Page 73 of Captivated

“Have a nice night,” he says before walking off, leaving me standing on her doorstep in the black of night, wondering what the hell just happened in the last twenty-four hours.

Frantically, I reach in my pocket for my phone and dial her number, the line continuing to ring until it goes to voicemail. I hang up and then dial again, this time it only rings three times before clicking to her voicemail, which means she screened me. She denied my call.

“What the fuck?” I shout into the night, crashing to the ground while pulling on my hair, wondering how the hell I ended up on the ground in this spot yet again.

Chapter 29

Piper

“Do you really think this was the best idea, Frank?” My mother’s voice is low, but it’s enough to pull me out of my sleep. My eyes are still closed as I listen in on their conversation.

“She needs to come home now. The police have enough to go after the Montevallo’s and once she’s back home, we know she’ll be safe. She can finish healing from her true home.”

“I know. But what about her life there? We just ripped her from it.”

“That wasn’t supposed to be her real life, Elizabeth. Piper Davis is no longer a person. Our baby is coming home and I don’t want to hear anything more about it.” My father snaps at my mom, effectively ending the conversation. I hear my phone ring from somewhere in the plane, but I’m too weak to search for it. It stops and then starts again, ending a lot sooner than before.

“Who was it?” I ask groggily, knowing the answer, but still curious.

“Doesn’t matter. You’re on your way home, darling,” my mother comes to sit down next to me in the bed at the back of our private jet.

“The doctors let me leave?”

“Well, yes and no. But your father was adamant. The doctor insisted he speak to Dr. Mino before you could leave.” Dr. Mino is our family doctor back home and is familiar with all of our medical histories. “As long as he follows the protocol they set forth for your recovery, you should be fine. This flight was going to the be the worst part, which is why you’re heavily drugged up right now,” my mother says, brushing my hair from my face.

“Cash… I need to speak to him,” I mumble as the drugs pull me under again.

“You need to rest right now,” she whispers and then everything fades to black again.

By the time I regain consciousness, I wake up in my bed in my old room at my parent’s house. The pale pink walls still hold all of my posters from my teenage years, my pictures from school and family vacations, and all of my academic awards that meant something to me. The light grey bedding I picked out myself is tucked in snuggly around me, cocooning me in the mattress so I can barely move.

I manage to turn my head to the side, noticing a bell on the nightstand next to me, so I reach for it after I free my arms, mindful of my wound. A few swishes of the metal, and the tiny ring alerts someone outside of my door.

“You’re awake.” Millie, our house keeper comes into the room, a beaming smile on her face.

“Yes. Where’s my mother?”

“She’s on the back patio. I’ll go get her. Do you need anything?”

“Just some water would be great, thanks,” I croak out, my voice hoarse from the lack of moisture. She reaches for a cup on my nightstand with a straw, positioning it at my mouth so I can drink. I take in water like I just did a trek through the Sahara, and then ask for more.

She leaves to refill my cup, and then returns with my mother in tow.

“Pfeiffer, how are you feeling, darling?” My mother asks, sitting next to me in the bed and feeling my forehead with the back of her hand as Millie sits down the glass of water and then turns to leave. “Seems your temperature returned to normal finally.”

“Did I spike a fever?” I ask, knowing that can be dangerous.

“Yes. It seems the travelling was a bit too much. So Dr. Mino sedated you for a few days and gave you a hefty dose of antibiotics to allow your body to rest. You seem much better.” She smiles as Millie drops the cup off and then leaves. I want to tell her that I knew that travelling that soon after surgery was not a good idea, but I leave it be.

“Where is Dad?”

“He’s actually meeting with the lawyers right now. Theo Montevallo was arrested last night.” Her smile says she happy about it, but her eyes show her fear.

“Really?”

“Yes. They are putting together their case as we speak.”

I’m not going to deny the wave of relief that washes over me, knowing I can finally breathe easily. Mason lost his life unfortunately, a reality I still haven’t wrapped my mind around, but I’m back home with my family, a place I didn’t know if I’d ever see again.

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