Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Marlowe woke up groggy and confused. She opened her eyes and saw that she was still on the stretcher with Kendric, but they were being wheeled into a huge building, which could only be the hospital in Bangor.

“Hey . . . we . . . what? Kendric, you didn’t wake me up,” she scolded.

He chuckled. “I tried. You smacked me and told me to give you another ten minutes,” he told her.

“I did not!” Marlowe said, horrified.

“All right, you didn’t. But you were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t have the heart to wake you up. You slept through the transfer to the ambulance and the ride here.”

Marlowe turned her head left and right, and she saw three men walking alongside the stretcher as the automatic doors in front of them opened.

“Oh crap,” she said under her breath, bringing a hand up to her hair to try to smooth it down at least a little.

But Kendric caught her hand in his and brought it to his lips. “You look fine.”

Marlowe shook her head. She didn’t. She’d seen her reflection in the mirror in the small bathroom on the plane, before she’d crawled into Kendric’s arms. She was a mess. And she really had wanted to at least try to clean herself up before she met his friends. But it was too late now.

She lifted her chin. She had to make the best of the situation. It was what it was.

She and Kendric were wheeled down a hallway and into a room. The three men crowded in as well. She shifted in Kendric’s grasp, and he squeezed her tight for a moment, as if he wasn’t going to let her go, before leaning forward, kissing her forehead, and finally releasing his grip.

She swung her legs off the edge of the stretcher and hopped to the ground—and promptly would’ve fallen flat on her face if one of the men hadn’t caught her arm.

“Easy,” he said.

“Marlowe?” Kendric asked in concern.

“I’m fine. Just a little dizzy from getting up too fast,” she reassured him. Then she turned to his friends and held out a hand to the man still clutching her elbow. “Hi. I’m Marlowe.”

The man grinned. “Chappy.”

“And I’m JJ,” another guy said.

Marlowe shook his hand, then turned to the last man. She hadn’t thought about what she was going to say when she met Cal face to face. Now, overwhelmed, she couldn’t help throwing herself into his arms and giving him a tight hug.

The man chuckled and hugged her back.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you so much.”

“That’s my line,” Cal told her quietly. “You have no idea how much the guy on that stretcher means to me. What he’s done for me. Getting you both out of Cambodia and back home was only the tip of what I owe him.”

“Shut the hell up,” Kendric said irritably from behind her. She smiled at Cal as the man released her, while Kendric continued, “You don’t owe me crap, and you know it. I’m thinking I’m the one who owes you now.”

“We can argue about who owes who later,” JJ cut in. “I want a doctor to look at those wounds of yours. See what the next step is in making sure you’re healed, so we can get you back on the job. While you were off caring for your sick aunt, we’ve been taking up the slack. There was a huge windstorm while you were gone, and we’ve been slammed.”

Marlowe could tell by his expression that JJ was kidding, but she still felt guilty.

“About that,” Kendric started. “I—”

JJ held up his hand. “Not now. We’ll talk about it later, when you’re healed up and home. For now, just know that we’re good. All of us. Got it?”

Kendric nodded, and Marlowe was so relieved she felt light headed.

A man in a white coat strode into the room then and introduced himself as Dr. Galloway. He greeted Kendric and was all business when he asked him to turn onto his stomach so he could see what he was dealing with.

“Chappy, will you please take Marlowe . . . somewhere else?”

“What? Why?” she protested.

“Because he doesn’t want you to have to watch what comes next,” Chappy said, putting his hand on the small of her back. “It’s going to hurt, and he’s going to want to whimper and moan and cry like a little girl, and he can’t do that if you’re here.”

Kendric rolled his eyes and shook his head at his friend in exasperation.

But because he didn’t actually contradict him, Marlowe guessed there was at least some truth to what Chappy had said. She wanted to stay with him, but even she wasn’t sure if she could look at his back again. She was queasy enough as it was.

“I’ll take her down to the cafeteria and get her something to eat,” Chappy said.

“And maybe find somewhere she can shower and get a change of clothes?” Kendric asked.

“That too,” he agreed.

Marlowe walked toward Kendric and leaned over the stretcher. The doctor was waiting not so patiently behind him, but she didn’t care. It felt weird telling him that she loved him in front of all the strangers in the room, so she simply kissed him gently on the lips. “As soon as you’re in a room, I’ll be there.”

“No room,” Kendric said firmly. “I want to go home.”

Marlowe frowned. She straightened and said sternly, “You’ll do whatever the doctor tells you to do. And if that means staying here for the next month, that’s the plan.”

The guys all chuckled, even Kendric. “Usually I’d do whatever you wanted, Punky, but not this time. I want to go home.”

