Chapter Eighteen
No one is you and that is your superpower.
—Mel’s Motivational Blog
Atlanta was just as stifling as she remembered. All the buildings, the people bustling to and from offices. Melanie had been here all of ten minutes and was already missing the open park in Haven, the wide town streets dotted with lampposts and evergreens with holly flowing from the pots. The holidays in a small town were quite different than in the city.
Melanie pulled her navy blue cardigan around her and waited just outside the small café where she’d chosen to meet Neville. The place was next to his office building, but public enough she felt safe. He wouldn’t cause a spectacle where any of his voters could possibly see what was going on.
“Melanie.”
She cringed at his voice and took just a moment before she spun around. Melanie hadn’t seen her ex in two years, and he hadn’t changed a bit. Obviously still getting Botox to ward off the wrinkles in his forehead. His dark hair still had the same perfect part on the right side. Those dark eyes still looked like they belonged on the devil rather than the mayor.
The old Melanie wanted to shiver with fear, but that woman had been revamped. She’d been made new, and now she was about to show them both what she was made of.
“Let’s get this over with.”
She headed toward the café entrance, but his hand shot out and gripped her elbow. Melanie eyed the way his fingers curled around her sweater, then she glared up at him.
“Get your hand off me.”
His eyes widened as he slowly released her. “My Melanie has gotten a backbone, I see.”
“I was never yours,” she retorted.
He gestured to the sleek black town car on the street. “We’ll talk in here where it’s private.”
Melanie gave the car a quick glance and laughed. “You’re delusional if you think I’m going to be in private with you anywhere.”
“If you want to talk about your officer boyfriend out in the open, we can.” Neville’s smile turned into a sneer. “But I’m sure you’d rather keep things quiet.”
Melanie hated this man. She hated him with a passion she couldn’t even explain. Once upon a time she’d believed he was her salvation out of the poverty she lived in. She’d rather live back in her trailer park with a car that barely ran and a father who worked his ass off and a mother who was an alcoholic than to be with this man ever again.
Hindsight didn’t change the past, but it was a hell of a lesson for future decisions.
“If I get in that car, it stays parked right there,” she demanded. “Understood?”
Neville merely nodded his head and extended his arm toward the car. She clutched her purse over her shoulder and stepped forward. When he brushed against her to open the door, she cringed, but didn’t say anything. Giving in to his games would only excite him. She knew how he played, knew how he thought. And he was absolutely right. She did have a backbone now and she damn well was going to use it.
She slid into the back seat and Neville moved in right next to her before closing the door. The driver up front remained facing forward, no doubt paid very well to keep his eyes and ears to himself. This wasn’t the same driver Melanie recalled, so who knew what happened to the other poor guy.
“Will, drive around the block.”
Melanie jerked her attention to Neville. “That wasn’t what we agreed upon.”
“I didn’t agree to your demands,” he countered.
She should’ve known he’d never let anyone better him. All the more reason she needed to end this once and for all.
“Say what you have to say and then have your driver circle back around to my car.”
“I didn’t see your car parked anywhere.”
Melanie smiled and adjusted her cardigan over her lap. “I sold it and gave the money to a charity.”
She didn’t need to say what type of charity, and contributing to Livie and Jax’s restoration project was a charitable move on her part. Oh, the look on Neville’s face made driving her clunker so completely worth every embarrassing horn honk and sitting against a pillow to reach the pedals.
His freshly shaven jaw clenched, nostrils flared, lips thinned. “I don’t even recognize you anymore,” he spouted. “You get rid of the nicest thing you owned, you’re dressing like trash again, and you’re mouthy as hell.”
And here she’d thrown on her nice jeans today. Actually, her belly was getting firm and she was afraid to wear her other jeans because this was the pair that was a little loose. She was already approaching the tenth week. Hopefully only two more to go and the nausea would be gone. Fingers crossed.
Melanie blew out a sigh and crossed her arms. “Just say what you have to say and let’s be done with each other.”
“You’re going to move back in and remarry me. I’ve set everything up, the wedding will be at the New Year and the press has already been given a heads-up.”
