Rush of Redemption (Rush Series #2) (27 page)

She’d been outside for
nearly three hours when Radcliff came out. She lifted bleary eyes to him.
“Yes?”

“You have a call, miss,” he
replied softly.

“Can you take a message?”
She congratulated herself on not slurring her words.

“It’s Mr. Drayton,” he
said, loud enough to be heard over the rolling tide.

The numbness she’d wrapped
herself in began to ebb away. “Please tell him I’ll talk to him later.”

Radcliff hesitated.
“Ma’am?” he questioned.

Trinity rubbed a hand
against the hole which seemed to be burrowed in her chest. Sighing, knowing it
wasn’t fair to place the people who worked for Rush in the middle, she held out
her hand for the phone and murmured, “Fine, let me have it.”

“Hello,” she murmured into
the phone as she watched the waves crest along the river, trying to gather
courage.

“Hi. Is everything okay?”
Rush asked in his velvety smooth voice.

“Can’t complain,” she
answered as the alcohol swirled in her blood.

“How’s Blake doing? I miss
that little guy so much,” Rush said.

“He’s asleep,” she answered
simply.

Silence met her words.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Bitter laughter erupted
from her lips. “Nothing…” Her voice falling to a whisper she said,
“Everything.”

“Have you been drinking?”
he asked.

“Maybe a little… okay,
maybe more than a little,” she replied.

“Did something happen?” he
asked.

She covered her mouth as a
sob threatened to break free. Tears flowed from her eyes and her nose began to
run. “I just… I just wish I could go back… take it all back…” she whimpered.

“Trinity, you have to tell
me what’s wrong,” he demanded.

“You should have told me…
you should have told me,” she sobbed.

Silence again met her
words. “Told you what?” he asked.

“It’s my fault, I know.”
she muttered, as she wiped her arm over her nose.

“What is?” he asked,
perplexed.

“This…
everything.
 I’m just so stupid…
so very stupid.”

“Trinity, I’m not sure
what’s going on exactly, but I wanted you to know I have to stay a few more
days than I expected,” he said patiently. “I’ve got some hotspots to iron out.”

“Hotspots… yeah, I can only
imagine,” she said as she gulped a huge amount of bourbon from the bottle.

“You’re not really making
any sense to me right now. When I get home, we’ll sit down and figure out…”

“No worries… I get it. Out
with the old and in with the new…” With a laugh, she said, “Although
technically, I was the new. Oh, wait, maybe I’m wrong… was she the new? I don’t
know. It’s too confusing to me right now.”

“Who is she?” he asked.

Not listening to his
question, she said as she watched a sailboat glide through the water, “I wish…”
she stopped as her throat clogged.

“Wish what?” he asked.

“You should have left me
there,” she whispered. “It would have hurt less.”

“Trinity…”

“Listen, I really need to
go now. I’ll see you… when I see you,” she said softly as she clicked the phone
off. Tipping the bottle back to her lips, she took a searing pull before
leaning back in her chair. 
Time to move on… again.

The feeling of floating
through the air caused her stomach to roil. She was happy when she was laid
flat so she could try to contain it. She rolled herself into the pillow, which
smelled like Rush, and sighed. This was where she most wanted to be… in Rush’s
bed… in Rush’s life. In seconds, she was out.

Chapter Eighteen

Trinity’s head was pounding when she finally woke. Thankfully,
Anna had gotten Blake when he’d awakened hungry and wet. She really was a
horrible mother. She cringed as she remember bits and pieces of her
conversation with Rush. He had to be so happy right now 
that
things
 hadn’t worked out for them to be married. At least he was
spared that. God, what was she going to do? She didn’t blame him, she’d driven
him away.

As she lay in the bed, her
chest became so tight she thought she was drowning from the inside out. It had
to be the two nights she’d spent lying flat instead of upright as she was
supposed to have been doing. Deep, racking coughs made both her head and her
chest hurt. Sitting up on the side of the bed, she eased herself up and moved
gingerly to the bathroom where she popped a packet of headache powder into her
mouth, which she washed down with water from the faucet.