When Marlowe was ready to argue with him some more, he stopped her before she could get a word out. “Besides, you’ll be there to make sure I don’t do anything stupid. Right?”

She felt all gooey inside. “Yeah,” she whispered.

“Right. Then go with Chappy. Eat. Shower. Change. By the time you’re finished, the doc should be done torturing me, and we can go home.”

“Okay,” she said meekly.

“Okay,” he agreed. Then he looked up at Chappy and gave him a nod.

Marlowe felt Chappy’s hand at her elbow, and she let him lead her out of the room. It felt wrong leaving Kendric, but he was in good hands. There was no chance someone would burst into the room and haul him away to a dark prison cell somewhere. They were both safe . . . and it felt unbelievable.

“Talk to me,” Bob ordered JJ. He was lying on his stomach as the doctor cleaned out and stitched his wounds. The heavy dose of antibiotics he’d gotten on the way to Maine was already working extremely quickly. While he wasn’t infection-free, the doctor thought it would be all right to sew the worst of the wounds shut.

Marlowe was right. The doctor didn’t want to send Bob home, but he wasn’t budging on that. He’d have Marlowe with him, and he had no doubt she’d hover and do whatever the doctor ordered. At the slightest indication that something was wrong, or if he wasn’t healing as fast as she thought he should, she’d have his butt right back at the doctor’s office.

Having someone watching over him—no, having his wife, who loved him, hovering and being worried about him—felt incredible. While healing from his injuries after being held captive, he’d had no one. Other than his friends, who were dealing with their own injuries. He’d been on his own, and he really hadn’t minded in the least. Now, knowing just how much he’d missed out on had him anxious to soak up every ounce of Marlowe’s love and concern.

While the doctor had given him a local anesthetic, Bob could still feel the pinch and slight sting as the man worked on his back. He needed a distraction, and talking with JJ and Cal would do just that.

“Tell me how pissed you guys are. Tell me what Marlowe said when she called. Tell me how the hell I’m here right now.”

“I’m not pissed,” JJ said. “I’m not,” he insisted, when Bob gave him a skeptical look. “I’m more hurt than anything else. You should’ve told us. Should’ve told me. I would’ve understood.”

Bob shook his head. “I’m not sure I understood,” he told his best friend. “I was completely fine with moving here and starting the business. I still am. But after a few months, I got restless. Antsy. I needed more.”

“More what?”

“Excitement. The adrenaline rush I got when we were on missions. At first, it was great. I’d leave, do what I needed to do, be back within a week. I got paid well, you guys were safe here in Maine, and I was helping others. But now . . .” Bob’s voice trailed off.

“Now?”

“More things went smoothly than not on this mission . . . at least until the end there. Willis’s plan to break into the prison worked, even if it was insane. Marlowe got out, I met up with her, and we made our way across the country. But with every day that passed, the more time I spent with Marlowe . . . something changed.”

“You love her,” Cal said, speaking up for the first time.

“Yeah. Love actually seems like such a tame word for how I feel about her. She’s strong. And brave. And resilient. She did as I asked and didn’t complain even once, even though she was under tremendous stress and had every right to. When that woman in Thailand suggested we get married, I let Marlowe believe she was talking me into it, but honestly? I didn’t even blink.”

“It’s a bloody good thing that you are,” Cal said. “It would’ve been nearly impossible to convince my people to get her out, considering she was a wanted woman, without her being connected to you legally.”

“Thank you for that again,” Bob said with feeling.

“You’re welcome. And if you thank me again, I’m gonna get pissed.”

Bob grinned at his friend.

Cal rolled his eyes. “Shite. Now you’re going to thank me every bloody day just to irritate me, aren’t you?”

“Probably.” Bob turned his gaze back to JJ. “Talk to me now about Willis. And Ian West. And her brother.”

“What about them?”

“Don’t do that. I know as soon as you heard their names from Marlowe, you were all over it. You’ve had a day and a half to look into them. Tell me what you found out.”

JJ sighed. “Fine. I tracked down Willis. He was relieved to know you two were safe. When he didn’t hear from you about the plans for getting on a plane, he started to get concerned.”

“Yeah, I screwed up and didn’t give Marlowe any of his info. I didn’t think she’d need it.”

“But you made her memorize the number to Jack’s Lumber,” JJ said.

“If anything happened, I knew you guys would take care of her. And you did.”

“Of course we did, you arsehole,” Cal said.

The men all chuckled.

“Right. And her brother?”

“He’s aware that she was flown here. I’m guessing he’s going to be making a trip to Maine sooner rather than later,” JJ said.

