Crime & Passion (28 page)

Donovan stepped behind her and wrapped his
arms around her waist. Once he had her steady, Madeline’s fingers
once again moved to her face to outline the scars.

Her eyes met his in the mirror. “I remember,”
she whispered. “She said you wouldn’t love me if I was ugly. I
knocked her into the coffee table and the glass broke all over. She
used that.” Madeline closed her eyes, leaning heavily against
Donovan’s chest.

“I’m so sorry, Madeline. I tried to get
someone to help you in time. I prayed you wouldn’t let her in the
house.”

“I wanted to stay in bed. I wanted the world
to leave me alone.” She looked into the mirror again and shook her
head. “Suzie knew what she was doing. I
am
ugly now.” A sob
ripped from her throat and her legs lost all strength.

Donovan adjusted before she fell, sweeping
her into his arms and carrying her back to the bed. He lay her down
gently, crawling in next to her and taking her in his arms.

“I’m sorry this happened to you, and I’m so
sorry I hurt you.” He gripped her chin and forced her to look at
him. “I told you this before, Maddie, and I meant it then and now.
You are beautiful no matter what.”

“That was when I was just fat, Donovan!” Her
words were barely audible through her crying. “No wonder that
little girl looked at me like I’m a monster. I am!”

Donovan gripped her shoulders and shook her
lightly. “Stop that right now. It’s not true.”

She stared at him for a long time, wiping the
tears from her face as her crying subsided. “I guess one good thing
came from this.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

She snorted. “Apparently being on a feeding
tube for three weeks is great.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s the coma diet plan. I’ve lost those
last pesky ten pounds.” She looked at him, not blinking. “Maybe my
body will be as nice as hers now.”

“Don't say things like that. You're body has
always been perfect.” Donovan leaned in for a kiss, intending to
reassure her, but Madeline turned her cheek to him. He kissed that
instead, trying not to let his hurt show. She had every right to
hurt him if she wanted to. He deserved it. “I never meant those
words. You have to believe me, Maddie. You are the woman I want.
Forget what I said at the jail. The truth was what I said in your
apartment before that.”

Madeline struggled to roll over, putting her
back to him as she faced the wall. “I’m angry right now, and I
don’t want to take it out on you,” she said softly. She stroked her
hand across the scar on her cheek. “I need some time to take all
this in. Please, just leave me alone.”

Donovan squeezed her hand tightly and then
climbed out of the bed. “You are the most important person in the
world to me. I’ll wait however long it takes.”

Her shoulders shook, and he knew she cried
again. “Maybe you should do some thinking of your own,” she
whispered. “I’m a freak now. Is my face really something you want
to look at all the time?”

“Yes. I don’t care about—”

“No!” She rolled over and glared at him. Rage
simmered just below the surface of her features. “You don’t get to
hand me platitudes, Donovan. You are the man who dates every woman
in the world. You really want me,” she gestured to her cheek, “with
this?”

Donovan nodded, though he didn’t open his
mouth again. Madeline felt like she was no longer beautiful. He
could understand that, even if it wasn’t true.

“I’ll understand if you change your mind.
Think things over.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “But do
it somewhere else.”

He left the room without another word,
respecting her wishes. He closed the door and leaned against the
wall, sliding down to rest on the balls of his feet, hanging his
head in his hands.

Knowing that Suzie attacked Madeline’s face
specifically because she thought it would change Donovan’s mind, he
feared Maddie would never forgive him. She felt like a
monster...and held him responsible.

Madeline rode in the back of her parents’ car
a week later, heading to her apartment. The situation between her
and Donovan hadn’t improved much, though he followed behind them.
Between Madeline’s medical tests, light physical therapy, and a
constant stream of visitors, they hadn’t found any time to be alone
since she sent him away.

Her face looked like an experiment from
Doctor Frankenstein’s table. That was the reason for her continued
anger, and she knew it wasn’t fair to take it out on Donovan. She
had a hard time believing it didn’t bother him. It bothered the
hell out of her.

It was something she’d have to get used to.
Insurance wouldn’t pay for cosmetic surgery, and she didn’t have
that kind of money.

