Training the Help [Hedon Falls 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (21 page)

Once he reached the airport, Jack was lucky enough to get a business-class seat on a flight that was leaving within the hour. He made arrangements to have a car pick him up in Toronto. The flight seemed to drag on forever as he imagined what could have happened. They had an excellent security system and he was confused about how someone could have forced their way in. Worry twisted his stomach as he thought of Sophie. The officer had said she was okay but that could mean simply that she wasn’t dead. The thought of something happening to her made his chest constrict with panic. That was swiftly followed by rage at the person who dared to invade his home and put the woman he loved in danger.

His thoughts continued to race on the drive from the airport. They had gone about halfway when his phone rang. He checked the display and saw it was Kendra.

“Jack!” she cried. “What the hell is going on? What do you mean someone attacked Sophie? Is she okay?” Kendra’s voice got higher and louder as she continued.

“Kendra! Calm down for a second and let me talk!” Jack snapped. “I don’t know anything else yet. I landed in Toronto an hour ago and we’re halfway to the hospital. The cop just said there was an intruder and that Sophie is fine, but she’s at the hospital for observation. Other than that, I don’t know anything.”

Kendra was sobbing. “Jack, she has to be okay! I can’t bear the thought of her being hurt! Not when we left on such bad terms!”

“I know,” Jack replied wearily. “I’ll call you when I get to the hospital and have more details.”

“I’m getting the next flight home. I can do these scenes after New Year’s,” Kendra said. “I’ll text you the flight details. Can you get me a car?”

“Yes,” Jack replied. “Let me know as soon as you can. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Tell Sophie…I’ll see her soon.” Kendra’s voice caught at the end.

Jack hung up and began drumming his fingers on his thigh as he watched the trees flashing past outside, though he didn’t really see them. He was lost in his thoughts and jumped when the driver put down the privacy glass.

“We’re at the hospital, Sir. Shall I wait?”

“I may be a while,” Jack said. “Feel free to go for something to eat, but if you don’t mind staying in the area, I would appreciate it. My wife will be calling soon with her flight details and I’ll have you go back for her.” He bolted out the back door before the chauffeur could open it for him. He hurried through the revolving glass doors at the main entrance. After scanning the lobby and locating the information desk, he strode over to it.

“I’m looking for a patient named Sophie LaPlante,” Jack said. “She came in earlier today.”

The clerk tapped her keyboard a few times before giving Jack the room number. He thanked her and headed for the elevators. The lifts were running painfully slow, and his agitation increased as he waited for the floor he wanted. When he arrived, he dashed out of the elevator and down the hallway, searching the numbers on the door for the correct one. When he located it, he went inside, and froze. Sophie lay curled up on her side on the bed. Her eyes were closed and she looked very peaceful, but very small. He couldn’t put his finger on what the difference was, because as far as he could see, she had no injuries. A man sat next to Sophie and when he turned, Jack realized it was the hairdresser Kendra had come out to the house sometimes, but Jack couldn’t remember his name. The man stood and walked over to Jack, gesturing toward the hallway.

“She’s just fallen asleep and I don’t want to wake her,” the man said as he pulled the door partly closed behind them.

“You’re the hairstylist,” Jack said extending his hand. “I’m sorry I don’t remember your name.”

“Remy,” he said as he shook Jack’s hand. “The police called me at Sophie’s request. She really doesn’t know anyone else in town.”

“Thank you for staying with her,” Jack said. “Can you tell me what happened?”

Remy took a deep breath. “She gave a statement to the police, but she wouldn’t tell me everything. Just that an ex-boyfriend showed up, threatened her with a knife, and started to beat her.”

Jack sucked air in between his teeth and closed his eyes tightly. He struggled to maintain his composure, but he really wanted to punch something. “Why did he show up all of a sudden? She hasn’t had any contact with him!”