Bob wasn’t surprised. He was glad, actually. If it hadn’t been for Tony getting a hold of Willis, he never would’ve met Marlowe, and she’d still be rotting away in that prison in Bangkok. “And Ian West?”

“That situation is a little trickier,” JJ hedged.

Bob braced as his friend continued.

“He arrived back to his home in Boston nearly six weeks ago.”

“Really?” Bob asked in surprise. He’d figured the man would probably want to come back to the US to off-load the coins, but if he’d gotten back weeks ago, that meant he hadn’t even completed his monthlong obligation on the dig. Instead, he’d left shortly after Marlowe had been arrested.

“Yup. Apparently, he had a family emergency and had to leave Thailand.”

“Yeah, right. Family emergency, my ass. He wanted to get back here to sell the damn coins he stole from that dig,” Bob seethed.

“I’ve got Tex looking into figuring out how he’s planning to off-load them. It’s not like he can take out an ad on social media or in the newspapers,” JJ said.

“And we’re not messing around this time. We dragged our feet with June’s situation. Got complacent. That’s not happening again,” Cal said firmly.

Bob nodded. They really had screwed the pooch with the situation with June’s stepmother and sister. They’d had a good idea the sister’s “stalker” was a ruse, that she and her mom would do anything to get Cal’s attention—and his money. But they hadn’t expected them to go so far as to hire someone to kill June. No one would make that mistake again, including Tex.

“So what’s he finding?”

“Nothing yet, but he’s scouring the dark web for any mention of ancient coins for sale. He promised he’d be in touch soon. He wants to make up for what happened to June, even though we keep telling him that wasn’t his fault,” JJ said.

“If West finds out Marlowe isn’t in that prison in Thailand anymore, he could panic. Do something stupid—like contact the authorities. Technically, Marlowe’s still a fugitive,” Bob said, voicing the concern that had been rattling around in his brain for a few days, ever since they’d made it into Cambodia and the chances of them getting back to the US had increased exponentially.

“We know. We’re not going to let your wife out of our sights,” Cal told him firmly. “She’ll either be with you, or with one of us while visiting our women, or she can hang out at the office with April. No one’s touching one hair on her head. No way.”

Bob relaxed a bit at hearing his friend’s declaration. Cal, more than anyone, knew how it felt to have someone he loved almost taken from right under his nose.

“She needs to know what’s going on, though,” JJ warned. “To make sure she’s aware of her surroundings at all times.”

Uneasiness swept through Bob. Not because he wanted to keep anything from Marlowe, but because he wasn’t sure how she’d react. He had a feeling she wouldn’t be cowed by her former coworker. She’d want to stop him. Make sure he didn’t profit from the theft of the priceless artifacts she’d caught him stealing. “I’ll talk to her when we get home,” Bob told his friends.

“She’s gonna need stuff. Does she live near her brother? Will he bring any of her things up?” JJ asked.

Bob shrugged. “I don’t know. She was gone so often on digs, going from one country to the next, she doesn’t currently have an apartment stateside, just a storage locker with most of her things.”

“I’ll look into that,” JJ said. “In the meantime, April will help her out.”

“June too,” Cal immediately agreed. “And you know Carlise will want to be in the thick of things.”

“Expect to have visitors soon, brother,” JJ said with a small grin. “April and the others weren’t happy to be left back in Newton. They wanted to come with us to Bangor. But we thought it might be good not to overwhelm you and Marlowe from the get-go.”

“Thanks,” Bob said. But deep down, he wouldn’t have minded if the women had come. He wanted Marlowe fully merged into his life, and with his friends, as soon as possible. He wanted her to get to know Carlise and June and April. Because he had no doubt they’d all hit it off without any issues.

Then he thought of something else. “I need a favor.”

“Anything.”

“Name it.”

And that was why he loved these guys so much. “Marlowe can’t cook. I’m not disparaging her, it’s just a fact. She’ll tell you that herself. And I’m not sure how much I’m going to want to be on my feet the next few days. Can you guys arrange to have some meals delivered? Don’t go overboard,” he warned. “But Marlowe needs to gain back the weight she lost while in prison, and I’m not sure ramen, SpaghettiOs, and chicken nuggets will be the best thing for her right off the bat.”

His friends laughed.

“Consider it done. We’ll make sure you guys have some healthy meals until you’re back on your feet,” JJ said.

“Appreciate it. One more thing,” Bob said. “For the record . . . those pills weren’t hers. Ian set her up.”

Cal looked pissed, and JJ’s lips pressed into a tight line.

