Chapter Forty: Emma

This chapter is dedicated to xXStarrySkiesXx because of the HILARIOUS banner she made me. I absolutely LOVE it.

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Kidnap My Heart

Chapter 40: Emma

Sitting back on my cushioned hospital bed, I stared down at my phone, fighting a smile. I didn’t want Jack to start asking me what I was smiling at—he was as bad as my teachers— but it was hard to stop myself from showing any emotion when I was talking to Will, even if it was through the phone.

Will had sent me another message after he opened my present, and it was a sweet one: You’re hands down the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I don’t think Eric’s gonna be able to top your present. I need to see you.

I instinctively shook my head as I typed. I loved that he wanted to see me, but it just wasn’t a good idea. I didn’t want him to run into any trouble. There’s too much security. My bodyguard will pummel you a pulp if you try to get in.

His reply made me sigh in frustration: I don’t care. Maybe they’ll give me the room next to yours to nurse my injuries then.

I sent him a few more text messages in an attempt to dissuade him from showing up, but it was no use. He didn’t respond after that. I assumed he’d already left the house and was on his way. He was going to get himself in trouble at this rate. Why couldn’t he just listen to reason once in a while?

“Something wrong, Em?” Jack asked, raising both eyebrows at me. He was leaning against the closed door, staring a hole into my head.

“Hmm?” I looked up, a tinge of color filling my cheeks. So much for not showing any emotion. “Nothing’s wrong.”

He walked over and sat down in the chair by my bed. He hadn’t left once since I had arrived at the hospital. My parents had visited me the day before, as soon as I’d arrived, and earlier that morning before heading to work.

After my dad was forcefully persuaded by Jack to head to work, he had stressed the importance of security at a time like this. If it were up to my parents, they—surprisingly—would have stayed with me, but after everyone that surrounded us assured them that I would be under surveillance until I was released, they stood down and went to work. At least they were making an effort.

“I found something in one of your drawers yesterday,” Jack said. He had his eyes solely focused on me, and the sensation made me look over at him in alarm. Why had he been in my drawers?

My eyes were glued to his blue-gray eyes as I spoke. “What?”

He reached into his tailored black suit’s pocket and pulled out my photo strip. My eyes finally left his as I stared at the photo strip in shock and outright horror. He had no right. “It’s from last year, but I don’t remember seeing you with this boy last year. In fact, I don’t remember ever seeing you with this boy. And I know you would never be caught dead in whatever it is that you’re wearing in these photos.”

I should’ve known Jack would know better. I should’ve known he would see right through the fake date I’d written on the back. This would have easily fooled my parents—they didn’t know half of the things I did—but not Jack. Not the man who’d been glued to my hip since I was twelve.

“What are you not telling me?” Jack asked in a quiet voice.

I shook my head, mostly to calm myself down. Blowing up at him for infringing on my privacy wouldn’t help. If he’d searched through them yesterday, I was guessing he was gathering up things for the “survival basket” he’d brought me since I had to spend the night here. “There are some things you’re better off not knowing,” I said.

“You can trust me.” The intensity of Jack’s gaze made me look over again. I could feel his eyes digging into the side of my skull, and it wasn’t something I could ignore. “You know you can. I just want what’s best for you. You’re like the daughter I never had, Em, and I failed you. I failed you twice. I can’t do it again.”

“He’s what’s best for me, Jack,” I said immediately. I hadn’t even realized I’d voiced the words that popped into my head until they were out there.

I didn’t want to tell him about it because I knew it seemed crazy. I knew it wouldn’t make sense to anyone else, and it would probably land me in the psychiatric ward of the hospital. But to me, it wasn’t crazy. To me, it was real. Now that I was out of that house, I could see things clearly. Will’s insistence on showing up at the hospital just went to show how real this was. Will was serious about me. It had crossed my mind before that maybe he’d just been happy he’d won me over like he’d sworn he would, but it wasn’t that. Everything he did served as proof of his feelings—even the look of betrayal and hurt and anger in his eyes when he’d thought I was lying to him about all of this.

