by Tina Saxon
“I know she’s not, Jessie. She’s yours.” My voice is rushed as I try to placate her. “Your beautiful little girl needs you, Jessie. Just put the gun down.” I take a step toward her. She straightens her arm, steadying the gun right at me. I stop moving and put my hands up again.
“That’s what you’d like, isn’t it, Addison? How’s it feel to be at the end of a pointed gun? I can tell you, it’s much better on this end.” Her voice drips sarcasm as she regains a little more control. I remember how I pulled a gun on her when she ended up in Aiden’s bed, uninvited. I don’t know if she knows, but I’ve been here before and it never turns out well for the person behind the gun.
I wonder what her original plan was. She couldn’t have known I was coming over. Aiden was her target, not me. But why? She hates me. I take a couple steps to the side, in the direction of the living room. I need to move away from the door so she’s not facing it.
“Stop moving!” she yells. I immediately stop. She’s pivoted enough that the door isn’t in her direct view anymore.
“Jessie, you don’t want to do this. Think about your little girl.”
Her laugh is low and snide. “Oh, yes, I do. You have taken everything away from me.” I feel the crease between my eyebrows form. She twists her lips, studying me. “Oh, you haven’t heard? Your dearest brother is trying to take my daughter away from me.”
“I hadn’t heard.”
“Liar! Who told Brooks he had a child?” She waves the gun around as her voice escalates. I keep my eyes on her trigger finger. How is it I’ve become a psycho magnet? “You know…” she pauses and stares at me for a beat, “…Presley wasn’t even part of the plan.” She shakes her head and mumbles under her breath, then lets out a small laugh. “I hadn’t planned on getting pregnant,” she quips. There’s a small part of me that is relieved Jessie isn’t that much of a conniving bitch that she’d planned on using a child for revenge, but it’s a miniscule part because she did end up using a child.
“What exactly was your plan?” I ask, confused. I need her to keep talking. Aiden should be here soon.
“To make your life a living hell by marrying your brother.” Her tone is matter-of-fact, like it explains everything, but it doesn’t make any sense. That was a huge assumption Brooks would have married her. Even then, I’m not sure how marrying Brooks would have made my life a living hell. It would’ve sucked having her for a sister-in-law, but living hell is a bit of a stretch. I’ve lived in hell and that doesn’t even come close. I think the rational part of her brain is wired wrong. “But then I got pregnant. Timing was close enough to when I saw Aiden and made Ryan think we had sex. It was like a gift from God. Aiden and I were meant to be together. But then you had to show up and ruin everything. Again.” She spits.
My skin prickles from the anger of her words. I know it’s about to happen before it does. The gun goes off and my whole body tenses, and I instinctively put my hands up to my head, waiting for the bullet to rip through my body.
I slowly blow out the breath I was holding and gather myself, standing up straight. I haven’t been hit. Jessie, still holding the gun pointed right at me, flashes a wicked grin. “You have destroyed me. I have nothing left to lose because of you. You have taken everything from me,” she seethes. Her eyes are cold and empty.
“Jessie, don’t do this. You’re not thinking right now,” I plead. Tears well up in my eyes. I am at her mercy. I know she’s past the point of reason. I send out a silent plea. Please, God, I don’t want to die.
I close my eyes briefly and a tear escapes down my cheek. My mind races through images of Aiden and Lexi. I hope they know how much I love them. When I open my eyes, I catch a glimpse of movement toward the backside of Jessie. Aiden. He opens the door slowly, walking behind her.
The gun goes off simultaneously as Aiden takes a flying leap.
Darkness follows.
***
“Addison,” I hear Aiden repeating my name. My head feels like a hammer is beating down on it. My vision blurs at first when I open my eyes, but everything becomes clear quickly. I bring my hand to my head. I’m lying on the ground and Aiden is crouching beside me.
“Damn, my head hurts.” I try to sit up.
“Wait, let me help you.” Aiden slips his arm around my back and pulls me up. I hear sirens outside. My mind grasps onto the last thing I remember.
