Page 24 of The Criminal’s Cure

Happy .

I scoffed when Joe said it earlier, because fuck, how much more cliche can a guy get? One night with a girl and my entire outlook on life shifts? It sounds pathetic, but I don’t even care at this point.

I’m happy .

Spending time with Maddie makes me happy . Getting to know Maddie makes me happy . Watching as Maddie’s toe curl as she comes makes me really fucking happy .

In some miraculous way, she’s pulled me out of the dark cloud that’s loomed over me for months. I wouldn’t say it’s completely clear skies yet, but it’s a start and I’m optimistic, which has never been a word used to describe me.

“What sounds good for dinner?” I ask Ty as we load into the truck. After showering at the warehouse, I picked him up from Sarah’s and we headed home. Maddie should be there soon, too.

“Isn’t Maddie going to cook something?” he asks.

“She cooks for us a lot. Maybe it would be nice if you and I handled dinner for a change.”

Ty seems less than confident about my cooking abilities, and honestly, so am I. So when he suggests we order pizza, I’m all over it.

“Now that sounds right up my alley.”

Maddie’s car is already in the driveway when we get home, and Ty skips in front of me to get inside.

“We’re home!” he calls, throwing the front door open as I trail behind him.

“There’s my favorite Molanari man.” Maddie grins, coming around the corner and as he leaps into her arms.

“Hey!” I frown, trying to draw some sympathy. It’s hard to compete for attention with an impossibly adorable six-year-old.

Maddie slips her arms around my neck, standing on her tiptoes to brush a kiss across my cheek. “And there’s my second favorite Molanari man.”

“You haven’t met uncle Emmett yet. Dad might move down the list,” Ty snickers.

“That’s enough out of you.” I chuckle, ruffling his hair as he lunges out of the way and disappears into the living room.

“Who’s this ‘uncle Emmett’?” Maddie smirks as she backs up.

Snaking my arm around her waist, I pull Maddie back into me. I’m not ready to let go of her just yet. “Emmett is my older brother, and Ty’s right. He is much cooler than me. Now you never get to meet him.”

“Well, if he’s anything like you, then that’s fine with me. I’ve got all the arrogance and charm I can handle right here.”

“I don’t know…I think you can handle a lot more. Maybe we should put that theory to the test tonight.”

Maddie drops her head to the side as I lift her off her toes and nuzzle her neck. A gentle, sultry moan escapes her lips as mine brush across the sensitive spot. Palming her ass, my fingers dig into her muscle and pull her even closer.

“Roman…” Her whisper spreads across my skin like wildfire and, for a second, I forget that we’re standing in my kitchen.

“Dad said we could order pizza!” Ty blurts out, charging back into the room.

Maddie and I frantically break apart, squashing the moment that was building between us.

“That sounds good to me! As long as we don’t get anything with pineapples!” Maddie grins as she walks around the island, as if putting a physical barrier between us.

I can’t help but laugh. She avoids my gaze, focusing on anything but me,, but when I finally catch her gaze, a pink flush hits her cheeks. I like the look of her on edge, especially knowing that I’ll be the one to finish the job tonight.

The pizza is delivered relatively quickly for a Friday night, and we all eat together.

Ty insists on showing Maddie his Lego set and the three of us spread out on the living room floor, assembling the entire thing.

It’s way past his bedtime by the time we finish, but when he crawls into my arms and thanks me for such a fun day, I almost melt.

While I put Ty to sleep, Maddie cleans up downstairs, leaving the kitchen sparkling by the time I return.

For some bizarre reason, the sight of it makes me emotional.

Tonight was perfect. For the first time in months, Ty got to have a glimpse of a normal childhood, and that’s all I ever wanted for him.

When Talia died, I never once considered remarrying, let alone finding a mother figure for Ty.

I just accepted that we were on our own, but Maddie has me considering all of it.

It’s crazy how quickly she’s become so ingrained into our lives and I almost can’t remember what life was like before.

Introducing someone new into Ty’s life is dangerous territory; the thought of him losing another person scares me, but hopefully it never comes to that.

“How was the rest of your day?” I ask her as I grab a couple of glasses and a bottle of wine.

“Great, actually.” She smiles, tossing the rag into the sink. “One of the trauma residents is going to be gone for a month, and Dr. Bauer asked me if I want to fill in for him.”

My throat tightens. “Wow. That’s great.”

I want to be happy for Maddie because I know it’s what she wants and I know how hard she’s worked for it, but I don’t trust Bauer. Especially now that he knows we’re seeing each other.

“You don’t look excited.”

“I am.” I bite my lip. “I just…Be careful with Bauer, okay? I know you can handle yourself, but the guy is dangerous.”

Maddie laughs, pressing the glass of wine to her lips. There’s a smudge of her rosy gloss on the rim when she sets it down. “You know, he told me the same thing about you. Almost word for word. What’s the deal there, Roman?”

I don’t look up, drawing in a long breath as I figure out how to broach this topic with her.

I had grand plans for tonight, and this is a downer I definitely don’t need.

Out of respect for her job, I initially kept the extent of my history with both Dr. Bauer and St. Luke’s from Maddie,, but she needs to know.

“When Talia died…I told you I was out of town. Her mom is the one who found her, and she called an ambulance,” I start.

“Talia was taken to St. Luke’s and treated for her injuries, but something happened during surgery.

It was supposed to be routine, and she could have survived, but she never made it off the table. ”

Maddie’s face falls, and she reaches out. “Oh, Roman.”

“Dr. Bauer was head of Trauma Surgery back then, too. There was a mistake made, and he knew who did it, and he wouldn’t tell me. All I wanted was a name.”

I don’t really even know what I would have done if he did tell me. It was a mistake, after all. I knew that. But still, I needed to know. I needed the information like I needed to breathe and the fact that it’s so many months later and we’re still coming up short wrecks me.

She bites her lip. “That’s why you didn’t want to take Ty to the hospital.”

I nod. “I couldn’t take him to the place where his mother died.

I know what happened to Talia isn’t common, but I couldn’t chance it again.

I guess Dr. Bauer has become my scapegoat.

I don’t know who was really responsible, but he’s the closest target I can get.

We spent months in litigation, but it got nowhere.

Eventually, the hospital settled, sealed her records, and I never got the information. ”

“Roman, I’m so sorry.” Maddie rubs my forearm gently, her arm draped over my back. “I don’t even know what to say…”

“You don’t have to say anything. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you to begin with. I just want you to be careful with him. He ended up in some hot water over it and he’s not my biggest fan. I don’t want to make things harder on you at work, so maybe Ty and I shouldn’t do any more impromptu visits.”

She shakes her head. “You know, seeing you two was the highlight of my day. Even more so than getting the news that I get to fill in on trauma.”

“Really?” I can’t even help the dopey smile that spreads across my face.

“Yeah.” She nods. “I love getting to spend time with you, so come whenever you want. And please, don’t worry anymore about me and Dr. Bauer. I can handle it.”

“I know you can.” I chew on the inside of my cheek.

Just because I know she can handle herself doesn’t mean I don’t want to do it for her.

With the mood sufficiently killed, Maddie and I finish our wine and then head upstairs. We’re both exhausted, yet convincing her to stay in my room again tonight is easy.

The irony of me begging her to stay isn’t lost on me. I’ve never shared my bed with a woman. Never with any of my hookups. Never even with Talia. She had her own room and space here, to even further solidify that what we had was a business deal and not a romantic relationship.

But having Maddie curled up next to me, her perfume on my pillows, her hair caught in the sheets–something about that feels so fucking right.