VEGAS follows you home (11 page)

"Um, there is no
ours
. You can take them to a hotel, or better yet, you could take them back to New York with you." Forcing a large, fake smile, I bat my lashes.

"I had hoped the lack of divorce papers meant you accepted our marriage." He drops his bags onto the floor at his feet.

"Like you gave me the option to file for divorce," I scoff. "You're blackmail tactics worked, though I’m still not one-hundred percent sure of your claims."

"I only provided you with the facts and the position you would put me in based on your actions."

"Get out," I sneer.

"No." He steps closer to me.

"Now," I demand in a hush.

My eyes shift to Alex. He's watching us with curiosity, not an iota of fear or stress on his face.
Keep your calm, Liv.
I look back at Damon.

"Make me," he goads, a half-smile playing on his lips.

He thinks this is a joke? I'll show him funny.

Grabbing my cell from my back pocket, I start to dial.

"Who are you calling?" Damon walks closer and I step backward.

"The cops," I clip, looking at him through narrow and defiant eyes. "You can't just intrude into my home, Damon." The operator's nasally voice fills my ear. "Hello, I need assistance—"

"That's quite enough." Growling, he takes the phone from my hand and ends the call.

Walking back to the door, I reopen it.

"Go." My voice is a stern command, but I keep my volume low for Alex's sake.

"Olivia," he says on a sigh, placing my cell phone on a table. "We have a lot to talk about. I know you received the copy of the letter. I'm sure you have questions and I would like time to bond with my son." He turns his attention to Alex.

"Stay away from him," I hiss, shutting the door — hard.

With quick steps, I reach Alex and take him from his highchair. Not caring about the icing he will paint my clothes in, I hold him protectively in my arms.

"I would never hurt him." Damon rolls his eyes. "You're being ridiculous."

"Me, ridiculous?" I snort. "What about you?"

"If I were going to hurt either of you, I would've done it by now, don't you think?" A frustrated sigh leaves him.

"You think your blackmail and threat of taking him from me isn't harming me? Forcing me to stay married to you and go through this delusional idea of how a relationship begins isn't harmful?" It's hard, but I manage to keep my tone level. Alex doesn't tense once.

Damon's brow furrows.

"We need to talk. I refuse to argue about the same things every time we're together. It makes sense for me to stay here so I can spend time with Alex."

He moves from the middle of the room to the couch and sits.

"Just allow the annulment," I beg.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." He shrugs.

"Why? Why can't you just go back to your life and leave us be?" Tears threaten to spill from my eyes.

He stares at me from across the room, his eyes conveying the seriousness of the situation.

"Because, now that I've found you, both of you, I could never walk away. Don't you understand? You two are everything." Dropping the intense stare, he puts his head in his hands and grips his hair. “I searched for you for almost a year. There were three," he laughs, but it's not from joy.

"Three what?" I'm not sure why I ask since I’m pretty sure I already know the answer. I think it's just to hear him say the words.

"Three women," he blurts. "But of the three, there is only you. You and Alex.” I stay silent, waiting to see if he’ll offer more.

“During one month, my
supply
was used in three separate procedures. Each of them a mix up with the donor you all chose.” He laughs humorlessly again. “Who knew such a difficult time in my life would lead to the one thing that can save me?”

“How did you track us down?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

“It wasn’t easy. The records were sealed.” His eyes meet mine again. “But, as I told you, I have resources.” His move from the couch to right in front of me is so sudden, I don’t have time to think about moving away.

“There is only you, though. You and Alex." Damon's fingers graze my cheek.

"If this is the truth, there are plenty of other women who would—"

"No," he snaps. "I want you. You and Alex are worth more than anything else. I won't lose you."

Fear swirls in my stomach, urging me to run to my room, lock the door, and call the police. My brain pushes panic induced adrenaline through my body, telling me to be afraid. But, as ridiculous as it sounds, I know, deep down, he won't hurt us.

Well, that crazy talk won't beat out my common sense.

Pulling away from his touch, I hurry down the hall with Alex in my arms. Once in my room, I close the door and lock it.

"Olivia," Damon calls out from the other side of the door, a hint of concern in his voice.

"Go. Just go, please." Cradling Alex, I slide down the door until I sit on the floor.

"I can't. I can't walk away. Not now. I need you. You have no idea how much I need you."

A muffled slump on the other side of the door is enough to tell me he, too, sits on the other side.

Olivia

After killing time giving Alex the bath he needed, he sits in only his training pants, playing with some of the toys I keep at the end of my bed. Watching him play, I wait for my laptop to come to life.

"Time to Google you, Mr. Damon Knyght," I say out loud to no one. "Let's see…hmm."

B.I.G. company information and accomplishments in business cover the first page of results. Page two provides an article about Mildred Banks-Knyght.

Mildred Banks-Knyght, CEO & daughter to the founder of B.I.G., has fallen mysteriously ill, leaving the company in peril. Without a successor, the board is frantic to find a replacement. Mildred, nor the board, was available to comment.

Skimming the article, I learn Damon stepped in — to the shock of the investment world. The article made note of his educational background being in medicine, like his father.

The next article to catch my attention is full of accolades for Damon Knyght. One quote sticking out among the rest:

"Mr. Knyght's successes come as no surprise to the board. He worked alongside his mother from child to young adult. And while Ms. Knyght is no longer in the office, she is clearly a great resource."

"Okay, impressive, but not what I'm looking for. Come on, Google, don't let me down now." I tap the keyboard and click to the next page of online articles. I scroll. "What?" I click an article that has my breath and heart rate increasing.

TRAGEDY STRIKES KNYGHT FAMILY

'Yesterday evening, the well-known Knyght family suffered a devastating loss. Rebecca Knyght, wife to Damon Knyght, CEO of B.I.G., and their young son, were in a devastating car accident. Police have determined that the driver, Rebecca Knyght, swerved for unknown reasons, causing her to lose control of the vehicle. The car spun twice before wrapping around an oncoming car. The force of the oncoming vehicle’s impact propelled the wreckage into another car parked on the side of the road.

The police have disclosed the presence of a child in the car. However, due to the child being a minor, no name has officially been released. We can only assume it was Mr. and Mrs. Knyght’s two-year-old son, Damon Knyght II.

No comment is available from the family at this time. Our deepest sympathies and condolences to the Knyght family during this tragedy.'

I gasp for air, having held my breath while reading without realizing it. I sit back and darkness descends as my lids cover my eyes.
What do I even say or do with this information? It's a horrible loss for him and his family, but it doesn't make us the replacement.

With another deep breath, I lean back toward the computer.

KNYGHT FAMILY TRAGEDY CONTINUES

'UPDATE: It has been confirmed that Mrs. Rebecca Knyght and Damon Knyght II were both killed in the shocking accident on Friday evening. Speculation has spread as to the reasons Mrs. Knyght lost control of her vehicle, but no clear or solid evidence is available at this time. We send our condolences in this family's time of loss.'

Wiping away a stray tear, I sit back with my eyes closed once more.
He lost his family…his child. It was almost three years ago, given the date of the article. It's horrible.

I glance at Alex and my chest aches. I couldn't imagine losing him, but I do know a sense of the loss Damon felt. My mind wanders to Isaac and then to our unborn child.

Shaking the thoughts from my head, I push back from the desk and walk over to Alex. Swinging him into my arms, I take a breath before opening the bedroom door and emerging.

"You hungry, buddy?" I ask, keeping myself distracted with Alex and not the man lingering somewhere in my apartment. "What do you want to eat, huh?"

Peeking around the corner at the end of the hallway, I find Damon laying on his back with his arm over his face, his chest steadily rising and falling. He's asleep.

As quietly as possible, I set Alex down and start cleaning the cookie mess from his tray. A few minutes later, I return the tray, but Alex isn't on the floor where I left him. With a scan of the room, I see him.

"Alex," I whisper-shout, hurrying to stop him before he reaches Damon.

Two steps from reaching him and everything feels like it moved in slow motion. Alex brings both hands over his head and drops them with a smack onto Damon's chest. Damon jerks up to sitting just as I grab Alex into my arms.

"Wow, little guy, you're pretty strong." Damon rubs his chest, giving Alex a sleepy smile before focusing on me. "You finally decided to come out?"

Knowing it wasn't really a question, I walk Alex back to his chair and slip him inside. I buckle the belt around him and lock his tray.

"Are you ready to talk to me?"

"Nope," I quip, keeping my back to him. "We can talk later. After Alex is in bed." I look over my shoulder and narrow my eyes at him. "So he isn't caught in the middle of another tense situation."

Guilt flashes over Damon's face for the briefest moment.

"I'm sorry about that," he sighs.

I say nothing. Instead, I turn back to the kitchen counter and begin dinner.

With Alex fed, I clean him off and take him to get pajamas. Damon keeps out of my personal space, but shadows my every step. It's annoying, but I say nothing.

"Momma," Alex calls.

"What little man?" I focus on him with a smile.

"Down." He struggles against my attempts to get his shirt over his head. I tickle under his arms until he surrenders long enough for me to finish.

Done dressing him, I let him down. He walks straight to his blocks.

"Blocks." He drags the basket and dumps the colored squares onto the floor.

Crouching next to him, we begin building a tower. I can feel Damon lingering behind us and his sudden move to sit opposite us gets both Alex and my attention. Alex's attention returns to the blocks before mine and he knocks the tower down.

"Hey," I tease and pout. Alex giggles.

"Ghen!" he exclaims.

I reach for a block at my knee and my fingers briefly brush Damon's. Warmth spreads across my hand and I pull back. Looking up at him, Damon is focused on building a block tower. I glance to Alex who is watching Damon curiously, but it doesn't take long for a smile to brighten his little face.

Bouncing in anticipation, he scoots closer to Damon's tower and squeals when he sees me start another tower, too.

Soon, Alex pushes Damon's blocks over with a large laugh and then moves on to mine.

"That's not very nice."

I tickle him and he laughs, collapsing to the floor and squirming.

From the corner of my eye, I see Damon sitting stoic, watching.

Alex yawns as we put the blocks back into the basket. With Damon still observing, I tuck Alex into bed, read him a quick story, and turn on the crib toy that usually lulls him to sleep. After one kiss to his forehead, I walk out of this room.

Needing a drink before starting this conversation with my 'stalker', I go to the kitchen.

"Are we going to talk, Olivia?" His voice is just behind me.

I nod without looking back at him. Honestly, I'm procrastinating as much as possible. I don't want to bring up the things I learned from the internet, but he is leaving me no choice.

With a glass of ice water in hand, I sit in a chair across from the couch.

"Well, then—"

"Damon," I cut him off, "I'm going to attempt to talk calmly, but if you start any of that
we’re meant to be
or
connected
bullshit, I will lose my mind."

He smiles crookedly. "As you wish."

"What is it you really want from me?" My voice sounds flat. I'm exhausted but determined.

"I told you what I want."

"Yes, you say you want me, but what exactly are you expecting from me?"

"To be my wife. For both of you to be my family."

When I open my mouth to speak, he puts a hand up to stop me.

"I know this situation is unusual, but I can't walk away. I need you."

"Okay, first of all, unusual is
not
the right word. This is downright insane with a sprinkle of creepy." I raise my brows at him. "Please tell me you understand that?"

He only sighs, but I don't really want an answer anyway.

"You don't know me, Damon. You can't possibly think you need me."

It's my turn to put my hand up to stop his argument.

"I have my own life, here, in Pittsburgh. You have your life in New York. I won't even consider leaving my life behind."

His eyes harden. A chill straightens my spine.

"I don't know you, either. I know what you've said, and what you've done so far." I shake my head. "You've basically stalked me and forced me into this situation."

His eyes are still hard and intense, but I don't back down.

"My insemination was confidential. There is a privacy act. How did you really find me?"

A small smirk twitches at the corner of his mouth.

"You know how I found you." He snorts. "I have money, Olivia. Things, options, are available to me."

"I can't believe you." I take a long drink from my glass. "Okay, you said there were others. What exactly does that mean?"

He clears his throat.

"The clinic mixed up my file number with an anonymous donor. There were three others involved in the mix up, but only your insemination resulted in a pregnancy."

"You tracked them all down?" I choke out.

He nods.

"I'm just the lucky one, I guess." With a huff, I slouch back into the chair.

"I only had to gain access to the full records to see that those women did not conceive." He waves toward me. "Obviously, you did."

"How are you so sure Alex is yours? Maybe the mix up is an error." I raise a brow in challenge.

"Just seeing him, I knew." A smile spreads across Damon's face. "He resembles me as a child."

Our eyes lock together.

"Not identical, of course. I can see you in him, too. But I see and feel me in him."

Burying my face in my hands, I ask, "How did this even happen? There are supposed to be security measures in place for this."

I didn't truly expect him to answer the question.

"I'm not exactly sure of the how, yet." He pauses and I look up from my hands. "The moment I found out about the situation with the clinic, I was more focused on finding out whether there was a child out there. Now that I know there is, I'll focus on how it all happened."

"I don't even know what to say right now." Dropping my head back against the chair, I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

"I never said I'm a rational person, but I do need you, Olivia. More than you realize."

Releasing a heavy breath, I steel myself to say exactly what just passed through my mind.

"Does this have to do with Rebecca?"

At this, silence meets me. I'm too afraid to open my eyes just yet.
Did I go too far? Should I have asked in a different way?