by JA Huss
I WANT to make a drink. Hell, I want to just sit down and get drunk, if I’m really being honest. But I can’t. Grace needs me. So I sit on the couch and stare out the floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto the Bellagio fountain lake and wait for Conner.
I’m impatient and my leg has been bouncing since Felicity stopped talking. She’s been on the phone ever since, getting me things. Ordering room service, even though I’m not hungry. Calling Conner to coordinate the money drop to Tray, even though I should be doing that myself. And biting her nails.
It’s been almost two hours since she came in and threw my whole world out of orbit. “Is she really in danger?” I ask Felicity as she ends another call and sits down next to me. “Because if so, Conner is taking way too long.”
“Well, he got a hold of Johnny Blazen, who confirmed that the white Mercedes was a gift for his wife-to-be. The car is in her name and since they’re not married yet, he has no access to the GPS location services. He’s working his celebrity magic, Conner said, but it might take a few more hours to get that info. He’s got a team of lawyers on it, so we just have to hold tight and hope that Kristi woman knows what the hell she’s doing.”
The door chimes and I jump up and cross the room in a few paces. I open the door and Conner is staring at me with a very serious face. “I’ve got the money.”
“How much did he want?”
“Ten million.”
Huh. I wave Conner in and close the door. “It’s almost not fair, is it?”
“What’s not fair?” Conner asks.
“It’s like cheating luck.”
He just shoots me a confused look.
“I won ten million dollars last night in punto banco.”
“Well, dude,” Conner replies, “if it makes you feel any better, luck is about to kick your ass. So I wouldn’t be too guilt-ridden about your apparent win just yet. Think of it as a good omen instead.” He walks into the living room and looks over at Felicity, who says nothing to him—there is no love lost between those two—and then takes a seat on the couch.
“Vaughn.” Felicity breaks our uneasy silence and stands up to block me from taking a seat across from Conner. “Before you let him tell you anything else, you had better be sure you want to go behind her back like this. Because Grace strikes me as a grudge-holder. She didn’t want you to know about her past for a reason. You should respect that.”
“Her life is in danger, Felicity,” Conner barks at her. “This is not a time for sappy bullshit like respecting her privacy.”
Felicity throws up her hands. “I’m just telling you from a woman’s point of view. If you take this secret from her, she might not forgive you.”
I look over at Conner and he’s frowning. “I’m just gonna take your choice away, Vaughn, OK? Make it easy on you. They think—”
But I put up a hand and he stops. “No,” I say. “Felicity is right. I know enough. I know enough to realize I need to find her and keep her safe. That’s all I need right now. I want to hear the story from her, and only when she’s ready to tell it. Just tell me one thing. Is she in danger?”
“She could be, Vaughn. I don’t know for sure. But all this media attention is not good. It’s an invitation. They never caught the guy. And I’m not saying he’s still got tabs on her, but he could have.”
“OK, then let’s get this Tray stuff started and then hopefully Blazen will have the car security hand over her location. What are we even doing? What did Tray actually say?”
“That guy is a scumbag,” Felicity says.
Conner shoots her a look and she shuts up. He gets up and paces over to the window to look out. “He was collaborating with the media the entire time, Vaughn. In addition to suddenly being the only guy with info on your Grace, he also has video of Sam.” Conner gives me a sidelong glance. “Incriminating video.”
“She told me she was a virgin.”
“Not sex tapes, you idiot. That…” He looks over at Felicity and I can practically read his mind and shake my head at him. “That other stuff.”
I shake my head again. “She doesn’t do that anymore.”
“She does, V. She does. And he’s got her on tape. And as horrible as it would be for her secret to get out, who really gives a fuck? Right? The world is not going to care. But Sam won’t be able to see it that way. She will not handle this well.”
