by Sarah Morgan
“Well—” Her mother was silent for a moment and then breathed deeply. “I guess we should talk about something else, then. I got a job. Not a fancy job like yours, but it’s still a job. I’ll be working in a deli.”
“That’s great, Mom.”
“And Brad is taking me to dinner tonight.”
“Right.” Frankie wondered how long Brad would last, and then decided it wasn’t her business. Her mother was an adult and it was up to her how she lived her life.
And Frankie was going to live hers. Really live it, not do what felt safe.
“You should be going. We can have a longer chat another time, but right now you have more important things to do.” Her mother reached for her purse. “I’ve got this.”
Frankie hid her surprise. “Thanks, Mom.”
Gina Cole stood up. “If you feel like texting me later to let me know how things went, then do that. And if you want to talk—or anything—” she breathed “—I’m not giving you any advice. Just carry on doing what you’re doing. You do it so much better than I do, anyway.”
Frankie hesitated and then leaned forward and gave her mother a hug. It felt tense and a little awkward, but it was still a hug. “I love you, Mom.”
Her mother held her so tightly she couldn’t breathe. “I love you, too. Now go.”
Before going home Frankie paid a visit to one of Eva’s favorite stores and bought herself a dress in a beautiful shade of green. She paid, ignoring the cost, and wore it right away. It showed more leg than she’d ever shown in her life before and it felt strange, wearing a dress, but it also made her feel oddly confident.
With the rest of her clothes stuffed into a bag, she rode the subway home, her palms clammy.
The closer she got to Brooklyn, the more nervous she became.
What if Matt had lost patience with her insecurities?
No. No, that wasn’t going to happen.
All the same, she was desperate to put things right and she virtually ran the distance from the subway to their brownstone. She was about to head straight up to Matt’s apartment when she saw that the door to her own apartment was open.
Wondering if Roxy had left it open by accident, she went to investigate.
Maybe they needed to fit some sort of child lock. If Mia wandered out onto the street it could be dangerous. She’d talk to Matt about it.
“Roxy?” She walked through the open door and sensed immediately that something wasn’t right.
The apartment was empty.
Where was Roxy and why had she left the door open?
She wandered through to the kitchen and heard glass crunch under her feet.
“Crap.” The small window that opened from the kitchen into the garden was broken, and glass glittered over the tiled floor.
She stepped back gingerly, trying to avoid the worst of it. Was it burglars? That seemed the most obvious explanation, but there was no sign that anything had been taken. And why break the window and then come in through the front door? Or had they gone out through the front door?
She tried to make sense of it, and while her mind was working she heard a sound behind her and realized the apartment wasn’t empty.
She’d been wrong about that.
Her stomach dropped with fear and she turned quickly but she was too late.
A hand came over her mouth and she was slammed up against the wall.
“Where’s Roxy?”
She felt a hand tighten around her throat and then a man’s face pressed up close to hers, his expression ugly.
Frankie forced herself to stay still and think. She had no idea where Roxy and Mia were, but their new favorite place was the park and she was guessing they’d gone for a walk. Which meant they could be back at any moment.
Using a move she’d practiced hundreds of times, she knocked the man’s hands away from her throat and brought her knee up hard.
He gave a grunt of pain and made a grab for her, but she hooked her leg under his and brought him crashing to the floor.
“You crazy bitch.” He howled in agony as his head smacked into the floor and his shoulders landed on the broken glass.
Frankie hit the floor with him and felt pain shoot through her knee.
“Yeah, that’s me. Pleased to meet you.” She yanked his arm behind his back and twisted it hard, thinking they could probably hear his yells up in Harlem.
She hoped someone would hear.
And then she heard a sound at the window and saw Claws, standing in her usual place.
“No!” Frankie glanced at the glass scattered across the floor. “No! Claws! Don’t jump.”
But Claws ignored her and jumped.
Matt finished the proposal he’d been working on, removed his earphones and stood up. Mozart helped him concentrate and blocked out the noise from the street.
Claws appeared and rubbed herself against his leg.
He looked down and saw spots of blood on the floor. “What the—” He dropped into a crouch and caught her gently. “What have you done?” Lifting her carefully, he examined her paws and winced.
“You trod on glass?” He stood up, intending to investigate on the way to the vet, when he heard Roxy scream his name.
Cursing fluently, he locked the cat in the safety of his apartment and sprinted to the ground floor.
Frankie’s door was open and the lock was hanging off.
Matt strode into the apartment and saw Frankie kneeling on the floor next to the twisted body of a man who was letting out a stream of curses interspersed with grunts of pain.
There was blood on the floor, but whether it was from the cat, the man or Frankie, he wasn’t sure.
His stomach lurched.
“Oh, Matt—” Roxy was clutching Mia, pressing her daughter’s head into her shoulder. “I went to the park and when I came back the door was open and—
“Take Mia up to my apartment, Rox.”
“But—”
“Just do it.” He handed her his keys. “I’ve got this.”