I frantically start looking over my body, running my hands all over. “Did she shoot me?”
“You’re okay, Addison,” Aiden says, grabbing my hands. “She missed.” He leans over and presses his forehead into mine. “Thank God she missed,” he whispers. I exhale, releasing the tension in my shoulders.
“What happened,” I ask, opening my eyes and staring into his.
“You passed out right after Jessie took a shot. You hit your head on the floor pretty hard.”
I scrunch my nose up. “Really? I passed out?” I mean, I guess it’s better than being shot, but I’ve never passed out before.
“Yes. I want you to go to the hospital to get checked out.”
“I’m fine. I’ve hit my head before, worse than this. I’ll be fine.” I look around Aiden, wondering where Jessie is. She’s sitting on a barstool, handcuffed. Her head hangs and tears run down her face. “Presley. Where’s Presley?” I look back to Aiden in a panic.
“She’s safe. Ryan called me earlier and said they were taking care of Presley today. He thought Jessie had a doctor’s appointment.”
“She’s sick, Aiden.” I look at Jessie with a twinge of guilt. “She needs help. She doesn’t need to go to jail.” I think of Presley not having her mom in her life. I know having a baby messes with your hormones, on top of the questionable state of her sanity before she even got pregnant. She’s definitely not in the right frame of mind now.
Aiden brings my hands to his lips, and he slowly nods. “I agree with you. But God, Addison…if I hadn’t gotten here when I did, she would have killed you.” The pain in his voice is all too familiar. I say the only thing I can think of to make him feel a little bit better.
“You’re my hero.”
He chuckles as he closes his eyes and shakes his head. “You’re a smartass,” he murmurs.
The pain in my head has started to lessen, but I wince as I try to get up, still holding it with one hand. Damon and the police storm in, assessing the room before continuing to enter.
“It’s clear,” Aiden states. Damon and an officer walk over to us while another officer heads in Jessie’s direction. Aiden informs the two officers about what happened when he got here. I fill in the rest. This is where I find out Aiden had texted Damon before he walked in telling him he needed backup. Still, Damon had no idea what was going down.
“I don’t know how many lives you have, woman, but you might want to save one,” Damon jokes. I hit him on the arm. The impact makes my head hurt.
“Ouch,” I say, rubbing my head.
“I’ll get you an ice pack. Get the medics in here to look her over,” Aiden instructs Damon as he walks away. I look around and notice Jessie is gone. The officer must have already taken her out.
When Aiden returns, handing me the icepack, I ask him, “How did she get in here?”
Aiden shrugs. “I never changed the locks. Since she was at my place at the beach, she could have left and made a key without me even knowing, I guess.”
I walk to the couch and gently sit down. Leaning back into the cushion, I close my eyes and reflect on the last half hour. I think about what happened and what might have happened. I can’t believe it came to this. I hope Jessie can find help; Presley is going to need her mother.
“Did you know Brooks filed for custody?” I open my eyes and look up at Aiden. He shakes his head. “I think that’s what broke Jessie. She blames us for telling him he had a baby,” I say. The cold pack on my head makes me shiver. “I can’t say I understand her, but I can see how that might throw her off the deep end.”
“Addison, you do know none
of this is your fault, right?” Damon asks, sitting down next to me. I let out a bitter laugh, thinking nothing is ever my fault, yet things always seem to happen to me. Same old shit, different day.
“It’s not,” Aiden barks out, reading my mind.
I sigh heavily. “I know it’s not my fault…directly,” I add.
“Not directly or indirectly.” Aiden kneels in between my legs, his hands resting on the top of my thighs. “You couldn’t stop the slippery slope Jessie was on. She made her own decisions and now she has to live with the consequences. Just because her decisions were based on you, you can’t blame yourself.”
I nod because he won’t change his mind, but I’m the one who has to live knowing it’s because of me Presley won’t have her mom around, at least for a while.
A paramedic walks into the room, and Aiden calls him over to check me out. He doesn’t think I have a concussion, which is good because I want to go home tonight.
