FlakJacket (11 page)

“No Jordan.” But he left her and ran back into the auditorium to see if anyone was hurt. Only one policeman had been in the area, suffering bruises when the explosion knocked him to the floor. After thanking him, Jordan went back to Madison.

Her hands grabbed him as he entered the car. She clutched him to her and held on for dear life.

“I’m fine.”
Little Witch
. “Just wanted to make sure no one inside was seriously hurt. The bomb was made for fire, flash and noise. It was a scare tactic.”

“Why did you change direction in there?” Her eyes were wide as she waited for his answer.

“I felt compelled to do so. I am, after all, your protector. You had no idea?” She shook her head no. He yelled to his men. “Get us out of here and to the plane. We’re not staying overnight. Notify her hosts of the change in plans.”

“The press wants to speak to her, and the FBI has been called in; they’ll probably want to talk to you.”

“Under no circumstances will she speak to the press. The FBI can get in touch with me. They have my number. We will have a statement in two hours. That’s it.” The car sped into the night.

Jordan made a call to the press just before he arrived home. “I want this covered fairly. The bomb was a scare tactic; check the amount of and the grade of the explosives that were used-it’s basically fireworks stuff. This was a bid for coverage; don’t play the incident up for other than what it was, a protest.” He was assured the press would follow through. He would fax them her statement and chat with the investigator from the FBI when he was called. But he knew that the explosive was strong enough to hurt her, or was it meant to scare her. Which was it?

Madison sat stiffly beside him. He reached over, unbuckled her seatbelt, and held her hand. It was chilled, so he rubbed it between his hands to warm it. “Hey...all in a day’s work.”

“I’ve put you in danger. I can’t do that.” She tried to pull her hand from his.

“This is what I do, Madison.” His large hand moved to her abdomen. “My son. Remember, or do we have to talk about that deliveryman you mentioned.” She couldn’t help herself. She giggled.

“You do like me a little, don’t you?” she queried.
She was so sincere in her asking.

He didn’t know how to answer her, so he quipped, “What’s not to like.”

Two days later, Madison came tentatively into his office and handed him a brown paper bag as he worked at his desk; it was early evening. He sat back. “For me?” She nodded. Now what could she have gotten him? He pulled it open to find a pregnancy test kit. His eyes met hers in some confusion as she took his hand and led him to the bath off the bedroom. She opened the kit and went into the bathroom as his eyes followed her; she didn’t close the door. She read the directions out loud, followed them, and set the wand on the sink as he watched.

He swallowed. “Madison. This isn’t necessary.”

“It is for me.” She looked back at the wand, her breathing slow and easy; the + marker came up. Her eyes lifted to his, watching for his reaction. “I’m pregnant.”

The only response he could make was: “Did you have any names for a boy in mind?” He was very serious, and the look on her face was priceless. A smile crossed his face, and his hands grabbed her as his mouth caught hers in a teasing kiss. “You’re a witch; you know that.” How could he make the word
witch
sound so wonderful? He finally believed her.

In Jordan’s head, there was only one thought, that he had sired a child. He would be a father again.

M
adison lay in a tangle of sheets in the bed, still sleeping. He was going to have to move faster to get this whole fucking mess straightened out. He had assigned one of his best men to shadow Madison every single second. He had added a woman to her protective detail as well for her trips; his men shied away from women’s restrooms.

He needed his child to have his name, so that meant paperwork. He was now actively hunting for Neville Houser to see if he was his own man or a stooge for someone else. The chess pieces were in play, and it was up to him to see that he made all the right moves. He would protect his child. His thoughts strayed to the red headed woman who lay in front of him. He admired her tenacity, her strength, and her acceptance of the unknown. He wished he were more like her, and
he wondered yet again why he had been chosen to father the child.

He had buried deep the memories that he had of his little girl; they resurfaced with a vengeance with the news of the coming child. He found the thought of new life somehow comforting. A doctor’s visit was next on his list for Madison, and he would be by her side. The information about her pregnancy couldn’t get out; if it turned out that the child had special skills, it would endanger its very existence. It would make Madison more vulnerable than ever, and he had enough to deal with right now.

If he believed her, his son would have extraordinary powers, and how did he deal with that as a father?
Fucking A
. He was out of his element, and he still didn’t know if he believed her gift was real. But then, there was the pregnancy thing, and she had predicted that. He had a thought, and he picked up his phone, dialing David.

“Hey, man. How goes it?”

“I was just about to call you. You’re never going to believe it, but Myrna is pregnant. Your witch was right—can you believe it? I’m going to be a father around Christmas.”

Did predicting pregnancy fall inside the lines of the supernatural, Jordan wondered. That was a laugh. They talked for a few minutes, and then he hung up after congratulating his friend. He needed to have more proof of her insight; for some reason, he glanced at the healing wound on his arm; even the scar was disappearing. Unreal and unnerving!

Jordan’s emotions had been locked up for a long time. Love had not played a prominent role in his first marriage; it had been an arrangement that hadn’t gone so well. Maybe he was incapable of the L-word, but he had been taken with his tiny daughter; she had been everything good in his life, even if he were not absolutely positive she was his own.

A sigh escaped him. He felt warmth and turned his eyes to meet Madison’s open, pale blue ones; a frown marred her brow. “Having regrets?” She sat up. “I can leave.” He pushed off the chair and walked to her. His lips caught the corner of her mouth and then her forehead and then he kissed her full on; he found himself unable to keep his iron control. Her body was speaking to his in a way that he truly understood.

His hands ran a rapid path down her sides, and since she was wearing nothing, he had to continue to touch her intimately. The catch of her breath and her sweet sounds and moans as he continued his onslaught meant there was no turning back from this physical connection he had with her. He was quickly undressed and in bed with her, wrapping his body around her and claiming her, pounding into her body, never stopping to think. Her scream of release was his reward. How did she do this to him? She was a witch—but now she was
his Witch
.

The sunlight streamed in the window. She rested in his arms, relaxed, a soft smile on her face. That changed in an instant, her brow furrowing. “Jordan. You must get to David, now.”

“You have an event tonight.”

“This is a matter of life and death. He’s at his production plant. Please go, and hurry.” Her pleading eyes hit him in the gut, and he grabbed his jeans and shirt and fled, grabbing his shoes and his keys as he ran. It took him minutes to get to the site of David’s building. It was early in the morning, and no one was about. He pounded on the office door with no results. A night watchman came up to him yelling, asking him what in the hell he was doing.

“Get this damn door opened. I need to see David.” The man looked at him like he was nuts, so he added, “He’s hurt.” How he could say that was beyond him; he didn’t really know that it was true.

“All right, all right, but I’m coming with you.” He pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked the door.

“David.” Jordan’s yell echoed off the walls. “David? Where are you?” Jordan rushed up the steps to the office, and called again. There was no one. He ran back down and out onto the production floor. He ran down three rows before he saw the spill of large wooden crates. His friend lay underneath the stack. “Call the ambulance,” he yelled to the night guard, and then he was pulling off the crates and throwing them, trying to get to his friend. When he reached him, he was still breathing, but his injuries appeared grave. He felt for the pulse point on his neck; it was slow and erratic. “Come on, David. Stay with me, “ he begged.

In minutes, the ambulance had rolled up outside and the guard was showing the EMT’s in. They sat their gear on the floor and began to treat David. The clock on the wall said 5:30 AM. What in the hell had David been doing here at that time of the morning? He picked up his phone to call Myrna, remembering then that she had just found out she was pregnant. He hesitated to make the call, but the need to do so raced through him. He would wait for the EMT’s to tell him how David was.

They had oxygen on David in seconds, an IV drip in his arm, and they were systematically going over his body for breaks. His arm lay at an awkward angle.

“Are you his family?”

“No. I’m a friend. Should I call his wife?”

“I think so. We’re moving him to Presbyterian Hospital. His condition is stable, but we’ll need to know a great deal more about internal injuries. Does he have a doctor?”

“I don’t know. I’ll get his wife and be right there.” The men nodded to him, and moved to take David out. Jordan collared the night watchman and told him to let everything as it was and to call the insurance company. Then he raced back to his car and called Madison.

“I need you.”

“I’m ready. Come and get me.”

He pulled up to the house, and she ran down the steps, climbing into the car.

“What’s wrong?”

“David’s hurt, but he’s in stable condition. I need to get Myrna to him.” Madison nodded. “I don’t know how to tell her about the accident; she’s pregnant.” The car raced through the early morning traffic. “How did you know about David?” he demanded.

She said nothing; he was just now beginning to see the world she lived in every single day. She had known David needed someone, but she hadn’t really seen the accident. “He flashed into my mind, and I could feel his pain. That’s all I can say.” She reached out her mind to garner the outcome of the accident. “He will be all right, but he will have a long recuperation—something has happened to his arm. He will need you.”

Jordan looked at her. “You’ll stay with me to talk to Myrna?”

She read his fear and his need. “I will.”

J
ordan contacted Myrna by phone and arranged to pick her up, only telling her that David needed her. She confessed to him that they had had a massive fight the night before, and that David had left early in the morning in a huff. Jordan was totally out of his element, having no clue what to say to her. Thank God, Madison stepped in.

“Myrna, there’s been an accident, and David has been hurt. We’re taking you to him; I feel strongly that he will be all right, but he will need you to stay calm and help him. We will be with you.”

Myrna looked at her. “You’re the white witch that David mentioned.” Her eyes filled with tears. “You can make sure he is OK, can’t you? You have healing powers; that’s what David said.”
Another believer?

“I will help him. You have my word on that.” Madison reassured her.

“We argued about the baby; David doesn’t think he’s ready for it, but I know he is. We didn’t plan it, but I want it. David thought I intentionally became pregnant, but I didn’t. Can you help me to make him see that?”

“I will do everything I can for the two of you, I promise.” Madison’s calm demeanor and her deep concern for Myrna reached out and calmed her. Madison held her in her arms and just comforted her, infusing her own strength into the other woman.

“I will do what you say, and I can be strong enough for both of us,” Myrna stopped her crying.

Jordan butted into the conversation. “I’m going to be a father, too.”

Madison’s eyes were huge as she grimaced at his announcement.
What in the hell?

“It would really help him to know that, Jordan, to know that’s he’s not on his own with this fatherhood mantra.” Jordan smiled at Myrna, but then he saw the expression on Madison’s face.
Damn.
He had just announced her pregnancy without her permission. It wasn’t as if they were married or anything
. Shit.
Now what should he do?

“Is Jessica pregnant?” Myrna’s voice was surprised.

Jordan wished that the ground would just swallow him up. He hadn’t been with Jessica in two years, but he could understand how Myrna could draw that conclusion. He glanced at Madison, but she was looking out the side window, intentionally keeping her eyes from his. He could just imagine what she was thinking, but he was saved from making any reply because they pulled up to the emergency entrance at that point, and both women got out. “I’ll park the car and come right in.”

The women received room information and hurried along to David’s room. Jordan followed shortly thereafter. The doctor met them and went over what was being done for his injuries. Testing had shown a number of broken bones in his hand and arm, but the doctor wasn’t ready to operate because of his head injury. Once the testing came back on that, they would decide on a course of action. He was in stable condition for the time being.

Myrna chatted away to Madison, telling her all about the huge uproar last evening. She was crying when she was done, feeling responsible for the accident. Madison comforted her, reassuring her that David’s injuries were not her fault and that everything would be fine for the two of them. She suggested that Jordan go back to the production center to make sure everything there was all right. She literally threw him out of the hospital, and so he went, being thankful for something to do. He wondered how long it would be before Madison would speak to him.