Captive Hearts (Hearts on Fire Book 2)

by L. M. Connolly

  “Wow, it’s all very MI5.” The thoroughness of the protocol impressed her. And reminded her that Ethan always saw things through.

  She hadn’t heard from him, but then she’d turned off her phone, and now she was about to drop it in a security box.

  “We don’t want to compromise the place from the start.”

  “How do you know I won’t come back and take my phone?” she asked, testing the system.

  He grinned. “We can tell when you open the box. There’s an alarm.”

  Wow again. Having disposed of her phone, Scarlett followed Bill upstairs to the end of the corridor, where there used to be a small bedroom. Everything was laid out for her. A cheap desk held the scraps of paper and paint chips, all tucked into envelopes describing which room they were found in. And the laptop, brand new, as promised. Relieved to find something she could actually do, she got to work.

  The internet proved useful, supplementing her research. She’d already made reams of notes and sketches, which she’d printed out and brought with her. Bill had even scanned the folder with an electronic wand. How would the exalted visitors take that? The surveys would have to be low-key, discreet for the visiting dignitaries.

  Scarlett didn’t look up until the sky went dark. Tired but happy, she closed everything down. She had lots of work to do. That would help her take her mind off the mess that her private life had become.

  At the weekend she’d go visit her father. Although she longed to fling herself into his arms and sob out her troubles, she wouldn’t do it. Nothing could be done, and she’d only make two people unhappy, instead of one.

  But later, as she opened the door of her bedroom in the Noir London, misery returned to haunt her dreams.

  *

  If they thought bringing next month’s board meeting forward a week would phase him, Ethan’s folks were dead wrong. There he sat at the head of the table listening to their whining. He vetoed the request for cheaper sheets, but let them add a review of the breakfast service before his father started on him again. “I see your lover has returned to London.”

  “My fiancée,” he smoothly corrected.

  Dustin glanced around the table, indicating without words the number of family members that sat around it.

  And Ethan still hadn’t called his new-found brother in Houston. Ronan had, and contacted him to say they’d lucked out with this guy. He’d sent DNA to get the process underway. Daniel owned a construction company in Houston, and he was wealthy and powerful. So he wasn’t starving in a ditch, which had been Ethan’s first concern. Daniel could wait until Ethan had cleared his desk.

  “I assumed the engagement was off.” His father waited for a significant pause to let everyone in the family know Ethan was fair game again. “Violet is looking for a partner for the charity event at the weekend.”

  So that was the real reason the meeting was brought forward. Nothing to do with sheets or breakfasts. At the pairing of the words, a picture appeared unbidden in Ethan’s mind of an event that happened before she’d left. Waking with Scarlett, and bringing breakfast back to bed. Laughter and lovemaking ensued, and the bed gained more crumbs than should have been possible.

  He was about to wearily turn down his father’s “suggestion” when he thought of poor Violet, and her attempts to escape her father’s control. She was in an even worse situation, as she had inherited most of her mother’s money, which would be released on her marriage or her thirtieth birthday. She was close to cracking, or so she’d whispered to him the last time they’d met. Maybe they could escape together, although not the way his father was thinking.

  “And we need to discuss those small hotels you’ve been discreetly buying.”

  Ethan’s head went up. He was on full alert now. “What about them?” Denying it would be futile.

  “Are you planning to fold them into the group? Start a boutique division?” His father’s smile was sweetly inquiring. Ethan wasn’t fooled.

  “I bought them with my own money. What I want them for doesn’t compete with the Noir business, so no, I’m not planning that.”

  “You’ve been doing a lot of work on them.”

  What did Dustin know? Had his spies discovered anything important? He shrugged. “They need a lot of renovation. They were good value. I might sell them once they’re ready.” He could sell his idea and the small hotels for a good profit, despite the extra work he’d had done on them. They were his dream, but with a child to provide for, and the board at his heels night and day, he might have to let them go.

  His father pursued his query. “The market could benefit from a few more boutique hotels.”

  “They might. But you’ll have to make your own investments.” Damn. His father wanted to get his greedy claws into them, too.

  His phone pinged, providing a welcome distraction. He’d received a message.

  His heart leaped when he saw it was from Scarlett. Not her usual brief check-in either.

  “Dear Ethan,

  I’m doing okay. I’ll send you the report on the Woodward in a separate email. It’s well within budget and it’s going strong. I wish you’d reconsider your decision to shelve it, because you’re pouring a lot of money into it and it seems a shame not to use it. I’m spending most days there, because it’s given me time to think. They won’t let me use my phone in the house, and I’m using the laptop sparingly, just to look up what I need. It’s been good for me, and now I finally have my head on straight I know what we should do.

  “I’ll get straight to the point. Ethan, I love you very much. You need to know that and I need to tell you. But now I have somebody else to think about. I can’t risk bringing up a baby in a house without love. They know. You understand. You’re living proof, or so you told me. I don’t want a child that is missing part of what makes life so good. I can’t do it.

  “I thought I would never have a baby. When I tried before, the doctor told me I had low fertility, and I wouldn’t ovulate often. So getting pregnant is a miracle. This baby will be loved and cherished.

