Chapter 21

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Maisy had no idea what time it was. No idea how long she'd been in the safe room. All she knew was that her ass was numb from sitting on the concrete floor. And she was cold. And hungry. But those things were the least of her worries. She'd be hurting a lot more once Jason returned.

It was still hard for her to believe her own brother planned to cut her fingers off if she didn't sign the papers he put in front of her. But then again, he'd killed Martha, probably killed her parents, and had plans to frame his friend for her murder. What was a few fingers in the scope of things?

A sound from outside the room had Maisy jerking where she sat, the chains attaching her to the wall clanking. Her heart was pounding and every muscle was tense. She wouldn't make it easy for Jason to touch her. He'd have to sit on her to get to her hand. She'd use her fingernails to claw him so his DNA would be found on her body as well. Mark him as much as possible so maybe the cops would be suspicious .

Using a knife on her would also cause her to lose a lot of blood. If she could somehow get him to cut himself at the same time, and his blood mingled with hers, the people at the labs would be able to figure out that he'd had something to do with hurting her, as well as Don.

Her mind was going a mile a minute. All the murder shows she'd watched flashed through her brain as she tried to figure out a way to make Jason pay for his crimes, even after she was dead and gone.

The very last thing she expected to see when the door opened was Jack.

For a moment, her spirits soared—then her heart fell into her stomach when she saw Jason behind him, pointing a gun at his head. Her heart shattered into a million pieces. All it would take was Jason threatening Jack and she'd do whatever he asked. He could cut off every finger and every toe and she wouldn't make a peep of protest. Not if it meant keeping Jack safe.

"Hey, sis! Look who decided to join the party!" Jason said jovially as he entered the room. "Over there," he told Jack in a much harder tone.

Without complaint and as if he was joining them for an afternoon spot of tea, Jack went over to the wall on the other side of the room from her and sat where Jason had pointed.

"Put them on," Jason ordered, gesturing to the handcuffs with the gun in his hand.

Again, without a word, Jack did as he was told, clicking the handcuffs around his wrists.

Maisy tried to catch his eye. Tried to tell him without words to stop. To fight. Something . But Jack didn't look at her until he was as trapped as she was .

"Jack," she moaned in despair.

"It's okay," he told her.

"Yeah, sis, it's okay!" Jason crowed.

He tucked the gun into his waistband, and Maisy prayed it would misfire and shoot his dick off. Would serve him right. She should've been shocked at the bloodthirsty thought, and ten minutes ago, she might've been. But now that Jack was here? And at her brother's mercy? She didn't feel bad in the least.

"Let him go," she begged her brother.

"No." The word was flat and unequivocal.

"Please, Jason! You want me to sign everything over to you? Fine. I'll do it. Give me the papers. Just don't hurt him. He has nothing to do with any of this. Has never had anything to do with it."

"Don't, Maisy," Jack said.

She ignored him. "I'm serious! Let him go! I'll sign whatever you want."

"Oh, you'll give me my money," Jason told her. "But it's too late to let him go. You should know that by now."

"It's not," Maisy protested.

"This is all your fault!" Jason suddenly screamed, making Maisy snap her mouth closed and lean back against the wall. "If you weren't so stupid, so needy, so fucking hard to kill, this wouldn't be happening!"

Maisy stared at him with huge eyes. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Jason, what's your plan here, man?" Jack asked.

But her brother also ignored him. "Jesus, I drugged you for years , and instead of making you suicidal like the warnings said, the shit just made you more goddamn compliant. Then I drugged you up to your fucking eyeballs! And instead of making your heart stop, it just put you to sleep—and you woke up every goddamn time ! So I tried to create a nonprofit, so you could sign some papers to give your inheritance to my charity when you died, but it was too much frickin' work. I had to provide all this proof and shit to show the charity was legit. So that plan was out. I couldn't kill you without you being married, because all the money would go to other charities. Fucking Mom and Dad! Bloody do-gooders! Why couldn't they've had a normal will like everyone else?"

"You killed them," Maisy said in a low, even voice. Almost unemotional. She'd suspected it, had even told the police earlier that she was certain her brother had hired whoever had shot their parents, but she'd still held out a tiny shred of hope that she was wrong. That her brother wasn't that much of a monster. But that hope was now dead.

"Of course I did," Jason growled. "They were stingy as fuck. Did you know they refused to pay for my last two years of college? They had millions of dollars and wouldn't shell out a couple thousand for my tuition. They made me get a job! Fuck, no wonder my grades sucked. It was their fault, not mine!"

"What did you do?" Maisy asked.

"What I had to. I didn't want that stupid job they were so excited about. They ruined my life! And yet here you were, the favorite. Their angel. Good grades, doing all the extracurricular shit they wanted me to do that I hated. You could do no wrong. Anything you wanted, you got. It wasn't fair! "

"You killed them because you were jealous ?"

"No. I killed them because I wanted their money. Money I deserved . Money I shouldn't have had to beg for every month!"

Maisy had no words for what she was hearing. But she figured while she had him talking… "And Martha?"

Jason snorted. "You know why that bitch died. She served her purpose."

