4 Bad Boys to take to Bed (4 Book Bundle Set!) (31 page)

“What did you give her?” Laszlo asked the nurse.

“A mild sedative. Her heart rate was climbing to an unsafe level. That kind of stress isn’t good for the baby. She needs to rest and stay calm,” the nurse said. “I’ll have the doctor come in to check on her shortly.”

“Thank you.” Laszlo blew out a breath and dragged a hand through his hair. He hadn’t slept at all since he’d found Trinity last night. She’d been slumped on the floor, unconscious and badly beaten. Her face was black and blue, she had a concussion, and three fractured ribs. By the grace of God the baby had been unharmed.

Laszlo had immediately called an ambulance and then the police. He’d rode to the hospital with her and only once he knew she and the baby were okay did he talk to the police. They believed it was a robbery. Odd thing was, nothing was stolen and everything in the house was intact. Laszlo knew that whoever it had been who had attacked Trinity, she’d known them. But now the question was, who had done it and why? He now knew who—a man named Jason, who had apparently not only threatened Trinity’s life, but her brother’s as well. He still didn’t know why, though. But he was damn sure going to find out. First, he had to make sure both Trinity and her brother were safe. And then he’d find out who this Jason guy was and make sure he paid for what he’d done to Trinity.

He took a seat in the corner and pulled out his cell phone. The first call he made was to a private security firm. He wanted round the clock protection for Trinity; an armed guard stationed outside of her hospital room, one at the gate to his house, and others at every entrance to his house. The second call he made was to the best private investigator in New York. Laszlo wanted Trinity’s brother located and protected. He also wanted this Jason guy found. The third call was to Sarah. He instructed her to go to Trinity’s house, pack up her things, and have them delivered to his house. The whole “let’s date and get to know each other before we rush into living together” crap she wanted was off the table. There was no fucking way he was letting her out of his sight now. And if she didn’t like it…well that was just too bad.

As he was getting ready to put his cell phone away it buzzed in his hand. “Laszlo Cstary,” he answered.

“What the hell happened to you last night, Laszlo? You gave me your word that you’d arrive early and talk to the press! I expected you to be late, I really did, but I never expected you not to show up at all,” Natasha yelled.

Damn, she was loud!
He held the phone away from his ear until she stopped yelling. “Something came up,” he said coolly.

“Something came up? Are you serious? Christ, Laszlo, your company hosts this event every year. You’re the guest of honor and you didn’t show up because something came up? The press is having a fucking field day with this.”

“Trinity was attacked last night, Natasha. She’s in the hospital. I’ve been here with her all night.”

There was a long pause. “I’m sorry. Is she all right?”

“She’s going to be fine. So is the baby.”

“Okay.” Natasha exhaled. “I can fix this, play up the sympathy angle, but I’m going to have to announce the pregnancy.”

“No.” He stood and paced back and forth in front of the foot of Trinity’s bed. “Until we know who attacked Trinity I don’t want any information given about her or her condition.”

“The children’s hospital is talking about finding a new sponsor, Laszlo. You can’t afford that if you want to rebuild your image.”

“They’re the ones who can’t afford it,” he snapped. “I’m their biggest financial supporter and they know it.”

“Grant Gould offered to beat your yearly donations by ten percent.”

“Fuck!” Laszlo stopped pacing and hung his head. Gould was his biggest competitor and he was always trying to outshine Laszlo. “Okay, fine, call a press conference and I’ll speak to the press directly.”

She sighed with relief. “Thank you, Laszlo. This is for the best, trust me. I’ll set it up for today, say three o’clock? At your office as usual?”

“No, I’m not leaving the hospital. Set up the conference here.” He hung up without another word. An idea began to form in his mind. Maybe a press conference wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

He pulled up a chair and sat beside Trinity’s bed. He took her hand and brought it to his lips, giving her knuckles a soft kiss. “Trinity,” he whispered. “I don’t know what happened, love, but I promise you I’ll fix it. I’ll make it go away and I’ll never let anyone hurt you like this again.” He rested his forehead on the edge of her bed and fought back tears. God, he loved her. He loved her so much it hurt. And he knew he’d do anything and everything in his power to have the future with Trinity that she kept denying him.

