Hesitate
Page 14
Gio looks skeptical, but Brodie shrugs. “I haven’t had time to gather a shit ton of intel, but it looks like CPS came when Allen wasn’t home, but Connor was, and he was filthy and there was no food in the house. His caseworker informed police of the drug paraphernalia, and when they searched, they found a lot more.”
Unfortunately for Allen, Danny won’t let him get away with owing him anything. Fortunately for us, that means Danny will be taking care of Allen, and I don’t have to worry about him being a threat to Madeline for much longer.
“Right, so the fact that Allen said Danny was going to go after Madeline doesn’t even make sense. But I’ll go to him with it and deal with whatever happens from there.” I step toward the door and lift my chin. “Thanks for the backup, guys, and as fun as this has been, I have some work to do, and I’d like to do it so I can get Madeline home.”
“I bet you would,” Gio says under his breath.
Hell yes I do, but that isn’t what this is about, this is about keeping her safe. It’s about keeping my promise to her, because even if she hates me, I want to prove to her that I didn’t lie about everything.
Chapter 15
Madeline
Q stops typing and turns around in his chair. I’ve been sitting on the couch in his office for the past hour or so staring at the back of his head while he got some work done. He hasn’t told me anything about Allen yet, but right now, I just want to go home so I can go to sleep. I kind of don’t even care because I’m just so tired. “I only need a little more time. Hang tight, okay?”
“Okay.” I have nothing else to do, so I rest my head on the back of the couch as Q works, the rhythm of his fingers on the keys so soothing that it makes me relaxed. Or maybe it’s being close to him again. My eyelids are heavy, and I fight to keep them open but ultimately lose the battle. It could have been twenty minutes or two, I don’t know, but I’m awoken when Q runs his fingers through my hair and whispers my name. “Let’s get home, sweetheart.”
“Okay.” I agree with no protest because I’m so tired and in desperate need of a bed, but in any other case, I’d pretend to be sleeping just to listen to his voice soft like that and feel his delicate touch.
He helps me off the couch and holds my hand as we walk out of his office and all the way to his car. There are a few people along the way, but nobody even acknowledges us.
After he helps me into his car, I buckle as he walks around, and then wait for him to pull out of the garage. “I’m sorry I fell asleep.”
“I’m sorry I forgot how much you’ve been through and didn’t get you outta there sooner, but I wanted to get as much intel as I could.”
“Did you, um, find anything else out?”
He shrugs. “Yeah, I got enough.”
“Really, like what?”
“I want to get you home, Madeline. Let me do that and get you where I know you’re safe, and then we can talk, okay? I’ll tell you everything you need to know and give you all of my attention, but right now, I need to focus and be vigilant.”
I press my lips together and look out the window as we drive through the city. I guess the Q who works for one of the best security companies in the country has arrived and is all business now. He’s giving me what I asked for, and I kind of hate it. But he’s doing so much for me, and him dropping everything else to take care of me when the last time I saw him, I was nothing but a bitch means the world to me. Nobody has ever cared enough to put me first. “I just have to say thank you for doing all that you are for me. I might not have shown it well, but I do appreciate it. I want you to know that.”
“It’s my job. You don’t need to thank me.”
Ouch. That one stung.
“And on that note, I want you to know that we’re only going to your house to get your things. Then we’ll be at mine until I feel that you’re safe enough to go back.”
Um, what? “Excuse me?”
“You’re staying with me for a bit. It’s safer.”
“Is that the protocol, Q? To take your clients home with you?” I have no sarcasm or humor in my tone because now I’m pissed. He can’t think it’s okay to make decisions without talking to me about them. “Is that a perk for your clients who you’ve made come before?”
“You’re the only client I’ve made come, Madeline, so no. It’s not protocol, but it is what’s happening.”
I cross my arms. “I’m not going to your house.”
“You are.”
“I’m not.”
He takes a breath, and I see him trying to calm himself down. “Remember when I told you I’d keep you safe?” he asks without letting me answer. “This is me keeping doing that. Don’t worry, though. You made it crystal clear where you stand, so me making you come won’t happen again.”
I almost can’t believe he’s being like this, but then again, I really don’t know him so I shouldn’t be surprised. Whatever. I’ll let him bring me back to my apartment, then I’ll lock myself in my bedroom. My arms remain crossed, and I turn my head to look out the window.
He parks illegally, and when I reach for my door handle, he grabs my wrist. “We didn’t go over any of this stuff because I didn’t have to with you before, but quick lesson; you don’t go anywhere without me. I lead, I always go in first, you do exactly what I fuckin’ say, and you do not, under any circumstance, throw a hissy fit because you’re pissed at me and put yourself in danger by trying to get away from me. Got it?”
“What happened to the Q who was sweet to me?”
