Taking Passion by Storm (16 page)

Once
they were down low enough, the Internet phones picked up a signal. George sent
an email via satellite relay, hoping it would reach the other Storm Troopers so
they knew Dixon was alive and safe. Addison called ahead to make sure they were
ready for her father at
NorthWest
Medical Center. As
they descended through the last air lock, an ambulance was waiting for them.

She
climbed in the front next to the driver, and Addison took her backpack. “I’m
right behind you. Lee’s and Suzanne’s cars are parked close to here.”

“
Thank you.” The words hardly seemed adequate for all
he’d done. Nadine wanted to kiss him, but that would have to wait as well. She
barely had time to squeeze his hand before the driver asked her to close the
door.

As
the ambulance sped toward the medical center, she closed her eyes and tried not
to panic. She knew her father would be all right. He might need the leg reset
so it would heal the correct way, and he needed IV fluids and probably
antibiotics, but he would survive this.

She
wasn’t worried about that any longer. It was everything else she’d have to face
head on now that they were back to the reality of their day-to-day lives.
Addison loved her, and she loved him. She’d agreed to marry him. She had made
love to him, more than once, and she’d told him about the rape. So much had
happened in such a short time that her head began to ache.

Her
father’s words had planted the seeds of doubt, and she’d have to deal with
that, too. She loved Addison. She knew that. But was it enough? Was she truly
ready for this? Addison was the man she’d fantasized about for as long as she
could remember. There was no one else she could imagine spending her life with.

This
was real, and it would work out. It had to, because she could no longer picture
her life without him.

Chapter
Seventeen

The
ride to the medical center wasn’t long, even in an electric car, but it gave
Addison plenty of time to set things straight with Lee. The others had gone
with Suzanne, who also had parked a vehicle close, even though there was still
room in this one for at least two more of them. Addison had arranged it this
way on purpose.

“
What’s your story?” he asked Lee.

“
What do you mean?” Lee kept his eyes on the road, but
Addison saw the twitch in his jaw.

“
You know damn well what I mean.”

Lee
shot him a quick glance. “You’re the only one who can flirt with a pretty girl
now?”

Dixon
should have the chance to accept this first before Addison told the world about
him and Nadine. It was only for Dixon’s sake that Addison didn’t blurt out the
whole truth. “We’re together.”

“
For how long? You do have a reputation of discarding
them rather quickly.”

“
For good.”

“
Really?” Lee laughed. “You? Come on, boss. You’re
kidding, right?”

“
Not this time.”

“
Just because you fucked her in a bunker and probably
in that cave?”

Addison
dug his nails into his palms because the urge to punch Lee was too strong.
“Don’t ever let me hear you speak that way about Nadine again. Got it?” He knew
the tone of his voice was dangerous and didn’t care.

Lee
glanced at him again, longer this time, his face filled with apprehension. “Okay,
okay. Calm down. Christ. She’s only a girl, Addison.”

“
She’s
not
only a girl. She never was, and she’s not now.”

Lee’s
eyes narrowed. “Oh, right. I forget you’ve known her all your life.” Addison
ignored the sarcasm. “Fine. I’ll back off. I had no idea it was a thing between
you two.”

“
Well it is.” Addison knew he needed to calm down. His
employees had never been his confidants, and he wasn’t about to start spilling
his secrets to them now.

Lee
hadn’t worked for him as long as the others, and there were rumors about him
doing more teasing of the female members of his teams than was necessary. He’d
have to investigate the allegations more deeply. He didn’t want anyone harassed
up there. They had jobs to do.

As
for Lee flirting with Nadine, it made Addison’s blood boil to think of any
other man near her. Now that he knew what she’d gone through, he also realized
how much she’d locked herself away from life all these years, and that made it
worse in his mind. He intended to change that for her. He would help her tell
Dixon what had happened, and he would keep her safe from this point on,
protecting her from anything that made her feel the least bit afraid.

Now
that he’d accepted the feelings he’d always had for her, and asked her to marry
him, he didn’t want anyone else to do so much as look at her. She belonged to
him
and him alone. Let any man,
especially one like Lee, try to get near her and Addison would take care of him
for good.