“Actually, my husband, daughter, and I saw him with Sophie a couple weeks ago. He had her pushed up against her car at the grocery store so we went to talk to them and he left. But Sophie was very upset by it and I drove her home that day. I believe you were out of town, but Kendra was there.”

“They never told me about this,” Jack said angrily. If he had known someone was threatening Sophie, he could have done something about it.

“I don’t think they really thought he was a threat,” Remy said. “It just seemed like bravado. Sophie said he’d been calling a lot, too.”

“Fuck,” Jack muttered. “I wish she had told me. Remy, I really appreciate you being here for Sophie, but your own family must be waiting for you.”

“Yes, I’d like to get home to them,” Remy said. “Tell Sophie I said good-bye.”

Jack shook Remy’s hand again and then went back into the room to sit in the vacated chair beside the bed. He just stared at Sophie for a while as she slept, amazed at how this woman had managed to take control of his heart. He closed his eyes for a moment as he thought about their times together, and before he knew it, he was asleep.

* * * *

As the car drove Kendra toward the hospital, she could feel her anxiety rising. She was sick with worry and guilt. She hadn’t even said good-bye to Sophie, she’d been so angry. Jack had sent her a quick text to say that he had arrived at the hospital and Sophie was sleeping, but she hadn’t heard anything since then. It had taken a whole lot of yelling and a huge diva tantrum to get out of the filming. She was just thankful that she had enough clout to be able to force an entire production to a standstill. She smiled. The studio had already spent so much money on the project that they wouldn’t pull the plug now. She had promised to return first thing in the New Year to complete the final few scenes they needed her for.

When they arrived at the hospital, Kendra hurried quickly into the building. Jack had sent her the room number so she made her way directly there. She walked in to find Sophie asleep on the bed and Jack snoring lightly in the chair beside her. Even as she smiled at the sight, tears sprang to her eyes. With sudden clarity, she realized these were the two people in the world that she loved more than anything. The thought of something happening to either one of them was terrifying.

She went to stand beside them. Outwardly, Sophie seemed to be all right. Kendra reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair away from the sleeping woman’s face. Sophie stirred and opened her eyes.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Kendra said softly.

“Kendra?” Sophie whispered. She looked as though she couldn’t believe her eyes.

“I’m here, Sophie,” she said.

Sophie burst into tears. Kendra leaned down and kissed her. Sophie was emotional, but Kendra loved that about her. “Can you scoot over a bit and I’ll lie down with you?”

Sophie wiggled back a bit, wincing as she did so, and Kendra crawled up beside her. She pulled Sophie into her arms and held her tightly as she cried. It wasn’t long before Kendra felt a hand on her shoulder and glanced up to see Jack standing over them. He bent down and kissed her, and then Sophie.

“Do you think that bed will hold the three of us?” he asked.

“No,” Kendra said with a laugh. “But I’ll let you have a turn in a minute.” She turned back to look at Sophie. “I love you,” she whispered before kissing the other woman.

Sophie stared, wide-eyed, for a moment before whispering, “I love you, too.”

“And I love you both,” Jack said. Kendra smiled at the hitch in his voice. Her strong, tough Dom had his own emotional side, as well.

“Sophie, what happened?” Kendra asked gently.

Sophie explained haltingly, and Kendra’s heart felt as though it was being ripped out when she heard the pain in Sophie’s voice. She held her tightly and stroked her hair. When Sophie told them about Tony beating her with the flogger, Jack made a strangled noise and stomped around to the other side of the bed. He lifted the sheets up to look at Sophie’s backside and gasped.

“That fucker is dead.” Jack’s voice was low and menacing.

“Jack, don’t be an idiot,” Kendra said. “We don’t need you going to jail.”

“I didn’t mean it literally,” Jack said with a pout. “Though I’d love to wring his fucking neck for daring to hurt Sophie.”

“I know. I would, too. But let’s just concentrate on healing and let the cops deal with him.” Kendra could see a muscle in Jack’s jaw twitching, his Adam’s apple bobbing quickly, and his face flushing a bright red. Kendra knew he hated feeling powerless and knowing he couldn’t do anything to the man who had hurt their lover was frustrating.

