I knew I didn’t want to hear it, but had to. I took a deep breath in and tried to sound as calm as possible, “What did the card say?”
Gianna started shaking as she uttered the words that would send my protective nature into overdrive around the woman in my arms. “It was a sympathy card. Saying how sorry they were over the loss of my sister. But that’s not all.”
Nate got up and pulled Gianna into a loving embrace. I never thought he’d ever find his mystery woman, a woman he’d met at that infamous BDSM club the Prescott family was part owners of, but he did. She turned out to be just what he needed in life. Actually, they turned out to be wonderful complements to each other.
I felt Marjorie flinch in my arms but could see she was still fast asleep, apparently having a bad dream. I turned my head toward her and kissed the top of her head, reassuring her everything would be fine.
He paused for a moment, looking at a text coming in on his phone. “Rick found a piece of long blonde hair in the bag with the food. We didn’t let the police know at first. We wanted dibs on it. We knew our lab guys were much faster and it would reduce the risk of it going missing or being contaminated…”
I was feeling agitated and I guess it was obvious when the nurse popped her head in, citing that whatever was upsetting me needed to stop because my heart rate and blood pressure were through the roof. She admonished me further by saying that if I didn’t calm down, she’d give me a sedative. I gave her a look that told her to leave me alone, but acquiesced, “Fine. We were just finishing up discussing an issue of importance.”
When she left, Derrick continued, “The hair turned out to belong to a female. We’ve pushed it through our system to see if there were any matches on file. As suspected, there were none. But at least between past notes scenting of perfume and this piece of evidence, we now know that our person is a female. We’re trying to access phone records for James to see if he’s been talking with anyone in the area. We’re hoping to have more information soon.”
“Where are Tomas and Alexander?” I was curious as to why we only had a small crowd. Usually if anything happened, no matter the scale, it ended up in a Prescott family reunion at the hospital.
“We didn’t want to worry anyone just yet, until we knew what the heck was going on. Both of them were at an important fund-raiser tonight, so we opted to keep things on the down low for now,” Nate admitted and then looked over at Kent and Carol, nodding toward them. “They stopped by to make sure you were both okay since you’d seemed a bit emotional after your session with them tonight. They weren’t sure how this would affect you and wanted to be here to offer their services, friendship, and support if needed.”
I was about to argue, but then he added, “We’ve all had our turns talking with them, so don’t go there, bro. I’m just glad to hear that you’re finally seeking help to move past your hang-ups.” He gave a half smile. “Kent advised that we might be playing into the culprits psyche if we have everyone here. Sophia and Ivan have tapped into the security feeds on the building to try and get access to anything that might give us clues.”
Derrick piped up, “This person of interest seems to know where the cameras are placed and is utilizing the stairwell to avoid most of them. We can’t tell, based on the state of dress, whether the person is a male or female, their age, or even their eye color. We can only assume it’s a female given the current evidence.” He shrugged, “Whoever is doing this has been planning this for a while. We called our contact out in Utah to get a confirmation on James and he’s been home all week, only going to and from work. He was actually irate, citing that he hadn’t planned anything since…”
His words trailed off as Kent cleared his throat rather loudly and shook his head at Derrick. “This is her information to tell, not yours. It’s a privacy thing. When, and if, she’s ready for Ethan and everyone else to know, she’ll tell us. Hell, we don’t even know the extent of James’s treatment of her.”
“Yes, sir.”
My mind kept replaying all that had happened, realizing that Marjorie was an easy target to get to. “So how do we keep her safe?”
Carol spoke up. “She’ll be shaken and her sense of security may be compromised. She may want to challenge the person by staying in her own place or decide to go somewhere else for the time being. I believe the decision should be up to her and not forced.”