Moving back to the spare
room she’d been using, she pulled out her inhaler and took a couple of puffs
from it before climbing up into the inclined bed. She lay back
and closed her eyes, trying not to think about Rush and Olivia… Olivia and
Rush… what a mess she’d made of everything. Her stomach roiled mightily and she
lunged from the bed, barely making it to the adjoining bathroom, where she
vomited repeatedly. The vomiting caused her to gag, which in turn made her
cough. Her lungs burned like fire. She had a hard time catching her breath. She
laid her head on her arm, leaning over the commode. She was so weak, she didn’t
know if she could make it back to her bed.

When the coughing subsided,
she rose on extremely shaky legs and moved back to the bed. She bundled herself
up in a blanket as teeth-chattering chills shook her body. Her chest hurt
so 
much,
 she cringed when she had to take a
breath. She was so tired… so very tired. Finally, she gave into the exhaustion
and slept.

She was vaguely aware
during the day of people coming in and out of the room; Anna… 
Radcliff… and Jorge.
 But she was too tired to
acknowledge them. The next time she opened her eyes fully, the sun was shining
brightly into the room. She squinted against it, as the glare was excruciating.
She jerked as her mind began to fully function… Blake. She’d forgotten about
Blake. She sat up and put her feet on the floor. She stood on legs that felt
like limp noodles. Her chest burned and she felt so shaky. She’d not felt this
bad since leaving the hospital.

Holding onto the walls, she
slowly made her way into the nursery. When she finally reached the doorway to
the nursery, sweat was pouring down her face, which
was ironic since she was shivering. Her chest was so heavy and
her breathing labored, so that she was forced to stop. As she struggled to
breathe, her legs gave out and she slid down to the floor, her back against the
doorjamb. As she gasped for breath, she turned her head and saw her efforts had
been in vain; Blake wasn’t even in his room. Tears of frustration
welled up in her eyes. She was just so damned weak. She knew she should get up,
but she was just so tired. Leaning back, she gave in and closed her eyes.

She forced her eyes open
when she heard a gasp. Anna was leaning over her with Blake in her arms. “Ms.
Trinity, are you okay?” she asked frantically.

Trinity didn’t understand
her panic at first until she realized she was lying in the middle of floor.
With extreme effort, she eased herself up. “I’m not sure. I’m just so tired,”
Trinity told Anna as she rubbed a hand over her face.

“You need to eat something,
Ms. Trinity. You didn’t eat anything yesterday,” Anna said as she laid a
sleeping Blake into his crib.

“Yesterday,” Trinity asked
confusedly. “What day is it?”

“Wednesday.”

Wednesday?
 How had she missed a whole day? With a shake of her head,
she asked, “How’s Blake?”

“He’s fine, Ms. Trinity.
I’m more worried about you,” Anna said. “I think you should go the doctor’s.”

Trinity pushed her
disheveled hair from her face and struggled to concentrate. “I’m just so tired.
Can you keep an eye on Blake while I rest?”

“Yes, of course. Why don’t
you get back into bed and I’ll bring you some soup,” Anna offered.

“Yes. That’s sounds good,”
Trinity replied as she tried to raise herself up, but she was just too weak.
She didn’t have the strength to rise. “Anna, can you ask Radcliff to come help
me to my room?” Trinity said as she slumped back against the doorjamb.

“Miss, I beg your pardon,
but you really should see a doctor.”

Trinity knew she was
probably right, but right now she just didn’t have the energy. “Please, just
get Radcliff for me.”

Radcliff came and helped
her back into bed. He also voiced his concerns and begged her to reconsider
about seeing a doctor, but she shook her head and drifted back off to sleep.
She woke briefly in the afternoon when Anna rousted her to eat some soup. She
ate about half of it before exhaustion claimed her once again. The coughing was
lessening, as was the burning in her chest. She thought she might just make it.

