Page 45 of The Criminal’s Cure

I watch Ty carefully as he takes a bite of his waffle. The kid has a killer poker face, but he hasn’t stopped eating since I set them in front of him and that’s more than he’s done the last few mornings.

Determined to win back both my son and my girl, I got up early this morning. I worked out, showered, shaved, and whipped out a cookbook to teach myself how to make waffles. This is the only chance I’ve got, so I’m pulling out all the stops.

I don’t have much of a plan, except to sit there until she agrees to hear me out.

I want to make sure she knows how much I love her and that I’ll do absolutely anything for her to stay.

I want her to know that I don’t blame her, and that nothing about what happened changed my feelings for her.

If she still wants to leave after that, at least I know I did what I could to get her to stay.

Right now, I’m not sure if Maddie or Ty will be harder to win over.

“So?”

Ty finishes chewing and shrugs his shoulders. “They’re alright. Not like Maddie’s, but you’re making progress.”

“I’ll take it.” I chuckle, ruffling Ty’s hair. “Are you going to be okay with Joe and Sarah today?”

Ty nods, wiggling out of my reach. “Are you going to make up with Maddie?”

“I’m sure going to try, bud.”

“Don’t be an ass to her again.” He narrows his eyes on me.

I bit my lip to keep my laughter in. “Hey, watch your mouth.”

“You say it all the time.”

“Well, I’m a grownup, and that’s a grownup word. Don’t let me hear you say that again,” I warn.

Ty rolled his eyes, reaching for another waffle.

“Who’s ready for some paintball?” Joe calls from the foyer.

“Paintball?” Ty’s face lights up, abandoning his breakfast.

“Hell yeah! Dante is going to meet us with his nephew so your dad can get some work done today.” He winks at me.

“So you’re the one teaching him all the curse words?” I toss Ty’s plate into the sink. “Why don’t you go get your shoes on, buddy?”

“First of all, I don’t want to be blamed for Ty’s language. You’ve got a filthy mouth.” Joe chuckles, handing me a piece of paper. “Second of all, I have some information you might find interesting.”

I read it then glance up at him. “Maddie’s job offer?”

He nods. “I did a little digging. Bauer called in a favor to get her transferred out of here and away from you.”

“I thought her dad was responsible?”

“Technically, he’s the one who called in the favor, but Bauer called him to make it happen.” Joe scratches his chin. “What do you want to do about it?”

I think for a second, and an idea hits me. “Russ has done enough time in the cage. I think I have a better idea for him now.”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s get him picked up for something so that he can take care of Bauer in jail.”

Joe chuckles. “I’m guessing you know Russ already has two felonies and they throw the book at him if he gets a third.”

“That’s too bad.” I shrug. Honestly, the guy is lucky to be alive after trying to steal from us. Although he might not feel the same way when he’s serving a life sentence.

“Creative. I love it.”

Joe’s gaze darts over my shoulder at the TV and his face turns white.

“What?” I ask, turning and seeing a picture of the hospital on the news. “What is that?”

I point the remote at the TV and turn the volume up.

“Breaking news, out of Las Vegas now. A bomb threat has been called in to the local hospital and staff and patients are being evacuated. Police are asking the public to avoid the area and proceed to the evacuation site to reunite with their loved ones who are at the hospital.”

“Is that...”

“Maddie’s there,” I say flatly, staring at the screen. It takes me a few seconds to gain my bearings, but when I do, I grab my keys and take off towards the door, not even bothering to tell Joe what I’m doing. All I can think about is getting to her. I won’t be able to breathe until I do.

I get there in record time, throwing my truck into park and racing toward the building. Everything is blocked off with police tape, but I run full steam ahead, with no regard to where police are trying to direct me.

“Sir, you can’t go in there.” An officer tries to block me.

I jerk away from him. “My girlfriend is in there!”

“Sir, I understand, but we’re working on getting everyone out of the building right now. You can meet your girlfriend over at the reunification site.”

I glance where she points, but there’s no sight of Maddie. I know if there are still patients inside, that’s where she’ll be. I make a split-second decision to go in after her, brushing past the officer and entering the hospital. I’ve got to find Maddie and get her out of here.

“You can’t just go in there! Sir!”

By the time I get inside, most of the first floor is empty, but I run into Peyton, who’s wheeling a bed outside.

“Peyton!” I jog towards her. “Have you seen Maddie?”

“She’s helping me evacuate patients on the third floor.” Peyton’s tone is tight. “Roman, I think there might really be a bomb. This isn’t like the other times that we had threats. Maddie thinks it’s a prank.”

“I’ll find her, I promise,” I say, squeezing Peyton’s shoulder and heading towards the stairwell. I take them three at a time until I get to the third floor.

“Maddie?” I call down the empty hallway. There’s no response, so I make my way from room to room as quickly as possible.

