Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Sadie sat on her Daddy’s lap, too. Hawking figured she’d been reliving her own ordeal in her head today while Celeste faced her demons. She was snuggled as close as she could get. “Did they figure out the identity of the woman who approached you in the bathroom?”
Celeste had filled Sadie in on that scary part as soon as they’d arrived.
Hawking nodded. “Security caught her at the door. She never made it out of the building. As we suspected, she was hired by Hughes to intimidate Celeste. It was his last-ditch effort before going on air. There’s no evidence he planned to actually do anyone any harm other than hiring the two goons who tried to keep me from approaching the stage. They were no threat to me.”
Celeste wrapped her arms around his neck. “You were stronger than both of them put together, Daddy.”
He chuckled and rubbed her back. But she was right. They may have grabbed for him, but he’d elbowed them both and had shaken free in seconds.
“Six people were arrested surveilling the property here,” Rocco announced. “I have to say it was rather pleasurable watching all the cuffing going on from my perch up in the mountain.”
Sadie sighed. “From here, it was just plain scary, Daddy.”
He cupped her face. “I was never in any danger, Cookie. Those guys never even knew I was watching.”
Magnus leaned back against the cushions. “The police will be interviewing everyone who worked for Hughes. It’ll take weeks. I suspect we’ll see several more arrests before it’s over, but most of them had nothing to do with Celeste or her research. The majority have already come forward to prove their innocence upfront.”
Celeste leaned her head against Hawking’s shoulder. “I considered several of the employees my friends, or at least my acquaintances. I hope none of them had anything to do with me being fired. It would hurt my soul.”
Hawking could sympathize with her. “I bet they only remained silent about your firing under duress.”
“I hope so,” she murmured.
After a lull in the conversation, Hawking rose to his feet, cradling Celeste in his arms. “We’re both exhausted. Thanks for everything today. I’m beyond grateful for the support of such an amazing team.”
“Any time, man,” Magnus responded.
“Of course,” the rest of them added.
Hawking turned to head for the elevator. He wanted to be alone with his girl. No, he needed to be alone with her. He needed to hold her naked in his arms and reassure himself she was still alive.
He carried her to their apartment and into the bedroom in silence, depositing her gently on the bed.
When he rose to pull his shirt off, she sat up straighter. “Daddy, I have a question.”
“What is it, Cuddle Bug?”
She looked serious and licked her lips several times before continuing. “Did you have cancer at some point?”
He lifted both brows. “No. What makes you think that?”
She shrugged. “It’s just that you seem to know a lot about cancer research, and you said that Kingsley rescued everyone on your team at some point in the past. I wondered if he got you the cancer treatments you needed like he did for that woman’s son the other day.”
Oh, boy. Hawking needed to come clean with her. She didn’t deserve for him to keep secrets from her. He dropped his shirt on the floor and sat on the edge of the bed. “I wasn’t the one who had cancer. It was my mother.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh. Is she still with us?”
“No. Sadly, she passed. I wish she’d had access to the drug you’ve invented. It might have bought her more time. But I was grateful for the drugs Kingsley bought her. She lived far longer than the experts predicted because of him.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss. I know losing a parent is hard. Watching them die of cancer is brutal.”
He took her hand and held her gaze. “There’s more to that story, CB. Most of it, I’m not proud of. I was in a very low place, thinking only about doing whatever it would take to keep my mother alive when Kingsley’s men found me and saved me from a very dangerous situation I’d gotten myself into. They saved my life, and Kingsley paid for the treatment my mother needed.”
She crawled forward and threw her arms around his neck before kissing him all over his face. “I understand, Daddy. People will do almost anything to get the treatment they need for a dying relative. You don’t have to explain further. I know you’re a good man and the bestest Daddy on earth.”
He couldn’t even respond through the lump in his throat as he held her and tried to keep his tears at bay. He didn’t deserve her.
“Know what else I know?” Celeste asked.
He shook his head.
“I know you’d do whatever that was all over again if you could go back, and that you’d do the same thing if it were me.”