“Yes,” we both whisper.
The next five minutes are the most terrifying of my life. We’re about one hundred yards away when gunshots ring out behind us. Instead of dropping, the men helping us, move faster. I almost cry in relief when I spot low beam headlights illuminating a small clearing.
The men help us in the van and it takes off before the doors close. No one speaks for a few minutes until the driver turns on the interior light and I finally see the men who saved us. There are five men total. Dressed in all black with face paint and guns strapped across their bodies, and each of them is huge.
“You don’t look like the police,” I say in awe.
“Never said we were,” Wren answers with a smirk. Then his face gets hard. “Thought you said you were okay.”
“I am.”
“From where I sit, you’ve got a busted cheek, blood stains on your shirt, and bruises covering your neck. That’s doesn’t seem okay to me.”
“I’m okay but worried about Pedro.”
“We’ll get him medical care soon.”
“Where are we? Who was that man who took us?”
“You’ll get your answers, but right now someone wants to talk to you.” He digs a phone out of his front pocket, pushes a button, and hands it to me.
It rings once and then Max’s worried voice comes through the line. “Wren, please fucking tell me you have her.”
The anguish and fear in his voice shatters any sense of strength I was holding on to. My throat threatens to close and it’s all I can do to whisper, “Max.” As hard as I try to hold back, emotions take over and I break. Tears flood my cheeks as I sob into the phone. Tremors wrack my body as I shake. Each time I try to talk my words come out muffled. Pedro’s hand slips into mine and Wren squeezes my shoulder lightly.
“Jesus Christ, Stella, baby, are you okay?” his voice cracks and his breathing picks up. There are voices in the background and I hear a loud cry.
“Yes, I’m okay. Wren got us out.”
“Bella, did that bastard hurt you?”
“No, well, yes, but no. Nothing major, but Pedro is bad.”
“I’m going to kill the motherfucker with my own hands.”
“Really, baby, I’m okay.” I sniffle and hiccup trying to calm down. “They were going to k-k-kill Pedro.” Another round of sobs wracks my body.
“Shh, calm down, your both safe now. Wren and his guys will take care of you. No one’s going to hurt either of you.”
“Do you know him? The man that took us?”
“We do now. I promise to fill you in when you get here. God, I love you. We’ve all been sick out of our minds.”
“I love you too.”
“Let me talk to Wren. I’ll see you soon.”
I hand the phone over and listen intently to their conversation.
“Yeah, man, she’s okay. Little banged up, but she made it without assistance.”
Pedro and my eyes meet and I smile widely. The look on his face is filled with relief.
“Nah, we took care of him. Left two men behind to take care of business, but we’ve already heard from them. Four altogether, all dead.” His eyes do another scan of me. “She looks fine, but you can see for yourself soon.”
He hangs up and then introduces all the other men.
“If you’re not police can you tell me who you are?”
“We’re friends of Marshall Barnes,” Wren answers and a few of the men chuckle.
“I’ve learned more about Marshall Barnes in the last few months than I have in twenty years.”
“I suspect we aren’t the kind of friends he talks about often. Our job is a little unorthodox.”
“Thank you for saving us. It’s probably going to be crazy when we get to wherever we’re going, so I want to tell you now how grateful I am.” My voice cracks as the weight of what has happened crashes down on me.
Pedro clenches my hand and I lean into him gently. We ride in silence, holding each other.
Feeling her heartbeat against my chest helps calm the wrath that still simmers in me. Knowing how close I came to losing her weighs heavily on my heart with a crushing force. Listening to her replay everything that happened while she was gone used every bit of self-control I have. My range of emotions went from rage and fury to terror. With each word, her voice was strained and she held back tears. It was obvious to me she was trying to be strong, but it was difficult. A part of me wished the kidnapper was still alive because I wanted to murder the son of a bitch. Knowing Wren had the kill shot gives me some satisfaction.
When Wren and his team arrived at the private medical facility last night and Stella helped Pedro out of the van, my knees went weak with relief. I stood back and let her family have her first, but as soon as she was in my arms, I picked her up and didn’t let go until the doctor was ready to examine her. His test showed she had high levels of sedatives in her system, which we already knew. The small cut on her abdomen didn’t need stiches and her facial swelling started to go down.
The look on her face when I told her about Rita Hurst was pure hate. Like the rest of us, she couldn’t understand. When her blood pressure monitor started beeping, the doctor tried to kick us all out of her room, but I refused to go. As soon as our families were convinced she was okay, they left for the night, leaving us alone. I crawled in the small bed and held her as close as possible. She declined any medicine offered, saying she was still drowsy. As much as she begged, we all agreed she needed to sleep before we talked anymore about her kidnapping. She slept soundly in my arms and I finally drifted off after the doctor came in and told me about Pedro’s condition.
“Good morning,” Stella’s sleepy voice breaks me out of my thoughts. “Have you been awake long?”
“Not really.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m getting there. Helps that I have you in my arms. When we get to go home, I’ll be even better.”
“How long before we’re bulldozed with our family and friends?”
“I’d say about half an hour.”
