Page 48 of The Criminal’s Cure

“Okay, easy does it,” Roman coaches, holding tightly to my arm and guiding me into the house. It has been a few weeks since the explosion and I was finally cleared to fly home.

Despite weeks of rehab and most of my wounds healing up, Roman insists on treating me like I’m made of glass.

At first, I was annoyed, but it’s kind of cute and I know there’s no arguing with him.

He didn’t leave my side the entire time we were in Denver, refusing to even get a hotel and staying in that tiny hospital room on an awful pullout couch every single night.

I think we’re both looking forward to an actual mattress.

Roman fumbles with the keypad and lets us both into the house. I hobble in on my crutches, still not able to put much weight on my leg.

“Let me just get the lights...” Roman flips the switch and, as the foyer lights up, I see a group of people with balloons and posters and flowers and all kinds of things staring back at me. Ty, Peyton, Dante, Joe, and even some people I don’t recognize.

“Surprise!” they all yell.

“Welcome home Maddie!” Ty grins ear to ear, bouncing towards me. He wraps his arms around my waist as tightly as he can.

“Not so hard, buddy,” Roman cautions, ruffling his hair. “She’s still recovering.”

“I missed you!” I kiss the top of his head and give him a tight squeeze back. “Did you plan all of this?”

“For weeks.” Joe smiles. “It’s been all he could talk about. How are you feeling?”

“Not too bad, actually. It’s been a long day of traveling, but I’m happy to be home.”

“And we’re so happy to have you.” Peyton gives me a big hug. “You look great! No one would even know you were nearly blown apart a few weeks ago.” She winks.

“Okay, not in front of the kid.” Roman lets out a sharp laugh.

“Ah, come on Dad.” Ty rolls his eyes. “All the kids at school are talking about it. My teacher thinks it’s so adorable how you saved Maddie.”

“The kid’s right. The phones have been ringing off the hook here.” Dante laughs. “You guys are celebrities.”

My cheeks flush with embarrassment. In preparation for Dr. Bauer’s trial, small details of the incident have leaked out. One of the biggest stories the media is focusing on is Roman and how his heroics saved so many lives that day. And what’s a good story without a romantic twist?

Somehow they found out that the only reason he was even there was to win me back, and they’ve eaten it up. Mostly, we’ve been able to ignore them, but even driving through the security gate was tricky today because of all the reporters and cameras.

“Maddie, you and I haven’t met yet.” A man comes forward who looks just like Roman but with a tinge more gray in his beard, and hands me a bouquet. “I’m Emmett, Roman’s older and better-looking brother.”

“You wish!” Roman chuckles, slinging his arm around his brother’s neck. “Good to see you, man. I thought you’d have to be back by now.”

“Well, sometimes it takes an explosion to remind you how much your family matters to you.” He smiles. “Turns out I can do a lot of the day-to-day stuff I need to from just about anywhere.”

I feel a small pang of frustration that my own family isn’t here, but that’s something we’re working on.

My mom and dad and brothers all spent time with me and Roman while I was in the hospital, and things were definitely getting better.

It’ll take time, and in the meantime, I have a lot of people who love and support me.

“I hope that means you’ll be around more often. ”

“Absolutely. I’m looking forward to getting to know my new sister-in-law.”

“Woah, woah,” Roman says. “No one is talking about marriage yet. We’re taking things slow.” He glances over, flashing me a funny grin.

That reminder is as much for him as it is for anyone else. Ever since the idea of marriage was brought up, Roman’s been dropping it into normal conversation as often as possible. He’s waiting for my cue, but I can tell he wants to make it happen soon. Luckily, we’re on the same page with that.

“Well, we live in a city where there are about four hundred places you could do it at any second if you change your mind,” Peyton suggests.

“She’s right, you can even have Elvis do it in a drive-through!” Joe adds.

“I think the only thing we’re thinking of doing right now is getting Maddie laid down so she can rest.” Roman guides me toward the stairs.

“Good point. We’ll get out of your hair and let you guys settle in,” Emmett says. “Who’s up for some pizza? I’m buying.” The group heads out the front door and we’re finally left alone.

“I’m sorry.” Roman kisses me softly. “I had no idea they were all going to be here.”

“It’s okay, that was really sweet. It was good to see everyone.”

“Why don’t we get you settled in our room, then I’ll come clean up down here and bring you something to eat?” he suggests.

“Are you sure you want me back in your room? I’m happy to sleep down the hall while I’m recovering. I’ll be up a lot and it’s kind of noisy—”

“Not a shot,” Roman cuts me off, scooping me into his arms and starting up the stairs. “Let’s get you comfortable right where you belong.”

Once I’m upstairs, I change into some sweats before climbing on top of the bed. It feels like absolute heaven after the last few weeks of sleeping on the hospital cot and I know Roman will feel the same. It’s nice to just have a few minutes to myself, something that’s hard to come by lately.

Everything has been a whirlwind, and it’s hard to process all of it.

So much changed in such a short amount of time, but I feel more settled than I have in a long time.

Dr. Bauer is behind bars where he can’t hurt anyone anymore, things are moving in the right direction with my family, and most importantly, my life here with Ty and Roman feels like a dream.

My position in San Francisco is ready whenever I feel up to it, and until then, I’m happy right where I’m at.

“Okay.” Roman comes into the room carrying an array of food, setting it next to me on the bed. “Does anything look good to you? Otherwise I can order takeout.”

“This is perfect.” I smile, eyeing the grilled cheese he made. “Your chef skills are getting better.”

“I wish I could say I made this, but Joe’s wife left enough food to feed a small army. This is just a small sample.”

“That was really sweet of her. And for them to take Ty for a few days while we get settled again.”

Roman nods. “We’re lucky to have friends like them. Even if you haven’t officially met her yet.”