Jack’s face remained impassive. “How are you so sure? How can I be sure?”

“You know all of those romance movies I like to watch? The ones you end up having to watch with me because you’re my bodyguard?”

Jack simply nodded, wordlessly urging me to continue.

“That’s what this is,” I said. “That’s what he makes me feel.”

He looked down at the photo strip again. I couldn’t detect any emotion on his face, and it made me wary. “He doesn’t have money.”

“No, he doesn’t.” There was no point in saying he did. It was obvious. “But I don’t care. What he has is better.”

“I can agree with that.” When he noticed the surprised look on my face, he elaborated. “He has you.”

A small smile crossed my lips, but no words came out. I was at a loss.

“It’s like you said.” Jack reached over and handed me the photo strip. “There are some things I’m better off not knowing.”

My mouth dropped open.

He went on, a twinkle in his eyes. “But if you think I’m not going to tear this boy apart until I know exactly who he is, what his plans are, what his intentions are, and everything else there is to know about him, you are sadly mistaken. He’ll want to run home crying when I’m done with him.”

I smiled. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

***

Jack’s interrogation of Will started much sooner than he had expected. Me, not so much. Will’s text messages had left the impression that he was going to show up at the hospital to visit me, which was exactly what he did. I wasn’t sure how he got past the horde of security guards downstairs—actually, they were everywhere, basically—but he somehow made it to the last obstacle: Jack. I was just glad he hadn’t run into any police officers down there.

The police had questioned me the day before, but it was nowhere near as overwhelming as the first time they had questioned me. They had Charles, and they were looking for a faceless, nameless, middle-aged guy of average height who had left the country. I wasn’t going to be of much help anymore.

When the door opened and Will walked through the doorway, my eyes immediately lit up and I sat up straighter. “Will.”

He smiled in relief upon seeing me, but the relief vanished when Jack took three giant steps and stood in front of him. Will was tall, but Jack was taller. Jack was six-foot-six, and I was guessing Will was around six-foot-one. I would have to measure them sometime to see, but it was still a notable difference.

Jack’s eyes narrowed, and Will gulped loudly.  “What’s your name?” Jack barked.

“Uh, Will,” Will said. “She just said it.” He quickly pointed at me.

Jack’s eyes narrowed even further until they were just two tiny slits. “Last name?”

“Hayes. William Hayes.”

By the way he said it, I was sure he was imagining himself as James Bond. He needed to just stop.

“Did you come up with that on the spot?” Jack asked.

Will’s face paled. “It was my mom’s maiden name.”

“Was?” Jack raised an eyebrow.

It was like a ghost passed over Will’s face. He looked like he was about to break into a sweat. “She died when I was twelve.”

Jack’s face lost a bit of its determined hardness. My heart constricted in my chest. He’d told me about his mother one night, and I knew she had passed away, but I also knew Will didn’t like talking about it, especially not with someone he didn’t know and scared the shit out of him.

“How old are you now?” Jack asked.

“Twenty-two. It’s my birthday today.” Will paused. “Please don’t make me shit my pants or cry on my birthday.”

I could tell Jack was fighting an amused expression. He did the same thing when he talked to me. “Don’t you think you’re a little old for Em?”

“Age is just a number. It could be worse. I could be Hugh Hefner old. Not that I’m comparing Rage to a Playboy Bunny. That would be disrespectful. Not that I’m saying she couldn’t be a Playboy Bunny if she wanted, because she could. She’s gorgeous.  Not that I’m saying she would—you know what? I’m just gonna stop talking.”

I placed a hand over my mouth to stifle my laughter. This was going well. If this was how he handled meeting my bodyguard, I didn’t even want to know how things were going to go when I introduced him to my parents.

Oh, my God, they were going to hate him. He was going to have to do some serious sweet talking—not nervous rambling—to get on their good side.

“Did you just call her Rage?” Jack asked disbelievingly.

An easy grin replaced Will’s nervous expression. “Yeah, it’s my nickname for her.”

“And she lets you call her this?” Jack shook his head.