“Max, I know you don’t want to talk about it, but I need to know what happened on your end. And how are we laying in a pristine medical facility with world class doctors?”
“Marshall. We’re actually about an hour away from our hotel in an upscale community. He has connections everywhere, Bella. You already know the men that saved you were also hired by him.”
“Why not the actual police?”
I hesitate and she notices immediately. Her eyebrows arch in question and I blow out a deep breath. “We didn’t exactly go the legal route.”
“Tell me everything.”
“Marshall arrived two days after you were taken, he already hired the rescue team, but wanted to get all the information the police had. We played along until we knew we had a lock on your location. Jake’s supervisor knew what was going on but helped us cover our tracks. When we got word Pedro was missing, we built our plan.”
“What do you mean when you got word? He was gone for two days.”
“His grandmother reported him missing but all the manpower was being used to find you. Once I heard he was gone, I knew the two were connected. Jake tracked his phone and we got his last known location. Once we found out Rita was behind the kidnapping and we had the bank account information, it was easy to find the man who took you. His name is Carlos and he’s a fucking psycho. He’s also a man without a face. No one knew who he was, just his name. He’s a killer for hire. But what worried us the most is he was hired to kill you. He could have done that easily when you opened the door for room service. Him keeping you alive meant he had bigger plans.”
“He wanted me to have sex with him. He used Pedro as leverage. Then he was going to sell me.”
“We were afraid it was something like that. So Marshall, Jake, and I decided we wanted the fucker dead. As you can imagine, the police couldn’t be a part of it.”
“Is anyone in trouble?”
“No, human traffickin
g is an inhumane crime in any country. Carlos was known to associate with trafficking rings. No one is going to miss him.”
“Is this over?”
“Pretty much. Rita’s lawyered up, but there is enough evidence against her. Edward has a long recovery but he’s agreed to cooperate completely. I’ll have a shit ton of work to do when we get back, but it’ll work out.”
“It all happened so fast.”
“Nothing about this was fast. These have been the longest days of my life. If I live to be a hundred, I’ll never forget the fear.”
“I meant the whole Rita thing.”
“It was almost a full day before we could get to you once we had the right information. The U.S. legal system worked quickly as soon as Jake got them the Intel.”
“I want you to know something. In that room, with that man, I would have done anything to save Pedro’s life. But I never would have let him sell me. He’d have to kill me.”
“I’d never have stopped looking for you.”
“I love you.”
“You too, babe, so much. The fear and anguish of what was happening to you crushed me. There is no doubt in my mind that you have become my life.” I bend to her gently and she leans into my kiss. As soon as my lips meet hers a hunger takes over and I need her taste like I need air. She links her arms around my shoulders, pressing her body firmly against mine. My hands slide around her neck and tangle in her hair.
“Max,” she moans breathlessly.
“Stella.” I withdraw and reign kisses over her face. “You need to know this now, babe, you thought I was protective before, it’s going to be worse. You may not leave my sight for a year.”
“Okay.”
A knock at the door pulls my mouth away from her as Laci walks in with Stella’s family. “You’ve had her alone long enough. Move.” She practically pulls me out of the bed. As soon as I’m out of the way, she crawls in with Stella and wraps her in a hug. Jenny and Amy lean into them and join in. The sound of sniffling fills the room as the four women cry.
“Rita Hurst is going to pay. She doesn’t have a chance in hell,” Laci says as she pulls back. “My dad won’t let her get away with this.”
“You don’t have to worry about that, I’m personally going to make her regret the day she decided to fuck with Stella.” I reply.
“Max, you can’t get your hands dirty. Just leave this to the professionals.” She winks at me playfully.
“Is that a challenge?”
“Both of you quit.” Stella laughs. “Will someone go get an update on Pedro?”
“He’s good, babe. He’s got some massive bruising and a few stitches, but you saved him from infection by cleaning his wounds. He had one broken rib and they taped it up. He can go home tonight if he wants.”
“I’d like to see him. Once I’m assured he’s okay, we can go too. I’m ready to get back to Atlanta and leave all this behind.”
“I’ll arrange it.”
“Come on, Stella Bella, let’s get you in the shower and into some decent clothes. That hospital gown is horrendous.” Laci gets up and pulls Stella up with her. “When we’re done, I brought you some clean clothes too.” She points to a bag on the floor.
“Thanks, I’m going to go call my pilot, my family, and talk to Pedro’s doctor again. Be back in ten minutes. Take care of her.” I walk over and kiss her bruised cheek lightly. “My mom will go by the hotel and get our stuff so we can leave straight from here.”
She nods and then gives me a small smile. “Thank you.” Her eyes shine with relief.
I want to respond but the weight of the last few days and fear overwhelms me. My lips touch hers lightly and I lean against her head, hoping she can sense how I feel.
Erica’s face goes pale when Stella and I walk into Edward’s hospital room. She looks between the two of us and gets up slowly.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” Edward says watching his daughter move across the room.
“It’s been a busy few days. We’ve had a lot to do.”
“I’ve heard. Good job with the board. You’ve handled this whole thing well.”
“I’ve had a lot of help.” I motion to Stella standing next to me. “Sullivan PR saved our asses again.”
