Library

Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Maisy sat in Brick and Alaska's cabin and had to pinch herself. The women who lived at The Refuge had been so… nice . She hadn't expected it, especially after they'd learned all about her part in Jack's kidnapping. Or at least the fact that she hadn't immediately told him the truth and had gone through with the sham of a wedding.

Alaska had invited her to come over tonight for an impromptu baby party. That's what she called it, and apparently it was an excuse for everyone to get together and talk about "girl stuff."

It had been a week since Maisy had arrived, and she wasn't sure she was going to last until the three-month point in her marriage.

Jack hadn't been mean to her, hadn't treated her like a prisoner or a pariah, but he wasn't the man she'd come to know and love. Not that she blamed him, she wasn't sure she'd be able to be all that civil if she'd been treated like he'd been.

But she hated sleeping in the guest room. Hadn't actually been sleeping very well at all, and she didn't think Jack was either. She sometimes heard him calling out during the night during one of his nightmares. She wanted to go to him, soothe him like she used to, but since that wasn't an option, all she could do was lie on the pull-out couch and listen to him suffer.

He was overly polite when he did speak to her, which cut her to the bone. It was as if they were strangers, which hurt more than anything else that had happened in recent months. He might find it easy to turn off the memories of their time together, but she couldn't. She loved him still. And it sucked to realize that he didn't care about her the same way in return, no matter what he'd said before regaining his memory.

When Alaska invited her to come over and hang out with her and the other women, Maisy jumped at the chance. She shouldn't. Shouldn't try to make friends with these women because as soon as the three months were up, she'd be leaving. But if she had to sit in the cabin for one more night with Jack acting like she was a stranger, a house guest he barely tolerated, she was going to go crazy.

The cabin was crowded, but no one seemed to care. Alaska was currently in the kitchen pouring drinks for those who weren't pregnant. Jess, one of the housekeepers, was shuttling snacks and drinks back and forth from the kitchen to the living room, and everyone else was sitting around laughing and talking.

Maisy was sitting on the floor, leaning back against the couch next to Ry. Cora and Lara were on a love seat. Henley, Reese, and Luna—who was the daughter of the main chef at The Refuge—were all on the couch behind her and Ry. The mood was relaxed and happy, and Maisy realized that she'd never experienced anything like this. At least not since she'd attended some sleepovers when she was in high school.

"What has Stone told you about all of us and the crap we went through?" Henley asked Maisy.

She shook her head. "Nothing."

"What do you mean, nothing?" Reese asked.

"Just that. Nothing," Maisy said slowly.

"What do you talk about at night?" Cora asked.

"Um…nothing."

"Right, they probably have better things to do," Jess said with a grin. But no one else looked as if her comment was amusing…proving they all knew things weren't going well between her and Jack.

"No, it's not like that with us," Maisy told Jess, trying to sound casual and not let the devastation that surged through her show. Looking around at the women, she felt a sudden need to confess all her sins. She had no idea what they thought of her—although she didn't think they hated her; if they did, she wouldn't be here right now. But she wanted them to know she was sorry. Sorry about her role in what happened to Jack. Sorry about going along with her brother's scheme, not that she had much choice, but still. Sorry about all of it.

"Jack's the most amazing man I've ever met. He's everything I ever wanted in a partner. The few weeks we were together were…the best." Her voice lowered at the last two words. They seemed so inadequate for how Jack made her feel. "But I knew as soon as he got his memory back, that brief time would be over. And it was. My brother, he's…evil. I don't know why. We had the same upbringing. But he's decided that money is the most impo rtant thing in the world to him. I don't know for sure, but I think he killed my parents. And I know he killed Martha, his wife. All for money. And then he decided he wanted my inheritance too."

Maisy was rambling, but she couldn't stop. She was also talking fast, but she didn't want to be interrupted for fear she wouldn't be able to get out everything she wanted to say. "Since I had to be married in order to get my money, he kidnapped Jack and was going to hold a gun to his head, or mine, probably both, and force him to sign the marriage certificate. Then I guess he planned to keep him locked in our basement for the required three months until I could claim my inheritance, then kill him. And me. I didn't want to do it. Marry Jack against his will, that is, but I didn't have a choice.

