Breaking Bedrock (Book Two) (18 page)

“Okay.”

William chuckled then frowned. “Okay? That’s all you’re going to
say?
Just
okay?”

Addie hopped over into his seat and straddled him, taking his
face in her hands. “No, not just okay. I love you and I want to try. I really
do, but there are a few things you should probably know about me before you go
deciding that you want to be with me,
especially
on weekends,” she said,
feigning shock.

William grinned. “All right then, shoot.”

“Well, for starters, I’m not marrying you, probably not ever. And
. . . before you decide you want to go and do something as serious as see your
life unfold with mine, you need to know that I’m extremely stubborn. I’m hard
to handle. Not only do I have difficultly showing my feelings but many times I
don’t even know what they are. Secondly, I’m incredibly protective of my
children, and if I’m willing to let you in, you have to understand that I’d be trusting
you with something that means more to me than anything thing in this world. You
have to promise me that you’re not going to fuck that up.”

A smile crept across his face. “That’s it?” She bit her lip as
William leaned in to kiss her. He pulled away and laughed. “Addison, I already
knew those things. That’s I why I fell in love with you. We understand each
other. Fuck! We’re practically one and the same.”

“Promise me you won’t do what I think you’re going to do.”

William cocked his head and reached for her. “And what is that?”

“With Hammons.”

“Addison, I said I was joking.”

“I know what you said, but you also told me you couldn’t lie to
me, so which is it?”

William lifted her by the hips and placed her back in the
passenger seat. He stared out the window as though he were unsure how to
answer. Finally, he broke the silence. “Do you trust that I love you and that I
wouldn’t do anything to hurt you? Because I do and I won’t. But I won’t let
anyone else hurt you either.”

“You have to promise me, William. I need to know that you won’t
do anything stupid.”

“All right. Let’s shake on it,” he replied with a smile as he
thrust his hand in her direction, trying to lighten the mood.

Addie playfully took his hand and shook. “I don’t want to leave
you,” she whispered, her expression serious and her eyes not leaving his.

“I know,” William replied before kissing her forehead. “This’ll
be the last time, though.” He soothed her, and knowing it was all he could
muster, he simply held her until Carl tapped on the window and told them it was
time to move.

Fifteen

Penny would be the first to admit that she freaked out
a little when she walked in and accidentally overheard that her son had knocked
that woman up.
Good God, what was this world coming to? What in the hell had
her son been thinking?
She’d certainly raised him better than this. Sure,
his father had strayed a few times, but he’d never gotten himself into such a
mess. Penny hadn’t a clue how she was going to pull him out of this one. And it
scared her to death to think of what Addison was going to do now. She’d never
let him see those children. She’d take everything, for sure, now. There was no
pre-nup to stop her because, of course, her son hadn’t listened to her when she
had suggested it. That boy was too much like his father to heed any of her
advice, and look where it had gotten him. Up shit creek without a paddle,
that’s where.

Penny had to do something; she just wasn’t sure what yet. Addison
hated her, even if she’d never directly said so; there was just too much
tension there for her to listen to reason. Maybe the fall had caused the woman
to miscarry. Perhaps all this worry was for nothing, Penny hoped. I mean she
didn’t really want to wish ill on anyone, but any child that would come into
the world under these circumstances would be a bastard, and that was the last
thing her family needed. Her mother taught her the importance of upholding one’s
family’s reputation. Really, though, what else did one have without his
integrity? Not much she guessed, knowing full well she wasn’t about to find
out.

After she had spoken to Patrick, who had masterfully evaded
answering any of her questions as to what he intended to do about his little
unfortunate situation, she dialed up Scott Hammons. Penny practically begged
him to tell her he had something new on that daughter-in-law of hers. He
explained that he’d been sick over the last few days but that things were
looking up and he was sober now. Thankfully, he sounded sober, because Penny
assured him now wasn’t the time to play. She advised him that if he could get
her some dirt, then it was fine to do whatever he had to do. She’d provide the
funding or whatever it was he needed to get the job done. She even suggested he
pay someone in Addison’s office for information on her; surely someone had to
know something. She told him to do what he had to do and fast. If he needed
more money, then so be it. She would take what she could get. Penny didn’t
exactly like working with a madman, but what else was she to do? Her family was
at risk of crumbling, and what would this mean for her grandchildren? Surely,
their mother would take them away, leaving Penny little influence as to how
their lives would turn out. She’d even turn them against their own father,
Penny surmised.

Sure, this kind of thing happened to other families, but it
didn’t happen to
her
family. She could just imagine what they’d all say
about her. All of a sudden she would be known as that horrible mother who had
raised the son with no values, and it would be as though her entire life,
everything she had worked for, everything she had put up with—from the constant
need to achieve, just trying to be perfect, to the incessant volunteering, the
philandering husband, everything—she’d be the laughingstock of the town.
Hey,
did you hear what happened to the Greyers?
Life as she knew it would stop.
The invitations to parties would cease, and the vacations with friends, all of
it, would suddenly disappear. They’d be outcasts, and everything she’d worked
towards would be for naught. One might accuse her of overreacting, of course,
and her husband would likely be one of them, but Penny knew this to be true
because she’d witnessed it so many times before. If word got out about this, it
would be as though she had been living a lie. But she couldn’t and she
wouldn’t
allow such a thing to happen. It was time to up the ante.

