Saved by the Billionaire

by Michelle Pennington

  He came striding out of the closet, almost at a run. “What’s wrong?”

  Kara looked up to tell him, but her words caught in her throat at the sight of him in a crisp pair of chinos and nothing else. She hadn’t seen him shirtless since he was a teenager, and well, he had definitely grown up since then.

  “Kara?”

  Right. “My mom. She didn’t wait to share about the wedding. It’s out.”

  Warren’s jaw tightened. “Right. Well, let’s get on the road while we still can.” He strode over to a panel on the wall and pressed a button.

  “Yes, Mr. Drake?” a male voice said.

  “We need to leave sooner than planned. Within 30 minutes, if we can make it happen.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Anybody hanging around the premises?”

  “A few paparazzi, yes. You’ve seen that everything was leaked early.”

  “Yes. Keep me posted if anyone else shows up, Abe.”

  Aiden had finished nursing, so Kara put him down on the soft carpet with a couple of toys. With panic tightening her gut, she faced Warren. “Do you think Derrick is going to show up?”

  Shrugging his square shoulders, Warren shook his head. “I have no idea, but we need to consider it a possibility. I have no doubt it will annoy him, but as long as he hasn’t figured out we’re leaving the country, he won’t worry too much. After all, as far as he knows, I don’t pose any kind of a threat to him getting Aiden.”

  “True. Okay, so we need to go throw all my stuff in my bag.”

  “Leave Aiden there, since he’s happy. I don’t have to pack. I have what I need on board. And my crew should have things on board for you and Aiden as well, so don’t worry too much about forgetting anything. Except your passport and important papers of course.”

  Nodding, Kara ran to her room. The closet was huge, so her few things that had been hung or folded on shelves looked oddly out of place. But the invisible staff that Warren employed had everything organized precisely. It only took her a few minutes to freshen up in the bathroom, change into jeans and a T-shirt, and get all of her things stowed away in her suitcase and Aiden’s bag stuffed with the essentials. She was careful to move quietly past the room where her parents were sleeping. The last thing she wanted to do was wake them up. The things she would say to her mom would not have a beneficial effect on their relationship. She felt a momentary stab of guilt that they wouldn’t get to say goodbye to Aiden, but it wasn’t like they weren’t going to see him in the future.

  Dumping her bags next to the door in Warren’s room, she sat down on the bed to fasten her leather sandals. When Warren came out of the bathroom a moment later wearing a black polo shirt, with hair looking immaculately groomed and shiny leather shoes on his feet, she glared at him. Even though he hadn’t shaved and had a scruffy jaw, it just looked sexy and not unkempt like she was sure she looked.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  She stood and went to get Aiden. “Yep. Let’s get out of here.”

  “Yes, dear.” He smiled at her as he put his phone and wallet in his pocket. She rolled her eyes but decided not to complain about him teasing her when he picked up both of her bags.

  They rushed through the house. For the first time, Kara got a glimpse of the maid staff as they went through the whole house cleaning up from the wedding the night before. Mrs. Garth rushed out of the kitchen area after them. “Can I get you anything for the trip?”

  “Thanks, but we don’t have time,” Warren said, moving toward the front door where Abe and Ronin waited for them.

  “I wish,” Kara said. “When we get back, I want another of those cheese Danishes.”

  “Of course. Can I kiss the baby goodbye?”

  Kara paused and let the older woman kiss Aiden’s head; then to her surprise, Mrs. Garth gave her a hug. “Safe journey, Mrs. Drake.”

  Touched by the kindness, Kara nodded and hugged her back.

  Warren waited patiently by the door, but Kara could see the tension in every line of his body. Breaking free from Mrs. Garth, she hurried over. “What is it?”

  “Your ex is on the doorstep.”

  “What?” Kara clutched Aiden more closely to her.

  “Looks like he has some lawyers with him. But don’t worry. My own lawyers are on their way, and he can’t take Aiden legally, and we certainly won’t let him take him by force.”

  “Okay,” she said, trying to sound calm. But she wasn’t. She was terrified.

