Aiden (Members From Money Book 8)

by Katie Dowe

  She didn't want to see him again.

  They reached the checkout and were standing in line when Charli's phone started ringing. Charli sighed and fished it out, glancing at the caller ID. Stephen's name was flashing up.

  "Sorry, Mom, I've got to take this."

  "I'm paying anyway." Atalya held up Mark's credit card, Mark having told her to get what they wanted and believing Atalya would spoil Charli as he wanted to do. "Go on."

  Charli hurried outside, her heart pounding. Why would Stephen be calling her? Unless Mark's cell phone had run out of battery. But it didn't bode well.

  "Hey, Stephen." Charli leaned against a concrete pillar. "What's the matter?"

  "Mark's in the hospital, Charli."

  Even though she had braced for bad news, Charli still didn't anticipate the sledgehammer to the chest. She sagged to the ground shaking. People around her looked at her with a mix of curiosity and disgust but nobody approached her, giving her a wide berth. Charli ignored them.

  "What happened?"

  "He collapsed on the court. The paramedics had to restart his heart. They think he was poisoned."

  "Whoa, back up there." Charli felt cold. "His heart stopped?"

  "They got it going again and they've taken him to the hospital. Roberto's gone with him and he told me to let you know. I'm coming to get you and Atalya."

  This was getting too much for Charli. Mark had been poisoned? His heart had stopped? That was never good. It was incredibly rare to get someone's heart restarted again and for them to be okay afterwards.

  He hadn't caught her cold. Someone had tried to kill him.

  And she knew exactly who to look to.

  *****

  Charli told Atalya to wait for Stephen, not telling her about Mark's poisoning, and then took a cab to the tennis courts. She was trembling with anger. The bastard had gone too far this time. He had tried to ruin things for her once he lost control of her and he couldn't accept that things were over.

  Poisoning Mark to get rid of him seemed to be going to the extreme but Charli had accepted a long time ago that Andy would do anything to get back in control. Their ten years together seemed to be immaterial now. Andy wasn't trying to get her back for love. He was trying to get her back for spite.

  She found Andy and his coach on one of the courts, Andy practicing his volleys. Kimberly stood at the edge of the court, her phone plastered to her ear. She saw Charli enter the court and mumbled something to her caller before hanging up. She hurried to Charli and blocked her way as Charli made to move onto the court.

  "What are you doing here?" She hissed.

  "I want to talk to Andy."

  "Are you crazy? The restraining order says he's not allowed to. You're breaking the order you set up against him!"

  Charli knew that but right now she didn't care. She needed to do this, even if it meant breaking the conditions of the restraining order. She stepped up close to Kimberly, the other woman's eyes widening.

  "I'm breaking it right now," Charli said softly, "And if you don't move out the way I'll break you. I'm in the mood for a fight, Kim. Don't push it."

  It was a bluff. Charli wasn't prepared to fight anyone; it might harm her baby. But Kimberly didn't know that. Her face paled and she stepped to the side, giving Charli a wide berth. Dismissing her, Charli stepped onto the court and advanced on Andy. Andy's coach stopped and pointed, making Andy turn. He blinked and stared at her.

  "Charli?" Dropping his racket he hurried towards her. "What are you doing here?"

  Charli held up a hand and stopped him from coming close. She was still trembling.

  "Mark's in the hospital."

  "I heard." Andy shook his head. "Sad. Heard he has the flu."

  That was the most insincere he had ever sounded.

  "He was poisoned." Charli glared up at him, hands clenched at her sides. "And I think you did it."

  Andy took a step back in surprise.

  "What? Just because we don't get along you think I tried to kill him?"

  "Considering how quickly you've gone downhill, I wouldn't put it past you to try some attempted murder."

  "I never touched his stuff."

  Charli narrowed her eyes at him.

  "Who said anything about his stuff?" Then she watched Andy shuffle nervously as she glared at him. "What did you do?"

  "Nothing."