***

“You couldn’t even bother to change?” Natasha asked as she walked with Laszlo toward the press conference she’d arranged.

He looked down at himself. He was still wearing the tuxedo he’d put on for the charity ball. “It’s better than jeans and a t-shirt.”

She shook her head. “Okay, so remember to apologize to the hospital, use their full name so that there is no confusion. Then go on to explain that your fiancé was attacked—”

“Trinity isn’t my fiancé,” he said as he buttoned the top few buttons on his shirt.

“I know, but it’s going to look better if she was.”

“Okay, fine, whatever.” Laszlo took a deep breath and entered the cafeteria where he was greeted by dozens of cameras flashing and snapping pictures. His eyes were tired and sore from lack of sleep. The constant flash of the cameras was not helping. With his usual arrogant confidence, he walk to the podium and quieted the crowd with a wave of his hands. “Thank you all for coming,” he began. “I’d like to extend my deepest apologies to the Garrison Children’s Hospital for my lack of attendance at last night’s charity ball. As a symbol of my remorse, I will double my yearly contribution to the hospital.” He paused as a ripple worked through the crowd. “I truly hope that the Garrison Children’s Hospital and Cstary Holdings will be able to continue the business relationship that we’ve both worked so hard to build and foster.

“Unfortunately, my lack of attendance was unavoidable. Last night when I arrived to pick up my fiancé, Miss Trinity Collins, I found her on the floor, beaten and unconscious.” Laszlo’s heart rate spiked as he remembered how it had felt to see her like that. It was the single worst moment of his entire life. “She, along with our unborn child, are in stable condition. I ask that you please respect our privacy during this difficult time. Thank you.”

“Mr. Cstary!” A female reporter stood and waved to get his attention. “Do the police have any leads on who attacked Miss Collins?”

“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “However, I am personally offering a one million dollar reward to anyone who comes forth with any information that will lead us to the person responsible.” From the corner of his eye he saw Trinity’s doctor enter the room and walk toward him. “Excuse me,” he said covering the microphone with his hand.

“Mr. Cstary, Trinity is awake and she’s asking for you,” the doctor whispered.

“Thank you.” Laszlo turned to the press. “Any further questions can be addressed to my PR manager, Natasha Davidson.” He left and rushed back to Trinity’s room. He entered to find her sitting up in bed, trembling and crying. “Oh, Trin,” he whispered.

“Laszlo,” she whimpered, her lips quivering as she spoke. “I’m so sorry.”

He sat on the bed next to her and put his arm around her shoulders, being careful not to hurt her, and pulled her head to his shoulder. “You have nothing to be sorry for, love.” He kissed the top of her head.

“Yes I do. All of this is my fault.” Her hands clung to the front of his shirt. She buried her face against him and cried. “My brother is going to die because of what I did.”

Laszlo stroked her hair in an attempt to soothe her. “You don’t know that, Trin. I’ve got an entire team of investigators looking for your brother. They will find him and protect him. I promise you nothing will happen to him.”

“It’s probably already too late.”

He had no idea why she would say something like that, but he didn’t ask because he was afraid it would agitate her and he didn’t want the nurse to have to sedate her again. “Where is he?”

“He lives in Buffalo, New York. His name is Frank Johnson.” She sat up slowly and looked at him through tear stained eyes. “Please, Laszlo, you have to find him.”

There was so much fear and desperation in her voice it tore at his heart. Wiping the tears from her face, he said, “I will. I promise.”

“I wanted to tell you,” she said.

“Tell me what?” He wondered if the medication she was on was making her loopy because she was making absolutely no sense.

