The Power: Building the Circle - Book 2 Read online

  ADRIAN: Thanks, Sam.

  I'll be more careful. I'll focus on control. I'll keep them safe.

  Chapter 7

  Lucy shook her head when she woke up in bed on Saturday.

  What a weird fucking dream. Shirtless Adrian was lovely, but how bizarre. The memory was fading before she was even out of bed.

  As she started making breakfast, she paused at the clean, empty bowl that held the leftovers from dinner last night, sitting in the dish drainer. It seemed odd, but she couldn't figure out why.

  ✽✽✽

  After breakfast on Saturday, dealerships brought her cars to test drive. Adrian argued for an Audi. In the end, she ordered a Mazda.

  "Do you really give your cars away? Hennessy told me that yesterday, but he has to be exaggerating," she said as they walked back into the house. Ree was ready for a nap and headed to his bed.

  Adrian's cheeks turned pink. "Why were you and Hennessy talking about my cars?"

  "He was making a point about the kind of person you are," she said.

  "That's actually kinda interesting. Hennessy and I aren't really close. What kind of person does he think I am?" Adrian asked.

  "The kind of person that gives cars away to women in abusive relationships while also dressing homeless people for cold weather," Lucy said. She was watching him closely as he poured iced tea for both of them and then sat at the kitchen table, looking out the windows.

  "Well, that's accurate. I did, in fact, do that. And, I have been known to give my car to someone whose life would be better if they had a reliable way to make a break for it. Sometimes, all someone needs to make a better life for themselves is a way to physically get away. Did Hennessy tell you the rest of that story?" Adrian asked.

  "There's more to that story?"

  "Yup. The woman I gave the car to is Martha's granddaughter."

  "Martha, your assistant? That Martha? Is that why you gave her the car?" Lucy asked.

  Adrian laughed. "No, I didn't know Martha at that point. Her granddaughter had been in a bad situation for years and couldn't exit it. Her then-husband told her he'd kill her if she left, and she had no money of her own. She was forbidden from talking to her family. The husband monitored every aspect of her life. She couldn't leave the apartment unless he was with her. It was bad. I didn't know it was that bad when I got involved. I saw him dragging them through the parking lot, screaming at her that she'd learn her lesson eventually.

  "I walked over, told him that if he didn't get away from her and the child immediately, we'd have problems - and I included Will and Hennessy in that 'we.' Coward that he was, he turned and ran for it. Dana was wigging out, talking about him killing her. I handed her the car keys and the cash. I wrote the name of a shelter in Ohio on the back of one of my cards. The shelter would help her without question. If she had issues, she could call me. She took it and ran. I wished her well and thought that was the end of it.

  "Two months later, I got this rambling voicemail on my Foundation phone number from a grandma, thanking me for her granddaughter's life and that she'd like to talk to me. I thought the granddaughter was a patient - I was still active in the practice at that point. It took me a good ten minutes of Martha rambling to figure out who the granddaughter was.

  "Martha wanted to repay me. I decidedly did not want that. She was living off a pension, forced into early retirement from being a school teacher. After a lot of back and forth, she told me that she was coming to work for me, and I gave up arguing with it. She's better with people than I am.

  "That's how Martha came to the Foundation. She bosses us all around and has tried fixing me up with every granddaughter, grand-niece, and random attractive woman that she has met or talked with. Last month, I just had to meet some woman she talked to from the QVC channel. Martha is personally affronted that I am both single and unwilling to live in a mansion. She's a trip."

  Lucy was chuckling. "I'm sorta with Martha on this. I don't understand why you're single. But, I'm also a bit mad. When I talked to her on Monday and tried to explain that I was rude and wanted to apologize for thinking that you were hitting on me, she got a great big laugh out of it. What the hell, Martha, I'm cute when I'm not bruised and stitched!"

  Adrian grinned, looking at his glass of tea. "She was still laughing when I got back from that awful lunch. I'm a great big oaf when it comes to dating, and she knows it. Her entire family laughs at me. Anyway, people that we work with through the Foundation are off-limits. It's a conflict of interest that I won't tolerate. I've had that conversation with her in the past."