Melanie listened as he rattled on about some fantasy world he’d created. She just let him go—maybe he’d feel better once it was all out in the open. She knew she’d feel better once he was finished and she’d sliced and diced his words to smithereens.
“We will raise this baby as our own,” he went on. “As for the boyfriend, he’s not going to be an issue. I’ve come up with a nice amount that I think will please him to stay out of our lives.”
Melanie waited a moment, making sure he was finished with his preposterous plan.
“First of all, I’d rather die than marry you or ever let a child around you. Second, you don’t know Tanner at all if you think even for one moment that he would take any amount of money in exchange for his child. You’re even more of an arrogant ass than I thought.”
Neville’s smile slowly spread across his face. “I couldn’t care less if he takes the money or not. He can either stay out of the baby’s life, and yours, or I’ll have his badge and he won’t work in law enforcement ever again. Not even as a mall security cop. Is that what you want?”
Her blood chilled at the very idea of Neville ruining Tanner’s career. This is exactly what she’d hoped to avoid. She’d never wanted Tanner involved, didn’t want him harmed or even threatened.
“Did you forget I have pictures and documentation of our marriage?” she reminded him.
“You won’t go anywhere with those photos,” he countered. “Not if you want your boyfriend to keep that tiny town badge of his.”
The car turned another corner and Melanie stared down to her lap as she weighed her next move. If she talked to Tanner, confided in him, maybe they could pull together and fight this. She would never marry Neville, no matter the threat. But how did she prevent him from destroying Tanner’s life?
“Neville.” She glanced back up at him, ready to fight right back. “There will be no wedding, so you might as well—”
The car lurched as metal on metal crunched, glass shattered. Melanie screamed as she was flung across the seat an instant before her world faded to black.
* * *
Where on earth was she?
Tanner eyed the clock above the mantel and couldn’t believe Melanie hadn’t texted or called. It was already six o’clock and he hadn’t heard a word from her since this morning when he’d left for work.
Worry started forming deep in his belly. This wasn’t like Melanie at all. He pulled his cell from his pocket and tried calling hers, only to get voicemail . . . again.
The second he hung up, his cell vibrated in his hand. The screen lit up with Jade’s number.
He swiped to answer. “Hey, Jade. Are you by chance with Melanie? I can’t find her.”
“There’s been an accident.”
Tanner’s world tilted. He placed a hand on the back of the oversized chair and clutched his phone. In that instant, the worst possible scenarios flooded his mind. Being in law enforcement, being in the military, he’d seen some scary, horrific things.
“Where is she?” he barely choked out.
“She’s in a hospital in Atlanta,” Jade stated.
“Atlanta? What the hell—”
“You need to listen to me and not explode,” Jade warned, then he heard her push out a sigh. “She was in a car accident . . . with Neville.”
Fury, confusion, rage, terror . . . so many emotions rolled through him. Hell, they all rolled over him, causing his knees to go weak. He leaned further onto the back of the chair.
“I don’t know the specifics,” she went on. “I happened to be talking to a colleague on the phone and when it came through on the news, she told me. The media only mentioned that the mayor and his ex-wife had been involved in an accident downtown when a bus ran a red light and hit their car. They’ve both been taken to St. Mary’s.”
“I’m leaving now.”
“You can’t go alone,” Jade claimed. “You’re not going to be in any position to drive.”
“I don’t have time to wait for anyone.”
“I texted Cash and Jax. They should be at your house any minute.”
Tanner gripped the chair, fighting back the nausea rolling through him. Damn it. He couldn’t lose Melanie and the baby. Right now they could be getting checked out and doing fine, or they could be . . . hell, he couldn’t even think of all the what-ifs.
“Livie and I are staying back with Piper, but you better let us know something the second you do.”
Tanner realized this waiting would be just as much hell for Melanie’s friends as it would be for him.
“I promise.”
His front door opened and closed. Turning around, he disconnected the call as he caught the worried gaze of his cousins.
“I’m driving,” Jax stated.
“You better do it fast enough or I’ll take over,” Tanner warned, already heading out the front door.
As they all settled in Jax’s SUV, Cash reached up from the back seat and placed a hand on Tanner’s shoulder. “She’s going to be fine.”