Damon joins us when the paramedic leaves and tells me he called Sydney. He chuckles, telling me about Sydney needing to give Lexi money for the bad word jar. I think that’s the first time Sydney has ever had to donate to Lexi’s jar.
“She’s going to keep Lulu a little longer, give you guys some time to decompress. I’m getting off right now, so we’re going to take her to dinner.”
“Thank you,” I say softly.
“Agent Roberts,” a police officer interrupts, “we’re almost done here.” Aiden pushes off my legs to stand up and follows the officer to the other side of the room.
“Get some rest and we’ll call you when we head back your way with Lulu.” Damon leans over and places a kiss on my head. Thinking about him and Sydney makes me happy.
“Oh, hey, congrats on finally pulling your head out of your ass,” I joke.
“I guess I didn’t have a choice if I wanted a chance with her. She seems to be in high demand.”
“Don’t forget that. You better treat her right or I’ll kick your ass.” I grin up at him.
“I promise I will.”
A couple hours later, Aiden and I return to my apartment after we stopped and grabbed some Chinese takeout. Aiden spreads the food out on the coffee table while I grab a couple Coronas from the fridge. He’s been quiet since we left his apartment. I know why. I just don’t know what to say to make it better.
He’s sitting on the floor with his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. I place the beers on the table and then run my fingers through his hair. He pushes up on his knees, turning toward me, and wraps his arms around my waist. I feel him breathe in a ragged breath. His body falls lax against me as the tension in his shoulders leaves. I can’t help but feel at fault for bringing this grown man to his knees. My fingers fist the back of his hair as I swallow back the guilt. He digs his head into my stomach. “God, Addison. I love you.” His voice breaks and he squeezes me tighter. When he looks up at me, I see the pain in his eyes.
The fear of losing me.
“Aiden, I’m right here.” My breath hitches from the raw emotion reflecting in his eyes. I hate that I keep putting fear in them. I drop to my knees and wrap my arms around him, needing to comfort him and remind him I’m here. Alive. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“When she took a shot and I saw you fall to the floor, I had no idea if she had shot you.” His hand cups my neck. “I don’t think I’ve ever unarmed someone and handcuffed them so fast in my life.” He chuckles softly and ends his mirth with a sigh.
“I can’t believe I passed out. I remember seeing you and then…nothing.”
“How’s your head?” He presses gentle kisses across my forehead.
“Better. I have a knot from hell on it, but it doesn’t hurt too badly now. What’s going to happen to Jessie?” I say, sitting on the floor.
Aiden sits down by me. “I’m sure her parents will get her the best attorney possible, which is good. He’ll probably have her plead insanity.”
“I don’t think that is too far from the truth.” Aiden nods in agreement. “Someone needs to call Brooks.”
“Ryan texted me. Brooks is already on his way to New Haven,” Aiden says.
“I’m surprised how much Brooks wants to be involved with Presley.” Aiden looks at me and cocks his head to the side.
“We’re not all assholes,” he teases. “There are men out there who want to take responsibility for their kids.”
I shove his shoulder with mine. “I know. He didn’t waste any time trying to get custody. He’s this millionaire playboy. I didn’t see him as the dad type from what I’ve read about him.”
“Well, he’s about to get his wish and be a full-time dad now.” It makes me respect him a little more.
“Growing up without a mom, it makes me sad.” I lie my head on Aiden’s shoulder. I sigh, wishing things could be different.
“You haven’t forgotten she tried to kill you just a little bit ago, right?”
“I won’t be forgetting anytime soon, but I know she’s sick. She’s being held captive in her own head. I know how it feels.”
“Hopefully it won’t be forever,” he murmurs into my hair. He’s saying it to appease me. He’d be happier if we never saw Jessie again.
Chapter nine
Aiden
Help me.