“I’m sure I’ll love her. Anyone who puts up with Joe has got to be a saint.”

“Very true. Although the same could be said for me.”

“You’re not so bad.” I grin, propping myself up in bed. “Just a little hot tempered.”

“More like hot and bothered.” He chuckles. “How many weeks did the doctor want you to wait before we could have sex again?” Roman’s been patient, but both of us are desperately waiting for an opportunity to properly make up.

“He said three more weeks for rigorous activity...but if you could be gentle...”

Roman’s eyes get big and a temptatious smile tugs at his lips. “Oh, I can be gentle. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever shown you just how gentle I can be. Why don’t you lie back and let me take care of you like you deserve?”

“How can I refuse an offer like that?” Roman brushes his lips softly against mine and I set my sandwich to the side. Food could wait. I’m hungry for something else.

SIX WEEKS LATER

Roman holds my hand tightly as we walk out of the courtroom. It’s a blazing hot day in Las Vegas, but it doesn’t stop the crowds of reporters gathering at the sentencing for Dr. Bauer.

“Mr. Molanari, do you think the sentence was fair?”

“How are you feeling, Madison?”

They shout questions, but Roman leads us through the crowd confidently until we get to the truck.

Once we’re inside, I feel like I can finally breathe.

Moments ago, Bauer was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

It’s the highest-level sentence he could receive, and it feels like a weight has been lifted off of my chest. He really is going away forever and will never be able to hurt anyone ever again.

It was tough to stomach at first. The man had been my mentor.

I’d looked up to him and learned nearly everything I knew about being a doctor from him.

Little did I know what was happening behind the scenes.

It makes me nauseous that I was a part of it, but I know there’s no way I could have known what he was really up to, and Roman reminds me of that all the time.

Things between us are better and stronger than ever before.

We’ve settled into a routine and life with Ty that feels so right and so seamless that I hardly remember what my life was like before.

My parents have been out to visit a few times, which was really nice.

While our relationship will never be quite what I imagined, they’re fully embracing being grandparents to Ty.

Maybe this is some sort of second chance, but they dote on him and he loves them just as much.

Roman sets his hand on my knee as we drive away, swerving through the mass of people. “You doing okay?”

I nod. “I finally feel a sense of closure with him. He’s really not going to hurt us anymore.”

“That’s right, babe. And I’m pretty confident that he’ll get exactly what’s coming to him in prison.”

“How are you so sure of that?” I eye him suspiciously.

Roman’s done an incredible job of trying to stay out of everything to do with Dr. Bauer, but I know he has his limits.

Bauer went after nearly everyone that Roman loved, all because he was jealous of his success, and if I’m being honest, I can understand where Roman’s coming from.

Sometimes I crave a little retribution of my own.

Roman chuckles, refusing to look at me. “On the record, just a feeling. But off the record, I have friends in some pretty low places with nothing to lose. Bauer won’t last long on the inside.”

“Is it wrong that I’m glad to hear that?”

“Not at all.” He shakes his head.

“Where are we going?” I notice Roman turned off the highway and we aren’t headed toward home anymore.

“I just wanted a second to clear our minds after court this morning. And I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“What kind of surprise?” I ask as he whips into a gravel parking lot.

“Relax. Come on.” He helps me out of the truck. I got my cast off a few weeks ago, but I still have some pain after I’ve been on my feet for a while.

I follow him down a pathway and into the park to where a small bench sits. When we get close, I can see it’s a bench put there in memory of Talia.

“This city holds a lot of memories for my family, and most of them are bad. I lost my wife, I almost lost my son, and I almost lost the love of my life,” Roman starts.

“I used to love Las Vegas, especially when we first moved here, but now it just kind of feels suffocating, you know?” He keeps his eyes on the bench as he speaks.

I grab his hand, stroking the back of it, and Roman lets out a heavy breath.

He reaches into his pocket, and at first I think he’s about to pull out an engagement ring, but then I see a piece of paper.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and with me taking a back seat with the organization for a while, I think it might be time for a move. ”

I arch my eyebrows at him in shock. This is the very last thing I expected. “A move?”

Roman nods, handing me a piece of paper. There are three one-way tickets to San Francisco printed on it. One for me, one for him, and one for Ty. “I know they said your position was safe for next year, but I think we should go now.”

“You’re serious?” I ask, trying to process all of it. “I thought you couldn’t leave Vegas. What about your work?”

“Well, San Francisco has some of the biggest ports in the world. I’ve been limited to land shipping mostly, but with access to ports…” He raises an eyebrow and then chuckles. “Let’s just say the move will be good for all of us.”

I let out a sharp laugh. It’s tough to wrap my mind around, but honestly, he’s right.

The timing couldn’t be better with Ty about to be out of school for the summer.

We’d have plenty of time to find a place to live and settle in before he had to go back.

I’m also anxious about getting back to work.

The break was nice for a bit, but I’m not really one to sit around; all the rest and relaxation has made me stir crazy.

“You’re sure about this?”

“I’m positive.” He takes my hand. “Like I said, I’m ready to move on from some of these memories and start making new ones with you. And our own family. So what do you say? How about it?”

I can’t help but smile. “I think it sounds incredible.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” Roman’s smile is a mile wide. He sweeps me off of my feet, spinning me around as he kisses me.

A new start sounds incredible, and a new start for all three of us sounds even better.

A fresh start. A place where we can build our lives together, where we can raise our kids.

A place that is full of adventure and opportunity and so many new things for us.

It feels like we are closing the door on a really rough chapter in both of our lives and moving on together towards something much greater.

There is something kind of fun about the future being unknown. Neither of us have any idea what’s to come, but we know we have each other and we have Ty. And we’re ready for our next big adventure.