Chapter 15

That weekend marked a turn in their relationship. He had not declared his love for her and was still not ready to, but he would call and check on her during the day. He also spent several nights a week at her place, making feverish love to her and holding her against him as they slept.

But she was longing for more.

"I think he is coming around." She was going on three months, and it was going great except for the nausea, which she was getting used to.

"Is he?" Her brother asked wryly. "When am I going to meet this guy officially?"

"He is not ready. I gently hinted that I wanted him to meet you, but he did not respond."

She sighed dejectedly as she stared across the road at the vehicles whizzing by. Her brother had invited her to lunch, and she jumped at the offer. She was feeling moody and despondent, and she knew it was not just hormones. She needed a commitment from him, and seeing him some nights was no longer enough.

"How does he feel about the pregnancy?"

"He is - he calls me to find out how I am doing."

"Out of courtesy, or is he genuinely interested?"

She hated that her brother repeated the same things she had asked herself. Madison had been by to see her, and she was bursting to tell Rachel and her that she would have a baby brother or sister in six months.

She had asked Royce when he would tell his family, and he said something evasive.

"It's his baby." She sounded defensive but could not help it.

"And the man is dragging his feet." He placed a hand over hers on the checkered tablecloth and forced her to look at him. "Force his hand."

"I can't."

"Because you are afraid of what he will say."

"I don't want to give him a reason to believe I am like her."

"The ex. Darling, if he cannot see the difference by now, he doesn"t deserve you."

"I think he does, but he is extremely cautious, and I cannot say I blame him."

"He is taking what the woman did out on you, making you unhappy. You are pregnant and certainly do not need that kind of stress."

"You are making me even more depressed than I was before." She told him with a soft laugh. "I came here for you to cheer me up. It's a charming day, and the sun is shining, birds chirping-"

"And you are in love with a man as unattainable as the moon."

"He is not." She shook her head. "Sometimes I see him watching me as if he wants to say something, but then he changes his mind." Reaching for her glass of water, she took a sip. She was also feeling listless, and she knew why.

Royce told her last night that he was going away for a day to deal with problems in the New York office. The thought of going home tonight without him being there depressed her.

"I am worried about you."

"No need." She forced a smile. "Michael has been keeping me company some of the time."

"He knows you are pregnant."

"Yes." She nodded. "He is seeing someone."

"I know. She seems nice. But I think he is still hooked on you."

"I doubt that."

Josh sent her a look as he dug into his salad. "You are not eating."

"I had a big breakfast which went down the toilet bowl. This soup is good, but my appetite is not."

"You have to eat."

"Thanks, doc." She said teasingly.

"I am serious, Indie. I don't like the way you look. I feel like finding this guy and confronting him."

"No." Her voice was unnaturally sharp. "We will work things out."

Josh tamped down his temper with incredible difficulty. His sister was always so vivacious and always had a ready smile. Now, she looked drawn and unhappy. She had wanted to get pregnant so badly that it had weighed on her heavily.

Now that she was pregnant, she looked depressed instead of happy. And he knew why.

She was in love with a man who didn"t appreciate how wonderful she was. How could he not see her, he wondered angrily.

"I certainly hope so." He told her grimly.

*****

"Are you sure you will be fine here by yourself?" Miriam asked as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"I will be fine," Indie said with a smile. Her brother had insisted that she take some soup with her, and she was taking it home with her. "I just have to finish this paperwork, and then I will go home."

"Honey, you look tired."

"Thank you."

"That"s what friends are for," Miriam said with a grin. "I could stay."

"You have a date with that nice guy from the restaurant." Indie reminded her.

"I can reschedule."

"Absolutely not," Indie told her firmly. "I don't need a babysitter. Go, and I want to hear all about it tomorrow."

"Okay. Don't stay too long. Shall I put the alarm on?"

"No need." She waved a hand that had her friend leaving. Forcing herself to concentrate on the paperwork, she went back to it. She had gone fifteen minutes when her phone rang. Picking it up, she felt her heart pounding when she saw who it was.

"Hey."

"Hey." A smile curved her lips. "You called."

"So I did. Where are you?"

"At the store."

"Why?"

"I had some paperwork to catch up on, and I did not relish going home to an empty bed. I miss you like crazy."

Instead of responding, he deviated. "You should go home. It's late. Are you alone?"

"Miriam just left, and I am almost finished. Are you still coming back tomorrow?"

"As far as I know. How are you?"

"I was sick today, but I am fine now."

"I have to go, dinner meeting."

"Tell me something sweet." She whispered.

"Sweet. You know I am not that guy."

"Of course. I love you."

She waited for him to say that he missed her at last, and when he didn't, she had to stop herself from lashing out.

"I will see you when I get back. Don't stay there too late."

"Thanks for calling." She said huskily before hanging up.

