Blood Is Thicker...
By
Christine
Part One
Chapter 7
When she came downstairs to the kitchen, he was grinding coffee beans. She had retrieved her belongings from the guest room and gotten dressed, wearing her black clothing from the night before. He smiled at her, and eyed her dress. “You don’t have any clothes here, do you?” She shook her head. “We’ll go to your place and pick up your things, “ he decided out loud, and continued making the coffee.
She hadn’t needed to tell him where she lived, he already knew which building. The Jeep’s radio played in the background along the ride about a friendly stranger in a black sedan. Pik looked methodically around her apartment, assessing it. It was indeed a sorry place, and he wondered again how badly she needed money. “Pack up everything,” he said. “There’s no reason for you to come back here again.”
She was a little startled at his abruptness, “Pardon?”
“I don’t want you coming back here, Maddie. Not to this building nor this area of town. It’s not safe.”
“I’ve seen you down here plenty of times, “ she retorted.
“Yes, and I have seen you down here as well.” Their unfinished business and his suspicions hung in the air, and Pik felt the real world creeping in to their previously oblivious realm. He didn’t like it, but he knew it was unavoidable.
“Listen,” he said, “I have to meet with a business associate nearby…”
She interrupted, “The one across from the café?”
He sucked his breath in between his teeth at her tenacity. “There are some things you would do well to forget,” he said slowly. He was realizing what a mistake it was to get involved with someone. This could get to be very dangerous for her. But he couldn’t leave her there in this dingy place, and he didn’t want her anywhere except with him.
“Listen, Maddie,” he said patiently. “You will know all you need to know about me in time…just as I will about you. Now please, just pack up your things and wait here for me, in this room. I will be back by the time you are finished.” He walked through the door before she could say a word.
Madeleine obeyed, trusting him. But she knew that whatever business he was involved in, involved Fouchon as well. And she had a right to know about Fouchon. Still, Pik’s warning had been stern. She gathered the rest of her clothes, her toilette, the very little she had, and placed them in a battered hard-sided suitcase. From under the mattress she took a large tan envelope, hugged it to herself, and slid it underneath the rest of the items in her suitcase. The envelope held infinite value for Madeleine, and she hadn’t wanted to leave it unattended with her clothes in the guest room closet at the mansion. She decided she could come clean with Pik about everything now. She had fallen in love with him and couldn’t imagine living through a moment of her life without him. She could sense his protectiveness of her, and his possessiveness.
And love? She hoped so. Soon, maybe. Hopefully, already.
Pik walked in just as she clicked the fasteners on her suitcase. He hated dealing with Randal Poe, but at the present, he was Pik’s best bet for recruiting volunteers for the game. The whole thing reminded him of how wrong it was for him to involve Madeleine in his life, and his face remained sour and he carried her belongings downstairs and into the Jeep. They were silent the for whole ride back to the mansion, Madeleine pondering how to tell Pik her story, Pik cursing his heart for betraying him. He had never known Fouchon to get involved with any woman more than casually, physically.
“Look at what a pleasant fellow he is, though!” he mused. He should be happy to be in love, he thought to himself. In love…
He parked the Jeep in the garage, allowed to do so in the Jaguar’s absence. But he didn’t make a move to get out. He turned to Madeleine, who had a peaceful look on her face, as if a burden had been lifted from her. “Maddie, I am sorry for being so….so….”
“Don’t worry about it.” She smiled sincerely.
“Okay.” He knew she meant it.
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