Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Stone stared down at Maisy with a frown. He'd been so pissed at her when she'd entered the room, but now he couldn't stop worrying. Her breaths were shallow and slow, and he couldn't stop staring at her chest, making sure it kept moving up and down as she slept. No, she wasn't sleeping, she was passed the fuck out.

He'd needed space from her after his memory had returned, but in taking that space, he'd left her alone with her brother. And she'd returned to him abused and drugged. It wasn't acceptable.

Stone's feelings about the woman on the bed were confusing. He hated her for participating in this crazy deception, but the love he had for her was still there. Simmering under the surface.

His phone vibrated, startling Stone so badly he jerked toward the door. Shaking his head, he answered, putting it on speaker. It wasn't as if he needed to hide the call or what was said from Maisy. Not when she was dead to the world .

Even thinking the word dead made him feel panicky inside.

"Stone."

"Fuck, it's good to hear your voice!"

Stone grinned. "Likewise, Owl. Are you and Lara really all right?"

"We're good. It's you we were worried about. Did you really have amnesia?"

"You really think I'd let you guys worry for this long if I didn't?" Stone asked a little harsher than he'd intended.

"No, of course not. I'm just so damn relieved that you're okay."

"What's the plan?"

"Stone, Brick here. I talked to the others and they agree that with all the questions about what the hell is actually going on, it's best if your exit strategy is covert. Ry's been working since the second she heard where you are and got the number of the phone you're using, and she seems to think the assholes who kidnapped you have no idea who you actually are."

"How does she know that?" Stone asked in confusion.

"How does she know anything she knows?" Pipe asked.

Stone grinned. "Hey, how's Cora?"

"She's good. We're thinking about fostering a seven-year-old boy."

"Can we please stick to the topic at hand?" Brick asked, but Stone could hear the pride and happiness for their friend in his tone.

"Great news, Pipe. You're going to be an amazing role model and father."

"If we get approved," Pipe said dryly. "People tend to take one look at my tattoos and think twice. Not to mention my funny accent."

"Whatever," Stone said. "If Ry is as good as you guys say she is, she can just go in and approve the application, move it through."

"Hey, that's a great idea," Pipe said.

"No, it's not. Can we not encourage her to break the law any more than she's already doing in order to get Stone home?" Brick grumbled.

Stone heard chuckles, and realized all his friends were probably on the other end of the line. "Tonka? Spike? Is Tiny there too?" he asked.

"We're here," Tonka said.

"But Tiny's at his cabin hovering over Ry, as if he has any clue as to what she's doing on that computer of hers," Spike said with a laugh.

"Henley and Reese are good? Pregnancies going okay? Shit, I feel as if I've been gone for years instead of weeks," Stone said with a frown.

"We're all good. Just anxious to see you. Now, back to what we were talking about. Ry hacked into Jason Feldman's email and phone, and it looks like he's asked a couple of his friends to find intel on you, and no one's been able to deliver—which must make them the dumbest assholes on the planet, considering there's plenty of info about you online if they know where to look.

"It also seems that one of his more questionable acquaintances hired a friend of a friend to drive you to the house. The guy stole your wallet and is now in the wind. No one can find him. And the guy he hired to do all this doesn't even know the real name of the guy he asked to take care of your kidnapping .

"And another friend, some Don asshole—who isn't someone you want around anyone you actually give a shit about—sounds like a sick son-of-a-bitch. But regardless, they're all a bunch of amateurs…Ry's words, not mine. Although I happen to agree."

"Why me?" Stone asked the question that had been bothering him the most.

"If it's any consolation, I don't think it mattered who they kidnapped. It could've just as easily been me. But the motive is as old as time. Money," Owl said. "Ry's still working on figuring out all the details, but she's convinced it's tied into the marriage certificate that was submitted with your name on it."

The renewal of vows that was actually a marriage ceremony. But learning the motivation behind his kidnapping brought up even more questions. For instance…what would they have done if he hadn't lost his memory?

"Right, anyway, Ry contacted someone she knows from the dark web and he's going to meet you at oh-five-hundred at the airport with new identification. She's booked you on a six a.m. flight out of Seattle. And when she says no one will be able to trace you or the false name she's created, I believe her."

Stone's gaze went back to the woman on the bed. Maisy was completely vulnerable at that moment. He could literally do anything he wanted with her, and she'd have no idea.

