THOUGH THE PEOPLE on the tarmac were waiting, we all sat transfixed, reading the text message from Oren.

 

“LANDED. SHE HAD A DIFFICULT TIME IN FLIGHT. I’LL EXPLAIN LATER, BUT FOR NOW SHE’S STABLE AND EN ROUTE.”

 

Dread filled my stomach as Chelsea reached for my trembling hand. “What does it say?”

I looked to Nox who’d been reading the screen with me.

“It says she’s stable,” he said.

“Your dad said she had a difficult time during the flight,” I refuted. “What does that mean?”

“She’s stable,” Isaac repeated.

“Is she with someone, like, is there a doctor?”

“Yes, princess,” Nox said, kissing my cheek. “She has better care than she had at Magnolia Woods.”

I took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the positive. I wanted to ask more, but Nox was no longer looking at me, or the phone. His attention had moved to the scene outside the window.

I turned that way too, noticing a police officer walking toward the SUV.

“Sir,” Isaac asked, “do you want me to—”

“No,” Nox interrupted, opening the door. He tilted his head toward his phone still in my grasp. “Keep that in case my dad texts again.”

I nodded. The loss of his warm leg against mine combined with the whoosh of cool evening air brought on a shiver. I scooted toward him.

He reached for my knee. “No. Stay in here until we get you.”

“But…”

“Princess, I love you. Now is not the time to argue.”

It wasn’t Nox’s tone or even his words. It was the determination in his light blue eyes that kept me silent. In this frenzied scenario, he was telling me to trust him. Though his demand was similar to the ones Alton had made, telling me not to fight his proclamations, Nox’s intent was completely different.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded and reached for his hand. “I love you too. Please don’t get arrested.”

“I don’t intend to.” With that, he and Isaac stepped from the SUV and closed the doors.

I leaned my head back against the seat and took in the scene. Inside the car, Clayton stayed at the ready, still in the driver’s seat with the engine running. Chelsea squeezed my hand. For a few moments, we all sat mute, watching through the windows as the silent movie played out in front of us.

Beyond the tinted glass, blue lights continued to swirl, giving the tarmac a classic colorless hue. In this scene, the police cars were merely props as Nox and Isaac approached the officer. With Nox’s suit coat missing, his white shirt glowed with the lights of the cruisers.

Their heads moved as if they were speaking, yet we couldn’t hear their words. My eyes widened as Isaac pulled back his jacket and revealed his holstered gun. I expected him to hand it to the policeman or for the policeman to take it. Neither occurred. I looked toward the floorboard, wondering what Nox had done with the gun he’d been holding.

“What do you think is happening?” Chelsea whispered.

I shook my head. “I can’t even guess.”

“What if they ask us about Melissa?”

I shrugged. “I’ll be honest. You should too.”

“Alex, I’ve already lied to them. I told them that Bryce and I were a couple when we weren’t.”

My stomach churned. “If I were your attorney, I’d advise you to be honest now. This isn’t just a missing person. Chels, the news broadcast said they found a body.”

“Can I… will I… get in trouble?”

One semester of law school hardly made me the best one to give advice. “I think you should talk to a real attorney before you say much more.” I looked her in her hazel eyes. “I’m so sorry you’re messed up in this.”

“I know he’s capable…” Her voice was low, barely a whisper.

Letting go of her hand, I wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

“I-I,” she began, her voice cracking. “I-I just want to leave.”

“Neither one of you is going back.”

Both of our faces—Chelsea’s and mine—popped up as the two of us stared toward the front seat. Clayton’s gaze met mine in the rearview mirror.

“Is that why you haven’t turned off the car?” I asked.

“Ma’am, I have my orders.”

For a moment I wondered who’d given Clayton his orders, and then, I didn’t care. In the last two hours Nox and his team had done everything I’d needed. My momma was stable, though I didn’t know what had happened. She was out of Magnolia Woods and in New York with a doctor and Oren Demetri—another connection that was still a mystery. Chelsea and I were away from Bryce and hopefully on our way to New York.

