“He’s a sick man, Maddie. Nothing he did makes sense,” I assure her. “This has been going on for years, and there’s no way you could have known.”
“How many people were killed?”
I hesitate before telling her, knowing it certainly won’t make her feel any better. She’ll find out eventually, though, and it’s better that it comes from me. “Ten. A doctor, two nurses, and seven patients.”
Maddie closes her eyes tightly, biting her lip.
I press a kiss to the top of her head. “Maddie, I want you to put Bauer out of your mind. He’s not going to be a problem for us anymore, I swear.”
“I’ll do my best.” She sighs. “You know what would help?”
“I like where your head’s at, but I don’t think we can get away with having sex in here. Trust me, the nurses are in here all the time.” I give her a cheesy wink.
“Hmm, that sounds good, but I was actually thinking something more along the lines of ice cream. Cookies and cream, to be exact.” She tilts her head up and catches my gaze.
“I’ll tell you what,” I say with a chuckle. “I’ll go down to the cafeteria and try to sneak some up if you promise to stop thinking about Bauer.”
“Deal.”
“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Do you need anything else while I’m gone?” I ask, prying myself away from her. I really don’t want to leave, but I’d do just about anything she asked of me.
“Nope. Just the ice cream.”
“Easy enough.” I give her one last kiss. “I love you, Maddie.”
“I love you, too.”
I slip out the door, shutting it behind me and nearly running into someone as I do.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t—”
He stops when he sees me, and a wicked chill winds through me when I realize who it is.
Maddie’s dad is here.
Chapter Forty-Four
Fewthingsareasdeflating as seeing the man who hurt the woman you love outside her hospital room.
The timing really could not be worse.
“Roman. Hi.” He trips over the words, just as startled to see me as I am to see him.
“Hello.” I clench my jaw. For Maddie’s sake, I try to keep it civil. A scene will only stress her out more, and she needs to relax in peace and quiet.
At the moment, I’m not sure which thing I hate him for most—working with Bauer to fabricate a position for Maddie, showing up three days late to see his ailing daughter, or just the all around shitty way he treats her.
“Uh, I came by to see—”
“Mr. Molanari?” The nurse from earlier comes toward us. “Someone will be down to take your fiancé in about thirty minutes. Dr. Talbert wants to do a scan just to be sure everything looks okay.”
Fuck.
“Oh...Okay. I’ll let her know.” I nod, noticing how Mark perks up at the wordfiancé.
The nurse smiles, turning on her heels and heading back towards the nurses’ station.
“Fiancé?” He raises his eyebrow at me. “You and Maddie are engaged?”
