23. Chapter 23
It’s been about ten minutes since Mary’s breathing changed and I know she’s finally fallen asleep. My body sags in the recliner as my mind whirls with everything she’s told us tonight. Then my gut clenches when I think about the fact that she still needs to tell us about that night and what’s happened these past nine years. That thought has my chest tightens as I realize what I know now is probably only a small portion of what’s been going on.
The urge to find Stephan and lock him in the sticks is high, but I know I probably won’t be able to do that. Not since we have to include the cops in this. Why did the fucker have to be a cop? It would be so much easier to make him disappear if he was just a regular guy off the street.
Pulling out my phone, I check the messages I ignored earlier. I wasn’t going to make Mary think I wasn’t interested or that I was ignoring her. With how much her body was shaking when she repeated tonight’s events, I’m worried about how she’ll be when she has to recount everything else when she’s ready to give the rest of her statement.
Timber: Kids are all settled in. They made a fort, and we had a popcorn and movie night to help them settle down and relax. We let them sleep in the fort because they all wanted to be together.
Biting my lip, I hesitate to respond. He sent his text a little after one o’clock and it’s half-past three now, but I’m not sure if I’ll be dozing when he wakes up. He’s normally an early riser, but they were also up late. Fuck it. I know Mary will want to know how they are doing once she wakes up.
Patch: Thank you. Mary just now got to sleep after giving tonight’s statement and filling out some paperwork. Let me know how they are doing after they wake up. If Mary’s feeling better tomorrow, I’ll try to line up a video chat. It’ll be best to wait until she’s in a normal room for them to come visit her in person. They don’t limit the number of visitors that much up there.
Not surprisingly, there are a few texts from some of my club brothers and sisters asking how Mary’s doing. There are also a few from my parents and sister. I take a few minutes and respond to them all, catching them up on the gist of how she’s doing. I wish I had more of Mary’s family’s numbers, but I’m just going to have to trust that Maria will take care of updating them all. Hopefully, they won’t all try to come and see her until she’s at least upstairs in a regular hospital room.
I also don’t want her to get overwhelmed while she’s still healing. The next week is going to be a roller coaster for her as she adjusts and gives the rest of her statements. That and I’m almost positive that fucker is going to fight Mary tooth and nail on everything. I’m glad that whatever Mary inherited went into a trust because now, the fucker can’t try to take the kids for lack of income to care for them. Not that she or they would want for anything with me around, but in the eyes of the law, I’m just a concerned friend and a friend of mine is offering their home for them to stay in.
Groaning in frustration, I drop my head back against the headrest.
I wish I had gone with my gut and asked Timber to start the process for building a house a few years ago. Problem is, I had wanted Mary by my side while we planned it. The only thing I really know is that she wants a kitchen like Maria’s. Other than that, I’m clueless as to what other features she wants to have. Or what she wants the house to look like, either.
I’m almost positive she doesn’t want to keep her old house based on the look she gave earlier when we were talking about it. Granted, she masked it quickly. At least I know she’s happy about having the rest of her things again and that they weren’t trashed.
I scowl as I remember those few weeks after Mary was kidnapped.
It took a few weeks for the house to be gone through for Mary’s case and then my dad, Uncle Sam, Brady, Curtis, and I cleaned up the blood. None of the women could come in without bursting into tears, and even though Haris said he could help, none of us wanted him to have the memory of cleaning up his own son’s and granddaughter’s blood. I wasn’t too far off from the women, and my cheeks were wet more often than not while we cleaned, but I felt I needed to do something for Mary.
After we had everything cleaned, we had all gathered and talked. All of us were worried about what Mary’s kidnappers might do with the house. Brady and I volunteered to stay there and watch over things. Since I was then part of the club, well I was a Prospect, I asked Steel Security to install their best security. Multiple people, even Uncle Sam, thought it was overkill, but they quickly changed their tunes.
