Chapter Ten

~ Beck ~

I groaned and reached over to the nightstand to grab the cell phone that kept ringing and ringing. I pried my eyes open and glanced at it.

"Scotty." I reached back with my free hand and patted his hip. "Scotty, your phone is ringing."

Scotty grumbled as he took the offending device. "Hello?"

I twisted around until I was facing Scotty. "Who is it?" I mouthed.

"Jake."

That probably meant we needed to be awake and upright.

I pressed a kiss to Scotty's chest before rolling out of bed and making my way to the bathroom. I took care of business, washed my hands, and splashed some water on my face before going back into the bedroom.

I wasn't about to put my tux back on, so I grabbed a pair of jogging pants out of the dresser and pulled them on. I waved my hand to get Scotty's attention. "I'll go make coffee."

Scotty nodded, but didn't move from his spot. I knew he was listening to whatever Jake was telling him.

Hopefully, it was good news.

I was pouring water into the coffee pot when Scotty walked out dressed in only his tuxedo slacks. He didn't even have socks on. I paused and just stared at the handsome half-dressed man.

Who wouldn't?

Scotty pushed a button on his cell phone and then set it down on the counter between us. "Okay, Jake, I have you on speaker now."

"Hello, Beck," Jake said. "It's nice to meet you."

"Uh...Hello, Jake."

"Scotty and I were talking and he said we needed your input on some of our plans."

I glanced at Scotty, raising an eyebrow.

"Why don't you recap, Jake, so Beck isn't confused?"

"I can do that," Jake said. "We think we have a plan to rescue Scotty's father and get all of you out of there."

"Really?" When I glanced at Scotty, he nodded his head.

"It'll mean coming to New York for awhile, but—"

"Scotty and I already discussed going to New York and we're both fine with that as long as we can take his father with us."

"I believe we can," Jake said. "I'm calling in a frat favor from another one of our frat brothers. Once I talk to him, I'll know for sure where we stand. In the meantime, you two have a little homework to do."

Homework?

"Uh..."

"Jake talked to Miles and Joe, who are both attorneys," Scotty replied. "They think Chelsea's idea about us getting married is a good one. It's the one way to guarantee that Cynthia can't force me to marry your sister."

"And I need you two get that done as soon as possible," Jake added in. "The quicker you're protected, the better. And for god sakes, don't sign anything except the marriage license, especially if your stepmother tries to get you to sign something."

"If we made a day of it," I said, "we could get the stuff out of that safety deposit box and get married right after. It's in the next county over so I doubt Cynthia or my sister would find out right away."

"Safety deposit box?" Jake asked.

Scotty briefly explained about the key his father had given him to a safety deposit box at a bank they didn't frequent, along with the man's words for Scotty to run.

"Let me know when you get it," Jake said. "If there's anything in there that can help us fight Cynthia, we need to know about it right away."

"I can do that," Scotty agreed.

"Oh, I also need to know what kind of condition your father is in," Jake continued. "Is he safe to go on a long flight?"

"He's not ambulatory at all. He can't even feed himself. Most of the time he's barely lucid. He knows who I am, though. He gave me that key the last time I visited him and told me to run. If he hadn't skipped out on his pills, I doubt he would have been able to even speak to me."

"Skipped out on his pills?" I asked.

"Yeah, he took them when the nurse gave them to him, but the moment the nurse left the room, he spit them out. I didn't want him to get into trouble so I wrapped them in a napkin and stuck them in my pocket."

"Do you still have those pills, Scotty?" Jake asked.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so. I never got around to throwing them out so they are probably still in my pants."

"Can you get them to me?' Jake asked. "I want my doctor to take a look at them so we can get an idea of what we are working with."

"Yeah, sure," Scotty replied. "I can probably overnight them to you."

"Do that," Jake said. "In the meantime, I'll work on getting you a place to stay when you get here. There are a couple of vacant apartments here in my building. Do you have an idea of what you might need?"

"Three bedrooms if possible," Scotty stated. "We need a room for me and Beck, one for my father, and one for Chelsea."

My eyebrows lifted in surprise. "We're taking Chelsea with us?"

"Well, we're not leaving her here. Do you have any idea of what a nightmare her life would become if either of our families learned she had helped us escape?"

He had a point.

"Does she know this?"

"Not yet," Scotty admitted. "I figured we'd tell her together."

Yeah, that was going to be fun.