  Warren nodded to Ronin, who opened the door. Abe stepped out first, his giant frame filling the doorway, then Warren put his arm around Kara’s waist and led her through the door. Once outside, her heart felt like it was hammering a million miles an hour when she saw Derrick, a couple of toughs in cargo pants and black shirts, and several smarmy lawyers in crisp suits. She angled herself so he couldn’t see Aiden and was relieved when Ronin stepped out of the house and moved to stand slightly in front of her to shield Aiden even more.

  “If it isn’t the happy couple,” Derrick said, smirking at them. “Leaving for the honeymoon?”

  Warren crossed his arms across his chest. “Your deductive abilities are impressive, Fenton.”

  Derrick frowned. “It’s going to be like that, huh? Well, from one man to another, you’ll be bored with her inside a week. I was. But I couldn’t care less about that. I’m here to establish my paternal rights. We have a court order to get the pat.”

  Luckily, Warren was as in command of himself as always. “Our lawyers will be arriving momentarily. We won’t be doing anything until then.” He turned toward Kara. “Why don’t you and Aiden wait in the car?”

  With a surge of relief, Kara moved to the car with Ronin keeping himself between her and Derrick’s posse. Diving into the safety afforded by the tinted windows, Kara immediately shifted over to get Aiden buckled into his car seat, which was still in place from the other night. But she didn’t like to not know what was going on, so as soon as he was settled in with a pacifier in his mouth and a baby toy to keep him happy, she shifted around to stare out the window. Warren and Derrick stood where she’d left them, in a silent face-off. Seeing the two men together, she couldn’t help but compare the differences between them. Derrick was just as tall as Warren and built along the same lines, though not as square or toned. But there was artifice in his expression that would have been completely out of character for Warren.

  All that time ago, when she had given up on Warren Drake ever seeing her as anything but his little sister’s amusing best friend, she should have known she wouldn’t find anyone to compare to him. She’d seen all the same things in Derrick that she thought were what she wanted…looks, wealth, confidence, charm. But she was wrong, those weren’t the core of who Warren actually was. He was loyal, protective, and morally grounded. True, he was also driven to succeed, but only with hard work—not by taking the cunning shortcuts that Derrick did. She’d recognized the differences too late, but now it was so blatantly obvious that her own stupidity stabbed at her.

  Another car arrived, pulling in behind Derrick’s car at the opposite end of the circular driveway. Mr. Bradford and Mr. Douglas got out and came over to stand beside Warren. Not wanting to miss what was going on, Kara reached out for the controls and lowered the window a little.

  Derrick’s lawyers handed Warren’s lawyers some paperwork. They looked it over and conferred quietly with Warren, who nodded and came over to talk to her. Rolling the window down the rest of the way, she raised an eyebrow questioningly.

  “It’ll be best if we do the paternity test. It won’t stop us from going ahead with our plans. And we expected this, remember.”

  Kara turned away and covered her face with her hands. As long as there was no test, Aiden was safe. It felt like she was betraying him to give in. At last, she sighed and dropped her hands. “If you say that’s what I need to do, I will.”

  The muscles in his jaw worked, and she’d never seen his expression so serious. “It will be okay, Kara. You hav
e my word.”

  When she nodded, Warren turned away. Kara tried to focus on her breathing, trying to ward off the panic attack she felt rising within her. When the door on the other side of the car opened, she turned sharply, relaxing only when she saw that it was Warren. He stood back, holding the door open while one of Derrick’s lawyers got into the car.

  “I just need to swab the inside of his cheek,” he said, taking a cotton swab out of a plastic tube and reaching for Aiden’s pacifier.

  With a flash of protective anger, Kara blocked his hand. “I’ll do it. No one is touching my baby.”

  The lawyer hesitated, but nodded and gave her the swab. “Be careful not to touch the end, and rub it in a circle three times around the inside of his cheek.”

