“She told Sarah two hundred grand.” Sam held up another picture that made the tabloids a couple of months ago.
Jon exhaled loudly as he met Sam’s eyes. “I will give you three hundred thousand dollars if you abide by the contract and Sarah never has to be reminded of what you did to her. If you don’t sign it, we will prosecute you to the full extent of the original contract and you will end up with nothing. Everything we’ve talked about will be in the contract and the lawyer will explain it. The money will alleviate any false guilt Sarah may have about your situation and put a barrier between the two of you. She is too forgiving for her own good.” He stood up and pushed in his chair. “I need to go check on her. Your accommodations are comfortable here, but there will be a security guard posted outside your room to ensure you stay put. You are not being held against your will, but if you leave this suite, you will be escorted to a plane and the deal is off. Good luck with your life, Allison.”
He headed up to his and Sarah’s suite. What more could go wrong? At least they caught her before the wedding. Sarah’s eyes were closed when he dipped the mattress and his arm wrapped around her waist. She was so beautiful. He couldn’t wait to be alone with her on the honeymoon.
“Sarah,” his sweetest voice whispered, “are you all right?”
Her weighted lids opened just a crack. As she reached her hand out and touched his face, a slight smile blossomed on hers. “You were right. We should have eloped,” she said in a slow, sleepy voice.
“I know, but the wedding is tomorrow. We don’t have to wait much longer.”
“I can’t do it. We have to cancel. Can you tell everyone?” Sarah pleaded with her eyes still closed. She was adorable.
“It’s too late to cancel, baby. We’re in the homestretch.” Jon kissed her cheek.
“It wasn’t Megan. It was Alli. I was wrong, and I need to apologize. I’m sure she won’t talk to me. I was so awful to her. She must hate me,” she admitted in a slow drawl.
“I’m sure she’ll forgive you. It will work out.” He trailed his fingers through her hair. “Sarah, did you take any pills or anything to relax this morning?”
She shook her head back and forth sluggishly on the pillow.
“Open your eyes and look at me,” he begged. He was starting to realize something wasn’t right with Sarah. “Can you open your eyes?”
“My stomach hurts,” she confessed without opening her eyes.
Jon sat up on the bed and took out his phone. He found the number for the concierge and pushed send. He ran his hand over her arm as he spoke.
“This is Jonathan Williams in the presidential suite. I need you to send the doctor to my room as soon as possible.”
“Right away, sir.”
Jon turned to Sarah and kissed her forehead. She felt really warm on his lips. He ran his fingers through her hair and declared, “The doctor is on his way. We’ll figure out what is going on with you, Sarah.” He pressed his cheek against Sarah’s. “I love you. It will all work out, beautiful,” he whispered.
A quiet rap on the door to the hall shot a tinge of relief through his chest. “That was fast.” He got up to open the door but was surprised when he saw Kate standing in the doorway.
“Come in.” He backed up to allow her entry.
“Is Sarah sleeping? She asked me to meet her. I have her blue. It took me forever to find. Do you think it would be OK if I woke her?”
“Kate, don’t get upset, but…” He walked through the large suite to the bedroom as he spoke and then turned to Sarah’s mother. “Sarah’s not feeling well. I’ve called the doctor, and he should be here any minute.”
“What do you mean she’s not feeling well? I talked to her two hours ago. She sounded fine.”
There was another knock on the door. “I’ll explain in a minute. That’s the doctor.” He walked back across the large living area and opened the door as Kate entered the bedroom suite. He knew what Kate was thinking, but he didn’t have the energy to expend on defending himself right now. Instead he opened the door and greeted the short, dark-skinned man who spoke in a British accent. “She’s in here.” He led the doctor to the bedroom.
“I found her on the bed. She has been dealing with a bunch of wedding problems this morning and I thought she was just lying down for a quick nap. She hadn’t slept well last night. She was talking to me at first, but she seemed really tired and now I can’t get her to respond.” Jon moved out of the way but sat on the bed next to Sarah’s head as the doctor approached.