Sophie told them how the police had arrived before Tony could finish his plan. “Thank God for that,” Kendra murmured, kissing Sophie’s forehead. “How did they get there so fast?”

“I asked about that,” Sophie said softly. “I opened the door and when Tony came in, I didn’t press the reset code. It put in a call to the security company. They tried calling and got no answer, and when they checked the front door video footage, they saw Tony pushing his way inside. They called the cops and headed over.”

“At least you’re safe now,” Kendra said, and buried her face in Sophie’s hair, inhaling the soft floral scent of her shampoo. Tears sprang to her eyes when she thought of how close she had come to losing Sophie. “I’m so sorry for the things I said, Sophie. I was hurt and angry and spoke without thinking. Can you forgive me?”

She could feel Sophie nodding against her shoulder and cuddled closer.

Christmas morning dawned crisp and cold. Sophie pulled her coat tighter around herself as they waited for the limo to pull up to the front door of the hospital. Kendra put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. Sophie huddled a little closer. When the car finally stopped in front of them, Kendra helped her to carefully climb into the back. Sophie tried to sit down, but winced as pain from the cuts and welts on her bottom and thighs shot through her. Instead, she stretched out on her side along one of the bench seats. To her surprise, Kendra sat on the floor of the car near Sophie’s head and reached out to hold her hand as the car made its way out of the town limits and toward their home. Sophie clung to her hand, happy to finally have the air clear between them.

Jack was waiting at the house when they arrived. When Sophie walked through the door, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, his lips moving with a slow, intense burn across hers. He pulled back and looked at her and she blushed. Kendra joined them, kissing first Jack, and then Sophie and the three of them stood like that for a few moments. Then Jack helped Sophie take her coat off and led her to the sitting room.

“You put up a tree!” Sophie exclaimed when she saw the enormous tree in the corner. Lights twinkled from every branch, and ornaments competed for space.

“Since we were going to be here for Christmas, we thought we should,” Kendra said. “We were up pretty late last night, but we managed to get it done. Do you like it?”

Sophie smiled as fresh tears began to gather in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away, hating the fact that she was so emotional. Kendra hugged her again and led her to the couch. She helped Sophie to settle down, lying on her side.
Not being able to sit down is a real pain in the ass.
Sophie tried to relax a little as Kendra brought her two boxes covered in colorful paper.

“What’s this?” Sophie asked in surprise. She hadn’t expected any presents, and certainly hadn’t gotten any for them. She wouldn’t have had the first idea of what to get a movie star and CEO anyway.

“We wanted to get you something,” Kendra said. As Sophie opened her mouth to protest, Kendra placed a finger over her lips. “No arguments.”

Sophie nodded in acknowledgment and began to take the paper off the larger box. It was a little awkward given the position she was lying in, but she managed. Inside was a leather-bound journal and a set of pens. Sophie ran her fingers delicately over the soft cover and flipped it open. On the first page was an inscription:

To Sophie, Hoping to give you inspiration for the stories to fill these pages. With love, Jack and Kendra.

The gift was so simple, but thoughtful. Sophie blinked back the tears as she looked up at them. “Thank you,” she whispered. They each bent down and brushed a gentle kiss across her lips.

“Kendra told me you’ve done some writing about our adventures,” Jack said with a grin. “I hope you’ll let me read them, too.”

Sophie’s cheeks heated. “Okay.”

Kendra pushed the second gift toward her. Sophie pulled the paper off to see a black velvet case, the kind that usually held jewelry. Her hands began to tremble. A journal was one thing but if they had gotten her something expensive, she knew she couldn’t accept it. She lifted the lid of the case. Inside, a heavy, gleaming silver chain rested alongside a heart-shaped pendant covered with sparkling diamonds. Sophie inhaled sharply, unable to hold back the tears that began to run down her cheeks.