Chapter 6
NATE
Carter: Where the fuck are you? We need to talk.
Royce: Motherfucker, answer your phone.
Heath: Bro, we’re worried about you. We all know you’re lying about something, but right now Ashley needs us. All of us. Call us back please?
Carter: It’s not Spark replying to messages. We confirmed it. She’s in trouble…
Nate: I know. I’m handling it.
Carter: WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN?!
Nate: It means I’m HANDLING IT.
W ith a frustrated groan, I set my messages to silent and tossed my phone back into the passenger seat.
I’d been driving for thirteen hours straight and still had several hours left until I reached Great Falls.
Thirteen hours since I’d left my lawyer’s office in Prosper City, thirteen and a half since I’d listened to the voicemail left on my phone four days ago .
“Fucking idiot ,” I snarled, slamming the heel of my hand against the leather steering wheel for what felt like the hundredth time.
I’d been so sure Ashley had run because of what had happened between us at my birthday.
I’d been utterly convinced that she was just punishing me for what I’d said, what we’d done…
It hadn’t even crossed my mind that the unknown number could be a cry for help.
The nurse’s voicemail played out in my head in a never-ending loop. “I’m just calling on behalf of a patient here, Miss Ashley Layne… She has you listed as her next of kin and medical power of attorney, and she ? —”
The nurse had sounded anxious to be making that call, and a quick Google search had informed me that the hospital was no regular medical clinic.
Ashley was in a psychiatric hospital that was rumored to be conducting military research.
I couldn’t get the image out of my head.
Ashley— my Layne —strapped to a hospital bed, screaming for help as some mad scientist shot her up with god only knows what drugs.
It made me so sick, I’d actually pulled over to vomit on the side of the road an hour into my drive.
My fingers tightened around the steering wheel, and I ignored the constant flash of messages arriving on my phone.
It’d taken the boys a while to notice I was gone.
Long enough that I just had to see it through on my own, without their help.
Besides, this was my fuckup, and I needed to fix it myself.
Armed with the papers Ashley had signed in our prenup, I was confident I could bring her home without the cavalry bursting in with guns blazing. But if that was what it took, then I had an unlicensed piece in my glove box and was more than prepared to use it.
“Hold on, Layne,” I muttered into the silence of my truck. “I’m coming for you.”
Thank fuck I’d added that medical-power-of-attorney clause into our prenup. I’d had no idea it’d actually be needed, but I was goddamn glad for it now. But there were so many questions . How the fuck she’d ended up in a psych hospital in Montana being one of them.
I hadn’t lied to the guys and Carly. The last time I’d seen Ashley, she’d been leaving my birthday in a hurry.
I’d stopped her, tried to apologize for what I’d just said, because I already regretted it.
The moment I’d left that room with her intoxicating scent all over my hand and lips, I’d regretted my words.
She hadn’t given me a chance to apologize or explain, though, brushing me off with a forced smile and a flippant excuse that she just needed some fresh air.
Foolishly, I’d let her go, thinking we would hash it out later, that, like always, she’d get in my face and call me names and I’d throw them back at her and…
it’d just go back to how it was—with me doing everything possible to act like I wasn’t completely in love with my best friends’ girlfriend.
But it hadn’t played out like that, and when we all returned home, she was gone.
Stupid, arrogant me, I’d assumed she was still upset over what I’d said.
That somehow my rejection had ruined her relationships with Royce, Heath, and Carter, and the guilt had been eating me alive.
They knew I was lying about something, yes, but I couldn’t bring myself to admit what I’d done, that my words might have cost the three of them the love of their lives.
And mine.
“Fuck,” I whispered again, sweeping a hand through my hair. Exhaustion was weighing heavily, but I couldn’t stop, couldn’t rest, until Ashley was safe.
After almost four more hours of driving, I finally arrived at the unassuming-looking building in the middle of fucking nowhere.
A handful of cars were parked in the staff lot, but otherwise, it was quiet.
Probably due to the late hour; it was nearly eight in the evening.
Did visiting hours go that late? Did that even matter?
Fuck knew I wasn’t leaving again—not without her.
