by Willow, Jo
Do you see how she slipped through our hands? In hindsight, it was a good thing she’d left the tracking device on. Since no one was watching her, she slipped through the cracks and could have easily been abducted in her weakened and depressed state. How were we to know she wasn’t coping with Anton’s rejection? Melody was a vocal woman. She was more than practiced at making her unhappiness known in any situation. She’d been as silent as a tomb. We gave her space.
What alerted us to a problem, was Anton of all people, showing up on our doorstep. He asked to speak to Ayla and that was my first inkling that there was a problem. My second skin crawling moment came when I noticed it was everything he could do to keep his shit together while talking to her.
I all but lost it when I found out that Ayla and Sean hadn’t been to Melody’s in ten days. They’d spent their days shopping for fabrics in the event she felt like working again soon. Everyone but Tony (as far as I knew) had tried to reach her and it had all gone to voicemail. Anton had kept watch over her tracking device (he let that one slip) and she’d never left the house. Our immediate concern was, what if her injuries had come back to haunt her?
I saw panic and loss written all over my brother’s face. I was concerned for my friend, but he was insane over the well being of the woman he loved. Walked away my ass. He was in deeper than he’d ever been. I offered to go with him but he declined. He needed to do this on his own and I respected that.
He reached her in the knick of time. It taught them both a valuable lesson, and it was one they’d learned for the last time. There would be yet another Sloan-Lincoln wedding.
Chapter Eight
We sat as a family in one of our favorite restaurants, planning an event that would take place in three days. Deacon had secured the honeymoon-slash-vacation destination because we’d all be going there as well. Catalina Island had always been one of our favorite places to go when we had time, and there was no time like the present. The wedding would take place in Vegas.
I hate Las Vegas. It has to do with my control issues, the noise, the loose morals of the people that I tend to come in contact with there, and the carefree and stupid expectation that, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”, which is complete and total bullshit. No place is a deserted island except a deserted island. There’s another saying too and it’s much more believable. “The only way to keep a secret between two people is if one of them is dead.” The other way is to keep your shit together and tell no one in the first place.
I kept my mouth shut and said nothing. Ayla seemed excited so I went along with it. I understood their urgency. If we’d taken a week to plan, they very well might be broken up by then. Best to get this particular wedding done and dusted.
Our meeting was on a Wednesday night, finalizing things and doling out chores and assignments. It seems it would take a village to get these two married and between the eight of us (Austin and Chase were also present), we had one. We would fly out Friday morning, celebrate Friday night, get them hitched on Saturday and leave for Catalina on Sunday. We’d be gone a week once we hit Catalina. We were taking the corporate jet, so airline arrangements wouldn’t be necessary. Dorothy would line out the chapel, Ayla and Melody were in charge of the dresses and flowers. Deacon and I were in charge of Anton. Chase and Austin would take care of security and the reception. Austin had a friend that owned a club in Vegas and we’d head there for the combined bachelor/bachelorette party. A combined party seemed safer considering the parties involved.
It was during this power meeting that something happened. I should have paid closer attention, and they say that hindsight is always twenty-twenty, but in this case, we all should have had our guards up more than usual.
The restaurant was crowded and people came and went in the usual fashion. We paid them no mind because we had plans to nail down while we had the chance. We were tying up loose ends when someone moved behind my chair to leave. Under normal circumstances, I probably wouldn’t have noticed at all. But something about this particular someone made me uneasy. I barely caught his profile as he hurried by. He was a large man, but not large as in portly. The man was a walking brick wall. His hair was dark and barely shoulder length. He wore a suit that fit him well and he moved with determination as if he had to be somewhere yesterday. He was familiar to me, but not in a way that suggested a distant relationship or a business acquaintance. I knew the face, not the man.
I was watching his retreat when Deacon snapped my attention away.
“Earth to Pierce. Are you okay with picking up the girls on the way to the airport? Anton and I can grab Sean, Austin, and Chase on our way.”
Still lost in my memory search, I answered off the cuff.
“What? Oh yeah, the girls. Yes. No problem. We can leave the SUV’s parked in the hangar at the airport until we get back. It’s fine.”
But it wasn’t fine and I could not put my finger on it.
Thursday was crazy between tying up unfinished business at work, arranging meetings around the week we would be away, and answering phone calls unrelated to any of the above.
“Hell, Pierce Sloan here...”
“Pierce, it’s me. Do you want to wear the black or the grey?”
“Ayla? The black or the grey what?”
She huffed in exasperation. I needed to take the mind reading class that Deacon had obviously taken because I was tired of finding myself in the middle of thought processes that I had no notion of.
“Suit Pierce. The black or the grey suit. For the wedding. Anton’s wearing charcoal grey. I think you should wear the black with the grey shirt and black tie.”
“Fine babe. Whatever you think. I trust your judgement.”
“Can I pack for you? Is there anything I might forget that you need?”