  Lucy's chest suddenly felt tight, making it hard to take a deep breath. Adrian was frowning at the condensation on his glass as they were quiet for a minute.

  "What else did Hennessy say?" Adrian asked finally. "He obviously didn't talk much about the security. What did you talk about?"

  "Oh. Uh, he shared his background with me, I think because he felt bad about digging into my background without asking," Lucy started.

  ✽✽✽

  Adrian was startled into looking at her. "Hennessy talked about his time in the military?"

  "Well, that too a little bit. Explained how he ended up here. But, mostly we compared notes on our childhoods. He had some questions about my background, which I answered. He's very protective of you and your family," Lucy said, still subdued.

  At that moment, Hennessy's ranking of her childhood as a 9 sunk in. What the fuck? What kind of notes were they comparing? Adrian was quietly freaking out inside.

  Realizing he'd been quiet for too long, Adrian tried to pick up the thread of their conversation. "He is a part of our family. Long since adopted. My mom refers to him as her ninth son. He doesn't have any family worth mentioning."

  Lucy has a sister, right? There has to be a sister for Ree to be her nephew.

  "He said my cynicism bothers you immensely, that I need to learn what trust and friendship are. He's a smartass," she finished.

  "All of those things are true. Very true. Logically, I understand the lack of trust and the cynical outlook. But they make me batshit crazy. Extremely batshit crazy," Adrian admitted.

  Crazier than they should make me, Adrian admitted to himself.

  Lucy was looking at her hands. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to upset you. I really don't. I've just never had someone genuinely want to help me to this degree. I'm extremely grateful for everything you've done for us. I'm just not sure what to do with myself. I'm used to being on the move for 20 hours per day."

  "It's going to work out OK. You'll see." Adrian kissed her forehead as he walked by to start making lunch.

  Fuck. I need to not do that, he thought as both energies went crazy, zooming through his body.

  When he turned around, she was touching the spot he kissed on her forehead.

  "Sorry, it seemed like the thing to do, I wasn't really thinking about it," he said.

  Lucy's lips twitched into a little smile. "S'ok."

  "You look… confused?" He asked.

  "I am," she nodded.

  "Sam said the house will be ready next Thursday," Adrian blurted.

  "OK. Ready for us to go, huh?" Her expression was unreadable.

  YES! This is not safe, Adrian thought.

  "Not especially," his mouth said, without consulting his brain.

  ✽✽✽

  They had Italian sub sandwiches for lunch. They seemed to spend a lot of time eating. This was the best fed Lucy could ever remember being.

  Henry and Adrian spent some time kicking a ball around in the backyard that afternoon.

  "He needs a dog," Adrian said as he sat next to Lucy.

  "He does NOT need a dog," Lucy laughed as Henry worked on dribbling the ball.

  "Yes, he does. He's a little boy. All little boys need a dog. It's a partner in crime."

  "I take it you had a dog growing up?" Lucy asked.

  "Always. At one point, we had five dogs. Nine kids, five dogs, and a snake. Darla is a saint. My parents still have a do
g. Hank loves dogs," Adrian said with a smile.

  They were sitting under the patio table umbrella. It was June in Chicago, hot and steamy with lots of sunshine. Lucy sipped iced tea while rocking in her chair, relaxed and calmer than she'd been at any point so far.

  "Did you have pets?" He asked.

  Her relaxed smile faded. "No."

  "Are you coming to Sunday dinner tomorrow?" He asked to change the subject.

  "I don't think going like this would be good," she said, gesturing to her face. "Your family is celebrating your brother's engagement. I'd detract from that."

  "No, you wouldn't. If anything, Darla's going to be pissed you didn't show."

  Lucy didn't respond.

  "Did you order stuff yesterday?" Adrian asked, trying to think of a safe topic.

  "I don't really need anything, Adrian. I'm better fed and rested than I think I have ever been," she said.

  "I'm glad for that. But you and Henry don't have much in the way of clothes, and what you do have is… well-loved, let's say. Other than the tablet that Ethan brought him, the books I ordered, and the ball from Roscoe's last visit, there are no toys.

