Breaking Bedrock (Book Two) (16 page)

Addie toppled him, pinning his biceps to the floor with her
knees. “Hmmm. I could get used to this view.” William remarked, clearly
enjoying letting her win.

She sensed the desperation in his gaze as she trailed her fingers
down his chest. “Tell me what’s going on, William. I need you to give it to me
straight.”

“Oh, I plan on it.” He whispered, as he writhed beneath her,
feigning a struggle.

Addie rose up and lowered herself down on him slowly, before
pulling up again. “You mean like this?” she said, sinking lower.

William flipped her on her stomach before she realized what was
happening. He pulled her into the position he wanted her in, ass in the air,
head down, and gripped one arm behind her back. “No, like this. He groaned,
pushing inside her.

He held her there like that until they both found their release.
Stated and sweaty, William gently urged her all the way down as he hovered just
above her. “You make me crazy,” he said, his voice rough and hot against her
ear.

Addie smiled to herself but remained silent, trying to slow time
and enjoy in the buzz that he’d given her. William startled her when he tapped
her bare ass with the back of his hand. “Get up, they’re waiting on us,” he said,
extending his hand to help her up. Taking her hand, he led her to the shower
where he washed her with such care she wondered how the man standing before her
could be the same one who’d just dominated her and left her in a speechless
heap on the floor.

As he toweled her off, Addie swallowed the lump in her throat and
met his gaze with certainty. “I can’t keep doing this. The coming and going . .
. I can’t do it, William.”

William smiled but just slightly. “You seem to be doing okay with
the coming part.”

“I’m not joking.” Addie threw up her hands and backed away. “I
shouldn’t have come here. It’s not healthy. If we’re going to end this, then we
need to really end it.”

“What is it you want, Addison?” he demanded.

“Isn’t that what you want? To end
this?
Wasn’t that the
point of your letter?”

“I want you safe and happy. That’s what I want.”

Addie scoffed. “Yeah, well the fucked-up part of all of this is
that I only feel that way when I’m with you. Then I leave, and it’s like I’m
constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

William walked from the oversized bathroom into his massive
dressing room. He tossed Addie her clean clothes. “I lied, Addison. It’s just
that we have reason to believe that someone is feeding Hammons information
about us. He sent pictures of you that prove he’s been close.
Too close.
And he knows more than he should for someone who’s on house arrest, so clearly,
he’s either working with someone or he’s found a way to beat the system. While
we’re trying to figure out which one it is, I need to keep you away. Safe. If
he or whomever he works with knows that we’re seeing each other, it just makes
you that much more of a target. I knew I had to end it so you’d stay away.”

Addie swallowed hard. “Yeah, well, you can see how well that
worked out.”

“I need to know if you slept with him, Addison.”

“Slept with who?” Addie replied, flinching as though she’d just
been backhanded.

William’s jaw tightened. “You mean there’s a possibility that
there’s more than one person I could be referring to?”

“Where are we going, anyway?” Addie asked, changing the subject.
He’d broken her heart; she wasn’t giving him anymore.

William stared at her for what felt like an eternity before he
finally spoke. “I know I don’t have the right to ask, Addison. The truth is I’m
not even sure I want to know the answer. But I’m going to say this, and this is
the last time I’ll ever say it. I’m warning you. If you’re going to show up
here like this, don’t fuck with me. I’m not a toy that you can just take out
when you feel like playing with it and toss aside the rest of the time.”

Addie was pretty sure that’s exactly why she’d come here so that
she could see for herself that he’d been lying all along. He loved her. She’d
known that deep down. And she had prayed that he would say something to that
effect, even if it was in the only way he knew how.
So why then did her
victory feel so bittersweet?
She offered up a slight smile, swallowed the
words she so wanted to say, and instead offered up the only words someone who
didn’t want to get hurt again could muster. “Fair enough.”

William handed Addie a ball cap and wig. He instructed
her to put them on, that he had a surprise for her as he’d led her to a silver
sports car she didn’t recognize. A Mercedes McLaren, he’d later explain. It
wasn’t his yet because he didn’t want it to be traceable to him while they were
out, in case they were being watched. But when he’d asked her if she liked it
and she told him she did, he’d said that was it—he practically
had
to buy
it now. She laughed and suggested to him that perhaps this wasn’t the car to
take if he planned on being inconspicuous. Maybe they should’ve taken a Pinto,
she’d teased, as he drove her to an indoor gun range on the outskirts of town.
The place was seedy and empty. William had rented it out for the afternoon, he
said once inside, after he’d handed her a small handgun. It was a gift for her,
a 9mm handgun, and they were there to get her concealed carry license, he
explained before introducing her to a balding man, who would be her instructor.

For the next two hours, Addie practiced shooting, earning her
right to conceal and carry. “I want you to be able to protect yourself,”
William had whispered as he positioned himself behind her, showing her the
proper stance. She was apparently a natural, he told her once they were back in
the car. It was times like these Addie thought she could almost picture them
together for real. Times like this when things were so abnormal they almost
seemed normal. She never imagined that she’d ever need a gun, but something
about being with William just made everything seem different.

