Forsaken Duty (Red Team #9)(15)

She ran outside without shoes or a coat. She didn’t even feel the cold. She called for Troy as she rounded the corner. She called again and again until she came to an abrupt halt. He was on the playground…with Owen. Ms. Denton stood off to the side.

Hot relief chased away the icy fear in Addy’s veins, leaving her angry and shaken. She marched over to the hand-over-hand module where Troy was showing off to Owen. She stubbed her toe on its metal base, but didn’t even pause in her rush to get her son away from the threat.



Owen saw her before Troy did. He straightened and faced her. She glared at him, her eyes narrowing in fury before she reached up to pluck her son from the bars. Owen noticed the trail of blood she was leaving behind her as she hurried back to the house.

“Hey,” he said in a lame attempt to stop her. The woman was furious; he was going to have to do more than that to get through to her. He reached out and caught her wrist so she would turn around and face him.

Her face went pale as she looked down to where he was holding her.

“Addy.”

She didn’t look up at him. When he reached for Troy so he could set him down, she began to fight against him. Troy looked terrified. Owen finally got him free and set him on his feet. When the nanny came forward to take him, Addy screamed and pulled her son behind her. A pool of blood was spreading around her foot on the concrete sidewalk.

Owen bent close and caught her face in his hands. “Whoa. Easy, Addy. It’s all good. Troy’s fine. No one’s hurt. Except you. Your foot’s bleeding. Let me help you, all right? Troy’s not going anywhere. He’s going to stand right here next to you. Yeah?” Owen nodded to the tutor.

Addy reached down and gripped a fistful of her son’s fleece pullover. She released a ragged breath that immediately condensed in the air between them.

Owen pulled his jacket over her shoulders. The sidewalk was red under her foot. He was ticked that she’d run outside in this cold weather barefoot. A cut like that needed stitches. Maybe a tetanus shot. And they were a long way from a clinic. She didn’t let go of Troy. Owen reached over and pushed one of her hands through a sleeve of his jacket.

“Honey, you’ll have to let go of Troy so I can get this on you before you get a chill,” Owen said. Her eyes met his and her jaw clenched. “Please?”

He thought about promising that he’d never hurt her son, but he didn’t. He’d learned the hard way that even if he didn’t cause the boy harm, his being here might be its own kind of harm. Owen caught her hand and pulled it away from Troy then slipped it through its sleeve.

When she was covered, he swung her up into his arms. Again she fought, pounding at him, kicking to be freed. Owen brought her close in a tight hold. “Stop. Addy, look at your foot. You can’t walk back to the house.”

She did look at her foot then. Her face went pale, as if it was the first she’d been aware that she’d hurt herself. “I can walk.”

“Not barefoot. And my boots won’t fit you. I’ll carry your boy, too, if I have to. Or he could just walk ahead of us so you can see him.”

She appeared to relent, so he readjusted her weight. “Put your arm around me.”

“I’m too heavy. Really, I’ll be fine walking.”

“You aren’t even half as heavy as some of the guys I’ve had to carry out of battles.”

She put her arm around his neck. He had to stifle his body’s heated response to that. “You probably fireman-carried them out, not held them out in front of you.”

He grinned at her. “I could fireman-carry you. In fact, I could put you over my shoulders and race Troy back to the house.”

Troy laughed and clapped. “Do it, Mommy!”

Owen laughed, then made the mistake of looking down at her. Her serious eyes were watching him. He got lost in them for a few seconds, and found himself at a complete loss for words. The only thing he knew for a fact was that he had her in his life once more and wasn’t about to let her go.

That…and a smart man never got between a mama and her kid.

She lowered her gaze. “I couldn’t find Troy. I thought you took him.”

“I would never do that.”

“You took Augie.”

“I did not.”

“Then you ordered him taken.”

Owen shook his head, trying to understand how she could be so mistaken about him. Just the talk of her boys made the shadows around her eyes darken again. She wasn’t handling stress well. She never fully relaxed against him, but at least she’d stopped fighting him. He’d been her hero since she was two, but now she hated him. He looked away from her. They were nearing her house. Troy held the front door open for them.

“I’ll take Troy upstairs,” the nanny said.

“No,” Owen said. “I want him with us. Why don’t you take a break? I’ll come get you if you’re needed.”

She disappeared down the hallway leading to the kitchen. “Where’s the nearest bathroom?” Owen asked Troy. He pointed to a short hallway off the foyer. Owen carried her in there and set her on the large vanity, then began looking through the cabinets and nooks for a first-aid kit.

“I know where the medicine is,” Troy offered.

Owen nodded. “Go get me some disinfectant and some bandages. Be quick about it.” The boy ran out.