Her Wilde Marines [Wilde, Nevada 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Chloe Lang

“How did you know where to find me?”

  “I stopped in at your mom’s old diner. One of the waitresses told me you were working here. There was no one in the front office, so I made myself at home and looked around until I found you. Nameplate on the door. Very nice, Em. Big job. Good for you.”

  “I know you didn’t come all the way from North Dakota to congratulate me, Larry. What do you want to talk about?”

  “I told you I would be there for you and our girls and I meant it.” Larry sat down in the chair Mac had just vacated ten minutes ago.

  Emma’s heart was thudding in her chest and in her temples. The voices had returned soon after Bane and Adam had dropped her off. She didn’t know why her two Marines were able to keep her dead sisters at bay, but somehow they were. But she knew even if the guys agreed to be with her twenty-four hours a day, that wasn’t really possible. That wasn’t living. They had jobs with the FBI. They had goals and dreams. Her goals would never be realized. Her dreams had all turned to nightmares.

  Larry held out her cell to her. “Have a seat, honey.”

  She sat down without taking back her phone. I never want to touch that thing again.

  He placed it and the folder on her desk. “Em, you need help.”

  “I know that, Larry.”

  “I’ve got a friend who works with people with mental illness. He is employed at the state hospital.”

  She shook her head. “I already told you I’m not going back to North Dakota.”

  “I know you did, but Em, you and I both know what happened to your sisters.” He reached across the desk for her hand, but she pulled it back. “Think about our girls.”

  She swallowed hard. “What about them?”

  “That’s a very good question. Have you considered that you might be a threat to Autumn and Andrea in your current state? Samantha and Lily were perfectly sane and then they weren’t. It could be happening to you.” Larry opened the folder and revealed the legal documents inside. “I had my attorney draw these up after our call when you told me about what you had been going through.”

  She glanced down at the paperwork. “You want full custody of our girls?”

  “You and I know it’s for the best for now until you get better. Your grandparents are great with the girls but they can’t be stand-in parents for you and me.”

  She looked up at him. “Larry, this can’t be one of your fly-by-night promises.”

  He smiled. “It won’t be, baby. I’ve grown up. I know what I want.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I want to be a dad to our daughters. And if I can’t be your husband again, I want to be your friend. Sign the papers. Let me take you to my buddy at the state hospital and get you checked out fully.”

  “I don’t know, Larry. I’m not sure what the right thing to do is.”

  “Look at the paragraph where I return custody to you. This is only temporary, Em. Once you’re well and over this speed bump in your life, you can come back to this town and start again. Please. For our girls. Sign the papers.”

  She scanned the entire document. What choice do I have? She grabbed a pen.

  * * * *

  Adam looked at the time on his phone again. It had been only four minutes since Caleb had gotten in touch with the woman in Destiny, but every second felt like an eternity. Patience had never been his strong suit.

  Caleb’s cell buzzed. “That’s her. Hi, Jena.”

  He and Bane leaned forward, hanging on every word.

  “Thanks. I owe you one.” Their boss clicked off the phone. “You were right. It came from North Dakota. The caller was a Mr. Larry Grant.”

  * * * *

  Emma brought the pen down to the signature line of the custody papers Larry had given her.

  Her hand shook. She looked up at her ex.

  He was leaning forward in the chair with a slight smile on his face.

  Her grandmother’s warning about Larry came flashing back into her mind. “Mark my words, Emma. He’s up to something. I don’t trust him. The one thing I’m glad about you moving to Wilde is, Larry will likely never see Autumn and Andrea again.”

  Her grandmother’s instincts had never been wrong before.

  What am I doing? I don’t want to sign away custody of my girls.

  Bane and Adam had helped quiet the voices. They’d helped her believe in a chance that things were going to be okay. It might not be easy, but she now knew it was possible. Her two amazing men had promised to help her. I will be fine.

  She placed the pen back on the desk and pushed the unsigned paperwork away. “Larry, I can’t do this.”