"You aren't my brother. You're a monster," she hissed.

But Jason simply laughed. "Whatever. I don't care what you think. And it doesn't matter anyway, because soon I won't have to worry about you fucking things up for me anymore."

"You really think you'll get away with any of this?"

"I already have," Jason said smugly. "I wasn't even a suspect in Mom and Dad's carjacking. I was the poor grieving husband when Martha disappeared, and I've already told you who's going to get blamed for your rape and death."

"What about Jack? What's your excuse going to be for him?" Maisy asked, honestly curious as to what her brother was thinking.

" Him ?" He snorted. "Some loser? Who cares. No one will trace him back to me."

Maisy couldn't help it. She laughed. And once she started, she couldn't stop. Which pissed Jason off.

"Maisy," Jack warned, but she kept her gaze locked on her brother as she laughed harder. This was between the two of them, and she was done tiptoeing around the asshole.

"Stop it. Shut up!" Jason ordered.

But Maisy couldn't stop. Her brother was so conceited. So stupid . He'd always called her dumb, but thinking he could get away with killing Jack was just too much.

It wasn't until he stalked toward her, and Jack again said her name in warning, that Maisy managed to control herself. Just in time too, because Jason was obviously ready to kick her. Looking up at him, she said, "You have no idea who you kidnapped, do you?"

Jason curled his lip. "It doesn't matter."

It mattered. Jack mattered.

"His name is Jack Wickett. He was a Night Stalker in the US Army. That's one of their hotshot helicopter pilots, if you didn't know. He was a POW and his face was plastered all over the internet by his captors. When he was rescued, the country literally rejoiced. There were parades, commendations." She was laying it on a bit thick, but she didn't care.

"When he got out of the military, he joined some of his buddies, former Navy SEALs, Delta Force, other special forces guys, and they started a retreat in New Mexico. It's won awards, the pictures of the owners again all over the internet. You kidnapped one of the most recognizable faces in the country, brother dear. I'm not surprised none of your dumbass friends didn't recognize him. But now? If he disappears again? I promise you, his friends will plaster his face all over social media—with all the details about his kidnapping and our fake marriage. The entire world will know who he is…and what you've done."

Maisy was a little concerned he might ask why his friends didn't do a media blitz the first time, but given Jason's angry scowl, and the way his face was getting redder and redder, she figured he was too furious with her to think about anything else right now. And that's what she wanted.

"You might get away with killing Mom and Dad, Martha, and even me. But there's no way, no way , you'll be able to hide the fact that my husband was the Jack Wickett. And that he mysteriously disappeared at the same time as I did. The cops are gonna be all over you. All over this place—especially after what I told them this morning. You'll be at the top of their suspect list for sure."

" What ? What did you tell them?" Jason asked, his anger increasing, if that was even possible.

"Everything, Jason. I told them everything ," Maisy said, looking straight into his eyes as she did.

" Fuck … Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck !" Jason exclaimed, as he paced back and forth.

Then he pulled the gun out of his waistband and pointed it straight at her forehead.

Maisy stopped breathing. For all her bluster, she didn't want to die. Not now. Not after finding Jack.

"Shooting her isn't going to fix this," Jack said firmly from the other side of the room. Maisy saw from the corner of her eye that he was standing now, but she didn't dare look at him.

Because her brother didn't lower the weapon.

"No. But it'll make me feel better," he said, his voice eerily calm.

"Put down the gun! Now!"

The new voice from the doorway made Maisy jerk, but she didn't take her gaze from the barrel of the gun pointed at her head.

Jason didn't move. But Jack did.

Her brother went down hard, his forehead hitting the concrete floor as he landed. Maisy let out a squeak of surprise and fright, but before she could do much of anything, two men wearing all black, including bulletproof vests with a number of pockets that rivaled Jack's vest from earlier, joined him in restraining her brother.

The gun Jason had been pointing at her was kicked away and his hands were cuffed behind him before Maisy could blink. Then Jack was there. Kneeling in front of her, blocking her view of what was happening with her brother.

"You idiot," Jack murmured lovingly as another one of the men in the very crowded safe room used a key to remove the handcuffs around her wrists. Jack picked her up as if she weighed nothing at all and carried her out of the suddenly claustrophobic room, through the basement, and up the stairs. He didn't stop in the living room but walked her through the house—which was also full of uniformed officers—out the door and straight to an ambulance.

"How did you get out of the cuffs?" she asked.

"I had a key in my hand. Your dumbass brother didn't even check. I was waiting for a chance to subdue him, and you provided that. Although I'm not thrilled you riled him up so much that he pointed that weapon at you. I swear I just lost ten years off my life."

"Jack, I'm okay," she said after swallowing several times to find her voice.

"Humor me. That didn't quite go as I'd planned," he muttered as he gently lowered her to a gurney.

Maisy didn't get a chance to ask him what the plan was before the paramedics were buzzing around her, taking her vitals and asking her questions about how she felt.

After about ten minutes of them fussing over her, they finally decided she wasn't in dire need of a ride to the hospital.

"Can you give us a minute?" Jack asked.

Without hesitation, the paramedics stepped out of the back of the ambulance, giving them some privacy.

