Page 16 of Rekindling Desire

“Dad’s still alive.”

“Attempted,” I repeated.

“Come on,” Amber whispered, tugging on Darius’s arm.

The first guard nodded.

The second guard, turned to me with a small tablet. “If you could give me the information on your parents. I’ll check with your mother.”

“Check with her,” I said. “As soon as I leave here, I’m hiring a security firm to keep her and Dad safe.” I looked up to see Darius and Amber near the front doors. “They’ll also make sure he doesn’t get near either one of them.”

The guard sighed as if he’d heard the same story before—as if I was some blowhard making claims I’d never be able to take to fruition. What he didn’t know was that I could hire the best team. I’d have them in place before dawn.

“Your mother’s name?”

“Marsha Sinclair,” Ella said. “Her husband, Derek Sinclair, is only recently out of surgery.”

“Sixth floor? Cardiac.”

We both nodded.

He looked down at my hand. “The emergency room is that way.” He cocked his head.

I shook my head. “Keep my brother away. I’ll have a private security team here in a few hours.”

“We’ll talk to Mrs. Sinclair and follow through on her wishes.” His forehead furrowed as his eyes opened wider. “May I suggest some rest? Your family is dealing with a lot at the moment, and it can be exhausting.” He looked around. “There are cameras.”

I didn’t have time for this shit. I narrowed my gaze.

“We’ll take care of the footage, Mr. Sinclair. We were informed of your father’s admission. Keeping the identity of our patients safe is part of our job. We don’t need this shit on social media. Nothing happened here.”

Inhaling, I snaked my arm around Ella’s waist, and nodded. “Thank you, Officers.”

Ella and I walked in silence toward the front doors. With each step, I wondered if Darius would be outside on the sidewalk, waiting for his second hammering. Through the rotating door, we were met with a wave of humidity. Even though it was somewhere around three in the morning, my skin beneath my clothes quickly covered with a film of perspiration.

“No Darius,” Ella said.

A large black Suburban pulled up to the sidewalk. After parking, the driver got out and came around. “Mr. Sinclair. Ms. Crystal.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair,” I replied as he opened the back door.

“My apologies.”

“Not necessary.” I helped Ella into the SUV. “Do you have our luggage?”

“Yes, sir.”

I climbed into the seat at Ella’s side. “Just get us to the hotel.”

The slamming of the car door cut off the sounds of the night. Sirens in the distance disappeared. The faint sounds of birds and insects were gone.

“You’re not doing a good job of keeping our marriage secret,” Ella said with a tired grin.

I scoffed. “Secret-keeping gets lower on my priority list the more tired and pissed off I get.”

She reached over and laid her hand on mine. “Are you suggesting I use this time to learn all your dark secrets?”

As the driver took his seat behind the steering wheel, I turned my left hand so we were palm to palm. Lowering my voice, I whispered, “Dark secrets can wait. Ask me what I want to do to you when we get to the suite.”

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