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  “Did you hurt Portia?” she asked weakly as he walked toward the door.

  He turned to look at her. “Not the way she said, Trish; I swear it. I did sleep with her. I was mean about my refusal to help her, but I didn’t rape or attack her.”

  Trish wiped her tears with her hand. “I wish I could believe you,” she said, her bottom lip quivering.

  Todd returned to her bed and sat down again. “Look at me. Look into my eyes. I kept it from you, and I know that was wrong, but I never lied about my feelings for you. Can you see that?” Trish remained quiet for a long moment.

  “Why, Todd?” she asked finally. “We were so good together. You were everything to me.”

  “Were?” He took her hand. “We’re still good. I can’t live without you. When I thought you were dying, I saw my whole life flash before my eyes. I never had peace, Trish, until I found you. I’ve changed because of you.”

  “I love you so much,” she sat up in bed, tears spilled down her cheeks.

  “I love you too,” he confessed. They held each other and Todd began to relax once he felt her coming back to him.

  “It’ll take time to repair what’s happened to our bond. I know that.” He broke away, touching her face.

  “But, first, we have to get you well. Can we do that together?” She nodded, and he sighed with relief. “Thank you,” he said, kissing her lips softly. “Let me get the nurse.” Trish smiled weakly.

  He looked back at her and winked before stepping out the door. But his relief soon faded, and horror overcame him. Two men approached. William Hesser, and at Hesser’s side was his own father, Marshall Ellison.

  Nolen entered his office, still reeling from Sydney’s words. He was right back where he’d started.

  Heartache and regret were pushing him deeper into his darkness. He didn’t know how to fight it.

  “Well, look who’s finally here,” Agent Michaels said, walking in with two cops at his side. He held a folded blue document.

  Nolen stared at him. “What the hell do you want?”

  “I’ve got you, asshole, and this time, you won’t escape.”

  The officers walked over to him as Annemarie came in, looking horrified.

  The agent snickered as he said, “Nolen Adams, you have the right to remain silent.” She looked at him and smiled. “I do love him.”

  “Oh, honey, I know that. I’ve seen you bouncing around that studio, grinning ever since you two became an item, even though you thought you were hiding it from me.” Sydney grabbed a pink throw pillow and pulled it to her chest. “He’s just so damned stubborn, and he doesn’t listen, but when he takes me in his arms, he’s the most attentive, compassionate person I’ve ever known.

  How could two different versions of a man exist within one person? Why is it so hard for him to hear me?”

  “Honey, he’s a man. We don’t need to listen. We know every damn thing already, especially about our hearts. I think that beefcake of yours is just scared. You say he overwhelms you. Well, from the tantrums he’s been throwing, it’s apparent that you overwhelm him. He doesn’t know how to handle all his feelings for you, so he does what he knows how to do—control everything else around him. It’s his safety mechanism, and he’s probably been using it for years. I’m not saying it’s healthy, but even the most perfect love sometimes isn’t.” Sydney smiled, thinking of how Nolen softened when she touched him in the way he liked, the darkness fading around him. She’d never known a man so complicated. “He’s just a big baby,” she mumbled under her breath.

  “I’ve got an idea. Let’s have us a girlfriend night and do our nails and makeup,” Juanita said, reaching for her hand. “Because your nails sure could use my pink french manicure.” Sydney laughed. “Sounds like fun.”

  “We won’t talk about him, and you’ll get all the time you need to clear your head, because, guess what?”

  “What?”

  “Tomorrow you’re going to take your little spoiled ass back to your man and get my damn job back, that’s what!” he snapped.

  Sydney laughed as he headed to his room to change out of his leather pants.

  Her thoughts drifted to Nolen and his anger. She also thought of Marilynn’s warning. Maybe she was right, and Nolen’s destructive nature should be avoided, but if the worst between them was his fear of losing her, couldn’t they do something to get past it? Juanita was right. She had no intention of leaving him. She would just have to re-educate him to understand that his way wasn’t always the only way.

