Rule's Addiction (The House of Rule 3)

“Baby,” he mumbled again in commiseration for whatever she’d gone through in the last few minutes.

When he received no indication of an answer, Garrett glanced back at Dan. “She’s in shock. Her temperature has dropped, she needs to be warmed up.” He thought for a moment before coming up with an idea. “Do you know if there are any guests using the hot tub?

The man began shaking his head as if it wasn’t the answer they needed. “You won’t find the privacy she needs there. I was just there and the swimming pool area is more crowded than usual.” The man seemed to debate something for a few seconds before continuing, “But there’s a hot tub in the Presidential Suite, and the room is unoccupied at the moment.”

“Fifth floor?” Garrett asked.

“Yeah.”

“Do me a favor and get some room service up there? I want a bottle of cognac,” Garrett paused, wondering is she’d balk at the liquor. “And a bottle of red wine, house brand is fine. After that, get whatever doctor the hotel has on call and send him up. If we need anything else, I’ll call down for it later, okay?”

“Yes, sir. I’m on it.” The man gave a last lingering, paternal glance at Maria before frowning and turning away.

Garrett glanced at the other maintenance man who was standing still as if staring at a tableau unfolding, and barked, “Make sure this gets repaired. I don’t give a shit how much it costs or who we have to call to make sure it happens. I don’t want this shit happening again.”

“Yes, sir,” the man said, already cordoning off the area with yellow tape.

Garrett turned back to Maria, tipping her chin up with his hand. “Let’s get you out of here, okay?”

Her eyes wouldn’t meet his, almost as if she was scared of everything around her. “You’re safe now, baby. I’m here and I’m not going to let anything hurt you, okay?”

At his words, her gaze swung back to his and clung as if she were looking at her only lifeline. His abs tightened as he took a hit to his equilibrium. “I’m going to pick you up and get you out of here.”

When she didn’t answer or acknowledge his words, Garrett slipped an arm under her already drawn-up legs and the other behind her back. Gratifyingly, she didn’t try to fight him, only stayed curled into a tight ball and huddled against his chest.

He stood to his feet and as he made a move toward the main elevator of the hotel, she whimpered a denial in the back of her throat. Feeling as if he wanted to kick himself in the ass for causing her additional upset, he went toward the stairwell and climbed the flight of stairs, gladly carrying her the entire way, feeling as if he deserved the slight penance for upsetting her.

When they arrived at the Presidential Suite, he was forced to set her on her bare feet while he grabbed his key-card from his wallet. She leaned against him while he opened the door. Picking her up again, he pushed inside and took a moment to glance around. The suite was very nice for the size and age of the hotel, but then again, it had only recently been refurbished with Rule Corporation money. And he and his brothers almost unequivocally did things right.

He walked through to the bedroom and pulled back the covers, placing her within them and tucking her in. Finding another blanket, he laid that on top of her as well. “I’m going to turn the heat on the hot tub, babe. I’ll be back in a sec.”

When her eyes closed and she turned her head away, he grimaced, but pushed through to the bathroom. The hot tub was big enough for four, and he adjusted the setting to an appropriate temperature.

By the time he started for her side, a knock on the door let him know the doctor had arrived. Garrett let the man in and shook his hand, briefly explaining the situation.

They walked through to the bedroom. “Maria, baby. You know Dr. Valdez . . . he’s going to check you out, okay?”

Almost imperceptibly, she nodded her head.

The doctor went to her side. “I’m going to take your temperature and blood pressure, just to make sure you haven’t had any residual side effects from your scare, okay?”

Again, the only answer she gave was a slight tilt of her head.

The doctor went about his business, taking her temperature and testing her blood pressure. “Can you tell me what happened, Maria?”

Her eyes left the doctor’s and sought out Garrett’s gaze and he felt his stomach dip as she seemed to want him to answer for her. “She got trapped in the elevator, I already told you that,” he hissed out, pissed the doctor was upsetting her needlessly.