One Secret Night, page 17
part #3 of Ivy Avengers Series
Seeing the degree of his dismay, she quickly said, “That’s why I came to Houston, why I met with Kai.” To find Raith and tell him. “But then...”
“But then you saw what a lawless rebel I was and changed your mind.”
“I wasn’t sure.”
He held up his hand. “I don’t want to talk about this.”
“We need to.”
He shook his head. “I’ll be back to check on you.” He started to turn.
“Wait.” She pointed to her book, a really good adventure story that was a bestseller. “I need a towel.”
Seeing her wet hand, he slid a hand towel from the rack and handed it to her. She dried her hands and dropped the towel to the floor before reaching for the book. Wincing with the strain on her muscles, she leaned back and closed her eyes for a second. Holding the book above water kind of hurt, too. Not terribly, but it would ruin her bath.
She leaned to put the book back on the table. “I don’t need to read.” She shut her eyes.
Raith leaned over and snatched the book, annoyed but unable to leave her.
“You don’t have to read to me. I’ll just enjoy the view.”
He leaned against the sink counter and crossed one ankle over the other. Opening the book to the page she had marked, he set the metal bookmarker onto the counter and began to read. His deep voice tantalized her senses. She closed her eyes, listening to how his tone began stiff and slightly irritated, to smooth and engaged with the story. He enjoyed a chapter with her.
Autumn opened her eyes as he continued to read, looking over at his handsome face until the sight became too much of a stimulus. She closed her eyes again. His reading stopped.
Opening her eyes, she saw him watching her in that smoldering way. Then he resumed reading. She looked out the window. Candles, flowers, the view and his voice all worked to lull her. Even her head didn’t ache as much.
He finished a second chapter. “Don’t fall asleep in there.”
“The water is cooling.” She sounded as letdown as she was.
“Poor baby.” Raith set the book down and retrieved some towels from the rack under the sink. Setting those on the counter, he stepped toward her with reaching hands.
She sat up and put hers in them and he lifted her, bubble bath dripped down her body. He didn’t miss a single curve they slid over.
“I need to rinse off,” she said.
With his hands on her ribs, he lifted her from the tub. Her feet came down on a soft rug and she stood still, stirred by his face, her hands putting wet prints on his shirt.
He stepped back.
Growing acutely aware of her nakedness, she walked to the shower, feeling his gaze on her backside and then her profile as she started the water.
While she waited for the water to warm, she looked over at him still standing where she’d left him, that smoldering look harder with restraint.
Then his eyes traveled down, catching on her stomach and dousing the heat in his eyes.
Autumn got into the shower and took her time rinsing off as best she could without getting her stitches wet. By the time she dried off and emerged in her nightgown, she felt exhausted again.
In the bedroom, Raith sat at the end of the bed, surfing channels. He stopped when he saw her.
She went to the bed, pulling the covers back and climbing in.
Raith found a funny movie and put the remote on the bedside table. “Do you need anything else?”
Lying in here and watching a movie alone didn’t appeal to her. “Will you sit in here for a little while?” Maybe it was her concussion that was making her needier than usual.
He hesitated but walked over to the other side of the bed and reclined there. Autumn resisted the urge to move closer and cuddle against him. But he extended his arm in invitation and drew her there.
She made it only a few minutes into the movie before drifting into deep, contented sleep.
* * *
Raith looked down at Autumn’s sleeping face and felt a myriad of emotions. Protectiveness. Dread. Love...
In fact, he was pretty sure it was love that had made him carry her into the room and then order all those romantic items for her bath. She hadn’t had to tell him what she was thinking. She looked so exhausted and he could tell she ached from being thrown in the explosion.
Running away would have spared him having to face that. But Raith never ran from anything. He was a fighter. What was there to fight with Autumn? How could he fight having a child with her? And how could he not?
Disconcerted, he got up from the bed. She’d be all right until morning. He had to get out of here. He had to stay busy...and away from her.
* * *
The following night, Raith waited for Ralston to leave work. It was after eight and he appeared a few moments later. He didn’t care if he was noticed. In fact, it was better if Ralston did notice that he was being watched. If he was the shooter, he’d think twice about going after Kai.
He didn’t notice at first. He drove all the way to a hotel and parked. Raith parked nearby and watched Ralston walk over to him.
Raith got out of the car as he approached.
Ralston seemed annoyed that he’d been followed. “Why are you following me?”
“Who are you meeting here?”
“I often have meetings in the conference center here.”
Raith wondered if he was telling the truth. “Isn’t it late for a meeting?”
“I didn’t try to have Kai killed.”
“Then tell me why he came to see you that day.” It was that simple.
“It’s not me you should be following.”
“Who should I be following, then?”
“That’s your job to find out. Just stop following me. I didn’t do anything to Kai. I’ve never done anything to him.” Ralston walked toward the hotel.
Then something Raith hadn’t expected happened.
