“Yes, that’s why Sparrow asked if it was his father who was…involved with your history.”
“Who sold me, Patrick. I’m being honest with you. Believe it or not, I hate telling you what happened almost as much as I hated it happening. However, I’m done living a shell of a life. I’ve done terrible things to survive.”
“You didn’t do them willingly, I suppose.”
“Does that really matter? I did them, and I need you to face that fact too if we have any hope of moving beyond.”
Again my hands found the way to the small of her back, pulling her warm, sexy body against mine. “I’m facing it. I hate what you’ve been through—not you. I’m so fucking disgusted with myself for not protecting you back then, for not finding you, for failing you.” With each phrase, I pulled her closer and closer until our bodies were flush.
“It wasn’t your fault. I never blamed you.”
“I’m fucking blaming myself enough for both of us.” I took a step back. “Madeline Kelly, I failed you. You were in the city, and I joined the military and left. I won’t fail you again. I will be beside you every damn day to remind you that I love you, that I never stopped loving you, and that you are the strongest, most determined, and most beautiful woman in the world. From the time I pulled you into that damn hole in the wall, you’re the best fucking thing to ever happen to me.”
“Patrick, I don’t know if I can tell you everything. I’m ashamed.”
“Look at me,” I said. “You know enough about the bratva to have an idea of what I do for Sparrow. I’m not a good man.”
“You are.”
My head shook. “I have done bad things. Does that make you hate me, knowing I’ve stolen, cheated, and killed? Or that I’ll do it again if called upon?”
Madeline inhaled. “I’ve never killed, mostly because I didn’t have the chance.”
A smile curled my lips. “We were meant for one another the day we met and, Maddie girl, we still are.”
“But you don’t know—”
I brought my finger to her lips. “You were upset about the institute. We don’t need to dredge up any other memories.”
“I was surprised about Allister and about Araneae. She’s a good person, not me.”
“She is, and I care for her and think she’s the best fucking thing to happen to Sparrow. I love you and believe you’re the best thing to happen to me. It’s not a competition.”
Madeline’s forehead fell to my chest, reminding me of the vest below. I lifted her chin and brushed my lips over hers. “I’m going to get out of this vest.”
Patrick
Hand in hand, we walked back to the bedroom, letting go as we entered. As I opened the walk-in closet, I stopped. Most racks held my suits and shirts. I had a few casual clothes but not many. What were glaringly missing from the closet were Madeline’s clothes.
“We need to get you clothes.” I spun back, seeing Madeline standing near the tall windows. “Or not.”
“What?” she asked, looking my way.
Tossing my suit coat on the floor of the closet, I tugged my tie free and then began with the buttons of my shirt. Madeline came closer as I peeled the shirt from my arms. She laid her hand over the Kevlar vest and looked up.
“Patrick, where were you?”
“There are some things I can’t say.”
“Or won’t?”
I nodded.
Her green gaze stayed fixed on mine. “But wherever you were, it was dangerous?”
“Not for me.”
“For Mr. Sparrow?”
I shook my head. “No, we just took preventive measures.”
Madeline lifted my shirt from the floor and held it up, inspecting it. “What if you were shot? What if there was a hole in this?” She hugged the material to her chest. “Please don’t tell me this was about me.”
Pulling on the Velcro straps, I loosened the vest and removed it. Hanging it on a wood hanger, I turned. “Maddie, you will be safe and so will Ruby. I…we will make sure of that. Today was about that but also about what Laurel was saying. Today we learned the identity of Dr. Miller.”
Madeline gasped as she stepped backward, her knees giving out as she backed into the bed. Lowering herself, she sat on the edge. “No.”
“Dr. Miller didn’t hurt only you. He and his wife were responsible for a large intake of trafficking victims.”
“Wendy?”
“Yes.”
Her head shook.
I went closer and sat beside her. “Dr. Miller…” I chose not to use his real name. “…had incriminating evidence against a lot of people, people who would like to see him removed as a possible threat.”
“Is that what you did, remove him?”
My nostrils flared as I exhaled. “We also found journals. Wendy kept better records than we anticipated. We have a lot of new information to decipher. Hopefully we can find names. If we do, Reid will run the data through the national registries and try to find other survivors, perhaps changing their last names to Miller.”
“Cindy.” Her eyes widened. “I don’t know her last name, but her first name was Cindy. She was taken to the cell house before me. Her baby was due probably in May or June of that year.”
She was asking for a needle in a haystack.
“I can’t make any promises,” I said honestly.
Madeline reached up, draping her hands over my shoulders. “Is Dr. Miller dead?” Her green orbs stared into mine.
“Yes, and also his wife.”
Her eyelids fluttered as she exhaled. “Good.”
“You’re not upset?”
“I never wanted revenge, but having you care enough to want it makes me feel…I’m not sure what the emotion is.”
Reaching for the hem of her sweater, I lifted it until her arms rose, allowing me to pull it free. “The word is loved. You’re loved. Maddie. I love you.”
Her fingers splayed over my bare chest. “I love you too, and I don’t want to lose you, not again.”
A flip of my fingers and her bra was unfastened. Next, I unbuttoned the top button of her blue jeans and lowered the zipper. Tugging them over her sock-covered feet, I pulled them off. Standing, I took her in. With only her panties in place, my wife was stunningly sensual and despite the life she’d been forced to lead, the look in her eyes was energy to my dick.
Wonder.
Trust.
Lust.
I pulled my belt from its loops and kicked off my shoes.
“No is always an option,” I said, “but if I don’t take my wife soon, I may explode.”
Maddie smiled as she tilted her head toward the bedroom door. “Shut the door, Mr. Kelly. You have a daughter who may decide to pay us a visit.”
Fuck.
It wasn’t that I’d forgotten we had a daughter. It was that her mother had my full attention.
Walking to the bedroom door and holding the doorjamb, I leaned my head into the hallway and listened. The rest of the apartment was quiet. Turning, I closed the door and secured the lock within the knob. With her gaze on me, Madeline reached for the waistband of her panties and pulled them down.