  Kara took his pacifier out and used her finger to gently open Aiden’s mouth since he’d immediately clamped it shut. She did as the lawyer asked and then handed it back to him. While the lawyer dropped the swab back in the tube, she gave Aiden his pacifier back and pulled the sunshade down so the lawyer couldn’t see his face any longer. It was pointless, but all her protective instincts were on high alert.

  “Thank you for your cooperation, Mrs. Drake,” he said before getting out of the car.

  Kara reached out and held Aiden’s hand, getting a measure of comfort from the way his little fingers clamped down on her forefinger. She stared straight ahead, sure that she would shatter at any moment from the tension that had overtaken her body.

  Through the open window, she heard the men outside talking—Warren’s deep, commanding voice telling them to leave—and then engines turning over and car doors closing. Ronin opened her door and passed her diaper bag into the car, then Warren got in on the other side of the car while both Abe and Ronin got in the car, Ronin in the driver seat.

  “Finally,” Warren said when the car began moving.

  Kara looked out the window, feeling numb while paparazzi clustered together on either side of the driveway, their cameras flashing.

  But in only moments, they pulled away, leaving everything behind them. Kara sagged back against the seat, her head falling back, her hand never letting go of Aiden’s. “How long will it take them to get the results?”

  “Two days. But by then, we’ll be in the middle of the Pacific.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Throughout the whole drive to the marina, Warren left Kara alone. She had her eyes closed, and he knew she wasn’t asleep, so she clearly didn’t want to talk right then. He hoped that once she was on board and they had left the coastline behind, she would feel better. The only thing he could think of to do was give her some good news.

  With that in mind, he texted the private investigator he’d hired. Garth Browning had come highly recommended as someone who knew more about all the big players in Las Vegas than any other PI in the city. When Warren had told him he wanted evidence of criminal activity by the Fenton family, Garth had been very cautious about taking the job on.

  “That’s a bad hornet’s nest to be knocking over, though they keep things low-key. Are you sure?”

  “More than ever. And if you catch wind of schemes involving Derrick’s ex-wife and child, let me know immediately.”

  Garth had agreed to take the job, and Warren had given him his personal number, something he rarely did. As they drove through the winding hills of Bel Air and toward the marina, he texted the man to see what he’d found out so far.

  Derrick Fenton showed up on my driveway this morning.

  So that’s where he went. Cause any problems?

  Only the legal kind. Any news for me?

  A slew of drug trafficking and a potential sex traffic ring, but still gathering evidence. With Derrick out of town, I’m stalled there.

  He’ll be back soon. Keep at it.

  Warren shook his head, feeling sick to his stomach. He glanced down at Aiden, who was asleep again, and over at Kara’s tense face. The thought of these two innocents caught up in the filth of the Fenton machine was terrifying.

  At the marina, they were able to park right in front of where the yacht was docked, so it only took a few minutes to get Kara and Aiden safely up the passerelle, across the deck, and inside the main cabin.

  “Uh, this thing is incredible,” Kara said, looking around in awe.

  Glad she was talking again, Warren looked around at the clean, white interior with gleaming mahogany wainscoting and trim. The built-in sofas were piled with colorful throw pillows and lush flower arrangements spilled over the coffee table, the dining table further back, and several side tables. He nodded approvingly, glad his crew had made it so perfect for her first impression. Two of the stewardesses stood quietly nearby with bright smiles on their faces, their hands behind their backs and looking pristine in their white polo shirts and black skirts.

  “I’m looking forward to showing the rest of her off to you, but will you be okay for a few minutes while I go confer with the captain? I’ll be back shortly after we shove off.”

  “Of course,” Kara said, putting Aiden’s carrier down on the carpet and sitting down on one of the sofas.

  The stewardesses came forward, one offering to get her a drink and the other offering to take her sandals and bags to the master stateroom.

  “Oh, should I have taken my shoes off?” she asked, immediately reaching down to do so.

  Warren paused on his way out the door. “It’s only to protect the teak flooring you’ll find throughout the ship and on all the decks, but please do whatever makes you comfortable.”

  Her smile was small but sincere. “You know I love to be barefoot.”

  It was such a small thing to see the lightening of her expression, but it meant the world to him, so he grinned back at her. “I do. Be back soon.”

