Stoddard aimed his pistol at Chuck's chest. He tugged Erikka behind him and widened his stance to protect her from any bullets. All his concentration centered on the finger curled around the trigger, putting Erikka in danger.

"Tony, put the gun away, it's okay." Erikka pulled on Chuck's vest. "This is Chuck, who I was telling you about."

Stoddard looked away. Chuck followed his gaze and found a woman standing at the edge of the room cupping her elbows and biting her lower lip. He recognized the brown hair, lighter than Erikka's, the straight nose, and serious expression. The woman was a few inches taller than Erikka, but definitely her sister, Rachel.

Rachel nodded at Stoddard, who tucked the gun in the back of his jeans. Erikka grabbed Chuck's hand and pulled. He braced, refusing to move from his spot or let Erikka walk between him and Stoddard's pistol.

"It's okay. Trust me." Erikka raised his hand and kissed his knuckles. He continued looking at Stoddard, keeping his eye on the man who'd kidnapped not only Rachel but Erikka, too.

"He needs to put down his weapon before I make him," said Chuck, facing off with Stoddard.

The man slowly set the pistol on the end table and stepped away. Chuck gritted his teeth. He had to get both women out of the house.

"You have to meet my sister." Erikka squeezed his hand.

He ignored Rachel and faced Stoddard. Something wasn't right. The man appeared embarrassed for having pulled a weapon. Stoddard fidgeted as if unsure of him.

"Rachel, come here. This is Chuck. He's a member of Notus Motorcycle Club, who I've been telling you has been trying to find you," said Erikka.

"Erikka?" Chuck said softly. "You need to tell me what the fuck is going on here."

"Rachel came to the house—"

"Love, tell me if Stoddard kidnapped you." His fingers itched to reach down and take his spare pistol out of his ankle holster.

"No. That's what I'm telling you. Rachel wasn't kidnapped." Erikka inhaled deeply. "I found out she was helping Tony."

"Honest, man." Tony held up his palms toward Chuck. "Today is the first I've heard that I'm wanted for kidnapping Rachel, and I sure in the hell haven't kidnapped Erikka. I have no beef with you."

"Then, who do you have a beef with?" Chuck said, between his gritted teeth.

"There are men after me," said Tony. "I ran, and Rachel came with me."

"I did. I'm not ashamed of helping you. All of the news we're just now hearing is not what happened. I left a note for Erikka on her desk at work to explain I was going to be gone until I could prove that Tony was innocent," said Rachel.

"I didn't get a note." Erikka stepped in front of Chuck. "Can we all just take a deep breath, so we can get everything sorted out and help Tony. Rachel has explained everything to me, and it makes sense once you hear what she has to say."

"Stoddard can explain it to the police." Chuck took three steps toward Stoddard, pulled back his arm, and decked him, laying him out on the floor. He shook the pain out of his fist, rolled Stoddard over, and grabbed his pistol. Patting him down to make sure there were no weapons, he said, "Someone better start explaining."

"Stop. Don't hurt him." Rachel ran across the room and kneeled on the floor beside the fallen man. "You didn't have to hit him. He's not going to run anymore."

Chuck reached into his vest pocket and grabbed his phone.

"Wait." Erikka took his phone out of his hand. "Tony's been hiding and running trying to keep ahead of Mr. Markham's men. Markham set him up and framed him for stealing the money. H-He has proof that Markham took the money as part of using the funds that he needed to run the illegal gambling. Tony said the money usually showed up the next morning, in his deposit for the blackjack table, once Markham gathered the winnings from the underground games. Because Tony ran the blackjack table and had access to the paperwork that went with the deposits each dealer handed into the casino, he picked up on the discrepancies. Before he could tell the casino, Markham threatened to kill his mother and make sure Tony didn't make it out alive in prison for taking the fall. Then, the police walked in and arrested him."

"That doesn't explain how he ended up with Rachel," said Chuck, grasping at all the holes in the story.

"I was dating Tony." Rachel sighed, glancing at her sister. "I'm sorry I never told you. It was my fault for keeping it a secret. Since Tony worked at night, the only time we were able to see each other was during the day when I was working at Bail Bonds." She turned to Chuck. "I'm the one who makes the runs to the courthouse and visits the non-violent clients at home. Tony would go around with me so we could be together. I thought I had too good of a thing and didn't want to jinx our relationship because I was falling in love. I wanted to keep our relationship private because frankly, I didn't want to take the chance of Erikka telling me he couldn't be with me while I worked."

"You could've told me when we posted Tony's bond after his arrest," said Erikka.

"Really? Would you have introduced your boyfriend to me while he was being charged for stealing money?" Rachel raised her brows. "I knew, going by what Tony told me, that once he went to court with the proof, they'd dismiss his charges once he could prove that he was innocent."

"Oh, Rachel." Erikka shook her head. "You have no idea the mess you created."

"I know, now, but that day when we went to his sentencing, Mr. Markham showed up at the courthouse to make sure Tony pleaded guilty and took the fall for the crime. He took him into the restroom and Tony had to hand over the paperwork he'd brought with him to prove his innocence. When he walked out, he was devastated. There wasn't enough time to collect the other copy, which he secured in case Markham caught him—which he did. It was my decision to slip out of the courthouse through the employees-only door. We were going to go back to my house and call the police, tell them what we knew while trying to get protection for Tony. There was only one day between his arrest and his sentencing date. Markham had his men watching Tony twenty-four/seven."

"Why didn't you follow through with that plan?" asked Chuck.

"When we arrived at my house, it had been broken into. Tony was scared Markham's men would hurt me if he were sent to jail until everything got cleared up. We took the money I'd saved for Italy and flew to Cabo San Lucas to try and solve all this without Tony going to prison and Markham's men pressuring us. He was going to have the proof mailed to him in Cabo but thought better of it once we started listing everything that was happening. His mom couldn't defend herself against Markham." Rachel took a big breath.

