Scarlett pushed the car to her driving limits, often keeping the needle above ninety. She made it to Carter’s home in a little over ninety minutes. She screeched to a stop at the front door, threw the car in park, and left open her door as she got out. Scarlett pounded on the front door and waited for Edward to answer.
He opened the door and looked surprised to see her. “Miss Scarlett.”
“Edward, is Carter here?” she demanded. “Or Darren? I have to warn them.”
“No, miss,” he answered, his expression grim.
“Where are they?” Scarlett grasped the lapels of his coat and practically shook him. “Tell me where they are.”
“Seton Medical Center. The town car was run off the road, and they were both shot.”
“Are they alive?” Scarlett asked weakly.
“Mr. Braxton and Darren are both at the hospital. The driver died in the accident,” Edward said softly.
Scarlett released her hold on Edward and returned to the car, driving as fast as she could.
She hurried into the hospital, going straight to the front desk. “What room is Carter Braxton in?” she asked.
The woman behind the desk gave her a friendly smile and typed on her keyboard. “He’s still in the operating room.”
Scarlett sagged. “How long ago was he brought in?”
“Two hours.”
“Where is the operating room?”
The woman gave her instructions to find OR 2, and Scarlett hurried to the bank of elevators. She cursed the slow elevator as it ferried her to the right floor, then she burst out before the doors were completely open. She found the waiting room for OR Two without difficulty and was surprised to see Darren sitting there. His arm was bandaged, as was his forehead. “Darren,” she cried, going to him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just a couple of superficial wounds. I got shot in my arm, and a bullet grazed my head.”
“That’s good,” Scarlett whispered. Clutching her hands together, she asked, “Carter?”
Sighing, Darren took one of her hands in his. “It’s pretty bad.”
“Is he going to die?” Please no. She couldn’t lose him like this. Even if he never wanted her again, it would be bearable to lose him if he lived.
“They don’t know,” Darren said sadly. “Scarlett, the bullet hit him somewhere above the neck. He’s still in surgery.”
“No.” Scarlett shook her head. “This isn’t happening. My father did this,” Scarlett said. “He admitted it. Not in so many words, but he told me Carter would no longer be a problem for him soon.”
“And you came back to warn Carter?” Scarlett nodded, and he squeezed her hand. “I knew he was wrong.”
“What?”
“Your father told Carter that you were working with him to get Carter to return the house and leave Terini alone. Carter believed him more than he should have, and that’s why he’d been such an asshole lately.”
“He should have known I wouldn’t do that.” Scarlett frowned, feeling slightly outraged.
“Terini told him you’d be leaving real soon, and today you left, confirming his worst suspicions,” Darren pointed out.
“He asked me to leave,” Scarlett said defensively. “I was going to go visit my sisters, but only because I wanted to get some reaction from him.”
“Carter is cold at times, and he’s a hard man,” said Darren. “You know that. Look how long he pursued your father. He’s tenacious, but he’s also reasonable. If you talk to him, I’m sure you can make him understand.”
“If I can talk to him,” Scarlett said, feeling cold inside.
Two coffees and over an hour later, a burly doctor in surgical scrubs came into the waiting room. “He survived the surgery,” was his first announcement.
Scarlett sagged against Darren’s shoulder. “Can I see him?”
“Only family is allowed in recovery,” the doctor answered.
“I’m his fiancée.”
The doctor nodded. “I’ll see what I can do. Right now, I wouldn’t let anyone in to see him.”
“Why?” Scarlett asked softly.
“Mr. Braxton pulled through the surgery, which is good, obviously. He’s still not awake, and his brain waves aren’t registering very high.”
“What does that mean?” Scarlett asked shrilly.
“He’s in a coma. I don’t know when, or if, he’ll awaken. When he does, he might be mentally impaired, or he might be just fine.”
“Mentally impaired?” Scarlett asked with dread. “Will he know us?”
“I can’t evaluate the extent of brain damage until he awakens. Keep in mind there might be no brain damage. I’ve seen much worse wounds where patients were up and around in a few days with no permanent injuries.”
“I’d like to see him,” Scarlett said again.
“Wait until he’s out of recovery, and up in a room,” the doctor said firmly. “That will be an hour or two at most.” She nodded and he left the waiting room.
“What if he doesn’t know us?” Scarlett burst out as tears poured down her face.
“We’ll deal with that if the time comes,” Darren said stoically.
Just under two hours later, Scarlett sat beside Carter’s bed, holding his hand. He was breathing on his own, but his eyes weren’t open. She would give anything to see his baby blues again.
“Please wake up,” Scarlett whispered, touching his face with her other hand. The nurse finally came for her an hour later, and Scarlett didn’t bother to protest her removal. She brushed a kiss on his cheek and whispered, “I love you,” in his ear before leaving.
She was drained and didn’t argue with Darren when he insisted on taking her back to the house to rest. Scarlett wanted to spend every moment at the hospital until he woke up, but she knew that might never happen. It was better to pace herself so she would have the endurance to go through this for several...she stopped thinking, refusing to speculate how long it might be. She hated hospitals, but Carter was too important to her to let her phobia keep her away.