"We're gonna have to talk to the cops again, but before they descend, I wanted to tell you how amazing you are. I was prepared to do whatever it took to buy some time for Brick, Tiny, and half of the Seattle police force to get to us, but I didn't have to do a damn thing. You did it for me."

"What were you even doing here? Did Don get you too?" Maisy asked.

Jack shook his head. He was kneeling by the gurney, one hand on her arm, his thumb stroking her skin, and Maisy wasn't sure if she was dreaming or not. She'd left a man behind in the hotel who seemed ready to break off everything between them, and now he was looking at her the way he had before he'd regained his memory. With love.

She had to be shellshocked or something.

"No, I walked up to the door and knocked."

Maisy's mouth fell open. "What? Why would you do that?"

"Because I knew you were somewhere in that house."

So many questions rattled around in Maisy's head. "How?" she asked after a moment.

"I slipped a tracker into your pocket this morning."

"What?" Maisy asked, truly shocked.

"Long story short, I talked to Ry, and we both agreed that just in case, it wouldn't be a bad idea for someone to be able to know where we were at all times while we were here. After what happened to Lara and Owl…hell, most of th e women at The Refuge…she didn't hesitate to get me two trackers. It was all she could get her hands on at the time, otherwise Brick and Tiny would've gotten trackers too. When I pulled my head out of my ass and came back up to the room, you were gone. It was a simple matter of getting in touch with Ry and asking her to track you. I saw you were here, sent Brick and Tiny to the police, and I came straight to the house. I figured I could distract your brother long enough for the good guys to arrive. But again, you didn't need me."

Maisy shook her head. "I'll always need you."

Heat flared in his eyes and she prayed that was a good sign. His hand tightened on her forearm. "Also, you did what I didn't think was possible."

"What's that?"

"You got your brother to confess. To everything. He's going away for good, Maisy. He's not going to ever be a problem for you again."

"It'll be my word against his."

"Nope. Those trackers Ry gave me? They're also small microphones. She activated them as soon as she heard you were gone."

"But it was in my pocket. There's no way she could've heard what Jason said," Maisy protested, even as her hopes rose that maybe by some miracle, a recording of what Jason said would be audible enough to be used against him.

"Yours was—but mine wasn't," Jack said with a small smile. "I had it in my hand and planned to plant it in the basement. If anything had happened to us, eventually someone would've found it and figured out what it was. Even if they didn't, Ry would've certainly sent the audio files to the authorities. "

The ramifications of what Jack was telling her began to sank in. "It's over?"

"It's over," Jack confirmed.

Maisy closed her eyes and sighed in relief.

"With his own words used against him, plus the pictures you gave the detective, Martha's wallet, and I'm guessing Don's testimony—especially after he hears how Jason was going to frame him for your murder, and for leniency in his role in your kidnapping today and all the shit he's done for Jason in the past—he's done for."

She felt his hand on her cheek and opened her eyes to stare into Jack's beautiful brown gaze.

"I'm sorry. He's your brother. I know this is hard."

Maisy scowled. "He's not my brother. Not anymore. I refuse to think about him in that way for one more second. He's a monster. A serial killer. I hate him. But, Jack…are you okay?"

"Me? Why?"

"I said some things…I didn't mean to say anything that might bring back bad memories for you."

But Jack shook his head. "You were magnificent. I'm not thrilled with the way you baited him. That had been my plan, to get him to turn his attention to me so he'd leave you alone, but nothing you said makes me love you any less."

Maisy blinked. Afraid to believe he'd said what she thought he'd said.

He stood up from his crouch and sat on the edge of the gurney. He took her face in his hands and leaned in. "I love you, Stellina . I'd walk through the fires of Hell to have the right to be your husband. I've done a shit job of being yours so far, but I promise I'll be better…if you give me the chance."

Maisy didn't hesitate, she threw her arms around him and held on as tightly as she could. She felt Jack chuckle against her.

"I take it that's a yes?" he asked against her neck.

"I love you too," Maisy said in reply.

"I'm gonna do better," he told her after pulling back so he could meet her gaze.

"Impossible. You're already the best man I've ever met. And I love you so much."

"How about we head outside, make sure Brick and Tiny are good, go to the police station to talk some more with the detective, get some sleep, then go the hell home?"

All of that sounded good to Maisy, except maybe for the talking to the cops part, but it had to be done. She knew that. "Yes. But can we maybe get a change of clothes first? Get into something clean that isn't tainted by my brother and his basement?"

"I'll send Tiny back to the hotel to grab our bags and have him meet us at the station."

Emotion swamped Maisy. Probably delayed reaction from everything that happened, but she didn't think anyone would think less of her for it. She rested her head on Jack's chest and did her best not to break into a million pieces.

"It's okay, Stellina . I've got you. I'll always have you."

They didn't move for a minute or two, then Maisy sat up. "I'm good now."

"So damn strong. Love you."

She'd never get tired of hearing those two words. "I love you too. Now, let's do this. The sooner we can get home, the better."

"Amen," Jack said. Then he stood, helping her off the gurney, holding her until she was steady on her feet, and led her out of the ambulance.