More Than Words

by Daphne Abbott

  I felt like she’d cut my chest open and squeezed my heart with her tiny hand. I just stared at her with my mouth agape, desperately trying to find the right balance of truth and kindness.

  Thankfully, I was saved by Melanie.

  “Girls, how about we make some more Christmas cookies this afternoon?” she said as she swept into the living room. “You’ve eaten almost all the ones we made last week, and Santa will need more.”

  The girls immediately abandoned their spots at the coffee table and ran into the kitchen with squeals of excitement.

  “Thank you,” I said to Melanie. “I didn’t know how to answer that.”

  Melanie’s smile was soft, and her eyes held a sadness that I didn’t quite understand. “I know what it’s like having to answer the hard questions from little ones. I also know that if I could go back and do it all over again, I would have always chosen to spare my kids the darker side of life.”

  “Mel— “

  My cell rang, and Natalie’s name flashed across the screen. Heart in my throat, I grabbed the cell and swiped my thumb across the screen. “Natalie? What’s up?”

  “They found her.”

  “Where?” I jumped to my feet, sending the coffee table and the art supplies sliding across the floor.

  “Silas’s shack. They’re taking her to the clinic to get checked out. You can meet them there.”

  “I’m on it,” I said as I raced to the front door and furiously dressed in my boots and coat.

  Hunter came into the hallway and did the same, his own phone to his ear.

  “Gray, one more thing.”

  My stomach dropped, terrified of what could have happened to my Ruby at the hands of the psycho Silas. “What is it?”

  “Pearl was with her. We’ve got them both.”

  U

  Ruby

  My escape from the basement facilitated by Deputies Van Ess and Douglas was a lot more anti-climactic than movies had led me to believe a kidnapping rescue would be.

  Liam had heard my screams and busted into the cabin with Sadie. They’d easily found Mom and I chained up in the converted root cellar. The worst part of the rescue was waiting for Sadie to return with bolt cutters from the squad car.

  “Do you think they’ll find Silas?” I asked.

  My mom went to the hospital in Garrett, but I had a huge aversion to hospitals. So, since I’d felt fine, except for a few sore spots, Sadie had agreed to drive me to the clinic in town. Since Silas had not been in the shack with us, Liam stayed with backup to continue searching for his crazy ass.

  Sadie glanced over at me, then back to the road. The snow was coming down harder now. The blizzard forecasted for tomorrow was hitting us earlier than expected. So the drive out of the woods and back into town was slow going.

  “Liam’s good. He won’t stop till he finds Silas.”

  The implication being that maybe there were some deputies that would not take it so seriously. It felt both good and bad to have a member of Mooney’s department acknowledge the problems in the force.

  “He’s fucking nuts and a danger to the girls,” I said and burrowed deeper in the blanket Sadie had given me. “He shouldn’t have ever gotten close enough to grab me.”

  “I would never victim blame you, Ruby. But you were the one that chased after him,” Sadie said calmly. “Why didn’t you call it in?”

  “I couldn’t let him get away,” I grumbled, feeling ashamed of my recklessness. “I figured I could trap him somewhere and call in the violation of the protective order when I knew he couldn’t get away.”

  “I hope there’s not another next time, but if there is, remember a protective order is just a piece of paper. It won’t stop a man that bent on causing a woman harm.”

  “But it will ensure he gets a harsher punishment, right? Since he broke the order and had contact with me?”

  Sadie looked at me and gave a brief smile. “I fucking hope so.”

  Despite my bravado, I was barely holding on to my composure. Sadie had passed on my rescue to Natalie, who’d alerted the troops. Gray would be meeting us at the clinic, and I was eager to have him comfort me. Even though the ordeal was short, there was a lot still messing with my head. After all, I’d been kidnapped and tormented by my grandfather, who’d also taken my mother hostage. Now, he was still at large and had a grudge against all of us McLean women, Brit and Ray included.

