Breaking Bedrock (Book Two) (15 page)

“Hello.” Addie whispered, trying to find her voice.

“Addison. We need to talk.”

His voice made her dizzy.
God, that voice.

“Addison? Hello?” William demanded.

“Yeah? I’m here.”

“Look. I know things between us are over, Addison, but I need you
to let my men get close. I’ve had to keep them outside a perimeter they’re
comfortable with in order to stay off your private property. I need you to talk
with your husband and get him to agree to let them inside the gates. Where
you’re at it’s just too sparse. They need to be close.”

Addie inhaled slowly. “Why are they here, William? I thought we
discussed this. You need to tell me what’s going on?”

William hesitated. “Nothing. I . . . My guys just think it’s best
until we get a better handle on Hammons and anyone he might be working with.”

“What do mean by ‘working with’?” Addie questioned.

“We just have reason to suspect that he may not be acting alone;
that’s all.”

“I . . .” Addie started to say as the boys rushed in.

“Daddy said to come on! Dinner’s ready! Let’s go, Mom!” they
screamed.

She shushed them away and pressed the receiver to her ear,
hurriedly whispering into the speaker. “I gotta go, but I’ll give it some thought,
all right?”

“Addison.” She heard William say one last time before she pressed
the end button.

Hearing his voice was just too much. Addie sat on the edge of the
bed and allowed the tears come.
It was time she let herself feel.

When Addie awoke, startled and sweating in the dark, it
took her a few seconds to remember where she was. Panting, she fished around
the bedside table for her cell phone and lit up the screen as she felt around
with her other hand for the button on the lamp. She sat up and tried to catch
her breath, remembering the way William’s face looked in the dream. He was
screaming something at her, but his voice was silent. She couldn’t hear the
words. Addie calmed down a bit and checked her phone again: 1:28 a.m.

Addie got up, threw on a pair of jeans, and went into Patrick’s
room. “Patrick.” She whispered, nudging him awake.

Patrick startled. “Addie? What is it?”

She placed her hand on his chest. “Shh. It’s nothing. Don’t
worry. Everything’s fine. Listen. I need to go back to Austin for a little bit.
There are a few things I have to take care of: work stuff. I’m going to take
the car, but I’ve emailed your mom and asked her to come up and help until I
can get back. The Jeep is here, too, though, right? In the garage?”

“Yeah, but, Addie, what time is it?” Patrick asked, rolling over
onto his side.

“After midnight. I have to go, Patrick. Please, just don’t ask
questions. I’ll be back later tonight. You need to set the alarm after I leave,
okay?”

Patrick sat up and rubbed his eyes. “This isn’t a good idea,
Addison.”

“It’ll be fine. I’ll be back before you know it. Tell the boys I
had to go into work and that I love them.”

Patrick sighed. “You’re going to see him, aren’t you?”

“Yes. There are a few things I need to get straight.”

“Damn it, Addison. Be careful. Our children are counting on you. I’m
counting on you.

Addie walked to the door and stopped. “I know.”

Addie texted Carl, who was waiting at the gate, asked
them to stand down, and begged them not to follow her. Carl refused and only
relented when Addie allowed him to ride with her while the rest of the team
stayed back. Recalling the tone in William’s voice when he’d called last night,
Addie changed her mind and let them enter the property, instructing them on how
to get into the boathouse. She then texted Patrick to let him know; although,
she figured he’d be angry, he was just going to have to deal with it until she
got back. When it came to her children’s safety, she wasn’t cutting corners.

The fact that Carl had insisted on driving only made the trip
back to Austin seem as if it took longer. Addie was on edge, fidgeting
incessantly. She questioned Carl about William to no avail. He wasn’t giving
anything up. “Just tell me he’s not with someone else right now, Carl. That’s
all I ask—that you don’t make me look like a fool showing up unannounced if
he’s with someone.”

“Mr. Hartman is alone at his residence, aside from his security
team and several staff members.” Carl replied.

“None that he’s sleeping with though, right?” Addie questioned
nervously.

“Mrs. Greyer, I will only assure you that what you’re walking
into is on the up and up.”

Addie nodded and left it at that and stayed mostly quiet the rest
of the way.

They reached Austin and William’s place just an hour or so before
dawn. Carl let Addie in but stayed outside as she quietly entered his bedroom.
Surprisingly, William wasn’t in his bed, forcing Addie to search the apartment
for him. She finally found him in his office where she paused in the doorway,
taking him in. Dressed in pajama bottoms and white cotton T-shirt, he looked so
peaceful, kicked back in his office hair, his feet propped up on his desk, eyes
closed, and headphones in his ears. At first glance, she could’ve sworn he was
asleep, but as she inched closer ever so slowly, he raised his eyelids
slightly, quickly sitting up once he noticed her there.

William eyed her expectantly. “Addison? How’d you get here?”