Kai appeared. He walked toward Ralston, who saw him and turned.
Raith jogged toward them, seeing Kai pointing his finger in Ralston’s face.
“I’m going to kill you!” Kai shouted, swinging his fist.
Ralston took one on the face and then swung back. The two collided in a brawl, grunting and growling swearwords.
Raith hooked his arms around Kai as he tackled Ralston to the ground and was about to attack him with more punches.
“Let me go!” Kai twisted and wrenched his body, fury propelling him to go after Ralston some more.
Wiping his bleeding face, Ralston got to his feet, eyeing Kai in disgusted befuddlement. Raith gave Kai a shove to separate him from Ralston. Kai immediately lunged.
Moving into Kai’s path, Raith gave him another shove. “I’d think twice about that if I were you.”
Kai’s face, crazed with fury, eased some. He became aware of Raith’s threat and didn’t try to go after Ralston again.
“What is the matter with you?” Ralston demanded.
Kai shook his finger at Ralston. “I’m going to destroy you!”
“Haven’t you already done that?” Ralston charged this time.
Raith planted his hand on Ralston’s chest, sending him bouncing backward.
“What are you doing here?” Raith asked Kai.
“He deserves everything that’s coming his way,” Kai answered.
“I wish that shooter hadn’t missed!” Ralston hissed, going after him again.
Raith had to give him another shove to put him in check.
“Is there a problem out here?”
Raith saw the security guard walking over. Now Ralston and Kai would never reveal what was going on between them.
“No, no trouble,” Ralston answered.
“We were just leaving, weren’t we?” Kai drilled a threatening look at Ralston. He would not let him go into the hotel.
Who was in there?
With a brief hesitation, Ralston started toward his car.
Kai trailed behind and Raith walked with him.
“What was that all about, Kai?”
“Leave me alone.” Kai walked faster and Raith let him go. He wouldn’t give away a thing without being forced. Raith would resort to that if he had to. He’d give this another week first. Then it would be time to play hardball.
* * *
A week later, Autumn felt like herself again. Her head didn’t hurt and her wound was healing. She’d spent a lot of time with Leonardo and had grown rather attached to him despite his love of movies and the stars in them. He’d asked her lots of questions about her dad and the movie business but in a nonintrusive or overly awed way. He’d been interested, that’s all. The conversation had transported him to a place outside of his dying body, which had pleased Autumn.
Ever since pampering her the night she was released from the hospital, Raith came back late at night and generally avoided them. Going on eight tonight, he, of course, wasn’t here. She and Leonardo had just finished dinner. He had to leave the day after tomorrow to make a doctor’s appointment later in the week.
“What is your appointment for?” she asked.
He seemed to hesitate. “To discuss some experimental treatment.”
Carrying a magazine, Autumn moved from the kitchenette to the seating area where Leonardo had turned on the television and was watching a movie. “Is it promising?”
He looked up at her grimly. “I don’t see how. They don’t usually offer experimental treatment until they’re sure you’re going to die. They figure you have nothing to lose, so why not try anything? Human experimentation,”
She stopped near him. “What kind of treatment is it?”
“Apparently, something kind of new. It’s a pill that contains a chemical that theoretically gives your immune system a boost, tells it to attack a type of protein cell in the cancer. Works on some, doesn’t on others.”
“You don’t seem very hopeful.”
Leonardo smiled at her. “I’m as hopeful as a dying man can be.”
And he had nothing to lose, as he’d said. She didn’t say anything, but she felt as though he did have at least something of a chance. She’d heard about that type of experimental treatment. It did work on some. But Leonardo was right. It didn’t work on everyone.
The hotel-suite door opened. Raith was back early tonight. The sight of him gave her heart a lurch, painful and warm at the same time. She hadn’t seen much of him. He slept late and walked out the door as soon as he was ready. She wondered why he was home so early.
He walked into the suite slowly, taking the sight of her in and then his dad.
“Welcome back,” Leonardo said with a hint of sarcasm.
He didn’t approve of the way Raith was managing the news that she was pregnant. Autumn wavered between agreeing with him and not faulting Raith. It had shocked her, too. Maybe he just needed time to adjust.
“Anything new on Garvin?” she asked. Raith had said he was watching the man, hoping he’d lead him to the one who’d hired Leaman.
“No. He’s kept a regular schedule. Ralston, too.”
So, he’d been keeping an eye on Ralston, as well. Did the two men know they were being watched? Were they being careful?
Raith came to stand a few feet from her. She grew uncomfortable, unable to tell if the energy radiating from him was animosity or attraction.
Leonardo made a show of yawning and stretching. “Gosh, I’m tired.” He groaned as he stood. “I’m going to go to bed now. Good night, you two.”
“Good night, Leonardo,” Autumn said.
“Good night,” Raith echoed in his deep voice. He was still rather aloof with his father, but there was some warming going on there.