“I was just so afraid of how you’d react, that you’d think less of me, that you wouldn’t want to be with me. Oh god!” She covered her face with her hands and sobbed for several moments before she continued. “I thought if I just left, if I disappeared that I could save you from all of this, but then I found out I was pregnant and you were so happy…I knew I couldn’t…I couldn’t…”

“Hey, it’s okay, shh.” He hugged her and rubbed her back. Tears stung his eyes and he had no idea why. Maybe it was the way her voice gave out, or seeing her so distraught, or maybe it was because he’d known she was going to leave him and it terrified him that she might still try. “Whatever it is you can tell me.”

Slowly, Trinity lifted her head and looked at him, but she still didn’t speak. He took her face into his hands and kissed her gently on the lips. It felt like ages since he’d last kissed her and for a while last night he wondered if he’d ever get the chance again. “Nothing you can tell me will change how I feel about you, Trinity. Nothing,” he emphasized.

She took a deep breath and nodded. “Before I started working for you I worked for Congressman Jason Ross. I was a PR intern. It was a dream job. Jason was so charming and he seemed to take a special interest in me. He told me I was a natural and that I could have a very successful career in politics if I played my cards right.”

Laszlo’s blood ran cold. Jason Ross—
the
Congressman Jason Ross was the Jason she’d been talking about earlier? He swallowed the anger that rose hot and thick in his mouth. There was so much he wanted to say, so many questions he wanted to ask, but he remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

“We got close, really close. The local press had dubbed us a political power couple. I thought I loved him and he said he loved me. But then things changed. I don’t know why. I don’t know what happened, but he became jealous and controlling and abusive.”

The vein in his temple throbbed and his jaw ached from clenching it so hard. “Are you telling me that Congressman Ross did this to you?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

His arm stiffened protectively around her. “Why would he attack you, Trinity?” He tried to keep the skepticism from his voice, but what she was saying seemed ludicrous. Yet, he couldn’t help but believe her.

“I didn’t know what to do at first. When he started getting abusive I threatened to leave him. He swore he’d never do it again and like an idiot, I believed him. You’d think I would’ve learned from my father that once an abuser, always an abuser. The second time it happened, my threats fell on deaf ears. He told me if I ever tried to leave him, he’d kill me. And I was scared, Laszlo, I was scared that he’d actually do it. So I stayed for a long time. He had complete control of me. Then I found something that saved me.”

The bastard deserved to die for what he’d done. And if Laszlo knew he could get away with it without getting caught, he’d do it himself. “What did you find?” His heart raced as he waited for her to answer.

“I found photographs and videos of him with prostitutes, both male and females ones.”

“What a sick fuck,” he said before he could stop himself.

“I knew if they ever got out, his political career would be ruined, not to mention he’d have to face criminal charges. So, I did the only thing I could think of. I stole them and I ran.”

“Wow, Trin, I don’t know what to say.” It was too much to take in all at once.

“Please, Laszlo, you have to understand the only reason I did it was because it was the only way out. I didn’t have a choice,” she pleaded.

“I know. It’s okay. You did what you had to do to survive.” He kissed her again—a soft passionate kiss that expressed just how much he still cared about her. “I told you, nothing you tell me will change how I feel about you.”

Trinity nodded. “Thank you.”

He smiled at the fact that she cracked a smile. “Okay, well, he obviously found you. What does he want?”

“This isn’t the first time he found me. Last time he threatened to kill me if I didn’t turn all the pictures and videos over to him. So, I ran again and told him if anything happened to me the pictures would be sent to the press. I thought I’d managed to elude him. I took precautions. I got rid of all my credit cards so he couldn’t follow them. I changed my last name and started using my mother’s maiden name. I really didn’t think he’d find me again.”

“A man like that has a lot of resources, Trinity. And a lot of money. If he’s determined enough, he will always find you.” He hated that he sounded so doom and gloom because he didn’t want to scare her, but he wanted her to understand the gravity of the situation.