“I can’t lose her.”
Damn it, his voice cracked and he was barely hanging on here. Losing one family had been pure hell, but to lose another . . .
Tanner honestly didn’t think he’d recover again.
Jax started down the road and shut off the radio. “Jade only said that Mel had been in an accident in Atlanta. That’s all we know. Do you know anything else?”
Tanner filled them in on the little bit of information he had.
“What the hell was she doing there with her ex?” Cash asked.
“I have no idea,” Tanner muttered. “I can’t even think about that right now. I just . . . I can’t. I need to know she and the baby are okay. That’s all that matters.”
“She’ll be okay,” Cash repeated. “You know she wouldn’t have been meeting with him if she weren’t blackmailed or threatened. Once we find out the situation, we’ll handle it.”
“Damn right,” Jax added.
Knowing his best friends had his back was absolutely everything. They’d been there before when his world had crumbled. Each of them had faced their own hell. Jax when his wife left him with a new baby, Cash when his wife cheated on him and left with every dime in their bank accounts. But they’d all persevered.
Tanner just hoped like hell this day wouldn’t turn out to be another frozen moment in time, locked in his mind, when his world had shattered again.
Only ten minutes had passed according to the dashboard clock, and already this was the longest drive of his life. The closer they got to Atlanta, the more his anxiety increased. He swiped his damp palms over his jeans and stared out the window. The guys remained silent, knowing he needed the peace and quiet.
Finally, the hospital came into view. Jax didn’t even ask, he just pulled up to the front to drop Tanner off. The SUV had barely rolled to a stop when Tanner clicked off his seat belt and was out of the car.
The woman at the information desk informed Tanner that Melanie was in room 311. Another layer of dread seeped through him. If she was in a room, then this wasn’t something as simple as getting looked over and sent home. They were keeping her.
His hands shook as he reached for the elevator button. When it didn’t immediately open, he spun around and found a door with the sign for the stairs. He raced up to the third floor and marched past the nurses’ station, staring at each room number and ticking them down until he stood in front of Melanie’s.
The door was closed. There was no noise coming from the other side and Tanner wanted to bust through, but at the same time fear gripped him and he wasn’t so sure he was ready to face his fate on the other side.
Pulling in a deep breath, Tanner gripped the handle and gave it a tug. The curtain was pulled, and he closed the door with a soft click behind him. He reached out for the striped curtain and eased it back.
Melanie lay on the bed. Her face pale, a bandage on her head, her arm in a sling. Her heart monitor beeped a steady rhythm. Another monitor beeped and he studied the screens. Two heartbeats. Wires ran beneath the stark white blanket toward Melanie’s midsection.
Tanner collapsed onto the chair at her bedside. The baby was okay, Melanie was okay. Well, except for the obvious injuries, but he had to believe everything was going to be fine.
He reached out and took her hand, dropping his forehead to where they joined.
“Tanner.”
Her groggy voice had him jerking his head up, still clutching her hand. He needed to touch her, needed to feel that she was indeed alright.
“What are you doing here?” she asked as she shifted in the bed, then winced.
“Don’t move.” He came to his feet and placed his hands on her shoulders. “What can I get you? Water? The nurse? Are you in pain?”
Melanie shook her head. “I don’t need the nurse. I just want to go home, but they said I had to stay.”
“The baby . . .”
“Is fine. I fractured my collarbone and have a few stitches in my head. I have a concussion, so they’re monitoring me.”
Her eyes welled up with tears and she looked down at their hands. “You know why I was in Atlanta,” she whispered.
Tanner swallowed, hating how her voice sounded so shameful, so full of guilt. “I know you were with Neville in a car when this happened.”
She pulled her hand from his and covered her face. When her shoulders shook, Tanner eased onto the side of the bed.
“Talk to me. What’s going on?”
“You shouldn’t be here,” she cried into her hand. “He can’t know you’re here.”
The curtain behind him slid aside and Tanner glanced over his shoulder to see Cash and Jax. He held up a hand and the two slowly stepped back outside and closed the door.
“Neville can’t know I’m here?” Tanner clarified. “Did he threaten you?”
