

  “And you told her this?”

  “I…” his mind went back to the fight he’d had with her earlier. “I said some stupid things.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Okay, I accused her of wanting to be nice to him.”

  “Oh, please tell me you didn’t accuse her of cheating on you.”

  “I didn’t.” One thing that he knew about Wendy was she was loyal and honest. She would never cheat on him. “I might have suggested she felt like she was slumming it with me.”

  A long moment of silence passed, then Declan whistled. “Wow, you’ve got some way with the ladies, bro.”

  “Shut up.”

  But, now that he said it out loud to his brother, he realized how bad it sounded. Wendy would never look down on him because he had what was considered a blue collar job. In fact, he knew she had a lot respect for public servants. He saw the way she was with his father, his brothers…dammit.

  “Okay, it was a dumb ass thing to do.”

  “She loves you.”

  “Yeah.” He closed his eyes. “I felt she wasn’t taking the threat seriously, and I was…dammit, I was jealous.”

  “Now you just have to go apologize.”

  He opened his eyes and looked at his brother. “I hate apologizing.”

  Declan’s smile widened. “I know.”

  “Dammit.”

  “You said that.”

  He gave his brother the finger and slid out of the booth. As he walked out into the restaurant, he saw Detective O’Reilly. She was sitting at the bar talking to her brother. He made a beeline toward her.

  “Hey.”

  “Oh, Fitzpatrick.” She looked passed him. “And the long-haired Fitzpatrick is with you.”

  He glanced at his brother, who stood behind him, then back at the detective.

  “Is there any news? Anything at all?”

  “Well, you can mark Davis off the list. He’s involved with someone and had an alibi.”

  “He does? That’s odd because Wendy said he asked her out.”

  She shrugged. “Not sure what to tell you. The woman vouched for him, so he’s off the hook. He left and they met up, from what she said.”

  He nodded. “Thanks, again.” Aeden looked at his brother. “I’m going to go to Wendy’s.”

  “Need some kneepads?”

  He said nothing, but did offer his brother his middle finger again. Before he reached the door, he stopped. Something wasn’t sitting right with him, but Aeden couldn’t seem to put his finger on it.

  He walked back to the detective.

  “Who was the woman?”

  “What?”

  “The woman who said she was dating Davis?”

  “Penelope Patterson. A nurse in Labor and Delivery.”

  “A lot of hair, afraid of her own shadow?”

  She nodded.

  “Did he tell you they were dating?” Aeden asked.

  “No. I was interviewing her today and she offered it up.”

  “Aeden?” Declan asked. The humor had left his voice.

  “There is no way she is dating Davis.”

  O’Reilly shook her head. “Now, some guys—”

  “Davis thinks too much of himself to date someone who doesn’t raise his status.”

  She frowned, but he didn’t feel like arguing anymore. He pulled out his phone and hit Wendy’s number. She let it ring a few times before she picked up.

  “What do you want?”

  “Where are you?”

  “Maybe I’m out being elitist somewhere.”

  “Wendy, please tell me you’re home and Connal’s with you.”

  At that moment, Connal walked through the front door of the restaurant.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” he asked.

  “Are you talking to me?” she asked.

  “No. I’m talking to Connal.”

  “What? I just got done at the gym.”

  “Don’t you check your messages?” he asked.

  Connal pulled out his phone. “Damn, I’m sorry, Aeden.”

  “She’s not supposed to be alone,” he said. “Tell me you’re with someone and you’re home with the door locked.”

  She apparently picked up on his tone. “I’m home. Where was I going to go with this bump on my head? Why?”

  “Did you know that Penelope Patterson told O’Reilly she was dating Davis?”

  She snorted. “Yeah. There is no way. He’s too self-centered to do something like that. She’s sweet, but he would never look past her shyness to see her sweetness.”

  “Yeah, well, she told the detective they were dating.”

  “Hold on.”

  “What?”

  “There’s someone at my door. Well, speak of the devil.”

  He heard her unlock and open the door. “What?”

  “Penelope’s here.”

  “Don’t open the door,” he warned as he started running toward the door. He didn’t even look behind him because he knew his brother was following him.

  But it was too late. “Penelope, wait.”

  Then the line went dead.

  He was heading for his car, but O’Reilly shouted out his name. “Come on. I have my siren and lights so we can make sure to get there faster and without getting a ticket.”

  Chapter 12

  “Wake up, you stupid bitch,” a shrill voice was yelling at her. Wendy blinked, trying her best to remember just where the hell she was and what was happening.

  When things came into focus, she realized she was on the floor of her apartment.

  “Finally,” Penelope said, irritation threading that
one word.

  Wendy sat up and felt her head start to throb even worse than before. She blinked again, her vision was a little blurry.

  She turned to look at Penelope and instantly regretted it. Her head felt as if there were a thousand needles bouncing around in there.

  “Dammit. Do you know how to do anything other than hit someone in the head?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  Wendy heard the tone in Penelope’s voice, and that’s when she saw the gun. She stopped moving.

  “See, I have other means,” Penelope announced.

  It took Wendy a few seconds to tear her gaze from the gun to look at Penelope. The woman was a mess. Her hair was half up and half down, and she had a wild look in her eyes. It was the same look she had seen in mentally ill patients. Wendy knew one sudden move could set Penelope off.

  “That you do.” She tried to swallow and found her mouth too dry. “Do you want to tell me what this is all about?”

  “As if you don’t know.”

  The hysterical edge to Penelope’s voice sent another wave of panic racing through her. Wendy knew one thing. She needed to get very far away from Penelope. The problem was that Wendy was too dizzy to even stand at the moment. The hit on the head this time had left her stunned, but not completely out of it. Still, she couldn’t trust herself to run. Aeden was on his way, so all she needed to do was keep Penelope talking until he got there.

  Wendy concentrated on the woman in question. The usual sweet face was somehow morphed into a grotesque sneer. This was not the woman she had known for the last few years. The one that had been so good with babies. This was a stranger who wanted to kill her.

  “I really don’t. I would like to understand.”

  “You would?” Penelope snorted. “I doubt that. Women like you never have to understand. You have everything given to you.”

  “Are you talking about Ryan?”

  “That, and so much more.”

  What the hell did that mean? Truth was, she didn’t want to know. She’d dealt with people on the edge before. She’d done her time in free clinics and worked the ER in DC before she made her way to Baltimore. Penelope was definitely on the edge.

  “I really have no interest in Ryan.”

  “It doesn’t matter, does it? He’s interested in you, and he gets what he wants.”

  “So your idea is to get rid of me?”