The mark on her face seemed to mock him. She'd hurt him. Had lied to him and used him for money . And yet, it was more than obvious she was terrified of her brother. It was more obvious than ever that Stone couldn't leave her behind. She'd been alone with her brother for what, an hour? And she'd returned to his side covered in bruises and drugged out of her skull.

And Stone couldn't get her words out of his head when she'd asked if he'd ever thought he was going to die. Because he had . Memories of being a POW were burned into his brain. He assumed it was the reason why he'd had temporary amnesia. It was his brain's way of trying to protect him from reliving the horrible memories of being kidnapped the first time.

Other things Maisy said in her drugged state echoed in his mind.

It's bad here. Bad things happen.

I love you too much to purposely make you hate me. But I'm gonna fix it.

I guess he can get his evil minions to make whatever he wants.

Get away from here, Jack. I wish I could say where you came from, so you could go there. But I don't know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

He's gonna kill me.

"I need two tickets and two IDs," Stone blurted.

"What? Why?" Brick asked.

"I'm not leaving Maisy here."

Utter silence greeted him for a moment. Then Owl said, "She was in on it, Stone. She knew you weren't her husband, and yet from what you've said, she went along with it."

"I know, but she didn't want to," Stone said, realizing he believed what he was saying one hundred percent. "She was the worst liar, but I was so confused and in shock from not remembering anything about who I was, other than my first name, that I ignored the signs. He abuses her, Owl. She's lying here on the bed in front of me, completely out of it from the triple dose of Valium he literally forced down her throat, with bruises on her arm and face. And I've seen others. If I leave her here, he's going to kill her. Besides…there's a possibility she's carrying my baby."

He heard Brick mumble something about everyone being fucking pregnant, but then Owl spoke again. "Do you trust her?"

"No," Stone said without hesitation. "But all signs are pointing to the fact that she's my legal wife."

"She is," Spike said. "Ry found your marriage license. It was submitted all legal like and everything."

"Except it's not his name," Tonka argued. "So technically it's not legal."

"She's my wife," Stone insisted, not sure why he wasn't jumping on the idea that because his last name was wrong, he wasn't married. He'd made a commitment. Even if he was conflicted in his feelings about Maisy, he'd made a vow to protect her. And he wouldn't go back on that now. Not when he knew without having to think twice about it that if he left her here, she was as good as dead.

"Right, I've texted Ry and told her to add a passenger. It'll make you more recognizable if anyone starts looking for you, but I think if you wear hats or something, it'll help."

Stone nodded, frowning as he wondered what such a high dose of Valium might to do a fetus. Reaching out without thought, he put his hand atop Maisy's belly.

"All right, you going to be able to get to the airport?" Brick asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay. Ry said to ditch your phone somewhere before you get there. And I'm guessing that goes for Maisy's phone too."

"She has pictures on there that she's not going to want to lose," Stone said. Again, he was confused about his protective feelings for the woman who'd deceived him. But he recalled the look on her face when she'd showed him pictures of her parents. There had been such sorrow and love there, he couldn't bear for her to lose them, as it was obvious how much she still missed her mom and dad.

"I'll talk to Ry. I'm sure it won't be a problem for her to download them before you turn the phone off. Just shoot me her number after we hang up," Brick said.

"I appreciate this," Stone told his friend.

"Whatever," Brick said. "We're just thrilled that you're all right. And this is what friends do. A SEAL doesn't leave a SEAL behind."

Stone chuckled. He'd heard that saying many times from the SEALs he'd transported in his chopper while he was in the military. "Yeah, but I'm not a SEAL," he said.

"True, SEALs smell better than you Night Stalkers."

The banter felt good. Normal. Suddenly Stone couldn't wait to be home. Back in his cabin in the mountains of New Mexico.

"You sure about bringing her with you?" Tonka asked in the slight lull.

"No. But I can't leave her," Stone answered honestly.

"Not sure where we'll put her, but we'll figure it out," Brick mused.

"She'll stay with me. I need to keep an eye on her. I don't trust her on her own," Stone told his friends.

"Sounds familiar," Pipe muttered.

"What do you mean?" Stone asked .

"That's what Tiny said about Ry," Owl told him. "Is it gonna be a problem to lay low until you need to leave?"

Turning his attention back on the situation at hand, Stone said, "No. Maisy's out. I mean, completely out. I'm hoping I can rouse her enough to get her out of the house under her own power later. And I can claim my head's bothering me and skip dinner. Besides, if I see Jason, I'm not sure what I'd do to him."

"Right. She needs to be conscious to get on a plane, Stone," Spike warned.

