Page 10 of Cook

Taking home a woman who called meDaddywas about the stupidest thing a man could do. Extreme even for me.

Kimmers helped Maddie check out, doing all that stupid paperwork. For this outpatient hospital thing they had set up in the Ridge, Doc had gone all the way with the unnecessary paperwork.

Doctor Richardson was trying to talk Maddie out of it again, saying she needed more medical support, but Maddie scribbled on the sheets and then pushed away from the desk.

I glanced down at her signature, and it looked a bit childish. When I glanced up, she’d moved away.

Maddie was halfway out the door before I reached her. She didn’t even look back and moved so quickly, like a scared rabbit running from a wolf. I should let her go. She had been held in enough places.

She stopped on the curb, holding her arms wide and relishing being in the wide open. Seeing the small moment of hope in her with her face tilted up to the sun, I called out, “My car is over here.”

Being a paler, skinnier version of Angel’s ol’ lady, Maddie neededthe sun on her face and a burger in her belly. I hadn’t been sure whether she would take off as soon as we exited the recovery house. A fucking hospital, more or less.

Maddie took several deep breaths. What was she thinking? Or planning? If she started running, what would I do? As much as I hated to admit it, I’d probably chase her down and drag her back to the car. She wouldn’t go back to the hospital, but she seemed okay with me.

For what reason, I couldn’t be sure. It reminded me of the way she’d clung to me up at Barton Mill when we’d found her in that galley.

Maddie slowly turned toward me, biting her bottom lip and looking nervously at the hospital. Baggy clothes hid her willowy figure, the t-shirt displaying scrawled and faded text. It had to be someone’s hand-me-down, or a find at a thrift shop. Her pant legs had been rolled up to the ankles, and the waist was tightened around her stomach. Even her donated shoes were too big.

I hadn’t considered her that small until I noticed that the clothes almost swallowed her whole. However, she stood taller, jutted out her jaw, and then she strolled down the row of cars. She only hesitated because she didn’t know which car was mine.

I walked over to my old white and blue Bronco and threw in the key. She waited on the other side of the door. Maybe I shouldn’t have called her back and let her go. Either way, I unlocked the passenger door, and she climbed inside. As soon as I started up the car, music blasted out of the radio, and I turned down the dial without turning it off. Rock music rumbled from the old speakers, the radio cutting to another song.

“Where are we going?” asked Maddie.

“It depends,” I said, gritting my teeth. I needed to do this, so I faced her. “What was up with the calling meDaddy?” It sounded fucking weird coming out of my mouth.

She leaned back in the seat. A small shudder overtook her shoulders, and her clothes flapped in the breeze. Was I a bastard for asking her that? She remained silent, averted her eyes. Fuck, I was just like one of the monsters who told her what to do.

“Just don’t call me that,” I said. “Okay?”

After a few long seconds, she nodded.

“Okay.” I drummed my fingers over the steering wheel and then pulled out of the parking lot.

I didn’t quite know where I was going, but I needed to get her away from the hospital.

What would’ve happened if I wasn’t there?

How would being drugged have shaped her?

I trusted Doc—I had to for how much he had helped me and my guys—but I didn’t know the woman doctor. I didn’t trust her. Doc had brought her to Park Ridge for the kids and whoever else needed her. Honestly, of those trafficked by Amaranta Gambino, who didn’t need her?

Apparently, Maddie.

I was on the highway, heading toward the old house, the one where I shot my own father a hundred years ago. Another lifetime ago, anyway.

There was too much pain in that house and now it was little more than a bed, some bare walls, a bunch of crackling stucco, and too much history. I needed to take Maddie somewhere she wouldn’t feel dirty—somewhere she could feel free and alive—so that wasn’t the place. That dingy house was filled with death.

On the next exit, I flipped a bitch and headed in the opposite direction.

“Where are we going?” asked Maddie, glancing out the window, but not seeming like it really mattered.

“Phoenix,” I said, unsure how this would go even as we went.

Where else was I supposed to take her? Bou’s place was too small until she and Wilde finished their house, and Celt was dealing with Roni. Plus, everyone in the club believed in the recovery house. I didn’t want anyone coddling Maddie while secretly trying to get her to go back.

Doc mentioned that Maddie got agitated when they mentioned her sister, something they wanted to watch closely. When we went into the mill, it had floored me when Maddie had ignored Melanie and crawled into my arms.

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