Page 54 of Deserving Maisy
“Okay. Ry said to ditch your phone somewhere beforeyou get there. And I’m guessing that goes for Maisy’s phone too.”
“She has pictures on there that she’s not going to want to lose,” Stone said. Again, he was confused about his protective feelings for the woman who’d deceived him. But he recalled the look on her face when she’d showed him pictures of her parents. There had been such sorrow and love there, he couldn’t bear for her to lose them, as it was obvious how much she still missed her mom and dad.
“I’ll talk to Ry. I’m sure it won’t be a problem for her to download them before you turn the phone off. Just shoot me her number after we hang up,” Brick said.
“I appreciate this,” Stone told his friend.
“Whatever,” Brick said. “We’re just thrilled that you’re all right. And this is what friends do. A SEAL doesn’t leave a SEAL behind.”
Stone chuckled. He’d heard that saying many times from the SEALs he’d transported in his chopper while he was in the military. “Yeah, but I’m not a SEAL,” he said.
“True, SEALs smell better than you Night Stalkers.”
The banter felt good. Normal. Suddenly Stone couldn’t wait to be home. Back in his cabin in the mountains of New Mexico.
“You sure about bringing her with you?” Tonka asked in the slight lull.
“No. But I can’t leave her,” Stone answered honestly.
“Not sure where we’ll put her, but we’ll figure it out,” Brick mused.
“She’ll stay with me. I need to keep an eye on her. I don’t trust her on her own,” Stone told his friends.
“Sounds familiar,” Pipe muttered.
“What do you mean?” Stone asked.
“That’s what Tiny said about Ry,” Owl told him. “Is it gonna be a problem to lay low until you need to leave?”
Turning his attention back on the situation at hand, Stone said, “No. Maisy’s out. I mean,completelyout. I’m hoping I can rouse her enough to get her out of the house under her own power later. And I can claim my head’s bothering me and skip dinner. Besides, if I see Jason, I’m not sure what I’d do to him.”
“Right. She needs to be conscious to get on a plane, Stone,” Spike warned.
“I know.” And he did. Her condition worried him, but he was more pissed that she’d been drugged against her will. He couldn’t forget her description of how her brother had smothered her in order to get her to swallow the pill.
“All right. We’ll let you go,” Brick said. “I’ll send you details about your contact and where to find him at the airport. Don’t forget to ditch the phones, and we’ll see you soon. Stone?”
“Yeah?”
“Glad you’re all right. Things weren’t the same here without you. Later.”
“Later.” Stone clicked off the phone, but didn’t stand up from where he was sitting next to Maisy on the bed.
He reached out without thought and brushed her hair back. She sighed and turned toward him. Her hand reached out blindly, and when she touched his knee, she curled her fingers around it almost desperately.
“Maisy?” he whispered.
She didn’t respond.
“Shit,” Stone swore as he sighed. He’d been all fired up earlier. Ready to tear into Maisy, force her to go with him, to get her to The Refuge so she could be interrogated. Andnow all he wanted to do was hold her tight and protect her from anyone and everyone who might even look sideways at her. It was confusing as hell.
Looking at his watch, Stone saw he had hours to go before he needed to even think about leaving. He lay down next to Maisy and somehow wasn’t surprised when she immediately curled into him. Her face was buried in his chest and her hands clutched the front of his shirt with a death grip.
“It’s okay, Maisy. You’re safe.”
“Not safe,” she mumbled.
“You are when you’re with me,” he said, running a hand over the back of her head.
