Crime & Passion (29 page)

“Oh, give me a break! We all know he’s
innocent.” She glared at Eric, challenging him to badmouth Donovan
again.

“I’m sorry.” He patted her knee. “The
evidence doesn’t support that. We’re still working on it.”

She shook her head and brushed his hand away
from her leg. “That’s a crock of shit, Eric. You know he’s being
framed.”

A clearing throat drew her attention. Jeremy
stood on the other side of the new coffee table.

“Everything okay? You sound upset,
Madeline.”

Madeline breathed a sigh of relief, happy for
the interruption with Eric. She stood and rounded the table,
throwing her arms around Jeremy’s neck. “I’ve missed you. I thought
maybe you’d come up to the hospital.”

Jeremy returned the hug before stepping back.
“Sorry. I should have. Everything’s been an effort. I haven’t done
much this week. I just wish...” he trailed off, looking around the
room. He seemed so lost and lonely, it broke Madeline’s heart.

“Never mind. You’re here now.” She shooed
Eric from the couch with a wave of her hand and pulled Jeremy down
next to her. “My parents said you helped fix up the apartment. I
appreciate that.”

A ghost of a smile crossed his face. “We
found this coffee table on sale at a second-hand store. Still in
good shape.”

“It’s great,” she agreed. She looked around
the apartment. All signs of the struggle for her life were removed,
as if it never happened. The only testament to the occurrence was
new locks on the door and the wooden coffee table.

I wonder how they got the blood off the
floor.

Probably not the right thing to ask. “How did
you get Donovan out of jail?” she asked instead.

Jeremy shrugged. “I cashed in some stuff for
my retirement.”

“Oh, no.” She knew Donovan couldn’t have felt
good about that. “How did he take that news?”

“Well, he’s made a detailed repayment
schedule, but I told him he can’t start until he’s back to work.”
Jeremy shrugged. “It’ll take him a while to pay off that much money
and I told him not to worry, but he’s determined.”

Madeline nodded, not surprised Donovan had a
plan in place. He was a good man, even if he went about refusing
help from her and Jeremy the wrong way. “I’m glad you didn’t give
up on him.” She sighed. “Too bad I did.”

“You can’t blame yourself for being hurt. It
was awful for him to say that. At first, I was mad at him too. He
used the thing he knew would hurt the worst because he was
desperate.” Jeremy took her hand in his and patted it. “The three
weeks you were in the coma were pure torture for him. He feared you
might pass away and he’d never have a chance to tell you the
truth.”

First her parents, now Jeremy. Everyone
seemed to think Donovan truly cared for her.

“I need some alone time with him so we can
talk,” she admitted. “I know he didn’t mean that comment about me
being too fat, but what if he’s changed his mind about me now?”

“Oh, he hasn’t.” Jeremy’s voice held absolute
certainty.

“But, my face—”

“Still belongs to the woman he’s fallen in
love with.” Jeremy squeezed her hand again. “Trust me on this. It
wouldn’t have mattered what happened to Maria. Nothing could’ve
stopped my love for her.” Tears misted his already red-rimmed eyes.
“Don’t waste any time you have with him, my dear. Take it from me,
things can change in an instant. Then you will regret every fight,
every second of wasted time that could have been spent
together.”

He stood abruptly, wiping his face as he
walked away.

Before she could call out to him, her mom
entered the room with two plates of food, carrying one to Madeline.
She sat on the couch next to her, taking a bite off her own plate.
Soon, everyone had found a seat of some sort and they ate amid
swapping stories and talking about the things Madeline had missed
around town the last month.

They carefully avoided talking about the
murderer or anything related to that, for which Madeline was
grateful. Even Jeremy smiled a few times as Lindsey recounted some
of the confrontations she had around town by angry pet owners who
wanted her shop reopened so they didn’t have to go to Eureka for
their pet needs.

Throughout the meal, Donovan watched her. He
never approached her, never spoke to her directly, but Madeline
could feel him the entire time.

After a while her mother said the blessed
words she’d been waiting to hear.

