Page 15 of Deserving Maisy
Maisy could only watch with wide eyes as Jack did his best to beat the crap out of Jason.
Even though he was strong, and apparently had a very mean right hook, Jason was able to yank his shirt out of his grip and stumble backward.
“What the fuck?” he exclaimed.
“No more!” Jack said. “Stop!”
Unbelievably, Jack still seemed to be asleep, caught in the grip of whatever horrors he saw in his mind.
Not thinking about her own safety, only wanting tosoothe him, Maisy scooted back up next to Jack and put her hand on his chest. “It’s okay, he’s stopping!”
Amazingly, Jack stilled at her touch and voice.
“Seriously, what the fuck?” Jason seethed as he stumbled backward a little farther. “I think he broke my nose!”
“He’s dreaming, he didn’t know it was you,” Maisy said defensively.
“He’s lucky I need him to marry your ass!”
Feeling relieved now that Jack had flopped down next to her again, she asked, “What are you doing in here so early?”
“The sooner I get you married, the better. The officiant is downstairs.”
“Now?” Maisy asked, looking over at the clock. “It’s not even seven o’clock.”
“One hour,” Jason warned. “I want your ass downstairs by eight. Hear me?”
Maisy ground her teeth as she pressed her lips together.
“Trust me, Maise. You’ll be downstairs at eight, or you’ll be fucking sorry,” Jason threatened. Then he turned and walked out of the room, bitching about his nose under his breath.
The thing was, Maisy was already sorry. Sorry she’d let herself get into this situation. Sorry that she hadn’t already confessed to Jack. Sorry that she hadn’t helped him get the hell out of this house and away from her.
But even if she had, Jason would’ve kidnapped someone else. He didn’t care who she married, as long as it was done. It was likely he’d find someone horrible too, just to show her that she had no control over anything.Someone who would beat and rape her. Someone like his awful so-calledfriend, Don.
Determination filled her then. For the first time in years, she had someone else to worry and care about other than herself. If it was just her, she’d probably continue on as she’d been doing for the last decade. Doing whatever Jason wanted, turning a blind-eye to the horrible things he’d done, hiding behind a drug-induced haze, just so she’d have a place to live. But now, she was responsible for the safety of someone else.
She’d marry Jack and do what she could to protect him from Jason. It would buy them some time. If she didn’t marry Jack, her brother would kill him and kidnap someone else.
She had three months to figure out what to do and how to tell Jack what was going on. She had every intention of telling him…if nothing else, so he could protect himself from her brother. She’d help Jack find where he came from; she had no doubt he had lots of people who were probably worried sick about what had happened to him. He’d hate her, of that Maisy had no doubt, but if he was outraged enough to leave her, to get away from her brother…
It was the best thing she could do for Jack.
She hoped it would keep him safe.
She didn’t need Jack with her at the bank, in person, to gain access to her inheritance. The marriage certificate should suffice. Jason would still get her money, and she’d either be free or dead. At this point, it didn’t really matter which.
Jack shifted under her, and Maisy realized her hand had slipped under his shirt and she’d been caressing his chest,both to soothe him and because his warm skin felt amazing against her palm.
“Morning,” he said in a deep, rumbly voice that seemed to pierce straight into her soul. He shifted against her so his arm was around her back and his other hand pressed against hers, keeping her from removing it from under his shirt.
“Morning,” she said cautiously. It wasn’t that long ago that he’d been decking her brother. Would he remember?
“What time is it?”
“Seven. And I have to tell you, Jason’s anxious for our ceremony and wants us downstairs by eight.”
One of Jack’s brows lifted in surprise. “That doesn’t give you much time to get ready. What’s the rush?”