“Carl.”

He frowned as a look Addie couldn’t quite discern crossed his
face but disappeared quickly. “I see. What are you doing here?”

“It’s not his fault, William. I forced him to bring me here. I
needed to see you. I had a bad dream.”

“You’re here because of a bad dream?” he asked, an almost smile
creeping up.

Addie walked to him and leaned on the edge of his desk,
positioning herself directly across from him. William flinched a little and
then settled. She could tell that he felt uncomfortable having her so close.
She forced herself to meet his gaze straight on “Yes. I mean, no. Well, you see
the thing is I’ve had what felt like a recurring dream for the past several
days where you told me it was over between us. The problem is I think you’re
lying to me, and I came here to find out why.”

William’s jaw tightened. “Damn it, Addison. You shouldn’t be
here.”

She reached for him, but he backed away. “Tell me why you’re
doing this, William. It’s killing me, and whether you’re willing to admit it or
not, I can see that it’s killing you too.”

William stood and closed the door before going to Addie and
lifting her a little, forcing her to sit on the desk with him between her legs.
He took her face in his hands and stared but didn’t speak.

“I’m right, aren’t I? It’s all a lie. I just want to know why. I
have the right to know, William. WHY are you lying to me?” Addie finally asked.

He kissed her hard, catching Addie off guard. She pulled back and
studied his face.

“Because I love you, okay? I love you like I’ve never loved anyone
else. The truth is I’ve never really cared all that much about anyone
or
anything
else, nothing . . . except all of this.” He gestured around the room before
continuing. “My whole adult life I’ve been addicted to this . . . this
lifestyle . . . success if you want to call it that. But you know what,
Addison? None of it has ever loved me back, until I met you, that is. For the first
time in my life, I’ve wanted something enough to risk everything for it. And
quite frankly, that scares the shit out of me. But now that I’ve found it—now
that I’ve found you—I can’t keep you safe. Everything that has happened to you
has been because of me. Because of
this.
I can’t live without you,
Addison. Hell, I can barely breathe without you, but I need to keep you safe.
And if staying away from me accomplishes that, then it just has to be that way.
It just does because I can’t allow anything to happen to you. I can’t explain
what it is that you do to me; I just know I need more of it. Being with you
makes me feel alive. I’m drawn to you, and I know that what we have isn’t what
you and Patrick have had or anywhere near that level, but damn it, I want that
and so much more with you, Addison. And . . . it kills me to want that, because
I know you can’t give it to me. You’re too good for me
because
you’re
not like me. You see, Addison, I take from people. I want something, and I just
take it without even a second thought as to the consequences. But you . . . You
aren’t like me. You’re incapable of hurting people.”

“Stop.” Addie interrupted. “You’re wrong. You’re
so
fucking wrong. I
am
capable of hurting people. I’ve hurt so many people,
William—my husband, my family, and
you—
but I love you, and I don’t know
what else to do about it. The truth of the matter is I probably could live the
rest of my life without you. I just don’t want to.”

William placed his head in Addie’s lap, running face along her
thighs, his stubble tickling her tender flesh. “God, you smell so good.”

“I missed you.” She sighed.

William stood and helped her out of her jacket. “I need to keep
you safe, Addison. We can’t keep doing this.”

Addie watched as William pulled her T-shirt over her head and
then in one fell swoop shoved everything off the desk. He took his time with
her, covering every inch of her with his mouth. He brought her to the brink
with his mouth, again and again, until she begged him to stop. Then he fucked her
hard, right there on the desk, with enough passion to convince her it possibly
could be the last time.

Thankfully, though it wasn’t. Later they moved to the
bedroom and made love again before falling asleep wrapped up in one another.
Addie woke just before noon and found the bed empty. She sat up, picked up the
robe that was lying next to her, and inhaled, smelling William’s scent. She
pulled it on and went to find him, once again finding him at his desk.

“Hey, sleepyhead.” He smiled, without looking up from his
monitor.

“Hey.” Addie murmured as she stood at the window, looking out at
the greyness of the day.

“What time do you need to be back? I have somewhere I’d like to
take you.”

“I probably outta head out by 3:00 p.m. I’d like to see the boys
before their bedtime.”

William nodded. “Come here.”

Addie turned around but didn’t move. “When are you going to tell
me what’s going on? One minute you want me, and the next you don’t.”

William stood up and closed in on her. “I always want you,
Addison. Wanting and having, though, are two very different things.”

She sighed, exasperated.

“I need you.” He whispered, as he unfastened the robe and watched
it fall to the floor.

Addie removed his hands from her breasts and took a few steps
back. “Yeah, well, needing and having are two very different things too, you
know.”

William grinned. “Oh, really,” he whispered, closing the gap,
grabbing her with one arm by her waist, pulling her in. “We’ll see about that.”
He laughed, wrestling her to the floor.