Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Stone's three-month wedding anniversary had come and gone. Things with him and Maisy were better than ever. He hadn't realized how tense he'd been until Maisy was back sleeping in his arms and they'd worked things out between them.

Maisy wasn't her brother. She hadn't kidnapped him. She was as much a victim in what happened as he'd been. It had taken that talk with Henley to truly and honestly see that. Once he stopped to think about what her life had been like, it wasn't a hard decision to forgive her.

Being back at The Refuge was therapeutic for Stone. He loved the corner of the world he and his friends had carved out and couldn't imagine living anywhere else. Thankfully, Maisy was fitting in perfectly. She helped out where she could, and everyone had embraced her wholeheartedly.

But neither of them could forget that her brother was still out there. Likely fuming over losing Maisy's monthly stipend and not being able to find her to force her to change what Ry had done electronically.

The time was approaching when they needed to head back to Washington so Maisy could meet with the lawyer and sign the papers that would give her full and legal access to her inheritance. Stone didn't like it, but in order to cut ties with Jason once and for all, it had to be done.

Maisy had talked to Stone about her plans for the money. She didn't want it, felt as if it was somehow tainted, which he didn't agree with, but he'd never tell Maisy what to do with her own money. She and Ry were working out plans on what charities to donate the bulk of it to, and he'd never been as proud of anyone as he was of his wife.

Wife. Stone hadn't planned on getting married, hadn't really thought much about it all. But now that he was, he couldn't imagine not coming home to his cabin every night and having Maisy there. Couldn't even think about sleeping without her in his arms. The sex was amazing, but it went deeper than that. The connection they had, the emotional bond, was more intense than he ever could've imagined.

When it became obvious to his friends that he'd forgiven Maisy and they were now more than simply roommates, he was on the receiving end of a barrage of teasing. But he didn't care. They could rib him all they wanted, he'd never been happier.

Though he'd be more relaxed once their trip to Seattle was over and done with. He wasn't thrilled that Maisy wanted to go back to her house and get her diary, the pictures she'd taken years ago, and the other evidence, but ultimately, if they wanted Jason to go down for his crimes, they needed that stuff. The case against her brother was mostly circumstantial as it was, the police would need the other evidence to get a search warrant so they could dig up the basketball court in the backyard and hopefully find poor Martha's body.

Brick had suggested to Maisy that he and Tiny go to the house to get everything, but she'd refused. It had taken a bit of talking to find out why she was so determined to get the evidence they needed to take to the police herself, but eventually she'd given in and told them that she needed to see her brother one more time. To say all the things she hadn't felt safe saying before. And with him, Brick, and Tiny at her back, she was confident no harm would come to her.

Stone wanted to protest, tell her it was asinine to get anywhere near her brother, but he also understood her need for closure. And the fact that she was smart enough to not do it on her own, to literally want some muscle behind her, ultimately made Stone give in.

Not to mention, he had some things to say to Jason as well.

So they'd be leaving in two days. They'd called the lawyer in charge of the trust and he'd agreed to meet them at the bank manager's office first thing in the morning the day after they arrived. Then they'd go to the house and get the evidence Maisy had left behind, along with anything else she might want, since Stone had gotten them out of the house without even a suitcase. He'd let her say what she needed to say to her brother—if he was even at the house—then they'd spend another night at the hotel before heading out the following morning.

All in all, the trip would be as short as possible. Even thinking about going back to Washington made the hair on the back of Stone's neck stand up. He felt antsy, hyped, just as he used to feel before a dangerous flight when he'd been in the Army.

This morning, Brick was having their weekly check-in meeting. Everyone would talk about what they were doing on The Refuge, discuss things they wanted to change or implement, and generally keep everyone's finger on the pulse of their business. Stone honestly enjoyed these meetings. Liked hearing his friends' ideas for the place. It felt as if so much had happened in the weeks he'd been gone.