"Okay," Jake said. "I'll look for a three bedroom for you. What about jobs? I can get Scotty a position in my accounting department, but I don't know what you do, Beck."

"I'm a bartender."

"I was kind of hoping you'd agree to stay home and help my father," Scotty said. "We'll need a nurse to check in on him every day, but I'd rather his main care come from family."

"Really?" I whispered. "You trust me to take care of your father?"

Scotty's eyebrows snapped together. "Of course I trust you to take care of my father. I wouldn't marry you if I didn't trust you."

My grin was epic. "I guess I'll be a full time home caregiver."

Jake's chuckle came across the phone loud and clear. "Okay then, what about your friend Chelsea?"

"She works in the distribution department at my father's company," Scotty stated. "She's good at what she does so I'd put her there."

"I'll see if we have a position open," Jake said. "If not, I'm sure I can find something else that fits her wheelhouse."

"Honestly," I admitted, "I think she'll just be glad to get out of this town. She hates it here. I think the only reason she stays is because I'm here. Given the opportunity, she'd leave in a heartbeat."

"Okay, I'll have a jet waiting for you at the executive hanger at the airport. There's not much room so when you guys pack, pack light. Only take with you what you can't live without. I can send packers down to pack everything else and ship it all up here. I want to get you out of there and settled as fast as possible."

"I live in a studio apartment that came furnished," I admitted. "I'm pretty sure everything I own could be fit into about five boxes."

"Same here," Scotty said, "although I live in a one bedroom."

"Do you need me to arrange a furnished apartment?" Jake asked.

"For now, that might not be a bad idea. We can change that up once we've dealt with this mess. Just make sure my father's room has the right medical equipment for him."

"I'll speak to my doctor and see what he says. He's probably going to want to examine your father before making out a treatment plan for him or prescribing him any medications."

"I expected that," Scotty replied. "And honestly, if he can get my father on a better regiment of medications, I'd be thrilled."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because there are times when it feels as if my father is more aware than others. I don't know if that's due to stroke or the medications or what. I just know sometimes he barely knows who I am and other times I'd swear he's on the verge of climbing out of bed."

"Scotty, you really need to get that medication to me as quick as you can. If what you are saying is true, my doctor might be able to give him a better quality of life."

"I'll send it overnight once I get back home."

"Good," Jake replied. "Okay, I need to go. I'll call you if any plans change. Keep me updated if anything happens. And try to keep your association with these idiots to a minimum. We don't want them to get wind of our plans until it's too late for them to stop us."

Yeah, that would be a nightmare.

"Stay in touch," Jake said right before he hung up.

I blew out a breath and tried to order my chaotic thoughts into ones I could understand. So much was happening and it was happening faster than I could handle. I felt as if I was seconds away from flying into pieces.

"Hey, it's going to be okay." Scotty knelt down in front of me, taking both my hands in his. "Jake knows his stuff, and if he doesn't know, then he knows someone who does. He'll figure a way out of this for us."

"Are we really doing this?" I asked.

Scotty's eyes narrow to a squint. "I thought you wanted to marry me."

"Not that." Yes, I wanted to marry him. That had never been a question for me. "No, I mean moving to New York City. Are we really going to just pack our lives up and move away?"

"It's a good idea. Jake will make sure we are set up when we get there. It's a chance for us to have a life, Beck, a life where we don't have to hide our relationship. Don't you want that?"

"I do," I admitted. "I'm just scared that..."

"Scared of that what?"

It was hard to put into words.

"I don't know this Jake guy. I just have your word that he can do the things you say he can. I trust you, but I don't trust him. Frankly, I trust two people in this world. You and Chelsea."

I was terrified that we would get caught and Scotty would be taken away from me, forced to marry my sister. I didn't want to lose him, especially not now that we had admitted our feelings for each other.

"I know you don't know Jake, but I do. I trust him and my other frat brothers with my life." Scotty squeezed my hands as he gave me a little smile. "I trust him with your life."

"You seem awfully sure about all of this."

"I'm not, if that makes you feel any better."

It actually did.

"I'm scared, just like you. I'm scared that Cynthia will do something to my father. I'm scared that Cynthia or your sister will find out what we are planning and try to put a stop to it. I'm scared that they will do something to keep you away from me. I'm scared that I will be forced to marry a woman I don't even like."

So, he had the same concerns that I did. Somehow, that made me feel a little better.

"So, now what?" I asked. "What's the plan?"

"Now, we get married."