A Prince's Ransom: Kidnapped by the Billionaire (37 page)

There was a knock on the door. “Hey? Who’s in there? Can you come unlock this? I really freaking need to go!”

He stepped back from her instantly and turned away, heading back toward the door and unlocking it nonchalantly. “Sorry about that. It’s all yours,” he said, his voice instantly shifting to cool and composed as he smiled at the woman coming in.

Tobin glanced up, looking at the shock on the woman’s face as he sauntered out of the bathroom and allowed her to enter. She looked at her, standing in front of the sink completely disheveled, and laughed in a combination of nervous and disbelief.

“Yeah, if my guy looked as hot as yours, I’d probably let him do me in a restaurant bathroom too.” She laughed a bit more and disappeared in a stall. Tobin shut her eyes.

It took Tobin a good long while before she was anywhere close to ready to come out of the bathroom. Part of her was surprised that Kate didn’t come to see what was going on, but maybe she just figured that her fellow vet needed a cooling off, and some time to herself. Which wasn’t too far from the truth, and after the completely unexpected, and unwanted, run in with him, she needed even more of a moment than she had realized. God, she didn’t even know the damn bastard’s name, and yet he had managed to turn her whole life, her whole world, upside down. And she didn’t know what to do about any of it. Especially about what felt entirely too much like a promise.

A promise that he’d be back, a promise that he’d… have her. Tobin couldn’t decide whether she wanted to be terrified or not—and it terrified her outright to think she might be excited.

Finally, though, after cleaning her face of tears and ruined makeup and twisting her hair back up with her comb, adjusting her dress and thinking she’d never willingly come to this restaurant again, she left. No one else had come in after that woman and seen him, and she was infinitely glad for that, because she wasn’t sure she could handle that. Returning to the low-key pop music and the muted hum of dinner conversation as she left the restroom was still almost enough to deafen her, but she forced her face to neutrality as she navigated through the tables and booths. If she was glancing at any guy she passed, to see if it was him, she was doing her very best not to acknowledge it to herself. No, she would not be excited to see this guy. Whoever he was.

She plastered a smile on her face when she made it back to the table. Lisa had apparently long since been cheered up from what Tobin had said to her, and Poppy seemed to be in equally high spirits—but if there was more than a small hint of relief on Kate’s face, she hid it quickly.

“Hey, there you are. Everything okay? The food came already,” Kate said as Tobin eased back into her seat.

“I see that—it looks great. And… yeah, I’m okay, I just needed a little bit. Wasn’t feeling all that great.” And yes, she was going to stick with the story that it was a potential stomach bug that had kept her in the bathroom for so long, no matter what flicker of doubt passed through Kate’s blue eyes that asked for more of an explanation than that.

“Hey, listen, Tobin,” Lisa started uncertainly, “I’m… sorry, about what I said before. I’m sorry for bringing it up at all, I just—”

“It’s alright,” she interrupted quietly. “Forget about it. Let’s just try to enjoy the rest of the night, alright? I could really, really, really use a night where I didn’t need to constantly worry about that sort of thing. And I think I’m going to go back to work on Monday.” Never mind the fact that that hope had already been rather thoroughly shot tonight.

Kate perked up when she said that, though. “Really? I mean, we’ll absolutely be glad to have you back, we’ve been swamped at the clinic, but are you sure you’re ready?”

“Yeah, I need to be doing something with myself, I think. It’ll be a bit better, a bit easier, to keep my mind off of stuff if I do. And daytime television is really pretty awful.”

Poppy made a face. “God, you’ve been watching daytime television? I would’ve thought you’d be going back to work way sooner than you have already!” Her tone was completely teasing, and Tobin smiled.

“Well, daytime television and making sure my cats didn’t stage a coup in Kate’s apartment and tie up Oliver.”

“They would so do that,” Kate seconded, making a face while she did and causing the others to laugh. “Those cats of yours, Tobin—they’re adorable, but I think they might be evil.”

“I don’t know about Misty and Reina, but Autumn… Autumn definitely might be a little bit evil. And she would definitely take offense to thinking that a dog had more run of her lair than she did.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t come back to work yet—just until you get a new place, and they aren’t alone together for hours during the day.”