Frankie looked at him. “You’ve got this? I hate to bust your knight-in-shining-armor aspirations, but from where I’m sitting it feels as if I’m the one who’s got this.” She adjusted her hold on the man and he gave another howl of pain.
Matt felt a rush of relief that she seemed to be alright, closely followed by admiration. “So you don’t need any help there?”
“Thanks, but I’m good.”
“I’ll call 911.”
“Way ahead of you.”
He scanned the broken glass, the trail of blood and the bruise on her head. He wondered how he had missed hearing the commotion, and then remembered he’d been listening to music. “You already phoned this in? How?”
“This guy isn’t much of a challenge. Brought him down with my right leg and my right hand, so my left hand was free. It’s called multitasking.”
Matt leaned against the door. “So you don’t need me for anything at all? How about compliments?”
“Compliments are good. I’ve discovered I like them.”
He scanned her slowly. “Nice dress, honey.”
“Thank you. I’m glad you noticed.”
“I’m noticing the legs, as much as the dress. They’re incredible. Anything else you need me for?”
“I need you for a lot of things. That’s why I came home. To tell you all the ways I need you. And I came to give you something. Keep still—” She growled at the man who was trying to extract himself from her hold. “I’m talking. Don’t interrupt me when I’m talking. I love you, Matt. That’s what I came to say.”
His heart kicked against his chest and his gaze locked on hers. The look in her eyes was something he’d given up hope of ever seeing. “You love me?”
The man on the floor squirmed. “For fuck’s sake—”
Neither Frankie nor Matt spared him a glance.
“I love you.” Her smile was wobbly but her voice was full of conviction. “I’ve been in love with you for years.”
&
nbsp; “So you’re saying you want to have a fling?”
“I’m not interested in a fling. Not with you. I want the whole thing, thick and thin, richer and poorer, sickness and health, but only if you one hundred percent trust in what we have.”
For the first time in his adult life Matt found it difficult to speak. “That’s what you came here to say?”
“Yes. And I came home to give you something, too, but then I found this scumbag in my apartment.” She dug her elbow into the man’s back. “You hurt the cat and got glass in my Ocimum basilicum.”
“Your what? Lady, I wouldn’t touch a single part of you, let alone your—whatever that thing is.”
Matt didn’t shift his gaze from Frankie’s face. “What did you want to give me?”
“A token of my feelings. And they’re strong feelings, Matt. I hope you’re up to handling them.”
“He’d have to be a sadist to want to go anywhere near you,” the man on the ground screeched and Frankie frowned.
“I think the word you’re looking for is masochist. Sadism would describe what I might do to you if you don’t stop interrupting what might be the most important conversation of my life. Matt, I love you.”
“You already said that.” The man on the ground squirmed. “And I don’t want to hear this shit.”
“Well, tough. You’re hearing this shit. And if you’re sensible you’ll take something away from it, like the fact that when a woman says she doesn’t want you in her life, she means it. Love isn’t something that can be extracted through pain, fear or extortion, Eddy. It’s something that is given. Watch and learn.” Her eyes locked on Matt’s. “I’m giving my love to you, Matt. All of it. All of me.”
The air left his lungs in a rush. “Frankie—”
“Shut up!” Eddy squirmed like a fish on a hook. “It wasn’t my fault! I never wanted the baby. She was the one who insisted on keeping it.”
“That’s because Roxy is a wonderful human being. You can think about that when they lock you up. And if you ever come near Roxy or Mia again, I will personally make sure you are never again able to make a baby you don’t want.”
“I’m going to fucking kill you. One dark night when you’ve forgotten all about me, I’m going to be waiting for you in the shadows. And what are you going to do then?”
Matt felt anger rip through him and took a step forward but Frankie shoved Eddy’s arm higher and gave him a thoughtful look.
“I guess I’ll do the same thing I’m doing right now. Pin you to the ground and give you a piece of my mind. You’re a wimp, Eddy. A bully and a wimp. And it’s time you took your bullying wimpy ways and left Roxy the hell alone. How can I put this so that I’m sure we understand each other?” She paused, thinking. “If you ever lurk in the shadows and try to scare me or anyone I love again, I will personally kick the shit out of you.”
“You won’t have to, because I will already have done it.” Roxy stood there, her face set and angry. “You stay away from me, Eddy. And you stay away from Mia.”
Eddy’s expression was ugly. “You’re all big and tough when you have your friends here, Roxy, but we both know you don’t have the guts.”
“Try me.” Roxy braced her shoulders. “You come within a hundred feet of my baby again and you’ll find out how much I’ve changed since I had the sense to walk away from you.” She turned to Matt. “The police are here. Can I leave you to handle it for a minute? I left Mia with James.”
“James is here?” Matt wondered how it was that his whole team suddenly seemed to be camping out in his house.
“I called him and he came right away. That’s what friends do.” Roxy glared at Eddy. “I’m making a statement. I’m telling them everything. You don’t scare me anymore.”
Matt hoped Eddy couldn’t see what he could see. That Roxy was shaking.