  I just wanted this all to be over. I wanted Liam to find Silas and lock his ass up, preferably with Silas getting a little roughed up by the massively built ginger deputy. I wanted Mom to get the help she needed physically and mentally. I wanted the girls safe and tucked away somewhere where none of this could touch them.

  But most of all, I wanted Gray. Here with me.

  The clinic was dark by the time we made it back to town, save for two cars in the lot. Night had fallen, and most of the staff had left. Sadie had called ahead on my behalf, and the doctor had agreed to remain behind.

  “Stay here,” Sadie instructed when she pulled up to the front door. “Let me make sure he’s still here.”

  Just as she exited the car, the automatic doors to the clinic slid open, and the one person I wanted most in the world came running out. I gave a sharp cry of relief and fumbled with the seat belt buckle. The damn thing stayed stuck to me, and I yanked with all of my might, fighting against it as if it were the chains that had so recently held me.

  “Shhh,” Gray soothed when he opened the door and found me going nuts over the seat belt.

  Effortlessly, he released me from the belt and scooped me close to his chest. His familiar touch broke the damn I’d been using to hold back my tears, and I collapsed into him. All the fear and uncertainty of the last few weeks flowed out of me like water. And through it all, Gray held me close to his body, whispering how much he loved me, how glad he was to have me back, how sorry he was he couldn’t have been there to save me.

  At the last admission, I had to stop and pull back to see his face in the dim light of the cruiser’s dashboard. His face looked pale and worn. More serious than I’d ever seen before, and also sad. So very sad.

  “Gray,” I whispered and cupped his cheek. The stubble on his cheek tickled my palm. I was glad for that bit of normal. “Please don’t blame yourself.”

  Gray leaned his forehead against mine. For the first time, I noticed tears streaming down his cheeks and the ragged sound of his breathing.

  “I shoulda been there, Ruby. He shoulda never gotten a hold of you.”

  “Don’t,” I whispered fiercely. “He’s insane. There was no way you could have known.”

  “I didn’t know what to do,” he continued as if he hadn’t heard me. “I’ve had all this experience. Learned all these ways to protect people, and I couldn’t do a damn thing for you.”

  “Gray—”

  “Doc’s waiting,” Sadie said from just behind Gray. “Gray, can you help her inside?”

  Gray tensed against me, and I could hear him struggle to swallow several times before he said, “Yeah. I’ve got her.”

  Gray moved back to look me in the eye. I hated how defeated he looked.

  “Can you walk?” I nodded. “Okay, take my arm. I’ve got you.”

  The doctor was a good-looking man in his thirties, who had a voice that was soft and lyrical with a French accent. Dr. Sebastien Thibault looked like he belonged in the cast of the French-Canadian version of Grey’s Anatomy. Although I usually avoided doctors at all costs, I liked him and even joked with him. I hoped for his sake, he was avoiding the marriage-minded busybodies of the town.

  The entire time Dr. Seb, as he preferred to be called, was checking out my bumps and bruises, Gray sat in the visitor’s chair. He was silent and still with his eyes intent on me like a guard dog. I supposed he had been in another life, and it wasn’t too shocking that after a scare lik
e we’d had that day, he would fall into that role as a precaution.

  After all, Silas was still at large.

  “Okay, Miss Ruby,” Dr. Seb said and stepped back from the examination table. “I think you’ll be just fine in a day or two if you rest and take care of yourself.”

  “Honestly, it’s just a couple of scrapes and bruises,” I said. “I feel fine.”

  “Yeah, but the goose egg on the back of your head concerns me. And you admitted to losing consciousness,” the doctor replied. “You need to go home and rest for a day. Two would be better.”

  “I—”

  “I’ll see that she rests,” Gray said, cutting off the argument I was about to make. “You want me to monitor her tonight for worsening signs?”

  “Yes, and the following night,” Dr. Seb agreed and turned to give me a smile. “If she’ll allow it.”

  “She will.”

  Chapter 35

  Gray

  Six hours and forty-three minutes.

  That was how long I’d spent in terror, waiting for Ruby to be found.

