Breaking Bedrock (Book Two) (8 page)

Addie straddled his lap and slowly kissed his chest. “So then
you’ll stop seeing Sondra, because I need a man, William. I need a man who will
give me what I need and who’ll allow me to give him what it is he needs. And I
think we both know what that is.”

“Yes! I’ll stop. Please, Addison.” William begged. “Mercy. Okay, mercy.
There I said it. There’s my safe word. There it is.”

Addie walked around, untied his hands, and slowly undressed.
“Make love to me.”

William was rougher than she’d expected. He pushed her against
the wall, shoved himself between her thighs, and pushed into her hard. As soon
as Addie climaxed, William grabbed her hips and pushed into her harder and
harder as though he couldn’t get enough, until he finally found his release.
Out of breath, he kissed her face over and over before stopping to search her
eyes. “Mercy.
Huh.
I’ve never used my safe word before, you know, but I
have to say it felt pretty good on my lips.”

Addie picked the boys up from Jess’s Saturday morning
and took them to their favorite Austin ice-cream shop, the one with the shady
playground outside, and let them each pick their own flavor.

She watched them carefully, eavesdropping upon their innocence as
they ran around playing with ice cream dripping down their faces, and wished
that she could freeze that moment in time. She wished that things would always
be this sweet and innocent for them, that she wasn’t about to change life as
they knew it.

In the past few weeks, she’d poured over books on how to help
your children through divorce. In fact, that was what she’d been reading as
Patrick packed. Admittedly, a small part of her wanted him to notice, wanted
him to beg her to stay, to fight. When he didn’t, it only solidified in her
mind that this is how it would always be. But the latest handbook on the care
of children during divorce didn’t help her much. It seemed there was just no
right way to go about it.

Addie intended to feel the situation out that afternoon and
finally decided to tell them in the car on the way home. At first, she thought
she’d gather them together in the living room on the couch and tell them, just
as she’d always seen done in the movies. In the end, though, she changed her
mind, hoping that she could make it more of a casual conversation than a
monumental one. But as they piled in the car, sweaty and sticky, she almost
lost her nerve until Connor spoke up. “Is Dad going back to China?”

Addie eyed him in the rearview mirror.
He always had been a
very perceptive child.
She gathered perhaps that was why he screamed so
much as an infant, that maybe he was simply more sensitive than the rest of us.
“I don’t know, sweetie, but there is something I wanted to talk to you and your
brothers about.”

Conner sighed. “I already know. You guys are getting a divorce.”

“What’s a divorce?” The twins shouted in unison.

Addie cleared her throat and kept her eyes on the road. “Who told
you that, Connor?”

Connor slapped his little brother on the arm. “A divorce is when
your parents don’t talk to each other anymore and then you get two houses.
That’s what happened to Lucas’s parents, and now he has two bedrooms. He likes
it because he says he gets more Christmas presents than he used to get.”

“Connor, I asked you a question. Who told you Daddy and I were
getting a divorce?” Addie probed.

“Seriously, Mom, I’ve seen your book. I
can
read, you
know.”

“Oh.” Addie bit her lip and glanced in the rearview mirror.
“Well, I want to talk to you guys about that. Daddy and I love you all very
much, but we decided it’s best if we don’t live together anymore.”

“So we get two bedrooms and more Christmas presents now!” Parker
yelled.

“No. I don’t know about that.” Addie pulled the car over, put it
in park, and turned around. “Do you guys remember when you kept fighting at
bedtime and I made you separate and start sleeping in your own rooms and how
then I would sometimes find you guys curled up in bed together? Well, that’s
how it is with your dad and me. We love each other, and we love you, but we
need to get our own houses so we don’t fight so much anymore. We’re going to be
moving to a new house in a few days, not far from home. You can bring anything
from home you want, but we’ll have new things too. Do you understand what I’m
saying?”

Connor stared out the window. “What about Max?”

“Max is coming with us. Our new house has a big backyard and even
a little surprise for you guys.”

“What about Daddy?” Parker chimed in.

Addie reached for Parker’s hand and studied his tiny fingers.
“Daddy is staying at home, but you guys can visit him whenever you want. And
you’ll still go to the same school with your friends.”

“Is Kelsey coming too? James interjected.

Addie smiled faintly. “She is. And whenever you’re ready, I’ll
take you by and show you the new place.”

Connor continued staring out the window as the twins begged to go
right this second. Their pleas grew louder and louder.

“Shhh, boys! That’s enough. Connor, so what do you say?”

Connor shrugged his shoulders but continued staring out the
window.

“Connor, I know this is hard for you, sweetheart, but I promise—”

Connor interrupted and pointed his finger at a car nearby. “You
see that man staring at us. He looks like the guy I saw on the news, the one
who hurt you.”

Addie froze. “Where?”

“Right over there in that car that’s backing out.” Connor replied,
straining in his car seat.

Addie grabbed her cell, dialed 911, and put the car in drive.
“Boys, put your heads down and keep them there, until I tell you otherwise, okay?”

She instinctively drove towards the police station as she rapidly
fired off details to the 911 operator. “I’m being followed by a man I have a
restraining order against. I’m at Lamar and—” Addie cut herself off suddenly
remembering William’s security detail was behind her.

The 911 operator interrupted. “Ma’am, I need you to calm down and
tell me your name. What kind of vehicle are you driving?”

Addie tried to catch her breath. “Addison. Addison Greyer. I’m in
a silver Tahoe. My children are with me. My kids are in the car.”