Several hundred miles away in his hotel room, Royce sat on the plush sofa and stared at the wallpaper. He had hurt her again and was wondering why the hell it was so hard for him even to say he missed her, and by God, he did.

He missed her so much it was like an ache inside his chest. He wished she was here with him so that he could slide into bed with her and wrap his arms around her voluptuous curves. He was yearning for her as usual, and the more time he spent with her, the harder it was for him to be away from her.

She had asked him when he would tell his family about the baby, and he had made some lame excuse that had caused her even more unhappiness. She was patient with him, putting up with the fact that he could not say what she wanted to hear and declaring her love for him even though he had not given her any encouragement.

Leaning his head back on the sofa, he closed his eyes wearily. What the hell was she doing there so late anyway? Reaching for the phone to call to order her to leave, he decided against it and rose to get ready for dinner.

*****

She was just coming from the bathroom when she heard the sounds. There had been a break-in when she just opened the store, teenagers high on drugs and looking for something to pawn, but nothing after she had installed the sophisticated alarm system.

Grabbing her purse, she turned off the light and went slowly to the door. Holding her breath, she was about to take her phone out when the door burst open, and someone shone a light on her face. "Well, well, what have we here? Your front door was open, so we figured we would just help ourselves. Hey, Buddy-"

"Will you shut your mouth and stop calling my name?" The second man hissed as he approached them. "You damn moron."

"She is pretty."

"That she is." The light was in her eyes, and she could not identify them. Besides that, she was terrified.

"Just take what you want and leave, please." She was determined not to show any fear even though her body was shaking.

"Oh, believe me, lady, we intend to take whatever we want." The one called Buddy said with a hoarse chuckle. "That includes you. Tie her up."

"Aren't we going to do her first?" The other one whined, sending fear through her heart.

"We will leave that for last. Tie her up and stay with her. I want to check the place out."

She was about to shove him away when he lifted a gun to her face. "Don't even think about it, lady. I will not hesitate to shoot you in the face," he warned. He still shone the light in her face, pushing her back into the office and the chair. Keeping the gun on her, he took out a coil of rope from his backpack.

"You don't have to do this." She pleaded, her hands gripping the arms of her chair. "There is money in the cash register-"

"And we are going to want you to open it up."

"Please-"

"You will be begging me differently very soon." He told her gleefully as he wrapped the rope tight around her arms. "Sit tight. I will be right back."

Making sure that the rope was tight enough, he left the room. Her heart thudded inside her chest, and she tried to work her hands out of the bondage, refusing to think about the fact that she should have left a long time ago or even locked the damn door.

Her bag was on the desk; if she could only get to it, she could hear them ransacking the place, but that did not matter. Heaving the chair across the floor, she heaved herself up and grasped her bag.

Praying they would not return and discover what she was doing, she emptied the contents, almost crying out with relief when she noticed the small penknife she had dropped after opening some boxes.

"Please, God." She whispered. Picking it up, she desperately tried pressing the button to open it. Tears of gratitude sprang to her eyes when the blade emerged. Picking up the phone, she dialed 911. Oh God! They were coming back. Grabbing the knife, she started to scream.

"Bitch!" The two men raced into the room and picked up the phone. "You stupid bitch!" Lifting a hand, he slapped her so hard that she crashed to the floor.

"Come on, man, she called the cops."

"Not yet. I am going to teach her a lesson first."

Indie's ears were ringing, and she could feel the bile rising inside her throat. The vicious kick to her head sent her into blessed oblivion.

"I should rape the bitch."

"Come on. Can't you hear the sirens?"

They both ran from the store with another hard kick against Indie's ribs.

*****

Royce thought he was dreaming for a minute, but the insistent ringing was coming from his phone. Rolling to his side, he grabbed it and stared at the unfamiliar number.

"Hello?"

"Royce St. Clair?"

"Who is this?"

"Joshua Blair, I am Indie's brother."

He sat up against the pillows and turned on the lights. "What's the matter? Where is she?"

"In the hospital," Josh said tersely. "She was attacked at the store."

Royce felt as if he was frozen to the spot. "How bad?" He whispered hoarsely.

"A few cracked ribs and a lump on her head. The bastards did a number on her."

"The baby?"

"They are still with her - she is in surgery. I saw your number on her phone and noticed you called her earlier."

"I told her to go home." Swinging his legs off the bed, he had to sit back down as his knees gave out.

"Dammit, I told her to go home. I am - I have to call the pilot. Just text me the name of the hospital." He hung up and, for a minute, could not figure out what to do for the life of him. His heart was pounding sickly inside his chest, and he felt weak and disoriented.

Taking several deep breaths, he picked up the phone.

*****

He went straight to the hospital. Ignoring the curious looks, as soon as he stepped inside, he went to the waiting room to see her brother pacing the length of the floor.

"How is she?" He asked without preamble.

"They are not telling me a damn thing." He bit out.

They both turned as a team of doctors hustled in. Word had been received that a significant contributor was connected to the woman brought in earlier.

