Dangerous Care (Dangerous Care Saga Book 1)

by M. M. Cameron

  “Ah Ms. Davis, I am so sorry about Max. He is very good at reading people and was feeling a bit concerned about our raised voices. Why don’t I just show you around and you can finish asking your questions. I am sure you have other things to attend to and I have a busy day”. He moved to pick up his crutches resting on the table beside him and headed towards the hallway entrance, trying to only show his backside. Looking over his shoulder as he moved, he saw Kathryn’s confused look as she stumbled to gather her items and follow.

  “Well, that sounds good Mr. Pearson, I promise you I won’t be long. I didn’t mean to offend you or make you feel uncomfortable. I’m just here to help. Your agency appears to be very invested in getting you back into top shape – can I ask what your job is? Usually, they list it on the case file, but yours had very little information.” Madoc had been prepared for this question, and had given anyone who asked the same answer since he had been recruited out of university. “I’m a tech specialist. I create funny little electronic gadgets like my closet for elites who want to upgrade their estates or businesses. I install all my test models in my own home to make sure they work well. Many of my customers require me to travel to remote locations, so the crutches are a real hindrance.” Madoc headed to the nearest bathroom, which he knew to be in impeccable upkeep. Ms. Davis would see all the right equipment for someone with a disability – the large walk-in granite shower, the cedar bench, the hand-held showerhead. He hated that bathroom for those features – he certainly wouldn’t be caught dead using it now, but had installed it for the image it portrayed; normal- something he would never be.

  Chapter 4

  Kathryn had a feeling that Madoc had brought up the closet because he had heard her laugh at it earlier. She could’ve apologized, but that really wasn’t her style, and for some reason she didn’t think he wanted an apology from her. In fact, she thought he might enjoy having someone challenge his arrogant attitude every once in a while. “Oh and Ms. Davis, you might as well start calling me Madoc. Mr. Pearson seems a bit formal given your determination to know everything…” Madoc said this over his shoulder without slowing his pace. Kathryn could sense his sarcasm.

  “Of course, and please call me Kathryn,” she said, wanting to ensure the elusive rapport was not lost as quickly as it had been found. Kathryn entered the immaculate and large bathroom and quickly assessed that this would be the perfect spot for Madoc. It was beautifully decorated, with a Greek motif of white marble and blue accents that screamed authenticity. She also assessed that the soap in the soap dish had never been used, the mirror was spotless and the hand towels were perfectly folded and hung by an expert’s hand. There was no way Madoc was using this bathroom – he was trying to pull one over on her. Kathryn turned and strode out of the bathroom, heading straight towards what she thought would be the kitchen. “Hey!” Madoc called after her, “where are you going? I thought you wanted to check out the bathroom?” Kathryn walked faster. “Hey Ms. Davis… Kathryn, where are you? Excuse me, excuse me….” As she moved into the kitchen she could hear his crutches moving behind her and his voice becoming louder. “Kathryn, can you please explain what is going on,” he hollered, getting closer. Kathryn saw the fridge and bee-lined straight for it, swinging back the stainless steel French doors. “Holy God almighty! I knew it…” she exclaimed as she attempted to dodge the smell.

  “Fuck,” Madoc whispered to himself, this had gotten out of his control quickly. Not only was he hollering, which he never did, but he was starting to feel the testosterone rage again. She was going to be around a lot longer if he didn’t fix this now. Standing, propping the fridge door open with one arm, he saw Kathryn pulling out items he knew were rotten and throwing them on the long granite island. “So, when do we cut the bullshit?” Kathryn asked. He should have been pissed with her tone, with her look, with her accusations – but he wasn’t. When she had used the word “bullshit,” it had almost made him laugh. He wasn’t about to go down that easily. He liked a little challenge. “Ms. Davis… I mean Kathryn, I don’t know what you mean. I haven’t cleaned out my fridge in a while and have been ordering in to make it easy. That stuff on the island is just a sign of poor cleaning – I will talk to my housekeeper about it tomorrow.” Madoc knew full well the only ordering in he had done since coming home from the hospital was ordering another whiskey to his bed, courtesy of himself. Kathryn kept silent and continued to let him work through the awkward silence. “What was the problem with the bathroom? I think it has everything I need to sit and shower safely. It has worked perfectly for me.” Kathryn smirked at this comment.

