Page 41 of The Criminal’s Cure

Life can be funny.

One minute the thought of getting married again makes you break out in hives, and the next, you meet a woman who has you believe in things like fate and true love.

One minute, work is your safe place, and the next, you’re counting down the hours until you can get home to your family.

One minute, you’re bashing a guy’s skull in to force information out of him, and the next, you’re thinking about buying a diamond ring for a girl you can’t live without.

After the last couple of weeks, my morning is actually kind of boring.

I need to finalize some existing accounts and check in on one of our shipping warehouses.

It’s the most I’ve been involved in the daily details for a while, because vengeance has been the only thing on my mind, but things feel different now.

I still want to get this guy. I want him to suffer. I want to watch the life drain from his eyes as he takes his last breath. I want my face to be the last thing he sees on this earth. But being with Maddie has opened my eyes a bit.

The best thing I can give Ty is my time and attention, and I guess witnessing Maddie’s relationship with her dad really drove that point home.

I want Ty to grow up and know how much I love and support him, and that might mean letting some things go.

No amount of revenge will bring my son’s mother back, and my obsession with it hasn’t helped him at all.

It’s time to move on; time to get back to normal. Or, at least, a new normal. One that includes Maddie.

“Damn it!” I hiss, pulling the flaming pan out of the oven. Twenty-seven minutes ago, this was a beautiful salmon filet, and now it’s completely unrecognizable.

Fantastic.

I came home early intending to make a nice, romantic dinner for Maddie and I while Ty was at his playdate.

Charred fish wasn’t what I had in mind, so I guess we’ll be settling for take-out again.

I’ve given this cooking thing the whole college try, but it’s pretty clear that Maddie is the chef around here.

By the time the front door opens, I’ve somewhat got the fish smell out and Chinese food on the way.

“Roman?” she calls.

“In the kitchen, babe.”

When Maddie comes around the corner, I can’t wipe the smile off of my face. Getting to come home to her at the end of the day will never get old.

“Wow! What is all this?” she asks, walking into the kitchen and setting her bag on the counter.

When Maddie won’t meet my eyes, I know something is up. Her whole demeanor is off, even the tone of her voice. As she looks away, I can see that her eyes are red and swollen, like she’s been crying, and a twinge of fear pulses through me.

“Ty is at a playdate. I thought you and I could have a romantic dinner before we have to go pick him up. I tried to cook, but that was a massive fail, so Chinese is on the way,” I say, reaching for her hand. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” She musters a convincing smile. “That sounds great. Let me just go change.”

“Okay, babe.”

Everything is clearly not okay, but she doesn’t seem like she’s ready to talk about it. I want tonight to be relaxing, a break from all the shit that we’ve been dealing with, so I won’t press her on it. Instead, I’ll distract her as best I can.

Security brings up the Chinese delivery, and I start to spread it out on the counter. When I move Maddie’s bag, a file falls out of it. I bend to pick it up, sweeping the papers back in, but something catches my eye.

Natalia Castillo.

My heart sinks. Holy shit, is this…it can’t be. There’s no way that Maddie got Talia’s file. I thought it was sealed. I thought it was impossible. Why didn’t she mention it?

As I flip through it, though, I realize that must have just been more of Bauer’s lies, because it’s all here.

Every last detail. As I read over Talia’s injuries, I relive every emotion of that day and my heart nearly stops.

Blunt force trauma to the head. Broken ribs.

Broken jaw. Strangulation. Blunt force trauma to the abdomen.

Each detail is listed off like a shopping list.

I knew all of this, but seeing it in black and white hits me like a fucking wrecking ball. She suffered so much.

Bauer’s name is all over the place. The bastard was the one to operate on her, and he lied to me this whole time. He let me think it was someone else, when really, I was staring the monster right in the face every time we spoke.

I clench my jaw, already imagining all the ways I’m going to go after him.

In the back is a log of medications that she was given, and right there in the middle is Maddie’s signature. What the hell?

