She drops behind me and gets busy untying the ropes. “Are you okay?”
“I… Yeah. How did you find me?”
“Let’s talk about that later.”
The ropes fall from my wrists and I stand up, rubbing at the grooves they’ve left in my skin.
“Which way is out?”
Jayne’s eyes are darting every which way, her gun held up in front of her. Everything that is happening right now is fucking insane…and yet I can’t help but think that she’s looking the sexiest she ever has.
“This way. Keep close.” She rushes back the way she came, and I keep so close she’s only a few inches away.
From the soft murmur of traffic, a new sound emerges. Sirens.
I suck in a breath. “Police?”
“I called them. They’re on their way.”
Thank God.
“And Mia?”
“With Eddie. Come on.” She darts around a forklift, and I follow.
Mia’s safe. The cops are on their way. Everything is going to be all right.
The figure moving out of the corner of my eye dashes that hope in an instant. The leader of the group, the man who spoke with me, steps out of the shadows, his gun pointed right at Jayne.
Time slows down. I’m not even thinking. Before I know what’s happening, I’m rushing at him from the side. The gun goes off, but I keep moving.
My left hand grabs the wrist that holds the gun as I land a punch to the man’s nose. He’s strong for his size, and I see him turning the gun my way. Grabbing the wrist with both my hands, I twist his arm and pull the gun free before elbowing him in the neck. He goes down, dazed and bleeding from the nose.
I point the gun at him and take a few quick steps back. The sirens wail. The police can’t be more than a minute away.
“Where’s the entrance?” I ask Jayne.
When she doesn’t answer, I glance over my shoulder. She’s sitting up against the forklift, her palm pressed to her side. She looks at me as she brings her hand up, revealing its thick coat of blood.
I take a painful breath. There’s a noise behind me, and when I look over, my kidnapper is gone.
“Jayne,” I grunt, dropping to my knees in front of her.
She doesn’t answer. Her eyelids are growing heavy, and her head is dropping forward.
“Jayne!” I grab her shoulders and shake her. “Jayne, stay awake! The ambulance is on the way.”
Again and again, I yell her name, but still there’s no response.
Chapter 25
Jayne
Something is beeping.
I listen more intently, trying to find the source of the sound. The beeps stay at the same volume, not getting louder or softer.
I reach for my gun in its holster, but my hand sweeps across fabric.
Benjamin…I have to get him out of here. He doesn’t belong here, surrounded by these thugs. He needs to be at home with Mia.
An aching pain shoots up my side, and I let out a gasp.
“Easy,” a familiar voice says.
“Benjamin?” I rasp. I blink my eyes open and find his face swimming in my blurry vision. Wherever we are, it’s not the warehouse. It’s too bright in here, too warm.
“What…” My throat is too dry to go on.
“Here.” He gently places a cup to my lips and helps me drink. The water tastes like heaven, and after a few sips, I pull myself gingerly up to sitting.
“Be careful,” he cautions.
I survey my surroundings for the first time. We’re in a hospital room, and evidently, I’m the patient. Looking down, I note the hospital gown and the ache of my left side. I take a peek under the gown and find a bandage there.
“Hi, Jayne,” a small voice says.
In the right corner, legs curled up under her, sits Mia. There’s a stack of coloring books and a box of crayons on the little table next to her, and she gives me a toothy smile.
“Hi, Mia,” I answer, my chest filling with emotion. She’s okay. They’re both okay.
“Do you remember what happened?” Benjamin goes to sit on the edge of my bed, but then seems to think better of it and hauls a chair over instead.
“Um…” I think hard. “The last thing I remember is being on the floor.” My eyes slide over to Mia. I’m not sure how much her dad has told her, but I’m going to stop there.
Benjamin nods seriously. “One second.” He goes to the door. “Eddie!”
Twenty seconds later, Eddie appears in the doorway. His face brightens at the sight of me.
“Oh, Jayne! You look wonderful.”