That’s the last thing Brooks texted to Addison. She’d texted him back and even called, but he didn’t respond. After what she’s been through a few days ago—her whole life, really—you’d think she’d be a little leery of receiving a message like that. Nope. Not Addison. She started packing her things up to leave. When I tried to stop her, she told me Brooks was her brother and he needed help. Yeah, we got that part in the text. It’s the why that concerns me. I told her the only way she was going is if I went with her. Thankfully the sixteen-year-old who lives next door, Hannah, could come stay with Lexi on short notice.
So, here we are, walking up to Brooks’s building. I don’t know if this is the right place since he didn’t say, but we figured this would be a good starting point. Going in blind has never been smart. I sent Damon a quick text before we left, telling him what we’re doing. He’s on standby. We check in with the security guard, and he tells us to go on up.
“Good luck,” he says as we walk away. Addison looks up at me with her forehead creased, and I shrug. Whatever his problem is, it doesn’t sound like a trap if the security officer knows. I relax a little in the elevator.
When the doors open, we’re immediately assaulted with the sound of baby cries. Deafening baby cries. I have a feeling Presley is the reason we’re here. When we knock, there’s no answer. Addison twists her lips.
“Screw it,” she says and twists the doorknob. “He probably can’t hear us anyway.”
The modern penthouse is made of mostly glass or stone and the cries echo loudly. I chuckle, thinking how out of place a baby is here. It’s sterile. Clean. Everything in its spot. I don’t know much about babies, except they have a lot of stuff. I’ve been in homes where toys litter the entire living room floor.
“Brooks, where are you?” Addison calls out.
He walks out of a bedroom. The put-together guy we saw a couple weeks ago is nowhere to be seen. His T-shirt is wrinkled and stained, his hair sticks up in all directions, and he clearly hasn’t shaved in a couple days.
“Addison, please make her stop crying,” he pleads.
She stares at him for a second, running her hands through her hair. “Um, I can try,” she says, biting her lip. “Have you tried feeding her and changing her?”
Brooks rakes his hand over his face. “I’ve tried everything. She has cried for over twenty-four hours. She won’t stop. I’m sorry I called you, I just didn’t know who else I could call.”
Addison’s brows reach her forehead. “I’m sure you have a line of women willing to come over,” she says.
“I don’t trust the women I fuck with my daughter,” he barks. “I know we don’t know each other, but you are family. I have this weird sens
e of trust with you.” His voice softens, but it’s hard to hear over the cries.
Addison’s lips curl into a smile. I know that goes straight to her heart. She’s been yearning to get to know him. This is her way in. If I know Addison, she’ll do everything in her power to help. “Okay. I’ll see if I can get her to stop. I’m going to warn you, I’ve never been a baby person so I don’t know if I can help much.”
“You’re a woman. Don’t you naturally know what to do?”
She lets out a sarcastic laugh. “I don’t think that’s quite how it works,” she says, walking in the direction of the cries. My ears are starting to hurt. I can’t imagine listening to that off and on for twenty-four hours.
Brooks paces while we wait. The cries don’t stop. After ten minutes, Addison comes out. Brooks drops his head into his hand and groans. “Do you mind if I call my best friend? She’s like the baby whisperer. When she was in high school, people paid her a lot of money to calm their babies down. If there’s anyone that can get Presley to stop crying, it’s her.” Brooks seems unsure and takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “She’s like my sister, I trust her with my life.”
“Alright. I’ll call down to security so they’ll let her up.”
Sydney arrives in fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes with a baby crying feels like hours. My nerves are already buzzing. If Sydney had taken any longer, I might have gone for a walk. Every man for himself at that point. Addison has been in the room, trying to calm Presley, but it hasn’t worked.
“Sydney, this is Brooks,” I say. He shakes her hand, and Syd gives him the once-over.
“It’s nice to meet you, Brooks. I’m assuming I’m here because of the crying baby?”
His shoulders sag and he nods. Syd asks him when the last time Presley ate was, and they talk a little about Presley’s schedule.
“Does she have a pacifier?”
“A what?”
“A pacifier. Something that goes in her mouth to help her calm down.”