“Max,” she moans breathlessly.
“Stella.” I withdraw and reign kisses over her face. “You need to know this now, babe, you thought I was protective before, it’s going to be worse. You may not leave my sight for a year.”
“Okay.”
A knock at the door pulls my mouth away from her as Laci walks in with Stella’s family. “You’ve had her alone long enough. Move.” She practically pulls me out of the bed. As soon as I’m out of the way, she crawls in with Stella and wraps her in a hug. Jenny and Amy lean into them and join in. The sound of sniffling fills the room as the four women cry.
“Rita Hurst is going to pay. She doesn’t have a chance in hell,” Laci says as she pulls back. “My dad won’t let her get away with this.”
“You don’t have to worry about that, I’m personally going to make her regret the day she decided to fuck with Stella.” I reply.
“Max, you can’t get your hands dirty. Just leave this to the professionals.” She winks at me playfully.
“Is that a challenge?”
“Both of you quit.” Stella laughs. “Will someone go get an update on Pedro?”
“He’s good, babe. He’s got some massive bruising and a few stitches, but you saved him from infection by cleaning his wounds. He had one broken rib and they taped it up. He can go home tonight if he wants.”
“I’d like to see him. Once I’m assured he’s okay, we can go too. I’m ready to get back to Atlanta and leave all this behind.”
“I’ll arrange it.”
“Come on, Stella Bella, let’s get you in the shower and into some decent clothes. That hospital gown is horrendous.” Laci gets up and pulls Stella up with her. “When we’re done, I brought you some clean clothes too.” She points to a bag on the floor.
“Thanks, I’m going to go call my pilot, my family, and talk to Pedro’s doctor again. Be back in ten minutes. Take care of her.” I walk over and kiss her bruised cheek lightly. “My mom will go by the hotel and get our stuff so we can leave straight from here.”
She nods and then gives me a small smile. “Thank you.” Her eyes shine with relief.
I want to respond but the weight of the last few days and fear overwhelms me. My lips touch hers lightly and I lean against her head, hoping she can sense how I feel.
Erica’s face goes pale when Stella and I walk into Edward’s hospital room. She looks between the two of us and gets up slowly.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” Edward says watching his daughter move across the room.
“It’s been a busy few days. We’ve had a lot to do.”
“I’ve heard. Good job with the board. You’ve handled this whole thing well.”
“I’ve had a lot of help.” I motion to Stella standing next to me. “Sullivan PR saved our asses again.”
“Technically, she saved your ass since mine is going to be in jail soon.”
“About that. You’re going to get a deal. I don’t know the details, but obviously the information you provided saved Stella’s life. It could have taken days for us to trace the money to Rita. I talked to my contacts, hopefully they’ll have something for you and your lawyer this week.”
He doesn’t say anything but nods sadly.
“We’ve been home for three days and worked hard to clean this up, but the one question that bothers me the most is why. Why did you do it? Why put the company you and Dad built in such jeopardy? It can’t be the money because you’re a very rich man.”
“At first, it was the money. I was stupid, greedy, and selfish. Then I was in too deep. People expected payoffs. Your dad dying affected me hard. He was my best friend. I let him down and then I was blindsided when you took his position. At that point, it became about proving a point. A young, hotshot, lawyer taking over my company pissed me off. Then the shit with Erica left me with the taste for revenge.
“The night you and Stella came to my house, I saw things clearly. You were in love. You’re a good man and wanted what’s best for Hurst & McCoy. You are so much like your father, it’s remarkable. I vowed that night to turn things around. It took me a few days, but I figured out you knew what I had done. Then when I saw the transfers from Rita, it was time to talk to you. I’m sorry my message got to you too late. When I heard Stella was kidnapped, I knew you needed to know everything.”
“Thank you, Edward. I can’t imagine how hard it was to send Erica to South America. Essentially knowing you were putting your wife in jail. No matter what you’ve done and the lengths you went to hurt Max that showed courage and honor.” Stella reaches out and shocks everyone by hugging him. “My family and I thank you so much for helping to save me and Pedro.”
Erica whimpers in the corner but her face isn’t sad, she’s smiling proudly.
“And thank you, Erica, what you did for us is showed selflessness and bravery.” Stella steps back and looks to me expectantly. I nod. “Max and I have discussed it at length, along with my team. We would like to offer you the JOS modeling contract for the period of six months to launch the new line. There are some heavy stipulations, including that you stay clean, healthy, and drug free. These are non-negotiable. But we think it will help solidify the relationship between Hurst & McCoy in the media. It will also be our way of saying thanks.”