Della

The phone on Woods's desk beeped twice. "Mr. Kerrington, Miss Greystone is here to see you," the secretary's voice announced through the speaker.

Woods closed his eyes and laid his head back on the chair we were sitting in. "Damn. What the hell does she need now?"

Did she come here often? I fought back the jealousy that wanted to eat its way inside me. Of course she came by to see him. She was staying with his mother and helping her deal with things, which in turn was helping Woods. Unlike me. I wasn't doing anything to help him. I didn't know what to do.

I started to get out of his lap but his hands tightened on me.

"We need to get dressed."

"Don't leave me here with her."

I leaned over and kissed the tip of his nose. "I won't go anywhere. But I prefer to be wearing clothes when she walks in."

Woods let out a sigh and let go of me so I could get up and get dressed.

"You get dressed, too. I don't care what she's seen before me, I don't want her seeing it now."

Woods laughed out loud and stood up. "I'm going to put my clothes on, sexy. Calm down."

We both grinned at each other as we dressed. I liked the idea of her coming in here and seeing us together and knowing what we had been doing. It was silly for me to feel that way, but I did.

"You can send her in," Woods replied, standing at his desk while he watched me fix my hair, which our wild sex had messed up. My ponytail was barely hanging on.

The door swung open and I spun around to see Angelina strutting inside like she belonged here. "I don't know why you . . ." Her voice trailed off as her gaze landed on me. I finished adjusting my ponytail and let my hands fall back down to my sides.

"Did you really just---"

"Why are you back?" Woods cut off her question.

Angelina jerked her gaze to him as if he'd slapped her. I watched as she fought to compose herself. Woods hadn't bothered to run his fingers through his hair and it was messed up from my hands being in it. I bit back a smile as I looked at his properly rumpled appearance.

"I came back to tell you your mother wants to have you over for dinner," Angelina said tightly.

"Unless Della is invited, I'm afraid I won't be able to make it."

Angelina let out a frustrated sigh and shot me an annoyed glance before looking back at Woods. "She's your mother, Woods. She just lost her husband and she's hurting. You're all she has left. Don't you get that? Do you not care?"

She was right. Woods's mother might never like me. But she was his mother, and right now she needed him. "I want you to go, Woods," I said before he could say anything.

He looked over at me and frowned.

"Please," I said, hoping he wouldn't argue with me in front of her.

Woods ran a hand through his hair and I smiled at the way it was still messed up. He was adorable like that. "Fine. But only for an hour. This will also be a one-time thing. Next time I have dinner with her, Della will be with me."

Angelina's annoyed grimace turned into a pleased smile. She would get him tonight, too, without me around. I hated that but I couldn't let it keep Woods from his mother.

"I'm glad you're thinking with something other than your dick," Angelina replied before spinning around and heading out the door.

"She's a bitch. Ignore her," Woods said, shoving off from the desk he'd been leaning on and walking over to me.

"I know," I assured him, but deep down I worried that she was right.

"They're at the door, Della. Don't let them in here. They'll hurt us. All they want to do is hurt us. We have to keep your brother safe. They tried to kill him before. They'll kill us this time. Don't let them in. Shhhh. Stop that crying, you little brat! You have to be quiet. So very quiet, then they'll go away."

I covered my mouth with both my hands to keep in the terrified cries I couldn't control. I hated when this happened. Mom would get mean afterward. She didn't like it when people knocked on our door. It upset her. And she would talk to him. He wasn't there, but she saw him. That scared me, too.

"Get up! They're gone. Go to the door and get the package they left and be careful that they don't see you."

I didn't want to open the door. I wasn't sure what was out there that wanted to get me, but I didn't want to open the door. Momma had been making me do that more and more lately. Since my sixth birthday.

Pain seared my head as she wrapped her hand around my ponytail and jerked me to my feet. I couldn't let her hear me cry or this would get worse.

"Go!" she screamed in that voice that sent chills down my body. The hard shove from her hands sent me stumbling out of the closet and into the hallway. She would stay in the closet until I came back with the package.

I glanced back at her but instead of seeing her wild, distant eyes there was blood. It was pouring out of the room and into the hallway. No . . . no, there wasn't supposed to be blood.

Then a shrill scream of terror ripped from the small room.

I jolted straight up and the scream was still echoing around me as it tore from my chest. It was my own scream. It was always my scream. Not my mother's.

I was still alone. Looking around the living room, I took slow, deep breaths while my heart kept hammering against my chest. I pulled my legs up and tucked my knees under my chest. Falling asleep without Woods here wasn't something I did often. Having him near me while I slept kept me from having night terrors for the most part.

The clock on the fridge said it was after nine. He should have been home over an hour ago. Had he stayed later with his mother? I reached for my phone on the coffee table and saw that I had two missed calls and one text message. All from Woods.

I clicked the text message.

{tm}Please answer. I'm worried about you and Mom passed out during dinner. I think she hasn't been eating properly. Call me!{tx}

That had been ten minutes ago. I jumped up from the couch and started to dial his number when the front door swung open and Woods came running inside. His eyes locked on mine and he stopped and let out a deep breath. "Thank God. Shit, baby, you scared me."

I dropped my phone and walked over to him. "I'm so sorry. I just woke up. I fell asleep on the couch. How's your mother?"

Woods pulled me against him and wrapped his arms around me. "She was too weak to stand up so I called an ambulance. Angelina kept saying it could be a stroke. She rode in the ambulance with Mom so I could come back here and check on you."

I pushed at his chest. "Go! Go to the hospital. No, wait, let me get my shoes, I'm going too."

"Are you sure? If you're tired I don't want to drag you to the hospital. We could be there all night."

I slipped my feet into a pair of tennis shoes and ran my hands through my hair. "I want to be with you."

Woods smiled and held out his hand for me. "Good. I won't be able to focus if I'm worried about you here alone. If you need to sleep, I can always hold you."

I tried not to think about the fact that Angelina was helping him take care of his mother. He had been able to leave her knowing she would be there beside his mother. What was I good for? He had to worry about me. I was weak and needy. I was one more thing for him to stress over. I wasn't any help at all.

"Stop frowning. She's gonna be okay. The paramedics said there's a good chance her potassium is low. They don't think it's a stroke but they said due to her heart rate we needed to admit her and let doctors check her out."

I nodded as he laced his fingers through mine. "Let's go," I told him.

I was going to find a way to be helpful. He needed someone to lean on right now and I was going to be that someone.

"Did you sleep okay without me here?" he asked as we stepped outside.

"Yes. I slept great," I lied, because telling him the truth would only have upset him.