Saved by the Billionaire

by Michelle Pennington

  Saved by the Billionaire

  by Michelle Pennington

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Epilogue

  Copyright © 2018 by Michelle Pennington

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.

  Michelle Pennington

  P.O. Box 54

  Hartford, AR 72764

  www.michelle-pennington.com

  Publisher’s note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locals is completely coincidental.

  If you want more sweet romances, join my newsletter at www.michelle-pennington.com and get the latest on all upcoming releases.

  This book is dedicated to:

  My mom.

  Because she called and pointed out that I had forgotten to dedicate it to someone.

  Chapter One

  It always amazed Kara how difficult it was to get out the door with a baby. She’d only been a mother for six months now, almost to the day, but it was hard to remember what it was like to decide to go somewhere and just go. But this was her reality now, and would be for the foreseeable future.

  She couldn’t help but smile as she looked down at Aiden in his car seat. He looked up at her as if she was the only thing that mattered. And she supposed she was, in his little world. The gleam of happiness in his eyes had been her saving grace in this crazy life she’d fallen into. At a time when she’d felt broken, disillusioned, and lost, his perfect innocence and trust had strengthened her. But today was one of the moments she dreaded. She had to go out in public.

  “Mommy needs to just chill, huh?”

  Aiden waved his fists and tried to grab hold of her hair as it fell forward over him. Her dark red curls were so different from Aiden’s blond, downy hair. Combined with his bright-blue eyes and the dimple in his right cheek, he looked uncannily like his father, who––if she had her way––would never know anything about him.

  She got him buckled in, hefted her diaper bag up on her shoulder, grabbed her keys and dark sunglasses, and went to the front door. It took her a moment and several deep breaths, but she finally forced herself to go outside.

  Living like a hermit had been hard on her. Before Aiden—really, before she’d married Derrick—she’d loved going out. She’d liked parties and dancing and people. Lying low and hiding away had been messing with her head. Surely by now, she was the last thing on his mind. Maybe in a few weeks she would take the brave step and find a daycare for Aiden and a job for herself. She couldn’t live off her divorce settlement forever. Not without going crazy anyway.

  It was hot outside, but it would only get hotter as the day went on. She’d only spent one summer in Vegas, but it had been enough to make her dread another one. She wished she’d come down earlier and started the car so the air conditioner would already be cool. Hopefully, Aiden wouldn’t get too hot before it got going.

  After clipping his carrier into the car seat base, she got in and started the car, rolling down all the windows. Luckily the grocery store was only a mile away. Still, just that far in the Nevada heat made the rush of cold air as they went through the automatic doors at the store feel like pure heaven. She even closed her eyes for a few seconds, reveling in it.

  Which was how she managed to crash her cart into someone else’s.

  Her eyes flew open. What the heck? No one had even been around. She was sure of it.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, looking in panic at the man she’d rammed into.

  “No problem, lady. Your baby okay?”

  Kara had already glanced at Aiden. He’d slept through the whole thing. “He’s fine.” Anxious to get out of the situation, she maneuvered her cart in the other direction. “Sorry again.”

  But the man followed, coming up beside her. Kara looked at him again, unnerved. He was tall and big with rough skin and the kind of eyes that felt like ice when they landed on her. He was definitely not the kind of guy who looked like he belonged in a grocery store. And there was nothing in his cart.

  “So, you’re a single mom?” he asked, trying a little too hard to make conversation.

  Kara glanced nervously at Aiden. She’d heard about people who kidnapped babies in grocery stores and this guy was completely freaking her out.

  “No. I’m married. My husband is waiting in the car. Excuse me. I’m in a hurry.”

  The man turned with her, smirking at her. “You’re not wearing a ring.” Then he turned down an aisle and walked away.

  She should have felt relieved that he was gone, but she didn’t.

  Groceries could wait.

  Turning around, she headed straight for the registers, hurrying up to the first open one. The man behind the register looked confused since she didn’t have anything but a baby in her cart.

  “Hey, some guy was just following me around and acting freaky. Could somebody escort me to my car?”

  His eyes widened. “Sure thing.” He reached for the phone next to the register. “Hey Bill, I’m going to walk a lady to her car because someone freaked her out.” He put the phone down. “Okay, just let me lock my register down.”

  While he worked, Kara looked around for the strange man, but couldn’t see him anywhere. That made her super anxious. Surely she was just freaking out for nothing. This is what came from never getting out. Her imagination had gotten way out of control. But the sick fear in the pit of her stomach refused to ease up.

  “Okay,” the man said. “Let’s go.”

  “Great.”

  Kara pushed her cart closer to the door and then looped the handle of Aiden’s car seat over her arm. As they walked out, neither of them spoke. But Kara noticed that the man was looking around as much as she was.

  “See him anywhere?” he asked as she unlocked her car.