That makes me chuckle, because I know it can’t be true. “Thanks.”
“Eddie, the carolers should be in the lobby right about now. Take Mia down there, will you?”
Mia gasps happily. “Let’s go sing!”
She latches onto Eddie’s hand and they disappear through the door, leaving Benjamin and me alone.
“What day is it?” I ask.
“Christmas,” he says simply. He’s leaning forward in his chair, hands interlocked and forearms pressed against his knees. Dark bags are discernible under his eyes.
“Christmas,” I repeat with a murmur. “Was I…unconscious?”
“For a while, yeah. After that, you were just asleep. You lost a lot of blood, but the bullet missed your organs, and there’s no long-term damage.”
He talks like he’s reading from a script, and as he finishes, he swallows hard and looks down.
“You saved my life,” he breathes. His eyes snap up to mine, and they’re shimmering with emotion.
My throat tightens. “Why would I not?” I whisper.
Benjamin smirks sadly. “Because I’m an asshole, that’s why.”
You’re the asshole that I love.
The statement would be funny, but also too confessional, so I hold back and just look at him. He holds my eye contact, and for a few moments, we stare at each other. There’s a lot to say, and it’s hard to know where to begin.
“Those men,” I finally say. “Did the police get them?”
“No,” Benjamin replies. He straightens up in his seat and sighs. “But I won’t let what happened occur a second time. I’m doubling up on security and hiring a team of bodyguards. One of whom will wait outside Mia’s school when she’s there. I should have listened to you when you said something was up. I was too…” He shakes his head. “I was so full of myself. I thought I knew what was best.”
“It’s okay,” I answer, and I mean it. “I didn’t know for sure myself that something was going on. Mostly, my intuition was sending me messages.”
“Well, I’m going to listen to your intuition from now on.”
From now on?
What is Benjamin imagining for the two of us? Before I went into that warehouse after him, he’d basically turned his back on me, and I was days away from handing in my resignation.
I look down at my hands, eager to think about anything but where the two of us left things in the romantic sense.
“Do the police know anything about the kidnappers?”
“Judging from the description I gave, they think they’re part of the mob. The warehouse’s location is a great clue, actually. It might give the police the last puzzle piece they need to make some arrests.”
“Good,” I exhale, thinking about the danger Benjamin and I just lived through. Even though I knew I was putting my life on the line by going in after him, there was never an instant where I considered not doing it. He needed me, and I needed him to live.
“How did you find me?” Benjamin’s eyebrows push together in confusion.
I self-consciously bite my bottom lip. “Oh, about that…I might have installed some tracking software on your phone.”
His eyes widen in surprise. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“How did I not notice?” he asks quietly, as if talking to himself.
“It was pretty well-concealed, even by tech-whizz standards,” I grin. “After I rea
lized you were missing, I left Mia with Eddie and tracked you to the warehouse.”
“And the police? When did you call them?”
“Once I got there. I didn’t plan on trying to rescue you myself. I’m not usually that foolhardy, but I saw the leader pull out that knife, and…” I trail off with a shrug. I’m not about to confess that I would walk through flames to ensure Benjamin’s safety.
“Damn,” he breathes.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” His gaze penetrates me. “You saved my life, Jayne. I don’t even know how to begin thanking you.”
Heat fills my face. “You’re welcome,” I whisper.
We’re still quietly watching each other when Mia runs into the room.
“The carolers are gone,” she announces. Benjamin catches her right before she crashes into my bed.
“Mia,” Eddie says from the doorway. “Let’s go home.”
“She can stay,” Benjamin answers. “Why don’t you go ahead to your brother’s, Eddie? I’m sure he’s eager to see you. We’re fine for the rest of the day.”
Eddie bows his head in agreement. “I will. Merry Christmas.”
“Be safe,” Benjamin calls after him as he goes. He turns back to me. “I’m a little on edge.”
“Understandably.”