“You’re moving?” Lisa asked as she chewed a bit of her meal. Tobin was just now starting to eat hers.

“I… I’m not sure. Maybe. I’m thinking about it. A change could be a good thing right now. We’ll just have to see.” She shrugged, even as she questioned what she herself had just said. Was she really thinking about… staying in that apartment? Where she knew he could find her? Not that it would’ve really stopped him—he would’ve been able to find where she worked if he had a little bit of initiative. And Tobin had a feeling that he had more than a little initiative.

She chose to ignore Kate’s glances, though, as the conversation continued—as they talked and ate and laughed and she made herself ignore what had happened before. Even though she couldn’t get the taste of his lips off of her own.

“Hey, do you mind if we stop by the hospital before we head back to your place?” Tobin asked as she climbed into Kate’s car. It was almost ten at night, and she was very contently full from her meal, and just mildly tipsy from the champagne and the margarita. “He’s probably asleep, but I just want to make sure he’s doing okay—talk to a doctor or a nurse if I can.”

“Sure, we can do that,” Kate answered, sliding into the driver’s seat, but both of them knew, now that they were alone, that the silent questions she’d asked in front of Lisa and Poppy were no longer going to be silent. No, everything Tobin had said had raised some red flags, and she knew it; it conflicted too much with things she had said before. “So… did you mean that stuff you said? About maybe not moving out of your apartment after all?”

“Maybe,” she said evasively, with a shrug. “I mean, it would be a huge decision to make, and such an inconvenience…”

“Before we got to the restaurant you were absolutely certain about moving, Tobin. And what happened when you left the table? You were gone for ages, and I don’t think it was just because you were upset over what Lisa said—as out of line as it was, it’s just… c’mon, you know you can tell me anything,” Kate insisted gently as she pulled out onto the street to join into traffic. It was still pretty busy this time of night on a Friday, with all the sidewalks still packed with partygoers and the like, but the traffic wasn’t too awful as they headed toward the hospital.

“I don’t know, Kate, I just need to think about it more. I mean, let’s face it, that decision was one based entirely on fear to begin with, when I love that apartment. I scoured the city for that apartment, and even knowing that… some guys with guns might be able to find me again, I’m just going to give it up because of my fear? I don’t know. I really don’t know. It’s something I need to consider.”

“Alright, fair enough,” Kate allowed tentatively after a few moments of consideration. “Although you still didn’t tell me what happened when you left the table.” Kate’s brow lifted at Tobin speculatively, but Tobin stuck out her tongue, earning a snort of amusement. “Fine, fine, don’t tell me. Maybe I won’t make waffles in the morning like I was going to.”

“You were going to make waffles?”

“Was being the operative word. Not anymore, if you’re going to be a little brat.”

“Aw, c’mooon, Kate. Don’t deprive me of waffles—don’t deprive yourself of waffles.”

“Oh, nice,” she answered, laughing. “Very clever. Go see how your dad’s doing.” Tobin hadn’t even noticed that they had gotten to the hospital already, but she smiled and nodded, climbing out of the car and heading inside.

It didn’t take her much longer to talk to the nurse in the care unit of the hospital, asking if she could see her dad. To her surprise, he was awake at this time of night, and she was given permission to see him. Thanking the nurse, she headed to the room she had been told was his, with a smile on her face to see that he was indeed awake—watching TV with the volume barely above muted.

“Hey, Dad,” she greeted him as she moved to his bedside.

He looked up and then smiled. “Sweetheart, hey—you look lovely. Have a date tonight or something?”

“No. No, just went out with Kate and a few friends. What are you doing up so late?”

“They finally switched me off that pain medication that made me so sleepy, and daytime television is awful so I choose to sleep then.”

She grinned. “I hear you. How are you feeling?”

“I’m alright. Still got some pain in my chest, but Dr. Collins said that’s normal, and that I should be able to go home in a few days.”

“That’s great,” Tobin said with real relief as she sat down in a chair next to him. “And you’ll be better about taking your medicine, right? You are way too young to be going out like this.”

“I’ll be good, sweetie, I promise,” he answered, and she leaned over to kiss his temple gently.

