Corrupting Cinderella (29 page)

“I’m sorry,” she cries.

“For what, Bug? It’s a good thing you were there to call for help.”

She shakes her head and buries herself against his chest again.

Axel strides in next. Poor kid looks completely unsure of what to do. But he’s here for Heidi, and I respect that.

A nurse ushers us into the waiting room so we’re not jamming up her hallway. Heidi sees Axel and bursts into tears again. He gives her a hug, but is clearly uncomfortable showing her affection in front of her brother and me.

Good.

Heidi finally notices Hope, and her face twists. While I talk to the guys, Heidi edges toward Hope. Eventually, they get up and leave the room together.

Something is bothering Heidi. But she’s not going to spill with her brother and Rock in the same room. As soon as we’re out of their eyesight, she bursts into tears again.

“Hope, it’s all my fault,” she whispers.

“Honey, I’m sure that’s not true.”

She glances back at the waiting room. “Grandma caught me sneaking in the house, and we had a fight. I went to my room and heard her stomping around and yelling downstairs. Then all of a sudden she was quiet. I figured, good, she finally shut up.” Big, fat tears slide down her face. “After a while, it just seemed too quiet, so I went downstairs. Hope, she must have passed out, and I just let her lay there…” She trails off as she breaks into more tears.

Poor Heidi. “Honey, it’s not your fault. You did go check on her. And you called the ambulance. She’s getting treatment now. It’s okay.”

“It’s my fault, though. If she hadn’t caught me—”

“Were you with Axel, honey?”

She slides a guilty look toward the waiting room. “Not exactly.”

I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean and it’s not really important, so I let it go.

“Am I going to get in trouble, Hope?”

I resist the urge to grin at her question. “No, honey. Why would you think that?”

“Cause we had that fight—”

“Did it turn physical?”

Her eyes widen, and she shakes her head violently. “God, no. It’s just that…I know she has a heart problem, and I snapped back at her when she called me names.”

The picture I’m getting of what life is like with Heidi’s grandmother is unpleasant and a little too reminiscent of my own teenage years. My heart goes out to this motherless girl, who while a little wild, is still very sweet.

“No, honey. You’re not in trouble. It’s normal to fight with family members sometimes.”

“Please don’t tell my brother. He’s going to be so pissed at me. Gram’s already furious with him because of the custody thing, and now this...”

Now it’s my turn to have a guilty moment. I’m also aware the woman has some health problems. I’m sure the legal dispute hasn’t helped.

Murphy stalks into the hospital, coming straight at us.

“I got your message, Heidi-bug. You okay?”

Her nose twitches at the nickname, and I hold back a laugh.

“Yeah, thanks for coming.”

“Hey, First Lady.” Murphy nods his head at me. “Prez with you?”

I tilt my head toward the waiting room. “He’s in there with Teller and Axel.”

His eyes narrow at hearing Axel’s name, but he doesn’t comment.

“Need anything, Bug?”

Heidi shakes her head.

When we’re alone again, I give Heidi another hug. “It’s not your fault, sweetheart, okay? Why don’t we join the others and wait for news?”

“Okay. Thank you, Hope.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie.”

The guys break up their conversation when we reenter the room. Rock holds his hand out, and Heidi accepts a quick squeeze. “Thanks for bringing my brother down, Uncle Rock.”

“No problem, Heidi-girl.”

She grins when he doesn’t add her hated nickname.

“How’d you get here, Bug?” Murphy asks.

Her gaze darts between Axel and Murphy. Finally she settles into the chair next to her boyfriend, and he wraps an arm around her shoulders. “Ambulance.”

“I’ll give you a lift home later,” Murphy says.

“I got her, bro,” Axel asserts.

Murphy acts as if Axel hadn’t even spoken.

So much for Murphy not being into Heidi. I wonder if he’s going to freak out when he discovers she was sneaking around with Axel.

Shaking my head, I decide none of this is my problem.

Rock pats the chair next to him, and I drop into it with a sigh. His hand slides under my hair to massage my neck. “Rough night, baby doll.”

“Yeah.”

We don’t have to wait too much longer. A nurse comes in and informs us that Mrs. Whelan is stable. She’s going to be out for the night, so the nurse urges everyone to go home and return in the morning.

Teller gets up and gives Rock a fist bump. “I’ll catch a ride with Murphy, prez. Thanks for staying.”

Rock stands up and pulls Teller in for a quick man-hug. “You need anything, call me. Don’t care what time it is.”

“Promise.”

Rock turns to me. “Mind staying at my house, instead of driving back to the club?”

I mentally run over what I have stashed at Rock’s house. “Sure, that’s fine.”

Rock scans the group. “Anyone need a lift?”

Axel and Heidi are standing apart from the group holding hands. Murphy watches them from his seat and doesn’t even glance up at Rock’s question. Teller kicks Murphy’s leg to grab his attention. “We cool, bro?”

“Yeah, man. You ready to leave?”

“Yeah.” He turns to Axel and Heidi. “Axel, you want to follow us? I’m gonna stay at Gram’s with Bug tonight.”

“Yeah, okay. I got her.”

“Cool, let’s go.” Teller punches Murphy’s shoulder, and he finally gets up.

