“Please get better soon, Janey,” he whispered to her. “I won’t be able to handle it if anything happens to you.”
He bent down and gently kissed her on the mouth before standing straight once more. He did not want to move an inch from her side, but he knew her family also needed to see her and he didn’t want to be selfish. So very reluctantly, he walked out, returning to the waiting room.
**
Drew rested his head against the wall and stared at the beige walls with unseeing eyes. He had managed to convince Janey’s family to go home and rest, promising to call them if there was any change. He had sent Emily back as well. He needed to be alone so he could process his thoughts.
The thought of how close Janey had come to losing her life shook him. If they had been a few minutes later… he shuddered to even think of it. Even now, he didn’t know if she was going to pull through. The image of her curled up and bound in that hidden closet would haunt him for life.
For a moment, he wondered if there was something about him that brought danger to women he cared about. The pain he felt at seeing Janey on the hospital bed reminded him about his decision to stay away from personal involvement. It hurt too much.
But he could not stay away from Janey. He did not want to stay away from Janey. He loved the way she looked at him when she thought he was not watching. The way her pupils dilated if he stood too close to her.
After she’d insisted that they should be just friends, he’d had fun finding out how often she reacted to his closeness. The answer had humbled him. He had never met a woman who was so attuned to him, so aware of him as a man. And it was more than mutual.
Whenever he caught a whiff of her scent, his heartbeat would speed up. He wanted Janey Moore in a very bad way, but for him it was more than just physical. He really enjoyed her company and whenever he got her to laugh, he felt like he had achieved something major, like a grand slam.
He also loved that she was a strong woman, even if she didn’t know that about herself. He knew she wanted him almost as much as he wanted her, but she’d held him off, not because she was being coy. Most women would have given in, hoping to change him, to get him to fall in love with them. Not Janey. She was a realist and part of what drew him to her was the fact that she was not willing to manipulate what lay between them to get a commitment out of him.
He didn’t think she knew she was pregnant, although now that he thought about it, he should have known. She’d been exhausted lately. Then again, it wasn’t as though he had much experience with pregnant ladies. None at all.
Would she have wanted his baby? The fact that he did not know the answer to that question bothered him. He had never thought seriously about kids, but he wouldn’t have minded one with Janey.
Hell, what was he saying? Drew knew that he must be more tired than he thought if he was thinking that way.
The thoughts continued to chase each other in his head. He was exhausted, but he could not stop thinking.
“Drew?”
A voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Drew gratefully focused on the face. It was a nurse. He got to his feet.
“Yes.”
“The patient is conscious and she’s asking for you.”
Drew nodded and followed her back to Janey’s bedside.
He stood and stared at her. His heart ached to see her like that. Her eyes fluttered open. He saw them move till she located him.
“Drew,” she whispered. She sounded hoarse.
“Janey,” he breathed. He felt relief course through him. She was awake. She had recognized him. She was going to be okay. He moved closer to the bed and gently held her hand. It felt so fragile.
“You found me…”
Her voice was so faint, he had to lean forward to hear what she said.
“Yes, I did.”
She closed her eyes with a sigh. Then, “What took you so long?”
Drew shut his eyes in anguish. “I’m so sorry, Janey. I should have found you sooner.”
She squeezed his hand, it was so light he almost didn’t feel the pressure. “Joking…”
“What?”
She opened her eyes and her lips moved slightly, in an attempt to smile. “Joking, Drew… Thank you.”
Drew stared at her, amazed. Who joked at a time like this? He shook his head in wry amusement.
“Janey, you’re going to be the death of me yet.”
This time, the smile was clear for him to see.
Her lids came down over her eyes and the hand in his became limp.
The nurse reappeared. “You will have to leave now, sir. The doctor will soon be on her rounds.”
Drew kept his gaze on Janey without response. He kissed her, a light peck on her lips and straightened up.
“I’ll be in the waiting room. Let me know of any new developments.”
“That’s fine, sir.”
Drew left the Intensive Care Unit and went back to where he was sitting in the waiting room. He noticed that there were other people there, probably relatives of other sick people. He hadn’t noticed them before.
He thought of calling Janey’s family, then wondered if it was too late. He glanced at his wrist and was shocked to discover that it was already seven a.m. in the morning. Where had the time gone? He placed a quick call to Janey’s mom and assured her that he would let her know what the doctor said so she didn’t need to rush over. She was the primary caregiver for her husband, so he knew she had her hands full.
After that, he sent off a broadcast to his team. The replies were almost instant. Everyone wanted to come over to the hospital, but he asked them to wait a little. He needed to hear what the doctor had to say.
The doctor had good news for him. Janey was stable and her vitals were good.
“She ingested only a little amount of the poison, still it’s a good thing you brought her in when you did,” Doctor Quintero said briskly.
Janey was being transferred to a general ward. Drew asked that she be placed in a private room.
“I’m sorry, but her insurance does not cover that,” he was told.
“I’ll be paying.”