  Logically, I knew that without the quick actions of our friends and the two good cops at the sheriff’s department, that time could have been much longer. As I sat and watched Ruby get patched up by the new Canadian doc, I was still a mix of fear and anxiety.

  The relief of seeing her safe and whole had worn off with the adrenaline. I was crashing, but I’d hold it together for Ruby and the girls. If I was honest with her, if I told her about the guilt and fear I was still harboring, she’d take it upon herself to “fix” me. She’d want to take away the guilt and the shame I felt for failing once again.

  “Gray,” Ruby said from across the room. “I’m ready to go home.”

  I stood up from the visitor seat and grabbed the borrowed coat. “Do you want me to get you something warmer? I can drop you off at the Mason’s, then get you a change of clothes.”

  “How are the girls holding up?” she asked as she pulled the coat on.

  “Good,” I replied and offered her my hand to help her down. “We’ve kept them in the dark so far.”

  “Then do you think it would be terrible of me to go home to shower and change before we pick them up?”

  I smiled and used my hand at the small of her back to guide her gently. “I think you’ve been through enough, and a shower is the least of what you deserve.”

  I wanted to take her to the rental cabin I’d shared with Hunter so she could use the luxurious master bathtub. But Ruby insisted she wanted to go to her trailer and be around her things.

  “Has Hunter called about Mom?” Ruby asked as I drove through the quiet night.

  “I got a text while we were in the clinic. She freaked out when they got her to the hospital, so they’ve sedated her for the night.”

  “Shit,” Ruby muttered. “I was worried about that.”

  “She was down there for a long time. It’s not surprising she’s a little freaked out.”

  I pulled the truck up next to her trailer and got out, rounding the hood as quick as I could to help her down. Ruby already had the door open and was leaning out of the truck when I got to her side. I scooped her up into my arms, slammed the door, and carried her up the walk.

  “You can put me down,” Ruby muttered.

  “Not yet,” I said and opened the door. “You can walk after you’ve had a rest and a shower.”

  “Just a shower. I’ll rest after I see the girls.”

  “Fine,” I agreed.

  I carried her to the master bathroom and sat her on the toilet while I turned the water on. It was a testament to how tired Ruby was that she let me do this task. If she’d been at her best, she’d have groused at me the entire time.

  When the water was hot and the bathroom filled with steam, I turned to her and knelt to tug off her furry boots. Ruby put her hand on my shoulder for support and let me undress her slowly. My stomach dropped when I saw the fresh scrapes on her knees. I wanted to kiss them better but resisted. Silas had held her in a basement for six hours. This was no time for sex.

  Ruby cupped my cheek and thumbed away a tear I hadn’t noticed before. “I’m okay, Grayson. You can stop worrying.”

  I leaned into her hand. “I can’t stop.”

  Ruby slid her hand from my face and leaned forward to kiss my mouth softly. “I understand. But I’m asking you to try.”

  I stood up, breaking eye contact to help her take off her sweater and the tank underneath. There was more bruising along her arms and around her wrists. The doctor had patched a couple of cuts and scrapes, but mostly she was still blessedly whole.

  I backed away once she was only wearing her basic white cotton bra and panties. “I’ll be in the living room when you’re ready.”

  Ruby stood and pressed close. “Stay.”

  My entire body throbbed. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

  She put her hand on my hip and snaked her fingers beneath my sweater to caress the skin of my side. The tips of her fingers were cold against my heated skin.

  I shuddered at the contact and sucked in a sharp breath. “Ruby.” Her name was a warning and a plea.

  “Gray,” she replied and slid her hand lower to tease at the waist of my jeans. “I want you with me.”

  She arched up and pressed her mouth against mine. Despite her chilled skin, the kiss sent heat coursing through my body. The press of her soft breasts against my chest and the soft little noises she made as she wrapped her arms around my neck had my dick hard in seconds.