  “Mr. Pearson, I’ve been at this a while, and while it is your right to pretend everything is hunky dory, it’s my right to call bullshit. That bathroom is perfect, but you haven’t been using it. I know this because it is immaculately clean and shows no signs of life. Your fridge has rotting food that somebody probably stocked for you when you were in hospital. The housekeeper hasn’t touched the kitchen or fridge because she hasn’t been here. So don’t blame it on her, if she even exists. You’ve got one jug of orange juice and no take-out containers, receipts, paper bags or even a full garbage can to indicate days of ordering in. Not to mention, you live in Timbuktu and the nearest take-out is a convenience store with hot fries on Friday. In my opinion you’ve been surviving on juice and whatever you use to dull the pain I see in your every move. That’s my problem.” Kathryn seemed a little out of breath when she finished and Madoc was speechless for the first time in years. They both stared at each other, the fridge door urging someone to close it.

  Madoc felt his muscles tighten. He wanted to rebel against Kathryn’s dominating and authoritative tone. He always took the dominating role with his women, his colleagues and even his boss. She had spoken the truth and he couldn’t deny that he respected her grit for saying it point-blank. He liked straight shooters and had always surrounded himself with team members personally selected for their honour, loyalty and skills.

  “Ok- you got me. I’ve been living lean the past couple of days. But I’m expecting some friends and family to come by soon. I don’t think you should worry- I’m not. In fact the only trouble I’m having is this thing” hitting his crutch on his cast “it’s heavy as shit,” he said with a grin “there are too many god-damn decorations in this house to hit it on. Sorry for my language, I just never imagined being this incapable.” Kathryn slammed the fridge door shut. “Mr. Pearson – Madoc – you are not permanently disabled, so get over it. And don’t try to be charming, it doesn’t work. It’s not my job to feel bad for you or to try to convince you to take your pain meds, which you should. You decided to leave hospital early, so now my job is to try and get you back into top physical shape by the time my contract is done. I can promise you that things will get better at some point, but by lying to me you are extending your recovery time and putting yourself at risk. Who chooses to make a fire but can’t microwave a TV dinner?” Kathryn asked, her eyebrows raised. “I’d like to see your bedroom if you don’t mind. I’m sure it is on the second floor so I will escort myself. You’d better stay down here – you have no business climbing those stairs with those crutches.” Kathryn clipped out of the kitchen towards the hallway. To Madoc’s surprise, Max followed her. Traitor, Madoc thought.

  Madoc sighed and slumped against his worktop. He knew that at this point is was futile to try and stop her. He had underestimated Kathryn Davis and he was paying for it. He should have known she would pick up on the small details – anybody with half a brain could have figured out that the bathroom was more like a museum then a functional toilet. But it wasn’t so much that she had picked up on his mistruths – more than this, Madoc was confused by the way she hadn’t fallen for his charming smile- it always worked! Most women would have melted at his disclosure and tried to comfort him. She had called his bluff – she was clearly a formidable opponent.

  Opening the fridge door, Madoc started pulling out more of the rotten food. She had won this battle but the last
thing he was going to let her do was win the war. Let her do her thing today, then get her out next time. Fuck. He remembered the state of his bathroom and his exposed security screens. “Fuck off,” he murmured, turning towards the hallway. His second big mistake was about to blow up in his face if he didn’t get up there now.

  Chapter 5

  Kathryn ascended the staircase slowly at first, but gained momentum as she hit midway, she was more than curious about what she would find. Nobody had ever lied that blatantly to her face before, especially for no reason. His arrogant and ignorant attitude even further infuriated her. He had actually thought he could outsmart her! At her own job! She was also pretty sure she caught him copping a look up her dress earlier. Typical antiquated, patriarchal bullshit.

  She raised her eyes from the marble spotted flooring and pulled herself around the thick mahogany bannister. The master bedroom was straight ahead behind large wooden French doors with wrought-iron door handles. She hadn’t noticed until then that Max had followed her up. He was sitting patiently, looking at her expectantly.