She hoped the scars wouldn’t hurt her chances
of getting the full-time teaching job at the grade school. The
principal said he wanted to hire her when the new school year
started. Hopefully that didn’t change now.

Would the children be afraid of her? Then
again, it might be a good lesson for them to see differences in
appearance didn’t mean people were bad. She could teach them a lot
with her new face.

Her mom turned sideways in her chair to look
at Madeline. “I’ve been wondering about something.”

Madeline forced herself to smile and put
thoughts of the teaching position in the back of her mind to ponder
later. “What’s that?”

“I don’t understand why you refused to ride
with Donovan.”

“Karen, leave it be,” her father said.

She shook her head. “I can’t. I think
Madeline needs to know what that man’s been through this past
month. He’s a good guy.”

Madeline turned to look out the back window
at Donovan’s car, which followed closely behind them on the
highway. He smiled and waved when he saw her looking. Madeline
raised her hand briefly before turning around.

“Okay, Mom. Tell me about it.”

Her mom gripped the back of the seat to shift
her body into better position. “First of all, he never left you
longer than he had to unless it was to spend time with that nice
man, Jeremy Rains. The poor boy hardly slept, always at your
bedside, even when it wasn’t his turn to watch you.”

Madeline snorted. “You do know that ‘poor
boy’ is suspected of murder and is a womanizing jerk, right?” She
could have slapped herself as the words left her mouth. She truly
cared for Donovan and shouldn’t set him up for failure with her
parents. She’d been grouchy since waking up from the coma. “I
shouldn’t have said that.”

“No. You shouldn’t have. It’s not fair to
him.” Karen’s eyes tightened at the corners and she shook her head.
“Donovan told us all about his past. Plus, worrying about those
charges all month has been really hard on him. Everything’s at a
standstill while they wait to question that woman who attacked
you.”

Madeline hated when her mom chastised her,
especially when Karen was right. “I wasn’t thinking about the
charges. He must be afraid. They talked about the death
penalty.”

“That’s not even been the worst part for
him,” Keith said.

“What could be worse than that?” Madeline
asked.

Keith’s eyes met Madeline’s in the rearview
mirror. “He thought he was going to lose you.”

“He told us he loves you.” Karen shrugged and
rubbed Keith’s arm, a smile dancing across her face. “Your father
and I really like him. He might be
the one
.”

Madeline sighed and risked another glance
over her shoulder. Donovan waved again, and this time she waved
back with more enthusiasm. “I like him too,” she admitted, facing
her mom. “And, for the record, he didn’t kill anyone.”

Her mom waved that aside. “Of course he
didn’t. On top of his devotion to you, he and Jeremy put in a lot
of time and money to fix your apartment. They cleaned up the glass
and floors, replaced your coffee table, and put new locks on the
door.” She smiled and gave a happy sigh. “Isn’t that so sweet?”

The guilt for shunning Donovan this past week
bore down on Madeline a little harder. “That was nice of them.”

“And,” her dad chimed in, “Donovan said you
have a fully stocked shelf of tea now. He bought a lot of new
things for the two of you to try.”

“The two of us?” Madeline rubbed the scar on
her cheek, wondering at that.

Suzie had said Donovan’s main motivation was
physical beauty, and she’d known Donovan longer than Madeline had.
Madeline couldn’t help but worry she was right, and Donovan’s
interest would fade now. He hadn’t yet told her his final decision
about whether he wanted to stay with her.

“He prefers coffee,” she said to her parents,
instead of voicing her true concern.

Her mom laughed. “Men change for the woman
they love. Isn’t that right, honey?”

Her dad joined in with her laughter. “We’re
in trouble if we don’t.”

***

They exited the elevator and approached the
new door to her apartment. Madeline noted the two separate deadbolt
locks.

Donovan shifted the small bag of Madeline’s
belongings to his left hand and reached into his pocket, pulling
out a set of keys. “We got special permission from your landlord
for two locks,” he said, handing her an unfamiliar keychain. “I
also put in two new security latches.”