“I let her call me Squilliam, so we’re even,” Will said.

My lips quirked up as Jack fought a wave of chuckles and failed. “Fair enough. I can’t say I’m surprised. Tell you what, kid. I’ll cut you a break today since it’s your birthday. Is it actually his birthday, Em?”

I nodded, still covering my mouth with my hand to stifle my own laughter.

“But don’t think you’re off the hook.” Jack stood up straighter, and Will instinctively puffed out his chest in response. The testosterone in the room was already suffocating me. I was so done. “I’m saving this conversation for a day when Em isn’t around, and I’m running a background check. And if you think I’m leaving the room, you’re wrong. Now arms out where I can see them.”

“You don’t seriously think I’m carrying a weapon,” Will said in disbelief.

“Arms out,” Jack barked.

“Yes, sir,” Will explained, throwing his arms out. He stood there and let Jack pat him down with an annoyed expression and was, of course, cleared.

“You’re good,” Jack said, taking a step back.

“Can you give us some privacy?” I asked him, speaking for the first time since I said Will’s name when he entered the room.

“I already said I’m not leaving the room.” Jack crossed his arms over his chest.

“Can you turn around and go stand in the corner or something?” I asked. When he opened his mouth to protest, I added, “Please? Just for a little.”

After what felt like forever, he lost the tension in his muscles and nodded. “Five minutes at most.”

“Okay,” I agreed. Five minutes was better than zero minutes.

Will visibly relaxed, as well, and walked over to my hospital bed, bringing me into his arms when he reached me. I buried my face in his shoulder and inhaled, reveling in the familiar smell. He smelled like clean laundry and his usual cologne. “I told you coming was a bad idea,” I said.

“I needed to see you,” he said, his shoulders moving against my face as he shrugged. Good thing my eyes were closed or he might have poked me in the eye.

“Yeah, and look where that got you,” I said.

“What, that?” he asked with a chuckle. “Are you kidding? I love getting interrogated by huge, intimidating bodyguards. It’s my favorite pastime.”

“You’re a dork.” I rolled my eyes.

“Do you think I passed his test?” he asked in a low voice.

“You passed stage one. Don’t worry. He likes you. He doesn’t want to, but he likes you. You remind him of me. You’ll survive.”

“I told you we had more in common than you wanted to admit,” he said. I could practically hear the smug smile in his voice.

“You said that ages ago,” I pointed out.

“Still.” His voice went even quieter. “How much does he know, Rage?”

I pulled back and shrugged. “He doesn’t want to know what happened. He said there are some things he’s better off not knowing.”

“So we’re…” He trailed off, uncertainty evident in his eyes.

“We’re good.” I smiled, and he grinned and leaned down to kiss me. The feel of his lips on mine made a shiver run down my spine. I loved Grey’s Anatomy, sure, but this was a much better way to spend my hospital visit.

“Did you like the present?” I asked.

He smiled against my mouth. “I loved the present. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, Rage. It was the best present I’ve ever gotten.”

“I did what I could under the circumstances,” I said when he pulled back a little.

“The best things can’t be bought.”

I kissed him again, just once, slowly. “No, they can’t.”

Jack cleared his throat loudly, interrupting us.

“It hasn’t even been five minutes,” I exclaimed. I stuck my head to the side, past Will’s left shoulder, and glared at Jack.

“Just make it quick,” Jack said. “This isn’t the best place for you two to talk.”

Translation: I don’t want to listen to you two make out.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s a decent place to talk. There are no cameras in individual rooms. We’ll talk. That’s it.”

“Then talk,” he said. “But remember I have ears like a hawk.”

I turned back to Will with a shake of my head. It was definitely the kissing Jack had a problem with. “Okay… We have a lot to talk about, but I think there’s one thing that’s been left unsaid that kind of stands out.”

“And what is that, exactly?” Will asked.

“Us. You know I love you, but you’re not sure it’ll be enough. Are you?”

He hesitated before answering. “Should I be sure? I want to be sure. I know you want to be with me, but when it comes down to it… I’m still a cat onesie.”

