Indebted Heart

by Stone, Measha

  "Love?" Alyssa chuckled. "Don't get all mushy on me."

  "Tell me you don't see it when he looks at you," Kelly pressed. "Like he wants to devour you. Royce looked at Jessica the same way, and I hated her for it."

  "Please. Kendrick gives you the same look. Sometimes I wonder if he'll wait to get you alone before pouncing on you."

  "That's not love, Jess, that's when he's pissed, and his palms are itching to get me alone." Kelly laughed as she hopped down from the stool. "The poor man still thinks he can tame me."

  Jessica rolled her eyes and shook her head. "He already has," Jessica whispered to Alyssa.

  "I'm glad you moved here," Jessica told Alyssa. "I knew Alex had feelings for me that went beyond what I could give him, but he never pressed the issue because he knew I didn't share them. He's a great guy. He'd never let anything bad happen to you. And I'm really glad to know you're both on the same page with the whole dominant thing. Once I realized what it was, and Royce pointed out Alex's dominant traits to me, I finally understood why his previous relationships blew up."

  "Oh, you mean Suzy what's her face?" Kelly looked at Alyssa. "That woman had him in knots. Breaking up with him, then not, then moving out, then changing her mind. It took him a good seven months to get her out of the apartment. They weren't even together by the time she finally left. But Alex was too nice to kick her out."

  "So, he'll let just anyone live with him," Alyssa mused out loud, half joking. He'd taken her in quite easily, and every time he caught her looking at the for-rent ads, he quickly shut off the computer and distracted her with a mind-blowing kiss that led to body-quivering orgasms.

  "No," Jessica stated with unwavering conviction. "Absolutely not. Suzy was his distraction. His way of trying to fit into a vanilla world he doesn't belong in."

  "We haven't really talked about his previous relationships."

  "There weren't really any, except her. And like I said, she was a distraction." Jessica rested her hand on top of Alyssa’s. "I have never seen him so happy. Truly. The man oozes it. Even Royce noticed it. He told me if Alex had ever looked at me the way he looks at you, he would have had to beat him down."

  "Royce?" Kelly chuckled. "I can't see him rolling up his suit sleeves and getting into a brawl. Now, Kendrick…he could take Alex."

  Alyssa rolled her eyes and laughed along with the girls. It was nice to have such a release, real friends to talk with. But they weren't her friends, she realized solemnly. They were Alex's friends. Everything around her was Alex's. His apartment, his money, his friends. Nothing was really hers. She was still living off someone else, taking charity when she didn't want or need it.

  The doorbell rang, and Alyssa jumped off her stool, offering to get it. Kelly called after her that she had already paid for the pizza as Alyssa made it into the front hall.

  Alyssa swung open the front door, ready to accept the pizza, only to find Stephen standing in the hallway with an irritated expression.

  "Stephen? What are you doing here?" she asked, looking past him down the hall.

  "You didn't show for your shift, and I was worried," he said. His eyes wafted down her body, and he raised an eyebrow. "You don't look sick."

  "I'm not." She held firmly to the door, hoping he wouldn't try to walk in. "My shift was cancelled. I don't want to be rude, but I have some friends over and…"

  "Alyssa, what's taking so—oh…" Kelly trailed off as she entered the hall and found them. "No pizza?"

  "No. I'm afraid not." Stephen gave her a dazzling smile—the same smile she'd once fawned over. A deep dimple appeared in his right cheek. "Hi, I'm Stephen." He stepped past Alyssa and moved into the apartment. "An old friend of Ally's."

  "Oh…well…uh…hi." Kelly's expression told Alyssa she wasn't quite sure what to do at the moment. Join the club.

  "Stephen, this is Kelly. Kelly, I know Stephen from Missouri."

  "Ah…" Kelly nodded.

  "He's not staying," Alyssa said, more for his benefit than Kelly's.

  "Okay, well…I'll just open another bottle of wine. The pizza should be here any second." Kelly gave Stephan a cursory glance. "It was nice meeting you." She gave a curt nod and hurried back to the kitchen.