“Well, Madeline, I think we all should leave.
It’s been a long day.” Her mother looked across the room at
Donovan. “I trust you will stay behind and help her get
settled?”

Madeline’s heart pounded a bit harder when a
sexy smile played across Donovan’s face.

“I’ll stay as long as she’ll have me.”

“Wonderful,” her mother replied with evident
satisfaction. “Everyone grab a chair to put away and let’s get out
of here.”

With Karen’s efficient management, in short
order they all filed from the apartment, giving Madeline hugs and
kisses on their way past.

Brandon offered his arm to Lindsey after they
said their goodbyes and she took it, a smile playing across her
lips. There seemed to be a closeness between them that wasn’t there
before. Madeline wondered if Brandon had taken her advice and
finally asked Lindsey out. She’d have to remember to ask about it
later.

Jeremy was the last to leave, as he stayed a
few minutes to talk to Donovan. “I’m going back to the cemetery for
a while,” Madeline heard him say.

“Jeremy, wait.” Madeline took a deep breath
and shot an apologetic look at Donovan. She didn’t want to put off
speaking with him, but she needed to say goodbye to Maria. “Can I
come with you?”

He nodded. “There’s no headstone yet. The
ground’s still too soft. But I put out flowers everyday and there’s
a little bench close by. I’d love it if you joined me.” He jerked
his chin Donovan’s direction. “You too, son.”

Madeline looked down at the holey jeans she
wore. “Do you mind waiting while I get cleaned up?”

Jeremy gave her a quick hug. “Maria won’t
care what you wear, but I understand. Why don’t I go pick out some
of her favorite flowers and Donovan can drive you over? We could
meet in a half hour.”

Madeline kissed his cheek. “I’ll hurry.”

She entered her bedroom, leaving Donovan to
see Jeremy out. She noted the duffle bag Donovan packed to stay
with her before his arrest sitting on top of her dresser. Did that
mean he still planned to stay with her? Surely he could return to
his apartment by now. Maybe he moved it out of the way while
cleaning the living room and leaving it in the bedroom was an
oversight.

Upon opening the closet, she realized it was
less of an oversight than she thought. Her dresses, skirts, and
blouses were shifted to one side and two suits hung next to them.
What did he do, decide to move in while she lay in a coma?

She selected a brown suede skirt and jacket,
pairing it with a gray silk tank top, and dressed quickly. As she
shrugged into the jacket a light knock sounded against the
door.

“Are you dressed, Maddie? I need to talk to
you about those clothes I put in your room.”

He sounded a bit sheepish, not a normal tone
for Donovan.
At least he knows he might be in trouble.
She
opened the door and stepped back, allowing him to enter.

“Decided to make yourself at home, did you?”
She softened the mild rebuff by smiling. “I admit to being curious
about your explanation.”

“I brought the suits because I’ll still have
court hearings to show up for.” He paused, breathing deeply. “Look,
I promise I’ll sleep on the couch and be a good houseguest, but
please let me stay with you.” He took a step toward her, but didn’t
touch her.

Madeline’s skin tingled with the proximity of
him, as she smelled his warm scent. She wished he’d take one more
step, press himself against her, and take her mouth in his.

Then again, he said he wanted to sleep on the
couch. Maybe he didn’t want to press himself against her. Could
everyone else be wrong about Donovan’s intentions? They all said he
was in love with her, but she’d never heard that from his lips.

“Why do you want to sleep on my couch?”

He shrugged. “Look, I made a mistake when I
thought you’d be safe without me around. Until they know for sure
that Suzie is the killer, I’m not leaving your side.”

Madeline tilted her head sideways,
considering that. “You don’t think she killed Frank and Maria?”

“Brice has been trying to investigate that,
but he can’t connect her to either of those crimes. They searched
her house but didn’t find anything. Her doctors haven’t allowed
Brice to question her yet, so I don’t know her side of things. If
she just copied what she assumed I did, the real killer is still
out there.”

“And that’s why you want to stay with me?”
Her heart fell a little. She’d hoped it was more than that.

Donovan’s eyes slid away from hers and he
studied a point behind her head. “Don’t make me leave. You need my
protection.”