Derrick seemed to concur. “Actually, she may not want to be at her place, for obvious reasons. But she could stay within the parameters of the building, staying with Gianna and Nate, Sophia and Ivan, or with you, Ethan. All of you have extra bedrooms available, so she could easily stay with one of you and give the perpetrator the sense that they haven’t done a good enough job. This is, of course, conditional on her willingness to stay in the building. With some proper staging, we can make it look like she’s in her place while she’s actually staying elsewhere, out of harm’s way. Hopefully, this will draw out the culprits so we can catch them.”
I didn’t like the idea of my place being part of the options. Granted, we spent most of our day around one another, with the exceptions of sleeping and when we had pressing deadlines to contend with, but the temptation it would provide, having her so close to me and not being able to touch her – I don’t know if I could be the gentleman she deserved.
I was about to argue against the idea when I heard a meek voice speak up, as her hand clenched my hospital gown, “I want to stay with you.”
My hand instantly soothed her shoulder and arm. “Honey, won’t you feel more comfortable staying with your sister and Nate?”
She shook her head. “They’re still somewhat newlyweds, and I don’t want to impose on them. And forget about Ivan and Sophia. I like them a lot, but I’m not that comfortable around them; they intimidate me.”
Derrick spoke up. “Your place would be ideal. You possess the best security system, and your computers are set up to automatically dial the police if there’s a problem. Plus, if it’s James causing this, he’d probably be pissed at the idea of her staying with another man. It might help us to draw him, or whoever is involved, out more quickly.”
“How do we act when we get out of here?” I wasn’t sure how this was going to go. I knew I couldn’t spend all day cooped up in the same small space with Marjorie without giving in to some of our temptations. There were only so many times I could take a line from Austin Powers and repeat, “Margaret Thatcher naked on a cold day,” to try and contain my reaction to her.
“Derrick and I have discussed this at length,” Kent admitted. “You’ll want to return to normal as soon as possible for your own sanity, but also to show the person involved that you’ll not be taken down easily. Granted, you’ll want to have extra security around, so we’ll let Derrick and Rick decide the best way to handle that. As for our sessions, we can move them to your place for now since it will be a more positive environment, and it’s on our way home from work.”
I felt Marjorie move closer to me and grip my gown even tighter. “I’m either staying with you or I’m staying by myself at my place. It’s your call, Ethan.”
Derrick added, “We’ll provide transportation to and from work. We want to reduce the risk of tampering with either of your vehicles. We’d prefer you not order take-out unless we provide the pick-up and delivery at locations we deem acceptable and controlled.” His expression was sincere as he uttered, “I know it’s going to blow a bit, but we need to keep both of you safe.”
I couldn’t argue with that, except to give Marjorie a squeeze and another kiss on her forehead. Holding her in my arms felt so right, but the timing was oh so wrong. “I’ll do whatever is necessary to keep Marjorie happy and safe.”
I BREATHED A SIGH of relief knowing Ethan had my back. I was afraid he’d push me away. He argued every possible outcome other than me staying with him. If he was anything like me, he was fighting a battle between the past and the present. Until both of us learned to let go, neither of us would have a future.
I lifted my head enough to look into his eyes and give him a kiss on his cheek, “Thank you,” before settling back into the crook of his neck.
“Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in your own bed?” He asked.
I shook my head, quickly realizing I was sporting a massive headache. I don’t know what kind of crap angel trumpet is, but I hope I never deal with it again. “Can someone get me some ibuprofen? My head is pounding.”
Naturally my sister would be the one to laugh, but apparently I wasn’t the only one suffering a bit. Ethan chimed in, “Make that a double. All this talk of poison, hiding, and life and death situations has my brain screaming.”
The nurse brought in the medication and, once again, tried to convince me to move over to my bed. Everyone told her she might as well save her breath because I wouldn’t move until I wanted to and felt secure enough, which was the truth. Thank god my sister had my back.
I noticed the dull light starting to seep in around the blinds of the window. It had me curious, “What time is it?”
