Over the next few weeks, they began the process of trying to put the turmoil of the kidnapping behind them. The kidnappers were arrested, and their testimony led back to the mastermind of the human trafficking ring.
Denise had been planted in the non-profit Kelly was volunteering at to befriend Kelly and get close to her. She had set up Kelly by getting her to go out the back door so her security detail wouldn’t know she was in trouble until it was too late to do anything about her disappearance.
The group had struck previously in two other cities, and the FBI was working with the kidnappers to have their sentences reduced if all ten of the other women who’d already been sold could be located and returned home.
Samantha was working to help police locate and monitor the people who accessed the site where the women were sold in the auctions. A sting was being set up to arrest interested buyers.
HALO security was staying on Kelly until she felt safe being on her own again, and she was going to take some self-defense lessons and see a therapist to help her regain her confidence.
Kelly felt good that she had taken steps to help Jack and the police track her down, but she still felt vulnerable when she left the house, and she knew she couldn’t live her life feeling that way. She needed to take back what those men had taken from her.
She knew that Jack would help her do that.
Jack and Kelly planned to renew their vows in a real wedding ceremony the day before they left on their three-week trip in August.
Jennie and Jessica helped Kelly pick out the wedding dress of her dreams and pale violet bridesmaid dresses for them to wear.
Chad and Andrew would stand with Jack as his groomsmen, and Aunt Mabry would sit behind Jack where his mother and father would have sat. Chad and Jack agreed; it was good to have Mabry—the old Mabry—back among them.
Jack walked into the house and called out for Kelly and Mrs. Poole. He had come home early from work, something he had been doing a little more often since Kelly had come home from the hospital. Mrs. Poole came bustling in from the kitchen.
“Hi, Jack,” she greeted him with her usual cheery smile. “She’s sitting outside on the patio. She seems more relaxed today.”
“Thanks, Mrs. P. What’s for dinner?” he asked as he kissed her cheek.
“Roasted chicken with new potatoes and carrots,” Mrs. Poole answered as she swatted him away and shooed him in the direction of his wife.
Jack watched Kelly for a few minutes as she sat in one of the Adirondack chairs on the patio. There was a book next to her but it sat on the table unopened, and he hoped she wasn’t thinking about the kidnapping. He would do anything to take away those memories and help her heal.
Jack thought back to his life before Kelly and wondered how it was that he hadn’t known how empty his life was. He had no idea until she arrived that he was missing the fullness of a life with the one that he loved. As he crossed to her now, he thought of the completeness he felt with her by his side.
“Hi, beautiful,” he said as he came up behind her. He was happy to see that she didn’t flinch when he spoke. He pressed a kiss to her lips and sat on the edge of her chair and looked into her eyes.
“What are you doing out here?” Jack asked.
She smiled at Jack. “I was just looking at the lawn and thinking that this is a lawn that is calling out for children. I’ll be busy with school for a few years, but I want us to have kids someday,” she said as she looked out over the lawn. “There should be children splashing in the pool and children running down to the beach. There should be a dog and a tree house. And a horseshoe pit. We should have horseshoes.”
He grinned. “Anything you want, sweetheart, as long as I have you. Anything you want,” and he gathered his wife into his arms and swept her away into the fairy-tale land of kisses and passion once again.
Two days later, Jack walked down the hall of Sutton Capital toward the lobby. He was hoping to catch Andrew when he came in so they could grab coffee before their mid-morning finance meeting.
He was still smiling. He hadn’t really stopped over the last couple of days.
Having Kelly in his life for real—knowing that she was there because she loved him as much as he loved her—changed everything in his world.
He still loved his work and valued the company he ran, but all of it meant more to him now. The future meant more to him, knowing he would share it with her.
As he came into the lobby, he saw Debbie, Andrew’s secretary, watching the elevator doors shut. He caught a glimpse of Andrew in the elevator, and something hadn’t looked right.
“Everything okay, Debbie?” he asked.
She turned and the look on her face told him it wasn’t at all okay. “His grandmother took a bad fall. She’s on her way to Yale-New Haven right now.”
Jack bit back a curse. Andrew was close to his grandmother. This was going to be hard for him. “Any news on her condition?”
Debbie’s expression was tight and grim. “It’s possible she broke her hip. That’s about all I know so far.”
“Keep me posted?” At her nod, he continued. “And let him know he can take all the time he needs.”
Jack watched the elevator, helpless to do anything to help his friend.
---The End---
Read Andrew’s story, Reuniting with the Billionaire—the next book in the Sutton Billionaires Series.
If you want to read more of the Sutton friends, you can grab The Sutton Intrigue Series here!