Page 47 of Her Billionaire Hero
I placed it in his hand, then went to stand on the other side of Sloan. “I guess that’s a no.”
While one of the nurses saw to Preston, the other came to Sloan. “Mrs. Rivers, are you okay?”
Sloan reached out to me and I gave her my hand. She looked up at me with tears rolling down her cheeks. “Can you do me a favor and change my last name?”
Is that a marriage proposal?
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sloan
Dad had to stay a few more days in the hospital, as the poison Preston had injected into him had done some internal damage that had to be monitored. But the doctors expected a full recovery. I got to go home after spending one night in the hospital. Even the doctors thought I’d get more rest being at home than there.
It was decided that if Preston had enough strength to overpower a cop, take his gun, shoot him with it, then walk down a long hall to shoot me, that he was strong enough to go to county jail to await his trial. The judge hadn’t set bail yet, but it was expected to be too high for him to pay.
I told the authorities about how Preston had told me he’d closed his bank account and that his cash was in a black bag under his bed. That gave Preston no access to his money, as they went to retrieve it from his home. While they were there, they also did a thorough inspection of his home to see if they could find any more evidence that would help put him away for a long, long time.
Baldwyn’s brothers stood on the sidewalk as we pulled up. Seeing the smiles on all their faces, I couldn’t help feeling like I was part of their family somehow. Patton came to open the passenger door for me. “Welcome back.” Pulling me out of the truck, he wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tight. “We’re so glad to see you, you have no idea.”
As soon as he let me go, another brother scooped me up and they passed me along from one to another until I ended up standing at Baldwyn’s front door. He held it open for me. “I’m hoping you’ll stay with me for a bit. It might sound crazy, but until Preston is in prison, I don’t want to let my guard down where you’re concerned.”
“Think he’ll bust out of the hoosegow?” I laughed, but there was a niggling fear that he might do just that.
“Yep,” Baldwyn said as he took my hand, leading me inside.
“Yeah, me too.” I’d never thought Preston was capable of any of the things he’d done. Breaking out of jail wasn’t beyond the realm of possibilities.
Just as I settled on the sofa, the doorbell rang. Cohen smiled as he went to answer the door. “Now, I wonder who this could be.”
“Me too.” I thought everyone was already there. Unless they had everyone from work coming by to see me. Which I hoped wasn’t the case.
As soon as he opened the door, Delia came in with tears in her eyes. “Oh, Sloan! It’s so good to see you.”
I got up as she held her arms out to me and our embrace lasted a long time. She couldn’t find the words to say how worried she’d been about me. “I’m sorry I worried you,” I finally said.
“I’m sorry I didn’t notice you’d been kidnapped.” She held my hand as we sat down next to each other on the sofa. “What kind of a friend doesn’t realize her friend is missing until an hour has passed?”
“One who’s in the middle of a crisis with smoke making it impossible to see what’s going on.” Preston had really outdone himself with all his antics. “I’m sorry that my presence there caused so much destruction. Baldwyn told me that no one was hurt, which I’m thankful for.”
“Yes, thank the lord above.” Patting the hand she held, she looked as if she had something to tell me.
“What’s wrong, Delia?”
“Your car, Sloan. The paint is peeling because it was parked so close to the fire. And the front tires kind of melted too. I know you loved that car …”
I stopped her before she could go on. “I don’t ever want to see that car. He gave it to me, and I want no reminders of him.” I looked over my shoulder to find Baldwyn. “Can you deal with the car? I want to give it to a charity or something. And I never want to see it or anything I had in it again.”
“I’ll handle that,” he assured me. “Should I also handle getting you something else to drive? I don’t mind.”
Looking at Delia, I had an idea. “Do you still want to be my personal assistant?”
The way her eyes lit up told me she was still interested in the position. “You mean that’s still an option?”
“Of course it is.” I wanted to get her started on the job ASAP. “First order of business: tell the corner store that you quit. Second order of business: I’m going to put you in charge of finding me a new car. And while you’re at it, I want you to find one for yourself as well. I can’t have you driving around in that old car you’ve got now.” I had one more perk for her. “And move into my place with me. It’s right next door. There’re two bedrooms.”
“Are you kidding me?” she asked in awe.
“That’s sort of how I felt when the Nash brothers gave me everything they did. But it’s not a dream. We call them perks, and as long as you work for me, my perks are your perks.” It felt good to share some of the good fortune I’d come into.