“Just remember my toiletries and shaving kit. Pack my swim trunks for the pool at the hotel. You can handle everything else.”
There was a moment’s hesitation before she answered meekly.
“You trust me with this?”
“Ayla, I sleep next to you every night and you cook my meals. If you were going to kill me or disfigure me, you could have done it long before now. I think I can trust you with dressing me. Don’t you?”
She laughed and I felt better. It upset me to hear stress in her voice, no matter the reason. When she was relaxed, so was I.
“Thanks honey. I’ve got it from here. Sorry to disturb you at work.”
“No worries. Call me if you need me Ayla. I love you.”
I’d never said that over the phone before, but I meant it. I meant it and she needed to hear it. Also, she called me honey. No one had ever called me honey. I liked it.
“Love you too Pierce. See you this evening.”
She hung the phone up and I made another snap decision. It seemed that my snap decisions worked out better than my well thought out plans. Especially where Ayla was concerned.
I locked my office door and stopped at my secretary’s desk. I told her I was taking an early lunch and would be gone approximately two hours. I didn’t tell her where I was going, I planned on keeping that little pearl to myself.
Did I mention that I hate Las Vegas?
The plane was outfitted for twenty and there were nine of us plus the crew. Champagne was chilling when we boarded and we did a head count just to be sure everyone was present. Namely Anton. Deacon and I had wagered on this wedding taking place and his presence would be mandatory if there was any hope of Deacon collecting on the debt. He and Melody seemed happy and inseparable, but they always seemed happy. None of the rest of us would be happy until Sunday morning.
Neither sets of parents would be in attendance. The Lincolns were out of the country, and my mother had a cold and didn’t feel well enough to fly. We understood and agreed to drive to Connecticut once we returned. Everyone that would be present was on the plane.
Once the plane took off, I think we all breathed a sigh of relief. Tony Marconi had kept us all on eggshells for so long, ju
st the thought of trading one city for another was like a slice of freedom we were all desperately needing. Wedding or not, I had no idea how badly we all needed a break until I looked around at the other people on the plane. I’d forgotten what “relaxed” looked like.
As I perused the area, I noticed that everyone was deep in conversation in groups of two’s threes and fours. It was during that perusal that I felt her eyes watching every move I made. I slowly brought my gaze back to her. Back to Ayla. As soon as we were once again within our bubble, she smiled.
There were times in the last few months that I’d have done anything to see that smile. I still felt that way. It was during times like this, times of realization, that another piece of an incomplete puzzle fell into place. Something that was missing felt suddenly found.
“What?”
Her question jarred me into the present.
“What, what?”
“What are you thinking Pierce? You’re staring at me as if you’re trying to figure something out.”
My guard completely down (as it often was with Ayla) I blurted out something that I didn’t realize I’d been thinking.
“Have you ever had an uneasy feeling about something?”
“What do you mean?”
I peeked around to make sure that no one else was paying attention to our little corner of the plane.
“I can’t put my finger on it, but something doesn’t feel right. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for them and I think it’s about time. There’s something else though. An undercurrent of something that I can’t pinpoint yet. Does that sound paranoid to you?”
Ayla looked at me. I mean really looked at me as if she were dissecting what I’d said. Then she thought about it. She was a remarkable woman. She hid nothing from me and I knew she could hide her emotions, I’d seen her do it with other people. Not with me though. Never with me.
“Pierce, if it were anybody else, even Deacon, I’d say maybe. But it’s not anybody else. It’s you. You’re the most level-headed man I know and if you’re worried, then there’s something to be worried about.”
A sense of peace settled over me that I hadn’t felt in a long time. She was good at putting me at ease, but this was different. I’d bared my soul to her for one brief moment and she’d validated my feelings. I felt like a door had been opened. Then she shocked me.
“Tell me what to do.”
I narrowed my gaze because there was no way I’d heard correctly.
“What?”
“I trust your intuition Pierce. Tell me what to do. Rules. You know. You’re big on rules. Tell me what I can do to help you rest a little easier.”
I thought about it and then looked around again. Nobody was paying us even the smallest amount of attention. Her question was legitimate and I knew where she was coming from. The only thing in our lives that had caused any of us discomfort was Tony. That meant she would wind up in the center of it if there actually were something to worry about.
“If you’re serious, then I’ll tell you.”
“I’m serious.”
“And you’ll obey?”
“I’ll...obey.”
“You hesitated. You wanted to say, ‘within reason’. Right?”
Once again she thought about it.
“Okay, I’ll admit it. But you know what? Not this time. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking Pierce. The bottom line is this: I either trust you or I don’t. There’s no gray area, no middle ground on trust. There are no shades of trust, and I’m not one that trusts easily anymore. So okay. I trust you. Probably more than I trust anyone else. You can be a little overbearing at times, but it’s always to protect me. I understand that. Tell me how to help, and you have my word. I’ll obey.”
