When the room cleared out and it was once again just Maggie and I, I sat down on the bed beside her and held her hand.
“Would you like to tell me what you meant earlier about the plan that you and Lola had?”
“Someone was following us. We were trying to see if he was after me or if he thought I had something. So, Lola pretended to slip me something and I pretended to put it in my purse. The guy was watching us the whole time and when we got up to leave, he followed us. Lola figured that if he just followed us, then he was after me, but if he tried to take my purse, then he wanted whatever I had.”
“He was a diversion.”
“What?”
“He was supposed to take your purse to draw Lola away from you. The car was meant to kill you. You got lucky.”
She sighed and laid back on her pillow, staring up at the ceiling. I wished that I could find a way to comfort her. It had to be difficult to know that someone was after her and they weren’t going to stop.
“I’m so sorry, Maggie. Maybe we should consider some other options.”
“Such as what?”
“There’s always going back into hiding until you testify.”
“No. What I need is to find a way to get dirt on Darren. He’s behind this. Or at least the Mayor is using him to get shit done. He’s the only one left that could possibly be doing anything.”
“Freckles, you don’t need to be worrying about this stuff right now. You just need to focus on getting better.”
“Maybe if I contacted Keith. He has better contacts at the paper, knows who we can trust.”
“You’re supposed to be on bedrest for the next week.”
“Although, now that I handed over the biggest story of the year to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, I bet I could get someone to help me out over there. Did I tell you that they offered me a job?”
“Freckles, maybe you need to-”
“Of course, now that the police are starting their investigation, I really need to be doing follow up stories. This isn’t over by a long shot.”
“Freckles-”
“I really need to give the paper an answer so that I can get started on their payroll.”
“Freckles, stop!”
Finally, she turned and looked at me with a confused expression.
“Freckles, you need to rest and recuperate. I get that you want to get out there and get your story, but you need to focus on getting better.”
“I can do both.”
“If anyone can, it’s you, but I want you to come home with me where I can help you. You heard the doctor. You need to take it easy and start physical therapy. He said it will take at least six weeks to recover. How are you going to chase down stories on crutches?”
“I-I can’t go home with you. The story is here. I need to be here where I can follow it. This is my story.”
“I understand that, but this is your life and you almost died several times because of this story.”
“I can’t just walk away. I have to finish the story. I’ll just have to have someone come stay with me at my house.”
“At your house? You do realize that that would make you a very easy target, right?”
“Then you tell me how I’m supposed to stay in the middle of the story if I’m not here.”
I didn’t know how to get through to her. I needed her to be safe and just for a while, I needed her with me where I could see at all times that she was alive and in one piece.
“Maggie, I need you to really hear me, okay?”
She nodded.
“What happened last night was too much. When I saw you lying on the ground, I thought you were dead. It almost killed me to think of you being killed because I hadn’t protected you. I need you to come home with me. Let me take care of you and help you heal. I promise, as soon as the physical therapist says that you can start doing more, I’ll take you back to your house and have a security detail set up or you can stay at the safe house again. Just, please, give me just a little time to make sure you’re okay before you run off after your next story.”
She was quiet for a moment and then nodded her agreement. “I can give you that.”
“Good.”
“Now, come up here and lay with me. I need some sleep.”
“I can’t fit on the bed with you.”
“Sure you can.” She attempted to move only to gasp in pain.
“That’s why I’m not lying down with you. I promise, when we get back to my house, we’ll sleep in a giant bed where I can hold you all night.”
“When are you breaking me out?”
“I think the doctor said later today. Why don’t you get some sleep and I’ll see if I can find out?”
Her eyes had already started drooping by the time I made it to the door. As I hoped, Lola had taken up a post outside the room without me asking. She nodded as I walked out and continued to stand at attention. I would have to talk with her later, but for now, I needed to find out when Maggie would be released.
✯✯✯✯✯
“No! I am not going to be pushed around in a goddamned wheelchair while I’m here. They gave me crutches and I’ll use those.”
I shook my head in frustration and bit back the growl that was threatening to break free. We had been home five minutes and she was already bitching about me trying to help her. I had carried Maggie inside and set her on the couch. That’s when she saw the wheelchair sitting across the living room that I’d had delivered this morning.
“Maggie, you are supposed to be resting for this week. You can’t be putting pressure on your pelvis.”
“Look, I am not a seventy year old woman that broke her hip. I can get around fine. Just give me my crutches and I promise I will follow the rest of the instructions.”
Lola walked past her with the suitcase we had packed when we stopped at Maggie’s house on the way home. “Where’s she staying?”
“Last room on the left.”
Maggie turned to me with a glare. “If you keep ordering me around, I’ll sleep in the guest room.”
“Woman, I’m trying to help you. Would you just let me?”
