Authors: Lily Bishop
The sign announced, “Get married tonight.”
“Lindsey, what are you doing?” Ric asked,
his voice tight.
“I want to get married.” She said the
words simply. She felt them in her heart.
“What?”
Clearly, Ric wasn’t paying attention. She
stopped and turned to him. “I love you. I want to get married. Tonight. Right
now.”
“But—”
She had never known Ric to be so hesitant.
“Do you want to marry me?” she asked.
“Yes, but…”
“Then what are we waiting for?” she asked,
taking his arm again.
“How much did you drink?”
“One drink, but I am not drunk. I feel
everything clearer than I have ever felt it. Tonight’s the night.” She
stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed his lips. “Make me an honest woman.
We’ll always remember we got married in Las Vegas on Christmas.”
Ric looked into her eyes for a moment, and
then he took her in his arms. “You’ve made me the happiest man on earth. Let’s
do this.”
They opened the white double doors and
peered inside. Lindsey expected something out of an old Elvis Presley movie.
Instead, the chapel was tasteful and understated. White chairs lined up facing
the front of the chapel and white bunting draped from the windows.
A blonde in her forties greeted them at
the door with a too-white smile and a perfect pageboy haircut.
“I’m Brittany, and you’re lucky—we have a
cancellation this evening. Come on in and we’ll get you started.”
Lindsey doubted that anything had been
scheduled. Apparently, Christmas Day was not a popular day to get married in
Las Vegas. As Brittany went over the available packages. Lindsey squeezed Ric’s
hand, excited.
“I don’t have a dress,” Lindsey murmured.
Ric didn't even have time to answer.
Brittany explained that the deluxe package included a dress, pictures and a
video. She would give them a discount since the groom already wore a suit. They
signed the paperwork and Brittany ushered Lindsey to the changing area.
“How about Mrs. Claus?” Brittany asked,
pulling Lindsey into a changing room full of dresses. She held up a mini-dress
fashioned of white velvet and fake ermine. It came with a matching white Santa
hat.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Lindsey
murmured. She glancing at the other dresses hanging along the wall.
“What about this one?” Brittany held up a
long satin dress with an off-the-shoulder neckline, long sleeves, and a slit up
the side.
“That’s the one,” Lindsey said.
“Bride walking in five,” Brittany spoke
into her headset.
The whole thing seemed surreal to Lindsey.
Brittany picked up a make-up palette and touched up Lindsey’s make-up to make
it a bit more dramatic. She handed her a bouquet and adjusted the dress.
“Beautiful. Now let’s take that first step toward the next day of your life.
Come on, give me a hug. I just love weddings.”
“Wait, wait, I don’t even have a ring for
him—”
“It’s included. Don’t worry about a thing.”
#
Xavier leaned close to Ric. “Are you sure
this is what you want? It seems sudden.” He spoke quietly so no one could hear
his comment.
“I’ve wanted to marry her since I first
talked to her. Did I plan to do it here? No, but a ripened plantain doesn’t go
back to being green.”
Xavier grinned at the old saying from
their childhood. “That is true.”
He fingered the ring box in his pocket,
the one he had carried for over a week. His jeweler on the island had created a
ring that would be uniquely Lindsey. He had reset his mother's diamond and in
his grandmother's antique setting. The classic style would fit Lindsey much
better than his mother's ring would have.
He had intended to ask her on Christmas
Eve, had everything ready, but then the moment didn’t feel right. How did the
time feel right now, Christmas Day in the middle of La Vegas? He didn’t know.
He just knew that it did. He handed the ring box to Xavier, who lifted an
eyebrow, but didn’t say anything else.
Music filled the chapel and the double
doors at the back opened. Lindsey stood still for a long moment, a vision in
white. Pride soared through him. She would be his, and they would build a life
together.
He met her eyes as she walked toward him
and gave him a smile that warmed his heart. When she reached the front, she
passed the bouquet to the woman helping with the wedding.
They clasped hands for the ceremony, and
his eyes never left hers as they spoke their vows. As he said the words, he
felt he was creating his own family. He honored and built on the one he had
lost when his parents died.
The officiant asked for the rings. The
wedding coordinator handed Lindsey a ring for him and he took the rings from
Xavier. As he slid the two rings on her finger, her hand trembled, and he
squeezed gently to reassure her.
“Ricardo Salzana-Toledo, you may kiss your
bride.”
Ric had been waiting for this moment for
months. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, just a taste. He would
have all night for more.
They walked to the back of the small
chapel where they both signed the official marriage license. Lindsey smiled up
at him, but she blinked as if to clear her head.
“Are you okay?” he asked, reaching out to
support her elbow as she tottered.
“Just a little dizzy,” she stammered, but
then her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped against him.
“Could use a little help here,” he called out,
lowering her to a low sofa in the back of the chapel.
