by Erika Wilde
“It’s just a flesh wound. I’ll be fine,” Maddux assured her, and knowing he only had a few minutes until Gavin regained consciousness, he grabbed a few of the zip ties left on the table and secured the other man’s hands and feet.
“You could have been killed,” she said, the raw emotion in her voice causing him to stop and focus his attention on her.
He needed to get a knife from the kitchen to cut her out of the restraints, but the tears streaming down her face made his heart squeeze like a vise in his chest. He gathered her into his arms to show her that he was okay, that they were going to be okay. He held her tight as she buried her face against his neck, more grateful that she’d been spared when Gavin clearly intended to kill her first.
She finally lifted her head and looked into his eyes, hers still damp with tears. “If anything happened to you, I’d be devastated.”
God, he understood, because he felt the same way.
And then all that hell he’d been waiting for to break loose finally happened as a battering ram busted down the door. SWAT officers rushed in, guns drawn, ending fourteen years of pain, resentment, and Maddux’s thirst for revenge.
It was finally over.
Arabella paced back and forth in the hospital’s waiting room, feeling weary, exhausted, and utterly drained after the emotional roller coaster she’d been on the past few hours. After being kidnapped off the street, dealing with an unhinged Gavin, and witnessing the horror of Maddux getting shot trying to protect her, she wasn’t sure her heart could take much more. On top of that, she’d been a hysterical, crying mess as she’d watched law enforcement escort her father out of the house in handcuffs right after Gavin. As much as she loved her dad, she knew he’d most likely spend the rest of his years behind bars for the crimes he’d committed, and that was a harrowing thought to process.
She swallowed back another rise of tears that threatened to overwhelm her. It was such a sad, heartbreaking situation, and the next few months were going to be difficult as her father was prosecuted and put on trial and most likely found guilty for numerous offenses.
God, it was as though she hadn’t known her dad at all. Just the aspects that he’d wanted her to see, or the illusions he’d created to offset who he worked for and what he did for a living. But the fact was, there were horrible things he’d had a hand in, like the death of Maddux’s parents, and he needed to atone for those immoral choices he’d made.
As for Gavin . . . tonight, he’d racked up kidnapping and attempted murder charges to his long list of other felonies. He’d get his day in court, too, and she hoped when the time came, he received the maximum sentence. She never wanted to see him again in her lifetime.
While Maddux had been getting his wound stitched and patched up—thankfully, the bullet had entered and exited cleanly, just below the collarbone—she’d spent the past few hours in the waiting room being interviewed by two FBI agents who’d accompanied them to the hospital, answering what felt like a million questions about the night’s events. She’d given them her statement, they’d told her they’d be in touch, and when they were done with her and gotten an all clear from the doctor on Maddux’s procedure, they’d gone into his room to take his account of what had happened, too.
The two men had left about twenty minutes ago, and now Arabella was anxiously waiting for her opportunity to see and talk to Maddux. To look at him and touch him and reassure herself that he really was okay before she did one of the most difficult things she’d ever had to do . . . say goodbye and walk away from the one man she’d ever opened up her heart to.
She pressed a hand to the massive ache spreading throughout her chest, feeling as though a part of her was dying inside. The decision to leave Maddux was an incredibly painful one, because as much as she’d like to believe that she and Maddux Wilder could find their way to their own happily ever after, he’d never given her any indication that he wanted anything more from her than what they’d agreed upon the night of the ball. She’d given him her total surrender . . . and while it all should have just been a physical, sexual exchange, her heart and soul had gotten tangled up into the equation.
Beyond the brusque, callous man he’d been the evening they’d met, she’d managed to peel away enough layers to see a different side to Maddux. One who was kind and caring and gentler than she ever could have imagined. And so possessive and protective when it came to her. He’d like everyone to believe he was a gruff beast of a man, but somewhere along the way, he’d become her golden, shining prince.
She’d always known, from the very moment she’d offered herself for her father’s debt, her time with Maddux had been marked as temporary, and now there was no longer any reason for their relationship to continue. He’d taken her out of revenge against a man who had destroyed his family, and tonight, Maddux’s vengeance had been served and her purpose in his mission fulfilled.
Even if she and Maddux stood a glimmer of a chance at a future together, there was the bigger issue of all the bad blood between their families. Her father had killed his parents, and Hunter had made no secret of how much he despised her. As far as Maddux’s brother was concerned, she was guilty by the sheer fact that she was Theodore’s daughter. And after they’d lived for fourteen painful years with what her father had taken from their family, asking any of them to forgive and forget one of the most traumatic moments in their lives was something she’d never do.
“Ms. Cole?” a female voice called out, jarring Arabella out of her deep, agonizing thoughts.
Arabella glanced at the nurse. “Yes. That’s me.”
“You can see Mr. Wilder now.” The other woman smiled at her. “He’s in recovery while we process his discharge papers. I’ll show you where he is.”
Arabella followed the RN, and with every step she took closer to Maddux, her mind acknowledged what her heart refused to accept. . . that not all fairy tales ended happily ever after.