Madeline raised an eyebrow. “That seems like
a bit of overkill.” She took the keychain from his hand, noting a
new miniature canister of pepper spray attached to it.

Donovan shook his head. “I’m not taking any
more chances with you. But you
do
have to stop letting
people inside when you’re alone.”

“I live alone.” She shrugged. “Does that mean
I don’t ever get to have visitors again?”

“Only if I’m with you.” Donovan stroked her
chin with gentle fingers, staring deeply into her eyes.

Madeline couldn’t help it—she shivered at his
light touch. He seemed to be saying he did want to be with her,
despite her face. She wondered how long it would be before her
parents left to find a hotel. It was long overdue for her to spend
some alone time with Donovan. They needed to work things out. And
then she wanted to melt into his arms.

Keith cleared his throat behind them. “Should
we go inside?”

Donovan dropped his hand from her face,
blushing, and Madeline grinned at him before unlocking the
door.

She entered the apartment and walked down the
small hallway, stepping into the living room.

“Surprise!”

Madeline jumped, looking around as her heart
pounded. “You certainly did surprise me,” she said when her throat
loosened enough to speak again.

Brandon and Lindsey stood from the couch,
turning to face her. Eric Sanders stood in the corner by the bay
window, talking to Jeremy; all the people here who might count as
her friends. A darker thought crossed Madeline’s mind as she looked
at them. They were also people she and Donovan thought capable of
murder. Well, except Jeremy.

“Jeremy organized everything,” Lindsey said.
“He thought it would be nice for us to get together.”

“I brought Chinese food,” Brandon said. “I
hope you like that.”

At Madeline’s nod, he headed for the
kitchen.

Lindsey smiled brightly, her wrinkle-free
face and blonde hair looking perfect as always. Madeline realized
how easy it would be to hate pretty people now, if she allowed
herself to become bitter.

“I’m so happy to see all of you,” she said,
returning Lindsey’s smile.

Lindsey walked forward and slung her arm
around Madeline’s shoulders. “You look fabulous, sweetie. No one
will believe you spent a month in a coma. I’m so glad you’re back.”
She led Madeline to the couch, pulling her down on the cushions.
“I’m opening Woofy Cuts back up next week. Think you’ll be up to
working?”

Madeline was surprised the shop had been
closed this long, but she nodded her agreement. “I’ll be ready for
duty, boss.”

The older woman smiled and squeezed Madeline
tightly. “You scared me to death. Let’s not ever do anything like
this again, okay?”

“Sounds good to me. Just keep Suzie away from
me.”

Lindsey made a face as though she tasted
something rotten. “Suzie Stone...who could’ve guessed that?” She
glanced across the room to where Donovan had joined Eric and
Jeremy. “To think I blamed Donovan. I do feel guilty for that.”

You
should
feel guilty. If you and
Brandon had your way, he’d be awaiting his turn at the gas
chamber.

Madeline wisely kept her mouth shut, knowing
it would serve no purpose to lash out at Lindsey. It frustrated
Madeline that more people didn’t believe in Donovan, but they
certainly weren’t the only people who had believed he was
guilty.

As the silence lengthened, Lindsey fidgeted,
finally standing up. She looked across the room where Madeline’s
parents carried chairs in from the dining room to provide more
seating. “Maybe I should help your parents.” She looked at
Madeline, apparently waiting for a response.

“That would be nice.” Madeline forced herself
to smile.

“I could make tea too,” she offered.
“Chamomile?”

“Sounds lovely.”

Madeline watched Lindsey make her way to the
kitchen. She kept her smile fixed in place as Eric walked toward
her.

“Glad you’re back.” Eric took her hand and
kissed it before sitting next to her. “You had us all scared.”

“It was a scary situation,” she agreed. “Any
news on Suzie? Why haven’t they dropped the charges against
Donovan?”

He shook his head. “I can’t tell you about
the investigation, Madeline. You know that.”

“I just want Donovan’s name cleared, then
this craziness can end.”

“There’s still a lot of evidence against
Donovan,” Eric said softly, leaning closer to her ear. “The DA is
hesitant to move forward because of what Suzie did, but no one’s
ready to believe Donovan is innocent.”