“Why would I do that?”
He set down his mug and pushed it back and forth across the table in front of him. “Because if you stay on as my assistant, you’ll have to become very involved with this man and his associates.”
“I’ll be fine and so will you.”
“When this meeting’s over, you and I are taking a long walk on the beach.”
“Now that sounds like a great idea.” Regan helped herself to a few bites of food from each plate. She too wasn’t very hungry. Seeing Zach’s reaction to meeting with the man made her nervous too. But she knew he’d be fine. He always was. Though he was worried, Zachary Benson was an exceptional businessman with an eye for detail and the skill to close any deal. Besides, she and John would be by his side. Nothing could go wrong.
The clock had ticked toward nine o’clock when there was a knock at the door. Regan stood from the table and answered it. John stood before her, smiling broadly. “Let’s make this happen!” He’d dressed casually for Tyler’s funeral; a dress shirt and a tie. But today he wore a suit with a jacket and a full Windsor knot in his tie. It was painfully obviously it wasn’t his preferred choice of clothing. She smiled as she watched him adjust his tie.
Regan grabbed her purse and bag full of notebooks and contracts. John started for the elevator, and Zach held the door until she had walked through. There were nervous smiles between them.
When the elevator door opened, Regan took one step inside, then she realized what she’d forgotten and her stomach dropped.
“I forgot the portfolio with the contracts.” She slipped her hand into the closing gap of the door. “I’ll get them and meet you downstairs in the business office.” She stepped out and smiled encouragingly at Zach as the door shut, closing her off from him.
Regan gathered the portfolio and one more sip of coffee before racing out the door. She pressed the button for the elevator and stepped in when it arrived.
She hoisted up her bag and the portfolio as the door opened. As she walked from the elevator and into the corridor, a man and a woman exited the other elevator. With her arms full and her bag slipping from her shoulder, Regan lost her balance. She bumped into the couple and dropped the bag and portfolio, scattering papers everywhere. Carlos’s joke of walking through the door and falling on her face ran through her head. Silently she cursed him as she began picking up papers.
“I’m sorry,” Regan said as the woman scurried to help her.
The man only stood looking down at them. “You are clumsy. Come on, Charity, we’re late,” he scolded as the woman rose.
Regan kept her head low. The voice. She knew that voice.
The butterflies that filled her stomach finally broke free from the jar, and now she could feel the shards of glass as they stabbed her from deep inside her. She cautiously looked up to see Alexander Hamilton and his trophy bride stride away. Her heart began to pound uncomfortably in her chest as she sat back on her heels. Instantly her palms grew damp and tears stung her eyes. Every fear she’d ever had surfaced, and her breath caught when she tried to form a plan that would get her out of the hotel.
Regan gathered the papers and ran toward the office. She burst through the door, causing John and Zach to jump from their chairs. She dropped the papers onto the table. Her breath was short and sweat beaded on the back of her neck.
Zach reached for her. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
Regan’s entire body shook, and her heart was pounding so hard in her chest it was painful. Zach’s eyes scanned her but she couldn’t answer. She tried to suck in a breath and calm herself. She just had to get out of the room as calmly as she could, and it would all be okay. Alexander Hamilton didn’t have control over her—not anymore.
“Is this your assistant?” Alexander asked from across the room, tapping his pen on the table. “She’s a wreck. I don’t think we can…” When Regan lifted her head, he stopped. “Oh, God, Regan?”
Regan didn’t move and made sure to keep her eyes from looking right at him. She couldn’t. Every muscle in her body had frozen.
“Regan?” Alexander’s voice softened malevolently as he walked toward her.
She shifted her eyes to Zach, and he met her stare with confusion. She couldn’t do this. “Zach, I have to go.” Regan dropped her bags and the portfolio and swung her purse over her shoulder as she ran for the door.
Zach let the papers and the portfolio Regan had dropped fall to the floor. His investor had scared the hell out of Regan and was chasing her out the door, and Zack intended to put an end to whatever had frightened the woman he loved.
