Chapter 25 Grace
GRACE
“Who’s ready to party?” Zoe squeals, barging into my bedroom with all my sisters.
In my panic, I pull up my pants and throw my phone. They all stop and stare at me. My cheeks are flushed, my chest is beating wildly, I’ve been caught with my hand in the cookie jar.
“Did we just walk in on you …?” Mackenzie doesn’t finish her question.
“Were you on the phone with someone?” Sophie questions me.
“No.”
“Liar. You were having phone sex with a mystery man?” Sophie presses.
I look over at Zoe whose eyes are wide.
“Why are you looking at her?” Sophie asks.
“No reason,” I answer.
Zoe shakes her head. “I have no clue.”
“Who was on the phone?” Sophie asks as she lunges for the phone lying on the ground.
What a bitch. No. I try to lunge for it, too. I try to push her out of the way and give her an elbow to the ribs.
“Bitch,” she screeches.
“I got it, I got it!” Mackenzie jumps up triumphantly.
I sit on the floor, huffing and puffing as panic grips me. “Please, Kenzie, don’t read my phone.”
Mackenzie tilts her head, looking at me. Then she holds out the phone to me.
Thank fuck.
Until Sophie snatches it out of her hand and chuckles.
“Hey!” Mackenzie screams at her.
“We love you, Grace, but we’re just trying to protect you,” she says, holding my phone to her chest.
“Fuck you, Sophie, you wouldn’t understand. You’re such a judgmental bitch.” I pant as the tears fall down my cheeks.
Sophie stills, shocked at my outburst.
“I’m not judgmental,” Sophie whines.
Kenzie and Zoe look at each other.
“You all think I’m judgmental?” Sophie asks, her voice going high in shock.
“Maybe not judgmental, it’s more righteous,” Zoe adds.
“You think I’m self-righteous? That’s even worse,” Sophie screams.
“Okay, wrong word. You’re not very flexible if it doesn’t fit how you would treat a situation,” Zoe suggests.
“Not flexible? I didn’t think I was ridged in my thinking. I thought I was a progressive thinker,” she grumbles.
“What Zoe is trying to say is, sometimes you think you know what’s best for us that you won’t listen to us when we tell you, you’re wrong. Your stubborn,” Mackenzie explains to her.
“I’m stubborn. That’s a family trait. You three are just as bad,” she says, pointing at us.
“True. But we’re talking about Grace right now and the fact that you have something of hers. Something she doesn’t want to share with you even though you think you know what’s best for her,” Mackenzie states.
“I’m worried about her, that’s all,” Sophie says, softening her stance as she throws me my phone.
“Sometimes your worry is suffocating,” Zoe adds.
Sophie looks hurt by her words. “Grace has been closed off with us since she’s gotten home. You’ve told us nothing happened, but clearly something has as you’re hiding it.”
“Not from me she isn’t,” Zoe pipes in.
Sophie turns and looks at her, and I can see the hurt clearly on her face. “I suppose you know too, Kenzie?”
“I don’t. None of you tell me anything, anyway,” Mackenzie adds.
This was not at all how I thought our night would go. “I didn’t tell anyone because you wouldn’t understand.”
“Because we’ve never been kidnapped?” Sophie asks.
“You’re fixated on that,” I grumble at her.
“Then tell me what it is?” Sophie asks.
“I don’t want to disappoint you all.”
“Is that why you haven’t said anything?” Mackenzie asks.
I nod as I hold my phone to my chest.
“You could never disappoint us, Gracie. We are so proud of you. For everything that you’ve been through.
For getting into law school and then the internship in The Hague.
Proud of you for calling that night when you escaped.
Kicking a drug addiction. The list could go on,” Mackenzie states before falling to her knees and joining me on the ground.
Zoe follows and sits on the other side. And Sophie is the last as she takes her seat in front.
“It’s hard for me to tell you all. I’ve changed. Everything’s changed.”
“Sophie, do you agree to no judgment if Grace tells us what she’s hiding?” Mackenzie questions our sister.
“Of course. Circle of trust. Sister bonds and all that crap. I would never judge you,” Sophie adds.
Take the risk, Grace. You know you’re dying to tell them. “If you say a word to anyone. Zoe, that means your boys. Sophie, that means anyone who is on the case. And, Kenz, do not tell Mum. If you do, I’m gone. One phone call and I can disappear,” I warn my sisters.
Zoe gasps as does Mackenzie, and Sophie’s eyes narrow on me.
“I was sent home for my own safety. If you talk about it then I’m no longer safe.”
“Dramatic much?” Sophie pipes in.
I throw my hands in the air.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Sophie, shut the hell up. This is what we’re talking about,” Mackenzie snaps at her. “Grace, you can tell me another time if you don’t want this one to hear.”
“Sorry, I was trying to lighten the mood, but now I see I was wrong,” Sophie mumbles, looking well chastised.
“I’ve fallen in love with the man that kidnapped me.”