William had decided to drive Addie back to the lake house and
have Carl follow in her car. After being warned that it wasn’t the best idea, William
had finally agreed that he’d drive her most of the way and Carl could take her
from there. After picking up a late lunch, they found a scenic overlook and
pulled over. William grabbed a blanket that they ended up spreading out on
under an old oak tree. It had turned out to be the perfect winter day, mostly
sunny, not too cold and not too hot. They sat there like that for a long while,
talking, laughing, and watching the clouds roll by.

Finally, Addie laid her head in William’s lap and touched his
face. “I almost don’t want to go back.”

“I know, but you have to, for now.” William gently pushed Addison
up to a sitting position and looked her directly in the eyes. “About that, though
. . .” He hesitated before finally going on. “I need to tell you something,
Addison, and I need you to promise me—swear to me—that you won’t repeat what
I’m about to tell you. Not to anyone. Do you understand?”

Addie swallowed. “William.”

“Promise me.” He repeated, stroking her cheek.

“Okay.” She relented.

“I’m going to take care of him, Addison. That’s why I wrote that.
That’s why I lied, why I need you to stay away.”

Addie laughed, and when his expression didn’t change, she sat up,
searching his face. “You’re joking, right? William,
tell
me you’re
joking.”

William shook his head slightly. “He’ll never stop, Addison, not
until he wins. Men like him never do. My guys are having a tough time getting
anything on him, and the cops don’t do anything with what they do get. I know
what I’m doing, and I need you to trust me. I know I shouldn’t be telling you
any of this because now you can be implicated should something happen—if it
goes wrong, I mean. It won’t. And I’m sorry, Addison. I didn’t want to involve
you in this any more than I already have. But after I wrote that letter, I
swear I could almost fucking feel your pain, and it gutted me. When I called, I
was going to tell you, Addison. I was going to tell you what a piece-of-shit
liar I am, but I could tell how angry you were with me, and then I heard your
boys in the background, calling you to dinner. I thought about you being with
him, and I lost my nerve. Lying to you like that, knowing I hurt you and that
he was there to ease the pain I’d caused and I couldn’t do anything about, it
killed me. When you showed up last night, I thought I was dreaming. I saw the
look on your face, and it confirmed everything I already knew. I can’t take
seeing you hurt like that. I know I hurt you, and I’m sorry, so fucking sorry.”

Addie grabbed his face and kissed him hard. She pulled back as
tears sprang to her eyes. “No, William, you can’t do what it is I think you’re
planning to do. I won’t let you. Don’t you see? You’re letting him win.
This
is what he wants. I’m asking you . . . I’m begging you not to do anything
stupid. I love you and I need you. You have to promise me.”

William watched her face grow more and more serious as her eyes
plead with his. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he leaned in and
kissed her forehead. “Silly girl,” he chuckled, “you thought I was serious?”

Fourteen

Patrick knew Addie would be furious if she found out
that he’d invited Michele to the lake around their children, but what was he to
do? Michele was furious with him as it was, and she was carrying his child too,
after all. Addie would just have to deal. So far, though, inviting her there
had mostly been a disaster because as it turned out, motherhood apparently
didn’t come naturally to Michele. She seemed like a fish out of water and
pretty much kept her distance from the boys. She was cold and distant, not too
much different from how she was in the boardroom, and it worried Patrick. He
finally got up the nerve to mention it after they’d had lunch and he set the
boys up in the media room.

“Are you feeling okay? You seem, I don’t know, unhappy.”

“I’m fine.”

Patrick smiled condescendingly. “Are you sure? Because I thought
you wanted to be here.”

Michele slammed the magazine down she’d been reading. “I said I’m
fine, all right? What more do you want from me?”

“I don’t know, but I’m thinking a little interaction might be
nice, though.”

She frowned before storming to the table for her purse. “I’m
going.”

He stood and took her purse from her. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You want me to sit here and play house, Patrick. That’s what you
want. Your wife left, so you called me for back up. Well, I’m just not going to
do it. I’m finished playing second fiddle to her. And you know what? Now that
I’m having your kid and you’re busy acting like one, you suddenly don’t seem
all that appealing anymore,” Michele hissed.

“I beg your pardon,” a voice interrupted.

They turned in unison to see his parents standing there. “Mom.
Dad.”

“Who is this, Patrick? And what is she saying?”

Michele squeezed at her temples. “Oh fuck,” she whispered under
her breath. “I’m going now,” she said louder.

“Mom, Dad, this is my boss, Michele.”

They both stepped forward and shook Michele’s hand; they were
nothing if not polite.

“I thought I told you guys not to come. What’re you doing here?”
Patrick asked as he looked from his father to his mother.

“We wanted to see the children, and we were worried,” his father
replied.

“Obviously, for good reason,” Penny chided, fluffing a throw
pillow.

“Well,” Patrick started before he was interrupted by a loud thud
as Michele fell and landed motionless on the floor. “Call an ambulance,” he
screamed as his parents scrambled. “Mom, get the boys; keep them upstairs.”

“It’s okay, baby. Everything is okay.” He whispered over and over
as he rocked her back and forth. “It’s going to be all right, I promise,” he
soothed as he watched the blood pool around Michele’s head, and he realized he
wasn’t quite sure who it was he was trying to convince.