By the time Zach made it into the hallway, Hamilton had grabbed her by the arm. “Regan, don’t run from me.”
“Alexander, leave me alone.” Her words were short and sharp, but muffled under a blanket of fear that Zach didn’t understand.
“You’re alive.” He yanked her toward him. “Damn it, you’re alive.”
“Yes, I’m alive. No thanks to you!” Regan’s face had flushed red with anger.
Zach sprinted toward them with a need to pull her from the grasp of the lunatic that was holding her so tightly she couldn’t move. “Regan, what’s going on?”
Alexander Hamilton didn’t release his stare or his hand from Regan. “Mr. Benson, this has nothing to do with you. Please dismiss yourself.”
“Like hell it doesn’t.” Zach took another step, but Regan pulled herself up straight and glared at Hamilton.
She pulled against him. “Let me go. You have no right to hold me like this.”
“Where do you get off being alive?” he growled. “Your brother told me you died. You and that damn baby!” His words were bitter and hateful.
She wrenched her arm, unable to free herself from his cruel grasp. “Go to hell!”
“Regan, what is he talking about?” Zach inched closer. He wanted to grab the man and throw him against the wall and kill him for causing her pain, but the negotiator in him cautioned him to keep her safe. He noticed John behind him, and was silently thankful for the support. “Is this the man Curtis said put you in the hospital?”
“Zach, go in the office. Please…” She was sobbing now, and Alexander’s eyes grew angrier.
Zach had to keep calm. Had to know what was going on so he could make the right decisions. “Sweetheart, tell me…”
“Sweetheart?” Alexander shifted his eyes to Regan. “Stupid slut. Are you sleeping with your new boss?”
“This has nothing to do with you.” She sobbed harder, and he yanked her closer to him. Zach moved in, but John pulled him back.
Alexander’s jaw jutted up toward Zach. “Mr. Benson, this woman is nothing but trouble. You’d do yourself a favor by firing her right now.” Alexander’s voice didn’t sound the same, Zach realized. The man was almost inhuman with his commands.
“I don’t understand.” Zach made himself relax, then eased from John’s restraining grip. “Regan, tell me what’s going on.”
“Let me.” Alexander had both her arms pinned by his hands. His stare focused on her. “I’ve been under the impression for a year now that this bitch died. Her brother looked me in the eye and told me she and our baby died.”
“Baby, what baby?” Zach pleaded for her to talk to him. His stomach tightened, as did his throat. He didn’t know what was going on, but he knew Regan was suffering.
“Oh, God, Zach, go away.” She sucked in a breath. “Alexander, please…”
“Stupid bitch!” When his hand came up to strike her, Zach moved in. He was at the man, pushing him away from the woman he loved. His fists whaled on him, bloodying his lip and bruising his face as they fell to the floor, fists swinging. Too soon, John pulled Zach from Alexander. He saw Regan run down the hallway for the stairs.
“You son of a bitch!” Alexander managed to clamber to his knees while John held tight to Zach.
Charity Hamilton stood at the door, dainty mouth open, and watched her husband struggle to stand.
“I will press charg
es,” he growled.
“And I’ll have her counter them,” Zach threatened.
Alexander smiled as he wiped the blood from his lip. “She won’t. She’s afraid of me, and now she’ll be afraid of you.” He pulled his wife’s arm until she followed him. “I thought she was dead, Mr. Benson. Now that I know she’s not, I intend to find out where my bastard child is.” He started down the hall, and when Zach lunged toward him, John held tight to his arms. Hamilton turned back. “Oh, and Mr. Benson, I’m sure you can assume that our agreements and business arrangements are over.”
“I wouldn’t want to do business with you,” he said as Alexander stepped into the elevator.
John released his grip after the doors had closed.
Zach bent over and rested his hands on his knees, his pulse pounding in his head like a jackhammer. He forced himself back upright.
“Regan,” he shouted as he ran for the stairs with John following him.