"Mr. St. Clair." Dr. Anthony Greaves, chief of surgery, hurried over with an apologetic smile.

"How is Indie?"

"We had no idea that she is-"

"She is the woman carrying my baby. "How are they?"

"She is still unconscious," The man glanced at the brother before continuing. "Several bruised ribs, a nasty bump on the back of the head, and internal bleeding."

Royce's hands clenched into fists, his expression turning murderous. "And the baby?"

"The baby is fine. Two detectives-"

"I want to see her," he said, turning to look at Josh. "Do you mind?"

"No. I will deal with the cops."

She was in a private room, which was good because he would demand one.

"I will leave you to sit with her." The doctor said quietly. "She is a very fortunate young woman."

Ignoring the man, Royce stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He stood there for a few minutes, staring at the still figure on the bed. She had a bandage swathing her head, and even from where he was, he could see the bruising on her cheek.

Striding forward, he pulled up a chair and felt a jolt at the machines" beeping. She had long lashes, he mused, and such soft skin—skin that some sick bastard had damaged. They will be paying for that, he vowed.

Taking her hand, he studied the elegant fingers and felt his emotions veering to the surface. She told him she loved him while they were on the phone earlier, and he had been too cowardly to say it back to her.

Even though he had identified his feelings, he had felt it since he touched her. Bringing her hand to his face, he gently kissed her palm and closed his eyes. "We will have a long conversation when you wake up." He said hoarsely.

"Christ, you are stubborn! I specifically told you to go home, and you disobeyed. What am I going to do with you, Indie? You think you can just storm into my life, upend it, and scare me like this? Before I even get the chance to say the words back to you?"

To his surprise, he felt the tears burning the back of his eyes. "You made me love you, dammit. You have made it impossible for me not to. No matter how hard I tried, and I did try. But I cannot be without you; even the thought of it scares the living hell out of me. I need you so much that it is frightening."

He rubbed her hand over his hair and roughened jaw. "You wanted marriage, and I am prepared to give it to you. I am prepared to give you the world and want you in exchange.

Oh, how I want you, darling. Wanting you is like a fever burning inside me. You have stripped away my defenses, and the ice around my heart has melted. You have done the unthinkable, and now I need you to wake up so I can take care of you.""And we are going to talk about you working."

A smile touched his lips. "We will argue about that, sweetheart, and I am determined to have my way. You owe me that after what you have put me through. Please wake up, darling; I need to see your big brown eyes that see into my soul."

*****

"I am staying the night."

Joshua jumped to his feet when Royce came into the waiting room.

"She is still out of it, but I intend to be with her when she wakes up."

Joshua thought the man looked positively exhausted.

‘The cops just left."

His jaw went tight, and his expression turned ominous. "If they have not caught the bastards by morning, I will get my security team to find them. And those sons of bitches had better pray that the police catch them first."

"They were caught. She was on with the dispatcher. She called the police."

"She and I will talk about staying at the store alone at night. What the hell was she thinking?"

"She did not want to go home to an empty house."

Royce turned to face him. "You are saying it's my fault?"

"I am saying that it's those sons of bitches fault for being hooked on drugs and choosing the wrong store to rob. She is in love with you, and what should have been the happiest time of her life turned out to be a disaster." Joshua told him coolly. "She wants a family. My sister has wanted that since she turned nineteen.

Since we lost our parents, both of them, to a vehicular accident when she was celebrating her nineteenth birthday." He faced the man squarely. "She makes excuses for you. No matter how much I tried to get her to see reason, she would not budge. I hope you are now going to do the right thing."

"You don't know me."

"You are right. But I know her, and I know that you are a very fortunate man to have a woman like Indie in love with you." A grim smile touched his lips.

"She cares about people. She would go to the park and feed the homeless. Her customers love her because she would spend time listening to their damn stories. That's who she is. She is incredibly loyal and fun to be with. That's the woman you are involved with. Are you in love with her?"

Royce opened his mouth to say that it was not his damn business, but he couldn't. The man loved his sister and had to be admired for his devotion.

"Completely." Shoving his hands into the pockets of his dress pants, he leaned against the wall. ‘And you didn't have to sell her to me. I know who she is." A faint smile played around his mouth.

"She has me hooked. I don't know how she did it, but I -" Leaning his head back, he sighed raggedly. "Christ! I want her to wake up to tell her I am in love with her. She has taught me to love utterly and irrevocably."

Tipping his head forward, he stared in amusement at the man who would soon become his brother-in-law. "Is that assurance enough for you?"

Joshua was rooted to the spot as he listened to the naked truth pour from the guy.

Royce St. Clair, one of the most powerful men in the world, had just stood there confessing his love for Indie, which shocked him into silence.

"It is." He finally said slowly. "Call me as soon as she wakes up." A smile touched his lips. "And congratulations, man."