"No, that's not true. I did . I could've said no. Could've told my brother to go to hell, but I didn't, too afraid of the consequences. So it's my fault as much as it's my brother's that Jack's married to me. And now he hates me for it."

She was out of breath by the time she was done, and Maisy had a momentary pang of guilt that she'd brought the mood of the room down so much. But she felt so much better now that she'd gotten all that out.

"It's not your fault," Henley told her.

"I went along with my brother's claim that we were already married. Lied to Jack, perpetuated the story. And Jason wasn't holding a gun to my head. I was alone with Jack all the time. I could've told him. Told him to get the hell away from there. But I didn't," Maisy said sadly.

"What would your brother have done to you if you didn't go along with his story?" Reese asked .

Maisy shrugged. "Kidnapped some other unsuspecting guy? Locked me in my room. Hit me."

"Exactly!" Reese exclaimed so fiercely it made Maisy jerk in surprise. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you, but seriously, you had no choice. If you didn't do what your brother wanted you to do, it wouldn't have gone well for you. You're just as much a victim as Stone was."

Maisy appreciated Reese trying to cut her some slack, but she wasn't at a point where she could forgive herself.

"And Stone doesn't hate you," Alaska said as she came out of the kitchen and joined everyone. She sat on Maisy's other side and put a hand on her knee. "He doesn't," she insisted when Maisy gave her an incredulous look.

"He barely speaks to me. Most of the time it's like I'm not even there. He's overly polite when he does, and he goes out of his way not to touch me or even get too close to me at all. I understand, of course I do, I'd hate me too if I'd been through what he has, but…it hurts." Maisy took a deep breath and looked around the room. A lot of the women here were married. Had men who would scorch the earth to make sure they were safe. Probably told them every night how loved they were.

"We were together almost twenty-four hours a day for weeks. And I…I made the mistake of getting too close. Of believing that we really were a couple. He rarely went two minutes without touching me. Sitting so close that our thighs were pressed together. Always keeping a hand on my leg, or brushing his fingers along my cheek. And at night…" Maisy's voice cracked as she looked down at her lap. "He'd hold me so tight, I used him as a pillow. And now if he so much as accidentally brushes his fingers against mine, he acts as if he's touched a live wire. It was al l a lie. But it didn't feel like a lie," Maisy said so softly, she wasn't sure anyone could hear her.

"It wasn't a lie," Lara said firmly. "For either of you. He watches you. When you aren't paying attention, he can't keep his eyes off you. He's constantly assessing, making sure you're all right."

But Maisy shook her head miserably.

"The other day, when you were at the barn with Tonka, he burst into the lodge wanting to know where you were, telling Brick and Spike that he couldn't find you. He sounded frantic," Henley said.

"My dad told me that he specifically requested he make a green bean casserole, because it was one of your favorite things the cook at your house in Seattle used to make," Luna added.

"And he's been almost as bad as Tiny, hovering over me while I work, insisting I be extra careful and not let your brother know anything about where you are so he can't get his hands on you," Ry told Maisy.

Their words felt good. Really good. But Maisy couldn't take them to heart. If she let any speck of encouragement seep into her soul, it would hurt that much more when Jack washed his hands of her. He was simply waiting for the three-month anniversary of their wedding to pass so she could access her money. Once that happened, he could be done and not feel any guilt about signing annulment papers and kicking her ass to the curb.

"Don't give up," Alaska said urgently, tightening her fingers around Maisy's leg for a moment. "More than anyone, I know how it feels to love someone and not have them return those feelings. But here I am…with the man I've loved my whole life. "

Maisy turned to her. "I don't believe that Brick hasn't always loved you. You're everything to him, it's obvious."

"I am now , yes," Alaska said. "But it wasn't always that way. You really don't know our stories?"

Maisy shook her head.

"Well, sit back, sister. Do we have some tales to tell."