Chapter 22
Maddux shifted impatiently in the hospital bed he’d been assigned to as he waited to be released and to see Arabella. Over the course of the past few hours since being taken into the emergency room, he’d continually asked for her. But between having his laceration cleaned and stitched up and getting through the long, arduous process with the FBI agents who’d wanted his statement and being continually reminded by hospital staff that Arabella wasn’t immediate family, he’d had to sit tight and deal with all the other bullshit first. Not an easy feat when he was a man who was used to getting what he wanted, right when he asked for it.
As soon as one of the nurses told Maddux she was going to get his discharge papers in order, he finally did the one thing he’d been dreading and called his sister. He’d opted for Tempest over Hunter since he’d been drinking earlier this evening, and quite frankly, Maddux wasn’t in the mood to deal with his brother or the fact that he’d been the catalyst who’d put Arabella in harm’s way. Maddux had calmly told Tempest he’d been in an accident—though he’d kept the details vague—and that he was at the hospital and was fine, but now needed a ride home. His car was still at the house where Gavin had taken Arabella, and Maddux would have one of his security guys go and pick it up later.
He’d heard the worry in his sister’s voice, but she wasn’t one to fall apart or have a meltdown. Tempest had always been strong and steady in the face of any kind of adversity, and she’d be grateful that Maddux was still alive, no matter the circumstances. That was Tempest . . . always seeing the positive in everything.
As for Hunter . . . Maddux wasn’t sure what to expect of his brother these days, but as much as Maddux wasn’t looking forward to the conversation to come, he needed to sit both his siblings down and tell them about the private, in-depth investigation he’d started years ago on Theodore, Gavin, and Addingwell Financial. He was certain they’d both be relieved to know that Theodore and Gavin were already behind bars and would likely remain there.
“He’s right in here,” Maddux heard a woman say, right before the
RN led Arabella into his room. “It’ll be about fifteen minutes before the paperwork is completed and he’s discharged.”
“Thank you,” Arabella said softly, and as soon as she saw Maddux, a combination of relief and worry etched her beautiful features as she walked over to the side of his bed.
The skirt and blouse she’d worn to work that day were wrinkled and disheveled, her hair was tousled around her head, and she had dark smudges beneath her eyes. Her face was pale, and he hated that she’d had to endure the stress and scare of everything Gavin had put her through that evening. But she was alive, unharmed, and in one piece, and that’s all Maddux cared about.
And because he did care about Arabella and only wanted the best for her, he knew he was going to have to let her go, no matter how much he wanted to keep her forever. But being the man responsible for putting her father away, probably for the rest of his life, was something he didn’t think she’d ever forgive him for. In truth, she’d possibly grow to hate him or resent him, and could he really blame her when he’d been the one to destroy her life in one fell swoop?
He clenched his jaw. Honestly, the whole situation had been destined for heartbreak from the moment he’d agreed to take her in exchange for her father’s debt. Maddux had wanted Arabella and all that sweet innocence, and because of his own selfish desires, he’d put her in a daunting situation a woman like her never should have been exposed to. It didn’t matter that she’d found a way to make him smile more than he had in years. Or how he looked forward to watching her humorous antics or listening to her amusing dialogue through his security cameras. And mostly, how she made his soul feel lighter than it had since before his parents had died.
How funny was it that his greatest enemy’s daughter had been the one to penetrate all those walls, tear down his emotional barriers, and make him crave everything with her? Love. Commitment. The possibility of a future.
Except she was never meant to be his. Their entwined pasts and fate had made certain of that.
“Hey,” he said, his voice sounding and feeling like sandpaper in his throat as she stopped beside his bed.
“Hi, yourself.” She smiled at him as she reached out and brushed his too long hair off his brow, her fingers gentle and cool against his warmer skin. “I just had to see for myself that you’re okay.”
“It’s going to take more than a regular bullet to take me down,” he teased, not wanting her to worry about him. “A few stitches and I’m good as new.”
“Maddux . . . I want to thank you for risking your life for mine,” she said as tears shimmered in her blue eyes and her bottom lip trembled. “And mostly, I’m so sorry that my father and Gavin were responsible for your parents’ deaths. They both admitted to everything. How they were extorting money from them and other businesses and starting the grease fire in your parents’ diner that ended up killing them both. Your hatred toward both of them is understandable. I can’t even imagine the pain you and your brother and sister have gone through over the years, while my father and Gavin have continued to just live their lives as though nothing ever happened.”
He groaned, hating the agony in her voice. And when she blinked and a few tears rolled down her cheeks, he lifted his good arm and tenderly wiped them away with his thumb. “Bella, you have nothing to apologize for. What happened wasn’t your fault. You had no idea who your father worked for or what he did for a living.”
“How could I have been so blind . . . to everything?” Her fingers skimmed down to his jaw, then lower, into the collar of his shirt, where she caressed the disfigured skin along his neck that he’d refused to talk about with her days ago. “These scars . . . were they caused by the fire that night? Gavin said you were there.”
