by Katie Dowe
But Andy was talking to Charli and ignoring Atalya.
"I want us to start again. Start fresh. As if the last ten years never happened." Andy put both hands to his chest in a dramatic gesture. "I want to have a future with you, Charli. I love you."
None of that sounded heartfelt. Charli knew that now. She had never thought she'd be a victim of domestic violence and stalking but she was. Andy would always be an abuser now, he had attacked her and he would be labeled a stalker.
He had had a bright future in front of him. He could have won so many grand slams and be considered one of the greatest. But somehow since leaving him, Charli had noticed Andy's deterioration, how his tennis was still top notch but his personal life was going down the drain. Something had slipped and Andy was on the downward spiral.
Even if she did believe him, Charli wasn't going to join him.
"You won't be going anywhere near my daughter once the cops get a hold of you." Atalya snapped. She still had her cell phone in her hand.
"Stay out of this, please, Mrs Fraser." Andy frowned at Atalya. "I've always liked you. Don't make me hate you."
"She's right, Andy." Charli was itching to get out of the wheelchair and swing at Andy but she didn't want to be the one walking out of there in handcuffs. She didn't want to bust her stitches because of him. "I warned you to keep away and you didn't. Didn't you get the restraining order?"
"I did." Andy shrugged. "Doesn't mean anything."
Charli stared at him. Had he really said that?
"What can Hildenstern give you that I can't?" Andy's voice started getting louder, making the other people in the lobby turn to watch them. "He's older, crap at tennis and I bet he's not that good in the sack. Me? I'm young, I've got vitality and I've got a cock to die for."
Charli cringed as Andy rubbed at his crotch before he grabbed it. He had never acted like this before. It was like a switch had flipped when she walked away and he had become a completely different person. The smell of marijuana filled her nostrils and she gagged, covering her mouth with her hand.
"You're high." She coughed.
"I might be a little."
"From the smell, it wasn't just a little. What the hell did you take?"
"Just a little weed." Andy shrugged. "K2, some X."
Charli felt sick. Andy had been a driving force behind a drug prevention program at university. He had declared that he would never try drugs because it would ruin his chances of doing what he wanted to do. This wasn't the same Andy and Charli didn't like the new one.
"You do know your tennis career is over, don't you?" She demanded. "You can't take drugs and expect to be a top player, or a player at all."
"It's never over." Andy suddenly darted forward and leaned over her, his hands on the wheelchair arms. He shoved his face closed to hers and the stench of booze hit Charli in the face. "And neither are we."
Charli shrank back in her chair. She was trapped and she didn't want Andy this close. She wished she had listened to her mother and sent Andy away.
"Hey! Get off her!"
Mark. Charli had forgotten that he had headed out ahead to get the car. He suddenly loomed up behind Andy and grabbed him by the collar, yanking him away. Andy stumbled back and tumbled to the floor. Mark stood between Charli and Andy, hands clenched into fists by his sides. Charli could see he was close to losing it and wanted to reach out and touch him, tell him that she was all right.
Andy sat up, looking a little unsteady as he pushed himself to his feet. He glared at Mark and jabbed a wobbly finger in Mark's direction as he swayed.
"I'm going to kill you, Hildenstern." He snarled. "Stealing my girl was a big no-no."
Mark took a step forward. Charli knew he was going to swing. Before she could open her mouth Kimberly came running in.
"Andy!" She grabbed Andy's arm and tried to tug her back outside. "Come on, let's go."
"No!" Andy pulled his arm back. "I'm staying."
"If you stay that means you are violating the restraining order. If we don't leave now you'll be arrested." Kimberly grabbed his arm again and tugged. "Come on!"
For a moment Charli thought Andy was going to shake Kimberly off him like a rag doll. But he seemed to do as she said and allowed the older woman to lead him out the lobby, stumbling into the sunshine. Mark turned to Charli and knelt before her, his hands on her knees.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine."