Melanie shook her head and dropped her hand back to her lap. “No. He threatened you.”
Tanner laughed. “Honey, I’m not afraid of your ex-husband.”
“You don’t understand.” Her watery eyes practically begged him. “He’ll ruin your career. He wants to buy you off to keep you out of the baby’s life and mine.”
Rage filled Tanner at the thought that some low-life politician thought for even a second that money could buy him.
Tanner reached up to wipe her damp cheeks. “It will never happen.”
“I told him you’d never take money,” she assured him. “But maybe if you stay away from me, maybe he won’t feel threatened? I don’t know. I have no clue what to do to save you at this point. He’s worked up some preposterous scheme to remarry me—”
“Like hell.”
Melanie shook her head. “No, I’m not marrying him. But if he thinks you’re a threat at all . . . Tanner, please listen. Just go.”
Part of him wanted to shake some sense into her, but the rest of him couldn’t get beyond the pain that consumed him. She’d tried to do all of this on her own. She’d not trusted their relationship enough to let him in, to let him take over and protect her.
“Why didn’t you come to me?” he asked, unable to keep the anger from his tone. “Why were you so adamant about keeping me locked out of this?”
Melanie dropped her head against the pillow and stared up at the ceiling. “I never wanted this for you. I wanted my old life separate from my new. I was doing a good job of it, too, until he discovered the pregnancy. I mean, he was texting and sending messages through his assistants, but the pregnancy put him over the top, and when he threatened you . . .”
Melanie turned her head and stared at him once again. “Do you not get that I trust you with my entire heart, Tanner? My life is yours, but I couldn’t let you get hurt.”
“You don’t trust me with your life.” Those words no doubt hurt her . . . they hurt like hell to say out loud. “Maybe you want to, maybe you even think you do, but you would’ve been completely up front with everything if that were the case.”
Melanie’s chin quivered as she bit down on her lip and turned her head away. “Just go,” she whispered. “I’m tired.”
Damn it. This was not how he wanted to leave her. He wouldn’t
leave her like this.
Tanner reached for her good hand and stroked his thumb across her knuckles. “You’re done doing things alone,” he vowed. “I’ve said this before, but you’re going to see that I don’t scare easily. You’re tired because you’ve carried the weight of this burden for years. It’s my turn.”
She jerked her attention toward him, her entire body tense. Eyes wide, she shook her head. “Tanner, when I said go, I didn’t mean from the room. I meant from my life. I won’t keep our baby from you. I’d never do that, but you and me . . . we just can’t do this anymore.”
Another round of rage rolled through him. He braced his fists on either side of her hips and leaned forward until he was a breath away from her face.
“Like hell we can’t. You already told me you love me. There’s no going back, Mel. We’re a family and I’ll be damned if someone, anyone, is going to destroy that.”
He kissed her for the briefest of moments before releasing her. Tanner came to his feet and shoved his hands in his pockets as he stared down at the woman he loved lying in the bed.
“Rest up, Melanie. I’ll finish this fight.”
“I don’t want you in my fight, Tanner.” Her voice cracked, but she tipped her chin and stared across the space without blinking. “We can’t be together anymore.”
“Because you’re scared?” he demanded.
Melanie pursed her lips and blinked. She pulled in a deep breath as she squared her shoulders against the stark white pillow.
“I’m not scared anymore. I’m finally doing what is right . . . for both of us.”
Tanner couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “And the baby? What about what’s right for our child, Melanie?”
“Our baby will know love, from both of us,” she assured him. “We just won’t be living together.”
Tanner wasn’t going to stand there and argue with her. He wasn’t going to let her give up, either. He wasn’t lying when he said he’d finish this fight.
Neville Prescott was about to meet his match, and not in the form of a woman he could blackmail, abuse, or threaten.
Without another word, he stepped from her room. Leaning on the wall across from him were Cash and Jax. They met his eyes and Tanner gripped his fists at his sides and crossed to them.
“We need to talk privately.”
Because he needed the help of his best friends, and there was no way he was going to let Melanie go through this alone. She was going to need Livie and Jade as well.