Tonka started, giving an update on the animals he looked after, then Brick gave a rundown of their financials and donations, which were up five hundred percent over a few years ago. Owl discussed the progress on the building of the hangar for the helicopter, and Brick added that hopefully in another month or so, the investigation into Carter Grant and what had happened out on his island would be wrapped up and they could arrange to have the chopper delivered to The Refuge.

Stone was more excited than he could express about having a helicopter on the property. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed flying until he and Owl had flown down to the Mexican border to save Reese. And even though it was now evident that Grant had used the helicopter as bait to get his hands on Lara, Stone couldn't deny that he'd loved the Bell when he and Owl had test-flown it.

"What are Ry's plans?" Pipe asked Tiny.

"Why?" he asked sharply, eyes narrowed.

"Easy, man, I'm just wondering," Pipe told his friend.

"Sorry," Tiny apologized. "I don't know. She's been working with Maisy to fuck over her brother. After that's done…I'm guessing she'll be leaving. "

"Where will she go?" Spike asked.

"Don't know."

"Do you care?" Brick asked.

The room was silent, with everyone's attention on Tiny.

"Why should I?"

"Because you like her," Tonka said baldly.

"No, I don't," Tiny disagreed.

"Riiiight. That's why you won't let her out of your sight," Owl said with a sarcastic snort.

"She lied to us. Deceived us. She could literally steal us blind and we'd have no idea until it was done. She's possibly the most dangerous person I've ever met in my life, simply because every time she touches a computer, she could do immeasurable amounts of damage. To The Refuge, us personally, the US. Did you know she used to hack into the president's email for fun?"

Brick leaned forward and stared at Tiny with an intense glare. "She wouldn't hurt us."

"You don't know that."

"I do, but the fact that you refuse to see it means you're not willing to open your eyes and see what the hell's right in front of your face."

"And what's that, Brick?" Tiny growled.

"That Ry's scared shitless," Brick told him.

Tiny laughed. But it wasn't a humorous sound. "Right."

"She is," Brick insisted.

"The only thing she's scared of is not being able to play with people's lives if she gets thrown in jail."

Stone had no idea if Tiny was trying to convince himself or them that he believed what he was saying. He didn't know Ry all that well, she didn't let anyone at The Refuge get too close, but what he did know, he liked. Ry was kind, always willing to help out, and she didn't like to gossip. And the fact that she apparently had the ability to get her hands on enormous amounts of money, but was still working as a housekeeper at The Refuge, said a lot about her.

"You're being an ass," Spike said, sounding uncharacteristically harsh. "She didn't have to figure out how to track Reese. And if she hadn't, I'm not sure I would've gotten her back."

"And the fact that she rescued Jasna, and didn't ask for or want any thanks, tells me all I needed to know about her," Tonka added.

"She found out about our bunkers!" Tiny argued. "We all agreed that we'd never tell anyone about them. And yet, she not only knew about them, but rubbed it in our faces by putting Jasna in one. Why didn't she simply bring her back here? Why the subterfuge?"

"I'm guessing she found out about them the same way she knows everything," Pipe said reasonably. "Because she somehow discovered the plans online somewhere. Or maybe saw a stray email back when we were having them built. I don't know. But you know what? I don't care that she knows. I'm glad she used her knowledge to keep Jasna safe."

"Me too," Tonka said, which wasn't a surprise, given Jasna was his stepdaughter.

"What I want to know is, why ," Brick added after a moment.

"Why what?" Tiny asked.

"Why she worked here for months without letting on what she can do. The woman's a freaking genius. Tex has admitted that she's better than him at computer shit, and we all know that's a huge deal. She could've been sipping margaritas on a beach somewhere, living off ill-gotten millions. And yet she chose to be here , in the middle-of-nowhere New Mexico, cleaning toilets and washing towels and sheets. There's a story there…and I want to know what it is."

Stone agreed wholeheartedly.

"Well, I don't," Tiny grumbled.