Outside the vehicle, Deloris was now beside Nox and Isaac as two officers continued to speak with them. There was a third man standing back from the discussion. By his lanyard I believed he too was with the police. He was the only one not in uniform. Every now and then, the officer who seemed to be doing most of the talking would point toward our car.

My breathing hitched as that same officer walked beside Nox and came closer to the SUV. Pushing a button, Clayton lowered the front-seat passenger’s window.

“Alex and Chelsea,” Nox said, coming close to the open window. “This officer needs to speak with you.”

My heart beat faster as I deciphered his unspoken meaning. He’d called me Alex. That meant the policemen knew who I was. I nodded toward Chelsea. “Remember what I said.”

The door opened and we stepped outside. My party dress was little covering for the cooled night breeze. Immediately I wrapped my arms around myself as goose bumps prickled my skin.

“Mrs. Spencer?” the officer asked.

“No, Officer, I’m Miss Collins, Alexandria Collins.”

Under the tall tarmac lights, he eyed me up and down. “You appear to be dressed for a wedding.”

“For a party, actually.” My teeth chattered. “I was told you wanted to speak to me. I’m assuming it wasn’t about my attire.”

“No, ma’am. We need to speak to you about your husband.”

“Officer, I’m not married.”

“She’s not—”

“Ma’am,” the officer interrupted both of us as Nox and I spoke simultaneously. “He’s very upset, demanding that you…” He turned toward Chelsea. “…both of you come to the police station.”

It was then that he took a step back and scanned Chelsea. “Ma’am, are you Miss Chelsea Moore?”

“Yes.”

“What happened to you? Did someone harm you?”

“Do you have the authority to stop these two women from leaving Savannah?” Deloris asked.

“Not at this time, but the court can demand they return. Wouldn’t it be easier to stay?”

It would, but I didn’t want to. I turned to Nox. “I want to leave. If I have to come back, I’ll come back.”

“Mrs. Spencer,” the officer said, “we’ll need your contact information.”

I wasn’t willing to argue my name any longer, but unfortunately, I didn’t know my own contact information. I wasn’t sure where we were going and the only phone in my handbag was the one Alton gave me. I didn’t know the number. I turned toward Deloris. “Can you please provide him a way to reach both of us?”

Deloris nodded.

He spoke again. “It wouldn’t take long, if you would reconsider. Your husband has been very insistent.”

“Officer, for the last time, I didn’t marry Edward Spencer. Besides, the last I heard, the last I witnessed, he was being arrested. How can he possibly be making demands of the Savannah-Chatham police?”

“It’s that there is press. Your father—”

I stood taller. “Officer…” I looked to the pin above his badge. “…Michaels, the man you’re referring to is my stepfather, not my father. I’m not married and even if I were, I’m an adult and capable of deciding where I will and won’t go. Right now, since you obviously don’t have the legal ability to retain me, I plan to accompany my friends onto that plane.” I motioned toward the waiting craft. “I appreciate your position, but I am leaving Savannah of my own free will and will voluntarily return when I must.”

Nox moved behind me. “If there isn’t anything else…”

“We’re paying the pilots, and this discussion is costing us by the minute,” Deloris added.

Nox’s hand settled in the small of my back as he led me toward the plane’s steps.

It was as my thin heel touched the second stair that the gentleman with the lanyard who’d stayed back came forward. “Mr. Demetri?”

We both stilled.

“Yes?” Nox replied.

“Sir, Mrs. Spencer—or Miss Collins, whoever you are, ma’am—is right. We cannot stop her or Miss Moore from leaving; however, you may not leave.”

“What?”

“Sir, there has just been a warrant signed by the judge.” He took a step back. “Come down the stairs peacefully.”

“On what grounds?” Deloris asked.

“Mr. Lennox Demetri, you are under arrest.”

“No!” I reached for Nox’s hand and turned toward the police. “For what? He’s innocent.” As I spoke I looked at the hand in my grasp. In the car I’d noticed that Nox’s knuckles were swollen and lacerated. I doubted that it happened with the one punch he’d given Alton, but nevertheless, it could be used as evidence.

“Princess,” Nox said, “go with Deloris. There’s someone who needs you.”

My momma.

The thought tore at my heart. She was stable. That was what the text said. I couldn’t… I wouldn’t make this decision again.

