Stone Cold Charade (A Stone Family Novel) (38 page)

He heard a door close upstairs and knew she was
in her room. Moving to the sliding glass door, he stepped out on to the
terrace. Pulling out his cell, he keyed in a number and waited until it was
answered on the other end.

“I’m in.”

“How is she? All of it Ridge, I need to know
she’s safe.” Ty waited tensely on the other end of the line.

“About as good as you’re doing. She’s lost
weight, don’t think she’s sleeping much,” he couldn’t help but sound worried.

“Did she throw a fit about you being there?
About you staying? She can be a hand full,” Ty commented with a dry chuckle.

“That’s just it boss, that’s why I’m really
worried. Nothing! I mean nothing! Told me she didn’t care whether I was here or
not. Told me to basically make myself at home!” he marveled, the concern in his
voice evident.

“Nothing?” Obviously shocked, he sat up
abruptly in his chair. He had been following the conversation up until now.
Alex did not just give in, not ever. Ty started to see why Ridge sounded like
he was sweating. “Is she sick?” Ty asked becoming more and more concerned as
their conversation continued.

“No, not that I can see. Ty, man, you’ve got to
get your butt out here, and soon. She’s acting as if the lights are on, but
nothing is getting through. She’s shutting down and it’s spooky.”

“I have to finish getting the hotel end squared
away. It’s going to take another week or two. God! What a mess! I can’t leave
until it’s done, my hands are tied. The only thing I want right now is to be
there with her, make sure she’s safe; it’s eating me up, Ridge. But I can’t!
Every instinct I have tells me Alex would just bolt as soon as she realized I
was there. I can’t take that chance. If she does do another disappearing act, I
will need the resources I’ll have once the security network is up and running
completely, so I can track her this time. I’ve been working to get the security
for all the different branches completed as quickly as humanly possible!”
frustration evident in his heavy sigh.

“I’ll do my best, just make it quick. Boss,
maybe we should consider back up on this, someone she knows, like a real close
friend?” Ridge hedged.

“No way! Forget it! I’ll think about sending
one of her sisters,” was his gruff reply.

“But boss, if she wanted one of them she would
have called them,” Ridge pleaded for him to reconsider.

“I’ll think about it,” he growled into the
phone. “That will have to be good enough for now.”

“Right. I’ll call every night around eleven to
let you know how it’s going.”

“Ridge,” Ty took a long breath, before saying,
“Keep her safe!”

“I know what she means to you, Boss. Nothing
will harm her. They would have to get through me first. I’ve got your back Boss,”
he said gruffly.

“Thanks, talk to you tomorrow,” he said,
cutting off the call. Leaning back in his chair behind his new desk at
Maximillion Enterprise, he looked over to the man he now realized played more
of a role in the lives of the Stones then any of them would have guessed.

“How did you do it all this years without
killing the man?” Ty asked angrily, still wanting Max’s hide.

“Because, over the years I’ve watched that man
go through more hell then you, hopefully, will ever know. No man should have to
outlive his own son.”
Or grandchild
, Frank finished silently. With Ty’s
new position in the company, Frank suspected he would soon find all the
skeletons stashed in the Stone family closet, even the ones he and Max had
struggled to keep out of the media. When he learned the truth about his new
sister-in-law, Ty would be out for blood against the bastard responsible.

Frank would have to deal with that when it
came, for now they had their hands full transferring power over from him to Ty,
and updating the security measures, which should have been done years ago. Max
had been biding his time over the years, waiting for Ty to learn a few hard,
but necessary, lessons. Frank was thankful he had, albeit slowly, or he would
still have the headache of being security chief.

“You do know, considering the outdated network
you have up, it’s going to take me weeks, if not months, just to come up to
date on all these files? Not to mention updating all of your contacts located
in and out of the company.”

He started chuckling at the respect he saw on
Ty’s face. It was the same one he expressed every time he discovered something
new about what exactly he did at Stone Enterprises. “I may have played the fool
over the years pretending the lights were on and no one was home, but I knew
everything. It was my job to know. And if they think you’re not the brightest
crayon in the box, they tend to let their guard down. You can learn all kinds
of interesting things.” Frank chuckled as comprehension dawned on the younger
man’s face.

Ty had to give it to him, his ploy was quite
ingenious. If Max thought he was thick headed it put him in the advantage
column as far as the old goat was concerned. He would have to remember that
when he went head to head with Max again. There was no doubt in his mind it
would happen again, and soon, if Max continued in his plot to marry off his
sister-in-laws.