Kate was already positioned on her other side when the doctor opened his clichéd black bag and took out his stethoscope and a few other tools.
“What is her name?” he asked as he sat on the edge of the bed and positioned his instrument around his neck.
“Sarah,” Jon and Kate said at the same time.
“Sarah, can you hear me?” She did not open her eyes, but she made a quiet guttural sound. The doctor touched his hand to Sarah’s forehead and then moved it to her throat, holding two fingers against her neck as he monitored his watch. Then the dark-haired man lightly pinched the skin on the center of Sarah’s chest. He paused and watched her skin sink back into its normal shape before reaching for Sarah’s hand and pinching the top of it as well. With Sarah’s hand still in his, he pinched the skin again, only this time deliberately hard, twisting the skin until Sarah yanked her hand away.
Jon glared at the doctor in alarm and questioned, “Why would you do that?” He was starting to wonder what country this doctor was licensed in and if the island had another doctor.
“I wanted to make sure she has an appropriate response to pain. Did she take any medication or say anything when you spoke to her?”
“She denied taking anything. I believe her. She barely takes Tylenol since her narcotic overdose in January.” The doctor seemed unfazed by Jon’s words, but calmly asked, “Does she or has she ever had a drug problem?”
“No,” Jon clarified. “Some crazy woman drugged and abducted her in January.”
The doctor checked her eyes with a small flashlight and then listened to Sarah’s heart as if it was normal for someone to be abducted. As Kate began a complete explanation of the kidnapping incident, he brought a finger to his lips and the room fell silent. When he finished listening, he pulled the stethoscope from his ears and asked Jon, “Did she say anything else?”
“Her stomach hurts.”
“Is she pregnant?” the doctor asked.
“I…I don’t think so,” Jon answered, taken aback by the question. With all he’d seen, it was possible.
Kate looked at Jon with a questioning look.
“She’s not,” Kate said. “She’s been on the pill since May. She’s not one to forget to take medicine.”
Jon stared at Kate in disbelief for just a moment until he was able to erase the expression from his face. Why would Sarah not tell him that she was on the pill? It didn’t make sense—unless she was afraid to tell him. She knew how much he wanted kids. Was he pressuring her too much, or was she afraid he would just accidentally forget about something that had become second nature to him? He couldn’t let Kate know Sarah kept secrets from him, so he nodded in agreement.
The doctor pushed his fingers deliberately deep into several spots on Sarah’s abdomen—her lightweight cotton dress providing no barrier.
“You’re right. She’s not. She doesn’t have appendicitis either or she would be on the ceiling when I do this.” He applied pressure to the right side of Sarah’s abdomen. “She’s most likely just dehydrated. I can see it by the way her skin has lost its elasticity. The nearest hospital is an hour by plane. We could bring her there and run a few more tests, but I think all she really needs is some fluids. I’m going to start an IV on her to get her rehydrated and she’ll start feeling better.”
Jon ran his fingers through Sarah’s hair and sighed in relief. He looked up, smiled at Kate, and then focused on the doctor’s actions. He was digging in his bag again. The docto
r plucked out the supplies he needed, laying them on the bed next to Sarah—a bag of liquid, a package of clear plastic tubing, tape, a couple of sterile pads, iodine swabs, a rubber tourniquet, and a needle. The doctor assembled the IV, running the liquid through the tubing.
“Oh, crap!” Jon exclaimed under his breath when he saw the needle break Sarah’s skin. “Sorry. It’s just that Sarah hates waking up with IVs in her arm.”
“Hook this over the top of that picture,” the physician instructed Jon as he handed him the fluid bag. When he was done affixing the small hook attached to the bag over the top of the art, the doctor adjusted the flow and asked, “Does this happen often?”
“No. Not often, but this will be the third time she’s has woken up with an IV in her arm in the last six months. She’s not going to be happy about it,” Jon admitted.