  Ruby kept the pace slow and gentle for long seconds. She used her lips and tongue to tease me into a deeper kiss until I couldn’t hold back anymore. On a groan, I wrapped her up in my arms, careful of her bruises, and slanted my mouth over hers harder than before.

  Ruby wrapped a leg around mine and leaned harder into the kiss. Her hands were everywhere. In my hair, under my shirt, even down the back of my pants. The needy noises were louder, and I could feel the tight points of her nipples through the layers of my sweater and her bra.

  The steam from the shower made everything sticky and hot. Ruby was like a woman possessed. No matter how much I tried to keep the kiss tame, she was just as determined to tip me over the edge.

  “Please,” she whispered as she slid her hand from the back of my jeans to the front. She moaned a pleased little noise when she found my cock hard and ready for her. “Come into the shower with me, Gray.”

  I wanted to. But I would not take advantage of her in this state. So, I pulled her hands from my body and said, “Later.”

  Then I escaped the bathroom like a fucking coward.

  U

  Ruby

  Six hours and forty-three minutes.

  That’s the total time I was in the basement. I’d suffered no long-term effects. I had only two breakdowns after being released from Silas’s basement. The first was my breakdown in the cruiser, and the second was when I got to the Masons’ house and finally got to hug my girls.

  After hugging and crying for about an hour, I sat in the living room and answered all of their questions. Thanks to the clinic visit and my shower, I wasn’t in poor condition, which I think helped the girls handle the story I told. If I had looked as bruised and battered as I’d felt when Deputy Van Ess pulled me out of the basement, it would have only upset them.

  It excited Ray and Brit to have me back, and they were even more happy to hear Mom had returned with me. They wanted to see her that very moment, but when I explained Mom was in a hospital getting the sleep she needed, it mollified them. Once Gray and I agreed to take them to see her the next day, they moved on from the drama. Even I was feeling back to normal.

  It was nuts, and I knew it. But Silas had not had enough time to crawl into my head and beat me down like he’s so obviously done to my mother. He had filled his one sermon with the same misogynistic r
hetoric he’d used for all of my life. Yet, I was grateful for the quick actions of Gray and the deputies. Without them, I may have been subjected to much worse than the bump on the head and the stupid speech.

  “I don’t know how to thank you all,” I said once I had put the girls to bed, and only the adults remained at the dining table.

  Ida reached across the table and covered my hand with hers. “That’s what family does.”

  “Well, since my family is the type to kidnap each other, forgive me for being confused.”

  Everyone, save Gray, laughed at my gallows humor.

  “I’m glad I can cross this case off my list,” said Annika. “It feels good when these things have a happy ending.”

  “Agreed,” said Natalie, and she clinked her glass with the journalist. “I don’t see enough happily ever afters.”

  “Liam and Sadie deserve medals,” said Melanie. “I can’t believe how quickly they acted.”

  “It’s sad that this town doesn’t have more deputies like those two,” added Ida. “We shouldn’t be shocked when a cop does their job.”

  “Here, here,” Annika said and saluted Ida. “But don’t you worry, Ida. I’ve sent some tips to the powers that be. We may see more good than just the return of Ruby and Pearl from all of this.”

  “If that asshole Sheriff finally lost his job, it would be the best ending to this whole mess,” said Melanie.

  “It’s not over,” Hunter said, and I saw him exchange a hard look with Gray. “Silas is still out there somewhere.”

  The women at the table all shared a frustrated glance. Leave it to the men to ruin a celebration.

  “Every available cop in the area is looking for him, Hunt,” said Annika. “It’s only a matter of time.”

  “He’s in his eighties,” added Lucy. “He won’t get far.”

  “He kidnapped Pearl and kept her for months. He stole Ruby right out from under our noses today. He’s evaded cops for hours. Forgive me if I don’t feel ready to call this over,” Hunt said.

  Though Gray didn’t say a word, I watched as he nodded at every one of his friend’s points. Obviously, the macho Army dudes were still in warrior mode. “They have blasted his info all over the county,” I said. “I’m not worried. You two shouldn’t be either.”