In two weeks, there were five attempts to get into the house. Unfortunately, the bastards were good, and we never got a picture of their face on the cameras. None of them made it in, because as soon as they tried, an alarm wailed and I was immediately texted about the break in. Three of those times, I was at the house alone and Brady was there alone one other time. The last time, neither of us were home, but I had been visiting my parents, so I was able to quickly get over to the house.
Each time, there were no fingerprints left. Nothing. We have no idea who it really was, but we all suspect it’s one of Diego Vasquez’s cronies, Mary’s so-called uncle. He was responsible for her kidnapping and, most likely, Nikos’ death. At the time, it only made sense that it was him who had ordered it.
Knowing what I know now, I’m leaning toward the fact that it was most likely Stephan. Mary had said that he wanted to erase everything about her past, so it wouldn’t be a stretch for him to also order everything to either be secured from her house or trashed.
Another thought has ice sliding down my spine.
Was there something in the house that was important to Stephan or Diego? Or maybe someone else? Something they wanted? There have been numerous attempts over the years to break into her house, but each time, they were thwarted. Is there a reason why Nikos and Mary were targeted? That someone had wanted to silence them?
Shaking my head, I file that thought away. I’ll talk to Mary about it once she’s healed a bit more.
Settling back in the recliner, I grab the nearby blanket and close my eyes. I know either Drae or Lex will wake me whenever a nurse comes in. It’s going to be a long night with how frequently Mary will have to be woken up so that the nurses can check on her, and I’m determined to be with her every step of the way.
I can tell Mary’s becoming more comfortable around me. She’s still hesitant, and I’m going to bet she’s wondering how serious I am. I plan to prove it to her. She’ll always be able to count on me to have her back and support her. Which, when she’s ready, will also include her going to school to be a teacher if she still wants to do that. If she doesn’t then, I’ll support her in whatever she wants to do.
Thoughts of a life with Mary swirl around my mind, and my determination grows. I’ll fight to have her by my side for the rest of my life.
I just hope that’s still what she wants as well.
The sound of quiet laughter wakes me up and it takes me a moment to remember where I am.
Cracking open my eyes, I blink a few times to clear my vision, and can’t help but smile at the sight before me.
Alli is sitting in a chair close to the head of Mary’s bed as they pour over what look to be photo albums.
The fog of sleep clears a little more, and a groan slips out when I realize what’s probably happening, which has the girls giggling even more.
“Photo albums, Alli? Really? It wasn’t enough to threaten to show my baby pictures to the Old Ladies?”
“Nope,” Alli giggles. “Besides, I’m catching Mary up on what’s happened the past few years.”
I let out a slow breath. Yeah, I can understand that, and I’m also glad she didn’t elaborate more on that night or Stephan.
Unfortunately, the happy cloud surrounding Mary seems to dissipate before my eyes and I mentally curse myself for my knee jerk reaction.
Fuck it.
“So what shenanigans were you telling her about?”
Alli laughs again and bites her lip as she tries to keep from laughing harder. However, what has my attention is the small, shy smile that plays across Mary’s lips again.
“About the time when you and Brady got drunk and went streaking down the street.”
Groaning dramatically, I let my head fall back. “You took pictures of that?”
They start laughing again and out of the corner of my eye, I notice Mary’s bright smile again. I’d do anything to keep that smile on her face. Which apparently includes Alli spilling a bunch of embarrassing stories about me. Wait…
“Seriously. You took pictures of that?” I ask her incredulously.
Instead of an answer, I get roaring laughter and the sight of Alli almost falling out of her chair. While I can still see a cloud hanging over Mary, it isn’t as bad as before, and she’s also laughing along with Alli.
When Alli finally quiets down, well, sort of, she wipes tears from her eyes as she catches her breath. “I-I knew you didn’t remember,” which starts another round of laughter out of her and she wipes more tears from her eyes. “You guys actually asked me to take the pictures.”
Frowning, I shake my head. “I don’t remember that at all. I just remember racing Brady down the street and then him tripping, scrapping his leg all up. Then you showed up with a first aid kit and our clothes, telling us to get dressed.”