“Then I will secure it well with tape,” chuckled the short, dark man. He ripped off two more pieces of tape and smoothed them onto Sarah’s skin. “She will pop up in an hour or so, feeling much better. You will see.”
“So we don’t have to cancel the wedding? She’ll be fine?” Jon asked.
“Absolutely, she just needs some rest and fluids. She’ll be fine by tonight.”
Jon kissed Sarah one more time on the cheek and looked to her mother. “Kate, would you stay with her for the next hour? I have a few items to take care of before tonight.”
“Sure. I’ll be here.” She sat down on the bed next to Sarah and gave him a reassuring smile.
“Thanks. I won’t be long.” He headed out the door. First he needed to find the guys and talk to Liam. And then he needed to find Liam’s dad and get him to write up the new nondisclosure agreement for Alli to sign. He hoped he could get it all done in an hour. On the first floor as he exited the elevator, he bumped into Leslie.
“Just the person I wanted to see,” he said as he wrapped his arm across her shoulder.
“What now? We’re supposed to go parasailing in a little bit.”
“This won’t take long. Besides, the parasailing guys will be out there all day. And since I’m the guy paying them, I’m sure I can get you into a different time slot. I need your help.”
He followed her up to her suite as he explained what had happened with Sarah and everything that had led up to it. Then he asked her to help with the paperwork and the flights, while he talked to Liam and Liam’s dad.
***
He found Liam down by the beach with the rest of the groomsmen and pulled him aside to talk in private. After all Jon’s explanations and pleas, Liam still seemed a bit leery of what he was asking of him.
“Today?”
“It has to be today. The wedding’s tomorrow. You are the only one who can pull this off for me. I need you, man.” Jon begged with wide eyes.
“You seriously think I can make this happen?”
“If anyone can, it’s you.”
“Only for you. Only for you.” Shaking his head, he took the envelope from Jon’s hand. “I hope this works.”
“You and me both. Do you know where your dad is? I’ve got to see if he can work some lawyer magic and write up a new NDA for the real defector.”
“Last I heard Jim was hitting the golf course with Isaac and Zander.”
“Thanks. Good luck.”
“I’m going to need it.”
Jon took out his phone. There were very few people who were allowed to keep their cell phone on the island, and two of them were golfing with Jim. Isaac lived with his phone practically glued to the side of his head and Jon knew it would be impossible for him to come for a long weekend without it, so Jon didn’t have the heart to take it away from him. And Sarah felt it was demeaning for the bride and groom’s parents to have to surrender their electronics. So Zander also had his phone.
“Dad, is Jim Nordstrom with you?”
“Yes. And I’m kicking his butt for the first time in my life. You should have seen it. He got bogged down in the sand on the sixth—four strokes. It was classic. I thought he was going to blow a gasket. It’s been a while since we’ve played, but he’s as competitive as ever.”
“Can I talk to him? I need help with some legal issues.” Zander handed the phone to Jim repeating what Jon had told him.
“Jon, don’t let your dad BS you. I am still below par and miles under Isaac and Phillip.” He paused, and Jon could hear the smile in his voice turn serious. “What kind of help do you need?”
He gave him a brief summary of the situation with Alli and told Jim what he needed in the updated nondisclosure agreement.
“If I can connect somehow with my office, I could have it ready fairly quickly. There is Internet somewhere on the island, right?”
There was a computer in the security office and there had to be one at the registration desk. There must be service on one of them. “I’ll see what I can come up with.”
“The groom needs my help. It looks like I’m going to have to forfeit,” Jim said as he handed the phone back to Zander.
“Son, we’re on the seventeenth hole. Can’t this wait? I’m winning. Let us finish our game.”
“That’s fine.” Jon knew his dad would be utterly disappointed if he missed his one opportunity to beat Jim on the golf course. “Just give me a call when you’re done.” Jon figured they would be done in the next half hour, and he needed some time to secure a computer with Internet anyway. Two down, twenty million to go.