  "You can get anything you want. Anything at all. Don't you want to go nuts spoiling yourself? Spoiling him?"

  ✽✽✽

  Adrian watched Lucy staring at her hands in her lap. The bruising was slowly fading into the yellow and green stages. Her body posture was less tense, so long as they didn't talk about money or childhood pets, apparently.

  He kept touching Lucy without meaning to. Walking into the kitchen while she made breakfast, he rested his head on her shoulder to watch what she was doing. Stepping around her to get to the utensil drawer, he'd put a hand on her waist. The kiss on the forehead. He needed to be more careful.

  She didn't react much. He was probably making a bigger deal out of it than he should. But, random touching was not being careful. He needed to be careful.

  "Adrian, you've been so kind to us. So generous. There's nothing I can give you in return that you don't already have. No stellar way to say thank you. I can't bring myself to abuse your kindness more than I already have," she said in a wavering voice. "There really isn't anything I need."

  The words were out of his mouth before they went past his conscious brain. He was surprised to hear his own voice. "It bothers me that Hennessy knows more about you than I do. If you wanted to give me something in return, I would ask for that trust."

  She nodded. They sat in pensive silence for a few minutes.

  "My mom died of a drug overdose when I was nine. I came home from school to find her dead on the living room floor.

  "My dad was a drunk and a drug addict. I was removed from his care when he was caught trying to trade me to settle a debt shortly after my eleventh birthday. There was no home. I've never really had a home. Just places to live. So, no. No dogs for me.

  "I don't think Hennessy knows. When we discussed it on Friday, he summarized as 'removed from the home for unspecified abuse.' So now you have that over him."

  A deep breath later, she cleared her throat. "If all goes well, I'll owe you Henry's life by the time this is done. And probably mine, too. That's not a debt I can repay. It's not that I don't trust you. I just can't imagine why anyone would want to know something like that."

  The power surged through him without warning, like it was lying in wait, battering at his brain and chest. The impulse was strong, but the direction unfocused. Adrian swatted it down.

  "Thank you for telling me," he whispered, staring at her.

  When she finally met his gaze, he smiled and dropped his eyes. "Wouldn't you enjoy shopping? I mean, really. Anything you want."

  Chapter 8

  Adrian made baby back ribs on the grill Saturday night to go with potato salad, corn on the cob, and marinated tomatoes. Lucy was openly laughing at him by the time they sat down to eat.

  "What?" He asked.

  "You made six slabs of ribs for two adults and a five-year-old. I made five pounds of potato salad at your request," she said, still laughing.

  "I eat a lot," he said, smiling at her laughter.

  "I noticed. What happened to last night's leftovers? Did you get up for a snack and then drop the bowl or something?" She asked.

  He gave her a rueful smile. "Accidents happen." It was not a lie. It was a truth about life.

  "Henry, don't fall asleep in your food, buddy. You OK?" Adrian asked to change the subject.

  "Huh?" Henry said, eyes drooping.

  Lucy's brow furrowed. She reached over to feel his forehead. "Does he feel warm to you?"

  Adrian touched Ree's head and then held Lucy's hand for a second. "No, he's not warm. You're cold. We were outside for a long time earlier; he's been busy today. He's OK," Adrian said, trying to ease the look of panic on Lucy's face.

  "I'm OK, Aunt Lucy. Just tired. Really tired," Ree muttered.

  "Ree, are you sure? Your throat doesn't hurt? Your tummy's not upset? You don't feel sick?" Lucy asked, talking almost too fast to understand.

  "No, I'm OK," he said again.

  "Lucy," Adrian said, looking at her. "Breathe. He's OK. He was busy today. Lots of playing. The drugs will make him tired. He ate plenty of food today, he did a good job snacking. It's OK."

  Lucy's eyes were welling with tears when she looked at Adrian. The look of panic and despair on her face made his chest ache. Going around the table and squatting next to her chair, Adrian pulled her close for a hug. Her body shook with her sobs. "Shh. He's OK, Lucy. It's OK. Shh."

  When her tears eased a bit, Adrian whispered, "I'm going to put him to bed. He doesn't need to see you upset like this. I'll be back, OK?"

  She nodded.