The next hour was eye-opening for Maisy. She had no idea these women had been through such awful situations. They seemed so…normal. Happy. She was even more in awe of them after hearing about what they'd gone through. Felt even more out of her league.

"See? Things can work out. You just have to have faith," Alaska told her when everyone had finished sharing.

But Maisy could only huff out a disbelieving breath. "Not one of your situations involved you lying to your men. Deceiving them. Participating in a freaking kidnapping scheme," she protested.

"Listen to me, Maisy. Seriously," Lara said, leaning forward and pinning Maisy in place with her intense gaze. "Owl and Stone have been through hell together. I got curious one night and looked up one of the videos online that their captors posted, when they were POWs, and I made it through about ten seconds before I had to shut it off. What happened to them was horrible . And it made them question everything about their lives and what they believed in. Despite that, I've never met two men more suited to being in relationships. They both have a huge well of love inside them. They want to take care of the world. But more than that, they're loyal to those they love. Protective of them. I thought Owl was going to lose his mind when we couldn't find Stone and didn't know what he was going through .

"From what I've seen, Stone looks at you the way Owl looks at me . As if he can't believe I'm in his life. That I'm with him ." She looked at the others and grinned. "I mean, I'm totally aware that he'd like to keep me safe and protected in his cabin twenty-four hours a day, just to make sure no harm comes to me. And now that I'm pregnant? That need is even stronger. But he doesn't because of course he knows I'd hate that. So he suffers through his insecurities and fears that something could happen to me or our child anytime I step outside our front door, and he lets me go about my normal day. But that doesn't mean he isn't there watching. Waiting for me to need something. When I do, he's there. No questions asked. And it makes him feel good. Fulfills a deep need within him."

"She's right," Henley said softly. "You'd make a great psychologist," she told Lara with a smile.

The other woman simply rolled her eyes. "No, I just know my man. Anyway, I do have a point here. As I said, Stone watches you like Owl watches me. He might be acting like he doesn't care, but I think it's a self-defense mechanism. His world has been rocked, hard. And I'm not saying that to hurt you, it's simply a fact. He was so freaked out that his brain shut down and wouldn't let him remember his past as a protective measure. But now that his memory's returned, he's trying to figure out how to mesh together his love for you, with what your brother and, I'm sorry to say, what you did to him. Like Alaska said, do not give up. The feelings Stone had for you aren't gone. They're still there. They're just jumbled up with all the other feelings he's trying to reconcile. But if the shit hits the fan, he'd give his life for you regardless. I have no doubt about that. "

Maisy wanted to believe her. She longed to see something in Jack's eyes other than wariness. But she had no idea what to do to make up for what happened. If she even could. She wasn't sure life could turn out as good for her as it had for everyone sitting around her, but she wanted it to. God, how she wanted that.

"Right, so on that note…can we talk about babies now?" Luna asked. "I can't freaking wait for you guys to start popping those kids out!"

Everyone laughed, including Maisy. It was a relief to break the tension in the room.

"I don't know about anyone else, but I'm more than ready to push this kid out," Henley said as she rubbed her belly.

"How far along are you?" Maisy asked.

"About seven months. Reese is a month behind me, Lara just found out she's pregnant not too long ago."

"I'm so freaking excited!" Alaska exclaimed.

"I have news," Cora said a little shyly. "Our application to foster was accepted."

Everyone whooped and cheered at that.

"When are you getting your first kid? Do you know how old? A boy or girl?" Jess asked, not giving Cora a chance to answer between questions.

"I don't know. We actually requested older kids. Not babies. There are so many children who need safe homes. And we don't care if it's a boy or girl."

"Didn't you say you guys decided to put in your application because of a specific kid?" Ry asked.

"Yeah. There was a seven-year-old boy who Pipe heard about, but his grandparents decided to take him in and raise him." Cora shrugged. "I'm sure there will be others. The agency could literally call at any time now that we're approved."

"I think that's so great," Lara said, hugging her friend. "I'm so excited for you guys."

"And Jasna is going to be thrilled. She likes babies, but I think she'd be happier with someone she could play with and show the ropes around here," Henley said.