“Technically, she saved your ass since mine is going to be in jail soon.”
“About that. You’re going to get a deal. I don’t know the details, but obviously the information you provided saved Stella’s life. It could have taken days for us to trace the money to Rita. I talked to my contacts, hopefully they’ll have something for you and your lawyer this week.”
He doesn’t say anything but nods sadly.
“We’ve been home for three days and worked hard to clean this up, but the one question that bothers me the most is why. Why did you do it? Why put the company you and Dad built in such jeopardy? It can’t be the money because you’re a very rich man.”
“At first, it was the money. I was stupid, greedy, and selfish. Then I was in too deep. People expected payoffs. Your dad dying affected me hard. He was my best friend. I let him down and then I was blindsided when you took his position. At that point, it became about proving a point. A young, hotshot, lawyer taking over my company pissed me off. Then the shit with Erica left me with the taste for revenge.
“The night you and Stella came to my house, I saw things clearly. You were in love. You’re a good man and wanted what’s best for Hurst & McCoy. You are so much like your father, it’s remarkable. I vowed that night to turn things around. It took me a few days, but I figured out you knew what I had done. Then when I saw the transfers from Rita, it was time to talk to you. I’m sorry my message got to you too late. When I heard Stella was kidnapped, I knew you needed to know everything.”
“Thank you, Edward. I can’t imagine how hard it was to send Erica to South America. Essentially knowing you were putting your wife in jail. No matter what you’ve done and the lengths you went to hurt Max that showed courage and honor.” Stella reaches out and shocks everyone by hugging him. “My family and I thank you so much for helping to save me and Pedro.”
Erica whimpers in the corner but her face isn’t sad, she’s smiling proudly.
“And thank you, Erica, what you did for us is showed selflessness and bravery.” Stella steps back and looks to me expectantly. I nod. “Max and I have discussed it at length, along with my team. We would like to offer you the JOS modeling contract for the period of six months to launch the new line. There are some heavy stipulations, including that you stay clean, healthy, and drug free. These are non-negotiable. But we think it will help solidify the relationship between Hurst & McCoy in the media. It will also be our way of saying thanks.”
Erica’s jaw drops and Edward gasps. Both their faces full of shock.
“It’s true,” I say. “The contract will be sent tonight. Have your lawyer look over it and let us know by the end of next week.”
“Okay,” she says dumbfounded.
“One more thing,” my attention goes back to Edward. “I’ve talked to the guys in New York. We’re moving forward with the acquisition and the medical program. Even though you went after them with the intent to distract me, it’s a good business move.”
He gives me a look of sadness but extends his hand. I shake it willingly and then pull Stella close.
“I’ll be watching from the sidelines as you take Hurst & McCoy from the dredges and bring it back to the glory your father and I wanted. As of now, I’m officially retired. Whether or not I spend the rest of my life in jail, or riddled in shame, Hurst & McCoy is now yours.”
I jerk my chin in response and lead Stella to the door.
“Max, one more thing,” he says repeating my words from earlier. “Your dad would have been damn proud of you. He loved his family fiercely and you, your brothers, and your mom were the world to him. I’m proud of you and apologize for the pain and heartache I caused you.”
I don’t say anything because the lump in my throat won’t allow it.
But as we walk out of the hospital, a sense of peace settles in me for the first time since my dad died. It’s finally all over.
“No one, Stella, I mean it. Not one soul. If Laci pulls her shit, I’ll call security,” Max tells me again, his face turning red.
“I heard you the first four times, sweetie. No need to get angry.”
“I’m not mad, I’m serious. Since we got home two weeks ago, people have filled our house. Today it’s just you, me, and Scout.”
I nuzzle my dog’s ears as she licks my face.
“Jesus, the dog gets more attention than me.”
“Aww, poor baby. Want me to rub your ears too?”
“I want you to rub something else.”
“Are you feeling left out?” I walk up behind him and slide my hands in his pockets. He jumps so fast, I fall back. “What the hell?” I ask.
“You startled me.” He gives me a guilty look.
“For a man who wants to be touched so badly, that’s not really a way to show it.”
“Come here.”
I shake my head and back away. “Nope, going back to my dog who doesn’t cringe at my touch.”
The hurt in my voice is obvious. Since we’ve been home, Max hasn’t touched me sexually or tried to do anything but kiss me each night. He’s held me close but I miss our sexual intimacy. When I’ve asked him about it, he blows me off saying he’s making sure I’m ready.
I’ve woken up several times and caught him watching me sleep. He told me he’s waiting for the nightmares, but they never come. Each night he sits with me as I call Pedro to check on him, but he seems fine. Apparently he’s now a local hero so his social status has hit the roof. Max won’t let him go back to work for six weeks and paid him his salary, so he spends his days as a normal eighteen year old instead of worrying about money.
I try to tell Max I’m okay, but he won’t listen. He’s kept me close, insisting I work out of the home office Dana set up. Landon and Laci come here every day and we work endlessly, but every half hour, Max comes in to check on me. I tried to talk to Laci about my situation but she just says to “let him do what he needs to do.”
Smokescreen Page 29