“Okay. You can stay.” She hoped he couldn’t
sense the disappointment in her voice. The last thing she needed
was to make a fool of herself around him...again. “Give me a minute
to fix my hair and makeup, and we’ll go meet Jeremy.”

He nodded. “Since you are going all fancy,
I’ll put on my dress clothes too.”

Madeline entered the bathroom without
responding and shut the door. The first thing she noticed was the
vanity around the sink. Donovan had moved all her belongings to the
left-hand side. His comb, razor, aftershave, and toothbrush took up
the other side.

He’s a confident man, I’ll give him
that.

She freshened her makeup, doing her best to
apply extra coverage to the scars lining her cheeks. Maybe a darker
color of base could make them less noticeable. She’d have to
experiment.

Without thinking, she grabbed a ponytail
holder from the drawer and smoothed her hair tight against her
scalp, twisting the rubber band into place. She hesitated before
returning the brush to the drawer. Without her hair to obscure the
marks, they stood out even more.

Then again, she always wore her hair slicked
back when she dressed in this sort of outfit. Did she have to
change her entire life because of this one event, change the person
she was?

She put the brush away, shutting the drawer.
She split her hair in two pieces to tighten the ponytail firmly
against her head, decision made. This wouldn’t control her. She
wanted to be the same person she was before the attack.

Madeline squirted a quick blast of perfume
against her neck and walked out to join Donovan. She wouldn’t be a
victim. She wouldn't let Suzie win.

Donovan followed Madeline into her apartment
when they returned from the cemetery, securing all the locks before
joining her in the living room. Madeline had cried the entire time
they were gone. While Donovan had a bit of time to adjust,
everything was still fresh for her. “Are you okay?”

Madeline shook her head. “I feel so bad for
Jeremy.” She walked to the window, cracking it open to let the
sound and scent of the ocean flood the room. She met his eyes. “And
you.”

“It’s been rough.” Donovan flopped onto the
couch and kicked his shoes off, pushing them under the coffee
table. “Things got better for me once you woke up.”

Her eyes met his and she held her arms behind
her back, swaying slightly from side to side. “Except I haven’t
been very fair to you, and I shut you out.”

Donovan took a deep breath. He thought he
would go mad during the last week, never getting a chance to talk
with her. Every time he tried to get her alone, she made up an
excuse to get away from him. He started to fear she had decided she
didn’t want him around anymore. “As long as you don’t plan on
shutting me out for good, I can handle it.”

“Did you think about what I asked you?” She
looked down at the floor, bringing her hand to her face as she did
so often now. “Have you changed your mind about me? Do you only see
yourself as my protector?”

He longed to run across the room, scoop her
into his arms, and cover her in kisses. But Madeline’s demeanor had
been cold and distant since she woke up. Things didn’t feel the
same as they had in those precious few hours they shared before his
arrest.

“I feel the same as I have from the moment I
met you. I want to protect you, but I want more than that.”

“You do?” Madeline’s hand dropped to her
side, once again revealing the scar. “I’m the only person who seems
to have a problem with my face. It’s just not fair. I spent so much
of my life wishing I were pretty. I finally lose all the weight and
then this happens. I know I have to get over it. I am trying.”

“You are more than pretty, darling. You’re
beautiful.”

Her eyes met his again and she smiled,
proving his point. He could look at her forever and never tire of
the scenery.

Madeline walked across the room toward him,
her ponytail swaying from side to side. Donovan closed his mouth
tightly, keeping his thoughts sealed behind his lips. However, he
couldn’t block the image of how that ponytail would rock in the
bedroom.

Come on, man. Sex is your fallback position.
You thought she would die, and it scared you. But she just said
she’s not ready yet. She hasn’t come to terms with everything.
Don’t push her.

That thought didn’t stop his groin from
clenching almost painfully upon watching the gentle sway of
Madeline’s hips. The beautiful movement of her body beckoned him,
begging him to take her. Even if she didn’t know that’s what her
body said, the message was loud and clear to him.

Madeline stopped near the armchair she
normally sat in, taking off her brown blazer to reveal a gray silk
tank top. She inhaled deeply and stretched.