  Warren walked around the port side of the boat to the outside stairs leading up to the bridge. When he walked in, the captain immediately turned to greet him with a handshake. “Welcome back aboard, Mr. Drake. And congratulations on your marriage. I look forward to meeting your wife.”

  “Thanks, Captain Fitch. Are we all set for Cabo?”

  “Yes, we have the course set. It’ll be a three-day passage, running at about 15 knots. If you want to get there faster, just let me know.”

  “I think that’s fine. We may want to anchor at different points as we sail along the Baja peninsula. I’ll let you know once I’ve talked to Kara.”

  “Just say the word.”

  “Thanks. Okay, you’ll be doing me a personal favor to get us out of the marina as soon as possible.”

  Captain Fitch smiled. “Everything is in order, and we are shoving off now.”

  Assured on all points, Warren went out and stood on the sundeck, facing the stern, and watched the deckhands scrambling about to get the yacht safely underway. It was no simple matter moving a boat of this size, a one-hundred-and-eighty-five-foot, tri-deck yacht, but Warren was confident in Captain Fitch’s crew. When the boat was well underway, he went back down to the main cabin and found Kara watching through the open cabin door, staring back toward the marina and sipping a mug of coffee.

  “Oh, I want some coffee too.” He looked around for one of the stewardesses and saw that one of them was already turning away to get him some. While he waited, he stood next to Kara and leaned against the doorway. “Feeling better?”

  She let out a deep breath. “You have no idea. Sure we can’t just sail to the other side of the world?”

  Warren shrugged and smiled. “If you want to.”

  The stewardess came with his coffee on a tray, black, just the way he preferred it. The hot, rich brew eased the last of his nerves.

  Kara looked up at him. “Can we sit on the deck for a minute? I love watching all the boats coming and going.”

  “Absolutely.” He put his hand on the small of her back to lead her forward.

  “Think Aiden is okay?”

  “He’s sound asleep, and there are two of the staff in there to watch him. Come enjoy the view.”

  W
ith one more glance back into the cabin, Kara followed him outside. They sat together on lounge chairs under an awning that fluttered and snapped in the wind coming in across the coast. Warren answered her questions about all the sailing vessels, motor boats and merchant ships, but his knowledge was sadly limited. When they were finally several miles out and moving at a solid clip to the south, he knew it was time to do one more necessary task before they could relax and enjoy the journey

  “Kara, I’d like to give you a tour of the boat, but first, I’d like to show you some of the safety features of the ship, just in case.”

  “Okay.”

  He stood and led the way to the steel gate that was opened for boarding. “When the ship is docked or at anchor, there is a series of lasers here and along the whole perimeter of the ship that get turned on at night after everyone but the watch has gone to bed. If a laser is broken, an alarm sounds. A very loud, painful, bone-rattling alarm.”

  Kara smiled. “Wow. I definitely don’t want to set that off.”

  Warren shrugged. “It’s been set off before by big raindrops, so let’s hope for clear skies if we drop anchor.” Walking back toward the bow, he pointed at the glass windows. “The windows on every deck are bulletproof glass.”

  “Bullets?” she asked, her voice surprised and concerned.

  Keeping his voice as light as possible, Warren said, “It’s rare, but there are occasional piracy attempts or robberies while in a marina. Vessels like this can be a target for obvious reasons. It’s best to be safe.”

  “That makes sense.” But she definitely sounded nervous.

  “Trust me, I’m showing you all these things so you know how safe you are.” Moving forward, he pointed to a camera facing off the port side out to sea. “We have eight cameras all giving the crew twenty-four-hour surveillance, and there is always one crew member on watch in the control room and one outside.”

  This time, Kara didn’t say anything. She just nodded. Warren clenched his teeth and led her around to the deck on the bow were the helipad was located with a small seating area surrounding a big jacuzzi in front of the opposite end of the main cabin where they had started out. “Just one more safety thing, and I can show you all the fun stuff like the pool, the movie theater, and the glass dome over the sitting room on the top deck.”