Beautiful Redemption (The Maddox Brothers #2)(69)
Author: Jamie McGuire

I picked up the other frame and looked at it. It was all five Maddox brothers. I picked up the last one to see his parents.

“I loved her first,” Thomas said. “But you, Liis…you are the last woman I will ever love.”

I stood there, speechless, and then retreated toward the door.

“Can I…have my pictures back?” he asked.

I realized then that I had left the file on his desk, and instead, I’d walked off with the pictures in my hands. I slowly walked over to him. He held out his hand, and I returned the frames.

“I’ll just give this to Constance,” I said, picking up the file, feeling disoriented. I turned on my heels and bolted.

“Liis,” he called after me.

The moment I breached the door, I practically tossed the file at Constance.

“Have a good day, Agent Lindy,” she said, her voice carrying throughout the squad room.

I withdrew to my office and sat down in my chair, putting my head in my hands. Seconds later, Val burst in from the hall, and Marks came in after her, slamming the door behind him.

I looked up.

Val pointed at him. “Stop! You can’t chase me all over the building!”

“I’ll stop following you when you start giving me straight answers!” he yelled.

“What the hell is wrong with everyone today? Has this entire office gone crazy?” I yelled.

“I’ve already given you an answer!” Val said, ignoring me. “I told you I would talk to him tonight!”

Sawyer popped his head in, knocking as he did so. “Boss?”

“Get out!” Marks, Val, and I yelled in unison.

“Okay then,” Sawyer said, ducking out.

“And then what?” Marks asked.

“If he won’t move out, I will,” Val said as if the words had been punched out of her.

“Thank Christ!” Marks yelled to an invisible audience, pointing all his fingers in Val’s general direction. “A straight fucking answer!”

Thomas blew in. “What the hell is with all the shouting?”

I covered my face again.

“Are you all right, Liis? What happened to her, Val? Is she all right?” Thomas asked.

Marks spoke first, “I’m sorry, sir. Are you…are you okay, Lindy?”

“I’m fine!” I shrieked. “I just need you toddlers to get the fuck out of my office!”

All three of them froze, staring at me in disbelief.

“Get out!”

Val and Marks left first, and then after some reluctance, Thomas left me alone, closing the door behind him.

The rest of Squad Five stared at me. I walked over to the glass wall, flipped them all both of my middle fingers, shot off several strong words in Japanese, and then pulled the blinds closed.

Chapter Twenty-Four

I READJUSTED MY CELL PHONE, so it sat better between my cheek and my shoulder while I tried to cook. “Hang on, Mom. Just a sec,” I said, resorting to setting the phone on the cabinet.

“You know I hate the speakerphone.” Her voice wafted with the spices in the air. “Liis, take me off the speakerphone.”

“I’m the only one here, Mom. No one else can hear you. I need both hands.”

“At least you’re cooking for yourself and not eating that processed poison every night. Have you gained any weight?”

“I’ve lost a few pounds actually,” I said, smiling even though she couldn’t see me.

“Not too much I hope,” she grumbled.

I laughed. “Mom, you’re never happy.”

“I just miss you. When are you coming home? You’re not going to wait until Christmas, are you? What are you cooking? Is it any good?”

I added broccoli, carrots, and water to the hot canola oil and then pushed them around the skillet as it sizzled. “I miss you, too. I don’t know. I’ll look at my schedule, chicken and vegetable stir-fry, and hopefully, it will be amazing.”

“Have you mixed the sauce? You have to mix it first, you know, to let it blend and breathe.”

“Yes, Mom. It’s sitting on the counter next to me.”

“Did you add anything extra? It’s good just the way I make it.”

I giggled. “No, Mom. It’s your sauce.”

“Why are you eating so late?”

“I’m on West Coast time.”

“Still, it’s nine there. You shouldn’t eat so late.”

“I work late,” I said with a smile.

“They’re not keeping you too busy at work, are they?”

“I’m keeping me too busy. I like it that way though. You know that.”

“You’re not walking alone at night, are you?”

“Yes!” I teased. “In just my underwear!”

“Liis!” she scolded.

I laughed out loud, and it felt good. It seemed as if I hadn’t smiled in a long time.

“Liis?” she said, concern in her voice.

“I’m here.”

“Are you homesick?”

“Just for you guys. Tell Daddy I say hi.”

“Patrick? Patrick! Liis says hello.”

I could hear my father from somewhere in the room. “Hi, baby! Miss you! Be good!”

“He started the fish oil pills this week. Gives him gas,” she said.

I could hear the scowl in her voice, and I laughed again.

“I miss you both. Good-bye, Mom.”

I pressed the End button with my pinkie, and then I added in the chicken and cabbage. Just before adding the pea pods and sauce, someone knocked on the door. I waited, thinking I’d imagined it, but the knocking happened again, louder this time.

“Oh no. Oh, crap,” I said to myself, turning the heat almost all the way down.

I wiped my hands on a dish towel and jogged to the door. I peeked through the peephole, and then I scrambled to open the chain and bolt lock, grabbing at it like a madwoman.

“Thomas,” I whispered, unable to hide my utter shock.

He was standing there in a plain white T-shirt and workout shorts. He hadn’t even taken the time to put on shoes, gauging by his bare feet.

He began to speak but thought better of it.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“It smells good in there,” he said, taking a whiff.

“Yeah.” I turned toward the kitchen. “Stir-fry. I have plenty, if you’re hungry.”

“It’s just you?” he asked, looking past me.

I chuckled. “Of course it’s just me. Who else would be here?”