Next he headed to the resort’s concierge’s office to enlist help with the computers. The woman assured him that even though the Wi-Fi to the rooms had been disabled at the request of Jon’s security, she would have a landline with Internet available for Mr. Nordstrom in a private office. Jon thanked her and headed toward the elevator.
There was something he was forgetting, but he couldn’t place what it was. He called his assistant.
“Leslie, I talked to Liam and Jim. The concierge is setting up an office for Jim to use to write up the new contract. What am I missing?”
“The dresses. I already took care of it, though. I think you’re done.”
“Thanks. I’m going to check on my wife.”
“She’s not your wife until the wedding,” Leslie laughed.
“She’s my wife,” he muttered to himself. “Have fun parasailing, and give Nak a big, sloppy apology kiss for me.”
She laughed again.
He ended the call as he stepped onto the elevator. He couldn’t wait for this whole ordeal to be over. He pushed the button and closed his eyes, leaning his head against the elevator wall.
“Hey, big guy.”
Her voice shrilled in his head like nails on a chalkboard. He ran his fingers through his hair and clinched his fist as if he was going to pull out the clump in his hand. When he opened his eyes, Mia was staring contritely at him.
“I’ve been looking for you. This whole no phone thing is stupid. I feel naked without my phone.”
“What do you need, Mia?” He couldn’t keep his frustration out of his voice.
“Since you obviously don’t want me here and Sarah for sure does not want me here and my baby’s daddy is here with his wife and new baby, I feel a bit unwelcome. If it’s OK with you, I think I’ll head back to the mainland today and skip the ceremony. With me as big as a cottage, it’s not like I can party with you and your boys anyway.”
He smiled at her. She was being overly dramatic as usual. He felt bad, even though everything she said was true. When it came down to getting the invitations out, it was Sarah who insisted Mia get one. He thought she most likely didn’t want to be blamed by the press for not allowing Mia to come.
“I’ve been voted off the island, but I still need your permission to leave, because no one is allowed to leave until Sunday evening. Someone told me you shut down the airport.”
“Not exactly,” he confessed. “There’s a flight leaving for Minnesota in a couple minutes and another in a couple of hours, but after that you’re here until Sunday.”
“Wel
l…I’m obviously not going to make the first one. But book me on the second one?” She met his eyes. “I’m sorry I can’t stay. I know this day means a lot to you. I just know my limits.”
“It’s OK, Mia. Let me know when the baby comes.” The elevator opened, and he stepped out, blocking the door so it couldn’t close before they finished their conversation.
“I’m hoping it will come early—maybe this weekend while Chris is at the wedding with no phone. He says he wants to be in the delivery room. Screw him. That’s not going to happen.”
“I’m glad you two are working this parenting thing out.” He smiled at her.
“I’m not really supposed to be flying. The changes in air pressure can bring on labor.”
The devilish look on her face made him laugh inside. He figured the fact that Chris and Mia were even talking was a miracle. Jon knew that if it was his kid, she’d demand he was there for every agonizing minute of labor.
“I love you, Jon. Good luck tomorrow.”
Despite his frustration with her, he still wanted the best for her. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Thanks. I’ll let the concierge know you’ll be on that flight.” He smiled and waved as she disappeared behind the closing doors. Even Mia was growing up.
He headed down the hall to the presidential suite, making the call to the concierge about the flight for her as he walked. He figured he had better take care of it before it slipped his mind.
Jon hurried his way through the empty suite to the bedroom where he’d left Sarah hooked to the IV. The door was closed, and Jon slowly opened it, hoping not to wake her. Sarah was still sleeping, and Kate sat in the wingback chair across from the bed.
Jon collapsed on the loveseat, sinking into its plush fabric. “Has she woken up yet?” he whispered.
“No, but she’s moved around a little bit.” Kate set her phone on her lap facedown, as if readying for a long intense conversation. “So what’s going on? What happened this morning?”
Wow, he never realized how much Sarah sounded like her mother.
Between the Lies (Between the Raindrops #2) Page 36