Then, I went in search of Ben.
I knocked on the bathroom door. “Hey, Ben. It’s Maddox. You can come out now.”
I heard the lock click, and the door opened a crack. I waved at Ben. Then, he flung it open, threw himself into my arms, and started to cry.
Forty-Seven
Addison
Olivia threw her legs up onto my desk and crossed them at the ankles. “Holy shit. I couldn’t have asked for better PR.” She turned her laptop and showed me her screen.
A former Navy SEAL, who’s been accused of attempted murder, came to the rescue of a woman and her young son last night.
She turned the computer back, so she could see it and lowered the volume. “He’s made the news. All the way in Des Moines.”
Yeah, it was great for Maddox’s reputation, but…
“You know there is a woman in the hospital with a broken arm, a broken eye socket, and three cracked ribs, who was raped, right?” I now had two people I had to visit in the hospital, and it was hard because the hospital was an hour away.
Olivia sighed. “I know. And I feel sorry for Clara.”
“Claire,” I corrected.
She waved my comment away. “Claire. Whatever. But it’s not like Maddox made her ex come back and beat her. We might as well enjoy the publicity.”
I shook my head. “I could never be a defense attorney.” Ironic since Maddox not having a good defense attorney twelve years ago was the reason I had gone into law. Now, I was happy with writing wills, working on estates, and handling the occasional misdemeanor. Felonies were something I didn’t want to be involved in, especially high-profile ones.
“When is Maddox going to get here anyway?”
“He and the guys went back to sleep for a bit. I told Maddox I’d hold you off for a while.”
She mock laughed. “You’re so funny.”
“Seriously though. He went there at about one in the morning, and by the time the sheriff and state police came and took their statements, it was about four a.m. They were tired.”
“Well, I hope he gets here soon. I have to be back in Des Moines for an appointment this afternoon.”
Just then, the front door opened, and Maddox walked in with Tommy and Evan. I watched them through the open door of my office.
“Hey, Serena,” Maddox said.
“Hey, Uncle Maddox.”
“Guys, this is my niece, Serena.”
“Hi,” she said.
“Serena, this is Tommy, and this is Evan. I used to work with them.”
They both smiled at her.
“Nice to meet you,” Evan said.
Maddox pointed to his friends, moving his finger from one friend to the other. “The rules that apply to Addison also apply to her.” He pointed at Serena. “Hands off.”
Olivia made a noise, and I looked over at her.
“Please tell me I’m not representing some caveman,” she said in a low voice.
I laughed. “Don’t knock it till you try it,” I whispered back. “Maddox would never boss me around…except in the bedroom.” I wiggled my eyebrows. “There’s something hot about being dragged off to the cave by your hair and being taken from behind.”
She looked at me like I was crazy. “No, thank you. I’ll stick to nice, respectable men who treat me like a lady.”
“Your orgasms must suck,” Flash said from behind her, “and be super boring.”
I had just taken a sip of my coffee, and I about spit it out from laughter when I watched Olivia jump in her seat.
She dropped her feet, turned around in her chair, and glared at him, her brown eyes narrowed in anger.
He shrugged. “If you even have any at all. Excuse me, miss. I’d like to make you come now,” he said in a voice slightly higher than his own. “Okay, but be careful. I can’t ruin my hair or my makeup,” Flash said, pretending to be Olivia.
“You don’t even know me.”
Flash laughed. “I’ve met your kind before. Big and bad to the world, but behind closed doors, you need your ass slapped and your pussy pounded.”
Olivia gasped, and I bit my lip to keep from laughing. This was a different side of Flash than I’d seen the morning I met him.
“Flash,” Maddox said, coming into the room, “leave my lawyer alone. I want her to defend me, not run away, cursing my name because of my friends.” He stepped around his friend. “Please don’t throw my trial because of one asshole.”
Olivia patted Maddox’s hand. “Don’t worry. I’ve dealt with worse men than him before.” She looked at Tommy. “Nice name,” she said sarcastically.
He snickered. “It’s a nickname, sweetheart.” He raised his eyebrows. “You can ask Addison about it later.”
She threw her hair over her shoulder. “I don’t think so.”
Tommy shrugged. “Like I said, boring.” He laid his head on his shoulder and pretended to snore.
Maddox socked him in the gut. “Knock it off, asswipe.” Then, he walked over to my chair and lifted me out of my seat.
I squealed.
He sat down in my chair and settled me on his lap. “So, what do you want to go over today?” Maddox asked and nuzzled my neck.
Evan walked into my office as Olivia said, “Well, first, congratulations are in order for what happened early this morning. This will look very good to any potential jury.”
Tommy scowled. “Mad Dog didn’t do it for the publicity. We did it because someone was in trouble.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “I know that. But it helps our case nonetheless.”
“She’s kind of right,” Evan said. “Everyone was waiting to shake Mad Dog’s hand when we went to get breakfast this morning. Ours, too. But they were looking at Mad Dog like he was a hero.”
I looked at Maddox, and he scowled.
“Everyone likes me now, I guess. Me being me wasn’t good enough,” he said the last sentence for my ears only.
I kissed him on the cheek. “You don’t need them.”
Olivia went over a few more things with Maddox, and then the guys took off.
I went through some of my paperwork while Olivia typed away, but I noticed she kept giving me side-eyed glances.
“Ask me,” I said, not looking up from my desk.
“What?”
I lifted my head. “I know you want to know, Olivia. Ask me.”
She rolled her eyes. “How did Flash get his nickname? And what is his real name? I wasn’t actually introduced.”
“His name is Tommy. And he got the nickname because he said the ladies are gone in a flash when they go out to the bar.”
“I can see why.” She furrowed her brows. “He made it sound like his nickname was a good thing.”
“Well, apparently, the women avoid him because they’re afraid of his size.”
“He is a big guy. But I didn’t get the impression he’d hurt anyone.”
I laughed. “No, not his body size. The size of his dick.”
Olivia’s cheeks turned pink. I didn’t think I’d ever seen her blush before.
“Oh,” she said as she fingered the corner of her laptop. “That never occurred to me.”