Eddy squirmed. “I have rights!”
“And I have a black belt in karate,” Frankie said pleasantly. “Want me to show you a few more of my moves? I’m having fun trying them out in a real-life scenario.”
Two uniformed officers entered the apartment and Eddy started to howl.
“Get her off me! This is assault.”
Matt felt a ridiculous urge to smile, an urge that faded as soon as Frankie stood up and he saw the blood pouring from her leg.
“You’re hurt—”
“I knelt on glass. If I hadn’t been wearing this stupid dress I would have been okay. I should have stuck to yoga pants.” Wincing, she pulled out a large shard and frowned at the kitchen floor. “This place is a mess. Roxy can’t bring Mia back in here until we’ve properly cleaned it up.”
“She can use our apartment for the moment.” He was by her side, grabbing a towel to stem the bleeding. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”
“I’m fine. But I don’t want to get blood on my new dress. It’s the only one I own. Did you say our apartment?”
“Frankie, you’re not fine. And yes, I said our apartment. That’s what it is, providing you meant all the things you said back there.”
“I meant every single word. And I still have to give you something. I had it all planned, and then this happened. He messed it all up!”
Matt looked into her eyes, but decided that this wasn’t the right time to tell her everything he wanted to say. “Let’s deal with Eddy, speak to the police, get your knee seen and then we can talk.”
“We need to get Claws to the vet, too. She stepped on the glass.”
“I’ll do that.” Eva stepped into the room and Matt felt a rush of affection for her.
“You hate my cat.”
“I wouldn’t say I hate her, exactly. It’s more that she scares me. But she’s injured and she needs attention, and so does Frankie. You can’t do both, so I’ll deal with the cat.” Eva glanced at Roxy and smiled. “Sometimes it’s good to face the things that scare you.”
James walked into the room holding a tearful Mia. “If you all take yourselves off and stop tramping glass around, I can clear this place up.”
“Bad man,” Mia sobbed. “Bad man shouty.”
“He’s gone, honey. You’re safe.” James stroked her back and Mia hugged him tightly and covered him in kisses.
“James horsey.”
“Later.” He unpeeled her arms from his neck and handed her to Roxy. “Take her for a walk in the park. Give me a couple of hours. I want to make sure there’s not a speck of glass left in this place. Don’t want her to hurt herself. Or you.”
Roxy stood on tiptoe and kissed him.
Color spread across his cheeks. “What was that for?”
“For coming when I called you. And for caring about my daughter.”
Matt suspected that James cared about more than just Roxy’s daughter, but he didn’t say anything.
He had his own relationship to think about.
And finally, finally, it was almost time to focus on that.
Chapter Twenty
Never guess the ending before you’ve read the whole book.
—Matt
They talked to the police and then Matt insisted on taking her to the hospital.
By the time they left, it was late afternoon and she still hadn’t said what she wanted to say.
Now that it was over, she felt shaken and sick.
Matt had refused to leave the room when she was being treated, as if he was afraid to let her out of his sight.
“You gave me heart failure, Frankie. When I walked into that apartment and saw you in the middle of the broken glass with Eddy—” He ran his hand over his face and she gave a rueful shrug.
“He had his hands around my throat. I had no choice but to throw him.”
“I wanted to put my hands around his throat for touching you.”
“You have hidden caveman tendencies. I’ve suspected it for a while.”
“He could have had a gun. Or a knife.” Matt’s tone was raw and she knew he was feeling the same aftereffects she was.
“A knife I could
probably have dealt with. A gun—” she frowned “—I prefer not to think about that.”
“I prefer not to, either, but I can’t get the image out of my head. The broken lock. The look on his face.”
“How about the image where I sat on him and almost dislocated his shoulder? Can’t you replace it with that one?”
“I’ll try. So you were, what, seventeen when you took up karate?”
“Yes, but I’m a quick learner. Turned out I had a talent for it.”
“And we’re all relieved about that.”
“Eddy didn’t seem too pleased.”
Matt gave a reluctant smile and then his phone beeped and he dug it out of his pocket. “It’s James. He says that the apartment is clean, the window is fixed and he’s spending another night on the couch so that Roxy and Mia feel safe.”
“Do you think he’s in love with her?” Frankie gave a half laugh. “Listen to me—I sound like Eva.”
“Yes, I think he’s in love with her. I think he’s probably been in love with her for a while, but nothing is going to happen.”
“How do you know?”
Matt typed a reply and slid his phone back into his pocket. “Because Roxy thinks James is too good for her. She didn’t finish high school and before James threw it all in to work in landscaping, he worked as a lawyer.”
“I didn’t know that, but I can’t imagine James caring about that.”
“I agree, but Roxy won’t. And she’s pretty stubborn.”
“She’s also brave. And very smart. Poor Roxy. How did she cope when she was pregnant and living with that monster? She must have felt so alone.”
“She told me once that if it hadn’t been for Mia, she’d probably still be living with him. Mia spurred her into leaving. But she never had the courage to give a statement to the police before now.”