He did not talk about it much, but he had lots of money. He had more money than he needed and when Emily had told him about Silver Shield, he had offered to invest on the condition that she kept it a secret. His investment had paid off several times over. He was not interested in running the firm or in the responsibility of a company. He loved his job at Silver Shield Security, even if lately he’d begun to feel a little jaded.
He filled out the paperwork and before long, Janey was settled in a private ward. That way, he did not need to leave her side. Once this was over, he was never going to let Janey out of his sight, ever again.
**
Somehow they were able to keep the story of what happened to Janey out of the news, but a small, very little known blog called Broken Arrow Tidbits, published a short post about a woman poisoning her lover’s ex-girlfriend. A picture Janey had taken just after her college graduation was used for the post.
Chapter Thirteen
Janey sat up on the bed. She stared at all the flowers in her room; they filled every available surface. She felt well and truly loved. Her family had been in and out in the two days that she’d been there. Her dad had even visited once, leaning heavily on his walking stick. The Silver Shield people had all been to see her as well. And Drew… Drew had refused to leave her side. She’d finally sent him home the night before. He had looked even worse than she felt and it was clear that he needed to sleep.
She couldn’t believe that he’d stayed with her through everything. She remembered going in and out of consciousness, and each time she opened her eyes, he’d been there. Looking miserable. She’d done her best to comfort him, poor man. He was probably blaming himself for all that happened, as though anyone could have predicted what a total psycho Riley had turned out to be.
She thought of all she’d been through. She wanted to be angry with both Mark and Riley, e
specially with Mark. But she did not have the energy. She was too drained and too tired to feel angry. She just wanted to go home.
“I’ll give you a dollar for those thoughts.”
Janey felt her heart practically leap at his voice. She looked up with a huge smile on her face to find him leaning against the door. He looked clean and fresh, much better than he had when he’d left several hours ago.
“Prepare to empty your pockets then,” she teased.
“I have very deep pockets,” he said only half-teasing.
Their eyes met and something passed between them. It made Janey suddenly short breathed. She took a deep breath and let it out in a soft sigh. The man was just too good looking by half. How had she resisted him for so long?
“I missed you,” she said, letting her eyes fill with emotion.
His gaze softened and he came towards her. Without a word, he leaned down and captured her mouth in a soft kiss. Janey closed her eyes and let herself get lost in the kiss. She felt his tenderness and his guilt, and she tried to tell him with her kiss that he had nothing to feel guilty about. By the time they broke the kiss, her arm was covered in goose bumps.
Janey had felt this kiss right to the very depths of her soul. She opened her eyes and gazed into Drew’s adoring gaze. Then his expression changed.
“What is it?” she asked with a frown. He looked worried.
“There’s something I have to tell you.”
She scooted to the side, making space for him on the bed. She tapped the space beside her and Drew sat down.
“Just tell it to me straight.”
He took a deep breath and then let it out in big sigh. “I don’t know how to say this, Janey…”
Janey held her breath as fear shot through her. He was leaving her. She did not know how she was going to handle it, but she made up her mind to be strong for him. She was not going to give him anything to feel guilty about.
“I can take it, Drew.”
He took both her hands in his and stared at them for a moment, then locked his gaze with hers.
“You were pregnant.”
Janey frowned, not understanding what he’d just said. “What?”
“You were going to have a baby, Janey.”
She was pregnant? Janey felt her eyes open wide in shock, then his word hit her. “I…was?”
“The baby didn’t make it.”
She felt the anguish deep in her soul and did not understand it. How could the loss of something she didn’t even know she was going to have be this visceral?
“I was pregnant?”
Drew nodded.
Pregnant. She suddenly remembered going to the pharmacy and asking for a pregnancy test. She never got the chance to take the test because that was the day Drew arrived and turned her world upside down.
“I’ve been feeling tired all the time, and nauseous, but pregnant…”
“You didn’t suspect at all?”
She wanted to lie and say that she hadn’t, but she couldn’t do that. “I bought a pregnancy test,” she admitted.
Drew looked surprised, then hurt. “You suspected?”
Janey pulled her hands out of his to wring them. “Not really. I bought it as part of the elimination process, just to be sure I wasn’t, you know, so I’d know the next step to take. I wasn’t trying to keep this from you or trap you or anything, I swear.”
Drew caught her hands again and pressed a kiss to each palm. “Calm down, Janey. I believe you.”
She watched him anxiously. “You don’t think I got pregnant on purpose?”
“I know you didn’t.”
“Or that I was keeping this from you?”
“Baby, relax. I know you.”
She looked deep into his eyes and saw trust and acceptance. The tight knot in her chest suddenly unraveled and she felt a welling up of feelings for this man.
“When the doctor told me, I felt bad,” Drew said.
Janey cocked her head to the side. “Why?”
“I would have loved for you to have my baby, Janey.”
Her breath caught. What was he saying? She opened her mouth to ask him, but never got the chance. The door opened and Sierra poked her head through.