"You never thought to call me?" asked Erikka. "I could've helped. It's what we do, Rachel."

"We didn't want to involve anyone. At that point, Tony was a wanted man for missing his court date." Rachel heaved a sigh. "When we decided to come back to St. John's, I tried to call you from the airport in Cabo. The call wouldn't go through."

"It went through..." Erikka rubbed her forehead. "You didn't say anything."

"God, Erikka. I'm so sorry. We had no way of finding out what was happening back here though. We've been hiding in some apartments that are managed by one of Tony's friends." Rachel turned to Chuck. "We've been trying every day to get to Tony's mother's house, where he has the copies of the books belonging to the casino, and we can't. Markham has his men all over the neighborhood."

"That's when she put the rocks in the mailbox," added Erikka. "She thought she was just letting me know she was back and still helping Tony...thinking I knew what she was up to."

Rachel kissed Tony's lips and rubbed his cheek as he began to stir back into consciousness on the floor. "I can't believe you knocked him out after everything he's been through."

"Believe it," muttered Chuck, glaring at the two sisters. "Did you not think of the fucked-up mess you left Erikka? She believed you had been abducted, and because of how long you were gone, that in her head, she believed you were dead."

Rachel fell back on her ass and tears filled her eyes. "No, because I thought she got the note I left for her telling her who I was with and where we'd gone. I put it on her desk the night we left for Cabo."

"Why weren't you picked up on the security camera?" he asked.

"Because I came through the front door and I know where to walk so nobody could see Tony, who was with me," snapped Rachel. "I didn't plan on hurting Erikka or making her think I was kidnapped. My God, what kind of sister do you think I am?"

"You don't want to know," said Chuck holding out his hand to Erikka. "Give me my phone."

"Listen, Chuck. Rachel had no idea Mr. Markham's men broke into the Bail Bonds' building the same night she left a note. They could've taken the note, or I could've tossed it thinking it was trash. It wasn't until Rachel came to me just a little bit ago that I could tell her that Mr. Markham was arrested for a different crime and was in jail, and it's safe for Tony to seek the police's help without any fear of Markham or his men killing him. That's better news than they were hoping for. She came to me, because they'd run out of ideas on how to prove his innocence, and wanted my help in contacting the police privately to get protection so he could tell his story. We need to help them now."

"She should've done that the minute she landed, or better yet, not gone on the damn plane to start with." Chuck's anger wasn't dissipating. "Instead, she had Markham harass you."

"What? He hurt you?" said Rachel.

Erikka waved her hand. "I'm fine."

Tony groaned and sat up, rubbing his jaw. "Fuck, man."

Erikka stepped closer to Chuck and whispered, "He is going to call the police. He promised me. But, he wanted me to keep Rachel safe. He knew he couldn't keep hiding, and now that they know Mr. Markham can't hurt anyone he loves, he wants to turn himself in. I'm just glad that Rachel finally contacted me so I could tell her that Tony was also wanted for kidnapping her. She wants to clear up the misunderstanding with the police and let them know she voluntarily went with him."

"They're going to arrest her." He lowered his voice. "This is bigger than a misunderstanding."

"I know, and I think it's sinking into Rachel about what she's done. But, she trusts Tony, and he says he can prove that he's innocent and what he knows will bring more charges down on Markham." Erikka shivered. "I knew that man was dangerous but hearing what he's capable of makes me glad he didn't do more to me."

A low rumble shook the house. He backed Erikka into the corner of the room, taking his phone out of her hand. "In a few seconds, Notus is going to burst through that door with their pistols raised, thinking there's trouble in here because my bike is parked outside. Stay put."

When she obeyed, he turned around. "Rachel, come stand by your sister."

"I'm not leaving To—"

"Now." He pointed, done playing the listener. "Things are going to move fast. I want you both on that side of the room until the police get here."

Rachel looked at Tony, who nodded and told her to go. She kissed him and then joined Erikka, glaring at Chuck the entire time. He'd seen that look before on her sister. It failed to move him.

He found the contact number for Lieutenant Gomez and connected the call. Unable to make heads or tails of the different story told to him, he'd let the police sort it out.

Rachel and Stoddard could straighten their own life out. Erikka's sister would be lucky if she weren't thrown in jail for aiding and abetting a felon. While the police took care of them, he planned to take Erikka home and put their world back together again.

"Chuck?" Erikka touched his back. "I'm going to the police station with Rachel."

He reached out and held on to her arm, finished his phone call, and turned his attention back to Erikka. "The hell you are."

She scoffed. "You can't keep me from helping my sister."

"Watch me," he said.

"Why are you acting like that? You knew I would do anything to get my sister back and she's here now. I will help her." She lowered her voice. "She could be in a lot of trouble, and I will be there to bail her out until we can get this all straightened. I know you don't know her, but I believe her when she says Tony is innocent. You, yourself, remarked about how it was his first crime and things weren't adding up when we were trying to figure out where and how to search for her."

"I thought I'd lost you today." He leaned closer to her face and whispered, "I won't allow you near anyone who brings danger to your life. Far as I'm concerned, Stoddard needs to be hung for bringing Markham near you."

"But, —"

"Not another word," he said.

The door banged open. Chuck stepped in front of Erikka and put his hand up. "Don't shoot him. He never kidnapped Rachel...or Erikka." He glanced behind him, hoping he'd made his point with Erikka, and then turned around to Wayne, Glen, and Thad. "There's been a misunderstanding."

Sirens came from outside. He motioned for the Notus members to step back. The police were here, and he wanted nothing more to do with Tony Stoddard and Rachel Levenson.