“Okay, Mrs. Greyer, I need you to tell me name the closest
intersection and a description of the vehicle following you.”

Addie’s heart raced, and her mouth went dry. “His name is Scott
Hammons. The man following me is Scott Hammons. I’m at Lamar and Manchaca. I, uh,
I think he’s driving a red sedan, a Ford maybe. I didn’t get a very good look.”

The operator spoke slowly and calmly. “I have an officer in route,
ma’am. Stay focused on driving. Keep your eyes on the road. He’ll be there
shortly.”

“There’s a black Tahoe following me too. It’s my security team—”

“Your security? Is your security team armed, Mrs. Greyer?”

Addie checked on the boys in the rearview. “It’s all right, boys.
Everything is going to be okay.”

“Mrs. Greyer, I need you to answer my question. Is the security
team armed?” the voice in the phone demanded.

“Um, uh, I don’t know.”

“Do you have a way to contact them?”

“Yes. I can call—”

“Are they aware of the situation? Can you give me their phone
number, Mrs. Greyer?”

“Uh, no, I don’t think so. Hold on. Let me think. 512-555-2311.”

“Okay, we’re letting them know to stand down. Now, do you see the
squad car coming up on your right?”

“Yes.”

“I want you to follow it and pull over when he does, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I’m going to stay on until you’re parked safely, okay?”

“Okay. We’re pulling over.”

“Good. Now, I want you to pay careful attention to his
directions, all right?”

“Okay. The officer’s here at my window.” Addie sighed, hung up
the phone, and reached for the boys.

Eight

Patrick arrived at the cabin to find Michele waiting at
the table with dinner ready. Michele reminded him a little bit of his mother,
but in all of the good ways, of course. She was always ready to just jump in
and handle whatever it was that needed to be handled, and she rarely asked
anything of him until now.

Driving in, he couldn’t help but notice how run-down the place
looked since they had been there last, a few years or so ago. It was one of the
first places Michele took him so they could spend time together. It was so hard
back at home, because while they worked together and it was expected for them
to be seen around town together, they couldn’t really actually
be
together. So after that first trip, Michele surprised Patrick by buying the
place, and they’d since spent many weekends here together “working.” Addie
questioned him about it a few times but seemed content when he downplayed it as
a fishing trip with the guys. She’d always been so busy with the kids anyway.

Michele stood, interrupting his thoughts. Eyeing the fancy spread,
he winked. “Don’t you want to try out the bed first?”

Michele took a step forward and kissed his cheek. “Hello to you
too.”

Patrick took off his coat and laid it over the chair. As Michele
handed him a glass of red wine, he noticed there was something a little off
about her; although, he couldn’t quite gauge what it was. “This looks nice,”
Patrick noted, motioning towards the table.

Michele frowned, glancing at her watch. “Yeah, well, I’ve been
waiting a while, and dinner’s already getting cold. So let’s eat.”

Patrick pulled out her chair and sat. “I didn’t think you planned
to return to the States so soon, but I’m really glad you’re here.”

“I don’t want to talk about work, Patrick.”

“Okay.”

“How’s the family?” Michele questioned.

Patrick raised his eyebrows. “Oh, you know, same ol’ same ol’.
The boys are getting bigger by the minute.”

Michele pushed back from the table. “Any plans on leaving anytime
soon, Patrick? Or is this always how it’s going to be? You know, just a weekend
thing.”

“Come on, Michele. Let’s just eat. We can discuss all of that
later.”

Michele pulled the tablecloth out from underneath the meal, throwing
everything on the floor. “FUCK YOU, Patrick. Is this what I am to you? A
fucking side dish? Something you can just use whenever you want?”

Patrick stood, wine soaking his pants. “Jesus. What has gotten
into you? Let’s just calm down, okay?”

Michele picked up at dishtowel and threw it at his face. “CALM
DOWN? YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN? Well, I want you to fucking say something. Say
anything. But for goodness’ sake, say SOMETHING.”

Patrick frowned and toweled off. “I am, and I’m saying, ‘Calm
down, Michele.’ Whatever this—this little episode—is about we can work it out.”

“Can we? Can we really just work it all out? Michele retorted.

“Let’s go shower. It appears we both could use one,” Patrick
pleaded, tossing the dishtowel in with the mess on the floor.

Michele surveyed the mess, smiled, and then lowered her voice
speaking matter-of-factly. “I’m pregnant, Patrick.”

As she sat in the busy parking lot full of retail
stores and onlookers, Addie contemplated for a moment that maybe she really was
losing her mind. She gave her statement to the officer as quickly as she could.
Her children were already understandably frightened, and she just wanted to get
out of there.

According to the police officer
and
her security team,
she’d handled everything wrong. For starters, her security team hadn’t noticed
anything out of the ordinary except for the fact that Addison had pulled over
to the side of the road. After she taken off abruptly, they’d tried to make
contact with her car phone, and when she hadn’t picked up, they sensed
something was wrong. Unfortunately, no one had gotten a decent glance at Scott
Hammons with the exception of Connor. But the officer assured her seven-year-olds
aren’t exactly considered expert witnesses. He took her statement and assured
her that since an electronic tracking device was monitoring Hammons they would
quickly know whether or not it was him. “Sometimes kids make mistakes,” he’d
told her.
The problem was Addie was fairly certain that Connor had not
been mistaken. After what she’d gone through at the hands of Scott Hammons, she
wouldn’t put anything past him. She knew all too well the special kind of evil
he was capable of.