Catharine & Edward (19 page)

She screamed and aimed the spray again.

“My Lady,” Edward said forcefully, shaking her a little.

Relief, sweet and light, swept through her. She dropped the spray and sagged into his arms. “Eddie.”

“You’re safe. I’ve got you.” As agents ran past them towards Philip and Muffy, he picked her up, his strong arms enveloping her with warmth. She curled closer to him as he carried her away, his beard scratching her cheek as she nuzzled his neck.

“I’ve got you, My Lady.”

Yes, he sure did.

R
ebecca was
in the hospital once again, this time in her evening gown, while doctors examined Cat. She knew Cat was fine, at least physically. That’s why Rebecca had snuck away for a few minutes.

She’d used the time to call Dr. Safar, who’d come to see her in the secluded section of the hospital reserved for the royals.

It was risky, but it had to be done. She had to know.

Dr. Safar had told her that the tests revealed nothing was wrong.

Nothing.

Not one thing.

What the hell did she do with that? The pain was still there, each sharp twinge a reminder of her failure.

They’d do more tests, Dr. Safar had said. Run the blood tests again, just to be sure, and arrange for Rebecca to speak to a fertility specialist and perhaps a gastroenterologist.

As though Rebecca couldn’t tell the difference between period pain and an issue with her gastrointestinal tract.

What bullshit.

Yet, Dr. Safar was the doctor. She was supposed to know more about Rebecca’s body than her, wasn’t she?

Was Rebecca making too much of this?

Imagining something was wrong, when there was nothing there?

She didn’t want there to be anything wrong with her.

Yet, she couldn’t stop that niggle inside her, telling her that something might be.

Rebecca took a deep breath, trying her hardest not to cry. She was in an empty hospital room, sitting on an empty bed, her arms wrapped around herself to ward off a chill, and she felt more alone than she ever thought possible.

More tests meant more lying, more hiding things from Alex.

She wasn’t sure she was strong enough to keep things from him anymore.

“Darling?”

She froze at the sound of Alex’s voice behind the closed door. She took a shuddering breath, then another. “In here, Alex.”

She pasted a small smile on her face, then turned to watch him enter. His dark eyes were concerned and assessing.

His eyes always stripped her bare.

Alex shrugged off his jacket and placed it over her shoulders. The scent of his cologne wrapped around her, more comforting that the coat. As she slipped her arms through the sleeves, he took a seat beside her.

“Why are you hiding in here?”

“I wasn’t,” she started quickly, “I just wanted a few minutes alone. That’s all.”

He brushed her hair back over her shoulder. “I know you, darling. Something’s not right. Talk to me.”

She turned her face away, but he took hold of her chin and brought it back. “Talk to me. Please.”

She stared into his gorgeous face, now etched in worry. He always worried about everything. Rebecca had thought she was saving him worry by keeping it to herself, but perhaps she’d been wrong. Perhaps she’d been selfish by keeping it to herself for so long.

“Oh, Alex.” She burst into tears and threw her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. Alex pulled her onto his lap and held her tightly in his arms, rocking them gently until she calmed.

“Talk to me,” he urged gently. “Please, darling.”

“I’m sorry, Alex.”

“Sorry for what?”

“I should have come to you sooner. Told you sooner.” He waited patiently for her, as he always did.

God, what had she ever done to deserve someone like him? Someone so strong, and kind, and generous, even with a thousand demands on him and his time every hour of every day. She didn’t deserve him.

Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I think there’s something wrong with me.”

His face flashed with fear, and his hands stiffened around her. “Explain that.”

She took a deep breath. “I’ve been having pains.” She explained what she’d been going through since weaning her body off birth control, and what the doctor had just told her. “She said there was nothing wrong with me, but they’re going to do more tests to be sure.”

“This is what you’ve really been upset about lately, hasn’t it? Not the dress, or Cat, or your duties, or any of it?”

“I was upset about those other things. I loved my wedding dress before it was destroyed, but I love my new one more. And of course I was upset about Cat; she’s like a sister to me.” Rebecca frowned. “I told her, you know.”