He wasn’t sure what she’d been told by Gavin, but Maddux finally wanted to share that part of his past with her. Not because he wanted her to feel bad about what had happened but because, for the first time in his adult life, he knew he’d met a woman who truly cared. And she deserved to know the whole truth.
“Yes,” he said, and forced himself to go back in time to that terrible night that changed everything for him and his siblings. “Your father and Gavin were extorting money from the small businesses in the area, and my parents were so tapped out financially from paying your father and Gavin every month, while trying to support a family and pay their normal bills, and when my father finally put his foot down and told them he didn’t have the money, they decided to make an example of my parents, so all the other businesses wouldn’t revolt, too.”
Arabella’s fingers fell away from the side of his neck, and Maddux grabbed her hand, wanting that physical connection with her while he shared the most harrowing night of his life. “That night, after closing time, when my mother was in the back office doing paperwork, Gavin found a way into the diner and started the fire that blocked the way out of the office and the emergency exit, as well. My father and I were on our way back to the restaurant to pick up my mom when we saw the flames and the fire trucks arriving, and my dad didn’t hesitate to run in to rescue my mom.”
He swallowed hard as those awful, helpless emotions he’d kept buried for fourteen years threatened to break free. “The fire was so bad and spread so quickly, and I reacted on pure instinct when I pulled my father back out, then rushed in myself to save my mother, who I could hear screaming for help.”
He shuddered at the horrific memories that still haunted his dreams and met her grief-stricken gaze. “But honestly, there was absolutely no way I could safely get to her. My shirt sleeve caught on fire just as a fireman dragged me out of the diner. The guy ripped my shirt off and snuffed out the spreading flames pretty quickly, or the burn would have been much, much worse. But that’s when I saw my father lying lifelessly on the ground, being worked on by paramedics. He’d suffered a cardiac arrest, and no matter how hard or how long they tried to revive his heart, they just couldn’t. I lost both of my parents that night.”
A soft sob escaped from her lips, and the tears she shed on his behalf nearly shattered his heart. She leaned over and very gently hugged him, keeping all pressure off of his bad shoulder where the wound was. Her fingers slid through his hair, and she buried her face against his neck. “Maddux, I’m so sorry. I’d do anything to go back in time and change that day for you.”
Tears stung his own eyes, and he gently smoothed his hand over the back of her head. “There is no changing the past, Bella. All I knew in that moment was that I was going to change the future,” he said, needing to finish the story.
She straightened, her somber, understanding gaze looking in his. “Your revenge against my dad and Gavin.”
He nodded. “Yes. My father told me about what Theodore and Gavin were doing prior to the blaze at the diner, and I knew it had to have been them who set the fire. So I found your father and confronted him, and while neither he nor Gavin ever admitted to setting the fire back then, your father told me point-blank that bad things happened when the protection fee wasn’t paid, and that the other businesses needed to understand that there were consequences. I later found out that Theodore paid an official to cover up the fact that the fire was arson.”
She shook her head, her expression pained. “God, that’s not the father I knew. But knowing the true story, I can understand why you wanted to ruin him. He stole so much from you and Hunter and Tempest, and nothing can ever change that.”
Yes, Theodore had stolen what mattered most to him and his siblings. And from that moment on, Maddux had vowed to one day bring down Theodore and Gavin. He’d become a bitter, coldhearted man outside of his brother and sister, his sole focus to amass as much fortune as possible so he could use that money and power to strip Theodore of everything that mattered the most to him.
And Maddux had finally succeeded . . . at the cost of devastating Arabella’s life, too. And while there wasn’t an ounce of bitterness or anger or hatred toward him in those soft blue eyes of hers right now, there was every chance that time would change all that. Whe
n everything finally sank in and she realized how ruthless he’d been in his quest to take down her father. The possibility that she’d one day come to hate him made his gut twist as sharp as a knife.
She suddenly worried her lower lip as she looked down at him, her brows furrowed. “Tempest and Hunter . . . do they know what happened tonight?”
Arabella tried to pull her hand from his, and feeling her attempt to try and withdraw from him, Maddux tightened his hold, suddenly sensing that everything was about to change. “Not yet. After I watched you get pulled into the car off the street, my only thought was to get to you as quickly as possible, and I didn’t have the chance to explain anything to either of them.” Though he intended to. “My sister is on the way to the hospital to pick us up, and I’m sure she’ll be bringing Hunter with her.”
At the mention of his brother, Arabella stiffened, panic flashing across her features. “I need to go.”
He frowned. “Go where?”
“Home. My home.” She gave her hand a firmer tug, forcing him to release her. “There’s no reason for me to go back to your place now that my father is in custody, and the last person your brother and sister are going to want to see right now is me, especially when they find out that you took a bullet to save my life. I’m sure Hunter will have a few choice things to say about that, which I’d rather not be around to hear.”
“Fuck Hunter,” he said on a low, furious growl, because he could feel her slipping through his fingers, even though he knew she’d never been his to begin with and this was always the way it would end between them—going their separate ways.
But still, his heart was beating so damn hard in his chest at the thought of losing her, and desperation suddenly gripped him. “Come home with me until we get everything figured out.”