“Oh no!” Brittany called out. She pulled a
small bottle out of her pocket and pushed it under Lindsey’s nose. “Smelling
salts. We have a lot of brides who faint. I’m sure she will come right around.”
Lindsey didn’t stir. Ric felt her taking
shallow breaths.
“Something is wrong. This isn’t a faint.
Call an ambulance.”
Ric kept talking to Lindsey, tapping her
cheeks, but she didn’t stir. She seemed to be breathing fine, but she wouldn’t
wake up. Ric felt like the paramedics took forever, but it was only a few
minutes. They started her on oxygen and asked him about possible drug use.
“I don’t think so, but I wasn’t with her
all night,” Ric admitted. “Someone may have put something in her drink.”
They agreed to let Ric ride with them to
the hospital. Xavier said he would follow with a car and would see them there.
Ric remained seated in the back of the ambulance, staying back so the
paramedics could do their work.
At the hospital, a blood test revealed
that she had ingested a new drug with the street name of MAGIK. The hospital
had seen several fatalities lately, and they recommended a stomach pump.
Ric waited until the doctor came out and
informed him that she would be fine. “We think we caught it in time. Another
hour and she may have metabolized too much of the drug. Sometimes these girls
go to sleep and wake up the next morning, not aware of anything that happened.
For some of them, the drug moves too fast through their system and they never
recover.”
“Can I see her?”
“Sure. She’s experiencing some discomfort
from the stomach pump, but she should be fine in a few hours. She just needs
rest.”
“Is it safe for her to sleep?”
“Yes. She will be fine tomorrow. If she
has a headache, get her to push fluids, and she can take over the counter
medicine. No sleeping pills though, even over the counter. I’ll have the nurses
start the release paperwork.”
“Thank you.”
Ric went in to see Lindsey and was
relieved to see her sitting up in bed. He sat down beside the bed. He took her
hand in his and squeezed it.
“Ric, why am I here? What is happening?”
“You had drugs in your system. They had to
pump your stomach. Do you have any idea where those come from?”
“Drugs? No! I don’t remember anything
after the restaurant. Vaughn showed up and we argued. I don’t remember much
after that.”
“From what we can piece together, we
believe he gave you a drug called MAGIK. It lowers inhibitions, like alcohol,
only stronger. Then usually most people sleep it off. Sometimes girls metabolize
it too fast, and if they go to sleep, they never wake up. The doctor thinks we
barely caught it in time with you.”
Ric thought back to Lindsey’s actions in
the parking garage and the wedding chapel. He should have guessed, but her
pupils had looked fine. Her eyes hadn’t looked glazed over or anything. She had
seemed happy, but not particularly drunk. She had struggled to fill out the
form at the wedding chapel, but at the time, he had just thought it was her
excitement.
He felt like he had betrayed her and now
he had a marriage certificate to explain. Were they married or not? He guessed
they could get it annulled since they hadn’t consummated it. What a mess.
Something had told him not to marry her,
to return to the room. When it came down to it, he had been unable to turn away
from his deepest desire. When she asked the third time, he just couldn’t say
no. Now he wished that he had. She would think he had taken advantage of her
and would hate him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I would never
knowingly take drugs.”
“I know. It’s okay. We’ll head home as
soon as you get discharged.”
“My stomach hurts. I don’t remember
anything at all. What happened after the restaurant?”
“I’ll explain everything later,” he said,
fingering her rings in his pocket. They had given them to him when they took
her in for evaluation.
Two hours later,
Lindsey sat by the window in Ric
’s private jet getting ready for take-off.
When Ric and Lindsey went to the hospital, Xavier went back to their room. He
had grabbed their bags, checked them all out of the resort, and picked them up
at the hospital.
Ric sat down in the seat beside her.
Lindsey turned to face him, one question on her mind. “I don’t understand why
Vaughn would drug me. He was a creep, but I didn’t think he would hurt me.”
“He’s working for my cousin Miguel, who
wants what I have. He always has. You’re caught in the middle. That’s all.
Vaughn was working for him, and he gave you that drug so you would be more
compliant. Their plan was to kidnap you to Venezuela.”
Lindsey stared at him, still not sure what
to think. “So Vaughn is a slave trader?”
Ric raised his eyebrow. “I don’t know how
deep Vaughn is involved, but we know he drugged you. Miguel’s plan last summer
was to take you from Calliope. He never intended for you to leave the island.”
“All of that happened this summer?”
“Yes—that’s why I couldn’t let you leave
the tower alone. Xavier heard the rumors that men were supposed to kidnap a
young blonde. I couldn’t risk it.”
“All these months, and you kept this to
yourself?”
“I mentioned it, but you didn’t believe
me, so it was easier to just move on. We thought Vaughn was in jail and Miguel
was in Venezuela, so I wasn’t too worried. I tried to talk you out of this trip,
but short of telling you everything, I didn’t see a way to keep you from
coming.”