20
Scarlett
A week passed with no change in Carter’s condition. The steady beep of the heart monitor was driving her insane, but she continued to sit beside him and talk to him for as long as the hospital would allow it. Darren would faithfully drive her to and from the hospital, and he seemed to have shifted his bodyguard duties to include her. His arm bore a scar, but the graze on his temple was already well on its way to healing.
Scarlett fell into bed each night, exhausted, to sleep for five or six hours before rising to repeat the process. On the sixth night of Carter’s coma, she received a call at three in the morning and was instantly awake when Edward tapped on her door. She snatched up the phone, praying it was the hospital, but Lecy’s voice was on the other end. “What’s wrong?” she asked wearily.
“There’s been a fire at the house,” said Lecy in a voice thick with tears.
“Did Chrys get out of her room? Was she still locked in?” Scarlett demanded.
“Yes, I got her out, but Father refused to leave Terini Manor. He was trying to put out the fire when we were forced to leave because of the smoke.” Lecy’s crying, made some of her words garbled.
“Did everyone else get out?”
Lecy took a deep breath. “Yes, but Father didn’t,” she said again. “He never came out of the house.”
“I hope he turns up,” Scarlett said, feeling hollow. Despite everything he’d done, he was her father, and she loved him. She was ashamed of his actions, but she hadn’t wanted him to die. “Call me if he shows up.”
“I will,” Lecy promised. “What are we going to do now?” she asked helplessly.
For the first time, Scarlett didn’t try to solve her sisters’ problems. They were older than her, and she couldn’t help them anymore. “You’ll figure something out,” she said gently. “I’m glad you made it out all right.”
“Did he cause this?” asked Lecy.
Scarlett knew wh
at she meant without further clarification. She was angry, but her voice came out weak and resigned. “Carter has been in a coma for the last week, so he couldn’t have had anything to do with the fire.” She ended the call and turned off the light, huddling under the covers. Tears surprised her by leaking from her eyes. She wasn’t sure if she cried for Carter, her Father, herself, or for everyone.
Carter
He was floating, he thought. Maybe he was getting swim lessons from Pop, out in the crystal blue of the Aegean. He’d taken to swimming like a duck in water, but he’d always had difficulty relinquishing control, so he’d never been able to float. “I finally learned how, Pop,” he said.
It wasn’t Pop who was with him. He was alone in perfect darkness, except for the sound of a voice. He knew that voice. Carter wanted to respond to Scarlett’s soft murmurings, but he couldn’t seem to work up the energy. Sometimes she seemed very close, and other times she was so distant he couldn’t hear more than a hushed whisper. Rarely could he make out the words, but the sound of her voice kept him from floating completely away.
She sounded very close this time, and he could tell she was crying. Some of the words came through to him, but in a disjointed way.
miss
doctors
fire
dead
gone
He could not make sense of what she was saying. His brain felt sluggish, and he just couldn’t seem to form any words. She seemed even closer now, and Carter wondered if he was floating to shore. He plainly heard, “I love you,” and knew he had to respond to that. He forced his eyes open, and though things were blurry, he could make out Scarlett’s face.
21
Scarlett
She was telling Carter about her day, not really paying attention to what she was saying, as she stroked his hand. The doctor had told her it was a strong possibility that Carter could hear her, and she refused to leave him in there alone if there was the smallest chance he could. So she’d been there almost every day for a month. Spending all her free time with him.
Scarlett stopped speaking abruptly as Carter’s hand tightened weakly around hers. She looked down, expecting it to be a muscle spasm, but hoping for more. His eyes were open, and he was staring at her. He didn’t seem to be too confused, and she was sure he recognized her. Before she could react, even to press the call button, Dr. Goff came hurrying in the room.
“He’s awake,” Dr. Goff said in a shocked tone, confirming Carter’s consciousness with a small penlight.
“Carter.” Scarlett leapt from her chair, still holding his hand. “Do you know me?” she demanded.
Carter blinked fuzzily, trying to make his mouth move so he could answer. He knew who she was, and he was remembering the last time he’d seen her.
“Give him a moment,” Dr. Goff cautioned. “He’s still trying to process everything.”
Focusing on Scarlett, Carter said his first word. “Sorry.”
“Sorry?” she asked, puzzled. “Why are you sorry?”
“Hurt you. Made you leave.”
“I came back.” Tears streamed down her face. “It wasn’t important.”
“Heard you.”
“You heard me talking to you?”
“Yeah. Floating and talking.”
“I love you.”
“Love you too,” Carter told her with his last reserve of strength before closing his eyes again.
It was several days before Carter was strong enough to have a long conversation. When Scarlett arrived at the hospital, she found Carter sitting up in bed, eating. His complexion was no longer so sickly, and he looked less haggard. “We need to talk,” he said abruptly.
Her stomach tightened with fear. She’d been expecting a confrontation with him, but had hoped it could wait. “What about?”
“Us, and the events that have happened.”
“I’m sorry about what my father tried to do,” said Scarlett, dropping her gaze. “I came to warn you, but of course, it was too late.”