I sigh. My poor sister has been afflicted with worry since she was small. She’s fragile and vulnerable. I thought I was doing the right thing when I got her away from Tray, but maybe that was the worst possible solution? Maybe I made things worse? Made Tray more vengeful and angry? “Did you know that her disorder was manifesting before Tray did?” My words are accusatory, but I don’t care because he’s nodding his head yes. “Why the fuck didn’t you say anything to me?”
“I only suspected,” he clarifies. “I saw her do something strange last Christmas. Right after she and Tray started dating. But none of that matters. What matters is that we pay this asshole and get those videos back and figure out what he knows about Grace.”
“What if he keeps copies of Sam?” Felicity asks, still chewing on her fingernails.
Conner shoots her a sneer. “We’re gonna get the copies, kid. Don’t you worry about that.”
Felicity stiffens, but says nothing back. She’s an expert at quitting while she’s ahead.
“So how did he get all this info on Grace?” I ask.
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Well, the obvious guess is also the most dangerous,” Felicity says. “What if that person who abducted her and never got caught somehow got to Tray?”
“But why? And how would Tray know that Grace would be part of this deal? It just exploded on the media today. Meeting Grace on the island was a fluke. It wasn’t something you could predict.”
We stare at each other, unwilling to consider the alternative. That everything about Grace was a setup to get the two of us together. To put this all in front of the world again. To maybe… make another spectacle when she disappeared a second time. “Jesus Christ. We need to shake the fuck out of Tray.” I stand up and start towards the door, but Conner is in front of me, pushing me back to the living room.
“Calm down, Vaughn. We have to think this through. We’ve only got one chance to set it right. And we’re not even sure that the guy from her teens is even involved. It could be that Tray is an expert dickhead.”
Not likely.
Not fucking likely.
But that’s what we go with to ease our minds and keep ourselves on track because that’s all we can do right now. To put a voice to the most likely situation is a sure way to invite it to happen. I don’t know what really happened to Grace during those eight months she was missing with an abductor. And maybe I never need to know. If that’s what she decides, OK. I’ll respect that. But the media… the media does not respect boundaries. There will be no reprieve from them.
Chapter Forty-Nine - Grace
#ThisIsHowYouMakeAnEntrance
THE FAMILY resort is spectacular, even though the three of us are by ourselves and the only food Kristi’s brother Jack is capable of offering is a few frozen dinners.
Kristi and I scarf them down like we are starving. She’s pregnant, so she’s always eating, and I don’t even remember the last time I ate—literally, I have no recollection of that dinner with Vaughn last night—so my mind doesn’t even count it as eating.
Jack fills Kristi in on various resort news while we eat. They built a new barn. They added a new hiking package to the list of services. They hired a spa director who only speaks Swedish. And then he must run out of small talk, because he folds his hands, steeples two fingers against his chin, and just outright asks about the elephant in the room.
“So, you wanna tell me how you got into all this trouble or not?”
“Will you listen and not judge me?” Kristi asks, the tears threatening to roll down her cheeks.
“I’ve never judged you, sis
. You know that.”
“You took their side.”
“You stole half a million dollars, for fuck’s sake!”
“It was my money!”
Holy shit. I have no idea what’s going on. “Maybe I should just excuse myself so you two can talk.”
“No, Grace,” Kristi pleads as she grabs my wrist. “Please don’t leave me alone.”
I settle back into my chair and nod. She’s been a good friend to me. Being here for her confession is the least I can do for her.
“I had a gambling problem,” she says to me and not her brother. So I guess this is not news to him. “I had a big debt. I own one fourth of this resort.” This she does direct to her brother.
“Yeah, but just because the bank account says there’s money in there doesn’t give you a right to take it, Kristi. It’s called embezzlement. We could’ve pressed charges.”
“It was still my share, Jack.” She turns her attention to me. “It was my money. They wanted me to reinvest it and I said no.” Again, her attention goes to Jack and then back to me. “I just needed to start again. I needed to wipe my debt, Grace. And leave Nevada to get away from my temptations.”
“But your wedding!” I exclaim.