  “No. I’m good. Thank you so much. I’m sorry to be such a bother.”

  “Hey, it’s smart of you to be safe. Be careful.”

  “I will,” she said, getting Aiden into the car.

  Once in her car with the doors locked, she felt safer. It looked like she’d be paying for grocery delivery again, because there was no way she was going to feel comfortable going back any time soon.

  “This is so stupid,” she said to Aiden––even though he was asleep and couldn’t understand a word she said. “Maybe we should just cave and go live with Mom and Dad. At least then we wouldn’t be alone and there would be plenty of security.”

  But she didn’t dare.

  Her dad was too famous, even if he didn’t act anymore. No, going back home was a sure way to end up
splashed in some cheap tabloid or something—exactly the thing she wanted to avoid.

  When she pulled up in front of her apartment building, however, and got out of her car, she heard a voice behind her that sent ice through her veins.

  “Hello, Kara. Looking good.”

  Spinning around, she saw Derrick coming toward her. He strolled casually, his hands in his pockets and dark glasses obscuring his eyes. His skin was tan, his hair spiked with gel, and his tailored suit looked decidedly out of place in this low-income apartment complex. How had she not noticed the Lexus in the parking lot when she pulled in? “What are you doing here?”

  “Oh, I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d come say hi.”

  “Cut the crap, Derrick. Was that one of your mother’s goons in the grocery store?”

  He grinned. “You know her so well. I’m surprised you thought you could hide from us at all.”

  “Who says I was hiding?”

  He raised his glasses and looked around at the overgrown landscaping and peeling paint. “Why else would you be living here?”

  “Because this is what I can afford.”

  “Now who’s talking crap.”

  Kara looked through the back window of her car. She had to get Aiden out before the car got hot, but she didn’t want Derrick to see him. “What do you want, Derrick?”

  “I came to meet my son. What else?”

  His words were like a sucker punch to her gut. She stared at him, trying desperately not to show the fear and panic rising within her like a tsunami. She could do anything for Aiden. Forcing a contemptuous smile, she shook her head. “Sorry, you’ve been misinformed. He isn’t yours.” She opened the car and pulled the sunshade over the carrier. As she lifted Aiden out, she was careful to turn the carrier so that Derrick couldn’t see him.

  Derrick laughed. “Did you think I’d believe that? That you of all people would have been sleeping with someone else before our divorce was final? In fact, according to the birth date, conception would have had to have been before I even asked you for a divorce.”

  Kara shrugged. “I figured if you could sleep around, so could I.”

  His eyes flashed. “We’ll see what the paternity test says.”

  She went to the stairs, desperate to put a locked door between them. “There’s not going to be one, so give it up.”

  He followed her. “We’ll see what the courts say about that. You were pregnant when we got divorced. I have a right to know.”

  “You don’t have a right to anything. You cheated on me over and over again, and I know you were involved with some of your mother’s…shall we say, off the books business? If you try to go to court, all I have to do is prove you are dangerous for my son and they’ll never let you near him.”

  She’d gotten so caught up in arguing with him that she didn’t realize she’d exposed Aiden to Derrick’s view until he said, “What do you know—it’s like looking at one of my baby pictures.” Quicker than Kara could react, he held his phone up and took a picture.

  That was it. She ran inside and slammed the door shut. She threw the padlock closed and then put Aiden down and locked the two chain locks she’d installed at the top of the heavy metal door.

  Derrick’s voice came from the other side of the door, only slightly muffled. “You can’t hide anymore, Kara. He’s going to be mine.”

  She choked back her sob, not bothering to do anything about the tears streaming down her face. “Why do you even care?”

  “Because my mother cares. She wants her grandbaby, and I don’t want to be written out of her will. Don’t try to run, Kara. You won’t be able to make a move that I don’t know about.”

  Her straining ears caught the sound of his footsteps going down the stairs. She sagged against the door and slid down it till she sat on the floor. She gasped, letting her sobs overtake her until she was nearly hyperventilating.

  Stop this. Aiden needs you. Get it together.

  Forcing her lungs to draw in a deep breath and then another, she at last got control of herself again. She pulled the baby carrier toward her and unbuckled Aiden. He startled awake from his nap and started crying as she lifted him out. Clasping him against her chest, she put her face in the crook of his neck and breathed in his sweet smell. She loved him so much—more than anything or anyone. He was so innocent and perfect. She wouldn’t let him get pulled into the dark, criminal world his grandmother ran with an iron hand.

  What could she do?

  Aiden was still crying, demanding to be fed, so she nursed him as she sat on the cold tile and thought. She knew what she needed to do; it was just going to take some courage. But desperation had given her plenty of that.

  There was only one man in the world that she still trusted—one man she knew could take Derrick on and win. But asking Warren Drake for help would stir up so much of the past that doing so would come at a cost. Was she strong enough?