"I know." And he did. Her condition worried him, but he was more pissed that she'd been drugged against her will. He couldn't forget her description of how her brother had smothered her in order to get her to swallow the pill.

"All right. We'll let you go," Brick said. "I'll send you details about your contact and where to find him at the airport. Don't forget to ditch the phones, and we'll see you soon. Stone?"

"Yeah?"

"Glad you're all right. Things weren't the same here without you. Later."

"Later." Stone clicked off the phone, but didn't stand up from where he was sitting next to Maisy on the bed.

He reached out without thought and brushed her hair back. She sighed and turned toward him. Her hand reached out blindly, and when she touched his knee, she curled her fingers around it almost desperately.

"Maisy?" he whispered.

She didn't respond.

"Shit," Stone swore as he sighed. He'd been all fired up earlier. Ready to tear into Maisy, force her to go with him, to get her to The Refuge so she could be interrogated. And now all he wanted to do was hold her tight and protect her from anyone and everyone who might even look sideways at her. It was confusing as hell.

Looking at his watch, Stone saw he had hours to go before he needed to even think about leaving. He lay down next to Maisy and somehow wasn't surprised when she immediately curled into him. Her face was buried in his chest and her hands clutched the front of his shirt with a death grip.

"It's okay, Maisy. You're safe."

"Not safe," she mumbled.

"You are when you're with me," he said, running a hand over the back of her head.

"But you aren't safe with me," she said so sadly, Stone moved back to see if she was awake and lucid. But she wasn't. Her eyes were still shut and she was lax in his arms.

On the one hand, he liked that she wasn't hiding anything from him, and everything made much more sense now that he knew more about why he was taken. But he couldn't reconcile the woman he'd come to know with someone who apparently was greedy enough to go along with a plan to kidnap a man and force him to marry her for money.

But as soon as he had the thought, it occurred to Stone that it was possible she hadn't had a choice. Had Jason planned everything without her knowledge? Maybe…but then again, she'd gone along with it. Had stood in front of him and vowed to love and cherish him as if they really were madly in love. And she'd had plenty of opportunities to tell him the truth.

Nothing made sense, but Stone wouldn't get any more answers to his questions tonight. Maybe not even tomorrow. But eventually he and Maisy were going to sit down and she'd tell him everything. She owed him that much.

"You need to get up, Maisy."

Sighing, Maisy shook her head and tried to block out Jack's order.

"Please, Stellina . I need you to concentrate. We need to go."

She couldn't resist him when he used that pet name. She loved it. Almost as much as she loved him. No, that was a lie, she couldn't love anything more than she loved Jack. She rolled over and forced her eyes open.

The room was dark, but with the light coming from the bathroom, she could see her husband sitting next to her with a worried look on his face.

"There you are. I need you to get up. Can you do that?"

Maisy nodded, then clumsily she sat up and tried to shift her legs off the side of the bed. She felt uncoordinated and the room seemed to spin around her.

"That's it. Let me help you. Lean on me. Good girl."

His praise felt good, but then she frowned. She didn't deserve praise. She was a horrible person, but didn't remember what she'd done to feel that way.

"I'm going to help you to the bathroom, you need to pee before we leave, but first, drink this."

Blinking, Maisy saw Jack holding a large bottle of water to her lips.

"It's warm, but it'll have to do."

For a split second, she panicked. She didn't want to be forced to drink the water. She felt as if she was drowning when Jason did that…but then the man next to her came into focus. It wasn't her brother, it was Jack. Her husband. And he wouldn't hurt her. Not like she'd hurt him.

That thought made her frown, but she reached for the bottle of water anyway.

Jack held it steady for her as she drank but didn't tip it up, forcing her to take more than she was comfortable with. The second the water hit her tongue, she realized how dry her mouth felt and how thirsty she was. She gulped the water down as fast as she could.

When Jack gently took it away, she whimpered.

"I know you're thirsty, and water's good to flush your system out, but I don't want you getting sick. You can have some more in a bit. Come on, let's get you to the bathroom."

She should've been embarrassed that he had to help her undo her jeans and get her underwear down, but this was her husband. He knew every inch of her body intimately.

Maisy's eyes widened slightly when she heard Jack swear quietly, his gaze narrowed on her hip. She looked down as his fingers gently brushed over a large bruise, and she frowned, but she couldn't recall how she'd hurt herself.

With a tight jaw, Jack helped her sit on the toilet. She refused to let him wipe her, but had to hold onto him again when she stood so she didn't fall on her face.