She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. It was getting on dinner time, so I left Maggie on the couch to pout while I went to see what I could make for dinner. Unfortunately, I had zero food in the house, so I called out for Chinese food.
“Why don’t I take you to lie down for a little bit? When the Chinese gets here, we can veg out in bed and watch a movie.”
“Alright.”
That was too easy, but then I saw her discreetly rubbing her eyes. The doctors had released her with the stipulation that she not be left alone and that I check her throughout the night to be sure her concussion didn’t show signs of a more severe injury.
I carried her back to the bedroom and thankfully, she didn’t protest when I helped her into more comfortable clothes and tucked her in. She was asleep in five minutes, so I went into the living room where Lola was waiting.
“Cap, about the accident-”
“Maggie already told me what happened.”
“I’m so sorry. I should have stayed with Maggie, but I thought it would be useful to find out what the guy wanted.”
“I understand that, but you should have called in someone else. Doing that alone breaks protocol. Our priority is always the safety of our clients.”
“I know, but she was so convincing. I had a hard time saying no to her.”
“Well, I can definitely understand that. Look, I get that Maggie can twist anything to sound like a good idea, but if you want to continue working at this company, I need to know that you will follow protocol at all times. There’s no room for mistakes or going your own way. Remember what happened the last time someone took matters into their own hands.”
I looked at her forehead where the still visible scar ran across her forehead. She ran her fingers over it and looked down.
“I know. It won’t happen again.”
“Good. Now, why don’t
you get some rest. I’ll take first shift. There’s a guest bedroom and bath down the hall on the right. Unless you want to wait. I ordered some food.”
“I think I’ll take a nap first. I’m pretty beat.”
“Alright. I’ll wake you for second shift.”
Lola went down the hall and I stood there for a few minutes just thinking about how this whole situation could have turned out so differently. I could have lost Maggie, maybe Lola too. Whoever was pulling the strings on this was not going to stop until they got rid of Maggie.
I needed more information on what was going on and the only way that was going to happen was to get back to work. I paid the delivery man when he arrived and then pulled out my phone and called Detective Barnes.
“Detective, this is Sebastian Reed.”
“Mr. Reed, it’s good to hear from you. How is Ms. Curtis?”
“She’s doing well, resting right now. We’re back at my house, about an hour outside the city. Would you be able to meet us here tomorrow morning?”
“Of course, but why didn’t you just call us when you were in the hospital?”
“Let’s just say Maggie wasn’t the most cooperative. She wanted to get out of there and I didn’t think it would be a very productive visit.”
“I see. Well, we can be out there, say ten o’clock?”
“That works for us. Have you found out anymore from the driver or mugger?”
“Neither of them know who hired them. They were both sent letters with instructions. We’re checking for prints and they should be back tomorrow some time. We ran both men through the database, but so far, we aren’t finding any links to the Mayor or Mr. Webb, his right hand.”
“Would you be willing to give me the names of the men? I could have my IT staff run it and see if we come up with something.”
“We don’t usually do that.” There was silence and I got the feeling he was trying to decide if he should break that protocol. “Their names aren’t being kept secret, so there’s no harm in telling you who her attackers were. However, as a member of the law enforcement community, I can’t give you authorization to do background checks and gather information on suspects that could be obtained illegally.”
“I would never ask you to.”
“Good. I’ll send you the names and see you tomorrow.”
I set to work on getting the information to Becky and then catching up on office work. I was going to have to be at the office most days because there was only so much I could do from home. After a few hours of working, I saw Maggie out of the corner of my eyes. She was walking down the hall, leaning against the wall and not using her crutches. Damn.
“What the hell are you doing? You’re supposed to be using your crutches. Didn’t we just have a big talk about this?”
“I’m hungry. Now stop your bitching and bring me some food.”
“You are the most frustrating woman I’ve ever met. Go back in the room. I’ll bring the food to you.”
A few minutes later, I had a tray full of food for us to eat. We spent the afternoon lying in bed and watching movies. Maggie was still wiped out from not only the medicine, but also what her body had been through. I wouldn’t be able to stay with her all the time and take care of her, but I would do whatever I could to make her comfortable.
I stayed home with her for three days, helping her with whatever she would allow me. It was really hard for her to get around on her own, but if I tried to help too much, she started snapping at me. I backed off, but was always close in case she needed me. She was just too independent though. It was like she needed to prove that she was strong enough. Kind of like when she went off on her own to investigate. She would walk into dangerous situations without thinking twice. She had the heart of a warrior. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the training, so she was likely to end up dead.