She knocked the wind right out of my sails. No one’s every obeyed me outside of the bedroom and that was with the understanding that I was in my role as a Dom. I’ve always been the youngest Sloan. The quiet Sloan. People defer to me in research and development, but in no other way. I was staring at the woman I loved and she was offering obedience. I was stunned to put it mildly.
She continued to stare and wait, a serious expression on her face. I took her hand and entwined our fingers.
“I love you. I don’t tell you enough Ayla, but I do.”
“I love you too.”
No hesitation on her part. That was good.
“This will be difficult for you, but I need to know where you are at all times when we hit Vegas. The place is big and crowded. If I lose you, I’ll go out of my mind with worry.”
“What if you’re with the guys and I’m with the girls?”
“Text me and let me know where you are. Leave your phone on and the GPS on as well. I can track you by your phone if it gets dicey.”
“You can track me?”
I blushed and nodded quickly.
“If your phone is on, I can find you. There’s one more thing and you’re not going to like it.”
“Try me.”
“I need for you to do what I tell you to do. If I’m uncomfortable somewhere or I’m uncomfortable about where you are and I tell you to leave, I want you to do it without question.”
“Will you explain it to me later when I’m safe and we’re alone?”
“Yes. You have my word.”
“Okay then. Anything else?”
“That’s not enough?”
She kissed me on the cheek and I smiled at her.
“Honey, I want you comfortable and relaxed. I want this to be a good time for both of us. If there’s something I can do to make that easier for you, tell me. I hate fighting with you Pierce. I’d like for us to try to make this a real relationship and not just an illusion for the family.”
She didn’t say it, but I knew she was talking about the engagement. We hadn’t talked about it, but now was as good a time as any.
I was still holding her hand and with my free hand, I reached into my suit pocket. I kept her eyes pinned to mine until I actually had the box out and between us. There was no doubt what it was, the box was small, square, and Tiffany blue. Her eyes followed mine to the box, and held.
I felt her hand tremble a minute before her head jerked up. Those beautiful blue eyes were huge and wary until I smiled.
“Have you changed your mind Ayla?”
The box was still closed and her hand still trembled.
“About what?”
That same tremble registered in her words. She hadn’t shifted into panic-mode, but she was close.
“About marrying me.”
“I don’t recall there being much of a question. I recall a declaration.”
I had to give her that one and I chuckled.
“You want the words? I’ll give you the words. Marry me Ayla.”
“That’s still not a question.”
I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t think it was supposed to be this difficult.
“Ayla Warren, do you love me?”
Now that got a reaction. All trembling stopped and her baby blue laser beams zeroed in on my own.
“More than anything Pierce. I think I fell in love with you when you protected me in that strip club, the first time we met.”
“Do you love me enough to commit yourself to me? Do you love me enough to marry me? Don’t tell me you have to think about it. If you have to think about it, then the answer is no. In your heart, you know the answer to this question. You’ve always known. So Ayla Warren, will you marry me?”
I flipped open the box and there sat a perfect two carat, round cut diamond on an antique band of platinum that was carved like lace. Perfect and simple. Just like the woman I wanted to give it to.
“Yes. Will you marry me?”
That wasn’t in the script. Was she supposed to ask me as well? I guess it didn’t matter, but it felt odd answering my own question. Then again, everything about our relationship was odd.
I took the ring from the box and slipped it onto her finger.
“Yes.”
I
took her face between my hands and kissed her softly.
“We are officially engaged.”
She sighed and I smiled. Then she leaned towards me.
“You know, we’ve never slept together. That’s probably unheard of these days, that we’d get engaged before we’d... you know...”
“There’s a bathroom on the plane.”
She jerked back and her eyes grew huge. I had to laugh.
“What? You’ve never heard of the mile high club?”
She started blinking rapidly and my laughter became louder, which in turn attracted attention.
Anton’s voice carried across the plane.
“What’s so funny over there?”
I turned to my brother and everyone else who was now curious and staring at us.
“It seems that my fiance has never heard of the...”
Ayla slapped her hand over my mouth before I could finish my sentence, causing me to howl all over again at her embarrassment. She leaned in to whisper into my ear.
“Don’t make me throw you from this damned plane Pierce.”
I grabbed the hand over my mouth and kissed her palm. Anton was paying close attention, but worse than that, so were Melody and Deacon. Dorothy was discussing something in depth with Sean.
“Back it up little brother. Did you say fiance? As in you’re finally serious?”
Melody cut in with her own question.
“Where’s the ring?”
And there it went. Ayla hurried over to Anton and Deacon and Anton hurried over to me. The rest of the trip was spent discussing rings, proposals, and Vegas safety strategies. At least it made the flight seem quicker.
Chapter Nine
One more time. Have I mentioned how MUCH I hate Las Vegas? This time of the year the weather isn’t as bad as it could be I guess. It was overcast and a little chilly, but at least we didn’t have the oppressive heat. If only we didn’t have the oppressive boneheads.