Leonardo disappeared into his suite and Autumn was left alone beneath Raith’s observant gaze.
“You look like you’re feeling better,” he said.
“Yes. Much.” She dropped the magazine she still held onto the side table by the couch.
“Good.”
When she straightened, they fell into a long stare. The issue of the baby made it infinitely more tense. Several more seconds ticked on.
“Raith...” She’d tried to talk to him before but he didn’t give her a chance. “We still haven’t talk about—”
“Not now.” He started to turn away.
She grasped his forearm. “Don’t you think we need to talk about it?” What were they going to do? They should make plans. Get an idea of what each expected and come to terms with whatever that was.
“I’m not ready to talk about it.”
She wasn’t ready to be a mother. “What if I am?” She let go of his arm. “What about me?”
He blinked his acknowledgment. At least he had empathy for her. “Why did you lie to me when you said you were on the pill?”
Although he asked nicely, she could see it upset him a great deal. Maybe that was why it was so hard for him to talk about it. “I didn’t...I didn’t really lie. I was on the pill up until two days before.”
His brow came down and Autumn was forewarned that he didn’t like that. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She put her hands on her hips. “Why didn’t you think to use protection if you were so worried about getting me pregnant? That wasn’t all my responsibility. You played a part in that as much as I did.”
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.
She probably would have told him everything if that man hadn’t started shooting at her. “You don’t have to worry. You’re off the hook.” She began to regret coming to Houston.
He lowered his hand and pinned her with a hard stare. “What do you mean, I’m off the hook?”
“The reason I didn’t tell you about the baby is that I was afraid you’d feel obligated to...do something.”
“Like be a father?” he asked, his voice raised.
He seemed angry that he was being forced into being one. And how could she tell him that with him, trouble soon followed, and she wasn’t sure he’d make a good father. “I meant...the rest that goes along with that.”
“Family.”
“Yes.”
“Marriage.”
“Yes.”
His gaze remained hard.
“You shouldn’t commit to anything out of obligation. And I wouldn’t stop you from being part of the baby’s life.”
“Which part, Autumn?” Although he kept his tone calm, she sensed his tumultuous emotion. “The part where the media follows me everywhere? The part where my job is destroyed? My privacy?”
Understanding where his anger came from, she didn’t condemn him for it. But he wasn’t looking at the whole picture. “Think of all the traveling I’ll do.”
The quip didn’t go over well with him. His eyes grew stormy and his jaw clenched.
“Sorry. It’s just that I can’t feel sorrier for you than I do for myself. You talk about how the media will affect you. Well, what about me? Have you stopped to think how this is going to change my life?”
When he didn’t respond, she went on. “I didn’t plan to get pregnant, Raith. I didn’t ask for this. I loved my life exactly the way it was. When this baby is born, my freedom is gone. I’ll have to plan everything around that. I won’t be able to do whatever I want. I’ll have a baby I’ll be forced to consider. And then a toddler who will have to be enrolled in school. I can’t drag a child along with me whenever I feel like taking a job in another country. So don’t look at me and expect sympathy. You won’t get it.”
At last his anger abated. At last he began to see this from her point of view along with his. He wasn’t the only one whose life would be turned upside down.
“I don’t blame you,” he said. “It was just... I’m angry because it was such a stupid thing to do.” He shook his head. “That whole night. Stupid.”
Oh, is that how he thought of it? She tried to steel herself against the sting of hurt, but it got to her, anyway.
“I didn’t mean... I...” he stammered.
“No, you’re right. It was stupid. I’ve never done anything so stupid in my life.”
“I didn’t mean you and me.”
He was talking about the sex and nothing more. That placated her some. More than placated. He warmed her with that revelation, that admission of truth. “Did you think about calling me after that night?”
She saw by the way he blinked that he had. As that knowledge heated her blood, it also became too much to bear. If it had meant that much...
Him and her. Them. Together. Connecting powerfully.
“You didn’t call because you found out who my father was.” She clung to that. Surrendering to love with this man frightened her more than ever.
“Autumn. I—”
“You regret that night. And you wish I’d have never shown up in Houston. Believe me, I wish the same.”
The lack of truth in that statement hung between them. How could she regret a night that had lit her up inside like never before? And if she looked deep down inside, she couldn’t deny that she was glad she’d come to Houston. Even with all of the danger, at least she was with him.
“I don’t regret it and neither do you,” he said.
Autumn turned and walked to the window overlooking downtown Houston, folding her arms. She felt and heard Raith approach. He stood behind her and put his hand on her upper arm.
“What are we going to do?” she asked, speaking her thought aloud.
He lowered his hand. “I don’t know yet.”
Fair enough. At least he was honest.
His cell phone began to ring.
Autumn turned from the window and watched him answer. As he listened to the caller, his eyes met hers and intensified with something new.
When he hung up, he said, “Paisley has something for us.”