Everyone seemed to want to speak up at once, but the nurse took the floor, “Its 7:30 in the morning, Ms. Prescott. The breakfast cart should be by shortly. Given the reason you’re admitted, the doctor has ordered a liquid breakfast for each of you. If you’re able to hold that down, we will ask the kitchen to send up a bland breakfast. We don’t want to overtax your systems too quickly. Maybe then you’ll be willing to go back to your bed so you both have room to eat.”
I had to give it to the nurse, she had gumption. “We’ll see. I’m not promising anything. As long as Ethan doesn’t mind, I’m comfortable right where I am.”
The nurse left with a bit of a huff. Derrick received another call and left the room to take it. Gianna and Nate got up and gave us both a light hug. “We better get going,” Nate explained. “One of us will need to go in for at least half the day to deal with the department. We’ll try to make it back to visit with you later. Let us know if there’s anything specific you’d like us to grab and move up to Ethan’s.”
I grasped my sister’s hand and pulled her down to my lips, “Thanks for not calling mom and dad. Let us have a couple more hours before all hell breaks loose.”
“Sure thing, hon. I hope they catch whoever’s doing this so you don’t have to live on high alert for long. I wish you’d told us you were receiving notes for a while. Family sticks together – you know that.”
I nodded the best I could without causing too much pain.
“Did you want us to call your family, Ethan?” Nate asked.
“Thanks, but no. They’re up north for the summer, so I’d rather them not have to worry. I gave them enough of a scare a couple years back. I don’t want them to come down here and worry some more. As far as they’re concerned, I got a bad case of food poisoning.”
“I think food poisoning would’ve been preferred to this crap.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “At least if I have to be poisoned, I’m getting to spend time with you.”
Ethan’s chest vibrated with laughter. “I think this is the worst excuse possible to call in sick to work. “Hey, sorry I’m not going to make it today. I’m in the hospital because some ass poisoned my food, but I’ll try to be in tomorrow.” He glanced down at me, sighing, before he added, “If I have to deal with a toxin, at least I’m in the presence of some mighty fine company.” His eyebrows twitched with a suggestive smirk to his face. All of us started laughing, admiring Ethan’s humor in the face of adversity, until a booming voice caught us all off guard, “Like hell you will!”
We all turned to see Uncle Alexander, along with my parents, coming through the door. His face was full of furry as he interrogated his head of security, “Derrick, why weren’t we called? I want a full report, yesterday!” He motioned toward the hallway to encourage Derrick to discuss this in private, while my parents came over to Gianna and Nate’s sides.
I didn’t want to deal with them, but I reassured them I was fine, just needing the comfort of Ethan’s arms. I let everyone else fill them in on what happened. There were tears of joy, hugs, and more reassurances needed that we were okay. My dad continuously insisted I get over to my own bed so I could give Ethan a break and rest more easily. He tried to lift me, but I refused to budge, tightening my grip on Ethan and screaming out, “Don’t touch me,” which caused Derrick to run back in at an alarming speed.
Something in me had snapped and my sense of security had fallen. Why I felt safe with Ethan, despite us both getting poisoned, I don’t know. But I’m sure I’ll find out soon. Kent and Carol stated they needed to run to re-schedule most of their appointments for today. They promised to check back in on us later and offered to talk to us, if we were up to it. I could only respond with, “We’ll see, but thank you.”
I was too scared to talk because I knew if I did – well let’s just say no one, except for Derrick, Rick, and Uncle Alexander knew the extent of the treatment and threats I’d endured at the hands of my ex-husband, James. This was the first attempt on my life, but not the first time my death was planned out. The very thought of it sent a shiver through me making me feel as cold as ice.
“Mrs. Prescott, could you grab the blanket over on her bed? I believe she’s cold; she’s shivering in my arms.” I was happy to know Ethan had my best interest at heart. To my surprise, my parents didn’t try to push me. They instead tucked the blanket around me and asked if Ethan needed anything. I was very thankful he was tall. Therefore, he was given a bigger hospital bed, which was roomy enough for the two of us to share.