  "Alley Cat—"

  "Don't call me that." Her anger boiled over. "How did you even know where to find me? This has to stop. We haven’t been together in a year. I’ve been with other guys and you’ve never acted like this before.”

  "You haven't dated anyone since me," he pointed out. He raked his hands through his short brown hair and let out a long breath. "You've only played casually. Never fulltime. I thought you didn't want the twenty-four-seven thing, but now that I know you do, we can give it another try."

  "Stephen, we've been over this. You and I are just friends, and I would rather keep it that way." The bell rang, and she reopened the door. The pizza guy stood with a wobbly smile and an extra-large pizza. "I think it's best you go." She nodded toward the hall.

  "Uh, cheese pizza?" The delivery guy fidgeted in the doorway. Alyssa took the pizza from him with a forced smile. "Everything's been paid for. Have a great night." He gave Stephen an awkward glance before turning and heading back to the elevator.

  "Stephen?" Alyssa gestured to the open door.

  "Do you love him?"

  "Stephen."

  "Do you love him? Because you know damn well you can't love him. You can't do love, remember? Love is temporary—that's what you always told me."

  "I was young and stupid when I said that." She readjusted the pizza in her hands. The heat from the box was becoming uncomfortable in her grip. "Stephen, please. Is this why you came up to Chicago? You wanted to get me back?"

  "I thought we could start over. A new town, a new life."

  "We can never be more than friends," she said with as stern of a voice as she could muster.

  "Okay. Okay." He threw his hands up in the air. "I know you're in the middle of a girls' night—which is weird for you, but okay, I get it, trying new things. I'll go. We can talk later." She managed to dodge him as he leaned in for a kiss, but nearly dumped the pizza on the floor in the process. "I'll see you soon," he said, then walked out of the door. She kicked it closed.

  What was with him? Why couldn't he understand she was moving on with her life and it didn't mean she wanted to move on with him in it. He had never expressed anything more than friendly intentions after they broke up. Hell, he hadn't even come to her mother's funeral.

  "Uh, Alyssa?" Jessica's voice broke her moment of concentration. She looked up to see a stricken look on her face, Alex’s house phone in her hand.

  "It's Paul. He's in the hospital."

  Chapter 27

  Alex ran past baggage claim and headed straight out the doors toward the line of taxis. He had been able to catch the redeye out of Denver and got home within a matter of hours. The stench of burning gasoline and motor oil surrounded him as he bee-lined for the first cab he saw.

  Alyssa's phone call telling him about his father had nearly stopped his heart. She tried to assure him his father was okay, but until he saw for himself, he wouldn't calm down. He cursed himself for the dozenth time for not pushing his father harder about the doctor. Alyssa had managed to get him to make an appointment, but Paul's doctor was on vacation for a few weeks and he’d refused to see anyone else.

  Nearly knocking over an orderly, Alex made his way through Sherman Hospital's emergency room department. He pulled up short just as he heard Alyssa's laugh.

  "Alex!" Alyssa leapt up from her chair at his appearance. He probably looked horrific. In his haste to make it to the airport, he'd shoved on the first clothes he grabbed. He wasn't entirely sure his shirt was clean. He'd been dragging his hand through his hair for the last three hours so often, he was sure the short curls were puffed up into a neat frizz ball.

  "I told you not to bother him with this," Paul said in a gruff voice. He would have looked more menacing if the oxygen tube hadn't been dangling from his nose.
/>   "You told me after I called him." Alyssa placated him as she walked to Alex. "He's okay. See?" She rubbed his back. The sensation of her hand on him soothed him. His racing heart slowed, and his breath came easier.

  "What the hell happened?" Alex demanded of his father.

  "Don't use that tone of voice with me." Paul sat up slightly as a bout of coughs hit him. Alyssa rushed to his side and helped straighten the tube once he finished and laid back on the pillow.

  "They’re doing more tests. He had trouble breathing. The cough took a lot out of him and he couldn't catch his breath," Alyssa explained from the chair beside his father's bed.

  "Tests for what?" Alex walked to the other side of the bed. "What do they think it is?"

  "Emphysema," Paul answered, waving a hand in the air. "I'm not dead yet. Don't talk about me like I'm not here."

