Chapter Ten

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Billie reached for Presley's hand again. No way could touching him help ease the eruption of emotions he had to be feeling right now. But there was little else she could do.

"Do you want me to leave so you can have a private talk with Victoria?" Billie asked. She couldn't use the term, mother, not with that shock she saw in Presley's eyes.

"No," Presley was quick to say, and Victoria echoed the same.

"I wanted to thank both of you for rescuing me," the woman said. She swallowed hard. "I don't believe the kidnappers ever intended to release me. I think they were going to kill me."

Billie believed the same thing, and she had so many questions for Victoria. Such as why had those two thugs wanted her dead? Why had she been kidnapped in the first place? And had she merely been the bait to get to Presley and her?

But all those questions and more would have to wait.

Because those five minutes were ticking away, and Presley no doubt needed to ask his birth mom some things as well.

"I, uh, don't expect you to forgive me," Victoria said, her gaze pinned on Presley now. "And I don't expect you to understand why I did what I did."

"Enlighten me," Presley invited.

There was no venom in his voice. In fact, there wasn't much of anything. He'd obviously managed to rein it all in so he could have this conversation.

Which would no doubt be the first of many.

No way were they going to work out thirty-six years in four and a half minutes.

Victoria nodded. "I'm going to assume you ran a thorough background check on me so you already know my parents were wealthy. Old money with equally old-fashioned expectations for their only daughter. I rebelled in oh so many ways." She closed her eyes a moment. "And I got pregnant when I was barely sixteen."

"There's nothing about that in your background check," Presley pointed out.

"No, there wouldn't be because I used a fake ID that my parents provided for my doctor's appointments." She paused. "I also used that fake ID when I gave birth."

Billie felt Presley's hand tighten in hers. "And after giving birth, you left me in a fire station just outside of San Antonio."

Victoria's eyes widened a moment, and it seemed as if she were about to dispute that, but then the objection faded from her expression. "I abandoned you," she finally said.

She didn't add more, and the heavy, uncomfortable silence settled between them for a couple of moments. Presley was the one to break it.

"Who's my bio-father?" he demanded, and this time, there was some anger in tone and body language.

Billie totally got that. Had their situations been reversed, she would have felt the same. And she would have wanted to know what Presley had just asked.

"Your father," Victoria muttered.

Certainly, the woman must have anticipated the question, but she was taking her time answering. She'd just opened her mouth when there was a shout outside the door.

"I will see my wife now," the man yelled. Jesep. "And you can't keep me from her."

"Step aside," another man snarled.

Ari.

The two were likely speaking to the doctor or maybe even Angel.

Panic raced over Victoria's face, and she frantically shook her head. "Please don't tell them what we were just talking about," she managed to blurt before the door flew open.

Dr. Jenkins gave Victoria an apologetic glance before he stepped to the side to reveal not only Jesep and Ari but also Olivia. "I'll call security and have them removed if you're not up to seeing them."

"I'm up to it," Victoria insisted, and she plastered on what Billie was pretty sure was a fake smile. "Come in," she added, aiming a glance at Billie and Presley.

That glance seemed to be both a plea for them to keep her secret and a promise that the conversation wasn't over.

Jesep led his kids into the room, and they all ignored Presley and her as they went to Victoria's bedside. Jesep didn't kiss his wife. In fact, he didn't touch her. None of the three did. They just gathered around her bed, staring down at her.

"Mrs. Wessington experienced severe trauma," Dr. Jenkins insisted. "You can only stay a couple of minutes. And you two have to leave," he added to Presley and her.

Presley gave Victoria one last look, and Billie and he stepped out into the hall with the doctor. What he didn't do was shut the door.

"It's possible Mrs. Wessington is still in danger," Presley whispered to the doctor, and he fired off a text while he continued to keep an eye on Victoria and the others. "I have a colleague, Angel DeLuca, who'll be protecting her, and he'll be here any minute."

The doctor's shoulders went stiff. "Is she in danger from her family?" He, too, kept his voice at a whisper.

"Possibly. She's not to be left alone with any of them, understand?" Presley stated.

Dr. Jenkins' nod was a little shaky, but there was still plenty of resolve in it. Good. Angel would no doubt be thorough in his bodyguard duties, but it didn't hurt to have someone else watching out for the woman.