“Cat?”

She nodded. “And Grace. I told them I might not be able to have children. I wanted to warn Cat, just in case, and I knew Grace would understand what I was going through.”

“Rebecca,” he admonished.

“I know I should have spoken to you about it before anyone else. I know. I just didn’t know how.”

“Have I done something to make you afraid to talk to me? Have I said something?”

“No, of course not. I just didn’t want you to worry about something that might be nothing.”

“Total honesty, remember?” he said, reminding her about the vow they’d made to each other, a vow she’d now broken.

“I’m sorry.” Tears flowed freely down her face again. “I broke our promise. I’m so sorry.”

“This is why we haven’t made love as often recently as well, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It’s…painful…sometimes.”

His face twisted in anguish. “Darling, why didn’t you say something? I never want to cause you pain. Have I been too demanding on you?”

“No! No, not at all. I’ve wanted to make love as much as you do. I feel so close to you when we’re together like that.”

“There are other ways to feel close besides penetrative sex. Even out of bed, I feel close to you just with my arms around you, or even when you give me one of your soft smiles.”

“I know. I’m so sorry. Can you forgive me?”

“God, Rebecca. Of course I can forgive you. However, you have to promise me that you won’t keep things from me. I don’t want you dealing with things alone. Not this, not anything. Especially if you’re in pain.”

He gave her a hard, swift kiss against her tear-softened lips. “Were you worried about what I’d say if you told me?”

She nodded. “What if I can’t have children, Alex? What if–”

He kissed her again. “You’ll shut your fucking mouth and keep it shut.”

Her eyes widened. “Alex–”

Another kiss. “Shut it. I don’t give a damn if you can’t conceive. I’ll still be king when the time comes. I also have other siblings who can produce an heir, who I’ll train and teach just as my father taught me.

“Do you think for one fucking second I would give you up? Never.” His mouth brutally took hers, and her body lit with heat. “You’re mine, darling. All mine. I’m never giving you up.”

Her voice was breathless, her body too warm now for Alex’s jacket. “Alex.”

“We can adopt children. We’ll still be parents. You’ll still be the mother of my children.”

“But the monarchy–”

“My siblings will understand, especially Cat. Even if they weren’t born first, they are the children of a king. They understand duty and they’ll understand this. Not one – not a single fucking one of them – will ever say a word against you over this. I’ll make sure of that.”

Could her heart feel any fuller? She felt as though it would burst from her chest at any moment. Why had she waited so long to tell him?

“You’ll get the other tests done, and this time I’ll be beside you through each one, and through each doctor’s visit. If there’s something to tell the family, we will. If not, they needn’t know, if you’d prefer not to tell them. I do think, however, you should tell Cat and Grace what the doctor said.”

“I will. I’ll tell her when the doctor’s finished examining her.”

“Holy hell. I forgot to mention it. He’s finished. That’s why I came looking for you, to see if you wanted to visit with her for a while.”

“I’ll go to her now.” Rebecca moved to slide off his lap, but he held on tighter. “Alex?”

“In a minute,” he murmured, and pulled a velvet pouch from his pocket. “I have something for you.”

Rebecca took the soft pouch from his hand and tugged it open. She gasped as two pins or brooches fell into her hand.

One pin was the Vallerian crest, set in gold and jewels; a replacement for the one Bocci had damaged.

The second was a smaller pin. A set of gold laurel leaves – which symbolized triumph, peace, or success – surrounding a jeweled version of a well-known Santoro family crown; Rebecca had seen Genevieve wear it once or twice.

“Alex, thank you.”

“I know you missed your pin, darling.”

“I really did. That Vallerian crest was the first real piece of jewelry I bought for myself. I didn’t know how much it would come to mean to me when I had it made.”

“I love when you wear it, but it was a large piece. I thought you might like something a little smaller and simpler, so I had this one made as well.” He leaned his forehead against hers, fingering the smaller pin with her. “You needn’t wear it if you don’t want to.”