My head moved from side to side as tears filled my eyes. “I need you.” Turning toward the police. “Please, I’m Alexandria Montague Collins. Surely that means something. I’ll personally vouch for this man. He’s innocent of whatever charges my stepfather wants to drum up.”

The man with the lanyard removed the gun from his holster. “Mr. Demetri, step down from the plane.”

Nox pulled me close until our lips touched. The connection created a peaceful stillness within the eye of a hurricane. All around us the perilous winds blew, destroying lives with their vicious lies and betrayal, yet with just the two of us, the world was right. As our lips separated, he said, “Go.”

“No. I won’t leave without you. Not again.”

We both took a step down.

As soon as Nox’s shoes hit the tarmac, the officer who’d been speaking with him earlier came forward with a pair of handcuffs. The pressure in my chest was suffocating. In the course of a little over two hours, I’d watched two of the men in my life be handcuffed and taken away.

“Mr. Demetri,” Officer Michaels began, “you have the right…”

I reached for Nox’s arm. “No! Please!”

It was Deloris who grabbed my hand as the Miranda rights continued. “Alex, come up the stairs now.”

I’d been strong too long. I didn’t want to be strong any longer. My knees buckled and chest heaved. “No!”

All three officers escorted Nox toward one of the waiting cars as Isaac reached for my hands. “Ma’am, I’ll stay here in Savannah with him. We’ll pay the bond and have him in New York before you wake.”

My head continued to shake. I didn’t doubt Isaac or Deloris. I just didn’t want to leave Nox. “I’m a Montague. I should stay. I can help him.”

Isaac spoke softly, “Ma’am, go to your mother.”

“Alex,” Deloris said, “we need to get you out of here. Don’t you see? This is all a ploy to get you to stay.”

I shook my head and swallowed my tears. “But…”

It was then my gaze met Nox’s. As he ducked his head to enter the backseat of one of the cars, we connected again. Though his lips never moved, I heard his plea: “trust me, princess. I’ll come back to you.”

I gave into the pressure. The world lost its tilt. Lost its color. Lost its sound. A sob escaped my throat as I reached for the railing. My bones were no longer rigid. I sank to the stair. The movie we’d watched was over. The blue lights disappeared as the police cars drove away.

“Oh my God. They took him!” My words were barely audible between sobs.

The rest of my party was functioning—moving and talking—as my face fell to my knees.

“Isaac,” Deloris said, “take the SUV. Go.” She took charge, giving orders and typing on her phone. Chelsea was beside me and Clayton was coming closer. Yet my life was incomplete.

“Ma’am,” Isaac asked, kneeling before me. “Do you need help to the plane?”

I reached again for his hand as my tear-covered face met his. “Please stay with him as close as you can. I don’t trust my stepfather. He’s up to something. What charge? Find out. Oh, God, Isaac, please.” I looked at Deloris. “Do you know?”

She pursed her lips. “At this moment, I can’t venture to guess.”

If I didn’t know better, I’d say there was a hint of unusual concern in her voice.

My legs wobbled as I forced myself to stand, to move, to reach the top of the steps. This time I was leading the parade. In seconds Deloris, Clayton, Chelsea, and I were all in the cabin. The luxurious interior meant nothing as I rushed toward a window. Placing the palm of my hand against the glass I searched for the police cars, for my love, for my life, but everything was gone.

“Alex, you need to sit.”

I hadn’t noticed that the door had been shut or that everyone else was seated.

“How?” I asked Deloris. “How can you leave him? You’re supposed to take care of him!”

She shook her head. “I thought they were after you, trying to make you stay. When they arrived, I regretted sending you the news video. Shock would have been your best reaction.” She leaned forward. “I also tried to convince them that you’re not married.” She paused. “You aren’t, are you?”

“No!”

“It didn’t occur to me that the entire scenario was a ploy.”

“A ploy?”

“It was a diversion,” Clayton said, the two of them seated across from Chelsea and me. “They were keeping us here until the warrant for Mr. Demetri was signed.”

I closed my eyes and fell back against the seat. “How does he always win?”

Deloris reached for my knee. “The war isn’t over.”