Page 43 of Wade

If he left her- She reined in her thoughts and took a deep breath. Damn him for making her so vulnerable. Putting away the pillow, she touched the rumpled sheets again before leaving the room.

*****

He was determined to focus on the job at hand. He had work to do and was not going to allow her to mess with his train of thoughts. He had not slept much last night. Sleeping next to her had become natural for him. Even when he was away for business, he would find himself reaching for her. She was intent on pissing him off. Suffocating her, was he?

He was Wade Bramwell, he thought furiously. In the past, women had chased after him and even now, he could get any woman he wanted. He just had to make a phone call. But he was so hung up on her, that he was behaving like a damn lovesick schoolboy.

And he had never been one, not even when he was a boy. She was driving him insane and he was not going to allow it. She was in control and of course she knew it. Well then, it damn well stopped now.

He would make certain she was okay, because she was carrying his baby inside her. He had peeped in on her this morning when he went to get his clothes. And she had been fast asleep, no doubt unaffected by their fight.

He had left earlier than he planned, because he did not want to face her. He was so angry at her, that he would have said something he regretted later on. Shoving the files into a pile on his desk, he lunged to his feet and went to the cabinet. He was reaching for the decanter when he realized what he was doing. Drinking so early in the morning.

She could do whatever she damn well pleased and if she ended up falling or God forbid, hit by a stray bullet, he would- he leaned against the pane of glass as his knees went weak. He would be destroyed. Damn her for making him so vulnerable. He was just looking out for her, why the hell couldn't she see that?

Closing his eyes briefly, he steadied himself. He had to get a handle on his emotions or run the risk of driving himself nuts.

He would send someone to ensure that everything was safe in the downtown area where she would be. He was friends with the captain of the precinct. He had donated enough to ask a bloody favor and that was what he was going to do.

Chapter 9

It was snowing a little when she got to the shelter. Mrs. Mason had made her breakfast of oatmeal swimming in berries and some herbal tea and she felt refreshed and revived.

No doubt the housekeeper would notice that she and Wade had slept in separate bedrooms, but that could not be helped. And she told herself that she did not care. But she did.

He had not called her at all, to see if she was still going. But she had not expected he would do so. After her visit to the shelter, she was going to have lunch with the women. She was not married to Wade, but they had embraced her.

She was going to pick their brains about the marriage deal. They seemed to be happy. And some had been married for years and there was still the sheen of happiness on them. Her parents had been a lousy example of two people who should have stayed the hell away from each other.

And they should not have had kids. The shelters were filled with that evidence. Children abandoned by people who should be caring for them and it made her so angry, she could not stand it.

Why couldn’t he understand that she could not just hand them a check and be done with it? She had to get involved, to see what the check was doing. To talk to them and assure them that even though their parents had left them, they were valued and could be someone.

She knew firsthand what it was like to actually live with two parents and still be abandoned. But that had not defined her. She and her brother had risen above it, and had beaten the odds to make something of themselves.

Now she was with a powerful man, not because of his money, as she knew some people thought, but because they were hung up on each other.

Sighing raggedly, she exited the car and secured it. He had insisted on buying her something fancy and had gotten rid of her sensible Nissan. Now she was driving around in a black BMW convertible with soft leather seats that warmed her butt so much that she did not want to get up.

And on second thoughts, she should have requested his driver to take her. He was right. Yes, the downtown area was starting to come alive again, thanks to him and several other businessmen, but it was still riddled with gangs and infested with drug addicts.

There was a methadone clinic up the street and a broken-down apartment building a few blocks away. The mayor was making noise about razing the building, but so far it had not happened.

Parking in the lot, she scanned the area and saw two guys loitering. "Hey you!" She put on her tough voice. She might be with a multi-billionaire hottie, but she was not soft.

"What?"

"I need a minute." She felt a frisson of fear as she swaggered over to her. They could be carrying and she had just invited them into her space. Wade was going to kill her when he found out what she had done. If they did not do the job themselves.

"We know who you are." The one wearing the red hoodie smirked, dark brown eyes going to the vehicle. "Sweet ride and that bitch does not belong to this neighborhood."

"That's what I want to talk to you about." She was certain they could hear her knees knocking together. "My friends and I are here at the shelter to make a difference. Not just to be of help financially, but to work with whoever is in charge to try and make things better for these kids."

"What the hell do you want from us?" Black hoodie glowered at her.

"I want you to look after this sweet ride and make certain my friends and I are taken care of."

"What's in it for me?" Red hoodie demanded.

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