Chapter 39
KARA
Teeth brushed, showered, and dressed in my own clothes, I felt somewhat normal, albeit weak, so I didn’t refuse the wheelchair when they brought it to me. My lightheadedness should be gone in another day, according to the doctor who was fluent in English.
“Where am I going?” I asked when I was seated.
“I’m taking you to the airport,” Shawn answered.
Good. I was anxious to get going. An orderly pushed me out into the hall and paused for Shawn and Laurel to follow. When we were on the move, he texted Jason that we were leaving but then let out a sigh. Whatever was sent back frustrated him.
“What is going on?” I asked.
As soon as the elevators closed us in, he crouched down to face me at eye-level, frowning. “When we get to the lobby, it’s going to be unpleasant.”
“Unpleasant how?”
“There’s video of what happened in the square.”
“Okay,” I said, not understanding. We’d been in a crowded, public place, so it wasn’t surprising there’d been cameras.
“And there’s been a lot of news coverage of my brewery being bombed and the woman who was abducted. It didn’t take people long to identify me, or you as the woman in that video.”
Before it could sink in, the doors opened to reveal the large number of media camped out to the side of the hospital, just beyond the glass doors of the lobby. Long lenses were up and facing us, a gigantic flurry of activity when Shawn straightened to stand beside me.
I wanted to pull the brakes on the wheelchair but had no idea how, and the orderly pressed forward.
Jason was waiting, his back to the cameras, facing us.
He said something, perhaps in German or maybe in English, but it was too difficult to tell.
There were so many cameras and reporters, it was all I could focus on.
“Kara,” Jason said, drawing my attention. He had his hands on his hips, and his expression was unclear. As if he were wrestling with something. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to repay what you did for us.”
He wasn’t like Shawn. Words of gratitude and expressing feelings didn’t come easy.
“Thank you,” he pushed out, heavy with meaning.
I looked at my sister, who stepped into her husband’s arms.
“Laurel would have done the same for me,” I said, “and you did shoot the asshole.” He had a look like that wasn’t enough, so I continued, “You can, like, get me a gift card or something if you feel inclined.”
He nodded, barely cracking a smile. Juric had made a mess of his life, but that was over now, and he hadn’t come out of it empty-handed.
My gaze drifted back to the reporters beyond the glass who were shouting my name and Shawn’s, and it ratcheted up my heartrate.
Jason’s attention went to his brother. “I did the best I could.”
“Believe me, I know,” he said. They could have been talking about anything.
Laurel leaned over and hugged me tightly. “Have a safe trip, and you call me when you get there, okay?”
I didn’t want to leave her, but the cameras . . . “Okay,” I said over my disappointment. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Her gaze rose to Shawn, and she gave him the evil eye. It made him smile, and he pulled her into a quick hug.
“Auf Wiedersehen,” she said.
“Don’t stop moving when you get outside,” Jason commanded. “Good luck.”
When my sister and brother-in-law stepped into a vacant elevator, Shawn said something to the orderly, and I was rolling forward. Everything was happening too fast for me. “Wait, wait! Shawn, I can’t do this.”
He gave me a pained look. “They’re not going to go away.”
The first set of glass doors peeled open, forcing me to shrink back into the wheelchair. The crowd of people with cameras jostled over each other to get into position, snapping pictures. It was mid-morning, but their flashes went off regardless, a sickening strobe effect.
He took my hand when the second set of doors opened, unleashing hell on us. The shouting was a roar, a mix of German and English questions almost impossible to discern. There were a few security personnel who kept a path clear, a bubble of space around us that collapsed almost immediately.
I wanted to die.
Laurel had selected a long-sleeved shirt for me even though it was warm outside, but there was no hiding my face or the faint ring of bruising around my neck. When a camera was shoved in front of me, Shawn batted it away and pressed us forward into the crowd. Where was he going?
Then I saw the limo waiting with the door open, impossible to see through the throng of people until we were almost on top of it.