“I can’t believe you even felt the need to say that,” Cal said with a shake of his head. “We know you wouldn’t have taken the job at all if you thought she was guilty of the charges. We know you, Bob. You might have been a wanker and gone behind our backs, lied to us about a sick aunt, and pretended to be happy when you weren’t, but you aren’t the kind of person who sticks his neck out for a liar and a drug dealer.”

Even though his words were harsh, Bob sighed in relief. “Thanks, Cal.”

“Whatever. Stop thanking me,” he said, turning for the door. “I’m gonna go call June so she stops worrying.”

When he was gone, Bob turned to JJ. Cal seemed certain Marlowe wasn’t selling drugs . . . but JJ hadn’t said a word. “So? Do you believe that she wasn’t involved?”

“Of course. All I had to do was take one look at the way she clung to you on that stretcher to know she’s innocent.”

Bob tilted his head as he stared at his friend. “Yeah?” he probed lightly.

“Yeah,” JJ confirmed. “Like Cal said, we know you, Bob. You wouldn’t have married her, wouldn’t have risked your friendship with us, risked your damn life, if you weren’t completely sure she hadn’t done what she was accused of. And the way you held on to her told me everything else I needed to know. You love her, and that says it all for me.”

Bob’s throat got tight. He didn’t deserve such loyal friends. “I didn’t understand Chappy and Cal. Didn’t get how they could’ve fallen so hard for their wives in such a short time. But from the moment I laid eyes on Marlowe, she was under my skin. The longer I was around her, the harder I fell. When that Thai woman said we had to be married before she’d allow us to stay in her home? I was secretly glad. Excited. She means the world to me, JJ. And I hate that the man who put her in prison is still out there. Living free with no consequences.”

“He’ll pay for what he did,” JJ said firmly. “We’ll make sure of it.”

Bob inhaled sharply and bit back a groan when the doctor probed one of his wounds deeply.

“Sorry,” Dr. Galloway said. “The Liechtenstein doctor did a good job of cleaning these wounds, but I just want to make sure all the infection is scraped out before I close this last gnarly slice.”

“I’m gonna go check on Marlowe and Chappy. And let April know what’s up. You need anything?” JJ asked.

Bob wanted to tell him that, yeah, he needed Marlowe . . . but he merely shook his head. “Don’t forget about me. I want to go home today,” he warned. “Don’t play games with me on this, JJ. Please.”

“I hear ya. We’ll get you home, don’t worry.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m glad you’re all right,” JJ said, putting his hand on Bob’s shoulder briefly. “I admit that when Marlowe told us where she was, where you were, I was shocked. But my mind immediately turned to how we were going to get you home. You’re my brother, Bob, and to steal a Navy SEAL saying, a brother doesn’t leave a brother behind. I’ll be back up later to check on you and to make sure the discharge papers are in the works.”

And with that, one of his three best friends in the world left the room.

Bob lowered his head and rested his cheek on his hand as the doctor finished cleaning and stitching his back. He’d had a close call. He knew that more than most people. It was only thanks to Marlowe and his friends that he was home and on the mend.

Some people would look at his wife and dismiss her as weak. Because of her size, because she was a woman, but he knew better. She was stronger than just about anyone he knew. And he’d spend the rest of his life making sure she knew how capable she was. That she felt loved down to her core.

He also made a mental vow to ensure Ian West paid for what he’d done. For setting up Bob’s woman and getting her thrown into jail for what would have been the rest of her life. As long as the man suffered no consequences for his actions, he’d likely do it again. Steal a country’s heritage right out from under their noses, and if caught, throw some other innocent man or woman under the bus.

Well, that wasn’t happening as long as Bob was alive. Ian West would rue the day he hurt Marlowe. Period.

Marlowe felt like a completely different person after the long hot shower she’d had at the hospital. Chappy had patiently stood guard while she’d scrubbed every inch of her body three times and washed her hair twice.

Then he’d led her to the cafeteria and wouldn’t let her leave until she’d finished the entire plate of food he’d bought. He’d taken her to the gift shop next, standing there with his arms crossed, again not budging until she’d picked out a T-shirt, socks, and a ridiculously comfy pair of slippers for herself, and a shirt for Kendric. He’d easily scrounged up a pair of scrub pants for her, and she had to admit she felt one hundred percent better by the time they met back up with Kendric.

The doctor discharged him—with a frown and two full pages of discharge information, which Marlowe promised to follow to the letter. And the ride to Newton in Cal’s fancy SUV was eye opening. She’d never sat in a car seat as comfortable or felt leather so soft.

But by the time they arrived at Kendric’s apartment, it was obvious he was in a great deal of discomfort. Marlowe had no concept of what time it was, other than it was nighttime because it was dark outside. Her internal clock was completely messed up by all the international travel and the sleep she’d had while on the way to Maine.

