In the Red Zone (14 page)

Her low laughter answered him, and she ran her fingers through his hair and along his face. “So you’re saying you weren’t turned off by the Spanx.”

“Fuck no.” He grabbed her ass and pressed her hard against him. “And as soon as I’m recovered, I’ll be ready for round two.”

“What makes you think there’s going to be a round two?” she teased.

A brief flash of fear shot through him, only to be dissipated by the scorching hot kiss that spoke of rounds three and four. He relaxed and soaked it all in, massaging tiny circles into the small of her back with his thumbs. Kiana had enjoyed it as much as he had, and just like he suspected, they were more than compatible in the bedroom.

But as the kiss took on a tender note, a new fear rose inside him. Everything was so perfect right now that he was in serious danger of falling for her. But if she didn’t feel the same about him…

I’m so in over my head
.

But as long as she was in his arms, he didn’t care.

Then the ringing of a cell phone came and ruined everything.

Kiana stiffened in his arms, her lips frozen against him with the first ring. By the second ring, she was bolting from his lap and reaching for it. She didn’t even bother to look at the caller ID before answering. “What’s wrong?”

She impatiently pulled her dress back up over her boobs as she listened to the person on the other end. “Slow down.”

Frank sat paralyzed on the sofa, unable to process the sudden change in her behavior. All he could do was sit and watch as she searched the office for her bra with her phone pressed against her ear.

“No, you did the right thing. Where are you now?”

She found her bra and put it on in record time while using her shoulder to hold the phone in place.

“Yes, that’s fine. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She hung up and turned back to him, her expression stark with panic as she zipped up her dress.

The first thing that popped into his mind was that her ex was threatening her. “What’s wrong?”

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Then she closed it and grabbed the sensible shoes she’d probably worn earlier that day. “I’ll tell you later.”

“Can I do anything to help?”

Her head snapped up, and uncertainty wavered across her face. Then she lowered her eyes. “No, not right now. I just need to go.”

She finished putting on her shoes, but he managed to get his pants up in time to catch her before she dashed out of the office. “Kiana, please, you look like you need help.”

“I don’t need any help,” she replied, jerking away from him.

“You’re the one who said you have a hard time asking for help, and well…” Her defiant glare told him he was getting nowhere with her. “I’m here for you if you need me.”

Her expression softened. “Thank you, Frank.” She stumbled back a step and added, “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

It wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear, but it was better than having her shut him out completely. “Sooner, if you need to.”

She nodded and ran out of the office, leaving him alone with his doubts. Who had called her? And why was she being so secretive about it all?

He sank down on the sofa where he’d been on cloud nine moments ago and rubbed his chin. What a shitty way to end the evening. Just when he thought he’d finally broken down her walls, she’d pushed him away. And her actions only confirmed what he feared.

She was hiding something.

If he hadn’t been suffering from sex hangover, he would’ve followed her down to the garage and to where she was going. He would’ve proven to her that he wouldn’t be dismissed so easily. And he would’ve shown her that he was there for her when she needed him.

Instead, all he was left with was an ache in the center of his chest and a nagging suspicion that the truth would come crashing down around him sooner rather than later.

And after it did, would he be willing to keep fighting for her?

Chapter Eleven

The frantic pace of Kiana’s heart was matched only by her footsteps as she raced through Egleston Children’s Hospital to the ER. She’d known the moment she heard Madison’s ringtone that something was wrong with her daughter. The nanny never bothered her unless there was. But her fear quadrupled when she heard the news.

Savannah had suffered an asthma attack that hadn’t responded to her normal inhalers, and it had gotten so bad that Madison called 911. When the medics arrived, they’d recommended immediate transport, and they were in the process of loading her into the ambulance when the nanny had called her.

Kiana offered up the same prayer she’d been silently reciting since she’d left her office.
Dear Lord, please let her be okay
.

She didn’t stop until she reached the reception desk of the ER and said in a breathless rush, “I’m Kiana Dyer. My daughter, Savannah, was brought by ambulance here.”

“Let me check,” the woman replied in a slow, easy drawl.

Kiana resisted the urge to reach across the desk and shake the woman. Her daughter’s life was in danger, and the damned receptionist failed to grasp how urgent the matter was. She cursed and pulled out her driver’s license. “Here’s my ID. It should match the address where she came from.”

The receptionist looked at it and clicked her mouse several times before nodding. “Thank you, Ms. Dyer. Let me call the nurse to take you back to her.”

Kiana squeezed her hands into fists to resist falling into a full-blown hissy fit right there in the waiting room. Luckily, a nurse appeared after a minute and waved her back.

“How’s my daughter?” Kiana asked.

“A little better,” the nurse replied. “We’ve gotten some steroids on board, and she’s on a continuous neb. I’m sorry about the wait, but when a patient is on the Do Not Announce list, it requires a few extra steps to ensure her privacy.”

Kiana drew in a long breath and nodded. How could she have forgotten that she’d registered Savannah on the Do Not Announce list? She’d done it so people like Malcolm wouldn’t know where her daughter was. But the privacy came at the cost of those few precious moments.

The nurse led her to a room where Madison was holding Savannah in her lap while reading a story to her. A mask with an elephant on it covered her daughter’s mouth and nose, and a fine mist escaped from the edges.

As soon as Savannah spotted her, she raised up her arms and said, “Mama.”

Kiana pulled her daughter into her arms and hugged her tightly. “Hey, baby girl.”

Savannah’s breaths were rapid and shallow, each one accentuating her ribs underneath the thin hospital gown. The buzz of the nebulizer machine filled the room, drowning out the faint wheezes that vibrated through her chest. Kiana’s heart ached from watching her little girl struggle to breathe, but she also considered herself blessed that her daughter was still breathing.

“Thank you, Madison, for your quick thinking.”

“More like panic.” The nanny hopped out of the chair so Kiana could sit. “I noticed she’d started to wheeze a little as the temperature dropped, so I gave her a few puffs of her inhaler, and she seemed fine until I tried to put her to bed. It just got so bad so quickly…”

Kiana closed her eyes and sat on the edge of the chair, still clinging to Savannah. Her daughter’s first asthma attack had been like that, too, only at the time, she didn’t have any inhalers. In less than half an hour, Savannah had gone from a happy infant to a baby gasping for air. After an intense ambulance ride, her daughter had spent five days in the hospital. How long would she be in this time?

“What have they done so far?” she asked, trying to drive out the fears gathering in the center of her chest.

“Gave her some medicine by mouth, swabbed her nose, and started this.”

Sounded like last time. The first attack had been due to a virus called RSV, according to the doctors. Could this be the same thing?

“I’ve got her from here.” She opened her eyes and gave Madison a weak smile. “Why don’t you go on home and get some rest. I’ll send you some updates when I have them.”

“Please do.” Madison gathered her coat and purse before ruffling Savannah’s curls. “You gave me quite a scare there, sweetie, but you’d better be nicer to your mommy.”

Savannah grinned at her through the nebulizer mask and waved bye-bye.

The wheezing improved enough over the next ten minutes to where Kiana felt comfortable enough to place her daughter in the crib and call Denise. When her stepmother answered, she said, “Sorry to wake you, Mama, but Savannah’s in the ER with another one of her asthma attacks.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Egleston?”

“Yes.” She gave Denise the room number and reminded her to bring a picture ID.

Denise hung up before she could get another word in.

Kiana dragged her chair over to the crib and rested her forehead against the railing. She hated asking for help, but she was already drained from the day. First the changes to the gala. Then her evening with Frank. And the sex. God, the sex. It was spontaneous and reckless and…

And really fucking good.

Before she had a chance to question her actions, the doctor came into the room. She looked to be Kiana’s age—way too young to be a doctor, yet the badge hanging from her lanyard had an “MD” on it. She introduced herself and came over to the crib with a smile. “Much better.”

Savannah pulled herself up and reached for her mother.

Kiana lifted her out of the crib and placed her on her lap. “Did any of the labs come back?”

“All negative. I’m guessing it was the change in the weather, but she did have a little bit of a runny nose when I first saw her.” The doctor stopped the nebulizer and removed the mask before listening to Savannah’s lungs. “Yes, so much better.”

Just the thing Kiana wanted to hear. “Can we go home now?”

“No, I want to observe her for a few hours, if that’s all right with you. Your nanny said that Savannah had responded to her inhaler earlier today before worsening, and I want to make sure she isn’t going to relapse once you get home. But for now, let’s keep the fluids coming and see how she does. Are you fine with giving her some juice?”

Kiana nodded, another wave of weariness assaulting her. “She likes apple juice. And please dilute it with some water.”

“Of course.” The ER doc gave her a warm smile before leaving the room.

A few minutes later, a nurse appeared with a sippy cup of juice, which Savannah grabbed as soon as it came within her reach. The toddler sucked down the juice, choking a few times in the process. She was still breathing faster than normal, but otherwise, she appeared to be back to her usual self.

The nurse lingered to record Savannah’s heart rate and oxygen levels. “Looking good, precious.”

Another half hour crawled by before Denise arrived. “You poor baby girl.”

Kiana didn’t know if she was referring to her or Savannah, but it didn’t matter. Denise was always there when she needed her. “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course. Thank you for letting me know.” She took Savannah from Kiana and sat in a nearby rocking chair. “You look like you’ve had a rough day.”

Kiana bit back a laugh. “
Rough
wouldn’t be the word I’d use to describe it.”

At least she’d taken the time to glance in a mirror on the way over and make sure she didn’t have lipstick or mascara smeared all over her face.

“Care to talk about it?” Denise cradled Savannah in her arms and rocked back and forth like she had all the time in the world.

“The gala sold out.” Start with the simple stuff before delving into the dilemma that was Frank Kelly.

“That doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me.”

“It’s not, but we’d actually sold more tickets than we’d intended, so I’ve been rushing around all day trying to make sure we had enough room and food for everyone.”

Denise nodded, her gaze flickering over Kiana’s dress. “But I take it you weren’t putting in late hours at the office dressed like that.”

Well, technically she still was in her office when Madison called. She’d just been riding her post-orgasmic high after riding Frank.

Kiana’s skin warmed at the memory of his big hands on her bare skin. They had been so soft, gentle, adoring. So unexpected from a man of his size and reputation.

Denise cleared her throat and jerked Kiana from her reverie. “I gather from that dreamy look on your face that the day wasn’t as rough as it seemed.”

Kiana replied with an embarrassed laugh. “No, it wasn’t. I had another date with Frank.”

“He sounds like a nice young man.”

A month ago, she would’ve laughed at the idea of Frank being a “nice young man.” She only knew him by his reputation both on and off the field. But now that she’d gotten to know him, she couldn’t agree more with her stepmother’s assessment. “He is. Especially considering our date got off to a rocky start.”

“How so?” Denise glanced down at the toddler who was dozing quietly in her arms.

“I was so busy at work that I was almost an hour late. He actually showed up at my office to find out why I’d stood him up.” Gooseflesh prickled her skin when she remembered her terror on his arrival. “I thought he’d react like Malcolm did when I’d done something wrong, and I freaked out a little.”