“I don’t care about money, Will,” I said. I reached for his hand and intertwined our fingers, squeezing his hand tightly. “I don’t care if there’s someone out there with more money than you. My parents could find me a seemingly perfect guy, and it still wouldn’t matter because there would be one thing that would immediately stop him from being flawless.”

His face softened. “And what’s that one thing?”

“He wouldn’t be you.”

A smile lit up his face and then transformed into a smirk. “Don’t forget what we talked about. The hot and wild sex is an important—”

I smacked him in the stomach and laughed. “Shut up. My bodyguard is standing over there. And now he’s walking over here.”

Will turned around to face Jack. We’d been so preoccupied with our own conversation that we didn’t even realize Jack had gotten a phone call until he had already hung up and told us about it. “That was your dad. He and your mom are on their way over here. They’re five minutes away at most, depending on traffic.”

Uh-oh. They couldn’t come up here and see Will. Not yet. How was I supposed to explain why he was here? I was drawing a complete blank. Besides, I had to warm them up to the idea of Will beforehand. I didn’t want them to make any snooty comments or put him down because he didn’t have money, especially not in front of him. He didn’t have to see that.

“You have to go, Will,” I breathed, squeezing his hand again.

“What happened to that whole speech you just gave me?” he asked disbelievingly. “The second you hear your parents are coming, you freeze up.”

“I need time to think about what I’m going to tell them,” I said. “We need a story. My parents aren’t Jack. They’ll want to know why you’re here.”

He just shook his head and muttered under his breath.

“I meant what I said, Will.”

“I just don’t know what to make of you. You say one thing, but then you turn around and do something else. I don’t understand how your mind works.”

“I’m trying to protect you,” I exclaimed. “We’re still treading on dangerous territory. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“I can watch out for myself,” he said.

“You showed up at my hospital room even though I told you security was tight. You’re as reckless as I am.” I let out a loud breath. “Today isn’t the day to do this, Will. I don’t even know what I’d say.”

“Then when? I don’t want this to be a secret.”

“It’s like a forbidden Romeo and Juliet sort of thing right now. It’s romantic,” I tried. I had a feeling he was going to turn it around and ruin it.

His tone was incredulous. “So now we both die at the end of our story?”

I almost slammed my hand against my forehead. I knew him too well… “Okay, then we’re not like any other story. We’re our own story. When this dies down, I’ll show you that I’m in this for the long run, too. I’ll prove I’ve chosen the onesie.”

“Because this hasn’t proven enough,” he said.

I shook my head. “This hasn’t proven anything. Trust me, Will. I’ll prove it to you. I’m extremely convincing.”

He cracked a smile. “I know you are.” He exhaled loudly. “You’re lucky I’m crazy about you. I know I won’t be the one who walks away.”

“Neither will I.” I placed my other hand over his. “Come here.”

Jack dramatically sighed and out the corner of my eye, I saw him walk away.

Will glanced to the side in amusement before coming closer again and leaning down to kiss me again. His lips were soft and warm and tasted like minty gum; I wanted to memorize the feel and taste of them.

“Are you still mad?” I mumbled.

“Yes,” he said, his mouth never leaving mine.

“Still love me?”

I felt his lips form a smile. “Yes.”

I knew the answer to that question; I just liked hearing it. “I can live with that, then. Two weeks. Just give me two weeks.”

I knew exactly what I was going to do. I was going to prove that I was proudly choosing the cat onesie—literally. Literally choosing the cat onesie. This was going to be... interesting.

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A/N: Sorry I didn't update earlier! I was actually on Spring Break, but I was busy all weekend and I got a free trial of Netflix on Tuesday. Netflix has 8 seasons of Bones. Let's just say I haven't been very productive this week.

But I finally tore myself away long enough to write this and ta-da!

Anyways, this isn't the last chapter. There's one more left, and then probably an epilogue.

I repeat (although I'm sure someone will still ask): THIS IS NOT THE END. One more chapter!

Hope you guys liked this one! The last one will be up within the week.