After an hour of pacing back and forth in the emergency ward, I was told I could see her. When I entered Maddox’s room, she was awake and attempted a smile but winced with the effort. I sat down at her side and took her hand. “I’ve called your parents and Cheryl. They are on their way. Can you tell me what happened?”
“It was Sonya and her boyfriend, Brad. She said she went to school with you, but she’d changed her hair and had plastic surgery, so you wouldn't recognize her.” Maddox stopped speaking and asked for water, which I held while she sipped. Dropping her head to the pillow, she offered a slight grimace, which was meant as a grin.
“The pain killers should kick in pretty quick.” An indulgent smile appeared on my face as I watched her eyes turn vacant with the effect of the morphine. “Is there anything else they toldyou, Maddie, it's important as the cops are also on their way, and I have to have a pretty good reason for what I did, especially as it wasn’t in self-defence?”
Her eyes widened, “I heard the gun go off, and passed out. Imagine my surprise when I woke up here, alive.”
I’m sure we would have many discussions about what went through her head and the trauma she experienced, but right now, I needed answers. Sensing my agitation, she picked up the story. “I don’t know her real name, but she said this was all about revenge. That your family stole tech from her family and were so broken by the experience of the theft, they fell apart and ended up living in poverty. Until you befriended her in college, and she was your bestie. Does all that make sense?”
It was Juliette Simcoe. The Simcoe family had sold tech to my grandfather. Then they came back and asked for more, repeatedly, greedy misers, the lot of them. Finally, my grandfather had a new contract drawn up and signed by both parties with witnesses.
Of course, at the time, I had no idea about any of this as it happened long before I was initiated into the family business. In college Juliette and I became friends.Then one day Juliette was there, and the next, she was gone. Two years later, all the issues started with the family business, missing money, and my parents' death. The fact this was all tied to events that began twenty years earlier was shocking.
“They were going to hold me for ransom and get more money, then they decided that it would hurt you more if they killed me.” A single tear leaked from the corner of Maddox’s eye. “I shouldn’t have left. I panicked, and well, Cheryl, you remember her? She helped me see that it wasn’t you. It was me all along. I was a chicken shit, daddy.”
“Maddie, don’t think about that now. You weren't a chicken shit, you were scared, and that’s okay. When you’re all better,you will be chastised for running away, bratty girl.” She smiled, and this time, she didn’t grimace in pain.
Her parents arrived, and after making sure their one and only daughter was fine. I took them out into the hallway, explained what happened, and shared what Maddox had told me. The cops arrived, and I spent the next hour with them while Maddie got ready to be discharged.
“I want her to come home with me.” I shared what I wanted in no uncertain terms with her and her parents.
“She barely knows you,” her mother sputtered. “She needs someone to care for her.”
“I know Maddox better than you think, and I am completely in love with her. I will care for her, and she will want for nothing, I promise.”
Her parents turned to her. “Maddie, what do you want, dear?”
She looked at me, “Is it over, like really over?”
“It is,” I nodded, “the cops are tracing Sonya Reynolds to Juliette Simcoe. As she was last in the clan, the investigation will be closed once they tie up all the loose ends. The cops have gone to the crime scene and collected the bodies. They are both dead and can’t hurt you ever again.”
She gazed from me to her parents. “I would like to go with Langden. Would you come too, and we could all have tea?”
“Of course, darling, if that’s what you want.”
I gave her parents my address and the code for the elevator, and we parted ways at the exit. I insisted on carrying Maddox even though she repeatedly told me her feet were working just fine. She had been lucky, escaping with bruising and a mild concussion. She sustained one little cut that required only two stitches.
“When you’re ready, I will hire a plastic surgeon to remove the scar for you.”
“Oh no, you won’t,” she smiled, “I earned that scar, and whenever I feel like running away again, I will look in the mirror and remember what happened when I tried to leave you.”
I hugged her tight. “There will never be a next time, Maddox Sullivan, you belong to me, with me, and one day, will become my queen.”
I placed her gently on the couch and proceeded to make tea and breakfast. She needed fortifying and a base for her pain pills. Her parents arrived just as I put everything out buffet style and once plates were piled, we joined Maddie in the living room.
I had the blinds open, and light poured in, mixed with the aroma of imported Italian coffee floating in the air, the movement became a sensory experience. These were the first people I had allowed into my space in a very long time and the smells from this first breakfast would act as a trigger of this event for me for the rest of my life.
By the time Maddie’s folks left, we’d made a date for Saturday breakfast the following week at their home and after seeing them to the elevator. I picked up my girl and carried her to bed. I placed her down and covered her up. I was about to step away when her hand reached out and clutched my wrist.
“Please, don’t leave me, sir. I need you.” I lay down behind her and stayed until I heard the soft sounds of deep slumber. Then I left to deal with the aftermath and find a new manager for the pub. I also wanted to call my sister, who was in Europe with her fiancée, and let her know the truth about our parent’s death.
When I was done, the sun had dipped, and early evening was on us. As Maddox was still asleep, I climbed in behind her and promptly passed out.
The room was brightly lit, the heavy shades that usually kept this room in complete darkness were open. Maddie lay facing me, her grin was small but meaningful. I rubbed my eyes and scrubbed my hands down my face, rolling onto my side to face her.
“Hello sweet girl. How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been hit by a bus—no—run over by a bus after getting hit by a train.” Her smile turned upside down when her lips cracked. “Ouch. Please remind me not to show my happiness.”