“That Q needed you to think he was sweet so you’d let him stick around. This Q, the man I really am, I’m not sweet. You fell in love with someone who told you what you wanted to hear and treated you how you dreamed to be treated.” I try to hide the pain on my face when he reminds me that I fell for him, but I’m pretty sure I completely failed because he sucks in a breath and drops his head closer to mine. “Both of those guys will do whatever it takes to protect you, sweetheart, so—”
“You don’t get to call me that anymore, Q. You’ve made it clear where I stand, so if you wouldn’t mind leading the way so we can get on with it, I’d appreciate that.”
The muscle in his cheek clenches, but he nods and steps back. With his hand in mine until I get out of the car, and then at the small of my back until we get up to my apartment, I let him do what he thinks he needs to do. He stands vigil as I unlock my door, and when I push it open, I march past him. “Dammit.” He slams the door, and I hear his feet behind me. “Madeline, fucking wait.”
Ignoring him, I make a beeline for my room, but when the door is thrown open and a masked man dressed in head-to-toe black rushes out, I scream. The guy reaches out and shoves me so hard I hit my head on the wall and freefall backward, but Q is there to catch me. “Fuck.” He hauls me up and wraps an arm around my chest, and when I blink the stars away, I see him with a gun in his hand.
Q
I can’t believe I overlooked something so stupid as to her still having my phone. So, so fucking stupid. Because of that, I didn’t get the alert when there was a breach to her apartment or the call from Brodie letting me know. Otherwise, whoever the hell that was never would have been able to get close enough to breathe the same air as her.
Fuck!
I’m so consumed with everything that’s just her that I’m totally slacking.
I was only about three steps behind her, and my options were either catch her or go after him. I chose her. I’ll always choose her. I could have gotten a shot off, but with her so close and not knowing if he had a gun, I wasn’t going to risk it.
“He’s ghost, brother.” Brodie showed up about two minutes after we arrived. He got the alert that the window to her spare room that’s attached to the fire escape was compromised. By the time he got here and made contact with me, whoever the fuck that was, was long gone.
I put my hands on my hips and tilt my head back, sucking in air to try to calm myself down enough to go back inside to talk to her. “I know.”
“I’ll go back to the office and do some more digging to see if I can get a clearer frame to do facial recognition with his eyes, but whoever he is, he’s a professional. Hate to say it, but I don’t think we’re gonna get an ID on him. We’re just gonna have to wait until he shows up again.”
“Yeah.” And that’s what’s scary. But until I know more, the best I can do is take care of her right now. “Thanks for getting here so fast.”
“Anytime. Go take care of her, and I’ll keep you posted.”
We give each other fist bumps, and I head back inside to find her sitting on my couch, knees bouncing, chewing on her nail. Her face is splotchy from crying, and the ice pack I gave her for her head is melted and sits on the floor at her feet. “Q.”
God, just one word… no, one fucking letter undoes me. “Let’s get outta here, okay? I wanna get you home.”
She doesn’t argue this time at all. “Okay.”
The ride to my house is relatively silent, and I can tell by the way she’s holding herself with her arms wrapped around her chest that she’s terrified. Hell, I’m freaked. All the unknown shit with her mom, Allen, and now this guy. What the fuck is going on? I have no clue who was in her apartment or why he was there, but I will find out.
Brodie is going to try to work things from his angle, but right now, I need to take a step back from all the work shit and focus on her, making sure she’s as okay as she can be given the circumstances. I pull onto my street and slow as I reach my driveway.
My house is in an older neighborhood where the homes sit on a minimum of half an acre. I had everything remodeled on the inside, and I installed a top of the line and probably overly extensive security system. Seeing as I do what I do and know what I know about people, it made sense for me to be able to give myself the jump if someone tried to break in. But now that I have Madeline staying with me, I’m glad I did it.
She sits up and looks around as I wait for my garage door to rise. “This is where you live?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s very… domesticated.”
“I know.” She doesn’t need to know why I picked this area originally because that part of my past doesn’t even matter anymore.
Her lips tilt up in a smile for the first time tonight. “I didn’t picture you living in suburbia. I thought you’d be in some high-rise condo looking down at the city or something.”
I pull inside and hit the button to close the garage. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” I mean it as a teasing joke, but her face falls, and she rolls her eyes. “I didn’t mean—”
“Whatever. I’m just tired and want to go to sleep.”
Nodding, I shut the car off, and by the time I get out, she’s made her way around to the front of the vehicle and is standing by the door. Stubborn. She’s so damn stubborn.
“Give me a second when I get in to shut off the alarm, then I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.” As soon as I open the door, the warning sounds, and I have less than fifteen seconds before alerts get blasted. I type in the code, then wait for it to reset and type in the second code before the system disarms. “One minute. I need to reset it.” I do the same process over again, but in reverse, and when the red light comes on, I turn to her. “Ready?”
She covers a yawn as she nods, and I smile, then out of habit or something, I take her hand and lead her down the hallway of my ranch-style home. She doesn’t pull away, and after all that she’s been through, she probably needs the comfort right now, even if it’s from someone she hates. We pass my office, the second bathroom, and the empty spare room that I have gym equipment in, then I push open the door to my room. “Here ya go.”
Her feet dig into the floor, and our hands fall apart. “This is your room.”