  “What do you mean you can’t do this? It’s for the best. It’s your only choice.”

  “But you’re wrong, Larry. I do have choices. I’m not sixteen anymore. I’m a grown woman who can make decisions on her own.”

  “This is ridiculous.” Larry’s tone turned harsh. “You’re making a big mistake, Emma.”

  “You’ve only been coming back around the girls for a few short weeks. You even missed their duet when you knew exactly what time Autumn’s concert was. You can’t keep doing that. You can’t keep being late and making excuses. If you want to be in the girls’ lives, then you have a lot to prove. You are still a stranger to them. There is absolutely no way I could ever turn over custody of my girls to you. I’m their mother. It’s my job to protect them. You must understand that?”

  “I understand more than you know.” Larry placed the paperwork neatly back into the folder and tucked it under his arm. “I didn’t want to do this the hard way, but you are leaving me no choice.”

  She stood up. “Are you thinking about taking me to court to try to win custody of our girls? You’ll lose, Larry. Trust me on that. They are mine.”

  He laughed. “I don’t want those two little bitches, Emma. They are so much like you it makes me sick.”

  Shocked at his words, she screamed, “Get out of my office, you son of a bitch. Get out now.”

  He pulled out a gun and pointed it at her. “Actually, we are both going to leave right now.”

  * * * *

  Bane turned to Adam. “Let’s get Em.”

  “Go,” Caleb said. “I’ll get on the horn with the authorities in North Dakota about Larry Grant.”

  Rage fueled his every step as he and Adam ran to the truck. Emma’s ex had been responsible for the call that had left her shaken. The fucker was certainly responsible for all of it. Why? That would have to be sorted out later. For now, he and Adam needed to get to Emma.

  * * * *

  Emma walked out of the television station. There wasn’t a single person anywhere to be seen.

  Larry held a pistol to her back. “My car is straight ahead. We’ll get in on the passenger’s side and you will slide over to the driver’s seat.”

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “To your rental house. Now shut the fuck up and move.” He poked her hard with the barrel of his gun. “Or I’ll shoot you and our daughters will be orphans.”

  Oh God, no. Please. She’d never really trusted him, though she had hoped he would change for the girls. He’d always been so self-absorbed. “What’s this all about? You don’t want to do this. Please.”

  “This is your fault, Emma. I tried to make it as easy as possible for you, but you didn’t let me. Keep moving.”

  When they were in the car, he handed her the ignition key. “Start the engine.”

  “Why are you doing this, Larry?”

  “Drive, bitch.” With the barrel of his gun poking her in the side, he tossed the custody papers to the backseat. “Once we get to your house, you fucking cunt, I can’t wait to tell you all the hard work I’ve done. It’s brilliant.”

  * * * *

  Adam ran into the station with Bane.

  “May I help you?” the woman behind the receptionist desk asked.

  “Emma Grant. Where’s her office?”

  “I can buzz her for you.”

  “Adara,
where is Emma?” Mac came out of an office holding a damaged cell phone.

  It’s Emma’s phone. Fuck. “Bane, the son of a bitch must’ve called her again with the voices.”

  “Yes.” His brother’s face was full of rage.

  Mac stepped up to them. “Voices? What voices?”

  “No time to explain.” Does the bastard have Emma? His gut tightened at the thought. “Do you have any idea where she is?”

  “She was supposed to come back to the studio when Adara got back.”

  “Em is in trouble, Mac. Call us if she returns.” He and Bane ran out the door. His heart was pounding hard in his chest. “We’ve got to find her. Let’s try her house first.”

  “Yes. I’ll call Caleb.” Bane brought out his phone as they jumped into the truck. “He can put out an APB on Larry. He and Sheriff Champion can check the diner and other places in town.”

  He and Bane had rescued many fellow soldiers on hundreds of battlefields against thousands of enemies. They’d been called heroes, though they never felt much like heroes. They were only doing their duty.

