Snatched (Coronado Series Book 2)

by Hart, Lea

  She turned back to him and smiled, “I love you too Mr. Bishop.” She looked down at his hand at his wedding band and rubbed her finger across it. “You are not going to take that off when we get home, are you?”

  “Probably not, I feel like it would be wrong. The marriage vows we took on the beach mean everything to me and this ring is the hard evidence of that.”

  He picked up her hand and looked at her rings, “Are you going to take off your wedding band?”

  “Probably not. Oh Max…. what are we going to do? My Mama is going to be so upset that we did it without her. My sisters are going to go crazy and I can’t blame them.”

  “What if we try and book a small room at the Hotel Valencia this weekend and get married. We can just get it done.”

  “Has the sale gone through yet?”

  I don’t think so, Frank was going to text me when he got confirmation that it was complete. He wants us to be prepared because of Jackson.”

  “Let me send a quick email to the manager and see what they have available. It may just work.” She pulled out her phone and sent off a quick email and hoped they would get good news. She heard the flight attendant start the announcements about turning off electronic devices. She checked to make sure that the email went through before she turned off her phone. She slipped it back inside of her purse and took out her sour gummies and bottle of water. “Good thing we are going home, I only have three bags left.”

  “I will go out tomorrow morning and get you several more cases.”

  “You are turning out to be an excellent husband. I’m sure glad I had the good sense to marry you.”

  “Me too sweetheart.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  Jackson sat in his office and tried to decide if the rumors he kept hearing were true. He had a hard time believing his Father would sell the hotels without talking to him. The only way it might be possible was if he thought he was using again. I don’t think that’s likely - I’m totally under control this time. He wondered if Rory knew anything about it - he wished that he still had access to her phone and computer. Her leaving the company had eliminated the only way he was getting information about his father. He didn’t even know where she was… how had he lost track of her?

  Gavin’s arrest and betrayal had hit him hard, the guy had completely thrown him under the bus. The detective seemed to believe him, though, when they brought him in for questioning. It was going to be his word against someone who was guilty of pulling a knife on his step sister. Somehow his Dad blamed him for what happened to Rory. It was just like his Dad not to believe him, he always blamed Jackson for things. It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t know what Gavin was capable of when he asked for his help. The conversation with his father still rung in his head. He had a feeling he didn’t believe him at all. It still pissed him off that he seemed to trust Rory more than him. How had that happened? How had the bitch accomplished that? He always knew she was up to something, trying to move him out of the way.

  Maybe he could go by Rory’s house and see if he could figure out what was going on. He felt confident that Rory didn’t believe Gavin’s story about him. The only problem might be her boyfriend, he had a feeling that Max was not a very forgiving guy. He seemed a little over protective of Rory. Maybe he would go by after he was done at the office. He just needed to meet his friend and make sure he had enough to get through the weekend.

  ***

  “Can you open all the windows in the living room?”

  “Are you sure you want to open everything? The storm may be coming in tonight.”

  Rory walked into the living room with a pile of clothes for the drycleaners. “I want to air the house out before the rain comes, it has been closed for almost a month.”

  “I forgot it was that long. You took two and half weeks to travel to all of the offices, and then we were in Florida for almost two weeks.”

  “I need to go to the grocery store. Are you going to your office to check in?”

  “I was going to wait until tomorrow. If you give me a list I will go to the market.”

  “Ok, that sounds good. I can get myself organized and start the laundry. I think I’m going to crash early tonight, since I’m still on Florida time. I think I will just make some risotto for dinner and a salad.”

  “Sounds good to me…. wife.”

  “Are you going to slip that into conversation whenever you can?”

  “Probably, I may just forget your name and just call you wife or Mrs. Bishop.”

  “I think I prefer Mrs. Bishop, you can only call me wife when we are in bed and you ask me for sexual favors.”

  He gathered her in his arms and looked down at her, “So ‘wife’ will soon be associated with pleasure in your mind.”

  “It will be in yours, since you’re the one who will be benefitting from the sexual favors.”

  “I think I like it. I’d better start thinking about. Which one should I ask for first?”

  “Yeah, you probably don’t want to waste something like that. Careful consideration might be a good idea, you wouldn’t want to waste it on something you really didn’t want.”

  “What about you…. what kind of favors would you like to ask for?”

  “I can’t think of one thing that you have not already done. I’m pretty much in Disneyland with you. I don’t have your experience, so I’m pretty easy to please.”

  “What are you saying? Do you think that we need to be more daring?”

  “No, I’m saying that I married a man who is better than any dream I could have come up with on my own. I think that says more about me than anything else.”

  He took one step forward that brought them belly to belly, he cupped the back of her head and let his lips fall against hers. The kiss went from a slow gentle expression of their love to lust in less than a minute. That must be why people called it the honeymoon phase - they had a constant need to be on top of one another. Their mouths moved together slowly, deeply and fully.