“Daddy slept here last night,” Mia informs me. She’s wiggling back and forth between the side of my bed and Benjamin’s knees. It’s the first time I’ve seen him blush.
“The sofa pulls out,” he quickly explains.
“That’s…sweet,” I quietly answer. My heart is pounding, and I don’t know what to make of this news.
“Hey, should we give Jayne her presents now?” Benjamin asks Mia.
“Yeah.” She thumps her palms against his knee in excitement.
“Okay, go get them.”
Mia runs to the end of the bed and comes back with two gift bags.
“I know this probably isn’t the Christmas you were hoping for,” Benjamin says, “but the doctor said you’ll be able to go home in a couple of days. We can celebrate for real then.”
I’m too stunned to answer. He’s being so nice. At the same time, I like it, and my heart feels like it might crack in half. Benjamin made it pretty clear in Aspen that he intends on putting space between us. He might feel indebted to me because I saved his life, but I don’t need to be spending any extra time around him and Mia. That would be too hard.
“You don’t have to do that,” I answer.
“I want to,” he insists, his voice deep and sweet.
I look down at my lap, where Mia is setting the smaller of the gift bags.
“Open it, Jayne,” she says.
“Okay.”
I reach in, and my fingers graze over something hard. Out comes a long jewelry box. My breath catches as I open it up.
“Oh my…” The last part dies in my throat, the necklace sitting in the velvet lining is that amazing. It’s a rose-gold chain with a single diamond dangling from its end. I lift it out of its case and stare.
“Put it on,” Mia says.
I’m too flabbergasted to speak, but Benjamin takes the lead and secures the chain around my neck. I lightly touch the diamond, relishing the cool sensation against my fingers.
“It’s beautiful,” I sigh, looking at Benjamin. “I…wow…I never expected this.”
Suddenly, the leather wallet I got him seems like shit.
“Now mine.” Mia puts the second bag on the bed.
I hesitate. “I wish I had your presents here. I didn’t exactly plan on celebrating Christmas in the hospital.”
Benjamin shakes his head, grinning. “Mia and I don’t care about that. We’re happy that you’re all right. That’s all we want.”
There’s so much intensity in his eyes that I have to look away.
Mia’s present is a lot lighter than Benjamin’s, but it takes me by even more surprise.
“Oh, Mia,” I coo. “It’s beautiful.”
I gaze at the picture of me, her, and Benjamin, as noted by our names written under the figures. We’re standing in a yard, playing with a brown dog.
Mia sits on the bed and smiles up at me. “It’s what I was making when you asked me what I was drawing. I couldn’t tell you ’cause it’s your Christmas present!”
“Aw, thank you, honey.”
My heart constricts, and tears swim in my eyes. I use every shred of power I have to stop them from falling.
If only things could be different. If only Benjamin would open his heart up to me, would see that the three of us are perfect as a unit.
But I don’t live on wishes, and my self-respect prevents me from hanging around somewhere I’m not wanted.
“It’s us as a family,” Mia explains.
I press my lips together. Good God, this is too much.
“Oh, Mia,” I murmur as I reach out and stroke her hair. I hope Benjamin has talked to her about this, has let her know that I’m not a mother to her—as much as I’m coming to believe that I would really like that.
“Stay with us, Jayne,” Benjamin suddenly says.
I look at him in shock. “Huh?”
He takes my hand in his.
“I know that things got…weird in Aspen. I was confused.” His gaze is earnest; there’s nothing there to suggest he’s not telling the absolute truth. “Mia and I have talked about it, and we want you in our lives. I want you to be my girlfriend.”
Mia beams at the both of us. “Girlfriend,” she giggles.
“Hopefully,” Benjamin tells her with a smile.
“I… What…”
“If you can’t answer now, that’s all right. Please think about it.”
Finally, I find my voice. “You want me to stay?”
“Yes.” He nods earnestly.