As the women talked about pregnancy cravings, what to do if the upcoming babies have colic, and other kid-related topics, Ry leaned forward and whispered into Maisy's ear, "Can we talk?"

Looking at the other woman, and not knowing what she could possibly want to talk to her about, Maisy shrugged and nodded.

Ry immediately stood and grabbed Maisy's hand, pulling her to her feet as well. "Maisy and I are gonna go chat about something other than babies," she informed her friends.

"You're gonna miss some serious awesomeness about how our cooters are gonna stretch to the size of bowling balls if you go!" Henley teased.

"Oh Lord, is it too late to change my mind about having a kid?" Lara asked.

Everyone laughed as Ry kept hold of Maisy's hand and pulled her into the kitchen. The cabin wasn't huge, and it was open concept like Jack's, but it didn't seem as if anyone was paying any attention to her and Ry in the corner of the kitchen.

Ry dropped Maisy's hand and leaned a hip against the counter. "I've been doing some digging."

That's all she said.

Maisy frowned in confusion. "Okay? "

"You know what I can do, right?"

"Uh…yeah. The guys said something about how you're good with computers?"

Ry didn't crack a smile. She raised a brow. "I'm not good with computers," she said. "I'm freaking good with computers. There's no one better than me. No one . I can hack into the FBI and CIA databases, get Russian nuclear weapons codes, find out exactly what the Chinese leaders are planning from day to day and wipe clean any and all research on those damn spy balloons they have, and any progress North Korea has on illegal biological warfare. Hacking into a company's database and canceling life insurance policies, or changing where money is being transferred from a trust fund…those are pieces of cake for me. Do you understand?"

Maisy stared at the woman in front of her. She knew Ryleigh was talented when it came to working on the computer based solely on what the guys had all said. But she had no idea how talented. "I think so," she said after a moment.

"Good. I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to freak out when you logged into your bank account and saw your balance."

"What did you do?" Maisy whispered.

"Nothing anyone didn't deserve. First, I changed the monthly deposit routing details from your brother's account to yours—the new account I made for you in town—so you're now getting the monthly stipend you should've been getting for years. Tiny also told me about the life insurance policies Jason took out on you and Stone. That shit's been canceled, so you don't have to worry about those. I also changed ownership of the house from your brother—which wasn't supposed to happen in the first place; the house was left to both of you. The asshole somehow got that changed so it was only in his name—to you. Just for fun, I also put it on the market. Jason's gonna be surprised the first time someone shows up to see it."

Maisy gaped at her in disbelief.

"What? I'm sorry, did you want to live there after we evict your brother?"

"No! I mean, I loved that house once, but now it holds too many bad memories. I don't ever want to live there again."

"Good. So you'll get the proceeds when it sells then, which will make up for the stipend he's been stealing all these years. Not sure how long that will take, as I'm sure Jason will refuse to leave, but the offers will come to me, and I'll share them with you so you can decide what to accept. I listed it at a very competitive price, so I'm thinking you should get several good offers."

"Holy crap," Maisy said, completely in awe of Ry.

"The only thing I can't do is get around the requirement that you come in to sign for your inheritance in person. I'm sorry. So you'll still have to go back up to Seattle to take care of that. But I heard from Tiny that you already knew that."

Maisy nodded. "I want to go."

Ry stared at her for a moment. Then said, "You want to show your brother that he didn't win."

"Yeah."

"Good for you. Stone needs someone with a backbone. I haven't been here as long as some of the others, but I like him. He's intense, but in a good way, if that makes sense."

It did. Maisy nodded.

"I wasn't thrilled when I heard he was missing. Felt guilty that I wasn't able to get to Lara, Owl, and Stone before he was taken. And it sucked that I didn't pull the right thread necessary in order to find him. Your brother's an asshole, but he's not completely stupid. Actually, I take that back—he's an idiot. He had no idea who Stone was, who he'd kidnapped. I bet if he knew he was a former special forces pilot and had badass friends who would stop at nothing to find him, he would've picked another man. But then, you wouldn't have fallen in love with just any man, so even though Jason's a moron, I'm glad he picked Stone."