Warfarin . Why did Maddie authorize blood thinners for Talia when she was on an operating table bleeding out? Why was Maddie working on her to begin with? And why the fuck is this the first time I’m learning about it?

“Roman, do you…” Maddie stops dead in her tracks when she sees what I’m looking at.

“What the hell is this, Maddie?” I stand up slowly, afraid of the rush I might get. “You worked on Talia and you didn’t tell me?”

She sucks in a sharp breath. “I can explain, Roman.”

“You better.” I narrow my eyes at her.

Maddie flinches like she’s scared of me. “Can we sit down?”

“I’d rather stand.” I grit my teeth. “Tell me what the fuck is going on.”

“Look, Roman, I…When we first met, I had no clue…”

“Get it out, Maddie. Now.” I hate how harsh I sound, but fury and rage wind through me, gripping my mind and my heart like shackles.

“The day that Talia was attacked was my first day at the hospital.” Her eyes fill with tears.

“Bauer was my mentor, and he was pulled into surgery. I was still so new that I couldn’t even be in the operating room, but I waited outside.

Bauer asked me to grab some medication about halfway through the surgery. ”

“The Warfarin.”

She nods. “We give Warfarin a lot if we’re concerned about clotting, so I didn’t think anything of it.”

“But Talia wasn’t having issues with clots. She was bleeding out.” I can barely get the words out as the vice around my lungs tightens.

“Yes, she was. But I wasn’t in the operating room, so I didn’t know that. I should have double checked or talked to someone else or…” She bites her quivering lip.

“What happened, Madison?”

“I got him the medication, but when I came back, he swore he told me to get something different. Something to clot the blood instead of thin it like she should have had from the beginning. He was angry, acted like I messed up, so I rushed back to the pharmacy to get the right medication. I never knew what happened to the Warfarin. At least until I found Talia’s file this morning.

Bauer gave it to her and she…God, I’m so sorry Roman. ”

Heavy tears stream down her cheeks, burying her face in her hands.

I can’t think. I can’t breathe. I can’t even fully comprehend what she just said. All I hear is that Bauer killed Talia on purpose , and Maddie was involved.

Not just involved, she basically gave him the loaded gun.

I know it’s wrong, and I hate myself for feeling that way, but I just can’t stop it. I’ve been killing myself the last several months, trying to find some kind of justice for Talia now…It’s all for nothing.

“Please say something, Roman.” Maddie sniffles.

I should go to her. I should comfort her.

But I can’t. I’m frozen in place as my conflicting emotions hold me hostage.

This is Maddie—the woman I love and want to spend the rest of my life with.

But she had a hand in killing Talia, the mother of my son, and someone I really cared about, too.

My heart feels like it’s been ripped out of my body and I don’t know what to do.

So, like usual, I turn to what I’m good at.

“I’m going to find Bauer.”

I step towards the door, but she reaches for my wrist. “I know you’re upset, but do you think that’s a good idea?” she pleads.

I check my arm away from her and recoil. “Now you’re defending him? The prick is a monster! He killed my wife, he terrorized my family, and now he’s finally going to pay.”

“Roman, stop. I’m not defending him, but this isn’t…”

“This isn’t what, Madison?” I bellow, sweeping my arm across the counter and sending the dishes I had laid out shattering to the ground.

“This isn’t a good idea? I’m pretty sure that shit went out the window long ago.

He killed Talia with drugs that you gave to him.

I’ve waited for this day since I buried my wife, and now that I know the truth…

” I shake my head, fighting back my own tears.

I’m so blinded by anger and confusion and hurt that I can’t make sense of it.

“Please,” Maddie begs, staring at me with the same big brown eyes I fell in love with. The lips that I let kiss every inch of me. The hair that has been sprayed across my pillowcase every morning for the last few months. God, how did this happen?

I’m such a fool. This is what I get for falling in love. For thinking I can have a normal life.

“Go to LA, Maddie. Take the job. I think we’re done here.”

Without another word, I turn and rush out of the house. If I stay in there one more minute, I have no idea what will happen and I can’t take that chance right now.

I have to protect my family.