“Kara! Kara Hayward,” the man beside me yelled. “Look over here!”
I didn’t dare. My eyes were fixed on Shawn, who pushed a cameraman out of the way and used my hand he was holding to pull me to my feet.
I didn’t need him to say anything. I flung myself into the back seat and made way for him to follow.
Which he did, struggling to close the door to the limo and probably breaking a camera in the process.
The interior dulled the noise from the circus somewhat.
“Schei?e,” he swore. “You all right? They can’t see us in here.” He straightened his suit, getting the jacket to sit better on his shoulders, before telling the driver to go.
I nodded, although the anxiety left me sick to my stomach. Thankfully, it faded as the car hurried away. We sat together on the bench in the back, and his arm hesitantly stretched behind me, over my shoulders.
“You Europeans have no concept of personal space,” I joked.
He straightened abruptly, and it made me feel awful.
“No, Shawn. I was teasing.” I grabbed his arm and threw it on my shoulders, positioning myself against him.
Of course he was concerned about what I was comfortable with after Juric.
My hand slid inside his suit coat and wrapped around his waist so I could cling to him. “I’m okay with this. I want this.”
His chest rose and fell as he relaxed on a breath. His lips brushed a kiss over my forehead, right at my hairline. “Whatever you want.”
The drive to the Frankfurt airport took two hours, and I spent them enveloped in his embrace. His phone chimed endlessly until he turned it to vibrate, and even then, I could hear the steady, dull quiver it made from his pocket.
“How bad was the damage to your brewery?”
“The east side will need to be torn down and rebuilt. We’re still waiting on final reports, but they believe the structure can be saved. The facade for the main entrance is still intact.”
The most recognizable, significant part of his family’s building was still standing. I squeezed his hand, overwhelmed with relief for him.
“But it makes your gift more special,” he said.
I sat up and stared into his warm brown eyes, giving him a soft smile. “Figuring out what to get you for your birthday wasn’t easy. I’m glad you like it.”
“I do, thank you.” He tucked me back beside him.
“How long is the flight back to Munich?”
“What makes you think we’re going there?”
His company had been bombed, and I couldn’t imagine how important it was that he oversee the rebuild. “Because your headquarters are there?”
“You want to go home.” He said it with casual ease. “I’m going wherever you are.”
I frowned. “You should be in Munich.”
But in response he gave me a single look, one filled with determination and that other emotion I’d seen from my hospital bed, and my heart lurched.
“The only way I’m not going with you is if you tell me that’s what you want.
” He lifted my hand in his and set it on his chest, right over his heart. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“Yes,” I admitted, “but that’s selfish of me.”
“You’re allowed to be selfish.” This was sweet Shawn, disabling thought. “Do you . . . want to talk about it?”
“No,” I said, hushed. “Not right now.”
He seemed torn. Part of him didn’t want to know, and part of him looked desperate to. Yet it was clear he didn’t want to push.
“Where are we staying?” I asked. “My apartment was destroyed.”
He shook his head and gave a cryptic smile. “We’re not going to Maastricht, either.”
What? “Okay. Where are we going?”
His smile continued, signaling this was a surprise he wasn’t ready to reveal. But I figured it out quickly. It’d be a flight or two, and then American soil would be beneath my feet. Beneath our feet.
I went up the steps of the plane after greeting the flight crew with a warm smile. Victoria pretended not to notice the bruises and commented she was glad to see I was feeling better.
The realization that this plane was for me, and what he was giving up, truly hit me when I stepped into the empty cabin.
I turned abruptly to face Shawn and kissed him with complete and utter abandon. My arms flung around his broad shoulders, my mouth captured his, and in response, his hands slid around me. Our kiss was passionate, wild, and full of love.
God, I drank it up. My fingers threaded through his soft hair, holding on, not wanting it to ever stop. The power of it left me shaking and greedy for more.
But he lifted his head to end the kiss, and I found his eyes dazed.