“I’d wager I can count on you to make sure he sticks to that promise?” A voice from the doorway made her look up, and she blinked in surprise to see Dr. Collins there, but then she smiled and stood up.

“Of course. If I don’t look after him, who else is going to?”

“I am perfectly capable of looking after myself, thank you very much,” Jack grumbled, making both of the others chuckle softly.

“Be that as it may, I think you’d both feel better having someone to look out for you. And you make the nurses laugh way too much to be going anywhere anytime soon.”

“You’re not keeping me locked up here longer because I can make nurses laugh?” he complained, frowning at his doctor.

“No, no, don’t worry. You can go home in another day or two, like I said. Everything seems to be going perfectly well with the bypass—it was just a very big surgery and we like to be thorough in making sure patients are well after such things,” he explained. “And I think it would be best if you tried to get some sleep while it’s dark outside tonight.”

“He’s right,” Tobin agreed, bending over her dad’s bed again to kiss his forehead. “I’ll be back when you can be checked out to make sure you get home okay—we’ll have to take Kate’s car, though.”

“Something wrong with hers?”

She almost hesitated, but continued on without thinking too hard. “No, just a little fender bender. It’s still in the shop, nothing major. You get some rest, Dad.”

“Alright, alright. Night, Tobin.” He turned off the TV as she and Dr. Collins left his room, shutting the door behind them they left.

“Sorry to surprise you that way, Ms. Emerson,” the doctor added quietly in the hall. “I heard from the nurse at the desk that you had stopped by, and since it’s been a thankfully slow night, I wanted to see how everything was going. A heart attack is a traumatic thing for everyone involved.”

Not as traumatic as some things, she thought to herself. “Thank you for your concern, Dr. Collins—”

“Call me Kevin.”

“Kevin. But I’m alright. I’m just glad to see him doing so well, and to know that he’ll be able to go home in a few days.”

“He’ll still have to take it easy, but overall I expect him to make a full recovery. I’ll have the nurse who checks you out make sure you have a copy of the medication he’s being prescribed, just so you’re aware. I know from my own father that men of his age tend to be a little obstinate when it comes to taking medication.”

“Thank you—I really appreciate that,” Tobin answered with a smile as they stopped walking in front of the elevator. “I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to my dad.”

He nodded, but then seemed to hesitate a little bit, and she lifted a brow. “Ah, this is going to seem silly, but… I, uh, was wondering if you’d like to go out sometime? Maybe for a drink, a cup of coffee?”

Her throat tightened a little bit, and she took a deep breath as she met his blue eyes with her own and made herself smile. “That sounds… really nice, I’d love to.”

A smile blossomed on his face in turn. “Great! Ah, great.”

Sebastian had made it back to his table almost without seeing anything in front of him. It was probably just as bitterly ironic to her, the fact that he had just had sex, only to be left wanting more than he had beforehand. But he could feel her against him—warmth and curves and some fiery passion hidden beneath her fright and her anger. And she was angry, even if she didn’t know it yet. The blonde he’d come with hadn’t waited for him to come back before drinking the rest of the champagne at the table. He cared so little that he didn’t even bother trying to remember her name.

No, with all the finesse of a teenager on his first date, he got her into a cab and sent her on her way home; he doubted she was sober enough to remember the brush-off, and doubted she was drunk enough to go blabbing to anyone she shouldn’t. She’d be in just as much trouble with Capozzi as he would be if he found out she’d cheated on him with Sebastian. With her taken care of, though, he was climbing into his own dark Acura, but he didn’t start the car or do anything except watch the front of the restaurant. Everything about her had screamed that she hadn’t been home since he had dropped her off—too aware that he knew where she lived. Fine, then. Fine, if she wasn’t going home tonight, he’d figure out where she was going.

So he waited. In silence, in stillness, not really caring if he was noticed, though no one seemed to notice him through the tinted windows. It was another two hours before she came out of the restaurant—walking alongside a blonde who was more beautiful than his own date had been, climbing into what was obviously her car. Instantly, he turned his own engine on, and as soon as they pulled out onto the street, he was following them. Sebastian had no worries that either of them would ever observe him, because he’d gotten good at this part over the last few years, and they were just a couple of girls out on the town. Probably a little bit buzzed, all the better.