Maisy's brain spun with Ry's words. She couldn't keep up. But luckily the other woman didn't seem to expect a response. She kept talking. "I was fully prepared to not like you, Maisy. My fingers were itching to cause as much mayhem as possible in your life, but then I realized you had all sorts of mayhem going on already. Your brother had isolated you, drugged you, threatened and hurt you. All for money. And I saw the way Stone looked at you too. Then he made me promise that nothing I did electronically would come back to you in any way. He obviously loves you."

Maisy's head was shaking even before Ry finished speaking.

"He does. And I agree with everything Lara said in there. If you don't fight for that man, you're not the woman I think you are. It won't be easy, but nothing worth having is, right? "

"I don't know what to do. He won't talk to me. Won't touch me. Won't even look at me."

"Seduce him," Ry said without hesitation.

Maisy almost choked. "What?"

"Take off all your clothes and climb into bed with him. He won't be able to resist you."

"Or he could shove me away from him and make me die of embarrassment," Maisy said incredulously.

"Not gonna happen. Trust me."

Maisy wanted to. She really did. But she couldn't bear it if Jack rejected her when she was at her most vulnerable.

"Tell me the truth…do you think you're pregnant?"

Maisy sighed. "No."

"If you get pregnant, that man isn't going to let you out of his sight," Ry mused.

"I don't want to trap him. The last thing I want is to worry about whether or not he's with me for the sake of his child or because he loves me."

"Yeah, that's a problem," Ry said with a sigh. "I still say amazing sex will make him stop ignoring you."

Maisy wanted that. Badly. She lived on the memories of the way they'd made love, before the shit hit the fan. And having Jack's baby would be a dream come true. He'd be the best father any child could ever hope to have.

"Right," Ry said, studying Maisy's face closely, with a small smirk on her own. "So while you're waiting to confront your asshole of a brother, you still have time to convince Stone that he can't live without you."

"How, though?"

"I don't know. But you're smart, you'll figure it out," Ry said easily, leaning back against the counter as if she didn't have a care in the world .

"I'm not smart," Maisy protested. "I dropped out of school, barely passed my GED. Jack was only the second guy I'd ever been with. I have no idea how to convince him that I really do love him and hate my brother for what he did."

"Wait, what?"

"What, what ?" Maisy asked, confused herself.

"What do you mean, you barely passed your GED?"

"Just that. Jason told me that I scored so low, I was one point from failing."

"And you believed him?" Ry asked, her expression showing exactly how ridiculous she thought that was.

"Um…yes?" Maisy said.

"Look, while I was digging into info about your twatwaffle of a brother, I looked into you too. You scored a seven eighty-five."

"Yeah, which is sixty-five percent," Maisy said with a shrug.

"What? No, it's not! Good Lord. Look, we know Jason isn't exactly an upstanding guy, but if he told you the max score for the GED was twelve hundred, he was lying. Hell, that's not a score for anything . The SAT is sixteen hundred for a perfect score, and it's thirty-six for the ACT.

"The GED test is split up into four subjects. Barely passing is one hundred and forty-five on each section. Getting between one sixty-five and one seventy-four on a section? That generally means you're college-ready. Above that means you're eligible to get college credit. Maisy, you scored a one hundred and ninety in math—which was your lowest score, by the way—two hundred on reasoning through language arts, one hundred and ninety-seven in social studies, and one hundred and ninety-eight in science. Girl, you're practically a genius!"

Maisy stared at Ry in confusion. "I didn't almost fail?"

Ry laughed. "No, Maisy. You got a perfect score in one section and almost perfect on two others. You certainly didn't almost fail."

"Oh my God," Maisy whispered. "I always wondered how I could do so poorly. I used to get straight A's in school. But I'd already started taking so many meds that I guess…I guess I just thought maybe the drugs were the cause. Regardless, I took Jason's word for it, like everything else."

"Your brother knew how smart you were. He also knew you were definitely smart enough to eventually figure out he was a low-life scum. So I'm guessing he kept you drugged for years so he could spend money that was meant for you."