  Reaching for the remote, she turned on the television. A news reporter stood outside a building in Manhattan. The scroll bar at the bottom announced late-breaking news. Sydney turned up the volume.

  “Today the SEC and the FBI brought several indictments against the COO of Hollister Textiles, Scott Harris, for insider trading . . .”

  Sydney watched as the screen flashed to a man being led away in handcuffs.

  “Harris, his name sounds familiar.” Sydney asked aloud.

  “What is it, honey?” Juanita called out from the other room.

  “Arrests on Wall Street,” she called back.

  Juanita came out of his room wearing cutoffs and a pink tube top. “What you want for dinner, honey?” Sydney shrugged, muting the television. “No appetite, really.”

  “Well, I make a mean ziti. You get a whiff, honey, and you’ll wet your panties.” Sydney smiled. “Well, then, let’s have some ziti!”

  Juanita looked at the screen, and his eyes grew wide. “Oh my goodness! Isn’t that King Ding-a-ling?” Sydney looked back at the screen to see the Forbes photo of Nolen staring at her. Grabbing the remote, she turned up the volume as the picture changed, and she watched him being led out of his office building in handcuffs by men in trench coats. A reporter’s voice was speaking in the background. “Nolen Adams, CEO and founder of Adams Global Solutions, was also indicted today on charges of conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud. We are told that this stems from quarterly and annual reports filed with SEC for Delstar Textile by Adams Global. . .”

  “Is this for real?” Sydney gasped, dropping the remote. She watched as cameras snapped his picture and reporters shoved microphones in his face. He walked with his hands cuffed behind his back, expressionless, and she wanted to scream as a detective pushed him into a squad car.

  “It’s your phone,” Juan said, holding it out to her. She hadn’t heard it ringing until he spoke.

  Still staring at the television screen in disbelief, she answered it. “Hello,” she said shakily.

  “Sydney, it’s Portia. Did you know that Nolen was arrested?”

  “I’m watching the news report now,” Sydney said.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Portia, I can’t talk to you,” Sydney said. Her chest felt so tight that she thought her heart would stop beating.

  “Wait. I want to know about Trish. Please, Sydney, I’m so worried over her. Talk to me.”

  “No. I’ve got to go.” She closed the phone.

  Juanita frowned at her. “What’s going on?”

  “I’ve got to get dressed,” Sydney said, running to her bag and dragging it to the bathroom. “He needs me.”

  Chapter 25

  Slaying Dragons

  Todd stood in the corridor, looking into the cool gray eyes of Marshall Ellison.

  “Hello, son.”

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Marshall looked at Todd inquisitively. “I could ask you the same thing. William here says that you’re keeping him from his daughter.”

  “Damn right, and I want you both out of here, now.” Todd said, clenching his fists.

  “I’ll go see Trish and give you two time to catch up,” William said, attempting to walk around Todd, who stepped in his way, shoving him so hard that he stumbled back several feet. “I’ll break your fucking neck first!” From nowhere, Marshall grabbed Todd. He slapped him across the face. “Get yourself together now, boy! You don’t call t
he shots here.”

  Todd broke free, horrified by the anger and cruelty that always sent him back to his childhood. Even now he feared a man that he could probably snap in two. But today he was not about to cower and let his dad take control. He had Trish, and he would fight to the death to save her.

  “What the hell is going on here?” Dr. Percy asked, looking shocked by the violent exchange.

  “These men want to harass my fiancée, Dr., but she doesn’t want to see them,” Todd answered, his jaw burning from the attack.

  William pointed at Todd. “I was forced to sign a power of attorney authorizing her to be admitted to this facility. I’m William Hesser, Patricia’s father, and I need to see her.” Dr. Percy’s colleague, Dr. Aston, began to apologize. “Mr. Hesser, we know who you are. Welcome to Sail Brooke.”

  Todd stared at him in disgust. “I want them removed!”

  Dr. Percy nodded. “You gentlemen have to leave. Trish is in no—”

  “Her name is Patricia!” William said angrily. “Patricia Hesser.”

  “She was admitted as Trish Ellison,” Dr. Percy said.