I knew, despite the chaotic night, this was the calm before the storm. I wasn’t ready to reveal my secrets or how I had foolishly believed my ex-husband had loved me for me. No one knew the full extent of his harshness. I was such a blockhead to trust him.
I’d been lost in thought and content in Ethan’s arms, when his stomach growled audibly, jarring me from my thoughts and making me relish the smells coming from the hallway. I was almost as hungry as he was but leery of the ability to hold it down.
The food delivery person pleasantly offered to merge both of our trays into one, allowing us to eat more easily, especially since they only held some iced tea, a few cups of Jell-O and some chicken broth. “This is what they call food?” I cringed at the thought. The idea of cream of wheat, toast, or eggs had more appeal.
To my surprise everyone, with the exception of Kent and Carol, were still here in the room. Apparently, no one was going to leave us alone so we could just rest and get on with our day, morning, or whatever the hell time it was.
Ethan had set the bed up as far as he could tolerate it. We were both sipping on our broth when Uncle Alexander entered with Derrick in tow. “Would it be possible for Derrick and I to speak with Marjorie and Ethan alone for a few minutes?”
My parents looked surprised by the request, but stated they’d go to the cafeteria to get a bite of food. Nate and Gianna said their goodbyes and headed for home. My uncle told them to take the day off; he’d already called the office citing a family emergency.
Once everyone was out of the room, my uncle motioned for Derrick to take a seat, while he grabbed a chair. “Do you want to come clean to Ethan about one of the reasons why you left your husband, or should I?”
My hands started shaking. Ethan quickly put his cup down before reaching for my broth. I don’t know if it was concern for me, or the fear of getting burned with hot broth, but he grabbed my hands, pulled them to his lips, and gave them a soft kiss. “Sweetie, whatever it is, you know of all people, I’m the last person to judge. Whatever you say in this room stays between us, no one else.”
I looked over at my uncle, “Why? Why must I reveal things now?”
“I’m sorry to push, but we were wondering who would benefit from you dying and found some information similar to what the guys found before.” I nodded in acknowledgement and waved my hand for him to continue. “We don’t know how he managed it, but there’s another life insurance policy, this time for $10 millio
n dollars, in your name. The beneficiary is James Bentley. Apparently, you signed this policy at an office in Atlanta three months ago and showed some form of identification, which we know isn’t the case. You haven’t been on any trips in years!”
I turned my head into Ethan’s chest and started weeping. I couldn’t help it. Had our marriage all been a sham? Did he have no love or fondness for me whatsoever? “Why is he doing this again? Why am I worth more to him dead than I am alive?”
Ethan tensed at my words, but still wrapped his arms around me. Now that his IV was removed, he could fully embrace me. “Please tell me he didn’t try to kill you before.” His voice was strained and full of emotion. I could feel his chest vibrate with barely contained rage.
“Only the guys and Uncle know what happened. We had a threat against the family, so Derrick and Rick came over to check things out. They went house to house to make sure there were no bugs, recording devices, etc. in our homes. While they were at my place, they discovered my phone, car, and purse had been tagged with GPS tracking devices. James had just left for work, so they took their time going through things and found his receipts for the purchases. They dug a bit deeper and discovered he’d taken a life insurance policy out on me for a total of $3 million a month earlier. We had a prenuptial agreement in place, thanks to my father’s insistence, declaring he’d inherit nothing if our marriage didn’t last five years. We’d been married just barely a year at that point.”
I started shaking despite Ethan’s warm embrace. I felt my uncle’s hand against my back. “It’s okay, Marjorie. You are one of the strongest people I know, and no one will judge you for what happened. Do you want to continue or should I?”
I Need You Too: Stand Alone Novel, Contemporary-Erotic-Suspenseful Romance, Psychological Thriller Page 5