“Mind if we come in?” she asked.
Janey smiled, and if it didn’t reach her eyes no one thought anything of it. “Not at all. Please, come in.”
Then all the Silver Shield folks trooped in.
“Move aside, Drew. It’s my turn to sit by her,” Rusty said.
Drew gave him a dirty look. “Go find your own woman.”
Rusty and Ace exchanged amused glances. “See how territorial he’s become?” Rusty said then he turned to Janey. “Don’t let him monopolize you, Janey, darling.”
Janey smiled and shook her head. She did not want her aching heart to spill out on her face, but it was hard to look cheerful when she just wanted to weep and keep weeping.
Tamika came up to her. “I’m glad you’re much better,” she said in her usual solemn manner.
Janey touched her arm, then dropped her hand. “Drew mentioned that you were the one who found me. Thank you. If you hadn’t found that closet…” her voice choked up with tears.
Then Tamika did something that stunned everyone. She reached out and enveloped Janey in a tight hug.
“Stay away from crazy people,” she warned when she stepped back.
“Ah, it’s a little too late for that,” Janey said, gesturing towards Drew. That elicited laughter from everyone, including Drew.
It turned out that they’d come to say their goodbyes. Their attention was needed back in Chicago. So they all left, leaving Drew with Janey.
“I’ll miss them,” Janey said after they’d gone.
“I know, but you have me,” Drew said.
She looked at him through her lashes. “Hmm.”
“What does that mean?” Drew asked.
“Take me home and you’ll find out.” Janey was surprised at how seductive she sounded, but she had a sudden need to feel his arms around her. She wanted him, and she knew he also wanted her. She no longer saw the sense in denying them both. She had promised herself that if she made it out of that crazy woman’s house alive, she was going to throw out all her inhibitions and make love to Drew like there was no tomorrow.
Besides, she needed him to make her forget. She wanted to forget about what had happened and about the dull pain in her heart that was slowly spreading to every part of her body.
She risked a glance and found him staring at her, his gaze filled with heat. Then his gaze cooled down.
“Stop teasing me, woman.”
She wasn’t teasing, but he would find out soon enough. The doctor had said that she could go home that morning. She intended to finish what Drew had started that morning in her greenhouse. She was done waiting.
**
Janey opened her eyes and stared at the familiar color of the ceiling. She felt warm from her head to her toes and after everything she’d been through, it felt so good to be back in her own bed, beneath her covers. For the first time in several days, she was feeling much better. The headache was gone, the bruises from the ropes that were used to tie her up were gradually fading. And she was hungry.
They got back from the hospital that day. Drew had carried her into the house and she’d promptly fallen asleep.
She sat up gingerly and gently swung her legs to the side of the bed. She decided to give herself a moment before getting up. Once she was sure that she was not going to feel woozy, she intended to go fix herself something to eat.
“Just where do you think you’re going?”
Janey glanced up and saw Drew standing just inside the room with a frown on his face.
“I’m hungry,” she said.
Drew’s mouth quirked up in a half-smile. “All you needed to do was call me. I’m at your service.”
At his words, Janey moved her gaze away from his. She could think of a number of ways she would like for him to service
her, and each was more X-rated than the one before. She felt her face heat up at the naughty thoughts chasing through her mind.
“You stay here and I’ll get you something to eat.” He saw her frown and sighed, “What now?”
“I’m tired of lying down. I want to sit up at the table and eat.”
Drew took a few steps forward, bent down and scooped Janey into his arms. Her arms automatically went around his shoulders.
“I can walk, you know,” she said dryly.
“Yeah, but you don’t have to.”
She looked up and her gaze met his. They were so close together that she could feel his breath on his skin.
“You are a bossy man, Drew Campbell.”
He paused and thought about it for a second. “Only with you, Janey Moore,” he said. “Only with you.”
At his words, Janey felt a rush of pleasure spread through her body. As they moved towards her kitchen, she wondered why his words elicited so much delight in her. They were not particularly romantic words, and she was not the sort of woman who needed a man to boss her around. Yet, for whatever reason, his words had left a warm glow in her heart.
He served her a dish of non-spicy chicken soup. Janey took a spoon and sighed as the hot liquid slid down her throat. It was the sort of chicken soup her grandma used to make.
“This is really nice, where did you learn how to cook?”
“From my mother.”
Something in the tone of his voice made her look at him closely. His face was wiped clean of expression, yet she got the feeling that it hurt him somehow to speak about his mother. Could she be dead? It troubled her that she knew next to nothing about this man, yet he knew everything there was to know about her.
“She must be a great cook,” she said carefully, gauging his reaction.
“Chef. The word you’re looking for is chef,” he said with a small smile.
“Really?”
“Cordon Bleu trained.”
She heard the faint thread of pride in his voice. A Cordon Bleu training was not something to sniff at. Janey had checked them out online once, a long time ago. The cost of the diploma had frightened her away.
Silver Shield Security Box Set Page 34