Once
they reached the Medical Center, he found Nadine sitting at Dixon’s bedside.
She smiled at him and stood, giving him a big hug right there in the middle of
the emergency room. His heart soared.

“
They’re taking him to surgery to reset the leg, and
then he’s staying here for a few days to watch for infection.”

“
Damn waste of time,” said Dixon, his voice filled with
disgust.

Addison
shot Dixon an exasperated look. “Do you realize you were less than a few days
from death?”

Dixon
waved a hand in the air. “I had a week at least.”

Nadine
hugged herself. “Stop talking this way, both of you.”

“
I’m sorry.” Addison pulled her close again. “It’s a
guy thing.”

“
Right. You have to act so unconcerned about your own
health to prove you’re men? That’s silly.”

Addison
and Dixon exchanged a glance, and then Dixon frowned at him. “Now that you’re
here, I want to hear more about you and my daughter.”

Nadine
glanced around, her eyes wide. “Dad, not the place or time for that.”

“
Why not?”

“
Because you need to focus on healing.”

Dixon
was about to speak again when a surgeon and an anesthesiologist poked their
heads around the curtain separating Dixon from the chaos in the ER. They were
ready to take him to surgery, so Addison wished him luck. Nadine kissed her
father’s cheek, and then she followed Addison out of the ER.

“
He’ll be all right,” said Addison. “He’s a tough old
bird.”

“
I know. I keep thinking about what he survived up
there and I know he’ll come out of this fine.”

“
Then is there something else bothering you? You look
like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders.” He glanced around
quickly, but no one was close to them. “If you’re worried about telling him
what happened to you four years ago, I’ll be with you when you do.” She didn’t
react. “Unless you don’t want me to be.” That might be something she’d be more
comfortable telling Dixon on her own.

“
I’m afraid to tell him,” she said in a near-whisper.
“I know I said I would, and I felt so damn brave about doing so after I told
you, but now that I’ve looked into his eyes again, I can’t picture doing it.”

Addison
placed a hand on each shoulder. “Let’s go outside and talk, okay? They have our
phone numbers. It’ll be at least two hours until he’s out of surgery and we can
see him.”

She
nodded. Once they were outdoors, he found a bench away from the crowds and sat
next to her. “Okay. Worst case scenario you can picture once you tell him.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
I mean what’s the worst thing you can picture
happening?”

She
gazed off into the distance for a moment, and it was all he could do not to
touch her. Now that they were back in familiar territory, he wanted to tell
everyone how much he loved her and wanted to marry her. There was no need to
wait. He wanted Nadine with him all the time.

“
He’ll be very upset that I didn’t tell him after it
happened because he’d have wanted a chance to find the man himself.”

“
And if he’d done that, the guy would be dead, and they
might have tossed your father into jail for it.”

She
sighed. “I know. That’s part of why I never told him.”

“
He loves you so much.”

“
I know that, too. I also wanted to protect him from
this.”

“
Do you still want to protect him?”

“
Yes, but I know I have to tell him. It’s the right
thing to do.”

“
Then I’ll help you do it.”

Nadine
put her arms around him, and he pulled her close, wishing they were alone in
his house right now. He glanced at her arm and grinned. “You still have dirt on
you from that cave.”

She
straightened up. “I’m desperate for a shower and to change my clothes. Do you
think it would be safe for me to leave the hospital?”

“
Of course.” He stood and held out his hand. “Come on.
I’ll walk you home.”

“
You live on the other side of town from me, and you
didn’t bring your car. And I just realized something. My father has no place to
go. The rare times he came underground he’d stay with friends or with me, but
he won’t be able to get around for a while. My apartment isn’t equipped for
that.”

He
smiled. “He can stay with me. I’ll set everything up. We’ll bring his
therapists and physicians to him. That way he never has to leave the house
until they say he can.”

She
gave him a cautious look. “Won’t he see this as a way to win his approval of us
being together?”