Rock and I walk ahead of the group. We reach our car first and say our good nights to everyone.

“Well, that was awkward,” I say with a snicker as soon as Rock closes his door.

“What?”

“Murphy. What’s his deal with Axel?”

Rock gives me one of his “are you kidding” looks. “Axel’s a good kid. I hate to break it to Murphy, but I think Heidi really is over her crush on him.”

“Duh. I wanted to marry a Backstreet Boy, when I was twelve.”

Laughter echoes through the interior. “I have no words, Hope.”

“I aim to entertain.”

He starts up the car and points us toward his house.

“What’d you talk about with Heidi?”

“Oh, she was worried this was all her fault because she got into an argument with her grandmother tonight.”

“Poor kid. This shit has been rough on her.”

“Does anyone know where her mom is?”

“Nah. We tried helping Teller track her down for a long time. Nothing ever came of it.”

“That’s awful. I know she’s a handful sometimes, but she’s basically a good kid.”

“I know.”

We’re quiet the rest of the way. Me because my brain is trying to work out how this hospitalization is going to affect my legal case. Terrible, I know. But I can’t help it. I also realize there’s a possibility their grandmother may need the sort of round-the-clock care that only a nursing home can provide. Custody should automatically go to Teller then—

“We’re home, babe,” Rock says, breaking into my thoughts. A loud yawn escapes me.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just trying to work out how this will affect the case.”

Rock squints at me, probably thinking I’m an insensitive jerk. Instead of chastising me for my callousness, he squeezes my hand. “Thanks for caring about them so much.”

“Of course.”

“I mean it. Teller and Heidi are like family.”

“I know.”

“Known Heidi since she was a little kid.”

Goosebumps work over my arms. Rock’s such a softy underneath all his hard exterior.

“I’ll go in early tomorrow to do a little research and make some phone calls.”

“Tomorrow is Saturday, babe.” His hand reaches over and squeezes my thigh. “Besides, I think you mentioned something before about what you’re wearing underneath these jeans?”

Suddenly legal work is the furthest thing from my mind.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“Hey, Hope. This yours?” Z asks as he’s walking into the clubhouse dining room for breakfast.

I glance at the cell phone he pushes my way.

“Yeah. Where was it?”

A careless lift of his shoulders. “Found it in the couch cushions.”

Not surprising. I’m always losing my cell phone. And since I usually keep it on silent so it doesn’t go off when I’m in court, it’s almost impossible to find it.

“Thanks.”

Z throws a smirk at me and heads into the kitchen.

Rock slips his hand over mine and gives it a squeeze.

“What are your plans for today?”

It’s Monday, and since he convinced me the stuff with Teller’s grandmother could wait until today, he knows damn well I am planning to go into the office.

I slant a look at him, and his mouth quirks.

“What are
your
plans?” I ask instead of giving him a verbal answer.

I get a side-eye in return. That’s right. Rock is always up in my business, but I have no idea about anything he does if it’s “for the club.”

Whatever.

“Actually, I have to take care of a few things at CB today.”

My nose wrinkles, which he catches. He lets out a soft chuckle.

“It’s closed today, babe. That’s why I’m going.”

See, that doesn’t make me feel any better. If it was crawling with dancers, he’d have a hard time saying no?

“Hey, what’s that face for?” he asks against my ear. His lips brushing over the sensitive skin there sends a shiver through me.

“Nothing,” I whisper.

Before this conversation can go any further, we’re interrupted by Z and Trinity coming out of the kitchen. They’re playfully arguing over something. She’s carrying a tray with her and doesn’t stop to sit with us.

“Stop fucking babying him, Trin,” Rock teases as she goes by.

She laughs but doesn’t say anything else.

Z shakes his head as he sits down. “Those two.”

Rock snorts in agreement.

“Did Teller stay up here last night?” I ask, hoping one of them will know.

“Nah, he’s still staying with Bug.”

“Good.”

“She’s already in lawyer mode,” Rock jokes while jerking his head at me.

Z chuckles. “You’re a good girl, Hope.”

“Thanks, I think.”

He laughs even harder. I’ve found it’s difficult to offend Z. He’s a regular ray of sunshine compared to Wrath.

“Alright, I need to get going.” I push my chair out and grab my dishes. Rock stops me. “Leave it. I’ll take care of it.”

I arch an eyebrow at him. “You will, or you’ll have Trinity do it?”

Z bursts out laughing.

Rock’s jaw works, but a smile is hovering at the corners of his mouth. I lean over and brush a kiss against his cheek. His hand locks around my wrist, pulling me closer. “Give me a real kiss, baby,” he says.

“Please don’t,” Z begs, reminding me that we have an audience.

Rock shoots him a dirty look and stands, yanking me against his chest. “You stopping home first?”

“Yes. I need to change.” I wave my free hand that isn’t trapped between our bodies over my jeans and sweatshirt.

He turns and tucks me against his side to walk me out. “You need to grab anything from upstairs?”

“No, I’m good.”

He sighs in disapproval.

“Why are you trying to get me—”

Oh.

The carnal look on his face can’t really be ignored. Especially when he pushes me inside the champagne room.

“Hey—” I protest, but it’s quickly cut off by his mouth on mine.