about it.'
'You can't let the bastards get you down. I don't.' Julie pointed at Gloria. 'Is that your grandmother?'
'Yes.'
'She's a tough old bird. I've read about her. She built an empire from nothing. I'm doing a paper on powerful women for one of my classes. You think she'd let me interview her?'
'I think she'd be flattered.'
“Cool. Nice to meet you. I hope you feel better.'
Julie made her way to where Gloria was talking with Katherine.
Dani rested her head on her pillow. Walker came over and kissed her forehead.
'I talked to one of the cops. They've caught all three kids. They'll be charged. One of the advantages of having a senator in the family.'
'Good thing, otherwise you'd have to kill them.'
He stared at her. 'I wouldn't have killed them.'
She knew her brother. 'You would have gotten damn close.'
'You're my sister.'
She was getting a lot of that lately. A lot of connection, a lot of caring. Katherine was hovering, probably in an attempt to make up for lying about Fiona. When they were next alone Dani was going to tell her she meant what she said-she understood and forgave. She was more upset with Alex's reaction. Why hadn't he pushed back harder? Why had he let her go so easily?
Three hours later she still didn't have the answers to her questions, but at least she could wonder in silence. The nurses had finally shoved everyone out so Dani could rest. She'd just closed her eyes, prepared to finally go to sleep, when she heard someone walk into the room.
She opened her eyes and saw Alex standing by her bed.
The only light came from the hallway, so his face was in shadow. She couldn't tell what he was thinking but she was glad he was here. More than glad. It had to mean something, right? He hadn't just stayed away.
She was spineless where he was concerned, she thought. Spineless and weak and desperately in love.
'That's a hell of a black eye,' he said as he lightly touched her cheekbone.
'You should see the other guy.'
He didn't smile. Instead he bent down and gathered her in his arms. He was strong and warm and the second he embraced her she felt totally safe.
'God damn sonofabitch,' he said his voice muffled by her shoulder.
She clung to him. 'I'm taking that as a statement against those guys and not a comment on my lack of makeup.'
He released her, then dragged a chair over to her bed. When he'd sat down, he took both her hands in his.
'I couldn't believe it when I heard,' he told her. 'I want to ask if you're okay. Stupid question. How could you be?'
'I'm fine,' she said. 'A little shaken, but okay. Assuming I don't fall into a coma or have a seizure or whatever else they expect when they keep you overnight for observation, I'm out of here in the morning.' She pulled one hand free and touched her face. 'I'll have a great story.'
'You had to be scared.'
'More than I've ever been in my life. But mostly for Bailey. I was terrified they were really going to rape her.'
'You knocked 'em around. There are bruises.'
'You've seen them?'
'I've been off intimidating them and their parents. Those teens have a history of making trouble. Nothing this bad, but they've always gotten off with light sentences. Not this time.'
'Is Bailey okay?'
He smiled. 'She's being treated like the heroine she is. She says she wasn't that scared. That she knew you'd take care of her. Then when they hurt you, she wanted payback.' He squeezed her fingers. 'She even confessed that she used bad language, but she was given a free pass this one time.'
Dani chuckled. 'I believe the phrase was 'butthead.' She's such a sweetheart. I can't believe how cruel those kids were to her. The things they said.'
'There's no law against being stupid.'
'Speaking of which,' she said, staring at the blanket on her lap. 'I believe I'm falling into that category.' She forced herself to look at him. 'I guess Fiona sucked me in.'
He stared into her eyes. 'I haven't slept with her. I'm not interested in her. I won't go so far as to say I hate her because that implies a level of energy I don't have where she's concerned. She's nothing to me, Dani. I want you to know that.'
'I do. Really. I should have thought it through. I should have asked instead of yelling.'
'No. I'm to blame for that. Your accusation caught me off guard. My pride got in the way. I thought you should have believed in me. Later I realized that given your past and how short a time we've known each other, believing what looked like real proof made sense.'
'Yeah?' Did this mean he wasn't going to let her get away?
'Yeah.' He leaned in and kissed her.
'It's just she knew stuff about the house. Like the fireplace being on a remote.'
'She'd seen the place. She was pissed I'd left her so when she found out I was interested in that house, she bid against me. The irony is that because of the divorce settlement, she was bidding against me with my own money.'
Dani sighed. 'I never thought of her seeing it any way but with you. I'm sorry.'
'Don't be. I should have handled things differently. The pregnancy thing threw me. I was trying to figure out who she could have been seeing. After the fact I thought maybe you would have seen that distraction as guilt or surprise.'
'Kind of.'
He kissed her again. His mouth was warm and promising. She wanted to keep kissing him, but considering their location and how much her head hurt, it was probably not a good idea.
'I don't want her,' he said. 'I want you.'
'Good answer.'
'Are we okay?'
She nodded, then touched her head. 'I have to stop doing that.'
'What about the poll numbers?' he asked. 'They were bothering you before.'
'I don't know. You're the expert at this-not me. Do we ignore them and hope they go away?'
'You can't run your life based on the campaign.'
Which sounded great, she thought. But was it reality? Mark was her father. What did she owe him?
'I don't want to ruin anything,' she admitted. 'I don't want to be the reason he doesn't become president.'
'You'd walk away from me?' Alex asked.
She studied him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. 'Are you saying you wouldn't? That if Mark asked you not to see me, you'd tell him to go to hell?' She placed her fingers on his mouth. 'Be honest. He's your father. You value loyalty above everything else. This is his dream. Do either of us have the right to destroy that?'
“There will be other scandals.'
But right now she was the scandal du jour.
'We don't have to deal with this tonight,' Alex told her. 'Get some rest. I'll be by to take you home in the morning.'
'I look forward to it.'
He kissed her and left.
She shifted on the bed, trying to get comfortable. Her head still pounded and that would make it difficult to