By the fourth day, I had so many phone calls from the office that I had no choice but to go in and take care of business. John’s team was busy training the new recruits and making sure they were up on our procedures. Sam’s team had just taken on a new job and that left Lola and Hunter to watch over Keith and Maggie, while Derek took on office responsibilities with me. With him helping me, I was able to leave at a decent hour and get home to Maggie.
Maggie’s patience of sitting around and waiting to get better only lasted two weeks. After a week of sitting around the house and recuperating, she started her physical therapy. By the time she was done with a week of it, she decided that she was ready to get back to work. Every time I came in the door, she was on the phone with someone talking about the trial or typing away on her laptop. She was always working.
I had to take Lola off her bodyguard duty after the fourth week because we had too much work. Since Keith was in the city, Hunter stayed with him, but at my house, Maggie was pretty safe. I had all the best security equipment and a direct link to Reed Security. I also had a panic room, so I left Maggie alone to her own devices. I found out after a week that leaving Maggie alone was not a good thing.
She was constantly leaving the house, but not checking in first. The first time I came home and she wasn’t there, I panicked and called in the entire Reed Security team. Anyone that was available was at my house in minutes. Maggie showed up fifteen minutes later with a shocked look on her face, not understanding what the big deal was. I asked her to at least leave me a note the next time she left.
I wish I could say that Maggie and I got closer with her living with me, but that wouldn’t be true. I thought living together would be an opportunity for both of us to put the other first, but instead, we barely spoke to each other, and when we did it always ended like it did last night.
“Freckles, what would you think about finding a job around here and sticking around?”
“And what? Live with you?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Sebastian, I know we talked about seeing where this went, but honestly, how can it? I live in Pittsburgh. That’s where my life is. That’s where the stories are. You live here. Unless you could move to the city?” She said hopefully.
“I can’t just move the business. I have the space I need here and it would be extremely expensive to move the entire business. Besides, most of my employees live close by. If they got called in for an emergency, it would take too long to get everyone gathered.”
“What would I do in this town? There’s nothing going on here. I mean, I heard a story the other day that could go somewhere, but I doubt a town this size has stories that would grab my attention.”
“So that’s what it comes down to, our jobs.”
“I’m sorry, Sebastian. I wanted this to work, too. I just don’t see how it will.”
I held her hand in mine, surprised at how sad it made me that this wouldn’t last. I still had a little bit of time left with her. She couldn’t just leave yet. She still had weeks of therapy before she could be on her own. I just had to grab every moment I could with her.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Sebastian
IT HAD BEEN two weeks since Maggie and I had our little heart to heart and our time together hadn’t gotten any better. I started working longer hours and Maggie started venturing out more and more looking for something to fill her time. Working from here was not easy for her, so I didn’t imagine she would stick around too much longer.
I was on my way back to the house after a long day of work when I saw Maggie hanging around on her crutches by the police station. She didn’t look like she was going inside, more like waiting for something to happen. I parked across the street and let the SUV idle while I watched her. I waited for fifteen minutes before I saw her approach a detective that had just stepped out.
My buddy, Sean, had walked away from her after she started talking, but Maggie hobbled along behind him and seemed to be shouting questions at him. I rolled down my window, hoping to hear some of what was said.
“What do you say about the allegations that you’ve been taking drugs from crime scenes?”
“If you haven’t been taking the drugs, where do you think the drugs have been disappearing to? It seems awfully convenient that it’s only drugs from your busts. Do you have any comment?”
Sean spun around so fast that I thought Maggie would topple over. “Listen, lady. I don’t know who you are. I’ve never seen you before and I would appreciate it if you would get your nosy ass out of my face.”
“I’m a reporter from Pittsburgh.”
“Let me guess? You weren’t that good at your job, so you came sniffing around our little town to try to find some big story to impress your boss with.”
“I’m a freelance reporter at the moment.”
“Even better. No one will hire you.”
I got out of my truck intending to put an end to this. I was almost across the street when Maggie spotted me.
“Sebastian, you can’t follow me around town. I’m not getting into any trouble and I’m perfectly capable of getting around on my own.”
“Freckles, why are you harassing Sean?”
Her lips pursed and her eyes flared. “I’m questioning Detective Donnelly because drugs have mysteriously gone missing from almost all of his cases. It would seem to me that he’s the common denominator.”
“Detective Donnelly is one of my closest friends and there’s no way in hell that he’s stealing drugs. Maybe you should have talked to me about this first. This isn’t Pittsburgh, you know.”
Her cheeks flamed at my tone, but I couldn’t give a shit. Sean was a friend of mine and I wasn’t about to let her itch for getting back to work let a good man’s reputation get in the way.
“Is this the woman you were telling me about?”
“Yeah, this is her.”
Sean chuckled. “Yeah, she seems just as you described her.”
“And how exactly did you describe me?”
“Feisty, a troublemaker, doesn’t know when to quit.”
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