  Marshall laughed. “So now you want to play house with this man’s daughter?”

  “Shut the hell up!” Todd shouted. He walked closer to Dr. Percy. “She didn’t want the media attention.

  I’m sure you have patients using aliases all the time.”

  Dr. Percy nodded. “Yes, of course.”

  Dr. Aston spoke up. “I don’t see why he can’t be allowed to see his daughter.” Todd glared at him. “I do. He’s been raping her since she was a kid. That’s why she’s here.” William glared at Todd and then turned to Marshall. “You said you would get your boy in line!” he shouted at Marshall. “Do it!”

  “Son, are you really competent to be anyone’s protector? Shall I tell these men of your shady past?” Dr. Percy frowned. “Shady past?”

  “My son suffers from a form of mental illness himself. Patricia Hesser will be best served without his supervision.”

  Todd glared at him. “You asshole!” he said, his eyes tearing up. He wished that he had a gun so he could kill both of the sick bastards where they stood.

  Sydney entered an empty penthouse using Nolen’s private entrance. Juanita had called her and said that the news broadcasted Nolen's immediate release. How and why, she wasn't sure. She expected to see him as soon as she stepped through the door.

  Alone, she carried in her bags. She’d only been gone a day, but it felt like an eternity. She went about putting up her things and pacing the floor. Eventually she decided on cooking a nice dinner for him so they could talk things out, and it would definitely be a good use of her nervous energy. Thankfully Claude wasn't there, and what he prepared was already in the fridge.

  “Mental illness?” Dr. Percy asked, looking at Todd in confusion.

  “I had a breakdown as a kid because this man used me as a punching bag every time he got drunk.” Marshall laughed. “I’ll say. You pulled a gun on me and then turned it on yourself. And, let’s not forget, before Adams came into the picture, you were charged with statutory rape and nearly convicted when you were in college. I was the one that saved your ass. Remember Casey Welsby?”

  “The girl lied about her age,” Todd stammered. “You know that charge was bogus!” Marshall laughed. “You’re such a hypocrite, calling my good friend a rapist when you’re the only felon here!”

  Dr. Percy shook his head. “I don’t care about his past,” he said dismissively. “The power of attorney is valid. You want it overturned, take it to the courts.”

  Todd pointed a finger in his father’s face. “You want to destroy me, just like you always have. I’m a different man now, but you’re the same sick coward who picks on those you perceive as weak. Aren’t you, Dad?” Marshall tapped Todd’s chest roughly. “I’m your father, and you’ll respect that, whether you want to or not. That man has a right to his daughter, just like I’ve always got rights to you. Now call off your boy and make that happen, or I’ll step into this and make you pay for those mistakes that I covered for your spoiled ass.” William interrupted the confrontation. “All I want to do is see my daughter. If you let me talk to her, we can clear all this up. She’s sick and confused. I never raped her. Never.” Todd backed away from him. “You two are disgusting. I’ll kill you both before I let you near her.” The security officers came down the hall and Marshall smirked. “We’re not done, son. Think about what I said. I’ll be back.”

  William frowned. “Marshall, what are you doing?”

  “Sir, you need to leave,” the officer said, walking up to William.

  “Do you know who I am?” he snapped.

  “The question is, do I care?” the officer asked. “The answer is no. Now let’s go.” He grabbed Hesser’s arm and dragged him outside.

  Todd watched them leave and finally found his breath. His dad could threaten all he wanted. He wouldn’t fail Trish. He would call Nolen and get him to take care of Marshall Ellison and William Hesser once and for all.

  Nolen walked into the penthouse to the mouth-watering smell of pot roast and baked potatoes.

  What’s going on? he wondered. He hadn’t spoken to Claude about dinner for the night, and Claude never prepared homey meals. Pulling off his trench coat, he decided to start making the calls he needed to save valuable accounts. Sydney came around the corner wearing an apron over her denim skirt and white T-shirt. An apron?

  “Hey,” she said, smiling.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Sydney looked into his eyes. “You ok?”