“I know,” she says. “It was a big risk, and if I’m honest, that’s probably why I’m so freaked out about everything. I wanted my parents to come to my wedding. I wanted them to forgive me and tell me I’m still their daughter. I do have a problem with gambling. So after I paid off my debt I left and moved to Denver and got a job as a makeup artist at the local TV station. Taking that money and giving myself a second chance was the best thing that ever happened to me because…” She looks over at her brother for this part. “Because that job led me to Johnny.” She swallows hard. “His wife, actually. I met her first and she had a proposition for me—”
“Oh, fuck,” her brother says, standing up. “Please tell me you’re not involved in some underground Fifty Shades of kinky fuckery.”
My eyes go wide and I look away.
“Of course not, you asshole. It’s just—” She looks at me, then her brother and then back to me. “Grace, it’s just his wife, she… she couldn’t conceive. So they asked me to be their surrogate, and I agreed. They gave me that house in Park Hill. They set me up with health insurance. They paid me a lot of money. But then… after the pregnancy was confirmed, Mrs. Blazen changed her mind. She said I had to get an abortion. She couldn’t raise another woman’s child and pretend it was her own.”
“Oh, shit.”
“I refused, obviously. And Johnny refused as well. And that’s why they got divorced. I never slept with him. I’ve been trying to tell you for weeks, but the NDA was technically still in place, and I wasn’t allowed to talk about it.”
“They were gonna hide it? Fake everyone out and pretend Mrs. Blazen was the birth mother?”
Kristi nods and then looks over at her brother. “She didn’t want anyone to know it wasn’t her child. She didn’t want anyone to know I was the real mother. And now she doesn’t want anyone to know what a heartless cunt she is after I said no to the abortion. And Johnny has been so great about the whole thing. He said… he said he wanted to give parenting a try. Together, you know? And God, he’s so handsome. And sweet, Grace. He’s so perfect. That’s why I got so mad at you last night.”
I am a grade-A asshole. I feel so fucking stupid right now—even worse than I did earlier. Her relationship with Johnny Blazen really is a fantasy. It’s beautiful and filled with trust and love. And I am just some jealous bitch who can’t even keep a man, so I had to fuck it up for her by filling her head with stupidity. “I’m so sorry for telling you all those terrible things last night, Kristi.”
She gives me a sad smile. “It’s OK, Grace. I needed this time, I think. I just needed to take a step back from the situation and tell someone about it. That NDA was killing me. And now that I’ve said it out loud, I can start to make sense of my feelings. Do I really love him? I don’t know. Maybe I only love the baby?”
“But obviously he loves the baby too or he wouldn’t be going through all this.”
“True,” she says, her head bowed as she stares down at her stomach. “I just don’t want the baby to be the only reason, you know?” She looks up at me and I do know. Because that’s exactly how I feel about Vaughn. I don’t want him to want me just because we have this stupid arrangement where I let him dominate me sexually. “I want Johnny to love me for me.”
“Why don’t you just ask him?”
We both look over at Jack.
“I mean, it’s not a fucking puzzle. OK? You take the guy aside and tell him what you just told us and see what he says. If he doesn’t give you the answer you’re looking for, well—” Jack throws up his hands. “Ditch him. Life’s too short to settle for less than love, Krissy.”
“But what if he doesn’t love me and only wants the baby?”
“Then it’s better to know. So you can move on. Get the custody worked out and find a guy who does love you.”
Kristi wipes her tears and nods. “I’m sorry, Jack. I truly am sorry that I put myself first when I took that money out of the accounts. But I’m not that person anymore. I want to be this person now. And I want you guys to be a part of it.”
Jack gets up and walks around the table to his sister. He pulls her to her feet and gives her a big brotherly hug. “Mom and Dad are in France, so they can’t be here even if they wanted to. But if you decide to get married, Kris, I’ll be there.”
Kristi sobs, but she’s cradled in his protective embrace. “I need some time to think. And then maybe I’ll call Johnny tomorrow and talk things through with him.”