Charli wasn't fine but she wasn't about to say that here. Everyone was watching them, some of them even holding up their phones recording the scene. She felt sick. She gripped Mark's hands pleadingly.
"Just take me home."
*****
"You don't need to carry me in." Charli protested.
"I do need to carry you." Mark held Charli close, resting his cheek on her head as they stood on the steps of her apartment building. "I just want to hold you."
Charli shook her head.
"You big softie." She said affectionately.
She didn't move away, leaning further into him and wrapping her good arm around his neck.
Even though it had been two days since Charli had been shot Mark was still shaking, knowing that a few inches more and Charli could have been killed outright. Then he would have lost her and their baby. He had to have her in his arms to know that she was okay.
And after seeing Andy towering over her in her chair, right up in her face, Mark was frightened he would lose Charli for real by Andy's hand. Roberto hadn't found anything on the shooting or that Andy had been involved. He had told Mark not to expect results immediately. Mark knew it wasn't Roberto's fault but that didn't stop him from lashing out. Stephen had had to restrain him after he broke Roberto's nose. If they hadn't been good friends Roberto would have thrown Mark in a cell.
It had been hard to keep his hands to himself when Atalya was in the car but as soon as Charli's mother had gone into her house Mark had grabbed Charli's hand and not let go as they drove back to Charli's apartment. Mark wanted to go to his but he figured that Charli wanted familiarity and comfort right now and his apartment wasn't exactly the best place for it.
Somehow he managed to get the door open and they took the elevator, Mark cuddling Charli closer. She felt soft and warm, lighter than he expected. His cock stirred to life, demanding that he stripped her clothes off as soon as they were in the apartment and made love to her, just so he knew that Charli really was safe. But Mark remembered the doctor's mock stern orders and fought with his self-control. He wouldn't bust her stitches and Charli was still delicate from the surgery.
Charli had given him her key and Mark unlocked the door, kicking it shut behind him as he carried Charli to the bedroom. He set her down on the edge of the bed and knelt before her, undoing the laces on her sneaker.
"You make yourself comfortable and I'll get some lunch on." He took off the shoe and started on the other one. "I bought some things for a cold lunch. Cold meats, potato salad, things like that."
"That would be great."
Mark paused when he heard the sudden quiet tone. He had known Charli long enough to know that something was wrong. He looked up and Charli refused to meet his gaze, her head turned to the side with her eyes closed. Mark was shocked to see a stray tear fall.
"What's wrong?" He rose up onto his knees and put his hands over hers in her lap. "Charli, talk to me."
"What do you want from me?"
Chapter 9
Mark blinked at the blunt question.
"Excuse me?"
"From us." Charli opened her eyes and looked at him. Her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears. "Do you want more from us? Or are you just here because you want to do the right thing?" She sniffed and swiped at her nose with her sleeve. "I just need to know because my emotions are screwed up right now."
Mark was stunned to hear all of this. He had thought they had been through this; he was there for the long haul. He wasn't going to turn away because she was pregnant. True, he wanted more but he was wait
ing for Charli to be more confident in herself about them.
He could guess why she was feeling like this.
"Has Andy made you insecure, honey?"
"A little." Charli admitted.
Mark wanted to go out and find the bastard. He wanted to beat the crap out of him until Andy got the message about how much he had screwed up. Charli deserved more than him. And Mark was willing to give her what she wanted.
"Well, let me tell you what I want." He cupped her neck in his hand, his thumb on her hammering pulse. "I want to be with you. I've wanted you from the start but because of how close we were together after Andy I didn't want to push you into another relationship so quickly. I've been going at your pace, waiting until you decided what you want."
Charli stared at him.
"So you want to be with me?" She asked in a small voice.
"Of course I do." Mark kissed her, pulling back to smile as her. "You must have noticed by now. I love you, Charli. I fell in love with you a long time ago. I want us to be a family. Before we met I was trying to keep up with the younger ones, drinking as much as I could and doing what they did. I was denying the fact I was getting old." He rested his forehead against hers. "Knowing I was going to become a dad made me realize I had more to live for. I want this. I want us."
