Free Trinity (The Executive's Affair) by Elizabeth Nelson

the podium and quieted the crowd with a wave of his hands. "Thank you all for coming," he began. "I'd like to extend my deepest apologies to the Garrison Children's Hospital for my lack of attendance at last night's charity ball. As a symbol of my remorse, I will double my yearly contribution to the hospital." He paused as a ripple worked through the crowd. "I truly hope that the Garrison Children's Hospital and Cstary Holdings will be able to continue the business relationship that we've both worked so hard to build and foster.
    "Unfortunately, my lack of attendance was unavoidable. Last night when I arrived to pick up my fiancé, Miss Trinity Collins, I found her on the floor, beaten and unconscious." Laszlo's heart rate spiked as he remembered how it had felt to see her like that. It was the single worst moment of his entire life. "She, along with our unborn child, are in stable condition. I ask that you please respect our privacy during this difficult time. Thank you."
    "Mr. Cstary!" A female reporter stood and waved to get his attention. "Do the police have any leads on who attacked Miss Collins?"
    "No," he said with a shake of his head. "However, I am personally offering a one million dollar reward to anyone who comes forth with any information that will lead us to the person responsible." From the corner of his eye he saw Trinity's doctor enter the room and walk toward him. "Excuse me," he said covering the microphone with his hand.
    "Mr. Cstary, Trinity is awake and she's asking for you," the doctor whispered.
    "Thank you." Laszlo turned to the press. "Any further questions can be addressed to my PR manager, Natasha Davidson." He left and rushed back to Trinity's room. He entered to find her sitting up in bed, trembling and crying. "Oh, Trin," he whispered.
    "Laszlo," she whimpered, her lips quivering as she spoke. "I'm so sorry."
    He sat on the bed next to her and put his arm around her shoulders, being careful not to hurt her, and pulled her head to his shoulder. "You have nothing to be sorry for, love." He kissed the top of her head.
    "Yes I do. All of this is my fault." Her hands clung to the front of his shirt. She buried her face against him and cried. "My brother is going to die because of what I did."
    Laszlo stroked her hair in an attempt to soothe her. "You don't know that, Trin. I've got an entire team of investigators looking for your brother. They will find him and protect him. I promise you nothing will happen to him."
    "It's probably already too late."
    He had no idea why she would say something like that, but he didn't ask because he was afraid it would agitate her and he didn't want the nurse to have to sedate her again. "Where is he?"
    "He lives in Buffalo, New York. His name is Frank Johnson." She sat up slowly and looked a t him through tear stained eyes. "Please, Laszlo, you have to find him."
    There was so much fear and desperation in her voice it tore at his heart. Wiping the tears from her face, he said, "I will. I promise."
    "I wanted to tell you," she said.
    "Tell me what?" He wondered if the medication she was on was making her loopy because she was making absolutely no sense.
    "I was just so afraid of how you'd react, that you'd think less of me, that you wouldn't want to be with me. Oh god!" She covered her face with her hands and sobbed for several moments before she continued. "I thought if I just left, if I disappeared that I could save you from all of this, but then I found out I was pregnant and you were so happy…I knew I couldn't…I couldn't…"
    "Hey, it's okay, shh." He hugged her and rubbed her back. Tears stung his eyes and he had no idea why. Maybe it was the way her voice gave out, or seeing her so distraught, or maybe it was because he'd known she was going to leave him and it terrified him that she might still try. "Whatever it is you can tell me."
    Slowly, Trinity lif ted her head and looked at him, but she still didn't speak. He took her face into his hands and kissed her