  "You're not going to die," Alex stated bluntly. He simply wouldn't allow it. He'd fly in specialists from wherever he needed to in order to help his father. He'd been helpless with his mother's illness, but he'd be damned if he'd sit by and watch his father give up.

  "No, I'm not." Paul placed his hand over Alex's. "I didn't mean to scare you. You shouldn't have left your meeting."

  "Don't worry about the meeting," Alex cut him off. "You haven't smoked since I was a kid. How can you have emphysema?"

  "Between all the crap I inhaled on the sites and the smoking, it was bound to happen. Remember George? He died a year ago from lung cancer. He never smoked a day in his life." That bit of information did little to ease Alex's worry.

  "The doctor was just here. He wants to admit him to get a few more tests in the morning. We should be able to take him home tomorrow afternoon," Alyssa said.

  He looked her over and nodded. Her hair had been swept up in a messy ponytail, and her makeup had long been wiped off. But damn, she was gorgeous.

  "What do we do if it's emphysema?" He directed his question at his father, who would most likely jump up to slap him if he talked around him again.

  "Medications. I think an inhaler of some sort. He said that’s what it is—the beginning stages. There are worse things to have, son." Of course Paul would see it that way.

  "You’re right.” Alex tried to relax. His father was right. He could have a horrible terminal disease that would take him away from him within months, but the situation hardly called for celebration.

  "Well, now that you're here, I think I'll head home." Alyssa held onto Paul's hand and leaned over to press her lips to his forehead. Alex didn't miss the tenderness in his father's eyes at the endearing touch. "Early shift," she whispered to Paul. Alex tensed but didn't want to argue with her. He'd made a few decisions while he'd been away, but it would have to wait before he could talk to her about them.

  "Go on, dear. I will be absolutely fine."

  "How are you getting home?" Alex asked as he walked with her from the room. "There's a hotel across the street, why don't you get us a room, and I'll be there once they get dad into a room?" He cupped her elbow as they walked back toward the waiting room.

  "What about work in the morning?" she asked, and he took a long breath.

  "Call in. One day won't break you," he forced a casual tone. She paused at the sliding doors and looked at him. He prepared himself for the resistance and excuses as to why she couldn't possibly. "Would it make it easier for you if I made it an order?" he asked in a hushed tone. His fingers brushed a stray hair from her lip. Just a slight touch, and that was enough to awaken his desire for her. He hadn't touched her in almost a week and having her so close without so much as a quick peck on her cheek was driving him mad.

  "You don't need to do that," she answered sweetly. "I'll call in."

  “I'm going to get Dad settled upstairs, then I'll come over. Text me the room number as soon as you get in."

  He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He slid his credit card from the leather holder and handed it to her.

  "Will they let me use this?" She took the card with only a slight hesitation.

  "If they give you any trouble, call me. It's just a short walk, but I don't want you to walk. Let's get you into a cab."

  "I don't think there are cabs just hanging around." She stopped talking as they stepped out into the humid night to find a cab pulling up.

  Alex tried not to look too smug as he held the door for the woman exiting the taxi. Alyssa laughed as she slid inside. He reached back to his wallet again, but she shook her head. "It's fine. I have some money." Ignoring her, he thrust the money into her hands. "Thank you," she said softly before reaching for her seatbelt.

  "Hopefully I won't be too long. I need to be welcomed home properly." He gave her a wink and shut the door before she could respond. Once the cab pulled out of the drive and headed toward the hotel, he made his way back inside to his father.

  The doctor was in his father's room when Alex returned.

  "Oh, here he is." Paul waved a hand toward him, and the doctor turned his attention to Alex.

  "Good. Hi. I'm Dr. Harenberg. They found a bed upstairs and will be moving him shortly. From what we could tell tonight, it would appear he had an attack, almost like an asthma attack. He's doing much better now with a few breathing treatments and should be even better after a day or two of the prednisone. Tomorrow, he'll have an echocardiogram of his heart and a pulmonary function test. Once we have those results, we'll have a better idea of what we are dealing with."