“Yeah. Don’t worry, I’ll change the sheets real quick.”
“Why? Because they smell like porn star?”
I narrow my eyes at her, and she takes a step back. “Enough of that shit, Madeline.”
She swallows and averts her eyes, guilty for acting like a brat. I know the only reason she’s being this way is because it’s a defense mechanism, so I get it.
“You’ll have the bathroom to yourself, and the bed is more comfortable than the couch. If you wanna go ahead and take a shower while I get you clean sheets, go ahead.”
“You don’t need to change your sheets, Q. It’s not like we didn’t sleep in the same bed together for an entire month.”
“They’re not dirty. I just thought you wouldn’t want to sleep in the same sheets that I did.”
The tip of her tongue peeks out and touches the cupid’s bow of her upper lip. “No, I want to. I mean, I don’t mind, it’s fine.”
“I’m wiped. Do you need anything before I go to bed? There’s a package of bottled water next to my bed, but if you want something else, let me know now ’cause I’m about to crash.”
“I think I’ll be fine, but are you sure you don’t want the bed? I’ll be fine anywhere.”
“I want you in here. It’s the safest place. Should anyone be stupid enough to try to fuck with you here, I’ll be closer to the doors so I’ll be able to kill them before they get anywhere near you.”
* * *
I wasn’t sleeping, but even if I was, her frightened, helpless scream would have woken me up. All night she’s been tossing and turning, whimpering and sniffling. I’ve given her space, but I can’t take it anymore. I push up off the couch and walk down the hallway, but forgo knocking on the door.
She sits abruptly and begins to scramble away from me. “Q?”
“Yeah, it’s me.” I come to stand next to the bed and brush hair off her damp forehead. “You’re okay. I’m here, sweetheart. Nobody’s gonna hurt you.”
“You’re here,” she mumbles.
“Yeah. I’m here.”
Her fingers clutch the sheets, and her bottom lip trembles. “I’m sorry. I can’t sleep. Can you… would you… just hold me?”
“Madeline…” Me in the same bed with her isn’t a good idea.
“Please. Just tonight.”
It’s my job in more than one way to make sure she has everything she needs, and if this is what she wants, then I’ll give it to her. “Scoot over, sweetheart.” I lift the covers up and climb in next to her. When I think she’s going to roll to her side, she does, but not the side I thought.
Instead of her back to my front, she faces me. Burying her face in my chest, she wraps one arm around my waist and intertwines our legs. She squeezes her other hand between our chests and clutches my shoulder.
The way she molds into me, like the way yin and yang become one, couldn’t be more perfect. I flex my biceps to give her the assurance that she’s safe in my arms, and when she sucks in a breath, it’s shuddery. “You okay?” I ask the top of her head.
“I don’t know why I’m so scared.”
“Because what you went through today was scary.”
“No, it’s because you weren’t here. I’m not scared when you’re with me.”
I reply by squeezing her tighter, loving that she feels that way.
“Between Allen and that man, it wasn’t until I was alone in your bed that I realized I wasn’t even really afraid today because you were with me. Maybe it’ll kick in tomorrow or maybe I’m in shock, but I just feel like… I dunno. You’re just here.”
“I am.” Damn, I’m not gonna be able to let her go. I need to make her love me again because I didn’t stop loving her. I need to prove that it’s worth the risk because we belong together.
“You really have no clue who that was or what he wanted from my apartment?”
&nbs
p; The shit part of all of this is I can’t give her an answer. “I really don’t know.”
“And you don’t think we should call the cops and report it?”
This wasn’t random. It was personal. “No, I don’t. We have more resources than them, so once we catch whoever it is, then we’ll turn them over with all the evidence.”
“I know you’re tired, but can you please tell me something? If I know more, maybe I’ll feel better. It’s all this unknown stuff that’s making me insane because my mind won’t stop moving, and I’m imagining the worst-case scenarios.”
“I can tell you this; you’re safe. Right now, in this bed with me, you’re safe. Nobody is getting to you, and nobody will. Let me take care of you, and please, Madeline, give me your fear. I’ll take it. Hell, I want it.” Knowing how much she’s freaked out gives me even more motivation to find this fucker.
She sniffles, and since my chin is at the top of her head, I can’t see if it’s because she’s crying or not. “You’re being so nice when I was such a bitch to you. I don’t—”
“We’ll talk tomorrow. Just sleep, sweetheart.”
Chapter 16
Madeline
I wake up in the same position I fell asleep in; snuggled close and held tight in Q’s arms. I have no idea what time it is, but the sun is barely shining in through his blinds, so it can’t be that late yet. I don’t want to get up, but if I stay here, I’ll be tempted to do things to him that I’ve fantasized about since the first time I saw him.
As slyly as I can, I slither out from between his arms, and he rolls over to his back. My God.
The man is sex on a stick. It doesn’t matter if I was or currently am mad at him, there’s no denying how damn hot he is. Right now, he’s got one muscular arm thrown over his head, the other resting on his flat, defined abs. His left leg is kind of cocked to the side and the right one straight.