  As he hit the gas, Adam knew he’d never wanted to rescue anyone more than now. He and Bane would give their lives to save Emma, their one true love.

  * * * *

  Emma kept twisting her hands, trying to free herself of the duct tape Larry had used to fasten her wrists and ankles to the chair.

  He placed the gun on the counter. “Place looks nice, Emma. Too bad you won’t live long enough to enjoy it.”

  Every part of her tensed and her heart skipped several beats. “I don’t understand this, Larry. You said you don’t want the girls. It doesn’t make any sense. Why are you doing this to me?”

  “Because you gave me no choice. Do you have a stepladder, Emma?”

  “Yes, why?” She needed to keep her cool with him if she was going to survive this.

  “So many questions.” He reached for the pistol. “Remember who has the gun here, Emma.”

  She nodded, continuing to attempt to free herself without his knowledge. “I remember. There’s a stepladder in the garage.”

  “You want to get me out of your sight so you can try to break free? You’re not as dumb as you were when we were married. Good for you. I’ll use a chair.” He pulled one out and pushed it to the wall. “You want to know what this is about. You’re ex is a genius, that’s what.”

  He climbed on the chair and took off the air vent in the kitchen. He reached in the duct and pulled out some things she didn’t recognize.

  “What are those?”

  “These are how your sisters were able to talk to you.” He laughed. “Genius, right?”

  “You? You were the one behind the voices.”

  He laughed wickedly. “You’re not going crazy, Em. I just needed you to think you were.” He held up the jumble of wires he’d pulled out of her vent. “Surveillance equipment that I modified with speakers for my purposes. There are more in all your vents.”

  She was shocked at what he was saying. “Why, Larry?”

  “It was plan A, which I much preferred. In that plan you didn’t have to die. You only had to be committed. But when you refused to sign the papers, I had to go to plan B. I have to be in charge of the girls.”

  Oh God, no. He’s crazy. I don’t want him near my girls ever again.

  He put the vent back in place, stepped off the chair, and placed the equipment he’d retrieved on the kitchen table. “I can get the rest after I take care of you.”

  She didn’t like the sound of that one bit. “My boss is going to miss me at work.”

  “I’m sure she will. And those two fuckers you’ve been sleeping with will, too. By the time they come around, I’ll be long gone.” He pulled out a glass from her cabinet and filled it with water. “I’m about to become a very wealthy man.”

  “What money? You’re not making any sense.”

  He grinned and pulled out several prescription bottles from his coat pocket and placed them next to the water glass. “Your grandparents’ land is sitting on top of one of the largest oil reserves in the country. Now that you and the girls are their only heirs, I knew what I had to do. That’s why we are here. After Helen and Leland learn about your suicide, they will be devastated. That will give me an opening. They will welcome my help with the girls. After a few days, I’ll be able to set the ball in motion to take them out. No one will question the deaths of two old fucks, especially when I make it look like it came from a gas leak. Like you, Emma, they will die peacefully in their sleep. Yours from pills and theirs from carbon monoxide poisoning.”

  He grabbed the pills and the glass of water and stepped in front of her. “Once you take your last breath, I’ll remove the duct tape and place you in your bed. Whoever discovers your body will find the pills next to you and will assume you took your own life.”

  “Larry, you can’t hurt the girls like this.”

  “Baby, don’t worry about Autumn and Andrea. I’ll make sure they go to the finest boarding school my money can buy. Be a good girl and open your mouth for me.”

  “You can’t make me swallow those pills. I won’t.” She clamped her lips together, tightening her jaw.

  “Goddamn it, Emma.” He placed the glass on the table and poured out a fistful of pills into his hand. With his other hand, he pinched her nose. “Don’t fight me. You’ve got to breathe sometime.”

  She held her breath for as long as she could. When she couldn’t any longer and parted her lips, he shoved the pills in her mouth. She spit them in his face.

