by Rhian Cahill
“His father?” Mazey tried to wrap her head around what the woman was saying. But there was a buzzing in her ears. A high-pitched screeching that made it hard to think, her throat tighten, and her eyes sting. “I’m sorry? Who are you?”
“Sorry, didn’t I say?” she asked with another white flash that made Mazey think of sharks. “I’m Renee Conners. Rylan’s wife. I left the car unlocked. You can bring my bags in and put them in the master suite. I need to put Maddox down for his midday nap before he wakes up fully, and we have a meltdown.”
Mazey heard the words, but she couldn’t focus. She flashed back to a different woman. A woman covered in blood and screaming for her children. Her husband.
Husband.
Rylan’s wife.
Ry was married?
With a child?
Her stomach rolled, the tub of yogurt she’d eaten a half an hour ago threatening to come back up. “I’m not . . .” she choked out. “I’m not the housekeeper. I work with Ry, not for him. I was—”
The woman pushed the stroller forward, cutting Mazey off and making her jump out of the way. “Give me a minute to deal with Maddox,” Rylan’s wife snapped with those stark white teeth.
Before Mazey could stop her, the woman—Rylan’s wife—entered the house and scooped the dark-haired child from the stroller. She didn’t spare Mazey as look, she shushed the child in a loud hiss, and headed up the stairs like she knew exactly where she was going.
Of course she knew where she was going.
She was Rylan’s wife. It was her house. They would have picked it together.
Bile rose into her throat, and the hand Mazey had subconsciously pressed against her stomach came up to cover her mouth. “Oh god.”
Rylan had a wife and child.
It was like déjà vu. Except this was really happening.
Again.
It was happening again.
She’d fallen for lies, for an illusion.
Only this time, it was worse. So much worse.
She closed her eyes. Squeezed them tight.
This time she didn’t wear the ring from someone else’s husband. She carried his child in her belly.
Her eyes popped open. She had to get away.
Couldn’t stay here.
Couldn’t live through the shame and guilt again.
Couldn’t stand and watch her life implode for a second time.
Dropping the basket to the floor, all Mazey could think about was getting to her car.
She didn’t care about her bare feet or her handbag or the load of clothes she’d left tumbling in the dryer. Didn’t care about the meal cooking in the kitchen.
None of it mattered.
Not the woman and child upstairs.
Not the man who’d lied to her.
Not the heart that was breaking in her chest.
Nothing mattered except escaping the nightmare, getting away.
Away from Rylan’s wife.
Away from Rylan’s house.
Away from Rylan.
Away from the lies.
Away from the dreams splintered at her feet.
She didn’t remember getting in her car.
Didn’t remember driving.
Didn’t remember arriving at Alyssa’s door.
But when it opened, and her friend’s welcoming smile slid from her face, Mazey did the only thing she could.
She broke.
With a body racking sob, she fell into Alyssa’s arms and cried her shattered heart out.
34
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re playing at, Rylan Conners, but you better hope this is a big misunderstanding, or I’m going to remove everything from your body that makes you male with a blunt razor,” Alyssa growled in his ear.
“What the fuck?”
“Are you married?”
“No. Why the hell would you ask that?” What the fuck was going on?
“Because there’s a woman at your house claiming to be your wife.”
Her words didn’t make sense. He didn’t have a wife. Hadn’t had one in over—
“Fuck! Did she give you her name?”
“I’m not liking that answer, Ry.”
“If it’s who I think it is, I haven’t been legally married to her for over a year. And the marriage was dead before it started.” A thought sucked the air from his lungs. “Is Maz with you? Please tell me Maz is with you.”
“Yes. She’s with me, but I’m not putting her on the phone. She doesn’t even know I called you.” He heard a door close in the background. “What the fuck is going on, Ry? Maz isn’t making any sense. I can’t get anything out of her other than you’re married. With a kid!”
“Alyssa, I swear to you I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ll find out, and when I do, I’m coming for her. Don’t let her run, Alyssa. She’s going to want to. She’ll want to get as far away from this and me as she can, and you can’t let her. Please, I’m begging you. Keep her with you until I can find out what the fuck Renee is up to.”
“Ry?”
“Yeah.”
“Maz said there’s a little boy with her. She said he’s yours.”
“No! He’s not mine.” Jesus fucking Christ. What the fuck was his ex doing at his house? And where the fuck was Jake? He sighed. “It’s a long ugly story that I’d rather tell Maz, but I will tell you the boy isn’t mine even though at one point I thought he was.”
“Oh.”
“I need to go.” He stared through the windshield of his truck. He hadn’t even closed the door when he’d answered his phone. “I’m leaving the base now, and I don’t know how long it will take me to get Renee to tell me the truth. Can I come to get Maz after that?”
“Maybe you should come to get her now?”
“I don’t want her anywhere near Renee. The woman is toxic.”
“Maz has dealt with toxic before.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I want to shield her from this. At least until I know what’s going on. I need to make a call.”
“I’ll keep her here. She’s not fit to drive anyway. I already took her keys and hid them.”
“Thank you. I’ll call as soon as I’ve got some answers.”
“I told you not to hurt her.”