  "Don't bullshit me, Andy." Charli prodded him in the chest. "We both know you poisoned Mark somehow and I want to know."

  She squeaked as Andy grabbed her hand, holding on tight. His grip was punishing and Charli had to bite back a wince. Andy's placid expression disappeared and a nasty look replaced it. He sneered at Charli.

  "What's Mark got that I haven't?" He demanded.

  "For one thing, he loves me. He doesn't cheat and he puts me first at times instead of permanently second, third or fourth."

  Andy snorted rudely.

  "He's got nothing on me. He's a washed up player who doesn't know when to quit. I'm better and will always be better. Getting you knocked up means nothing because he will never bring in the millions in the long-term. He's close to retirement; that won't last." He smirked. "And he won't be able to now if he's going to be confined to a wheelchair."

  "You don't know he will be."

  "With the amount of arsenic I put in his water bottle that will be a certainty."

  "Arsenic?" Charli realized what he had just said. She stared at him. "So you did try to kill him!"

  "Twist that all you want. I'm not going to be charged." Andy pulled her closer, looking very pleased with himself. "Not with the money I earn. They won't want to throw me in jail. I can get myself out of any trouble without blinking."

  Charli felt sick. Andy seriously thought his money would keep him out of jail. He was that disgusting to believe he could commit attempted murder and nobody would arrest him.

  "One moment."

  She pulled away before Andy could put his arms around her and picked up his racket. Before Andy could react, Charli swung. She hit Andy in the face with his racket. Something cracked and Andy fell to the ground screaming, clutching at his head. His coach leapt over the net and knelt beside him, looking at Charli like she had gone mad. Charli shrugged.

  "After what he did, that shouldn't be a crime." She dropped the racket and glanced at her watch. "I've called the cops already. They'll be here in seconds. So you wait there like a good boy until they arrive."

  She knew there were people in the gallery who were staring at her as she walked away. A few people had their phones out but this time Charli ignored them. It would serve Andy right to get bad publicity after what he had done.

  Kimberly was white as a sheet as Charli sauntered towards her. Phone still in hand, she was staring at Andy, who was rolling around screaming like a baby as his coach tried to calm him down. Charli stood in front of her, waiting until Kimberly looked up, her eyes wide and scared.

  "I hate you because of your opinion of me and my ethnicity." Charli said quietly. "Because you're a racist and I abhor them. But if you don't want to be arrested as an accomplice I suggest you cut yourself lose while you can."

  Turning away before Kimberly could say anything, Charli left the court. She didn't look back.

  Chapter 10

  Mark opened his eyes and took a moment to get his bearings. The last thing he remembered was sitting on the court listening to Roberto telling him that the kid who had shot Charli had been paid to do it. Then the world had spun so much he had blacked out.

  This wasn't the tennis court. This was a hospital room. Had he really been that bad? Mark hadn't thought so although all he had been able to think about was going home to bed and sleeping for a week.

  His heart felt like he had whacked himself over the head with a sledgehammer. He was still shivering even though he could feel the sweat on his forehead. Mark grimaced and tried to sit up. Almost immediately someone put their hands on his shoulders and urged him back down.

  "Don't get up,
Mark. The doctors said you were to lay still."

  Charli. She was here. Mark's vision cleared and he looked up at her, her hair falling over her shoulder and tickling his cheek. She smiled down at him, her expression taut with exhaustion.

  "Charli?"

  "Lie down, honey."

  Charli urged him to lay flat and used the bed's remote to raise the head. Mark didn't like being upright but his head stopped spinning after a moment.

  "My head hurts." He moaned.

  "I'm not surprised." Charli sat on the bed and threaded her fingers through his. "You were pretty filled up."

  "Filled up?" Mark licked his dry lips. "With what?"

  "Arsenic?"

  Mark wasn't sure he had heard her correctly. He stared at her.

  "Arsenic? As in rat poison?"

  "Pretty much." Charli's jaw tightened. "Andy poisoned your water bottle when you left it unattended in the changing rooms. He confessed as much to me as he did to the cops. Said he'd been doing it for three days now."