As Presley had said, Angel soon appeared in the hall, and he made a beeline toward them. Presley did the introductions, and they all turned to look at Victoria. She, too, was having a whispered conversation, and judging from Ari's, Olivia's, and Jesep's expressions, they didn't care much for what she was saying.

"I'll take care of her," Angel said like a promise, and he stepped into the room.

Jesep immediately whirled toward Angel, doling out a scowl to him. "Who the hell are you?"

"Your wife's bodyguard," Angel calmly replied.

Jesep's scowl deepened while Ari and Olivia looked on. "Well, you can just leave. I'll get my own security for my wife."

"I'm not going anywhere," Angel fired back, and he was doling out his own scowl. His was a lot meaner looking that Jesep's. "Your wife is under police protection, and I'm a contracted security specialist. You don't have a say in it. Neither do the two of you," he added, giving Ari and Olivia a glance.

"We'll just see about that," Jesep snarled, taking out his phone.

Victoria caught onto his hand to stop him from making a call. "I asked for the protection," she said. That was possibly a lie though Billie supposed she could have done it in the ambulance or after she'd arrived at the hospital.

"Why the hell would you do that?" Jesep yanked back his hand. "I was told the kidnappers are dead. Aren't they dead?" he asked, aiming that at Billie.

It was a rhetorical question, but Billie answered it anyway. "They are. Ellis and Craig Dumfries."

Victoria made a sound that sounded like a mix of a soft moan or gasp, and it was loud enough to get their attention. Everyone turned toward her.

"What?" Presley said. "Do you know them?"

She shook her head, but there seemed to be some kind of recognition in her eyes. "No. Did you find out why they kidnapped me?"

Presley didn't get a chance to answer that before Jesep spoke first. "Because they're greedy sonsofbitches who thought they could get rich, that's why. And they're dead. That's means you can leave here since you're not in danger."

Victoria nodded and took her time answering. "But I don't feel safe yet. I wanted a bodyguard in case someone else tries to take me."

"You'll be safer at home," Jesep insisted, and his voice was very close to a shout. "Away from this…place. Away from them." He tipped his head to Billie and Presley. "Ari and I can help you get to the car. Come with us."

Dr. Jenkins hurried back into the room, and he stepped between Jesep and Victoria. "Your wife was severely injured. She can't leave."

Jesep seemed ready to gear up to dispute that, but Olivia took him by the arm and eased him back. "Why don't you arrange to have Victoria transported to a hospital in San Antonio? That way, she'll be close to home, and she'll get the medical care she needs."

Jesep glanced around as if figuring out if this was a battle he could win. He must have decided the answer to that was a no because he backed down, and he released a slow breath.

"I'm sorry," Jesep muttered to no one in particular. "I'm just very worried about my wife. She just survived what had to have been a horrible ordeal. We went through a trauma, too, not knowing if she was alive. Not knowing if she'd be allowed to come home."

Billie hoped that wasn't lip service, a spiel meant to get the doctor to let down his guard. No way would Angel fall for it though, and with Victoria confirming that she wanted a bodyguard, then at least she would have some protection even if she was transferred to another hospital.

"Billie, Presley," Victoria said, shifting her attention to them. "Thank you again for rescuing me. I'll be in touch."

It was clearly a goodbye, but they didn't budge.

"I'll be all right," Victoria tacked onto that, glancing at Angel.

Presley stared at her for several long moments before he finally turned and walked away. Billie was right there with him, and she seriously doubted he was ready to face his boss and the cops, who were no doubt still in the ER waiting area. She spotted the sign for a breakroom just ahead, and she took hold of his hand to pull him inside. Thankfully, it was empty, but so they'd have a little privacy, she moved him to the corner away from the door.

"Feel free to vent," Billie offered.

She thought he was going to take her up on that. That riot of emotions was still there in his eyes, vibrating in every part of him. But he didn't vent. He sighed, closed his eyes and leaned against the wall.

"Shit," he finally said.

"That expresses my sentiment, too."

She didn't pepper him with questions about how he was doing or what he was feeling. Billie just waited him out, and little by little, she felt some of the tension melt away.

"After my mom was killed," he finally said, "I, of course, gave some thought to my bio-mom. But I never wanted to find her. I always figured if she abandoned me that she wanted nothing to do with me."