“Your father has caused more trouble than he should have been allowed to. I listened to him, and I was a fool. I owe you the apology. I know now that he was lying.”
“Yes,” Scarlett said firmly. “It was all lies, whatever he told you.” She waited for him to recount the conversation, but he remained silent. Sighing, she said, “Fine, don’t tell me then.”
“I won’t tell you because it isn’t important,” Carter dismissed.
“And to protect me,” Scarlett said softly. “Have you heard about the fire?”
He lifted a brow. “Fire?”
“Terini Manor was burned to the ground,” Scarlett informed him matter-of-factly. “My father refused to leave his ancestral home, and there’s been no trace of his body.”
“What was the cause of the fire?” Carter asked suspiciously.
“Arson.”
Scarlett knew was he was thinking, without a body meant that her father may not be truly lost. He may have set the fire to cover his tracks. He could still be out there, waiting for his revenge.
“Well I’m sorry.”
“No you’re not, but that’s okay, because as long as we’re together, we’ll be fine. You and me together.”
“Forever?” He offered.
“What?”
He pulled a small black box from under the sheet. “Will you be with me forever? Will you marry me?”
Scarlett’s eyes widened with shock. She knew now that he really did love her, regardless of her father’s evil nature. He opened the box and inside was a giant diamond. She walked over with tears in her eyes and he slipped it on her finger.
“Yes, a thousand times yes.”
She knew they wouldn’t be planning a wedding until Carter was fully healed, but she could wait. She would always wait for him.
Epilogue
Scarlett lay in the sun, stretched out on a towel, and watched as Carter came toward her, carrying Maura on his shoulders. She giggled and clutched his hair as he swooped down on the towel beside Scarlett. “How’s the construction going?” Scarlett asked lazily, hoping everything was going to schedule. She was anxious to move into their own home and away from the hostile presence of Lydia.
“Lazio assures me that they’ll complete the house within a week.”
“I can’t wait,” Scarlett admitted, keeping a lazy eye on Maura as she ran to the water’s edge. Their three-year-old daughter gave new meaning to precious. “She seems to love living here.”
“Do you?” Carter asked.
“I love this place,” Scarlett assured him. “Only Lydia detracts from the charm of this island. When you first brought me here four years ago, I never wanted to leave. After the wedding, I was willing to stay forever, but...”
“I had to get Roche in order first, and I didn’t want to have to worry about your health.”
“Women have babies everyday,” Scarlett dismissed. “There’s a terrific hospital in Athens, and a medical center on Mykanos.” She scrunched up her face. “You know, since I’ve met you, I’ve gotten over my fear of hospitals, maybe because I’ve been in so many.”
“Maybe I cursed you,” he teased lightly. “First you sprained your ankle and had that concussion—”
“Your coma, Maura’s birth, last year when she broke her arm.” Scarlett completed the list for him. “Maybe you did curse me.” She looked at him, her desire plain to see. “How do I get uncursed?”
“I might have an idea.” Leaning over to whisper in her ear, Carter gave her explicit instructions, and she was blushing by the time he finished.
“I don’t think I can do that right now,” she admitted.
He forced a disappointed expression. “It was merely a suggestion.”
“You know how much I love you?” Scarlett asked.
“How much?”
“This much,” she answered, kissing him passionately.
“Mama!” Maura stamped her tiny foot in the sand. Her long black hair flew around her face in the breeze, and disg
ust gleamed in her purple eyes.
“Hm, we should wait until there’s no audience?”
Carter called to Maura, “Head back up to the house, Mama and I will meet you there.”
Maura smiled and waved to them both skipping through the sand as Carter wrapped his arms around Scarlett.
“I want you,” he growled in her ear.
“But we’re on the beach, your family, the workers, people will see.”
“I don’t care.” She knew that was true, in the past four years they certainly hadn’t hidden their love.
She dragged her fingers across his scars, the ones her father had inflicted so many years ago. They never heard from him again, and her sister’s had both moved on with their lives. They had gotten married and found real jobs to earn their own way. Scarlett had finished her schooling and was now studying Greek architecture locally. Everyone had found their way.
Carter chewed on her lower lip and she let a moan escape her lips. His hands ravaged her skin, digging into her. He slipped off her bikini top and began to kiss her flesh, moving down her nipples. His hands found their way into her bottoms and he felt the wetness of her mound. As his body pressed against hers she felt his cock harden, he was ready for her.
She reached down and rubbed it as her breath became ragged. He made her feel so alive, so desired.
And that’s how it would be.
Forever.
Turn the page to read my friend Violet Paige’s Book Dirty Play
Volume One
1
Wes
I was a god. And not just any god. I had an arm that could throw a lightning bolt a hundred yards, with two seconds left on the game clock, and score. They should have called me Zeus. I could run faster than any damn lineman trying to knock the shit out of me. I could read the defense faster than the whistle blew. I could call plays and execute before the defense could say their own names. I was a fucking god out on that field, and everyone knew it. The coaches. My teammates. The fans.
Beauty and the Billionaire Bad*ss Page 14