  “So I made a decision. I won’t come back. I’ll be in London for the next few days before I go and visit my father, then I’ll carry on at the Woodward.

  “I won’t keep you from our child. You can see the baby any time you want, and we’ll sort out visits. I truly love you, but if I stayed our relationship would grow stale. You’d tire of me, as you have the other women in your life. And children know these things. Think about that before you do anything rash, or try to force me to come back. I’ll be fine, really, I will. I know you won’t abandon your child, but we can talk about that another time.

  “I promise I won’t interfere or get in the way if you marry one of the women who will make life easier for you with your father. I left the ring in the safe. You can give it to one of them. We’ll just tell the media it didn’t work out for us.

  “Once again. Ethan, I love you.”

  The email destroyed him, wiped him clean, and for the first time in weeks, made him see sense. He’d come so close to destroying everything that was good in his life, been on the brink of joining the rapacious bandits that called themselves the Black family. He must be mad.

  Ethan lifted his head, surveyed the greedy people waiting for him to make life easy for them.

  What was he thinking? How could he even think about throwing what he had in Scarlett and their baby away for a bunch of hotels?

  This ended now.

  Ethan got to his feet.

  “We haven’t finished,” his father pointed out.

  “I have.” Ethan dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “Do what you want. I have more important things to deal with.” He stared at the faces before him, and the mouths open in shock. “I quit. From this company and this family.”

  Back in his office, Ethan called his assistants and gave a swift, decisive set of orders that would take him completely out of the Noir Group. He was done. Whatever he did next would be up to him and him alone. And Scarlett if she’d hav
e him.

  Those words of love, in person and written in a mail were worth everything he owned. Scarlett was so much better than he was, telling him outright with no expectation of anything in return. He could ridicule her or turn his back on her. But she hadn’t cared. She’d risked telling him anyway.

  He had to get her back. Desperation fueled him now. If he carried on like he was he stood to lose the woman he wanted, and his child.

  No, he didn’t just want her.

  He loved her. And once that realization had hit his solar plexus, his next actions became clear. Inevitable.

  Ethan didn’t hesitate.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Sitting on a bench overlooking the sea, Scarlett put her hand on her father’s knee. “We’re going to be okay.”

  “I know we are, my girl. I’m just sorry your Ethan didn’t stick. But you’ve got me. Both of you.” He glanced down at her stomach. Of course, it was far too early for anything to show, but after she’d fallen into his arms and sobbed out her misery, he’d welcomed the baby. “We’ll buy that nice hotel we liked and get the staff to look after it if you want to. It’s a thriving business.”

  Scarlett bit her lip. “You’re only doing it to make me happy, aren’t you? You’re better now.”

  He nodded. “Sober and healthy.”

  “Listen, Dad, I’m going to be busy enough caring for the baby. The money we got for the Woodward will pay for a house here and if we invest the rest, it will give you a nice income. Don’t think I didn’t see how much you liked the old place near the castle.”

  He shrugged. “I always wanted a cottage. But I won’t let you go through this alone.”

  “I think I’ve found a career. I might not be able to carry on with the exotic resorts, but I have a gift for refurbishment. I’ll have enough to buy a place for me and the baby, and to set up a small business refurbishing hotels and private houses.” Sure, she wasn’t going to be incredibly wealthy, but they had enough now. Surely she could be thankful for that.

  Ethan had paid over the odds for that house, in more ways than one. But now she could barely stand it. They’d spent that first weekend in the Woodward. That was where it had all begun.

  She known it was over when she’d seen a picture of him online, escorting Violet Spencer to a social event, leading her up the red carpet. Just this morning she’d seen a shot of them at an airport. Together. Probably heading to Paris or Rome or some other romantic location. An island in the Seychelles, even. He’d given in, and she’d lost the battle for Ethan’s soul. He’d become like his father, thinking of himself and instant profit, not long-term gain.

  She shivered when a chill breeze whipped past them. While it wasn’t precisely cold, her father had spent the day in the local hospital getting a thorough checkup and he was more tired than he wanted to admit. His eyelids were dropping and his shoulders slumped. “Come on, let’s go back and get a cup of tea.”

  Arm in arm they strolled along the promenade, smiling at the antics of the children playing on the sandy beach. For the first time since she’d arrived, Scarlett began to unwind. She’d always miss Ethan, but she would have a baby as consolation. One day, her child would scurry along the same beach, shouting for friends, trying to get a kite into the air in the still evening air.

  “There’ll be a thunderstorm soon,” her father observed.

  “Maybe.” Though she didn’t know how, her father could always predict thunderstorms. She’d take his word over any meteorologist. Only thunderstorms, though.

  Margate was good for him. Although he was still at the respite home, he didn’t need it any more. Maybe he was still there because of the feisty widow he spent so much time with. Scarlett was only glad to see him recovering and happy once more.

  She was staying at a small hotel close by, but she’d go back to London next week. Weekly visits to the Woodward would take care of her obligation, the contract she’d signed to oversee the decorations.

  “I know my illness took it out of you,” he said. “And I’m really sorry we had to give up the Woodward. I know how much it meant to you.”