Once her pants were fastened, Jack turned her toward him and held her close as he stared at her with a serious expression. "We're leaving, Maisy. Now."

She felt as if she was floating, watching them from above. "Okay."

"I need you to understand what I'm saying. We're going to the airport and we're leaving Seattle, and not coming back anytime soon."

She nodded and said again, "Okay." Then thought about what he'd said for another moment. "Good. You need to leave. Did you find your people?" Maisy wasn't sure what she meant, but she knew it was important.

"Yeah, I did."

"I'm glad. I bet they were worried. It probably feels good to be worried about. Be free, Jack. Don't come back. Ever. You aren't safe here. Martha wasn't either, and now she's in the yard. I don't know for sure, but that's what I think. She wasn't safe, and I didn't know until it was too late. But you know, and you can leave."

"You're coming too," Jack said.

It took a second for that to sink in. Maisy shook her head. "I can't. I have to sign the papers. If I'm not here, he'll be mad."

"Then he'll have to be mad, because I'm not leaving without you."

Maisy's eyes widened. "You have to! You have to go!" she said, pushing against his chest urgently.

"Not without you. You could be carrying my baby. I'm not leaving you here."

Her hand went to her belly, and she sagged in his arms. "A baby," she breathed.

"Yeah, so you're coming with me."

"Okay."

"Okay?" Jack asked.

Maisy nodded. "He'll hurt the baby. Less money for him. Wish I could get rid of it."

"Get rid of our child?" Jack asked.

She didn't like the hurt tone of his voice. She shook her head so hard she got dizzy. "No! I'd never hurt my child. Ever! The money. I wish it wasn't there. Mom and Dad would still be here, and Martha, and you would've never come but that's okay. Everyone else would be alive."

"It's okay, Maisy. You're all right. I just need you to come with me now. You're still pretty out of it from the Valium, but I need you to be as lucid as possible so you can get on the plane."

"We're going on a plane?" Maisy asked.

"Yeah, is that a problem?"

"I've never flown before. Wanted to, but Jason said it wasn't a good idea. That I was too sick."

"You weren't sick," Jack said in a tone Maisy couldn't understand.

But she nodded anyway. "I was sad," she said with a deep-seated knowledge.

"Yeah."

"I'm not anymore," she told him honestly. "I have you, and I love you."

"Right. We need to go if we're going to make our flight."

"Can I have the window seat?" she asked as Jack steered her out of the bathroom.

"Yes."

"Goodie!"

The floaty feeling remained as Jack helped her down the stairs. It was a good thing he was there because it was dark and she probably would've fallen on her face if she'd been alone. But she had Jack, she wasn't alone. Her husband would take care of her.

He quietly led them outside instead of to the garage, and Maisy was confused. But then Jack told her that they were taking a taxi so they didn't have to disturb anyone in the house, which made sense.

Time had no meaning as they entered the airport. Maisy didn't even question why they didn't have any suitcases, she was too tired, and excited to actually get on the plane. Jack met a friend in the airport, which was confusing because she didn't remember him having any friends here, but she dismissed it when he checked them in using the computer thing and they waited in line for security.

Once through, Jack seemed much more relaxed, and she leaned against him as they sat and waited for their flight to board. She missed the announcement that they could board, but she let Jack help her down the hallway to the plane. He pointed at one of the first rows of chairs for her to sit and Maisy looked up at him.

"First class?" she whispered once they were seated.

He grinned at her, and Maisy felt as if she could lose herself in that smile.

"Apparently."

"Cool."

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Henderson, can I get you something to drink before we take off?"

Maisy frowned, not sure who the woman was talking to, but she decided she must have heard her wrong because Jack told her they'd both take some water.

"You can have mine," he said after she'd eagerly drained her plastic cup.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Very."

Her husband's intense gaze hadn't left her, and if she'd been able to think clearly, Maisy might've wondered what he was thinking about so hard, but because she still felt removed from reality, she simply drank his water down too. Suddenly, her eyes felt too heavy to keep open.

"Sleep."

She reached over the console between them and grabbed his arm. "You won't leave me?"

"No."

"Promise?"

"You think I'd get up and leave you like this on your own, on a plane?" he asked with a frown.

Maisy shrugged. "If I was you, I would. I'm bad."

"Close your eyes, Stellina . It's going to be okay."

She did as he asked, and soon felt her worries slipping away. But before she let the floaty feeling take over, she whispered, "Love you."

Maisy didn't even notice that he didn't return the words, because she was once more lost in the safety of the clouds in her head.