  "Dad said you're thinking he has emphysema. What are we looking at here? Inhalers? Medications? Transplant?"

  "I think right now he's at the very beginning stages, so mostly medications and an inhaler for emergencies. He wouldn't be considered for a transplant just yet, but we will know more about treatment options in the morning."

  "Thank you." Alex clasped the doctor's hand in a firm handshake before turning his attention to his father.

  "Did she go home?" Paul asked in a surly tone once the doctor left.

  "No. She went across the street to the Hyatt to get us a room. We'll sleep there and come back in the morning." Alex sunk himself into the chair Alyssa had been occupying. With the adrenaline fading, his body began to ache from the tension.

  "Good. I would have knocked you on your ass if you had let her go all the way back to the city tonight," his father chastised. Alex looked over at him in disbelief. He'd flown home thinking his father was on death's' door, and here he was glowering at him over something he hadn't even done.

  "Well, I didn't. So put your claws away." Alex rubbed his eyes and ignored his father's fake gasp of shock.

  "Here I am dying and you're being a smartass," Paul grumbled.

  "You're not dying." Alex's eyes flew open, and he shot his father a sincere look.

  "Okay." Paul held up his hands. "Sorry. Bad joke. Just relax. We don't both need to be in here hooked up to machines and oxygen."

  Alex scrubbed his palm over his mouth. "Don't scare me, old man." He shook his head. "I'm glad Alyssa was able to get here for you."

  "I tried to tell her not to come, but she's as stubborn as you." Paul managed a scowl before another wave of coughing took over, rattling his chest. Alex watched helplessly as his father struggled to control the hacking and catch his breath.

  "She is stubborn, that's for sure." Alex rubbed Paul's back until his breathing was better managed and he laid back.

  "Well, she's had to live on her own her whole life. I'm sure it's eating away at her staying with you."

  "I want her there," Alex said vehemently, earning him a sly look. He sighed. "She belongs there. With me." He sat back in his chair. There was no point in sugarcoating it for his dad—or himself. He wanted her in his life, in his home, and in his bed every fucking day.

  "Have you told her that? Alyssa isn't used to people wanting to take care of her. She's not going to go along with it easily."

  "I'm aware." Alex grunted, dragging his fingers through his hair again. "I've done everything other than disconnect the intern
et to keep her off the rental sites. I don't think she really wants to go. I think she feels like she's taking advantage."

  "Son, just tell her how you feel. She won't want to step one toe outside your apartment once you do. I saw the twinkle in her eye when she talked about you, and I saw the way her face lit up when you walked into the room. But you have to tell her. She doesn't know what love looks like. Not really." Paul took a ragged breath, and Alex wasn't sure if it was from the memory of what Alyssa endured growing up or his medical condition.

  "Mr. Tribelli?" Two young men walked into the room. "Your room is ready." Alex stepped out of the way as they raised the rails on his bed and began to play with the tubes and cords of the machines. "We are going to room thirty-one forty-five. Will you be coming up with us? The nurses will chase you away after a few minutes, but you can come up if you'd like."

  "No. He has to get home," Paul answered for his son. "Go on. Alyssa is waiting for you. I'll see you in the morning."

  "Call me if you need anything."

  Paul chuckled as the two orderlies wheeled him out of the room. "I think they've got it covered. Now go."

  Alex watched as his father was whisked down the hall and around the corner. The fear gripping at his chest subsided only slightly at his father's good-natured jabs. He didn't know much about emphysema, but he would rectify that immediately by getting on the phone with an old college friend who worked at Northwestern’s pulmonology department.

  His phone buzzed in his pocket, pulling him from his worried thoughts.

  Room 413. There's a key at the desk for you.

  Alyssa. His father had implied love. Alex hadn't loved anyone other than Jessica for as far back as he could remember, and even that love was more infatuation than true heartbeat-skipping love. It was different with Alyssa. He couldn't get enough of her—looking at her, hearing her voice, smelling her, tasting her. God, tasting her! His cock reacted at the mere thought of feeling her smooth body beneath his.

  Walking away from the hospital and toward the hotel, his phone vibrated again.