I watch them as they put their broken relationship back together and wish, more than anything, that I could do the same for mine. But my family is gone and no amount of making good will ever bring them back.
Kristi gets up and excuses herself to the restroom and that leaves me alone with Jack. He’s staring at me and I’m not sure what to do. “Um, sorry for barging in on your family time.”
“So what’s your story?” he asks. “You look worse than her.” He jacks his thumb towards the restrooms on the other side of the empty cafe.
I scan the room and find a large TV mounted on a wall. “If you turn that one to the Buzz Hollywood channel, you’ll see.”
He raises one eyebrow at me. “Buzz Hollywood? Really? You’re some bigshot actor in a bit of Vegas double?”
I laugh, but it’s not funny. “No. I’m—well, I was—sorta dating…” I sigh. There’s just no good way to explain this to a stranger. “Just turn the TV on.”
“OK,” he says as he gets up and walks behind the counter. A few seconds later the TV comes to life and he does a search for Buzz Hollywood. As soon as the channel comes up, there’s my face. Up on the airwaves for everyone to see.
“Grace!” the voice yells on the TV. Then it shows me making a mad dash to Kristi’s waiting Mercedes.
I sit in silence as the whole scene unfolds for Jack. After a few minutes he’s got the gist of it and mutes the sound. “Well, that sucks.”
I nod. “Yeah.”
Kristi is back from the restroom now and she reaches over and squeezes my arm in support.
“You wanna tell us what happened?” Jack asks.
I swallow hard. “I met Vaughn Asher on Saint Thomas and he—”
“No,” Jack interrupts. “Fuck Asher. What happened to you back then? That’s what they’re interested in. Not that actor. I remember that story. Your story,” he corrects. “I remember you going missing. I remember thinking, fuck, she’s probably dead by now. And I remember you coming back. The whole country was stunned. I was working in here that day, actually, and the whole place went silent. People were crying. And then they charged you with murder.”
My throat is closing up and suddenly I can’t swallow. My face becomes hot and prickly and the tears spring forth. They are running down my face before I can even blink. And the funn
y part—the thing that always gets me, makes me sadder than anything else—is hearing how people felt when they found out I was alive.
I don’t know why that makes me so damn sad, but it’s like a moment in their lives. My moment is their moment. And it’s something people remember. All the people who knew the old me told me about their moment.
I was in the icecream store, buying a cone for my kids, the booking officer said as she fingerprinted me when I was charged with the murders. And we sat in that icecream shop all afternoon with the rest of the customers, just watching the story unfold.
Her day stood still.
I was at work and heard it on the radio, the receptionist at my psychiatrist’s office said. And then we turned on the break room TV and no one worked the rest of the day. Even the patients watched.
When I came back, I stopped people’s lives, that’s how traumatic it was for them.
Now just imagine how traumatic it was for me.
“Oh my God, Grace. That was you?” Kristi scoots her chair closer to me and puts her arm around me.
I say nothing. Not even a nod.
“And then”—Jack picks right back up with his recollection, and my heart is beating so fast I think I might pass out—“you disappeared again. Just poof. They refused to answer any questions, just said the charges were dropped and that was the end of it. Daisy Bryndle disappeared off the face of the earth.”
We sit in silence as I struggle to put Daisy away. It takes me a couple minutes of long, deep draws of air to calm myself. “I was adopted,” I finally croak out. “A family adopted me.” Jack just stares, like I’m going to elaborate, but I’ve been living with this secret for ten years. If he thinks this one conversation is enough to make me give it up, he’s out of his mind.
He finally nods and accepts the fact that he won’t be the first person to hear my story. “So what are you two gonna do?”
I shrug.
“We’re gonna go sit at the pool and relax,” Kristi says. “Sound good, Grace?”
I can’t reply because there’s a huge rock in my throat. It’s stuck there, just waiting for me to say something so it can unleash all the pent-up sadness and fear.