“What’s the matter with you?” Cordie demanded. He acted as though he hadn’t heard her. She repeated the question in a much louder voice. She was so focused on Walker, she wasn’t aware that Aiden and Spencer had just walked in. “After you have a bath and put on clean clothes, we’ll all leave you alone, for a little while anyway.”
“Do I have to go in the bedroom and lock the door to get some peace?” he growled. “In fact, I think I’m going to do just that.” He started to back his wheelchair away from the coffee table so he could turn around.
Aiden was about to step in and give Walker a piece of his mind for acting like a child until Cordie laughed. The puzzling reaction made him hesitate. What did she think was so funny?
“You think I can’t get you out of a locked room? It would take me five minutes, tops,” she said.
Walker scoffed and stopped turning the wheels of his chair. “What would you do? Get someone to kick in the door?”
“Nothing so barbaric,” she said sweetly. “I know a lot of ways to get you to come out. I could use tear gas, I suppose. That’s quick and easy. Your eyes will burn for a week, but I guarantee you’ll open the door. Or I could—”
He stopped her. “You’re out of your mind. Where are you going to buy tear gas?”
Exasperated, she asked, “What did I do at St. Matthew’s High School?”
“You were a teacher.”
“And what did I teach?”
Before he could guess, she said, “Chemistry, Walker. I taught chemistry. I won’t buy tear gas. I’ll make it, and room service will bring me everything I need. Some vinegar, a little baking soda, a few hot spices . . . should I go on? Or would you like to hear what else I could put together to get you out of a locked room?”
She was bluffing, of course. Yes, she did know how to make tear gas, but she never would, and she didn’t have the faintest idea what she would say if he asked her how she would get the tear gas into the room.
“You’re a ghoul,” he grumbled.
“Yes, I am,” she agreed cheerfully. “Now, are you going to bathe, or do I call room service and start mixing up a few surprises to get you to cooperate?”
He put his hands up in reluctant surrender. “Okay, you win.”
Before he could change his mind, Patty swooped in to roll him into the bedroom.
“Don’t leave, Cordie,” Walker called out. “This won’t take long.”
The way he smelled? She thought it would take the rest of the afternoon.
Aiden came up behind her and put his arm on her shoulder. “Tear gas, Cordelia?”
“You really know how to make that stuff, don’t you?” Spencer sounded impressed.
“Yes, I do,” she said as she turned around to face them.
It had been a long time since she’d seen all three Madison brothers in the same place, and she couldn’t help but notice the similarities. There were distinct differences as well. Spencer and Aiden were both tall, and their muscular builds were a testament to the time they spent working out. Spencer was slightly bulkier in the shoulders than Aiden, but Aiden had the more chiseled body. Walker, on the other hand, didn’t show the same signs of physical fitness. It appeared his lifestyle was beginning to catch up with him, because he was thinner than she remembered, and his skin had a sallow hue that suggested living in the fast lane had finally taken its toll. Despite their different physiques, all three brothers were handsome and could be models. Aiden would look right at home in GQ. Spencer would be more suited to Sports Illustrated. And Walker . . . he was different. While at one time he would have been a candidate for the cover of Esquire, he now looked like a subject for a medical journal.
Spencer patted her on the shoulder. “You look so much better today. I can barely see the bruises,” he told her. “I don’t think anyone would even notice. Doesn’t she look good, Aiden?”
“Cordelia always looks good.”
She was about to thank them for their lies when a knock sounded at the door, and a big, burly man dressed in white came in.
“Walker’s cooperating, Edward,” Aiden said.
“Edward’s an RN,” Spencer told her. “He was going to help us drag Walker into a shower.”
Aiden introduced the nurse to Cordelia. When he took her hand, he frowned and examined her face. “You were in the car with Walker?”
Cordie turned to Spencer and gave him an accusatory scowl. “Barely noticeable bruises, huh?” she said with a laugh.
“She was hit by a car,” Aiden explained.
She didn’t stop Edward when he gently removed her arm from the sling. He checked her fingers and remarked, “Not too much swelling. That’s good. When do you see the doctor?”
She didn’t have the faintest idea. She didn’t even know the name of the doctor who had put the cast on.
Aiden answered. “She has an appointment with a specialist day after tomorrow.”
“I do? How do you know that?” she asked.
“I made the appointment for you.”
“When?”
“At the hospital.”
“When were you going to tell me?” she asked, surprised and perturbed that he was making plans for her without her knowledge.
“Day after tomorrow.”
“He won’t take the cast off that soon,” she said.
“No. It’s just a check to make sure you’re healing properly. I’ll take you.”
“Aiden, I might not be here in a couple of days.”
“Yes, you will.”
Cordie wasn’t about to get in an argument with him now. She would wait until they were alone. Then she’d have her say and make him listen.
“I’ll go help with Walker,” Edward said. He turned to Cordie before he left. “It was a pleasure meeting you. If you have any problems, you let me know.”
There was a big problem standing in front of her, but she doubted Edward would be able to help her with Aiden.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have some calls to make.” She crossed the room and stopped. “Spencer, why don’t you call housekeeping and ask them to send someone to clean all this up. It’s a mess.” She saw Aiden’s expression and put her hand up. “Yes, I see the parallel.”
His laughter followed her out the door. It wasn’t at all the same, though. Aiden’s definition of messy was completely different from that of normal people. Leaving a scarf on a table made the room a mess to him. Okay, maybe she left a few more things around the living room than just a scarf, but it wasn’t enough to be considered messy.
The security guard walked her back to her door. “Mr. Madison was concerned when he couldn’t find you. He calmed down as soon as I explained you were looking in on his brother.”
Aiden was concerned? Did he think she’d left the hotel? And if so, how would she have accomplished it? She couldn’t step out the door without a guard shadowing her, and if she ever dared to push the elevator button, she’d probably be tackled and dragged back to the suite. As long as Aiden was running things, she wasn’t going anywhere.
She went into her bedroom to get her phone, walked past the closet, and came to a quick stop. The closet had been empty the night before. Now it was filled with clothes. She flipped the light on and walked in. They were her clothes, and not just a few. All the racks were full. On one shelf were three pairs of jeans, all nicely folded. On another shelf were T-shirts.