When she next woke it was
to the sound of a masculine voice somewhere in the room. Turning her head, she
saw Alex Masters standing with his back to her, facing the window. She thought
he was talking to himself until she saw the phone pressed to his ear.

“… 
pretty
 bad.
She’s been out for two days… I don’t know… I agree… I’ll take care of it… Call
when you land… Yes, sir… Everything went according to plan… No, I agree… I’ll
try, but you know she can be stubborn… Okay, I’ll see you this evening… 
Will do.”
 Alex stood for a moment before turning to
face her. He raised his eyebrows when he realized she was awake. “Well, look 
who’s
 back,” Alex said with a smile.

She gave him a weak smile
in return. “That should be my line.”

“Rush is on his way back
and should be landing sometime this evening. How are you feeling?”

Panic flooded her. Rush was
coming back. She didn’t want him to come back yet. As insane as she knew her
thinking was, when he came back, it would be over… really over. “Why is he
coming back?” she asked frantically.

Alex gave her a bemused
look, “Because you are very, very sick.”

“I’m feeling better,” she
said inanely.

“You’ve been asleep for two
days, collapsed in the nursery, and have eaten a total of a half of a bowl of
soup. That doesn’t seem better,” he replied.

“I didn’t collapse. I lay
down.”

Alex once again raised his
eyebrows at her. 
“On the nursery floor?”

She shrugged her shoulders.
“Call him and tell him I’m better. I really am better,” she said quickly.

Alex gave a little shake of
his head. “It’s too late.  He was getting ready to board when he
called me. He thinks you need to see a doctor.”

“I don’t. I’m feeling
better today… what day is it?”

“Thursday,” Alex said as he
shook his head again. “I told him you would be stubborn. Try to get some rest.
Now that you’re awake, I’ll have Anna bring you something to eat. Do you need
anything else?”

Looking away embarrassed,
she said, “Can you help me to the bathroom? My legs are just so weak… I don’t
know why.”

“I bet a doctor could tell
you why,” Alex said wryly. 
“How about this?
 What
if I can get a doctor to come here? Would you agree to that?”

Trinity shook her head.
“I’m feeling much better today.”

Exhaling deeply, he came
and waited until she moved to the edge of the bed to wrap his arms around her
slender shoulders. Leaning into him, she made it to the bathroom. She closed
the door and edged her way into the bathroom. Once she’d seen to her needs and
brushed her teeth, she actually did feel better… better for someone who’s life
was about to end anyway. She bit the inside of her lip as she struggled to rein
in her emotions.

Rush was coming home. She
swallowed at the prospect of starting life without him… and maybe without
Blake. She leaned against the counter and wrapped her arms around her middle.
It was really happening now. By this time tomorrow, she’d be back on her own. 
A party of one, once more.

An image of Rush the first
time he’d made love to her in that stupid office of his in Vail skittered
across her mind. Never again would she see him looming over her with love,
want, and desire in his eyes. Taking a deep breath, she took a couple of shaky
steps and found that it was manageable. Picking up a brush, she pulled it
through her hair, the effort almost too much.

She found Alex standing
outside the bathroom door with his arms folded over his chest, leaning against
the wall as he waited for her. She gave him a small smile. “I think I can
manage on my own. Thanks for waiting,” she said with faked positivity. “I’m
going to take a shower, 
then
 go see my boy.”

Alex nodded. “Okay. I’ll
wait in here until you’re done, just call if you need any help.”

The shower did lots to make her feel better, even if she did end
up sitting on the shower floor for most of it. She was desperate to hurry so
she could spend as much time as possible with Blake. The air was soughed from
her lungs whenever she thought about having to leave both Rush and her precious
boy. She’d fight him, but she knew that the billionaire playboy, Rush Drayton,
would win any court battle.