"If she left today, you wouldn't care?" Brick challenged. "You wouldn't think twice about her? Wouldn't wonder what she was running from? And don't roll your damn eyes at me, we all know she's running from something. Hiding. And if we don't do anything, she'll be gone. Vulnerable to whoever or whatever she's obviously afraid of. And if that happens, we'll never find her. She'll take a new name and be lost to us forever." He shook his head. "Maybe you hate her, Tiny, but I don't. I actually like her. So does Alaska. I don't want her to leave without at least trying to find out what's wrong, to see if we can help her."

"Me too," Tonka said.

"Same," Owl agreed.

"She saved my Reese, that's enough for me to do what I can to help her."

Stone was on the same page as his friends. Ry was doing a hell of a lot for Maisy, without asking anything in return.

"I don't hate her," Tiny said after a moment.

"Could'a fooled us," Brick said.

Tiny ran a hand through his hair in agitation. "She…confuses me. I don't understand her motivation for anything she's done. "

"Maybe she does things because she's a good person," Stone volunteered.

Tiny sighed. "Sometimes when she doesn't know I'm watching her, I catch her with her guard down. She looks…haunted. Whatever she's hiding from, it's not good. And call me selfish, but I don't want whatever it is to come back on us . I have a feeling whatever it is could destroy The Refuge."

"All the more reason to find out what it is and convince her to let us help her," Brick insisted.

"You need to back off, Tiny," Tonka said sternly. "She saved Jas. You don't have to help, but I'll throw down for Ry, no matter what her name is."

"Same," Spike agreed.

"She's been a miracle for most of us," Owl added.

"Fine. I hear you. I'll back off. But don't blame me if we wake up one day and all our bank accounts have been drained and she's taken off," Tiny said, tossing his hands in the air.

Tonka scooted his chair back so fast, it fell to the floor behind him. "You're an asshole," he said in an even, controlled tone. "I was like you for a long damn time, man. Refusing to see what was right in front of my face until it was too late. Ry's not going to stick around here if she doesn't feel welcome. If she thinks you believe the worst in her. She's already got one foot out the door. The only reason she hasn't left already is because Maisy needs her. The second that's done, she's gone. And that would suck, because she saved my daughter's life without asking for a damn thing. She was willing to confront a serial killer in the making to bring Jas home.

"Ry's not going to steal our money. She could've done that the first week she was here and we wouldn't have had any idea it was her. Get your head out of your ass, Tiny, before it's too late. Now…I'm gonna go check on Melba. One of her hooves has been bothering her."

With that, Tonka marched to the door and left without looking back.

Silence filled the room until Brick broke it. "I'll go get Savannah and tell her we're ready for her report."

Stone frowned. Tonka had been much more talkative since he and Henley had gotten together, but he wasn't the kind of man who went out of his way to foist his opinion on others. The fact that he'd taken Tiny down a peg was a huge deal. But he couldn't help but feel sorry for his friend. He was obviously struggling with his feelings about Ry.

"You gonna be okay going up to Seattle?" Stone asked Tiny quietly once everyone was talking amongst themselves.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

Stone shrugged. "Wasn't sure you'd be comfortable leaving Ry in your place without you being there."

Tiny sighed. "Brick's right. Tonka too. I've been an asshole. I just…I have a very bad feeling about Ry. Not about her personally, but about what she's hiding from. What she can do is so far out of my league, but I know whatever's wrong…it could ruin all of us."

Stone nodded. "We'll only be gone a couple of days. When we get back, we can all sit down with her and reassure her that we don't want her to go, that we want to help."

"Yeah," Tiny said.

"Whatever it is, we'll figure it out," Stone said firmly .

"I hope so. Because if we don't, I have a feeling we'll be the ones paying the price."

Stone opened his mouth to say more, but Savannah entered the room with Brick on her heels. Now wasn't the best time to discuss Ry's situation, but they definitely needed to have another serious chat with the computer genius. Soon.