Page 14 of The Right Woman

“Oh my god!” Maeve screams.

I can only stare, frozen with panic.

Professor Harrison stands and grabs his wife, shaking her. “Megs? Meghan?!” Frantically, he glances around the busy cafe. “Help us!”

Meghan collapses across the table, smacking face first into the faux wood top. As I jump from my chair, my body is pushed out of the way as Adon Griffin comes from behind me and gathers the floppy woman in his arms.

He lays her on the floor, presses his ear to her barely parted lips while watching her chest rise. But it doesn’t. His deep chocolate eyes seek my face with a seriousness that makes me tremble all over. “Call nine-one-one. Now, Rosy.”

Rosy. Oh my god… Daddy Don. It’s him.

My heart stops for a full beat before hurrying to catch back up.

Still in a state of shock, I find my phone in my crochet purse and press the numbers on it, though they dart around. Or is it my finger that’s shaking? Somehow, I convey the information to the dispatcher, but everything feels like it’s in slow motion.

Professor Hendricks kneels next to his wife, gripping her hand and patting it. Her face turns an ugly shade of purple and blue, while Adon presses his palms on her sternum. He counts in a low tone under his breath as he gives her CPR.

All I can do is hug myself and watch the scene unfold, a sinking feeling of horror in my gut. Daddy Don, the man I wanted to ruin, is trying his best to save this poor woman’s life.

And failing.

She looks dead. Like…deaddead. I haven’t seen any corpses, but this looks like what one would look like. My mother and sister stare silently from the wall, neither making much of an expression. Dad’s hands continuously run through his hair as he stares at Meghan with wide eyes.

Pencil-headed Sean pushes through the crowd of visitors, yelling something that I can’t understand. My ears feel fuzzy, my vision clouded by confusion. “Dad? Dad! Oh my god. Is Meghan okay?” The way he says her name, though, makes me feel like he really doesn’t give a shit if Meghan is okay or not.

“Oh, Sean!” Maeve throws on some waterworks and reaches for her boyfriend. He stands next to her and gives her a hug while watching Adon work.

He’s tireless. Those massive muscles clenching and flexing as he presses directly into the body’s chest, heaving breaths onto her face. Sweat pours from his forehead as he mutters a rhythm to a beat. My heart feels like it jumps with a start with every downstroke Adon pushes into her. Like an obsessed worker who won’t stop until he gets the job done.

By the time paramedics bust through the door, though, all hope is lost. Bob ushers the patrons out of the store and closes the shop, but police arrive behind them and ask Adon and the rest of us to stay and give witness accounts.

Adon doesn’t look exhausted… He looks utterlydefeated. It makes me remember the look he gave me at the club. The one that let me know he could be my hero. Even see things I never want anyone else to.

The way the officer speaks to him is like he’s attacking him, or maybe I’m feeling a bit protective. Adon stares at the floor, then his shoulders raise as the man spits out a question that Adon hesitates to answer.

My family departs after giving statements, and I linger behind. For what, I’m not sure. Some part of me wants tocomfort Adon. He looks so sad. And the other part wants to rub it in and irritate the fuck out of him.

The shop is nearly empty as I wait outside on the busy sidewalk. People still loiter, and I just now realize how very late I am for work. It’s already past noon. Texting my boss, I let her know what’s happened and why I’m missing my shift when Adon steps out of the door and glances both ways like he’s lost.

His eyes fall onto me, and we behold each other for a long moment.

He knows that I know… A tiny ball in the back of his jaw bounces as he grinds his teeth.

Taking a few steps closer, I lift my chin and toss my short hair. I have to drop my head back to even look at his face, which seems high in the clouds. As I approach, he scratches his beard and narrows his fierce gaze. It drops to my chest for a blink, which only makes heat flare across my cheeks. Like electricity sparking between our bodies, I almost don’t want to touch him for fear I’ll get shocked. So I stand about two feet back while people rush between us, getting to where they need to go.

“So…Daddy Don, huh?”

Adon’s eyebrows shoot up as he erases the space between us. His finger and thumb grip my chin as he snaps at me, “Don’t youevercall me that.”

A gasp parts my lips as butterflies swarm my belly. Despite how nervous he’s making me, I smirk and give him a shrug. “You wanted me to the other night.”

“That was… That was not me.”

Stumbling a step back, I say, “Sure, and I’m not?—”

My arm gets yanked, breath catching in my throat, as a hooded figure rushes past me, snaring my purse in their hands and running with it.

“What the—” I lunge and sprint toward him while screaming, “Hey! That’s mine!”

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