He charged up to their floor and pushed open the door to the suite, but she wasn’t there. Her suitcases hadn’t been touched. She’d simply fled.
He ran back down to the lobby while John called her cell phone.
Zach searched the lobby, but there was no sign of her. John arrived a few seconds later, reporting that she hadn’t answered her phone. Asking around finally produced someone who said she took a cab to the airport.
Zach plowed through the lobby doors and took the next cab to the airport in hopes of finding her.
Regan shivered in the California heat in the backseat of the cab that rushed her away from the hotel. Never had she considered that her new path would cross with Alexander’s, but now it had. For the second time, the man had ruined everything she’d ever worked for or wanted.
She’d taken the first cab across town and then changed cabs. This one took her to John Wayne Airport; she was certain Zach would look for her at LAX.
Two hours later, she was flying toward Alabama. She’d rent a car and drive to Nashville.
She needed the time away. She knew Zach and John would be looking for her, but she feared now that Alexander Hamilton would be looking for her as well.
Regan sat back in her seat. Her secrets were out. Zach would know she was unworthy of his love now. She’d borne the child of Alexander Hamilton under horrible circumstances. She’d convinced Curtis to lie to him and tell him she’d died, rather than risk another beating like the one that had almost killed her. Alexander had believed him and moved on. She’d been stupid to believe she was safe.
She wiped madly at the streams of tears that rolled down
her cheeks. In one year, she’d lost everything only to regain a bit of her dignity and pride back. How was it possible that in a moment’s time she’d lost it all again? There was no way Zach would look at her the same way now.
She closed her eyes tight and held back her tears. She very quickly realized she’d done what Mary Ellen had warned her not to do. She couldn’t care less about her employment status at the moment, but not only had she lost Zach, she’d lost him the contract on his biggest build ever.
As the flight landed in Alabama, Regan took a deep breath. It was time to start over. Again. Arianna would be in New York for a while. She could move up there and hide in the anonymity of Manhattan.
Chapter fourteen
Zach paced outside Regan’s house. She should have beaten him back to Nashville by several hours. Where could she be?
Fear had cost him any rest on the airplane. What if Alexander Hamilton found her? John had stayed in the hotel, in their room, in case she returned there. Zach had to protect her from the madman who… he didn’t even want to think about what that man had done to her.
It was edging toward seven, and the sky blazed orange. Finally, Carlos and his children pulled up in front of the house.
Zach watched Carlos’s eyes scan him. She’d talked to her brother, that much he could tell. The man’s dark eyes burned with fury, and he couldn’t blame him for wanting to come at him. But he could see Carlos holding his calm.
“You three go in the house. I’ll be up in a little bit,” he ordered his children as he walked toward Zach. They each said hello. Zach knew from the kids’ laughter as they jostled each other on their way into the house that Carlos had kept Regan’s troubles from them.
“Please tell me you’ve talked to her,” Zach pleaded, grabbing Carlos’s shoulder as soon as the children walked through the door.
Zach dropped his hand, sensing Carlos’s tension. Then the stare that followed, not quite trusting him, as Regan’s brother tucked his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “I’ve talked to her.”
“Is she all right?” His voice wasn’t steady. He saw no point in trying to keep calm.
“That depends on your thought of all right,” Carlos said evenly and then let out a breath. “I’m going inside to get us a couple of beers. I don’t want my kids to hear us. Have a seat on the step.” Carlos walked into the house, and Zach climbed the steps heavily and took a seat.
Carlos returned with two beers. He handed one to Zach and sat next to him with the other. They sat in silence for a moment, sipping the beers and waiting for the other to talk.
“She’s scared,” Carlos finally said, looking out over the street where children played. “He tried to kill her. He tried to kill them both to wash his hands of them.” He dangled the beer bottle by its neck. “Worst part is, he loved her and she loved him.” Carlos shook his head. “He was too caught up in the money and social aspects of his life. He honestly did love her, but in the end I truly think he lost his mind.”