“I love it, Alex. I love them both. And I love you.”

“Darling.” He kissed her. “I love you.” He laid her down on the hospital bed so they were on their sides facing each other.

“Alex! What are you doing? Anyone could come in. There aren’t locks on these doors, you know.”

His lips peppered her neck. When he gently bit on her ear, her breath hitched. “A few minutes, darling. I want time with you.”

How could she deny him? “Okay. A few minutes.”

She felt his grin against her skin, and spent the next several minutes making out with her fiancé, her heart and head lighter than it had been in weeks.

* * *

E
dward was standing
outside the hospital waiting room, his eyes fixated down the hall on Catharine’s door. He’d watched a number of family go in and out of the room after the doctor had left, but he had not been able to see her.

They were still a secret.

So, he had to wait for his moment.

He was never very good at waiting.

His phone rang and, before the second ring, he had the phone to his ear. “Luke? Any word?”

“We found her. She’s alive. The intel your princess got from Philip was actually good.”

It took everything in him not to cry out in relief.

He took a deep breath of relief instead.

They’d found Lou.

She was safe.

“Injuries?”

“A few broken ribs, busted lip, twisted ankle.” Luke paused. “She was naked when we found her.”

“God damn sons of bitches.”

“You said it. Gideon wanted to rip someone a new asshole. I’ve never seen him like that.”

“Was she actually…?” Edward couldn’t say the words, didn’t want to make them real.

“She said she wasn’t raped, but that she wasn’t left alone, either. She said she won’t say more than that to anyone but a shrink.”

“God damn it! Fucking Gori.”

Luke voice went bone-chillingly cold. “I’m glad you have that dick in custody, or else I’d make sure he was never found again.”

“Lou say anything else?”

“Just that she’s pissed Gori got the jump on her. Since he and Lou worked together a while back, when he came to her door, she didn’t immediately think anything of it. By the time she caught on and tried to raise the alarm, it was too late. He’d injected her with something, disposed of her watch – which had been her only real way to contact us at that point – and carted her out to an abandoned farmhouse about fifteen miles from your house. Said Gori tortured her fully clothed for a while, then forced her to strip when it wasn’t working.”

“Jesus. Jesus Christ.”

“She didn’t break though, didn’t say a word about where you were. Don’t know why Gori never thought of it before.”

“Neither do I. It only delayed the inevitable. If he realized it sooner, he would have come for the princess sooner, but then maybe Lou would never have been taken.”

“Maybe. Can’t do the ‘what ifs’ though. Gotta keep moving.”

Didn’t he know it? “Lou’s sisters?”

“Didn’t think anything of it when Lou never showed for some girls night they were supposed to have, since she works nights for us so much. Hell, they work nights, too, with their IT consulting business.”

“We need to change things. Security protocols, alert procedures–”

“We know. Blake’s on it, believe me. He was with the crew who found Lou bound and gagged naked, and beat to shit in an abandoned farmhouse. No one’s going to argue about changes. How’s the princess?”

“Doing well. We’re still at the hospital. When’s Lou get discharged? She should come stay with Lisette and Blake until she recovers.”

“Lisette’s already pushing her for that, believe me. No word on discharge date yet. You coming up to see her?”

“As soon as I can manage it. We’re still tying up some loose ends with the investigation.”

“I think you don’t want to leave your princess.”

Sometimes Luke was too astute for his own good.

“Once things wind down in Valentia, I’ll touch base.”

Luke huffed a laugh. “Sure. Avoid the obvious. We’ll talk soon.”

As soon as they hung up, a voice called his name. “Bash.”

Edward turned at Marcello’s voice. “Sir. How are our driver and agent doing?”

“Driver’s still in surgery, the agent’s in recovery. Doctors think they’ll both make it.”

“That’s excellent news, Sir.”

“That it is. Any news from your end?”

“We found Lou.” Eddie gave him the details Luke had just told him. “She’ll recover, at least physically.”