  He slapped her hard. “You fucking bitch.” He grabbed his gun. “Do that again and I will blow your head off.”

  The duct tape around her wrists seemed to be loosening. She needed more time. “Shoot me and this won’t look like a suicide, Larry. It will ruin all your plans.”

  “If I have to hold you down to take these pills, I will.”

  “Wait. Let me at least write a note to say good-bye to Autumn and Andrea.” More time. Please. Larry’s gun would be within reach once her hands were free. “Please, Larry. Wouldn’t a suicide note help seal the deal for your plan?”

  “What do you take me for, Emma? A fool? I’m not untying you.” He poured out another fistful of pills into his hand.

  With all her might, she twisted her wrists and was able to free her hands. She didn’t hesitate, but clawed at his face with one hand and reached for the gun with the other.

  He shoved her and the chair to the ground before she got the pistol.

  “Fuck you.” He grabbed the gun and touched his face, which was bleeding from her scratches. He punched her, and pain shot through her jaw.

  Her ankles were still attached to the legs of the chair, so she couldn’t run. The whole world was on its side. She could see her front door though her vision was blurry.

  Larry brought the barrel to her head. “Time to die, bitch.”

  The door opened and in ran her two Marines, guns firing.

  Larry fell to the ground with a loud thud.

  Bane and Adam ran to her, quickly releasing her legs from the chair.

  “Are you okay, sweetheart?” Adam’s concern was all over his face.

  Bane bent over Larry’s unmoving body.

  She took a deep, calming breath. “I’m fine now that you and Bane are here.”

  Adam lifted her up into his arms.

  “Larry is dead,” Bane said flatly. “He’s no longer a threat, sweetheart.”

  Adam kissed her on the cheek. “The fucker will never hurt you again, Em.”

  “Or my girls.” She looked at them, the two men who had never given up on her. “The voices. They weren’t real. I’m not going crazy.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Emma sat between Bane and Adam in Sheriff Champion’s office. Bane had his arm around her and Adam held her hand.

  Caleb, their FBI boss, sat in the chair closest to the sheriff, who was behind his desk.

  “Are you sure you are ready for this, Emma?” Sher
iff Champion asked.

  “I’m fine. Your son is an excellent doctor.” She’d learned that the sheriff had once been a physician himself.

  “Yes, he is. I’m very proud of him. So no broken bones?”

  “Alex checked me out and said I was good to go. The fact that I know I’m not losing my mind has given me such relief I feel I could do anything right now.”

  The sheriff smiled. “I’m glad.”

  Adam squeezed her hand. “We’re all glad.”

  “Definitely.” Bane kissed her on the cheek.

  She felt completely safe in their arms.

  “Let’s get to it then.” Sheriff Champion looked down at some paperwork on his desk. “We have your statement, Emma, and I want to fill you in on everything the authorities found back in North Dakota.”

  “I knew Larry wasn’t a good guy and completely self-centered. That’s why I left him all those years ago. But I never thought he would be capable of such horrible things.”

  “Greed sent him over the edge, Emma. When he learned about the oil reserve that would net millions to your grandparents, he conspired to make the money his.” Caleb had a kind face. “After Jena had let us know that original call had come from Larry, I was able to get a warrant from the local authorities. The officers went to his house and found a woman who had been living with him for the past few months. Turns out that the woman is a performer whose specialty is imitating celebrities.”

  “Oh my God. That’s why she sounded so much like my sisters.”

  Adam and Bane’s boss nodded. “Apparently Larry had some videos of them that the woman had studied to get their voices right.”

  “I remember he made copies of several birthday videos of Autumn and Andrea when they were very young.” She turned to Adam and Bane. “My sisters were in every single one of those videos. I thought Larry wanted the videos to remember the years he missed in the girls’ lives. Turns out he only wanted to use them against me and my family.”

  Bane pulled her in tight. “He can’t hurt you or the girls ever again, baby.”