“Dangerous to me? He isn’t the type of man to hurt a woman.” She believed that with her heart and soul. She knew it with every fiber of her being. “What aren’t you telling me, Cullen? Does it have something to do with my heart? The pregnancy? Or something to do with Dayan disappearing each time I wake up?”
Cullen glanced at her set face. “Corinne, he doesn’t want to be with anyone else. If you think he has someone else stashed somewhere, you’re wrong. I’m not worried too much about your heart condition; I even tried reassuring Lisa, because she’s very afraid. But Dayan’s family can work miracles.
“I never imagined Dayan with a woman, so protective and…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “But I’ve seen it before in the band members. You should meet Darius. Now, there’s a scary man, but with Tempest he acts entirely different, the way Dayan does with you.”
Exasperated with him, Corinne stared out the window at the passing traffic. Clearly, Cullen was concerned about something, yet he wasn’t going to tell her. Maybe it had nothing to do with Dayan and everything to do with her. Maybe Cullen didn’t want his friend mixed up with someone like her. She was pregnant. She had a bad heart, and she moved objects around with her mind.
With each passing mile she felt more tired, more strained, her heart laboring so hard it was difficult to breathe. And she thought of Dayan. Worried about him when she should have been worrying about Lisa. What if Dayan had returned to their home again and someone had hurt him? Perhaps he was lying injured somewhere, needing her help, and she was unaware of it.
“Dayan didn’t go back to my house last night, did he?” There was a little catch in her voice that she couldn’t prevent.
Cullen shook his head. “Not a chance. He had no need. He took you with him to retrieve the things you and Lisa wanted. I was surprised he did that, by the way. I would have bet my last dollar that he would have tied you up at our house to keep you safe. How did you talk your way around him?”
“He’s very reasonable.” Even as she said it, the car was taking her further and further from him, and her heart was laboring harder and harder.
“You’re certain he didn’t go back to the house? We ran into trouble – did Dayan tell you?” She tried to sound matter-of-fact about it.
Cullen pinned her with speculative eyes. “No, he didn’t say a single word. What kind of trouble?”
Corinne rubbed her pounding temple. She was feeling sick to her stomach. And the terrible dread was increasing with each passing mile. “Things. A peculiar fog bank. There was someone at the house. Dayan went out into the fog, and then we went into the house. There was a car…” She trailed off, trying to pull the memory out of her hazy brain. “I can’t think – I feel sick.”
“Do you have medicine you should be taking?” Cullen was concerned about her color. Corinne was deathly white.
They were approaching the large park where Lisa was to do the photo shoot. To their left, Cullen could see the vehicles crowded together. An area was cordoned off for the cameras and crew. Corinne put both hands protectively over her stomach. She was feeling very sick, struggling just to sound as if she were breathing normally.
“Corinne!” Cullen said sharply. “Do you have medicine with you?”
She nodded toward her purse. Her heart was pounding hard, erratically. The baby was moving in alarm. Cullen spilled out two tablets into his palm, very afraid for her. He never should have brought her with him to this place.
‘Corinne.’ The voice was soft and steady, a brushing like butterfly wings in her head. ‘What is wrong with your heart? You must calm down.’
Dayan’s voice alone managed to calm her. Where was he? The fact that he could reach her reassured her that he was alive and well. Corinne took the tablets and made an effort to breathe rhythmically. ‘I am okay now, Dayan.’