  Several minutes later he pulled back and stared down at her, “I’d better go to the grocery store, before I lose all control and take you into the bedroom.”

  She looked at him for a second and tried to pull herself out of her lust induced fog, and hoped her brain cells would organize themselves quickly. “List… I will make you one.”

  ***

  Rory stood in her kitchen and realized that everything about her life had changed since the last time she stood there. She had left a month ago and wasn’t sure if she was going to continue to see Max. Now she was married and pregnant - what a difference a month makes. Shaking her head she started to collect the ingredients for the risotto and heard her phone buzz. Pulling out her phone she read the text from Birdie welcoming her home and a demand for all information about her trip. If Birdie saw her, she would figure everything out. It would take one look from her best friend for her to figure out that she was pregnant and married. How long can I hide out, before I confess everything?

  She quickly texted her back and suggested lunch for the following week, that might just give her the time she needed. Her phone started buzzing again, and it was an email from the manager from the Hotel Valencia confirming availability for the ceremony on Sunday. It was good news, but it was going to take a lot of work to pull it off in five days. They could send out an email invitation and then follow up with a phone call. She was going to get married twice in two weeks. That might be a record! She decided to wait to start making phone calls until after she talked to Max.

  Better get started on dinner - the baby was starting to get hungry. As she stood at the stove carefully stirring the risotto, she heard a sound on the patio. She wondered if the neighbor’s cat was chasing something in the back yard again. Dismissing it, she turned back around and continued to add broth and stir, it was almost done.

  The screen door scraped open making a loud shrill sound that startled her. She dropped her spoon, twirled around and her breath caught. In walked a sweaty, dishevele
d Jackson, he didn’t look anything like himself. His eyes were dilated and he looked around frantically. “So you don’t like to use the front door. Something wrong with knocking Jackson?”

  Her heart was beating out of her chest, and she had a really bad feeling about why he was here. She quickly looked around her kitchen and tried to remember if she knew where her gun was. All of her cognitive functions had sped up and were not allowing her to process anything. She hoped that Max would walk in through the door any minute and save her. She had a feeling that she was going to definitely need saving in the next ten minutes. This might really give Max an ‘I told you so moment’….darn!

  “Shut up Rory. I know what you did.”

  “That’s rude, you can’t come into my home and tell me to shut up. Why did you come in through the backyard?” She felt like she knew the answer, she just needed to stall him. She needed Max to get home….now.

  “I didn’t want your cameras to record my image. What the hell do you need all of the equipment for?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you asked a crazy man to stalk me, and I thought it might be a good idea to take some precautions.”

  “I did not ask Gavin to stalk you.”

  “We both know what you did and that you are ultimately responsible to what happened in my office.”

  “I didn’t pull the knife on you and attempt to kidnap you.”

  “No, you were just the one who asked the crazy to keep an eye on me.”

  “It’s over… forget about it.”

  “Ok, I will. What are you doing here?”

  “You have to tell me what you know about the rumor on the sale of the hotels?”

  “I don’t work there anymore. I haven’t in over a month. Why do you think that I know anything?”

  “Because you know everything that goes on, and your mother would tell you if something is going on.”

  “I have not been home for a month, and surprisingly, I’m no longer invested in what happens there. I have moved on.”

  “I don’t really believe you.”

  “I really don’t care. You need to leave and never return. You have never liked me or treated me with any respect. I don’t think there is any reason that we ever have to see one another again. Go live your life.”

  “I’m trying, except you screwed everything up. It’s all falling apart, and it’s your fault.”

  “That is the most ridiculous thing - you are the king of the company. I have no interest in it.”

  “All the deals that I have in place are going to fall apart if there is in fact a sale of the hotels.”

  “Call your father.”

  “He is not taking my calls, he’s pissed about what happened to you.”

  “Imagine that, what a shock.”

  “I don’t appreciate your attitude.”

  “I don’t appreciate you breaking into my house and bothering me. You need to leave right now.”

  “No, you need to fix this!”

  She looked closely at him and tried to determine how crazy he was. Was he experiencing a psychotic breakdown or was he just strung out on something. His face was flush, and he looked like he was about to go over the edge.”

  “Do you want me to call your Father and ask him? I don’t know what you need me to fix.”

  He looked around wild eyed, as if he was trying to come up with an answer. “You need to come with me and talk to the people who I cut the deal with. They might believe you, because they think that you know what’s going on.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense. Go home Jackson, I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  He suddenly took a step forward and grabbed her arm, “I said that I want you to come with me.”

  She tried to get him to release his grip, “Jackson, let go. You know what Max is going to do to you when he walks in the door. You need to let me go and never come back.”

  “I don’t care about Max, you need to come with me now!” He gripped her arm and started to pull her away from the stove.