Hot Damn!
He’d practically been spoon-fed the
information he needed. Maybe Penny Greyer wasn’t so dumb after all. In fact, he
was beginning to wonder if perhaps she might be one of his angels in disguise.
The good news was that he saw the light, now. He was going to take care of
Penny’s problem once and for all. All of her problems too. Not just that little
bitch, Addison Greyer. Penny didn’t have to tell him that her son was a pathetic
philandering loser. Anyone with half a brain knew that just by watching his
comings and goings. He also guessed that Penny worried about her grandchildren
being raised by such vile excuses for human beings. Since Penny had offered to
help him and had given him a fresh start—the opportunity to get his own family
back—he figured what better way to repay her than to get rid of the daughter-in-law
and take the pesky son out of the picture by framing him for murder. If Penny
was an angel the way he suspected, it’s not like he would be killing her son,
only helping her remove the evil from her life. And everyone needed that—angel
or not.

Scott knew Addison had been with Hartman; he’d hacked into the
surveillance system from the parking garage in his building. One would think
that a man with as much money as he had could do better for himself in the way
of protecting against these situations, but this
was
William Hartman,
after all. That being said, it was time to move. Now that he was sober and
Penny was so willing to put a little cash in his pocket, he decided that he’d
rather
not
go to trial. There was no need to go through all of that
trouble, when he could just as easily let the evidence speak for itself. Once
word got out about Patrick murdering his wife, people would know what kind of
person Addison Greyer really was. She was a liar and a cheater who had only
caused him trouble. People like her weren’t worth the oxygen they breathed.

Once he was able to get just a little bit more information out of
Penny as to everyone’s whereabouts without raising any suspicion on her part,
he planned to move in. Most people would make the mistake of striking too soon,
but he was smarter than that. If he knew anything, he knew that it was best to
wait for just the right circumstance. Luckily, for him, though, it wouldn’t be
too much longer.

For now, he simply had to work on getting a little bit closer to
the target. The time was near; it was just a matter of throwing Hartman’s guys
off his trail. They’d been parked down the road from his place for several days
now, and although at first, he thought it was the angels watching over him,
once he sobered up, the voices settled down enough to allow for his latest
vision. He saw that those bastards were keeping tabs on him. Now all he needed
was to create a little distraction in order to get out of town. He had the
notion that God would be delivering the answer very soon. Soon enough, he would
be well on his way.

Michele woke up and looked at Patrick with a certain
resignation he hadn’t seen before. “Hey there,” he whispered. She looked better
than she had earlier; there was finally some color to her face. He reached for
her hand and wrapped it in his before she pulled away and ran it down her
stomach. “The baby?”

“The baby’s fine. Perfectly normal. How are you?”

She shifted a little in bed and winced, reaching for her head.
“Tired.”

“I think they’re going to let us out of here pretty soon. And I
was thinking that since you need to take a few days off I’d drive you home and
stay with you there for a little while until you’re back on your feet.”

“I don’t know, Patrick. I think I’m going to call my sister.”

Patrick stepped away and paced the room. “What do you mean you
don’t know?”

Michele toyed with the IV in her arm, hesitating before she
spoke. “I just don’t think I can do this anymore. It’s not healthy. I mean . .
.
clearly.”

“All right, well, we’ll talk about all that when you’re feeling
better.”

“No, Patrick, I think we need to talk about it here.
Now.
This
baby means everything to me. I’ve been given a chance, a gift, you know, and
I’m messing it up. I’ve been so wrapped up in you that I’m not taking care of
me.
But it’s no longer about me. Don’t you see? What we’ve had isn’t enough for
me anymore, now that I have
somebody
else to worry about.”

He walked to her bed and knelt down beside her. “I know, Michele.
And I’m so sorry. I know I’ve been selfish, and I promise you if you give me
another shot I’m going to make up for it. I don’t know how all of this is
supposed to work out, but I know now, after everything that happened today,
that I want to try. When I saw you lying there like that, I swore to myself, to
whoever would listen, that if you were okay then I’d do whatever it took to
make it right. So that’s what I want. I want to make it right, and I want to
start making you happy.”

“Oh, yeah? And what about your wife?” Michele frowned.

“I’m going to give her the divorce she wants. Look. I know that
it’s what I should’ve done all along. And I know what you’re thinking. I know
that I don’t have the best track record, but I’m asking you to give me another
chance to get it right, if not for me then
for our child. Don’t you
think we deserve to give this a fair shot for
it?”

Michele wiped the tears from her eyes. “For
her
. It’s a
girl, Patrick. We’re having a girl.”

Patrick face beamed. “A girl?”