Page 93 of Deserving Maisy
“Yeah?”
“Are you okay?”
He should be askingherthat. Another failure on his part. “Yeah, I’m good. I just need to let off some steam. I’ll be back.”
“All right.”
Closing the bathroom door, Stone took a deep breath and left the room.
Maisy let the tears fall from her eyes unchecked. The water from the shower immediately washed them away. She wasn’t sure why she was crying. Everything had gone pretty well. She’d gotten her inheritance, picked up the evidence against Jason, confronted him, and evenconvinced the detectives that they probably had a pretty solid case against her brother.
But somewhere between the confrontation and the police station, she’d lost Jack.
She didn’t know how or why, but he’d definitely checked out. He was there, but wasn’t.
Her brother’s rants were horrible, but nothing she hadn’t heard before. He loved to tell her how pathetic she was. The words barely registered anymore. Besides, he was a freaking murderer, how could she take anything he said to heart?
But maybe Jack had? Or maybe after seeing Jason again, being in that house, he’d changed his mind about forgiving her?
She had no idea, and it sucked. All she knew was that Jack didn’t seem to want anything to do with her now. Hell, even at a hotel, he’d gotten as far away from her as he could.
Taking a deep breath, Maisy wiped her eyes. She’d brought this on herself. How could she think for a second that things with her and Jack could work out, given how they’d started? Her brother was right, she’d fallen for a complete stranger. Had gone to bed with him without a second thought.
But she loved him. Even after only knowing him a short time, she well and truly loved Jack.
Sighing, she got out of the shower and dried off. Going into the hotel room, she put her clothes back on, knowing she wouldn’t be able to sleep like she’d planned, and sat on the bed. It would be a long day and an awkward night, what with Jack avoiding her and only one bed in the room. But it was big, they should be able to share withouttouching.
The thought depressed her. One of her favorite things in the world was snuggling up to Jack while they slept.
Maisy had no idea how long she’d been propped up against the headboard, arms around her legs as she stared out the window into the cloudy afternoon sky, when she heard a knock on the door. Thinking Jack had probably forgotten his key in his haste to get away from her, or maybe it got demagnetized or something, she got out of bed. Without looking through the peephole, she unlocked the bolt and opened the door.
The second her brain registered who was standing there, Maisy knew she’d made a huge mistake.
She tried to slam the door but was punched in the face before she could even get it shut halfway. She collapsed to the floor in a heap. Then she was hauled upright by a brutal hand on her upper arm.
She whimpered as Don Coffey began to drag her down the hall. “Don’t make a sound. Or I’ll kill that asshole working out downstairs. Understand?”
Maisy nodded immediately. She had no doubt that Don would do exactly what he threatened. He obviously wasn’t the kind of man who thought twice about hitting a woman in the face or shooting a complete stranger.
He bypassed the elevators and dragged her into the stairwell. They went down, Maisy stumbling over most of the steps because of his fast pace, and exited out a side door into the parking lot. Before she knew what was happening, Don shoved her into his car and was driving away.
Away from Jack.
Away from safety.
Probably taking her to Jason.
She was as good as dead. She just prayed Jack would realize she hadn’t left of her own accord. That he’d know she didn’t want to leave him, she’d just made a mistake. That she’d had no choice.
Terror threatened to overwhelm her, but she took a deep breath. She had to stay strong. Jack, Brick, and Tiny would find her. Would realize what happened and who took her. She just had to hang on until then.
Surreptitiously glancing around her, she tried to come up with a plan to get away from Don. She inched her hand toward the door handle, but he simply chuckled.
“Go ahead and try it,” he told her.
So she did. Nothing happened. The door definitely didn’t open.
“Child locks. They come in handy for times like this.”