  This was a lot to take in. Mark couldn't believe Andy would go that far. He was a sociopath bastard who couldn't cope with losing anything but he hadn't thought the youngster would go that far because of his career or because of a woman.

  Evidently he had severely underestimated Andy. Mark had thought Andy would go after Charli and had been prepared for that. He hadn't expected Andy to go after him.

  "I thought I was coming down with the flu."

  "It does present flu-like symptoms in small doses." Charli sniffed, wiping her nose with her sleeve. "Doctors said you were lucky. The doses Andy gave you were quite high. Another dose and you would've been paralyzed." Her voice caught. "Two doses and you'd be dead."

  Mark's heart ached when he saw Charli start to cry. He reached out to her and tugged her towards him.

  "Hey, love. Come here."

  Charli went to him willingly, sliding onto the bed and curling up against Mark's side. Mark held her and pressed a kiss to her head.

  "Don't worry about me. I'm not dead yet. Nothing's going to happen to me."

  It was going to be hell recovering from what he had read about arsenic poisoning but Mark knew he would pull through with the right treatment. Chances were he would be up and running in no time.

  "I know." Charli rubbed her cheek against his bare chest, hugging him around his waist. "But when Stephen called me and said your heart had stopped..."

  Her voice drifted off. Mark knew she was trying to keep it together and held her tightly.

  "That's enough. Remember the baby? I don't want you to stress yourself out too much."

  Charli sniffed and kissed his chest. Mark could feel her lips trembling against his skin.

  "They've put you on Dimercaprol. Although I don't know what that is."

  "It's a chelating agent they use in heavy metal poisoning." Mark shrugged when Charli gave him a quizzical look. "I got an A in chemistry."

  "Lucky you." Charli grunted. "I got a C. Great at writing the notes, not so great at the exams."

  Mark chuckled. He stroked her cheek and kissed her forehead.

  "I'll probably be put on a potassium supplement as well so it decreases my chances of having a heart problem. But I should be up and walking around in no time."

  "I'm glad." Charli let out a shuddering breath. "I was so scared."

  "So was I." Mark smiled and cupped her cheek lovingly. "I'm glad I told you I loved you, though."

  Charli smiled back and leaned up to kiss him.

  "I'm glad you did, too."

  The kiss was more erotic than Mark had experienced. He could feel his cock prodding against Charli's hip. He pulled back and forced himself to get under control. If they were at home he would have ripped Charli's clothes off and made love to her then and there but this was a hospital room. This was not the place or the time.

  "How long are you staying?"

  "Until they kick me out." Charli rested her head on his chest and hugged him. "We've got two hours before I have to leave."

  Mark put his arms around her, closing his eyes. He was going to make the most of it with Charli in his arms.

  *****

  "Charli?"

  Charli looked up. Mark stood in the doorway, his hair sticking up on his head. He looked at her bleary-eyed.

  "I wondered where you'd gone."

  Charli bit back a laugh. That wasn't surprising. Mark had been snoring like a pig. It was amazing that she could hear their daughter's cries over that noise.

  "Stephanie was crying." She looked down at the tiny baby in her arms. "She just needed settling."

  Their six-week-old daughter had been suckling at Charli's breast, taking as much milk as she was able. Now with a full belly, she had released Charli's breast from her mouth and was fast asleep against her chest.

  "I didn't hear anything."

  Charli grinned and stood, carrying Stephanie over to her crib.

  "It's a mom thing. Dads aren't supposed to hear anything when they're asleep."

  Despite his inability to hear anything as soon as his head touched the pillow, Mark was a very attentive father. As soon as he had cradled his daughter in the hospital moments after Charli had pushed her into the world, he had fallen in love with her. He doted on their baby, doing his part with changing diapers and looking after her when Charli wanted some much needed sleep. He had even taken Stephanie to training and her namesake had taken the baby and refused to give her back, saying he couldn't part with such a beautiful child.