“I haven’t. Someone from my past has. And, Alyssa, this cuts me as much as it cuts her. Take care of her until I get there. I’m coming for her. I can’t live without her, I just hope she forgives me for not telling her about my ex before. If I had . . .”
“It might not have made much difference. Maz was lied to for years, I don’t know what that’s done to her ability to trust. And this is so close to what happened before.”
“I know, I know. I’m going to make it up to her, Alyssa. If it takes every day of my life, I’ll make it up to her.”
“A lifetime might not be enough.”
“I’ll make it enough.”
“Call me if you need . . . hell, I don’t know. Anything.”
“Just take care of Mazey. Make sure she doesn’t run before I have a chance to clear things up.”
“You know I will. I’ll open a bottle of wine, and she can bitch about you while I ply her with enough alcohol that she won’t be able to drive. She’ll have to literally run if she wants to get away.”
In spite of the situation, Alyssa’s words made him smile. “Thanks. I’ll be as quick as I can.” Rylan disconnected and pulled up a number he hadn’t called in a year and a half. It rang twice.
“Hello? Ry?”
“Jake.”
“I didn’t expect—”
“Why is Renee at my house?” He cut his ex-friend off.
“She’s there! Ry, you have to call the police. Hang up and call the police. There’s an amber alert out for Maddox. Does she have him with her? Please tell me she has him with her.”
“What?” he yelled into the phone. “An amber alert?”
“I have primary custody. She’s supposed to only have supervised visits. On her las
t one, three weeks ago, she managed to convince the supervisor to let her take him to the change room at the mall on her own. No one has seen either of them since.”
“I. Shit. Jake.” Renee had kidnapped her own child? “What the fuck happened?”
“Can you please hang up and call the police to get them to your house. Don’t let her know you’re doing it. Oh god, is she listening? You can’t let her know. She’ll run again.”
“No. I’m not home. Someone else was there when Renee arrived. As far as I know, she and the boy are still there.” Fuck. What the hell had gone on since that night Renee had asked for a divorce and told him the baby in her belly wasn’t his? He’d wiped both his best friend and wife from his life the second Renee had walked out. “I’ll call you back.”
He hung up and immediately dialed the police department. He relayed what he knew to dispatch and asked if Grant Malone was on duty. Leaving his number for Grant to call him back, he dropped the phone in the console.
How had things gotten so crazy? One minute he was looking forward to going home to Mazey and the next he’s got his ex-wife and a kidnapped child in his house.
Shoving the key in the ignition, he cranked the motor and threw the truck in reverse. He needed to get home and make sure the boy was safe. Why he needed to keep the child safe from his own mother was beyond him, but when the dispatch operator had confirmed the amber alert on Maddox Conners, Rylan had known he’d do anything to protect him.
That included restraining his ex if he had to.
Or taking the child. Maybe he could sneak the child out of the house without alerting his ex-wife.
He ignored the speed limit, and the usual fifteen-minute drive took half that. Luckily, it was the middle of the day, and traffic was light.
The car in the driveway sent relief through his veins. If Renee had left, she hadn’t taken her car. If that even was her car. Now he had to work out how to play things.
Did he barge in and demand the boy?
Did he wait for the police to get here? Wait for Grant to call him back?
Or did he go inside and pretend like they were two old friends catching up?
The decision was made when the front door opened, and his ex-wife stepped through it, a smile on her face. He had no choice but to get out of the truck and go into the house now.
Taking a deep breath, he cleared his face of all emotion. Popping his door, he pocketed his phone after switching it to silent and headed up the path.
“Renee. This is a surprise.” He prayed his voice didn’t betray his disgust at seeing her.
“You look so good, Rylan. No limp at all.”
Ah, right, the last time they’d seen each other, he’d still been limping, using a walking stick. That was eighteen months ago.
“Come in, come in.” She waved him into his own house, and when she tried to kiss him, he dodged her and moved toward the stairs.
He wanted a good six feet between them at all times. He studied his ex-wife. She was different. She’d had some work done on her face, he couldn’t figure out what, but she didn’t quite look the same, and she was thinner, almost bony, gaunt. “What are you doing here, Renee?”
“To see you, of course,” she said, moving toward him. “I’ve got something for you.”
Stepping to the side, he avoided contact. “Oh?”
“Yes. It’s something you always wanted.”
“Is it?” He tried to smile, to appear as though he wasn’t going out of his mind with fear and confusion. Where was the boy? And what was that look in her eyes? If he didn’t know better, he’d suspect she was on something.
“Yes. Come.” She passed him and started up the stairs, saying over her shoulder, “It’s in your room.”
He had no choice. He had to follow her because if he was understanding her, understanding the situation, she was about to tell him the baby she’d cruelly denied him before was his.
35
“Men are pigs! Swines! Assholes! Scum sucking ameba on the bottom of a rancid puddle of sludge!” Mazey swung her glass and splashed wine on her hand. Bringing it to her mouth, she sucked the liquid off her skin and muttered, “They should all die.”
“I think that’s a little harsh. Not all men are pigs or assholes or . . . what was it? Scum sucking ameba?” Alyssa laughed. “That last one is kind of creative, considering you’re three sheets to the wind.”