“Benjamin, I came seriously close to…” I trail off, not wanting to say the ‘quit’ word in front of Mia, but I can tell by his face that he knows what I’m talking about.
“And that’s my fault,” he quickly answers. “But then, I realized that I was just scared. Please.” He squeezes my hand. “Stay with us.”
Tears shimmer in his eyes. I never thought I would see a man like him cry.
His emotional display is all I need.
“Yes,” I gasp. “I would love to.”
“Yay!” Mia shouts, clapping her hands.
Benjamin lets out a cross between a laugh and a happy sob, and suddenly tears are rolling down my cheeks. He wraps his arms around me and Mia, and pulls us both in for a hug.
“You know what?” I say against his shoulder. “It doesn’t matter that I’m in the hospital. This is the best Christmas ever.”
Epilogue
One Year Later
“I’m bringing the eggnog,” Amy says.
“Is that what you’re giving us for Christmas?” I joke.
“Oh, can it.” The video chat on my phone lags a little, but I can still make out her giant smile.
“Hey, wifey! Merry Christmas!” Matt shows up behind Amy’s shoulder, grinning just as big as she is.
“Merry Christmas, both of you.” I blow them a kiss. “When are you guys coming over?”
“I think we’re going to be a little busy today,” Matt says, wrapping his arms around Amy from behind. “So, tomorrow morning?”
“That’s a bit TMI, but yes, tomorrow morning works great.”
Although my moving out of Amy’s apartment eight months earlier had been bittersweet, the transition was made a lot easier when Matt moved in with her a couple months later.
It’s funny, really, how my best friend and Benjamin’s best friend ended up together. They met on New Year’s Eve, right after I left the hospital and Benjamin had a little party for me at the mansion, and bam. Sparks flew so hard, it’s a wonder everyone in the room wasn’t burned.
“See you guys tomorrow,” I tell them.
“Bye,” they echo. I have to hurry up and end the video chat, because they’re already kissing.
“Who was that?” Benjamin asks, coming into our bedroom from the master bathroom. He’s just showered, and neglected to put a shirt on. The sight of his toned muscles has an ache forming between my legs.
“Matt and Amy,” I breathe, my eyes still on his sexy form. “They’re coming over tomorrow morning. Hey, why don’t you—”
Before I can suggest he come back into bed and take me, Mia is knocking on the door.
“It’s Christmas!” she shouts gleefully.
Benjamin and I share a grin.
“It’s Christmas,” I agree.
“Your favorite time of the year.”
He finishes getting dressed, and the three of us rush downstairs, Mia so excited she’s nearly tripping over her feet the whole way.
The space under the tree is piled high with presents, and it’s all Mia can do to not tear into them at once. She manages to control herself, though, and we take turns opening gifts.
The pile dwindles, and soon, there are only a few presents left.
“What’s this?” Mia asks, picking up a small box.
“What does it say?” Benjamin says. He’s sitting next to me on the couch, arm casually slung around my shoulders.
“Jayne,” she reads.
As she hands it to me, my heart flips. The box is square, the perfect size for jewelry.
I shoot Benjamin my own questioning look, but he shrugs.
I unwrap it, feeling just as eager as Mia. Opening it, I gasp.
“Wow,” I whisper, opening up the box within.
The diamond ring is extraordinary. But, wait…is this a regular ring…or…
Before I can wonder any further, Benjamin is getting down on one knee in front of me.
“Oh my God,” I gasp.
“Jayne, you and Mia mean everything to me. I don’t know how else to put it. This last year has been the best one of my life, and I never want this perfect happiness to end.”
Tears fill my eyes. “Same here,” I whisper.
“Will you marry me?”
It’s Mia’s turn to gasp. She gapes at us open-mouthed.
Benjamin takes my hand, his eyes imploring, full of love.
“Yes!” I shout. I’m crying and laughing as he puts the ring on my finger.
Nanny For Hire - A Steamy Single-Dad Billionaire Romance Page 14