He had. Maisy already hated Jason, but now she hated him even more. All her life, she'd thought she was worthless. Stupid. And her own flesh and blood had perpetuated that belief. And for what? Money. "I hate him," she said between clenched teeth.

"Me too," Ry said almost breezily. "But I'm taking care of him. Did you know that your inheritance has grown over the years?"

Maisy raised a brow and gave her a look.

"Right, sorry. Of course you don't. It's no longer four million dollars. It's almost ten."

" What? Seriously?"

"Yup. You're quite the millionaire."

But Maisy shook her head. "I don't want it."

"What? The money? "

"Yes. I don't want it. Money has caused me nothing but heartache. It turned my brother into a monster, made him kill my parents, murder an innocent and nice woman, and kidnap Jack."

"I thought I liked you before, but now I think I love you," Ry said with no trace of amusement or humor. "Money is definitely the root of all evil. And I don't blame you for not wanting it. But you'll need something to live on when your brother is no longer a threat."

"I'll figure something out."

Ry studied her for a long moment. "How about you keep some, like a million, and give the rest away?"

"A million's too much," Maisy said.

But Ry laughed. "No, it's not. You have no idea how fast that money'll go, especially if you have a baby. But luckily you have a friend who knows the best stocks and bonds to invest in."

Maisy narrowed her eyes at her new friend .

Ry chuckled. "Right. We'll get into my abilities as an investment broker at a different time. So, if you don't want the money, what do you want to do with it?"

"Donate it."

"Good choice. And I just so happen to be an expert on legit charities, as well. Where do you want it to go?"

"I don't know. I like animals."

"I can recommend several very worthy rescue groups that really need the money," Ry said.

"And kids. Oh, and veteran groups. Can we give some to The Refuge?"

"Yes. Although it's a little tricky, because Brick and the rest of the guys are pretty sensitive to receiving charity. But I've been funneling money here already. Do you know they have a donate button on their website? I've set up an automatic donation to be sent in through their site every four days." She smiled. "And they have no idea. It's awesome. That hangar they're building for the helicopter? It's being built solely with donations."

"Which came from you?" Maisy guessed.

"Yup. I mean, there are other donations too that I didn't initiate, but it feels damn good to get these guys what they need to make this place even more awesome than it already is. They do truly great work here."

"Where are you getting the money from?" Maisy asked.

And just like that, the happy, satisfied look on Ry's face slipped away. "It doesn't matter. Okay, so animals, kids, veterans…what else?"

Maisy wanted to ask more questions, but it was obvious Ry wouldn't answer them. "Um…there was a woman who worked in the house. Her name is Paige. I heard that Jason fired her, along with the others who worked for us. Which isn't right. She'd been working for us for decades, and I'm sure he was underpaying her."

"You're right, he was. I'll make sure she and the others who worked for you guys are compensated properly. Anything else?"

Maisy made a few more suggestions, but honestly, she had no idea how to even go about giving away nine million dollars.

"I'll start with your suggestions and we'll go from there, how about that?" Ry asked gently.

Maisy swallowed hard, suddenly overcome with emotion. She'd arrived here in New Mexico a week ago expecting to be shunned, to be ostracized. Instead, she was brought into the fold by these women as if she'd always been there. And Ry…Maisy couldn't come up with the words to thank her.

"It'll be okay," Ry said gently.

Taking a deep breath, Maisy nodded. "Yeah. It will be. Because I'm going to turn him in."

"Your brother?"

She nodded. "I can't prove he killed my parents. But I'll do what I can to prove he killed his wife. I have a few blurry pictures I took in the dark, I have Martha's wallet—which is relevant, because Jason told the police she took it with her when she left—some recordings of my brother being awful to me, and a diary where I wrote down every single thing I could think of that can hopefully be investigated."

Ry stared at her for a long moment before saying, "I have emails. And texts. I downloaded them from his phone. It'll help with Martha, but maybe not your parents. That was too long ago. I'll print them out and you can take them with you when you meet with the police in Washington."

"You do? You will ?"

"Absolutely. Anything that will help take him down and keep you safe, I'll do."

"Why?"