  Pulling the door hard, she was instantly hit by a smell of cedar and whiskey. It didn’t smell bad, but it definitely smelled like someone had been occupying this space full time. The room was expansive and tall, lit by an amber glow from the largest wrought-iron chandelier she had ever seen. She heard the door behind her close. The lighting from the chandelier grew slightly with each step she took, illuminating the room from a dark sunrise to an amber evening. Kathryn shook her head at this, knowing this room and its chandelier probably cost as much as her condo. Several large antique armchairs filled the space in front of the bed and held what Kathryn figured must have been a thousand-pound wooden coffee table. Five round-topped Tiffany glass whiskey holders, filled to the brim with dark brown liquor sat on top. A sixth empty one was on his bed stand. Kathryn made note of this and the fact that not one of the chairs would be suitable for him given his recent injury. She would have to call in her best friend and occupational therapist Ryanne to make a visit ASAP.

  A fresh highball sat melting on the table, its still-solid ice indicating what Madoc had been up to before she’d arrived. ‘So, Madoc, you have been managing the pain with copious amounts of whiskey,’ she said quietly as she passed by the table towards the bed. The bed was the largest she had ever seen. In fact, she was sure this was bigger than king-sized, if that was even possible. Another reason why she needed to get Ryanne out here. It was totally unsuitable for Madoc’s needs at this time. The white bedsheets were rumpled and the covers and plush pillows were pushed aside haphazardly, as if someone had exited in a rush. The bed was facing west, directly across from a recessed wall Kathryn hadn’t noticed before. She moved in closer.

  Catching her attention was a large TV sectioned off into six separate screens, each showing a different room in the house. “That son of a bitch…” Kathryn mouthed. Not only had he seen her pull into the driveway, fix her lip gloss and stumble her way up his stupid-ass cobblestone driveway, he had seen her yell into the door monitor and hallway. Being filmed really freaked her out, and remembering she had given her palm print really put her on edge. This was turning into the craziest consultation she had ever done. Was he some kind of genius psychopath hopped up on too much whiskey? Or just a rich bachelor with a strange job who desired privacy above all else? Either way, something about him scared and excited her.

  Facing the room from the west, Kathryn was now able to see the adjacent wall and the slightly opened door that she assumed led to the master bathroom. This was the bathroom she had wanted Madoc to show her originally. As a therapist, Kathryn could tell a lot about the state of someone’s wellbeing based upon their bathroom – it held all their secrets. Kathryn moved across the room, the light changing subtly as she opened the door and peeked in. Madoc hadn’t wanted her to see this. Used white plush towels scattered the large marble floor which surrounded the most beautiful free standing two-person carved wooden bathtub. Marble flooring transitioned into wooden flooring as it neared the tinted glass sauna room. Adjacent to this was a black granite vanity with two waterfall basins made of dark wood. A clear glass chandelier lit the way. As she put her hand on the tub, it began to fill with steaming hot water, flowing from a large copper head and open spout. Music began playing softly in the background. The water continued to pour even as she removed her hand. Turning to investigate the sauna, Kathryn almost tripped on an empty shampoo bottle, but caught the edge of the tub just in time. She struggled to regain her balance but was further thwarted by water on the floor, pockets pooling in small areas making the space a death zone.

  She shuffled to the vanity, noting how the copper trashcan was overflowing with bloody tissue and the vomit-stains on the beautiful granite sink. Kathryn imagined this was evidence from his first couple day’s home without meds. The pain from the metal rods and healing skin grafts would have been beyond what any normal person could handle, and Madoc was no different. She walked back to the bed. It was clear to her that Madoc had been living in this space full time since his discharge and had probably only ventured downstairs for more whiskey and to light an ill-conceived fire for appearances sake. Her heart softened slightly for him. She had been straightforward with him downstairs, just like every other elite athlete she’d worked with. That’s why they liked her. But even those high level athletes had parents, significant others or groupies who stepped in to help when the superstars were down and out. Madoc had nobody.