  “Funny thing,” she said, “it didn’t mean as much once I said goodbye to it. Restoring it was a job, not a labor of love. I fought so hard to keep it, and when we had to give it up, it wasn’t that important after all.”

  She’d already said goodbye to it, left it behind and moved on. It hadn’t been as painful as she’d thought. Not half as painful as leaving the man she loved. “We’d have had a huge fight in front of us, and I don’t think we’d have won. You were right, Dad. We should have let it go years ago. It doesn’t make us any less Woodwards, does it?”

  He patted her arm. “No it doesn’t. And you were right, too. I could really do with a cup of tea.”

  They were chuckling when they rounded the corner. A shiny car stood outside the pleasant building, and as they approached, someone got out of the driver’s seat and stood waiting for them.

  Ethan. Incongruous in a navy business suit, but without a tie. If she knew him, and she did, he’d probably torn it off and tossed it carelessly on the seat next to him.

  That small remembrance brought tears to her eyes, and put a lump in her throat. Although she’d have to face him sooner or later, she’d wanted later. When she’d grown used to being without him, or at least learned to tolerate the separation. She hadn’t seen him for weeks, but this moment was as potent as any they had shared, instant connection snapping into place.

  He pulled off his dark sunglasses, watching her with the inscrutable stare she could never see through. She felt stripped under the scrutiny of eyes as blue as the sky above them, flayed alive.

  He knew now that she loved him. She’d said it to his face and in her goodbye letter. And he wasn’t above using it to get what he wanted.

  Scarlett came to a halt three feet away from him. Her father, holding her arm hooked through his, stopped with her. “Black,” he said steadily.

  Ethan nodded to him. “It’s good to see you looking so well. I want to talk to Scarlett.”

  “Here she is.”

  “Alone.”

  They faced off like Regency gentleman fighting a duel at dawn. Except it wasn’t dawn, it was midafternoon, and not many duels happened in Margate.

  Her father tilted his chin. “My daughter has no secrets from me.”

  Ethan nodded. “I appreciate that. I’m pleased to meet you, sir.” Stiffly, the two men shook hands.

  He then turned to Scarlett. “I just want to talk to you.” His voice was so gentle, she feared she might break under its tender concern.

  But she had to face this, had to convince him she meant what she’d said.

  Gently, she slipped her arm out of her father’s hold. “It’s okay, Dad. You go and get your cup of tea. Ethan and I have to have this conversation. I’ll see you later.”

  Her father looked from her to Ethan and back, then addressed Ethan. “If you upset her, I’ll see you suffer for it.”

  “I’ve not come to upset her.” He stepped forward to meet her.

  Scarlett was tired of the two men talking about her. “Hey, I’m here.”

  Ethan turned a smile so tender on to her that it took her breath away. “I know.”

  He didn’t touch her as they walked away toward her little hotel. In ten minutes, they were sitting in her room. Only after they’d walked through the door did she realize it might have been a mistake to bring him to a room with a bed in it. Its silent presence reminded her painfully of their passionate affair. She loved him so much.

  Trying to ignore the white-shrouded elephant in the corner, she went to the tea tray. “Coffee?”

  “Not at the moment.”

  She turned away. “To be honest, I’m not drinking coffee and tea right now.”

  He’d taken the only chair in the room, so she sat gingerly on the edge of the bed. “It’s okay, Ethan, I know.”

  “What do you know?”

  “About Violet Spencer. I saw you with he
r at the charity do and at the airport.” Although hurt lanced her, she fought to hide it. If he had to marry her to make peace in his family, she swore she wouldn’t make trouble. Violet was sweet, and she was probably waiting for him in London. “It’s okay. I’ll tell the media it didn’t work between us, and that I wish you both all the best.”

  He studied her without speaking for a full minute, his expression inscrutable, his eyes flat. “The media isn’t here right now. Will you tell me that, too?”

  “No.” The word came out despite her best intentions, but she would be honest with him. “You know how I feel about you. But if you want to move on, I daresay I’ll recover in time.”

  “Will you?” The words were so soft.

  Scarlett had to fight her tears. No, of course she wouldn’t, but he didn’t have to know that.

  After a moment, he said, “You got it wrong. Violet and I aren’t marrying.”

  “You’re not?” Scarlett could hardly believe it.

  “No, we’re not. Vi has her own problems. If she didn’t marry me, her father had someone else lined up for her. She has a trust fund her father wants to get his hands on, but the capital will only be released when she hits thirty, or she marries, whichever happens sooner. Her life has halted as she fights her father and she’s sick of it. She needed to get away, so I helped her. Taking her to that charity function gave us time to discuss her getaway, and took the heat out of her relationship with her parents. She came to the airport with me because her father was watching, but we took separate planes. She’s in Ireland.”

  Scarlett raised her eyebrows. “Ireland?”

  “Yes, and you’d never recognize her. She got a job with that games company she’s always talking about. She designed a section of a game for them online, and they offered her a job based on that. Her father would never let her do it so she needed my help to get away clean.”

  “Really?” She didn’t know what to make of it, but Ethan spoke with absolute sincerity.