She heard the hurt that was still there over that abandonment. It likely always would be. Billie had felt some of that when her own dad had stepped out of her life after her parents had divorced. It was one of those little holes in the heart that never healed.

"I don't know what to do about Victoria," Presley said. "I don't know what to feel."

"You don't have to work it all out now," Billie assured him. "It can be a process with no timetable on it."

One that would likely involve learning who his bio-dad was, too. Victoria had seemed to be on the verge of spilling that when Jesep and her stepkids had burst into the room.

"Thanks," he muttered, opening his eyes and meeting her gaze. "I'm sorry you got dragged into all this personal crap."

"No need to apologize." Yes, it'd been a shock when she had first been pulled into this, but as Billie looked at him now, she was glad she had been here with him for this ordeal. They weren't besties by any means, but there was a connection between them that made her care about him.

And want him.

But for now, she was focusing on the caring part when she pulled him into her arms for a hug. He immediately slid his arms around her and pulled her to him.

And he kissed her.

It was long and slow. A no pressure kind of kiss. Or at least it would have been had it come from anyone else. But with Presley, the heat was always going to create an urgency even when the kiss shouldn't even be happening.

They were hardly in a private place. Someone could come walking in at any moment. Added to that, Presley likely wasn't in the right frame of mind for this since less than two hours earlier, he'd had to rescue his own mother.

Still, they didn't stop, and the kiss raged on.

Presley snapped her closer to him, until they were body to body. Pressed against each other. Until everything else except this faded into the background. Until Billie had to force herself to step back and regain, well, everything. Her breath, her composure. Her sanity. Because Presley and that scalding kiss had certainly muddled her brain.

They stood there, breaths gusting, hearts racing, and stared at each other. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she yanked herself out of the kiss trance when she heard the footsteps. A moment later, Olivia appeared in the doorway.

"Oh, sorry for interrupting," Olivia muttered. Even though Presley and she were no longer touching, Olivia had clearly picked up on the vibe in the room.

Billie picked up on a vibe, too, from Olivia, and it was one of concern.

"Is Victoria all right?" Billie asked.

"Uh, yes. Well, I guess as okay as can be expected. I can't imagine the hell those two men put her through."

The words were right, but Billie had the same thought she had with Jesep—she hoped it was the real deal and not some fa?ade.

"They cut off a piece of her finger," Olivia muttered, and she went to the vending machine. She used her credit card to buy a bottle of water. Once she had it open, she took a long drink. "My father's not as much of an asshole as he appears to be," she went on. "He uses anger to mask his fear."

Neither Presley nor Billie responded to that. Since it seemed as if the woman was in a talking mood, Billie just decided to hear her out and listen to what she had to say. Maybe she would spill something that would help them ID the person who'd hired those kidnappers.

Heck, it could even be Olivia.

"I need to know something," Olivia went on, still guzzling that water as if she'd just crossed a desert. "Why did those men ask for the two of you to deliver the ransom? How are you connected to my stepmother?"

Oh, that was a question Billie figured Presley wouldn't answer. And he didn't. Well, he didn't give a truthful answer anyway.

"We don't know why they pulled us into this," he said. "But it's something we're investigating."

Olivia stayed quiet a moment. "So, it's possible that choosing you had nothing to do with Victoria, that the kidnappers could have been after you instead?"

Presley shrugged. "We don't know," he repeated. "Trust me though, learning that is the top priority. The cops, Maverick Ops, and Strike Force are all investigating. If someone hired those men to take Victoria, we'll find him or her and bring them to justice."

It sounded like a warning. Or a threat. And Olivia seemed to grasp that they were looking at her. At her entire family.

"I see," Olivia muttered. "Well, good." She recapped the bottle and tossed it in the trash before she added a barely audible goodbye and walked out.

Presley didn't move. He stood still until they could no longer hear Olivia's footsteps, and then he went to the trash to retrieve the bottle.

Billie raised an eyebrow. "You have plans for that?"

"I do. Jesep, Ari, and Olivia still haven't given the cops DNA samples. This is a start. The CSIs are already processing the clothes and belongings of our dead guys, and I'll give them this. If there's any Wessington DNA on them, then that'll give us some ammo so the cops can make an arrest."

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