And the asshole in me flew into motion because immediately, I strode into the audience and grabbed her elbow. A murmur of shocked whispers began.
“What in the world?”
“What’s going on?”
“I thought he was an author, not some insane lunatic!”
Anna was embarrassed too. She turned those sparkling eyes to me while trying to hold her arm away.
“Robert, stop!” she hissed. “Stop, you’re here to do a reading! Stop, there are people watching!”
But I didn’t give a fuck. This was my woman, the woman I’d been looking for high and low for the past six months. And to materialize at one of my readings! Fuck fuck fuck! That’s right, I was absolutely gonna seize the moment.
Ignoring her protests, I dragged her out of the bookstore to the continued babble of the audience.
“Oh my god, what’s going on?”
“Holy shit, he is insane!”
And the last one:
“Should we do something? Because that woman’s pregnant!”
That’s right. Growling, I charged ahead like a mad bull, intent on doing damage. Because I’d seen the bulge of her stomach, the soft swell that indicated life inside. And shit, but that was my child. My sweet girl was filled up with my baby, the virile jism had done its work and now I was going to be a father. My face a mask of rage, I dragged the female outside and straight to the car.
“Robert!” she gasped again, still flailing in my arms. “Stop stop!”
“Shut up,” I ground out. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Stop!” she pleaded again.
But it was too late. The seatbelt snapped snugly around that swelling tummy, and I folded myself into the driver’s seat of the Porsche.
“Just shut up,” I ground out, eyes on the road as we squealed out of the parking lot. “Shut the fuck up.”
My driving was so frenzied that Anna actually didn’t say anything during the trip. She stared at the speeding pavement, eyes wide and knuckles white as we blazed down the highway to the hotel.
And finally, once inside my room, she spoke again.
“I know what you’re up to Robert,” the woman said in a low voice. “I know.”
“Then what?” I raged, pacing like a caged animal. “What the fuck am I thinking?”
“You want me to get rid of it,” she said in a trembling voice, hands protectively shielding her stomach. “But I won’t. He or she is my child too, and I won’t.”
That made me see pure red, a fiery blaze blocking out my vision for a full two seconds.
“Like hell you’re getting rid of the baby!” I roared, literally pounding the wall with my fists now. “Like hell.”
Anna took a deep breath before exhaling, and for the first time, I calmed enough to see true fear in her eyes. Oh shit, had I done that? Was I the one who’d scared my best girl shitless, who made her fear for our child’s safety? Immediately, I stopped pacing, my expression calming.
“Baby,” I began, hand out in entreaty.
“Don’t baby me,” she snapped, turning her face away.
But I wouldn’t be denied.
“Anna,” I said again, this time kneeling by her feet and taking one small hand in mine. The palm was cold and small, and she tried to yank it away at first. But when I wouldn’t let go, she gave up, letting it lie still and lifeless in my large grip. Fuck. I’d done this to her, and I’d never forgive myself.
“Anna,” I tried again. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry about everything. About the kidnapping, about making you lose your job, about your sister, my brother, everything.”
Her head whipped around then, brown eyes heated.
“Oh, so now you’re sorry,” she said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “You literally pulled me off the streets, threw me into the trunk of a car, and kept me locked up for a month. Sorry makes all that okay?”
I dropped my head before looking at her again, blue eyes blazing.
“Of course not,” came my growl. “It’s not okay, I treated you abominably and you didn’t deserve that.”
But that just set her off even more.
“You’re right, I didn’t deserve that,” she bit out. “Because I was an innocent. The whole time, you were looking for my sister, not me. I told you from the very beginning, and you wouldn’t believe me! So sorry doesn’t cut it.”
I gripped her hands tighter in my own.
“Sorry absolutely doesn’t cut it,” I rumbled fervently. “If I could do everything over, I would, beginning with that stupid kidnapping. I understand if you want to cut off my head or shoot me in the nuts, but I’m sorry, and I’ll make it up to you Anna.”
She glared at me even more.
“How?” came her flat reply. “By being a dad? Who says I want you as a dad? For your information, I’ve met a really nice man. His name is Rusty and he has a special place in my life.”