You could hear a pin drop in the room.
“What the fuck, Grace?” Sophie is the first to speak, and her reaction is exactly what I thought it would be.
“Shut the fuck up, Sophie,” Zoe pipes in.
Sophie’s jaw drops, and she crosses her arms defensively.
“How? I don’t get the mechanics of it?” Mackenzie asks.
“It wasn’t instant, it happened gradually.
First, it was the way he held my hair every single day as I threw up in the toilet and all over him as I detoxed.
Then it was the little things like making me breakfast in the morning.
It wasn’t really one defining moment, it just grew organically in a weird way.
It also helped he looks like a fucking God. ”
“Seriously, you get kidnapped by a supermodel, and I can’t get a man to take me on a second date?” Mackenzie grumbles.
“I fell in love with two bisexual men who found me half dead at their gate. I think falling for your kidnapper isn’t that far of a stretch from my story,” Zoe adds, giving me a reassuring smile.
We all turn to look at Sophie who is twitching in her spot. “Is he really hot or did you have Stockholm Syndrome glasses on,” Sophie jokes as she bursts out laughing breaking the tension in the room.
“Yeah, I want to see this kidnapper, and does he have a friend?” Mackenzie jokes, which makes us all groan. “What? That’s too far, but Sophie’s joke wasn’t?”
I take my phone and swipe through the photos. There is only one that is safe to share with them. Before I turn the phone around, I give them all one last warning, especially Sophie. “Please do not use this to track him down or do any detective work.”
“I promise. I truly do mean it, babe.”
Then I flip the phone around and show them.
“This is a joke, isn’t it? That isn’t the guy that kidnapped you?” Mackenzie asks.
“He’s hot,” Zoe adds.
“High five, Gracie,” Sophie says.
“Seriously, that guy is real?” Mackenzie questions me.
“Yeah.”
“I’m destined to remain single. Real men don’t look like that,” she says, shaking her head which makes us all laugh.
“Does he feel the same way?” Zoe asks.
“Yeah, he does. It was his idea to send me home. He wants to keep me safe until Dmitri is found and taken care of.”
“You mean sent to jail,” Sophie adds.
“Okay.”
“What does he do?” Sophie’s eyes narrow on me.
“He’s a professional kidnapper, duh, Soph,” Mackenzie adds, shaking her head.
“Does it matter?”
“Who does he work for?” Sophie pushes.
“Himself.”
“He’s a freelance kidnapper,” Mackenzie adds.
“Where does he live?” Sophie questions.
“One of his places is in Italy.”
“One of his places? I keep getting men still living at home or with their girlfriends.” Mackenzie groans.
“You know being with him will put a target on your back, Grace,” Sophie stresses.
“Like I don’t have one now?”
“We all do. And we all will with the charity,” Zoe pipes in.
“Exactly. Especially once we start reuniting the girls and we make progress dismantling all those sex trafficking rings,” Mackenzie explains.
“You’ll want him on your side.”
“Seems you have it all figured out.” Sophie shrugs.
“Hey, no judgment,” Mackenzie warns her.
“I promise there is none. You’re right, I hadn’t thought about what happens when we start making waves with our charity.”
“What did you say?” I tease.
“You’re right. You are all fucking right. Okay. I was wrong. It’s rare so enjoy this moment,” Sophie says with a chuckle as we all begin to tease her.
“Well, I’m ready for a drink after all that,” I say.
“Good, because I have wine and champagne and other stuff the boys organized,” Zoe says as we all head out of my room.
“I can’t remember the last time we did something like this,” Mackenzie contemplates.
“We must have been kids,” Sophie adds.
“Maybe that’s the silver lining in this fucked up situation that we are all together again,” I add.
“Hell, yeah,” Mackenzie squeals as we arrive at the pool area where everything is set up for us. “Look, there’s popcorn, wine, and chocolate. Why don’t we start there?”
“Here,” I say, handing Zoe a glass of wine.
“She can’t have that,” Mackenzie scolds me.
“Why not?” I look between my sisters.
“Because she’s pregnant,” Mackenzie states.
“You’re pregnant?” I turn to Zoe.
“Shit,” Zoe mumbles.
“You didn’t tell her?” Mackenzie turns to Zoe.
“She has a lot on her plate,” Zoe adds.
“Not so much that I couldn’t handle finding out you’re pregnant,” I tell her before pulling her into a hug which sloshes the glass of wine over my hand.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I just didn’t know when the right time would be. It was a surprise. We weren’t trying to get pregnant.”
“It was inevitable with the amount of sex the three of you have,” Mackenzine says, rolling her eyes.
“I’m going to be an Aunty.” I squeal. This is the most amazing news. “Wait a minute, whose baby, is it?”
Mackenzie gasps beside me. “You can’t ask those things.”
Zoe chuckles. “We don’t know, and it doesn’t matter whose DNA it is, Mateo and Tomas are the baby’s Daddy.”
“I bet Mum is ecstatic.”