  “What do you care?” he replied coldly.

  “Nolen.”

  “Why did you come here?” he demanded angrily, going to the bar to pour himself a drink. “I mean you can’t possibly have taken all the time you needed so desperately. Especially since I’m the mean old monster that just wants to manipulate you and get my way.”

  “I came because I love you and you need me.”

  “Oh, so you saw the news, huh? Now I get your pity?” He laughed softly.

  “Don’t make this any harder than it already is. I’m sorry. That was never my intent.”

  “You’re sorry? For what, Sydney? I’m still the man who lied to you and didn’t care enough to warn you that your friend was with the man that raped your other friend, right?”

  “For once, can you just listen to me?” She walked closer to him.

  “No! And here’s why,” he slammed the glass down on the bar. “There’s nothing, good or bad, that you could do to make me give up on you. The first sign of trouble, you ran from me. You knew how much it would hurt me not to have you at my side, but you ran anyway. Now I can only assume you came back because you felt sorry for me.”

  “That’s not true!”

  “The hell it isn’t! You betrayed me by treating my feelings as if they didn’t matter. I needed you with me, damn it! You left. End of story.”

  “My God, I can’t even make up with you!” Sydney said, throwing up her hands in frustration.

  “Get out!” he snapped, storming past her.

  “No!” She grabbed his sleeve. “This time you’re going to listen to me. I love you; I love the man that you are, good and bad, damn it! I needed time to understand that. You want all of me, all of the time, Nolen, and that’s not fair. You have to allow me room to grow in our love. You have to stop trying to control my every emotion.”

  “You left me.”

  “I’m sorry. I was wrong to leave. Not because you did nothing wrong, Nolen. You were wrong to deceive me. But I should never have left, no matter what was going on. We have to figure it out together.”

  “I can’t trust you,” he said, turning away.

  “Stop it,” Sydney kissed him. “You know you can trust me, just as I know I can trust you to love me with all your heart.” She pushed her body against his and held him tighter, refusing to fight. He gripped her by the arms as if he would push her away. He kissed her back, giving in as he a
lways did when she was near.

  She broke the kiss and searched his face for reasoning. “Now, are you going to tell me why these people think you did something illegal?”

  Nolen stared into her eyes and remained silent.

  “You did it, didn’t you?” Sydney asked.

  “Let’s not talk about it.”

  “We talk about everything. I saw the good in you, and I feel it every time you touch me. I won’t run from the darkness. I just need to understand it.”

  He stepped back. “I did it,” he admitted without remorse. “I made money the ways that I know how!” Sydney stared at him and he stared back, ready for her anger or shocked disbelief. Instead, she said, “If you’re home, that means that you’ve covered your tracks, right?” Nolen continued his silent stare, confirming what he couldn’t bring himself to say.

  Sydney sighed and shook her head. “You hungry?” she asked, turning toward the kitchen.

  Nolen snickered. “Am I hungry? Is that all you’re going to say?” She turned and looked back at him. “For now,” she said. “Over dinner you’ll explain to me what securities fraud is, and why you felt the need to risk your company and your future to do it. Then we’ll find a way to get you out of this mess. Right now, you need to eat, and I need to feel that I’m taking care of us.” She turned and left the room.

  Nolen stared after her, rubbing his jaw. He was still angry that she’d left him, but he was grateful that she’d returned. In the kitchen he found her setting the small breakfast table with the dinner she’d prepared.

  She looked up at him and smiled. “Sit down.”

  He took a seat, thinking that this was the first time he’d actually eaten in this room. They usually ate in his large dining room or in front of the television.

  Sydney put his plate on the table and kissed him. “You’re a naughty boy, aren’t you?” He pulled her into his lap. “You like bad boys?”

  “Apparently so.”

  He released her and they ate together in silence for a moment. Then she summoned the courage to question him about his problems. She listened, asking him to explain some of the laws that he’d broken and what they meant. She chuckled when he told her how Annemarie had handled the agent, and Nolen said that Annemarie was a little barracuda, his secret weapon.