“Why did you have to go? You never said.”
“I met with Miguel about one of his
operations. He wants me to allow one of his ships to fuel on my island.”
“For his illegal activities.”
“Yes.”
Lindsey stared at him. “You told him no,
didn’t you?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Ric, what do you mean? You should tell
him no!”
“I’m working with the FBI. We have to
catch him in the act. That’s the only way we can stop him.” When she didn’t say
anything, Ric continued. “Lindsey, Miguel is what he is. I have no
responsibility for his choices. But he doesn’t get to choose you, and I will do
what I have to stop him.”
Lindsey’s mind reeled from everything he
had told her. She stared out the window as the plane prepared for takeoff. She
didn’t know what to think.
He reached out and touched her cheek. “Are
you going to be okay?”
Lindsey sighed, wishing she could turn
back time and make the whole trip go away. “I’m just tired. I’ve traveled almost
the width of the United States twice in 24 hours. I have no idea what time it
is, and my body clock is so messed up, I don’t want to do anything but eat. To
top all of that, I was drugged and had my stomach pumped. Now you tell me that
all of that was because of slave traders. It’s a lot to take in.”
Ric stared at her for a moment, as if he
wanted to say something else, but then he didn’t. “I can’t tell you how sorry I
am. Sleep will help. Once we get underway, take the bedroom and get some sleep.
Just press the call button near the bed if you need anything. I’ll be up front.”
Since it was a luxury jet, she might as
well take him up on the offer. She took a bottle of water from the flight
attendant and went back to the plane’s bedroom. She thought about taking an
antihistamine to help her go to sleep, but Ric said she probably shouldn’t
after the drugs she had earlier.
She pulled back the cover on the bed and
stretched out. What did it say about a man when the sheets on his plane had a
higher thread count than her sheets? The room had a chill to it, and she
happily burrowed under the duvet.
She must have been more tired than she
thought. The hum of the jet engines vibrated through her bones, lulling her to
sleep.
A knock woke Lindsey, and she sat up, still
tired. She had so much on her mind, she had slept fitfully. Ric leaned his head
in the door. “We’re getting ready to land. I thought you’d want to know.”
“I must have slept longer than I thought.
Where are we landing?”
“Clemson. Xavier called ahead and a rental
car is meeting us there.”
“You didn’t have to do that. If you need
to leave and go straight to Calliope, I can take a taxi from the airport. It’s
not that far.”
“We will drive you home. We need to talk.”
Lindsey stared at Ric, more confused than
ever. Those words—
we need to talk—
sounded like a breakup. No one ever
said those words if they had good news. She wanted to give him some flippant
response, but her fear held her back and she couldn’t manage the words.
Instead, she just nodded.
The sun came up as they drove her home
from the airport and they followed her in with the luggage. Lindsey still felt
tired, but not as bad as before the flight.
Xavier left with the pilot for the hotel
room they had booked. After a quick trip to the restroom, Lindsey came out and
found Ric asleep on the bed. He must not have slept at all on the plane. She
pulled off his shoes and managed to roll him over so she could cover him up.
She closed the blinds and climbed into bed beside him. Whatever he had wanted
to talk about could wait until after their nap.
#
Ric woke up hard,
not sure where he was. Then he saw Lindsey
—his wife—and the horror of the
past twenty-four hours came back to him. He still had to tell her. He had
planned to break the news that morning when they reached her house, but he had
fallen asleep.
It was already noon, so he forced himself
to get up. He started a pot of coffee and pulled bacon and eggs out of the
refrigerator. It was the least he could do. Since his first trip, he had
learned that she always kept bacon and eggs on hand. She stumbled in the
kitchen shortly after.
“I smell bacon. Thank you for cooking
breakfast. Or whatever meal it is. I’m starving.”
“I guess having your stomach pumped will
do that to you.”
“Ugh. I don’t even want to think about
that process, but yes, I am hungry.”
Ric poured coffee, fixed their plates and
then sat down across from her.
“Something else happened yesterday. I
didn’t know about the drug when I first found you. When you seemed really happy
and excited, I didn’t know that you were under the drug’s influence.” He paused
so long, Lindsey was beginning to worry. His face looked grave. “I do not know
how to tell you this. After I found you with Vaughn, we walked across the
street to the wedding chapel and got married.”
She stared at him, dazed. She couldn’t
have heard him right. “What?”
“We got married.”
“Legally.”
“Yes, legally. Even though you passed out
afterward, you had already signed the marriage certificate. The officiate
assured me it was legal. She said it might be possible to get it annulled if
you want—if we don’t consummate it—but we are married.” He reached in his
pocket and felt the rings, still there. He laid them on the table, and the
platinum setting gleamed. “These are your rings.”