"Because he shouldn't get away with what he's done. Because he's a greedy asshole. And because I like you, Maisy. We're a lot alike. More than you know. You had to do things you didn't want to do because you had no choice. You had to stay silent for your own safety. I get it. I so get it. You deserve a second chance, and I want to help you make that happen."

"You do too." Where the words came from, Maisy wasn't sure, but she had a feeling this woman deserved that second chance as well.

Ry smiled sadly. "I'm not so sure about that. My sins are way bigger than yours. I wasn't forced into lying. I made the former housekeeper here at The Refuge leave through deception so I could get the job. And I'm not sure anyone can forgive me for having information about the women when they were in trouble, and not sharing."

"From what I just heard, you did share," Maisy protested.

Ry shrugged. "Too little, too late. I'm sure that's what the men think. Besides, I know stuff about The Refuge. Things they don't want anyone knowing, and I won't tell them how I found out. Although it should be obvious. Nothing electronic can hide from me. Tiny definitely doesn't trust me."

Maisy bit her lip, but since they were laying all their cards on the table, she decided to ask what was on her mind. "Why are you still here? I mean, I doubt you actually need the housekeeper job."

"I don't. And I stayed because I wanted to find Stone," Ry said.

"Well, he's here. And fine."

"You want me to leave?" Ry asked with a tilt of her head.

"No! Not at all. But with all the talk about Jack and how he looks at me, I can't help but notice how Tiny barely lets you out of his sight."

"Right, because he's afraid I'm going to bankrupt this place or something," Ry said with a roll of her eyes.

"I don't think so."

"No," Ry said with a shake of her head .

"No, what?"

"Don't go thinking there can be anything between Tiny and me. I'm still here at the moment because I'm working to fuck over that brother of yours. Sorry, but if you have even the smallest shred of love left for him, you need to get over it. He's a monster."

"I know he is. But, Ry?—"

"Please don't," the other woman whispered in a tortured tone.

Maisy wanted to push. Wanted to do more for Ry, but it was obvious there was a lot going on with her she didn't know about, and it wasn't as if she knew Tiny all that well either. She just didn't like to see her new friend so…resigned. To what? Maisy didn't know, but she didn't like it.

"All right. I don't know what I could ever do to repay you for your help, but if you need anything, I'm here for you, Ry."

"Thanks. You don't know how much that means to me."

"I do, actually."

"Don't let Stone go," Ry whispered. "He loves you. I know he does. It'll take him some time to get over what happened, but he will. Do what I told you. Seduce him. I've never seen two people more meant to be together than you and Stone."

Maisy wasn't so sure about that. She hadn't downplayed how awkward and bad things were between her and Jack. But she didn't want to think about that anymore. "Do you know why everyone calls him Stone? I can't do it. In my head, he's always been Jack, but I'm curious."

"When he was training to be a pilot, they had to do this drown-proofing thing. It sounds horrible, and the videos are even worse. They put them in a simulated helicopter and turn it upside down in the water. They have to stay put for thirty seconds before attempting to get out. And once they do, they turn on these jets that blow bubbles up from the bottom of the pool, I guess they're for divers who are learning, so they don't hit the water too hard. Anyway, they turn them on and there's immediately no visibility and the water is all churned up. It looks scary as hell. Stone isn't the best swimmer, and every time he got out of the fake helicopter, he sank straight to the bottom of the pool."

"Sank like a stone," Maisy said with a small smile.

"Yup."

"How'd he pass then? I mean, he had to get past that in order to become a Night Stalker, right?" Maisy had heard all about how amazing Jack and Owl were. How very few people were able to become legendary Night Stalker pilots in the Army. Hearing that wasn't surprising, she already knew how amazing Jack was, but she was impressed nonetheless.

"He was allowed to retake the test at the end of the class. He spent every spare second he had at the pool, trying to learn how to swim. He got to a point where he didn't immediately sink when he was in the water, but he still wasn't a strong swimmer. He was able to get to the surface during his re-test, and while he got the lowest possible score he could get, he passed. The nickname stuck after that."

