New Beginnings (29 page)

I sat on the edge of the bed and sighed heavily. “Xavier, please. I’m exhausted. Can’t this wait until morning?” I asked exasperated.

“No. For hours today, Ella, I thought I lost you. Then I find you at the doctor’s office only to think that we might be losing our baby.” He was pacing in front of me running his fingers through his hair in agitation. “I’m going to risk sounding like a complete controlling ass. I’m giving you two options. You are can either go into work tomorrow and quit or you can take a permanent leave of absence for medical reasons only to never return. The choice is yours.”

His command should have been sweet. I should have loved the fact that he was so concerned for my health and the health of our babies that he wanted me to quit my job. But the way he demanded it just put me on the defensive.

“You can’t demand that I quit my job like that, Xavier. I’m not going to sit around each day patiently waiting for you to get home feeling dependent and pathetic,” I said angrily.

“This isn’t totally about you, Ella,” he yelled.

I jumped at his tone. He sighed heavily and sat next to me on the bed. Picking up my hand, he squeezed it between both of his. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. I’ve had a very trying day.” He paused for a moment. I quietly waited for him to continue. “You mean everything to me, Ella. Our babies mean everything to me. I can’t stand the thought of losing any of you. I died a thousand times today until I saw for myself that you were all right. Then I died another thousand times until I heard the doctor say that the baby was all right,” he said with a shaky voice.

I suddenly realized just how stupid I was being as I stared into his tortured face. He wasn’t telling me that he needed me to quit my job to be a controlling jerk. He was telling me he needed me to quit my job because he needed to know that both the babies and I were safe. What did it matter to me anyway? I had no intentions of going back to work after the babies were born, not that Xavier would even consider allowing me to.

“Okay,” I said, nodding at him.

His eyes widened as his brows shot up. “Okay? Just like that? You mean to tell me that you aren’t going to argue with me about it?”

I smiled widely at him. “Just like that. No argument. Can I at least finish out the week?”

“Absolutely not,” he said sternly.

“You want me to quit without giving them any kind of notice?” I asked incredulously.

“Absolutely,” he said unapologetically.

“What the hell am I going to tell them? I’m sorry I need to quit my job because there was an attempted kidnapping on me and my Prince Charming needs to lock me up in his tower now?” I asked sarcastically, feeling angry again.

He took a few deep breaths trying to calm down before he spoke. “Ella, you are going to tell them that you need to quit as soon as possible for medical reasons. That is after all the truth. I don’t need you running all over Seattle on your feet all day taking photos. Your parents are going to be here Friday. We have the wedding this weekend. I want you to get as much rest as possible before all of that takes place.”

I thought for several moments before I answered him. He had a point, but I had to make it look like I was considering his words carefully before I responded. “Okay,” I said.

“Okay?” He gave me an unsure look like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. When he realized I was serious, he gave me a small smile. “Thank you. I’ll contact Dr. Ellington’s office in the morning and have them fax a note stating such to your boss.”

“I need to talk to Renatta.”

Xavier looked at me carefully. “Obviously, I contacted her when I couldn’t get a hold of you. She was aware of what went on today. I had Marissa call her to let her know that you had been located safely while I was in with you and the doctor. I hope that’s all right.”

“That’s fine. I guess I’ll talk to her tomorrow about quitting. She’ll have Devlin to work with so I’m not leaving her completely high and dry. Besides, she isn’t planning on staying there much longer anyway.”

“Come on. You need to eat something.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me off the bed.

I was quiet while I sat at the breakfast bar happy to watch him make himself busy in the kitchen. He reheated some chicken noodle soup that Bev had in the freezer and paired it with some ham sandwiches. I scoffed down the food not even realizing exactly how hungry I had been.

Immediately following dinner, he led me into the bathroom and started running a bath for us. There was no lingering in the bath tonight. He was all business as he set out to wash me before himself. He quickly and efficiently dried me off.

I slipped on my boy shorts and a camisole and climbed into bed. Xavier, after slipping on a pair of boxers, climbed in after me. Pulling me towards him, he turned on the television.

“Is the TV going to bother you at all?”

“No. Not at all.” I rested my head on his chest. He ran his fingers leisurely down my back. Exhausted from the day’s events, I quickly drifted off to sleep.

Wednesday morning I was shocked to see the bedside clock reading ten a.m. I panicked for a moment thinking I was late for work. Then I remembered that there would be no more work for me. I wasn’t completely sure how I felt about that.

I glanced over at the cold, empty sheets next to me. Xavier was already up. I’m sure he was only too happy to call Mr. Ashford to let him know I would not be returning to work.

Quickly, I grabbed my cell phone from the bedside table. No missed calls. No text messages. Nothing. Xavier had already been in touch with both my boss and Renatta.

I rolled out of bed and set out to find him. He was in his home office staring intently at his computer screen while on the phone. I paused in the doorway waiting for him to see me. Within seconds, he sensed my presence. A wide grin spread across his face as he made eye contact with me.

Finishing his call quickly, he raised an eyebrow and crooked his finger at me. I smirked as I entered his office. Stopping before him, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me onto his lap.

“Good morning, beautiful. Did you sleep well?” He gave me a chaste kiss on the lips.

“I did, thank you.” I sighed as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“How do you feel?” he asked, sounding a bit concerned.

I resisted rolling my eyes at him. “I feel fine. Have you been in touch with Renatta and Mr. Ashford?”

He tensed, breaking eye contact with me. I frowned at his reaction. He acted this way when there was something he didn’t want to tell me. Breaking eye contact with me was one of his tells. “What is it?” I asked him. “What’s happened?” I tried not to sound panicky.

“Nothing’s happened. I contacted them both this morning. I would have let you do it, but it would seem that our incident from yesterday made the papers,” he said carefully.

“What?” I whispered. I could feel the color drain from my face. My stomach roiled. I threw my hand over my mouth as I mentally gave myself a pep talk about not being sick.

Xavier frowned at me, but didn’t acknowledge my reaction to his news. “I felt it was best that the news come from me since you weren’t present when things transpired. Mr. Ashford was very understanding. Obviously, Renatta already knew what happened. I only had to tell her that you would not be returning to work. I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t tell her about the twins. I thought you might want to do that yourself.” He gave me a small smile.

“Thank you for taking care of that for me. Do I even want to know what this story says?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “It just talks about the failed kidnapping attempt on you.”

“There’s more. I can tell from the concerned look on your face. There’s more you aren’t telling me.” I grabbed his chin forcing him to look at me. “What is it?”

“I heard from the police this morning. There were no fingerprints left behind on the note. They have no leads.”

“What about the homeless man who delivered the note to your office?”

He frowned. “Ella, please. You don’t need to concern yourself with this.”

“Damn it, Xavier.” I pushed his arms away and jumped up off his lap. “Stop hiding shit from me. I know you are concerned about my stress level and the babies, but you can’t keep things from me. It only stresses me out more when you do.”

He let out a loud sigh. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” He got up and walked over to me. Stopping inches from me, he grabbed my chin forcing me to look at him. “The homeless man was found dead this morning on the street. An apparent drug overdose.” He watched my reaction very carefully before he continued. “I don’t think the overdose was accidental. His time of death was within an hour of the note being delivered to me. I think whoever had him deliver the ransom note had him killed to cover their tracks.”

“And what about this location I was supposed to go to for work?”

He closed his eyes. “Things were found,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Things? What things?” I whispered.

“Ella, please,” he begged, giving me a pained look.

“Tell me!” I yelled.

“You were supposed to be lured there. The house was abandoned. It went into foreclosure just a couple of weeks ago. It wasn’t for sale yet. The bank hasn’t even been out to the house yet to inspect it.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “The back bedroom had its windows boarded. A twin mattress was found along with a tripod holding a small video camera, and … handcuffs and a gag. The police are still investigating.”

Oh my God. I tried to steady myself before I spoke. “Do you think this has anything to do with your personal accounts being hacked?”

“I’m certain of it,” he said without hesitation.

“Oh my God! Who does this shit?” I stumbled backwards as my knees grew weak. Xavier grabbed my arms to steady me.

“Ella, please.” He grabbed my face forcing me to look into his intense eyes. I tried to keep my breathing steady. “We get married in just seventy-two hours. I don’t want you to concern yourself with this.” He kissed me on the forehead. “Come.” He let go of my face and grabbed my hand. “Let me fix you something to eat.”

Was he serious? He expected me to eat? I sat at the breakfast bar feeling stiff and numb while he busied himself making me an omelet and toast. I should’ve been happy to sit and ogle him while he moved around the kitchen, but my thoughts were occupied with the fact that someone meant to kidnap me and possibly even hurt me.

Could Stephen be behind this? Maybe he went to New York with Carline so he had an alibi. If that were the case then he would have had to hire someone to do his dirty work, which means he’s left behind a trail. Or maybe it means that Stephen isn’t capable of hurting me so he had to hire someone else to do it. Were they going to turn up dead like the homeless man that delivered the ransom note? Would the cops be able to identify and find them before that happened so they could turn against Stephen if he was behind this? Or maybe this wasn’t about me and Stephen at all. Maybe this was just some sicko who was trying to extort money from Xavier.

Regardless, if I hadn’t gone to the doctor, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now. My heart sank as I thought about what could’ve happened. Sitting back in the chair, I wrapped my arms around me protectively. Xavier was at my side in an instant.

“What is it? Are you all right?” he asked sounding panicked. His hand shot out to cover mine as it rested on my abdomen.

His move snapped me from my troubled thoughts. I focused on his concerned face. His eyes were wide and fearful. I didn’t even realize I had tears in mine until just then. “I’m fine. We’re fine.” I rushed to tell him. “I was just thinking that I wouldn’t be here right now if I hadn’t gone to the doctor. There are so many what if situations concerning yesterday.”

“I know. I know, sweetness.” He wrapped himself around me. I could feel him trembling. We held each other silently, soothing and reassuring one another. After several minutes, he let me go to finish cooking without saying another word.

I forced a smile when he placed the plate of food in front of me. It looked and smelled delicious. My stomach rumbled. I chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, as he poured himself a fresh cup of coffee and sat down next to me.

“I didn’t think I had much of an appetite until you set that plate down in front of me. The babies must have felt otherwise.” I smiled at him as a hand rested on my belly.

He smiled widely at me. “I guess we’ll have to think of two more names just in case we end up having two girls or two boys.”

“I hadn’t even thought of that. Maybe we’ll get lucky and it will be a boy and a girl.”

“I’d like that,” he said, smirking at me.