  "Come on, Ree. Let's get your face washed and your teeth brushed for bed, OK?"

  Without another word, Adrian picked up Henry and walked out of the room, carrying him off to bed.

  I need to get it together. Adrian's absolutely right. Ree doesn't need to see this. I need to calm down. Adrian's a doctor. He knows when it's time to worry. This is not the time to worry. I need to calm down. I need to get it together. Weepy and splotchy with bruising is not a good look, Lucy thought.

  Then she shook her head at the thoughts about her appearance. What the fuck, self. Not appropriate.

  By the time Adrian was back in the kitchen, Lucy was calm and picking at her food, staring at her plate. "Thank you," she muttered.

  Adrian pulled out the chair next to her and took her hand. As usual, her system went on hyper-alert at his touch, heart speeding up.

  Good grief. This is just pathetic. He could not have made it any clearer this afternoon. Not happening, she told herself.

  "Calmer?" He asked.

  She nodded. "Embarrassed. Sorry."

  "S'ok. You two have been on your own for a long time. I'd be terrified of losing my family, too," Adrian said quietly. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I just didn't want Henry to get worried. When I met him last week, his primary motivation for asking for help was so you didn't have to cry anymore. Yesterday, in the car, he told me he thought I was going to send you away and make him stay with me. That's how the 'bad people' thing came up."

  "Oh," she said. Please don't ask. I don't want to talk about it right now, she thought.

  "I'm not going to ask. I suspect you don't want to talk about it right now."

  Lucy burst out laughing. "I was literally just thinking exactly that."

  Adrian smiled as he got up to walk around the table, back to his plate.

  ✽✽✽

  Other than Lucy laughing at the sheer volume of food Adrian ate, they were quiet through dinner and cleaning up the kitchen.

  As Adrian turned around from hanging up the dishtowel, Lucy hugged him. Surprised, he wrapped his arms around her. "What's this for?" He murmured.

  "It's a 'you're great' hug. Full disclosure: other than forcing hugs on Ree, I don't do this often, so I might be doing it wrong," she laughed, slightly weepy.

&nbs
p; Lucy could feel the rumble of his laughter in his chest.

  "Nope, you got it right. This is exactly what a hug is." Adrian's hand ran up her back to stroke the back of Lucy's head, holding her to his chest.

  Reflecting back on it, Adrian wasn't sure who started the kiss. But, it began as a simple meeting of lips. Just a peck. A comforting bit of contact between two friends. Then it became a merging of mouths, something deeper, breath commingling, air dancing between them.

  This is not safe. This is not good for her. I need to not do this, Adrian thought.

  He stepped back, away from her. It was physically painful to break contact with Lucy. Adrian struggled to breathe for a second.

  "I'm not sure how that happened. I'm sor-" Lucy began.

  OH, FUCK IT! SHE'S NOT GOING TO APOLOGIZE AGAIN, Adrian thought just before he seized her mouth, tongue exploring and teasing hers.

  "OK," he said, pulling away and stepping back again. "This is a terrible idea. For a lot of reasons. Terrible idea. I don't want to take advantage of you and the situation you're in with Ree, and this is not-"

  Lucy kissed him again, her body pressed to him.

  "Ethical. This is not ethical, and I need to stop this. Now. In just a minute," Adrian said, kissing her again.

  "Wait. Wait, just a second. Let me - " Adrian said, reaching for his phone. Looking down, there was a text from Sam from an hour ago.

  SAM: Forgot to tell you. Dad and I closed Lucy's Foundation case. We'll handle it privately with Dad as executor.

  ADRIAN: You're my favorite brother.

  SAM: Pfft. I get that a lot.

  "What? What does that mean? The foundation isn't going to help us?" Lucy was starting to panic again.

  "No, everything's fine. They just removed me from the equation of determining need and assistance. They funded an independent trust for you and Ree, outside of the foundation," he explained.

  "Why? Why would they do that?" She asked, confused.

  "So that I can stand around in my kitchen making out with you and not worry about you feeling like you have to participate in this so Ree gets the help he needs. You can do as you please, without concern of being 'punished' or whatever if something goes sideways between you and me," Adrian explained.