“That would be the whiskey drowning out your memories.” She flips the book around and I lean forward, taking it from her.
Flipping through the pages, I can feel my cheeks heat as I recall that night. Well, what I can remember of the night, anyway.
We were only eighteen and it was the weekend after Mary had been kidnapped. I had put my name in to become a Prospect and it seemed like the President at the time, Poseidon, thought I’d make a good one, but I knew it had to go to vote. Poseidon was Thor and Dragon’s old man. Thor took over for Poseidon a few years after I patched in.
Shaking my head, I hand the photo album back to Alli and take a look at the clock, surprised that it’s nine o’clock already. Looking back at Alli, I take in the fact that she’s dressed in scrubs and it’s then that I remember her saying last night that she was working the next three days.
“When does your shift start, Alli?”
“At 12:30 pm, but I wanted to come in and see how Mary was doing. Plus, I knew you’d get shit for sleep, so I figured I’d give you a bit of a break. I saw your schedule of her meds on the board, so I added to it. She was due for another dose at eight and I gave it to her. Dad talked to me about your request, and I’m happy to help out with administering her meds while she’s here.”
Nodding, I stretch, and feel my chest puff out at how Mary’s eyes track the movement. I’m even more grateful that I’d changed my clothes after the nurse had come in that first time.
Stupid me, I’d fallen asleep in my bloodied clothes. When I had stood to watch what the nurse was doing, I realized my mistake when I had seen Mary’s face go deathly pale.
Once the nurse left, I apologized profusely and quickly gathered my things before having Lex come in for a few minutes while I went to the restroom to change. After that Claudia fiasco, I wasn’t leaving Mary alone for one second.
“Oh!” Alli says loudly before reaching down and grabbing her purse. “I forgot that Mae texted me, asking me to stop by the clubhouse before coming here. Smoke got you hooked up with a new phone. All of the club members’ phone numbers are already programmed in. I added Dixon’s number, Brady’s number, my number, and all of our parents’ numbers into it as well. Same for Maria and Haris. Asher gave Smoke your old phone and he transferred the pictures of your kids onto it. The rest he has on a scan drive for you to decide what to do with. Though, he did tell me that you have to set your password to lock your phone when not in use.” She pauses as she hands the phone to Mary. “Mae said there’s a little present in there for you in your gallery.”
Digging my phone out of my pocket, I see that I’ve missed a few texts, but I click on Smoke’s first.
Smoke: Sending a new phone with Allison for Mary. Her other one had tons of tracking software on it. After leaving their house, I drove around and ended up at a hotel before I disabled everything. Not wanting to lead him straight to us, I didn’t go near the clubhouse, so hopefully the fucker doesn’t make the connection just yet. Transferred her family pictures, but I moved the rest onto a scan drive. Fucker is messed up sending her those fake pictures of you.
Looking up, Mary tentatively takes the phone from Alli, but I don’t miss the tremble in her fingers. Her gaze shoots questioningly to mine. “Why?”
Standing, I grab another chair and scoot closer to the bed, resting my hand on her thigh, right above her knee. I raise my own phone. “Smoke said there was a shit ton of tracking software on it.” Her eyes widen in fear, and I quickly continue. “He drove around town with it and when he reached a hotel, he disabled all the software. Only then did he head back to the clubhouse. Hopefully, the jackass won’t realize that’s where you all will be for a while.”
She nibbles her lip, not breaking eye contact with me. “That won’t stop him. Or deter him. He knows about you, that you’re a part of the Steel Archangel’s, and he knows you’re Asher’s father. That’s why he tormented me with all those pictures of you with those women. I’m not sure how he got them or made them, but it still hurt. Especially when I didn’t know they were fake.” She pauses, nibbling her lip even more as her eyes turn misty. “They were fake… Right?”
