Chapter Nine #2
Lily kicked the bright purple ball across the backyard with more enthusiasm than accuracy, sending it rolling several feet to her left instead of toward the small tree she had designated as her goal.
“Again!” she shouted.
Willow laughed from her chair on the patio.
“Go get it, bug.”
Lily took off after it, her little legs pumping furiously across the grass while Ellie remained safely beneath the patio table.
Beside Willow, Mia shifted nine-month-old Camden higher against her chest as he tried once again to get his entire fist into his mouth.
“You’re going to regret that someday when I show your girlfriends pictures,” Mia informed her son.
Camden responded by blowing a wet raspberry.
Willow laughed. “He looks clearly terrified.”
“He has his father’s attitude.”
Mia grinned before leaning over to set Camden on the blanket they had spread across the patio. A few toys surrounded him, although he seemed considerably more interested in trying to reach the grass than anything his mother had brought.
Willow settled deeper into her chair. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed this. Not just Mia, but conversation itself.
Earlier, they had spent a while talking about Derek and Tink’s visit. Willow had told her about getting her money from her old bank account, her father’s life insurance policy, her brother being a jailbird, and how someone had been digging into Willow’s records.
She’d also told her about the temporary last name change, and Mia’s reaction to that particular piece of information had been interesting.
She had stared at Willow for several seconds before saying, “Let me get this straight. Jay Bird offered you his last name?”
“It’s only temporary.”
“Uh-huh,” Mia said, trying to hide her smile.
“It’s for security.”
“Of course, just for security.”
Willow had refused to entertain the ridiculous little grin Mia had worn for the next five minutes.
Now, as Lily chased the ball again, Willow’s thoughts drifted toward another conversation she had been wanting to have since seeing Mia in the hospital.
“Mia, what happened to you that night we were supposed to meet for drinks?”
The humor faded from Mia’s face, and Willow pressed on before she could lose her nerve.
“I spent three years wondering if you were okay. I thought something had happened to you. You never showed up, and you weren’t answering your phone.”
Mia reached across the space between their chairs and rested her hand over Willow’s.
“Something did happen.”
Willow turned toward her. “What?”
Mia exhaled slowly. “I was kidnapped that night.”
Willow just stared at her, the words refusing to settle into anything that made sense. For several long seconds, her mind couldn’t catch up to what she was hearing.
“You were kidnapped?”
Mia nodded. “Yeah, but I’m okay.”
“I can see that, but what happened?”
Mia glanced toward Camden, who had successfully reached the grass and was now inspecting it with great seriousness.
“It’s a long story, and I’ll give you the shorter version because the full one requires a significant amount of alcohol”
Mia took a deep breath. “I’d been grabbed because of things happening around the clinic. I managed to escape, ended up at a cabin that belonged to Stitch, and eventually Ace and his team got involved.”
“Stitch’s cabin?”
Mia smiled faintly. “Yes, thankfully Stitch had given me a key to his cabin a few months before. He knew I had been stressing out with my board exams and offered it for me to use to relax.”
“Was that when you and Stitch got together?”
Mia smiled. “Yeah. But he and I had been dancing around each other for a while before that.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, wow.” Mia’s expression sobered. And you were right about Dr. Walters.”
Willow looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“Everything in that envelope you gave me. All of it was true. He was involved in illegally bringing puppies into the country, falsifying health records and documentation, then profiting from the sales. There was a much larger operation behind it than we realized.”
“I knew those records didn’t make sense. I wanted to talk to you about them that night. That’s why I was so desperate to meet you. I kept thinking maybe I had lost my mind, and that there had to be some innocent explanation.”
“Unfortunately, there wasn’t. He was behind it all.”
Willow stared across the backyard. Three years ago, she had stood in Central Park, quietly questioning whether she had been overthinking a few suspicious files. Now, she found out that she had been right all along.
“There was someone else involved,” Mia continued. “A man named Demetri.”
Willow went completely still at the name. “Demetri?”
Mia noticed immediately. “You know the name?”
“I heard Chen mention him several times.”
“When?” Mia asked.
“I don’t remember exactly. Maybe my first year with him.” Willow searched through memories she ordinarily tried not to touch.
“Chen was talking to one of his men. He said something about needing to thank Demetri for sending me his way.”
Mia’s face lost some of its color. “Jesus.”
“What?”
“Demetri was connected to Dr. Walters.”
Suddenly, all of the pieces started falling into place.
“So, my kidnapping wasn’t random.”
It wasn’t really a question, and Mia’s silence was answer enough.
Willow looked toward Lily. Her daughter had dropped to the grass and was now trying to sit on the ball instead of kicking it.
For three years, Willow had tried to make sense of why she’d been taken, turning it over in her mind again and again until she finally settled on the fact that she had just been in the wrong place, at the wrong time.
It was easier to believe that than to accept there might have been something more deliberate behind it, especially when no other answers ever came.
“I wonder if Dr. Walters knew I’d found something.”
“It’s possible.”
“He knew.” Willow’s voice hardened. “I went into his office. I found those records, and a few days later I was grabbed.”
“If Demetri was connected to the trafficking side of the operation...” Mia stopped.
“Then Dr. Walters had me removed.”
The realization hurt in a way Willow hadn’t expected.
“I am so sorry,” Mia whispered.
Willow shook her head. “You didn’t do it.”
“No, but if I had made it to the restaurant that night.”
“No,” Willow said, squeezing Mia’s hand. “We’re not doing that. We can’t rewrite it.”
Mia nodded slowly. “Dr. Walters and Demetri can’t hurt you now,” she said.
Willow believed the certainty in her voice. One threat had been eliminated, but unfortunately, another remained.
“Chen isn’t.” Willow looked toward Lily again. “I’m terrified he’ll figure out where we are.”
Mia’s expression softened. “I promise you that you’re safe because of the people surrounding you.” Mia gestured around them. “You are currently living inside a gated neighborhood, in the house of a Navy SEAL whose security system probably knows when a squirrel farts near the property line.”
A surprised laugh burst from Willow.
“And between Alpha, Bravo, Tink, Riley, law enforcement, and God knows who else is involved, Chen would have to be suicidal to come anywhere near Virginia Beach.”
Willow smiled faintly. “That’s comforting in a strangely violent way.”
“We specialize.”
That opened the door to something Mia had apparently been waiting to discuss.
“So, how is it living with Jay Bird?” Mia asked, that mischievous grin of hers appearing again.
“Mia…” Willow said, shaking her head.
“What? I’m asking.”
“You’re nosy.”
“I’ve been deprived of three years of friendship gossip. I have a quota to fill.”
Willow laughed. “It’s fine.”
“Fine?”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s good.”
Mia leaned back in the chair. “The entire team nearly went into cardiac arrest when they heard he had offered to let you and Lily move in.”
Willow frowned. “Why?”
Mia seemed to be considering her words. “Because he’s just Jay Bird. He’s quiet, very private, and broody. He loves the team, don’t misunderstand me, but he’s not exactly the guy everyone expects to start handing out hugs and opening his home to strangers.”
Willow looked toward the house. “He’s great with Lily.”
“Oh, we’ve all noticed that. And we’ve noticed how great he is with you.”
Willow felt her cheeks warm. She hated how easily that happened lately.