Shifting my truck into park, I turned off the engine and grabbed the paperwork I’d prepared to have Ashley discharged into my care. Then, on an impulse, I dropped a pin on my location and sent it to Heath.
His text came through less than a minute later as I strode across the parking lot toward the front door of the hospital.
Heath: How long do you need until I send in SWAT?
He meant Carter—how long until he told Carter where I was and Carter called in one of his scary fucks from the dark web.
Nate: Give me an hour. If you haven’t heard anything from me, shit’s gone south.
Heath: Got it. Be careful, bro.
That was the reason I’d sent my pin to Heath. He trusted me to do the right thing, even when he really shouldn’t.
“Can I help you, sir?” a woman in navy-blue scrubs asked when I let myself into the foyer of the facility. There was just a small reception and a heavily secured door to the side; otherwise, there was nowhere to go. “We don’t accept visitors here.”
My brows rose. “I’m not a visitor. My name is Nathaniel Essex, and I’m here to discharge my fiancée, Ashley Layne.”
The woman blanched, then wet her lips. “I’m sorry, you must be mistaken. We don’t have anyone named?—”
“Save it,” I snapped, my temper rising fast. “She’s here, and I’m not leaving without her. Fetch your superior, Nurse… Tabitha, whoever has the power to release my fiancée into my care. Now.”
She sat there staring at me with wide, panicked eyes, and that was all I needed to know there was some seriously shady shit going on at this hospital. No nurse should look that scared when someone arrived to discharge a patient.
“ Now! ” I barked, slamming my hand down on the little counter, making her jump so hard she almost fell out of her chair. It was enough to shock her into action, though, and she scurried out of the little reception office like her ass was on fire.
For the most painfully long time, I worried she’d just run off and no one was coming to handle things in her place, that she was just waiting me out in the hope that I’d give up and leave.
But eventually, the heavy door unlocked, and a man in a white coat stepped out with a pinched expression on his weathered face.
“Mr. Essex, is it?” he asked, peering at me from behind thin spectacles. “I’m Dr. Marion, Ashley’s primary care provider here at Mallard. Please accept my apologies for my nurse. She was confused. I understand you’d like to discharge Miss Layne into your care?”
I gritted my teeth, clenching my fists at my sides. “You understand correctly. I am her medical power of attorney and as such?—”
“Yes, yes, of course. I’ve got a copy of the paperwork already.
I do need to express my reluctance to discharge Miss Layne, as she’s very unwell.
However, I’m sure you know that’s your choice to make.
” He watched me with beady, shrewd eyes.
Like he was deciding whether he could pull a fast one and keep her.
“It is my choice,” I growled. “Please retrieve her. We will be leaving immediately. And I want a full copy of all her records to explain how and why she was hospitalized in the first fucking place.” Although, I was pretty sure I knew the answer to this.
Same reason why Heath had been manipulated into attempting suicide, no doubt. It was all part of someone’s sick game.
The doctor spread his hands and gave an apologetic smile. “Unfortunately, Miss Layne was involved in a violent incident with one of our staff and has been sedated. It will be some time before the medication wears off, so perhaps if you return in the morning?”
She was sedated? That checked out. Ashley wasn’t just going to sit around playing cards and waiting for her shock therapy with a smile. I hoped she’d done some damage.
“No. I’ll take her now,” I insisted. “Sedated or not, I won’t be leaving without my fiancée, Doctor.
Do I need to make some calls to your superiors?
I’m sure it won’t take me long to work out who has the power to fire you.
” I pulled out my phone and opened a browser window before offering him a frosty smile of my own.
“Or were you unaware of the power my family name holds?”
The doctor looked like he would crack a tooth, his jaw was so tight. “Fine,” he muttered. “I’ll have her brought out momentarily. However, I can’t promise she will be lucid. It took a large dose of Haldol to sedate her.”
Motherfuckers. “My time is precious, Doctor, and you are currently wasting it.”
The man shot me a glare, then disappeared back through the door.
This time, I was made to wait for close to an hour, at which point I’d had to text Heath, assuring him I was still okay and not in need of backup.
I didn’t feel okay, though. I’d damn near paced a hole in the floor by the time the door finally opened once more and an orderly pushed a wheelchair through, holding a seemingly lifeless Ashley Layne.