  His techie house definitely showed off his skill, but his level of seclusion and isolation didn’t make sense to her. She had never seen a techie that looked like him either; it was clear he was in tip-top shape with good genetics. She needed to ask more questions and figure out what was going on here.

  Chapter 6

  Madoc stood staring at Kathryn who was peering at his security screens with her arms crossed. She hadn’t heard him enter. He had specifically removed all cameras from the elevator in case anybody saw his bedroom viewing screens. He needed one exit route that was hard to find and unknown to any visitors.

  He watched as her mouth moved slightly as if she was having a conversation with herself. In the confined space he grew more aware of her, the tangy citrus smell she carried and the way her pony tail dipped to her lower back. He hadn’t noticed before, but she was in excellent physical shape, was more than just nice tits and ass. Her arms were firm and molded and her calves contracted slightly at her heels, showing definition and good tone. Her stomach and hips were tight and firm, but not petite by any means. His eyes flitted from one part of her body to another, and he imagined her straddling him backwards, her skirt hiked up exposing her ass separated by a black thong… stop. Stop! He couldn’t control it – he needed to break this silence.

  “Kathryn, I suppose –” he took a step forward and cleared his throat slightly. Kathryn jumped and turned. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I suppose you’ve found what you were looking for?” Madoc’s eyes drifted to the coffee table and whiskey bottles. Kathryn crossed her arms.

  “Well the whiskey bottles and the state of that bathroom were what I was expecting. I was not however expecting to be spied on. What is all this? Why do you need this level of security? I need to know more about you and your injury so that I can decide if this is a situation I even want to be involved in.” Madoc tore his gaze from her and looked to the screens that kept flipping from room to room

  “Ask me whatever you want. Come, sit,” he said, pointing a crutch towards the antique chairs. As Madoc lowered himself onto the misshapen love seat, he tilted awkwardly to the side, almost falling off. He could feel himself blush, unsure how to deal with his physical impairment. He saw her shake her head. “Madoc, can you tell me how you were injured?” her pen was poised above her notebook. Feeling unnerved, he looked up into Kathryn’s eyes and told the same story he’d told countless doctors, nurses and border security personnel. “I was hired to do a job at a little vineyard in France, just outside of Marseille. They
were looking to add temperature sensors and heaters. What they hadn’t told me was that I was working very close to a natural gas line… there was a leak and a random spark from one of my gadgets. I was lucky I was far enough away that I just caught the impact from flying debris, but it still shattered my leg and left me with some pretty bad burns.” Kathryn was busy writing these details down but stopped to look at Madoc.

  “Why didn’t they treat you in France? Why would you have waited to have surgery here in Canada?” Madoc swallowed.

  “To be honest,” Madoc said, “I couldn’t speak a word of French and didn’t really trust the small town hospital to do the surgery correctly. Spending three weeks in a rehab facility with French-speaking nurses did not appeal to me, surprisingly enough.” He was hoping she would have cracked a smile at that one, but her face remained neutral. “I just wanted to be home and the vineyard had access to a private plane that could get me home in a day, so I opted for that.”

  “Why the security cameras? What are you protecting yourself from?”

  “I’ve had several break-ins from local rich kids who know I have a lot of state-of-the-art technology in my house. I assume that since it’s not available for mommy and daddy to buy just yet, they feel entitled to the first versions from my house. Max is a good deterrent but I prefer to have evidence if and when they come back again, especially if I’m away on business.” Madoc watched for physical signs that Kathryn didn’t believe him. She continued to write notes, but stopped and looked at him. “I’m sorry that has happened to you, having your house penetrated is extremely unnerving, especially out here so far away from help.” Madoc was oddly satisfied with her emotional support, even though it was based on a lie. Kathryn continued writing notes. “Well we’ve established that you don’t have anybody else living here, but a woman I didn’t catch the name of scheduled this appointment. To be quite honest, she seemed a little uninformed about your situation – can you tell me more about her? Why is she your next-of-kin contact?” Madoc was a bit surprised she was asking about Kennedy. He sensed Kathryn didn’t have a positive experience with Kennedy.