“Most likely. I haven’t seen them, so I wouldn’t be able to tell you one hundred percent for sure. There’s only been nine or ten times that happened and that’s in total.” My cheeks heat in embarrassment as I admit that, and it feels like lead is sitting in my gut. I wish I had been able to be stronger and been able to deny my urges. I only sought one of the bunnies out when I couldn’t stand it any longer.
Clearing my throat, I’m about to say something else when there’s a knock at the door. Standing, I go to see who it is and am surprised when I see Haris, Uncle Sam, Brady, and Dixon on the other side. Surprisingly, Thor is there as well. All of them wearing grim expressions.
Shit… Now what happened?
Stepping back, I let them into the room.
Alli scoots her chair back from where she had been sitting next to the head of Mary’s bed and Haris steps forward toward Mary. He kisses her forehead before whispering something to her that I’m not able to hear. When she nods, he gives her forehead another kiss and steps back. Alli scoots back closer and gently squeezes Mary’s thigh in support. I take a seat close to the head of her bed on the other side and clasp her hand, threading her fingers through mine before giving her hand a little squeeze. Whatever they have to say, it can’t be good, but I’ll be here for her.
“I’m sorry we came by unannounced, but Stephan was just notified of the restraining order at work. He flipped his shit as soon as he realized what he was handed. It got so bad the Chief threatened to throw him into a holding cell if he didn’t calm down. It would be best if we got your entire statement before he gets off the clock,” Uncle Sam tells Mary and immediately, I can feel my body tensing, but not as much as hers does.
When he pauses, I turn toward Mary and notice that the color has drained from her skin and her hands are trembling. Squeezing her hand again, I bring it up to my lips and press a kiss to her knuckles.
“Mary, look at me.”
She turns toward me, and the fear in her eyes would have taken me to my knees if I had been standing.
“I’ll be by your side through all of this, Siren.”
A hesitant look crosses her face and the vulnerability shining through has my chest tightening, almost painfully. I think I know what’s going through her head and I intend to put a stop to it. To show her exactly how far I’m willing to go to make sure she’s mine again.
Leaning forward, I place a kiss on her forehead even though I’d rather kiss her plump pink lips instead, but I know she isn’t ready for that. Bending down further, I whisper in her ear. “Nothing you say about your past and what that fucker put you through will ever stop me from wanting you, Siren. From loving you. You’ve always held my heart and you always will. It beats for you and your three precious babies. One of them, I want to officially claim and change his last name to mine, and the other two I want to adopt as my own once you’re free from that fucker. To make you my wife and maybe even grow our family more. Π?ντα σε αγαπο?σα και π?ντα θα σε αγαπ? (I’ve always loved you and always will), Siren.”
Pulling back, I use my thumb to wipe the tears that had escaped while Mary stares up at me in surprised shock. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Alli grinning at us. I had hoped for only Mary to hear that, but I don’t really care if the others heard it or not.
“ Φοβ?μαι (I’m scared),” she whispers as tears pool in her eyes again. Not for the first time, I thank fuck that I started learning Greek hard core at the start of the year. Though, it helped having a number of years under my belt already. That, along with Maria and Haris tutoring me, gives me the confidence to say this next part to her.
“ Το ξ?ρω, αλλ? δεν ε?σαι μ?νο? πια (I know, but you’re not alone anymore). Υπ?σχομαι ?τι θα ε?μαι δ?πλα σα? σε κ?θε β?μα (I promise that I’ll be by your side every step of the way). Σε αγαπ? (I love you), Siren.”
Her throat works as she swallows a couple of times before she gives me a slight nod and exhales, her body almost completely relaxing. “ Κι εγ? σ’ αγαπ? (I love you, too).”
I can’t help my smile as I lean in and kiss her forehead again.
As I settle back down in my chair, keeping a hold of her hand and my other one on her thigh, she takes another deep breath and opens her beautiful blue eyes. While I can still see her fear and hesitation, it isn’t as consuming as before, but there’s also determination there.
She turns toward the others and nods. “Okay. I’m ready to give the rest of my statement.”
That’s my Siren.