“I don’t know where that came from, but can I get you to put it on hold for a minute? I need to finish check-in with the captain.”
I nodded slowly, but he hesitated, as if he doubted this decision. “I’ll be right back.”
He hurried down the stairs with lighting speed.
I reached out to grasp the back of the chair nearest me to steady myself, but it was a lost cause. My wooziness had me dropping into one of the plush seats.
“Are you sure about this?” I said when he reappeared. “Your company and your employees . . .”
“I can’t get anything done with all the attention on us right now,” he said.
“My mother ran Osterh?gen for more than twenty-five years. I’m confident she can manage another week.
” He shifted his weight like the matter was settled and smoothed a hand down his tie.
“There are seven breweries in North America. I can always visit one of them.”
I let suspicion cloud my face. “You’re being awfully nice to me.”
“What do you mean?” He feigned seriousness. “You’re riding in the cargo hold.”
It felt foreign but wonderful to smile. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going now?”
“You’re welcome to try to make me.” He bent and put his arms beneath me, lifting so he could take a seat in the chair I’d just been sitting in, lowering me into his lap.
“There are plenty of other seats on this plane,” I said in fake protest.
“Yes, but I like this one.” He pushed my hair out of his way so he could kiss my neck and make me shudder with enjoyment.
His fingers toyed with the hospital bracelet around my left wrist, and I understood. “Yes, please.”
He tore it open and slipped it in a pocket. Then his expression filled with curiosity, but he said nothing, and it took me a moment to figure it out.
Oh.
He was wondering about the rings. My gaze fell to my hand in his, the platinum bands that looked at home there. He seemed happy to let me wear them.
So, why not continue to do it? He’d given me so much; couldn’t I do him this small favor? I lifted my left hand to tuck my hair behind an ear and flattened my lips together, subtly telling him I wasn’t going to return the jewelry without prompting.
His voice was low and deep, his eyes clear. “All right, then.”
A familiar ring sounded from his jacket pocket, and I blinked. Was that my phone?
Sure enough, he pulled out my mobile, took one look at the screen, and answered it for me. The angry scolding I was about to unleash died when he spoke.
“Hello, Paul. This is Shawn.”
I couldn’t imagine what Paul’s face must look like.
“She’s on my Gulfstream, although I don’t know why that’s any of your business.”
A smile burned across my lips. That statement was sure to make him crazy with jealousy, as he was obsessed with status. I was close enough to hear that Paul was angry, but not what he was saying exactly.
“Let me stop you right there,” he continued. “She’s been through a lot, but she’s all right.” His tone turned cold. “You have no idea what you’re talking about, so I suggest you shut the fuck up.”
Whatever Paul said next made Shawn arch an eyebrow.
“Thanks for your concern. Don’t bother her again, or I’ll have a chat with Dan Novak at Meridian. I can be persuasive.”
He pressed the screen to end the call and handed my phone to me.
“Who’s Dan Novak?” I asked.
“He was a VP at the North American marketing firm Osterh?gen uses, until Meridian lured him away.” He didn’t need to tell me anything else. Everyone at my company knew we were bidding for a massive software project for Meridian’s billing department—and apparently Shawn did too.
The idea that he could have one conversation and kill the whole thing made me swallow hard.
Abruptly, the corners of his mouth lifted into a wicked smile.
“What?” I asked, nervous.
“I’m surprised to learn you’re only interested in fucking me. And from Paul, no less.”
My face felt like it was on fire. “I can explain that.”
He had a full-out grin now. “Can’t wait to hear it.”
“He called me, jealous about the idea of us together. He said that you had a reputation of sleeping around, and he didn’t want to see me get hurt.”
His smile faded a touch.
“I got mad at that, so I asked how he knew I wasn’t interested in doing that to you.”
“Are you?”
“You know I’m not.”
Victory flashed in his eyes. “I’m glad you’ve come to your senses.”