The Law of Motion (Law Series) (85 page)

             
The poor boys eyes widened in intimidation and I didn’t even attempt to chide her. She grabbed him by the wrist and tugged him form my office, “Come, come, come. We need to test your aptitude and work out a tutoring schedule.”

             
I just smiled and shook my head going back to the stack of papers on my desk. I had over two weeks’ worth of catching up to do.

             
Another set of raps at my door got rid of that idea, “Come in.”

             
Doc stood in the doorway all pale skinned, dark haired, and wearing her contemplative expression on that heart shaped face of hers.

             
“Spit it out, Tawn.”

             
“What are you doing?” She queried.

             
I sighed, “I was
about
to call future clients to set up meetings.”

             
“Kristen does that.” She countered simply.

             
“Ok then, I’ll check potential client backgrounds.”

             
“Tink does that.” She contested.

             
“Well then, what would you like me to do?” I surrendered dropping my pen.

             
Three words. “Explain. Kristopher. Powell.

             
I wanted to kick myself. I didn’t even consider the idea that Tawny would have a problem with me giving Kris a job.

             
In my eyes Kris was an innocent, caught up in everything that happened like the rest of us. I could separate him from Terry, Myles, Zoe, Maverick, Roman, and everyone else involved. But maybe he was too close to the circle and innocent or not it could be a constant reminder for Doc or Ross.

             
“Doc, have a seat,” I requested gingerly.

             
She had that pensive face that came with her being in therapist mode. I hated that face because it was trained to appear hooked on the person’s words without broadcasting any of her own internal thoughts. She took a seat in front of my desk and waited expectantly.

             
“How would you feel about me offering Kris a job?”

             
Doc’s face showed her mulling it over in her mind, but it didn’t reflect her feelings as she processed. When she finished her minute of silence she answered me with a question, “ What would he do?”

             
“Help Dario and the boys with the security side of things. Nothing too serious, maybe handle all of the process serving too.”

             
She nodded like it would make sense. “Why are you doing it?”

             
“Because he asked me for help.” I admitted. “I need to know that you, Ross, and Juan will be okay with this. If not, I will make arrangements for him to work somewhere else.”

             
“Oh, we’ll be just fine. He did save my son and best friend’s life after all.” She answered plainly, but her face kept the same carefully absorbed expression.

             
I was a second away from telling her to ‘spit it out’ again but she beat me to it.

             
“You’ve changed,” She declared without any doubt.

             
“Of course,” I breathed out, because it was the third time that I had heard someone I cared about say those exact two words.

             
“Tired of hearing it?” She guessed, once again right.

             
I nodded.

             
“Who else said that you changed?”

             
“Hunter, two weeks ago said that I changed. That I wasn’t the same logical soldier that I had been when we were friends. The old me could have separated the fact that I was attached that I knew the boys personally, and I would have come up with another plan that didn’t put me in harm’s way. He said that I handled all of this a lot more emotionally than I normally would have, and he is right.”

             
She started to comment but I continued to divulge. “Carmen, before we left Atlanta said that I had changed. That I wasn’t as free spirited and full of life as I was when we were younger. She said that I didn’t just use to look like my mother, but I had her heart more then, than I do now.”

             
I swallowed a lump in my throat, because the truth was, what Carmen said actually
bothered
me. I never really saw myself as being anywhere near as loving and warm as my mom was, but the thought of having those things and then losing them saddened me. “So tell me Doc, how did I change in your eyes?”

             
“When I first met you, you didn’t really trust anyone. But for some reason you decided to take a chance and trust three completely strange women. Which is funny because when you met me, I tried to
steal
from you, Kristen kicked your ass, and Tink found a way in by making you insecure.”

             
“
Tried
to kick my ass,” I corrected.

             
She smirked but otherwise ignored me, “They were three instances where any
normal
person that had been through what you did wouldn’t have trusted. Yet you did. You’re a lot more forgiving than I gave you credit for and for that I owe you an apology.”

             
“Me, forgiving?”

             
She nodded, “The Alyssa I knew wouldn’t have stopped me from killing Roman Maxwell, and she wouldn’t separate Kris’s involvement. You’ve changed, and I’m not saying it’s bad in anyway. You are starting
care.
”

             
“Won’t that impair my judgments?”

             
  She giggled, “Oh of course it will someday, but it’s helping you transition back into how you were.”

             
“Is it
really
?” I questioned feeling mixed up. I hated feeling confused and I never felt more confused than I did at that moment, because if everything was true than I was scared because, “I don’t know who I am.”

             
“If I’m not that sweet, loving, and kind Alyssa that Carmen remembered; and I’m not that quick-witted, logical Babes that Hunter knows, and I’m not that apathetic and hardened Chance that you know who exactly am I, Doc?”