JJ, Chappy, and Cal helped get Kendric into his apartment and onto his bed. JJ said something about being back in the morning with food, but Marlowe barely heard him as she was more concerned about making sure Kendric was settled.

It wasn’t until everyone had left and it was just her and Kendric in his room that she had a moment to reflect on everything that had happened.

“Punky? Come here,” he said, holding out a hand.

He was on his belly in his huge bed, wearing only a pair of boxer shorts. Bandages covered the wounds on his back.

She walked over to the bed and sat next to him.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Marlowe blinked in surprise. “Yes, why? I should be asking you that.”

“Because you’ve been through a lot recently. I feel as if you haven’t had any say in what’s happened to you in a very long time. And I don’t want you to think you’re stuck here. Or that you have no other choices. My cell phone should be around here somewhere, I never take it when I’m on a mission. It probably needs charging, but you can call your brother and get him to come pick you up at any point. I think he’s already planning on coming up to check on you, but you can speed that up if you want.”

“You think I want to leave?”

“Do you?” Kendric countered.

For the first time, Marlowe felt uneasy. Was this his way of asking her to leave without having to come right out and say it? Did he regret saying he loved her? Had he simply been grateful for her help, and now, back with his friends and safe at home, in a familiar setting, he’d changed his mind?

“Shit. I don’t like that hesitation,” he muttered. He went up on an elbow and didn’t quite hide the wince from the pain the movement caused. “For the record, I want you here. With me. In my bed. As my wife. I love you, Marlowe. So much it scares me. I don’t want you to leave, but I’d never force you to do anything you don’t want. If you want to go stay with your brother for a while, get your bearings, I won’t stand in your way.”

“I don’t want to go,” she said quickly, relieved beyond what she could express in words. “I love you too, Kendric. I think I have since you first appeared out of nowhere when I got outside that prison.”

“Good. Just one more thing then, before we get some sleep.”

“Yeah?” she asked when he didn’t continue.

“I need you to find our wedding certificate and pin it to the wall where it belongs.”

Marlowe grinned, and butterflies swam in her belly. She immediately stood and went out to the other room, where Cal had dropped the bag containing their clothing. Kendric had also been given a clean pair of scrub pants to wear home. The T-shirt he’d worn in Cambodia had been discarded before they’d even boarded the plane, but the pants were inside the bag. She reached into the back pocket and pulled out the folded and battered piece of paper. She unfolded it as she walked back to the bedroom, where Kendric was waiting for her.

He watched as she did her best to smooth out the wrinkles and looked around for something to pin it to the wall.

“There’s a bowl of tacks on my dresser,” Kendric said.

Marlowe laughed. “Do I dare ask why?”

“No.”

She chuckled again. She really didn’t care why her husband had a random bowl of thumbtacks in his bedroom. Picking up a red one, she pointed to an empty space above the headboard. “There?”

“Perfect.”

She didn’t think twice about putting a small hole in the document. Later she’d get it framed, and the hole would add just a little more character to the already ragged document.

“Perfect,” Kendric said. “Now, come to bed.”

He held out a hand, and Marlowe hesitated for only a beat before reaching for the hem of the T-shirt she had on. It had a silhouette of Bigfoot with a mountain next to him and the word MAINE in big block letters underneath. It had made her smile when she’d seen it in the gift shop, and she hadn’t been able to resist.

She dropped it onto the floor and shoved the scrub pants over her hips. She wasn’t wearing a bra. She’d tossed the prison-issue bra while still in Cambodia, and she didn’t really need one anyway. When she climbed under the covers next to her husband, he immediately turned onto his side and gathered her into his arms. They both sighed with contentment.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep without you ever again,” he murmured into her hair. “Before meeting you, I can’t remember the last time I didn’t wake from a nightmare. It’s a miracle. You’re my miracle.”

Marlowe didn’t bring up how he’d screamed for her on the plane, or in that farmer’s barn in Cambodia. She didn’t like remembering the desperation she’d heard in his tone. If it helped him sleep, she’d spend every night for the rest of her life right where she was.

“Welcome home, Punky,” he said softly.

She sighed with contentment. She was home. For most of her adult life, she’d felt as if she were a dandelion seed blowing in the wind. Not having a place to settle, always going with the flow, from one job to another. But being in Maine, with Kendric . . . it was like she was finally where she was meant to be.

She felt his lips on her temple and smiled, snuggling into him even more. Having his bare skin on hers felt divine. Made her think about their tryst in that barn in Cambodia. Made her remember how he’d felt inside her. How he’d made her come.

She wanted that again. But for now, she reveled in the feeling of being safe. And loved.