Ellie stared at him in disbelief. He was standing there like a madman, waving a gun around, and he expected Tina to come running home? She knew that there was no way that would happen. Tina was afraid of him.
'So you kidnapped me because you think that will make your wife love you?'
Having said it out loud, maybe he'd realise how ridiculous it sounded. If she hadn't been so scared she would have laughed. The man had a strange line in seduction techniques!
'I know she loves me.'
'Mr Foggarty—Ken—have you really thought this through? This really isn't the best way to make her come back to you.'
'She'll come back.' He was ominously calm. 'If she doesn't, I'll kill you.'
She looked at him closely and then shook her head. 'You wouldn't do that. I just know you wouldn't. You're just feeling very hurt and angry for some reason. I know that you're too nice a person to hurt me.'
His face darkened with anger. 'You don't know anything about me, lady!'
'As you said yourself, Tina loves you,' Ellie pointed out, 'which means that you must be a nice person. Just a bit mixed up, I suppose.'
'Just shut up!' He waved the gun angrily in her direction. 'I've had enough of your talking!'
Still watching, the gun and wondering whether it was loaded, she tried to think rationally.
What should she do?
What exactly had Tina told her about him? She'd definitely said that Ken had changed since the birth of the baby.
So maybe the child was the key to how he was feeling.
'You haven't asked me how your little girl is,' she said, trying to keep her tone conversational. 'I looked after her when she came in.'
'I don't care about the kid. I just want my woman.' He glared at her and his hand tightened on the gun. 'Now stop talking!'
'She was very badly injured—'
'Then she shouldn't have come between me and Tina.'
So it was definitely the baby.
Ellie nodded sympathetically. 'Babies can be hard work, can't they?'
Ken's eyes narrowed, his breathing rapid. 'I told you to stop talking!'
'My cousin's just had one,' she told him, trying to ignore the feel of the rope biting into her wrists. 'She's always exhausted and she has much less time for Paul—that's her husband. It's very difficult.'
'That's enough—' he growled threateningly, but she ignored him and carried on talking.
'Becoming a family takes a lot of getting used to.'
'I don't want to get used to it! Now, for the last time, shut up!'
'All right.' Ellie's tone was patient and kind. 'But you're certainly not the first man to have problems adjusting to being a father. It might help just to talk about how you feel. It might stop you feeling so angry and confused. It isn't good to bottle things up and sometimes it's easier to talk to a stranger.'
His face turned red with anger. 'I don't need to talk! And if you don't shut up right now, I'll use this gun!'
She flinched at his tone and rolled her eyes. What was it about men? Why could they never talk about their feelings?
Ben was pacing up and down Sean's office like a caged lion.
He'd sent Will to finish off suturing the man in Theatre and he'd resisted the impulse to storm into Resus and rescue Ellie.