"You love me."
Mark nearly fell over backwards as Charli launched herself at him with a squeal, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. He laughed and held her as she pressed kisses on his jaw and mouth, urging her to slow down before pulling away with a grin.
"I take it you're happy with that choice."
"I certainly am." Charli nuzzled his hand when he reached up to stroke her cheek. "I wanted to tell you but I thought you'd walk away."
"Didn't you just hear me? I'm not walking away." Mark kissed her. "As long as you want me, I'm not going anywhere."
Charli smiled, her eyes now sparkling.
"I love you." She tugged at his t-shirt, urging him forward. "Please stay with me."
"I was planning to stay the night." Mark moved up onto the bed beside her and Charli lay back, rolling into him. "Keep an eye on you."
Charli grinned coquettishly up at him.
"Sounds like an idea."
She reached up to kiss him but Mark moved his head back, narrowing his eyes at her.
"But we're just going to sleep." He said as sternly as he could, which was difficult with the smiling on his face. "The doctor said no sex until you have your stitches taken out. I don't want you back in the hospital because they were busted with our wild lovemaking."
And their lovemaking was wild. Even when they started slowly and tried to make love slowly they always ended up going crazy. They couldn't get enough of each other.
Charli moved back and pouted.
"No fair."
Mark grinned and shifted off the bed, urging Charli to stay where she was. Charli raised up onto her elbows as Mark unbuttoned her jeans.
"He said we weren't to have full sex." He slid her jeans down her long legs. "He didn't say anything about any other type of sex."
Charli grinned and lifted her hips as she pulled off her panties.
"That's more like it."
*****
Mark saw the ball coming but he couldn't move fast enough. His legs felt like they were made of lead. Nevertheless he tried to swipe at the ball but missed it by a long way. It bounced past him and Mark staggered, trying to stay upright.
"Dammit!"
He ran into the wall and leaned against it, pressing his head against the cool bricks. His head felt like it was going to explode and he was sweating in a way that wasn't from exercise exertion. Everything around him seemed to be bobbing about.
"Mark?" Stephen appeared beside him. Mark could see him going in and out of vision. "You okay? What's up?"
Mark was about to say that he was fine but he knew if he stood up now he would be on the floor. His legs were feeling rubbery.
"I don't know." His throat felt like he had swallowed a cactus.
"You're not on par today. Are you sick?"
"I guess." Mark swallowed and that hurt. "I've probably got a bug. Charli wasn't well a few days ago. I've probably caught it off her."
Although Charli's cold hadn't been anything like this. She had had a runny nose and a cough with a slight temperature but she hadn't experienced what Mark was experiencing. Maybe he was more susceptible to colds than she was.
"It looks like more than a bug." Stephen pressed on his shoulder. "Sit down."
"I can't." Mark could feel himself complying as his legs slowly folded under him as he tried to resist. "We've not got the court for long."
"Fuck that. Practice is over." Stephen knelt beside him and put the back of his hand to Mark's forehead. He flinched. "Shit, you're burning up."
Mark didn't know why he was saying that. Despite the sweating he was freezing. He could feel goosebumps coming up on his arms. He pressed his head against the wall and closed his eyes.
"Why is the world spinning?"
"That's it. I'm calling an ambulance."
Mark opened his eyes to see Stephen standing up and fishing out his cell phone.
"I don't need it." He protested weakly. "It's just the flu."
"Not when you've gone a shade of gray no one should go." Stephen snapped back.
He walked away, putting the phone to his ear, as Roberto stepped onto the court. Dressed in a light gray suit and dark blue tie, his badge was clipped to his breast pocket.
"Hey, Stephen." He approached Stephen. "What's the noise about?"
"Take a look."
Stephen looked in Mark's direction. Roberto looked and his eyes widened. He hurried over to Mark and crouched before him.
"Jesus, Mark. You okay?"