Zach was sure of that. He’d seen the man’s eyes. He’d heard his voice. No well-mannered man treated his wife the way that Alexander Hamilton had treated his.
“What did he do?” he asked, though he wasn’t sure he could handle hearing the specifics of Hamilton’s attack on Regan. But he needed to know. He loved her.
Carlos turned his head and gave Zach a long, thoughtful look. “He beat her almost to death.”
Nausea clenched his stomach as awful images played out in his mind. He made himself listen to the rest of what Carlos was saying.
“He’d married that other woman, and quite frankly he had to dispose of Regan and the baby or he’d lose the wealth and privilege he’d just married into.” His jaw tightened and his voice carried the disgust he obviously felt over the situation.
“She came back home then? Back to Nashville?”
“The moment she found out he’d married that other woman. She was hurt and angry, but she figured she still had her baby and she could go on, just the two of them.”
Zach took a deep breath and thought of the scar on her stomach. A lump formed in his throat. He’d never even considered that it was a cesarean scar. “Tell me about the baby.”
Carlos shook his head and sipped his beer. “She was Regan’s life. It gave her pride and purpose that she’d be someone’s mother.” He smiled. “I never saw her. None of us did except Curtis. He was the only one with Regan when she gave birth.”
Zach swallowed the lump lodged in his throat. “The baby died?”
Carlos shook his head and he latched his look onto Zach’s. “No. Because of Regan’s injuries, the baby was born six weeks early. She spent weeks in intensive care. Regan fought for her life, and the baby fought for hers. She signed papers for adoption. She gave her to a family who could love her and raise her the way Regan couldn’t. It was the best choice she could make for both of them.”
“But she wanted the baby.” And she had a family who would support her through anything—emotionally, financially, whatever she needed. He’d seen the way they came together for him and his mother after his dad died. “Why didn’t she keep her?”
“She was afraid he’d find them. Take her daughter away from her, or finish what he started. She did what was best for the baby.” Carlos shook his head again. “She ordered her to be taken out of the room. Curtis said she screamed at them to take her. She
closed her eyes so she’d never see her.”
Zach scrubbed his hands over his face. It was no wonder she’d shied away from him when he confessed his love and spoke of marriage and babies. There was such pain there. And the nightmare she’d had, she was yelling for someone to take her away. It all made sense now.
Carlos set his beer down on the step and turned to fully face Zach. “When Hamilton came looking for her, Curtis told Hamilton that they had both died. Regan didn’t have any other choice. If she pressed charges, it would just keep him in their lives. If he thought she was dead, he’d leave her alone. They never would run in the same circles. He dashed off to Italy for a few months to avoid any heat, and he never showed up at her door again. As far as we were concerned, he was gone.” He picked back up his beer and drank down the last bit in the bottle. “The baby turned a year old last Tuesday.”
“That’s why she called in sick to work? I was worried about her. She wasn’t any kind of sick I’d ever seen.”
“Her heart was broken.” He began to pull the label from the bottle.
“I love her.” Zach caught Carlos’s stare. “I want her for my wife. I want a life with her. None of this matters. Not one damn bit.”
“If I didn’t think you were sincere, I’d kick your ass.” Carlos smiled.
“I know.” Zach stood and Carlos followed. “Where is she?”
Carlos shook his head. “I can’t tell you. Give her some time.”
He’d felt as though he’d been socked in the stomach, but he couldn’t blame them for protecting her. “Please put in a good word for me. All of this is the past. It doesn’t change how I feel for her.”
“You’ll tell her soon enough.” Carlos offered his hand, and Zach shook it before walking away.
When Regan pulled up in front of her parents’ house, it was midnight. Her eyes stung from the hours she’d shed tears. She’d stopped multiple times along the drive, trying to decide what to do. Go home or go straight to Arianna’s in New York? She’d chosen her mother’s arms and her comfort for the night. Zach would surely look for her here, but her family would keep him at bay. And if Alexander came looking for her—they’d take care of him in any way necessary.
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