  “She dug her heels in. She had seen enough crime shows to know that you never left with an attacker. They would never find her again if she did. “Max will kill you if he thinks that you have scared me or harmed me or for that matter uttered a rude word in my direction. Escape while you can, because I won’t be able to stop him and I’m not sure I want to. I’ve had enough of this nonsense.”

  He snapped, and everything about the last six months hit him, and he knew this was his last chance. He pulled her arms hard, he had to get her to meet with the men that he promised so much to. “Come on.”

  She was so tired of men threatening her and trying to get her to go places. She’d had enough and didn’t feel patient any more. She yanked her arm out of his grip and faced him as she placed one hand on the handle of the pan that had the risotto in it. She suddenly felt grateful that she had invested in the heavy bottomed sauce pan. It might be useful for more than making sure that your food didn’t burn on the bottom. “Get the hell out of my house, now!”

  He tried to lunge for her and she lifted the saucepan over her head and let it smash against his head. The hot risotto flew out of the pan and slid down his head as he dropped to the floor. She looked down at him and wondered if she killed him. She told Max she was going to smash the bastard’s head in when she found out who was responsible and she did. She didn’t think she would actually have the opportunity to do it.

  The door flew open and Max ran in with his big gun drawn, he caught sight of her and quickly realized she was unharmed. She stood in the middle of her beautiful kitchen with a big pan in her hand and looked down at the floor. She looked up and started shaking, “I don’t think I killed him, but I hit him really hard on the head. I’m really tired of men trying to hurt me and get me to go places with them. I think you should call 911.”

  He rushed up to her and swept her into his arms as she collapsed against him. He engulfed her and gently removed the pan from her fingers and set it down. “I called 911 when I saw the breach on the back yard gate.”

  “You became your own hero and saved your own life. If I was an insecure man, I might worry that you don’t need me.”

  She started to cry, laugh and shake all at the same time. She buried her face in his chest and tried to disappear into him. “I think holidays are definitely going to be awkward if Jackson shows up at any of them. It’s going to take me a long time to forgive him for this.”

  He kissed her head and let out a big breath, he had never been so scared in his whole life. When he received the signal that the gate had been opened - his heart had stopped beating. For a man who had been in more life threatening situations than he could count - he almost lost his shit. He would not survive if anything had happened to Rory.

  The cops and paramedics came rushing in the door and the chaos began. “How are you feeling sweetheart? I think we need to go to the hospital and have you and the baby checked out. I want to make sure that you are both ok.” She nodded her head and buried herself further in his arms, she didn’t feel very good.

  ***

  Rory lay in the hospital bed attached to all kinds of monitors, “Max did you bring my sour gummies?”

  He pulled a bag out of the pocket of his sweatshirt, “Here you go. Are you sure it’s ok if you have them now?”

  “Are you sure that you want to stay married? Hand over the gummies.”

  “I see how it’s going to be with you.”

  “I’ve had a rough evening, and I want my sour gummies.”

  He opened the bag and handed them to her and kissed her on the head. “I love you, and I’m glad this is finally finished. I should have been aware of where Jackson was - when we got home.”

  “I don’t think there was anything else that you could’ve done. You have taken care of me, protected me, married me and put a baby in me. You are definitely a man who can multi-task.”

  He took her hand and kissed it as he heard the door open. He turned and in walked Rory’s Mom.
“Well Cara, you’ve had a difficult evening.” She walked up to her bed and kissed her daughter’s head and looked at her carefully. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

  Max stood up and gave his chair to her Mom, “We have some great news for you. We think you are going to be very excited about it.”

  “When is my grandchild going to be born?”

  Max stood up at his full height in a modified parade stance, “We look forward to welcoming the baby in June.”

  She looked up at him and studied him, “I see.” She took her daughter’s hand and pulled Max’s hand from behind his back, then she held them together and looked at their matching wedding bands. “Anything else you would like to share with me? I’m guessing that you did more than swim and lie on the beach in Florida.”

  Rory tried to sit up but was hampered by all of the monitors that she was attached to, “Mama.”

  “Don’t Mama me, Rory Evangeline Basso - you are in trouble with me.”

  “Mama, we are going to have another ceremony this weekend, and you will be there to see it.”

  Max stepped forward, “This was my idea. I wanted to get married right away, because I wanted our anniversary to be close to the baby’s birthday. I never wanted there to be a question that we were not together in every way.”

  “I understand, but I’m going to be mad for a little while. I know that so much has been going on since Jackson started all of this craziness. Let me ask you this Max Bishop …do you love my daughter?”

  “With my whole heart… for the rest of my life. She will always be my first priority as well as the children we have.”

  She nodded her head, “All right, I can live with that. All I want for my girls is for them to be happy and loved.”

  “You are not getting married again this weekend. Let’s wait and take our time and have it at the house. I want to give people enough time to arrange their travel plans and I want to meet your parents and have time to get to know them. Let’s do it right and let everyone have the chance to come and celebrate with you both.”