"I'm fine. Stephen's fussing over nothing." Mark knew Stephen had a right to be concerned but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He struggled to focus on Roberto. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"I am. I thought you'd want to know that we caught the person who shot up the restaurant where Charli was shot. A fourteen-year-old wannabe gangster kid from the poorer side of town."
"A teenager shot at Charli?" Mark couldn't believe it. While it was a relief that Charli's shooter had been arrested and was going to jail, he still wished it had been Andy. "Did he say why he did it?"
"That's the scary part." Roberto's expression went grim. "He was paid to do it. Said a guy paid him $20,000 to kill Charli. Had her photograph and everything."
"He was a hitman? At his age?" Mark pressed his fingers to the bridge of her nose. "Does Charli know about this?"
"I was going to tell her once I'd told you." Roberto took a breath. "Mark, he didn't know any names but he recognized the guy who hired him. It was..."
But Mark didn't hear anything beyond that. He could feel the world spinning faster and faster, sliding sideways down the wall. The world went black before his head hit the ground.
*****
"What about this?"
Atalya held up a onesie in red with 'Unbearably Cute' written across the front.
"Aw, that's cute." Charli picked out a pale blue onesie with a white star on one shoulder. "But I prefer this one." She glanced at the price tags. "And it's cheaper as well."
"How about we get both of them?"
"Really, Mom, are you sure?" Charli bit her lip. "Both outfits are cute but I don't think my budget can stretch that far."
Atalya laughed and slid an arm through Charli's as she popped both outfits into the basket Charli was carrying.
"I'm paying for all this, remember? We can get both if you want both."
Mark had said the same thing, urging her to take his credit card. He said since he had the money he could easily spend on a few extras. Charli knew he was worth millions and could afford to 'spend' but she couldn't. She was used to working on a budget, which she had set herself when she came out that morning. But Atalya was determined to
screw that up.
"I don't want to take advantage of your generosity." She protested weakly.
Atalya smiled.
"Honey, it's more of taking advantage of you. Mark told me to make sure you bought what you wanted to buy, no expense spared."
Charli sighed. Mark had been doing that a lot lately. He seemed to think that he could shower money on her but Charli had told him she didn't care about the money. To her it was immaterial. As long as she was happy with what she had, she didn't care about money.
And she was happy now that she and Mark had revealed to each other how they felt. Things were a lot more comfortable between them and Mark wasn't afraid to treat her like a princess. Charli couldn't believe how sweet the man was. He made her meals, helped her to bath and wash her hair and to dress. He didn't complain and even urged Charli to relax and allow the help.
Plus the sex was hotter than ever. Even though they still hadn't had sex because Mark didn't want to bust her stitches, his inventiveness in the bed made Charli's toes curl. She was getting hot and bothered thinking about it now.
Although she wasn't sure if they would be doing anything when they met later on. The last couple of days Mark had fallen ill with something, sweating and carrying a temperature. He had refused to stay in bed, intent on getting to training, which had concerned Charli. But Mark was insistent that he was fine.
Charli thought otherwise.
"How are things with Mark?" Atalya's voice interrupted her thoughts. "You two seemed pretty happy when he dropped you off earlier. Although," Atalya frowned, "He didn't look very well."
"He thinks he caught my cold and he's suffering." Charli smiled. "But other than that things are great. He does love me, Mom. We made it official when we came home from the hospital."
Atalya grinned and hugged her daughter.
"That's fantastic. I'm so pleased for you, honey. Mark is a lovely guy. I couldn't ask for a better man."
Charli couldn't agree more. Mark was good for her and she had found herself smiling more since Mark told her he loved her. That was the best feeling she had experienced in a long time.
It was going to be hard with Andy still in the city and playing tennis against Mark but Charli was confident that things would work out their way. Andy was going downhill with himself and he was going to get himself banned one of these days, either with his violent behavior or his drug use. He hadn't contacted her since that day in the hospital and Charli was grateful. She didn't ever want to see the man she had devoted a vast amount of her life to.