  Charli had found it incredible that they had fallen into parenthood that easily. Atalya had complimented them on their ability to juggle being parents with their work. Charli had managed to get freelance work doing content writing and that paid well. She worked on her deadlines whenever Stephanie was asleep and she wasn't about to drop with exhaustion. It made her feel good that she was bringing in money as well, even though it wasn't close to the millions Mark brought in.

  They had got married a month before the birth, Mark saying he wanted to make an honest woman of her. Charli had protested that she didn't mind if they were unmarried but Mark was full of tradition. They had a proper white wedding with no expense spared, Charli walking down the aisle in a cream dress that had made Mark's eyes pop out of his head. It had been a fantastic day followed by a fortnight in Jamaica. Charli had made a note to go back to Jamaica once their daughter was born and she wasn't waddling about like a duck about to lay an egg.

  Despite enjoying their new roles in life, they had had to cope with other factors. Andy's trial for attempting to murder Mark was due to start in the next week and both were due to take the witness stand against him. Charli wasn't looking forward to it but it would give her some satisfaction to see Andy get what he deserved. After the grief he had put her through, seeing him in an orange jumpsuit and shackles was a relieving sight.

  It was also a good look on Kimberly as well. Despite running off and leaving Andy to the wolves, Andy had told the police that Kimberly had been the one to obtain the arsenic for him. He had also confessed that Kimberly had given him drugs to improve his performance on the court. He had been cheating. So now Kimberly was facing time behind bars for several drug charges and accessory to attempted murder. Chances were she could face a longer sentence in jail than Andy.

  Charli didn't know what she would have done without Mark. He had been her rock, putting up with her tantrums and their arguments. But the make-up sex was steamy and sometimes Charli looked for a fight just so it would happen. However Mark saw through her and didn't rise to the bait. That didn't stop him taking her to the bedroom and they didn't come out for several hours.

  Those hadn't happened since the day before Charli went into labor, mainly because Charli was so sore after pushing a seven-pound baby out that she couldn't think of having sex. Even sitting down hurt like hell. But the bleeding had stopped and the bruising had disappeared. She was feeling better. Much better.

  Mark joined her at the crib as Charli pressed a kiss to Stephan
ie's head. Mark did the same and then Charli put their daughter in the crib. Stephanie didn't stir but did let out a contented sigh.

  Mark took Charli's hand and they left the room. Charli shut the door and pulled Mark to her, pressing a kiss to his mouth.

  "I don't feel sleepy." She whispered, running her hands down his bare chest. "Fancy doing something to help me sleep?"

  Mark's eyes took on a heated look and he looked Charli over hungrily. They hadn't even done anything intimate since the birth, Charli not feeling up to it and Mark not wanting to relieve himself until Charli was ready again. He had to be full of pent-up sexual frustration.

  "How are you feeling down there?" His hand trailed down her side to her hip. "I don't want to hurt you."

  Charli grinned, reaching down and cupping his cock, purring when she felt his erection pressing against his boxers.

  "Stephanie's six weeks old now. Everything's healed up." She put her hand under his boxers and squeezed his cock, moaning when Mark thrust into her hand. "I'm feeling very frisky."

  Mark growled and grabbed at her t-shirt. Charli helped him to pull it off and he latched onto her breast, sucking and tugging with his mouth, tongue and teeth as he pushed her shorts down. They fell to her feet and Charli kicked them off, wrapping one leg around his hip as Mark's fingers rubbed at her clit and ran over her pussy. After nearly two months of no sex she was still sensitive from the birth and Mark's touch had her squirming as an orgasm came into view quicker than she anticipated.

  "Don't we need protection?" Mark lifted his head from her breast. He was breathing heavily. "I don't want to get you pregnant again."

  Charli grinned. She had been reading up on that.

  "I'm breastfeeding and they stop my periods. So I can't get pregnant again." She nipped at his lower lip. "But we'd better get a condom."

  She didn't want the condom; it felt better without one, feeling skin against skin. But she didn't want another accident.