“
I hope he gives it regardless. Nadine, I’ve known your
father a long time. I wouldn’t think of him staying anywhere else while he
recovers.”

“
I won’t be able to see him very often.”

“
If you move in with me you will.” She gave him a droll
look this time, so he held up his hands before she could speak. “Nothing
implied. You can have your own room if you want. You can have an entire suite
to yourself if that would make you more comfortable.”

“
You’d really do this? It wouldn’t be a big pain in the
ass for you?”

“
Of course not. The house is more than large enough,
and I want you with me. I love you. I asked you to marry me.”

She
looked so uncertain that he grew fearful. What if she had changed her mind?
What if this truly was too much for her?” Addison opened his backpack and dug
around, finally retrieving the ring he’d made her out of a twig.

When
her eyes softened as he held it up, his fear turned to joy. “I won’t ask you to
wear it, but I would like you to have it. I meant everything I said on the
surface, Nadine. I love you, and I want you as my wife. Nothing that happens
from this moment on will change that.”

She
took the ring and placed it on her finger, then smiled up at him with tears in
her eyes. “I only hope I don’t disappoint you.”

“
Not possible, sweetheart.” He pulled her close again
and held her, oblivious to the people walking past them, staring. They didn’t
matter. The only person who mattered was this perfect woman in his arms.

****

Her
father’s surgery was successful, and they discharged him three days later.
Addison moved him into a suite of rooms on the first floor, and his staff had
lined up home health aides, physical therapists, and physicians, just like he’d
promised. Her father protested, but Nadine saw the easy way he and Addison
joked around with each other, and she knew how grateful her dad was.

She’d
called Brenda to let her know what had happened, and Brenda insisted she take
more time off. “You haven’t taken a real vacation in years.” The school year
didn’t take a hiatus during the
summers
underground,
so Brenda was correct. Nadine had only taken school holidays off and a few days
here and there, usually when she had other things to do. She’d never taken a real
vacation from her job for herself alone.

Addison
has insisted on sending Anna Corrigan, the head of his household staff, with
Nadine so she could gather enough things to stay in his house for a few days.
He promised to get some friends together during the weekend to help her move
the rest of her possessions into his house.

Even
though she and Addison had already had sex, Nadine still felt self-conscious at
the thought of making love to him, knowing her father was under the same roof.

“
He’s downstairs, in the west corner of the house, and
I’m on the top floor, at the opposite end. Plus he can’t walk yet.”

“
I know, but it’s the idea that he’s
here
. It’s like I’m back living in my
parents’ home and I’m still a teen.”

“
We weren’t having sex when you were a teen.”

She
smiled. “Good thing or he’d have killed you.”

Addison
kissed her. Every second of their time together in the bunker and in the cave
came rushing back at her, and she longed to feel him inside her again. “After
dinner, let’s make sure your dad is settled in, and then come upstairs. He’ll
have a home health aide with him all night. We’ll tell the aide we don’t want
to be disturbed except for a true emergency.”

“
That sounds wonderful.”

“
We’ll bring up a bottle of wine, put on some music,
and light candles. What do you say? I miss holding you, Nadine. I want to make
love to you where we aren’t stuffed into a tiny room or using sleeping bags to
get comfortable on the ground.”

She’d
been able to push aside her doubts and worries by keeping so busy the past few
days. Now, they tumbled back into her consciousness. Addison pulled away
slightly, his eyes filled with worry. “What is it, love?”

“
We haven’t told him yet.”

“
In the morning.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
“Promise. I first wanted to make sure he was on the way to recovery and settled
in here.”

She
nodded.

“
Is there something else on your mind? Talk to me.
Please.”

She
glanced down at her finger where the twig ring had been. She’d removed it, but
it was tucked away inside the dresser of the room she’d chosen as her own. It
was now or never. She needed to tell him why she was so reluctant to move
forward. It was only fair to let him know her deepest fears.

“
What if I can’t do this? What if we get married and I
fall apart one day? What if you change your mind, or realize you’ve made a
terrible mistake?”