             
“
My
Honeyface,” Adrian answered making Doc and I jump. He was leaning against the frame with his arms crossed, comfortable, like he had been there for a while.

             
Doc’s hand flew to heart as she tried to restart it, “God you scared me Adrian. Don’t
do
that.”

             
He pretty much ignored her, his grey and blue eyes too engaged with my own to pay attention. “Did you hear me, Love? You’re
my
Honeyface. Kind, loving, warm, tough as nails, and as logical as you need to be. Got it?” He demanded, inviting himself in and taking a seat on the corner of my desk, taking my hand to pull me close to him.

             
“Adrian…” I breathed, letting him pull me in between his legs so that he could wrap me closer to him.

             
He kissed my forehead and ran his finger down the bridge of my nose before kissing the tip, “No arguing with me. So what you aren’t the same Alyssa, Chance, and
Babes
that everyone knew. You took the best parts of all of them into the beautiful package in my arms.”

             
There was something about Adrian that I couldn’t wrap my mind around. He would always admit that when it came to me he didn’t always know the right things to say, but there were times like this, when I needed it the most that he knew
exactly
what to say to make it all better. “The best of all of them?” I repeated skeptically.

             
“Don’t
ever
doubt it.” He growled, nipping at my neck playfully though it almost sounded like a threat.

             
Somewhere between Adrian’s entrance and his declaration Doc had excused herself silently to give us privacy, which was a good thing because the kiss that he planted on me would have made even Kristen and Macon blush (and they had no aversion to PDA).

             
When I was Carmen’s Alyssa, Hunter’s Babes, and Gravity’s Chance all at different times in my life. I existed, sometimes better than others but I was never truly happy. But being with Adrian, was the only time that I could be all three at once along with a little bit more. It was foreign and new, and scary but it felt like having the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle. “I don’t mind being Honeyface.”

             
“Good, because I plan on you staying that way.” He chuckled kissing me again.

             
“Forever.” I swore.

             
THE END

             
Hunter was outside waiting for me and I had to go. “Adrian, have you seen my jacket?” I called down the stairs when I heard the horn honking from the driveway.

             
“Found it,” Adrian called up to me.

             
I took the stairs two and three at a time almost crashing into him. My guy steadied me giving me a disapproving glance as he held out my jacket to help me shrug it on. “Thanks, baby.”

             
“So... Has
Hunter
told you where he was taking you yet?” He questioned as casually as he could, a hint of annoyance still hiding in his grey and blue mix.

             
I shook my head buttoning it up and opening the closet for an umbrella. “Not a word, but he said I was going to flip when I did know. He likes torturing me, he knows I hate surprises.”

             
“Some guy I don’t like is taking my girl who knows where…” He tossed over in his head, “how am I okay with this?”

             
I smirked up at him, “I thought you guys were friends now.”

             
“Not the least bit, Honeyface.” He chuckled apparently finding my assumption hilarious. I pouted and he sobered up opening the front door for me. He looked at the storm outside and then to Hunter’s Infiniti with running idle with the wiper blades on the highest setting. “Be safe for me.”

             
“I thought the over-protectiveness kicked into hyper drive
after
the wedding,” I accused still rising on my tip toes to kiss him before he could argue.

             
Not that it stopped him, “I’m always in hyper drive when it comes to you, you’re a magnet for trouble.”

             
“No Mr. Harris, that’s
you
,” I corrected.

             
I looked back at the car shinning its lights in the doorway and though I couldn’t see inside because of the rain, I was sure Hunter was a second or so away from blowing the horn.

             
“Ok, go…” Adrian surrendered.

             
I grabbed my umbrella letting him kiss me again, “I’ll be safe, see you later.”

             
I didn’t even open it for the short sprint to the car. Hunter just opened the door and I slid inside. “Took you long enough, how long does it take you to primp now, Babes?”

             
“I wasn’t primping,” I defended as he sped out the driveway, “I had to tell Adrian bye.” He shifted up a gear merging onto the highway shaking his head while I changed his radio station. “So where are we going?”

             
He shrugged, “Why don’t you give it a guess.”

             
“You know I hate guessing,” I muttered sitting back in my seat. “Give me a hint.”

             
“Nope.” He denied heading north on the 495. “Just sit back and relax, Babes.”

             
His speed kind of worried me in the weather we were having, but I didn’t say anything. I just continued to change through the stations until I found something we would both like and sat back. For a while you could only hear the sounds of classic rock and wiper blades.

             
“How was your trip?” He inquired after about forty minutes of heading west.

             
I smiled as I shrugged out of my rain coat., getting comfortable. Apparently we were going to be in the car for a while. “It was good, my family sends their love. Altagracia said to hug you for her.”