“Maddie, are you up here?”

Still no response.

“Come on, Maddie.” I’m almost to the last room, and at this point I have no idea what I’ll do if I don’t find her. I start to panic a little. If this really is a bomb...

My heart lurches as I look into the last room. Maddie stands in the center of the room, between a little girl and Dr. Bauer. There’s a backpack with wires poking out of it at his feet, and I see a digital clock ticking down with each passing second.

Son of a bitch.

“Well, it looks like the gang’s all here.” Bauer gets a sinister grin on his face. “This just keeps getting better.”

Maddie gives me a desperate look as we lock eyes.

“Are you okay?” I ask, stepping into the room.

She nods, biting her lip with tears in her eyes. All I want is to reach out for her and hold her in my arms, to comfort her and to protect her, but Bauer has all the power here and he knows it. The little girl behind Maddie is bawling, terrified of what is about to happen.

“Look, I’m sure we can work all of this out.” I turn back towards Bauer cautiously.

“We’re not working anything out, Roman. I was just explaining to your sweet little girlfriend here that no one is walking out of here alive. We’re way past that. But if it makes you feel any better, you’ll both die here together.”

“Dr. Bauer, please,” Maddie begs. The look in her eyes shatters my heart. “This is between us. You and me and Roman. Please let her go.”

“I’ll stay in her place, Bauer,” I offer myself up. “There’s no sense in hurting an innocent little girl. I’ll stay here and do whatever you want.”

Bauer chuckles to himself. “I’m not a completely unreasonable man. If you stay, she can go.”

“Okay.” Maddie sucks in a sharp breath of relief, kneeling in front of the little girl. “Okay, sweetie. Do you think you can get outside by yourself?” Maddie’s maternal instinct kicks in and she wipes away at the girl’s tears.

“Not without you.” The girl continues to cry, clutching Maddie’s hand.

“I can’t go with you right now, but I promise, when all this is over, I’ll come meet you outside and everything will be okay.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Bauer growls. “Get her out of here before I change my mind.”

Quickly, I assess Bauer and try to figure out what exactly I’m dealing with. I can see the bomb, and if I don’t move soon, he’s right—no one will be leaving here alive. I inch my way toward him while he’s distracted by Maddie and the girl.

His hand is on a trigger, and if I tackle him, it will come off. More than likely, that will blow the entire place up. I have to avoid that at all costs, but I have no idea how.

“The elevator is right down the hallway,” Maddie tells the little girl. “Do you know how to get it open?”

She nods. “I always press it when I come here with Mommy.”

“That’s so fun,” Maddie chokes, biting back her tears. “You get inside that elevator, just like you do with your mommy, and you press the L button. Can you remember that?”

“I think so.”

“I know you can,” Maddie assures her, squeezing the girl’s shoulders and forcing a brave smile. “Now go. Run as fast as you can, okay?”

The little girl takes one last look at Maddie and disappears out the door. We’re all silent until we hear the doors of the elevator close. It’s just the three of us now.

“Bauer, I’m the one you really want, right? It’s my fault you lost business. My fault Maddie didn’t follow your plan. This whole thing is on me. Let Maddie go, then you and I can settle this like men.”

Bauer eyes me carefully. “What you said is true Roman—this is about you. But I know I can cause you the greatest pain in your life by taking Maddie’s right in front of you, knowing there is nothing you can do about it.”

Bauer is out of his mind, and there is no reasoning with him right now. I’m going to have to take this by force if we have any hope of making it out alive. And just in case it goes badly, I turn to Maddie, ready to bear my soul.

“Maddie,” I say softly. “I’m sorry, baby.”

Tears spring to her eyes again.

“I don’t blame you for what happened. I was angry, and I said some things I shouldn’t have, but I love you. I love you more than anything, and I came here today to tell you that.” My voice breaks with emotion. “You’re all that matters to me, Maddie. You and Ty.”

She nods, a gentle smile on her face. “I love you, too, Roman. So much.”

“This is all very touching, but you’re running out of time.” Bauer rolls his eyes.

He’s right. With only three minutes left on the timer, it’s now or never.

“Run, Maddie.”

“What?” Her brow furrows.

“Now, Maddie. Run!”

She glances at me for a second, debating what to do. I give her a pleading look, and seconds later, she takes off out of the room.

“Shouldn’t have done that...” Bauer is halfway through his sentence when I lunge at him.

Gripping his shoulders, I wrestle with him violently for a few seconds before shoving him backwards.

It seems like everything moves in slow motion and then it all happens at once.

I’m not even sure which comes first, but as I shove Bauer backwards, his finger comes off the trigger remote and the two of us crash through the window.

Glass shatters all around us as we collapse on the rooftop below, both reeling from the fall.

I look up at the window we’d just fallen out of, helpless as the entire hospital goes up in a cloud of smoke.