“I am?” She frowned at her glass. “But I’ve only had one.”
“Yeah, but it’s a bottomless one.”
“Am I drunk?” How much had she had? She didn’t feel drunk. She just felt numb. And rage. She felt hot angry rage. Glancing at Alyssa’s living room windows, she noticed it was dark. How long has she been here? “I need to get home.”
Alyssa laughed. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“But I have dinner in the . . .” She frowned. She’d made dinner in the crockpot at Rylan’s house. “The lying, cheating, pig swine, asshole sucking ameba.”
Her friend’s snort of laughter pulled her gaze back to the room.
“I don’t see what’s funny. The man I’ve fallen for, the father of my—” She gasped, slamming the glass in her hand on the coffee table and waved her hands in front of her. “I can’t drink! I can’t be drunk!”
“Ease up there, ranty, you’ll break something.” Alyssa leaned over and moved the glass further away. “And why can’t you drink and rant about the situation? A few glasses of wine will help you feel better or drown your sorrows. Either way, you’ll find relief from everything.”
Mazey surged to her feet, both hands on her stomach. “I’m pregnant!”
Alyssa blinked up at her. “Pregnant? As in having a baby pregnant? You?”
Nodding, Mazey swallowed. “I’m a terrible mother. I’m barely one, and already I’m feeding my child alcohol.”
“A baby. Pregnant.” Alyssa shook her head. “You’re pregnant. I assume the baby is Ry’s?”
“Yes. I’m not far, we’re only just . . .” She sucked in a breath. “We’re not anything. He’s—” A sob choked off her words.
“Hey, hey.” Alyssa bounded to her feet and pulled Mazey in for a hug. “It’s okay, everything is going to be okay. And you’re not a terrible mother. It takes more than a glass of wine to do any damage to a fetus. I should know. I wouldn’t be a nurse, and Penny wouldn’t be in AP classes if it took so little.”
Mazey sniffled. “What?”
Alyssa sighed. “Penny is living with me because our mother is an alcoholic and has been for over thirty years. I’m pretty sure your baby is safe. And you probably only had a glass and a half at most. I topped it up just once, and we’ve been here for three hours.”
“Three hours? But I feel—”
“That’s probably more about your overwrought state than the amount of alcohol you’ve consumed.”
“Are you sure? Maybe I should see a doctor?”
“How far along are you?” Alyssa guided her back down on the sofa. “I’m pretty sure you and the baby will be okay, but we can go to the ER if you want.”
Sighing, Mazey slumped back against the cushions. “I’m about four weeks. I’ve got an appointment to see Dr. Hanson next Monday. It’s my first visit.”
“Maz, I need to tell you something.”
She glanced at her friend. “What?”
“I’ve been messaging with Ry all afternoon.”
Closing her eyes at the mention of Rylan, she tried to brace for the strike of pain in her chest, but it didn’t help. It still hurt, still sucked the breath from her lungs, and brought tears to her eyes.
“He’s not married to that woman. He was. But they’ve been divorced for over a year, and the boy isn’t his.”
“Ha!”
“Mazey!” Alyssa gripped her hand. “Did Stuart ever deny he was married once you found out?”
“Hard to deny it when his wife was right in front of me.”
“And yet Ry is denying it.”
“To
you, maybe.”
“Hard for him to tell you when you ran away and turned your phone off.”
“Whose side are you on?” she huffed.
“Yours. His.” Alyssa shrugged. “I’m friends with both of you. I’ve worked with Ry for almost a year, and I might not know his inner secrets, obviously, because I had no idea he was divorced, I think I know his character though. He’d never cheat or lie. It’s not in him. Think about who he is with you.”
“Stuart—”
Alyssa threw up a hand. “Do. Not. Put that dickface in the same basket as Ry. I know you’re hurting, Maz, but you don’t have the full story. You’re letting what someone else did to you in a different time and place cloud your view of this situation.”
“What are you suggesting I do?”
“When Ry gets here, listen to him. Don’t jump in. Let him explain everything to you and then take some time to think about it.”
“What aren’t you telling me? I can’t handle more secrets and lies.”
“It’s not my story to tell, but I will say you deserve to be happy, and I think Ry can make you happy if you let him.”
“Really?”
“Maz.”
“Fine. I’ll listen to him. If he shows up.”
“He will. He just can’t . . .” Alyssa sighed. “He can’t leave his house right now.”
“Why? Because he needs to get rid of the wife and kid?” she lashed out, springing to her feet. “Obviously, I’m not the most important person in his life.”
“Stop!” Alyssa stood in front of her. “He can’t leave his house until the police leave.”
Mazey’s mouth flapped. Words escaping her. “Police?”
Alyssa closed her eyes. “Damn it. I wasn’t going to say anything. Ry needs to be the one to explain all this.”
“Too late now, you may as well go on. Why are the police at Ry’s house?”
“Because his ex-wife kidnapped her son.”
Her mouth dropped open. That little boy . . . “I have to go.” Spinning around, she did a full three-sixty trying to find her bag. “Where’s my bag?”
“You didn’t come with a bag.”