"How in the world do you know that?" Maisy asked.

Ry simply lifted a brow.

"Right, sorry. I forgot. Super computer hacker," Maisy said with a small chuckle .

"And he hasn't always worn glasses either."

Maisy was confused. What did his nickname have to do with his glasses?

Ry didn't make her wait long to figure out her line of thinking. "Helicopter pilots have to have perfect vision. They can't be flying around in the desert and get a speck of sand in their eye and fuck with contacts or something. And if their glasses fog up in the middle of an op, that wouldn't be good either."

"Right," Maisy agreed.

"He didn't need them until a few years ago. He resisted it as long as he could—because he's a guy—then finally went in to see an eye doctor. The prescription isn't all that strong, but he still wasn't thrilled that he needed them."

"I like them. He's kind of like a sexy librarian, but a guy. Wait, that sounded sexist. Of course men can be librarians."

"Yup. Tonka's former partner who lives out in Virginia is a librarian."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh."

"Cool. Anyway, maybe I should say he's like one of those older professors I'm always reading about in romance books," Maisy said. Then blushed. She hadn't meant to admit to reading that kind of thing.

"Ooooh, I love those," Ry agreed, making Maisy feel better about her choice of reading material. Which was stupid. Why did it matter what she enjoyed reading? And romances were awesome. They always ended happily and made her feel really good inside, convinced that things could work out for people. Gave her hope for herself.

Then Ry shocked the crap out of Maisy by reaching out and pulling her close. She hugged her tight, and it felt so good to be touched once more. Maisy hadn't realized how touch-deprived she was until Jack came along. And now that he was going out of his way to avoid making even the smallest bit of physical contact with her, this hug meant even more.

"Do what one of those heroines in a romance would do. Go into his room in the middle of the night, naked, then jump him before his brain has time to catch up." The words were whispered in Maisy's ear, and then Ry pulled back, smiled, opened the fridge and grabbed another pitcher of whatever sweet concoction Alaska had mixed, before heading back into the other room where all the girls were still chatting away about nothing in particular.

As Maisy watched the women in the other room talking, she realized that she actually felt pretty good at the moment. She'd been in a funk for days, and knowing Ry had her back was nice. And not only her. All the women had been more than kind.

She suddenly understood why Jack was so loyal. If she had friends like this, she'd do whatever it took to make sure everything was right in their lives. She had no idea what the future held, but Maisy would make sure nothing she said or did negatively impacted The Refuge or anyone who lived and worked there. The world needed more people like them.

Honestly, confronting her brother scared the crap out of her, but before she could move on, she needed to do it. Wanted him to know that he hadn't beaten her. That no matter how badly he'd treated her, she would rise above it. If she had to stoop to his level to make him understand how serious she was, so be it. She wasn't going to fall for his tricks and manipulation ever again. Hopefully he'd end up in prison for what he'd done, but if not, she didn't want him trying to get back at her for the rest of her life.

Maisy wanted to be free. Wanted Jack to be free. Because one thing she knew about her brother was that he held a nasty grudge. And if there was even a one percent chance he could get to Jack and hurt him, he would. Which wasn't acceptable. Maisy needed to right the wrong that had been done to Jack, and maybe wipe her slate clean in the process.

Jason would be pissed, would probably try to hurt her. But she didn't think he'd kill her. Because if she died, her money would go to charity, not to him. She'd say what she needed to say, then get the hell away from him.

She didn't think Jack would want to confront her brother. Nor did she think Jack would allow her out of his sight for long, knowing what Jason was capable of. So she'd have to take whatever time he was willing to give her. Even if it was only one minute, that would be enough.

Feeling a little better about the upcoming trip back up to Washington, Maisy rejoined the rest of the women. She let Ry refill her cup and enjoyed the feeling of being part of a close-knit group for the first time in her life.

Comments

0 Comments
Best Newest

Contents
Settings
  • T
  • T
  • T
  • T
Font

Welcome to FullEpub

Create or log into your account to access terrific novels and protect your data

Don’t Have an account?
Click above to create an account.

lf you continue, you are agreeing to the
Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy.