He said, “I haven’t changed … but I am older. At forty-four, I try to think before I react. Being sober helps.”

“I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you.” A pause. “What about you? Have you changed?”

“I don’t know.” I was completely demoralized. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t need to change,” he told me. “In my eyes, you were always perfect.”

“Thanks, but we both know that’s not true.”

Please make him stop. I can’t go into this now.

“You look tired, baby.”

“A little.”

“Go to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.” A pause. “Your worst nightmare, huh?”

“Not at all.” I had already gone through my worst nightmare. Even dealing with Chris was a cakewalk in comparison. My eyes turned wet once again. “Not at all.”

He dabbed my puffy cheeks with a tissue. “I’ll keep you safe, angel. You and your daughter. I promise.”

“Thank you.”

“Heal up and get some sleep.”

I didn’t argue. Even if I wanted to, arguing with him was fruitless. His MO. He could be utterly beguiling, then turn fierce in a toe tap. And he would turn: a matter of when, not if. I had left him for another man. The reality of it was I hadn’t left him for another man. I had left him for the baby who just happened to be fathered by another man. Chris might overlook some things, but not that.

No, not that.

CHAPTER 4

IT WAS PENDERGAST who got the buzz to come to the hospital. He was older than most of the bodyguards and a crack shot; Donatti had employed him from the beginning, almost ten years ago. As he waited for the man to show, Donatti took out the two foreign phones he’d confiscated from Terry and the girl five days ago. He had the chargers—he was smart enough to bring those—but he didn’t have the adapters from the Indian plugs to American electrical sockets. Terry probably had one in her purse, but the purse was in his room, and he was the only one who had access to his personal space. No one could break into the room even if they wanted to. It was built like a bank vault. Donatti even had a bank vault inside. A bank vault in a bank vault. Terry would be the exception. He’d keep her there because it was secure, and he needed her safe when he wasn’t with her. And it was the one place where he could be completely alone with her.

The phones had been off all this time. Maybe they still had some juice. While he waited for backup, he thought about a lot of things, his opposite emotions waging war. On one hand, he was deliriously overjoyed to have her back in his possession. On the other hand, he was still enraged at her.