“But how could we get married if I don’t
remember it?”
“The memory loss is a side effect of the
drug.”
“Oh.” She sipped her coffee and took a
bite of eggs. “I don’t know what to say.”
Ric watched her for a sign that she
understood. She looked confused. “Lindsey, I wanted to marry you, but I was
planning to go the more traditional route. If you want an annulment, I’ll
understand. I know it’s a lot to take in.” He wished he could get some reaction
out of her, but she just sat, staring off into space.
“But if you didn’t want to get married,
why did you agree?”
“I want us to be married. I just don’t
want you to feel like you were tricked into it.”
“None of this makes any sense.”
They finished breakfast in silence. Ric
ate some, but his appetite had diminished.
“I’m going to take a shower. I’ll be back
in a few minutes.”
Ric had never considered himself a coward,
but it took every fiber of his being not to get up and leave while she
showered. Wouldn’t it be easier to walk away, and not hear her say it? He was
watching his life blow up right before his eyes and there wasn’t a damned thing
he could do to stop it.
#
Lindsey got into
the shower with a heavy heart. At least that
’s what she thought she had. How
could everything have gone so wrong? Why on earth did she drink that Long Island
Iced Tea? She guessed Vaughn had added the drug while she was at the buffet.
She never even suspected him of anything like that.
Part of her said Vaughn was determined and
would have found a way to get the drug in her regardless, but she still had made
it easy for him.
How could Ric have married her if she
seemed so out of it? She stood under the hot water and probed her memories, the
ones she had shied away from since they left Vegas. Touching them in her mind
felt like touching a sore spot on her body. She had flinched and drawn away
from them.
Now she faced them full on. Now she
remembered Vaughn and the drink. She remembered him telling her they were going
to find Ric. That made no sense, since the two men couldn’t stand each other.
She remembered stumbling outside the casino and him helping her get her
footing.
She frowned at the memory of Xavier and
another man who looked like him in the parking garage. She remembered another
man that she swore she had seen before. In Miami.
Ric had done nothing wrong. She remembered
he wanted to go back to the room, but she had told him to take her outside. She
had seen the pretty chapel and she wanted to get married. She remembered that
feeling—maybe it was drug induced, maybe it wasn’t—but she didn’t shy away from
it now. She had asked him to marry her. Not once but three times. Lord help
her, the joy that had rushed through her when he had said yes was the happiest
she had ever felt.
What should she do? What could she do?
Laura would never accept this. Tears rolled down her cheeks, mixing with the
water from the shower.
Laura had warned her the last time they
spoke that Ric had family who connected with the mob in Atlanta. Maybe he was
even connected himself, Laura had whispered, urging Lindsey to stay away from
him. Now Lindsey had seen the criminal elements herself, and she couldn’t deny
them. Was Ric in too deep to get out?
She finally left the shower and faced her
future. She didn’t even bother getting dressed. She put on her old terrycloth
robe and wrapped her hair up in a towel. She found Ric sitting in the same spot
at the table, his face flat and empty of emotion.
“I’m really struggling here,” she
whispered, not able to find her voice. She cleared her throat and tried again.
“In the shower I remembered more of what happened. Were there two Xaviers?”
“Xavier’s twin Javier works for my cousin.”
“So that man Christmas Eve…”
“Was Javier. They tried to take you then.
“Why didn’t you explain all of that to me?
I might have been on my guard more.”
He shrugged. “I should have. I didn’t want
you to worry. I asked you not to leave the hotel room.”
“Yes, but you never said why. If you had,
I might have stayed and got room service. It just sounded like you were being
way too overprotective.”
Ric sighed and put his head in his hands.
“I feel horrible. All of this is my fault.”
“No, it’s not your fault. It’s just
something that happened. You didn’t do anything wrong. I remember now. I’m the
one who pushed us to get married. I had to ask three times before you’d agree.
Talk about a blow to a girl’s ego,” she said, laughing it off.
He sighed and looked away. “I should have
just dragged you kicking and screaming up to the room.”
She smiled again at the image. “You tried
that before. That didn’t work either. You ended up coming back to play cards
with me, remember?”
He smiled. “I do remember.”
“Besides, way too many witnesses in Vegas.
You might have got yourself arrested.”
“What am I going to do with you?”
“You’ll have to keep me, I guess,” she
whispered. She couldn’t stand not touching him. She got up and circled the
table, climbing on his lap. “I don’t want an annulment right now, but at the
same time, I’m not ready to be a wife. We don’t even live in the same city.”
“Sweetheart, I don’t want you to be
anything but yourself. I don’t have this preconceived notion of what a wife is,
or what a wife does. And I’m working on getting the resort in Walhalla,
remember?”
Lindsey smiled at that. “I still need some
time to think this through. I love you, but I just don’t see how we can be
together.”