  She could still hear him at her wedding reception when he’d whispered in her ear while dancing with her. “Kara, if you ever need help, call me.”

  She’d been confused at the earnest concern in his voice. “Why would I ever need help?”

  He’d turned and looked at Derrick, who was dancing just a few feet away. “Just remember I’ll come to you. That’s a promise.”

  Clearly, he’d known, just from meeting him once, that Derrick was not a good man. Why was she such an idiot that it had taken her months to figure it out?

  She didn’t have Warren’s number though, so she’d have to call his sister—the best friend she hadn’t called in almost a year. She sighed. This was going to be so complicated.

  Pulling out her phone, she went to Emmeline in her contacts and hit call. “I just hope you really meant it, Warren.”

  Chapter Two

  Movie premieres had once been nerve-wracking and intimidating for Warren Drake. All the crowds, the cameras, and the idea of being on display made him feel nauseated and itchy in his tuxedo. But now, after attending more than a dozen of them, it felt like just another item on his to-do list. It was just one of his public responsibilities as the owner of Salt Fish Production Company, which was one small piece of his business portfolio, but one he cared about more than his retail and financial holdings, since it provided a creative outlet for him. So, when it required going out into public, he set his jaw and went through the motions.

  The limo pulled up outside The Village Theater in Westwood Village. “Here we are,” he told his date, Celine Ayers—an eye-catching beauty that was making a splash as a new actress. She was starring in an upcoming movie he was helping to produce, so escorting her was just part of the business of getting her into the public eye as often as possible.

  “Look at the crowds!” she exclaimed, peering through the tinted windows.

  Warren sighed. She was right. He’d known the premiere for Portent was going to be big, but this surpassed his expectations. “Looks like we’re going to have a hit.”

  “Of course you are,” Celine said, her voice turning into a throaty purr. “And you were so brilliant to invest in it.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “I invested in it to help a friend out and because the movie had promise.” The coolness in his voice surprised him; he wasn’t sure why he felt the need to snub her like that.

  “Everyone says you have an instinct for what will be successful.”

  Warren sat back in his seat. The long line of limos pulling up in front of the theater moved slowly, so it would be a minute before they could leave the car. Celeste’s platinum-blonde hair was twisted up in a smooth, retro updo, her makeup a work of art, giving her a flawless complexion with dramatic red lipstick to match her designer evening gown. The couture dress had required the assistance of three people just to get her into the limo, and she’d sat like a statue through the whole drive so as not to crease it. The only movement she’d made was to tug at the daringly low bodice of the gown.

  She was a vision of perfection.

  Warren couldn�
�t wait to get away from her.

  “That is because no one knows all the failures it took me to earn that instinct.” He paused for effect, holding her gaze. “There are no easy roads to success, Miss Ayers. None.”

  Her eyebrows scrunched together as she took in his words. He could only hope she’d get the message that he was not going to be her free ride to the top.

  The limo pulled to a stop before she could ask the question he saw forming in her eyes. A moment later, the door was opened and he got out. He nodded to the crowds, knowing that few of them would even know who he was. That was fine with him. Turning back, he held out a hand to Celine. She grasped it and let him assist her from the limo. Even in her heels and the voluminous skirt of her dress, she did so gracefully, emerging to the gasp of the crowds and a lightning storm of camera flashes. She smiled and waved at the crowd, already a pro at giving the cameras the best angle while looking sweet and unaffected by the attention. He offered her his arm and walked slowly at her side, careful not to step on her skirt, and pausing patiently when she granted someone the chance to interview her.

  On a personal level, she did nothing for him, but he had to admire her professionally. She knew how to work the red carpet.

  They were almost to the end where the doors to the theater stood open when a roar went up from the crowd behind them. Glancing over his shoulder, Warren saw his friend and the star of the movie, Chris Sanderson, emerge from a limo. Without paying more than passing attention to the crowd, Chris turned to help his costar and wife, Veronica Pantoni. As she appeared, the police guarding the ropes along the road had to push back the crowd as they tried to surge forward.

  Veronica’s signature curly hair fell in long silky coils to her waist, and she wore a vibrant blue gown that flowed like water around her legs and fluttered with every movement. She looked fresh and ethereal, and—as she smiled up at her husband with love glowing in her eyes—completely entrancing. The pride and love on Chris’s face as he looked down at her was clearly genuine.

  The couple was publicity gold. No other celebrity couple in Hollywood was more popular. The world had fallen in love with them when they’d been married soon after production on the movie had wrapped. Tonight, if Warren looked closely, he could see the soft roundness to Veronica’s stomach. They hadn’t made an official announcement, but Chris had told him a few weeks ago that Veronica was expecting their first child. After tonight, there was no doubt the word would be out. Shaking his head and smiling, Warren turned back to Celine. With her back to the press, she had fixed a glare on him.