He was still staggered at the scope of what
Frank had accomplished. When he had first taken the job he had just assumed he
would have jurisdiction over a couple of “rent a cops” at various companies
owned by Max. Boy had his eyes been opened that first day. He now understood
why his paycheck was in the millions. Max wasn’t being charitable. Ty suspected
he would earn every red cent over the next year.

Max was a full time job, and not only was Frank
engaged in that small piece of the pie, but he also controlled every other
security aspect of the company; from the hotels to the ranches, which were now
being updated, to the oil holdings and their security people. Not to mention
the security network in place for the racing circuit and all prototypes under
development at Jack’s racing facilities. Ty was speechless, utterly amazed by
the vast undertaking.

The theft and recovery department, which he had
toured earlier, reminded him of a squad room. They had employees feeding Intel
to their department every day. If an employee was suspected of stealing, an
investigation was launched immediately. The production company had a staff of
bodyguards, but over the years Frank still hadn’t been able to get a good
handle on it. With a few well-placed calls to other retired men that he had
worked with in the military, things were in motion to bring it up to speed and
match all the other divisions.

The cyber unit in charge of making sure no one
could access the main frame and infiltrate the system at Maximillion Enterprise
had Parry in a state of euphoria, the prospect of being placed in charge so
tantalizing, you’d think he was offered a position heading up the CIA from the way
he was acting. Ty knew the kid could handle it, and bring it up to date with
the latest computer and software technology. He had always felt guilty that
Parry worked for him out of loyalty, and had never been able to live up his
full potential. Now he would have the chance and a paycheck to match the skill
that he wielded when sitting behind a computer.

The bright spot in all this being that Frank
had taken great pleasure in letting him know he was rarely in the office. Most
of what he did was on the fly. He of course visited the different divisions on
occasions when trouble popped up, but because of his duties as bodyguard to
Max, most of his job he did over the phone and on his computer. “Who has time
to go to all the sections in the company? That’s why you hire the best and keep
them happy,” he had informed Ty, who breathed easier, already formulating a
plan to be with Alex under the noses of the reporters.

Ty just needed time to get everything locked
into place so he could access it all from a remote location via his laptop.
Once Parry had the links set up and all programs running smoothly, he could
leave and work mainly out of the office. He knew he was asking a lot of his new
employees in order to get it all accomplished so quickly, but everyone seemed
to be on board and was working to get months of work done in a matter of weeks.
He just prayed it would be in time. Sighing, he nodded to Frank as they got
back to work, but he couldn’t help wondering what was happening at the villa.

Ridge went to find himself a bed, but decided
to get something to eat instead. Opening the cupboards in the kitchen he almost
hit the floor. The shelves were almost completely empty. He could see open
packages that were dated around the time Alex had arrived, and were mostly
empty. Ridge suspected she hadn’t been eating, and now he knew why. He wondered
if she had even left the villa since she arrived. If she had, judging by the
pantry, she hadn’t ever bothered to buy groceries while she was out.

First order of business was getting the kitchen
stocked. He put in a request to the agency he was supposed to call if he needed
anything. He ordered groceries and got a cleaning crew to come in while Alex
went for a walk on the beach in the late afternoon. When food arrived, he started
cooking, hoping she would feel like eating.

When she wandered in from the beach, hugging
her arms to her slim form, she walked right by the table he had set for them.
Ridge hurried over and pulled her to a stop. She just looked up at him as if
she were sleep walking, blinked a few times, and allowed him to guide her over
to the table without speaking. He gently, but forcefully sat her in front of a
bowl of soup. Alex obediently picked up her spoon, dipping it into the soup and
eating as if on autopilot, never saying a word.

The days slowly dragged by as Alex stayed
nearly comatose and Ridge made sure she ate and wore a jacket on the terrace
when she stayed out at night watching the stars. She never talked to him; the
silence in the house was unsettling. Four days before anyone was suppose to
show up at the villa, he returned from running an errand and found her sitting
at the piano, just staring at the keys.

“Why don’t you play, the band should be here
soon. Maybe you should practice?” he suggested hopefully.

She just looked up at him, silently staring
through him, as if she wasn’t really seeing him, and then turned to look out
the window that glittered next to the piano. Alex spent the rest of the day
sitting there, looking haunted, and not moving a muscle. Ridge was ready to
pull out his hair when he heard a knock at the door. When he opened it and saw
Steven, he could have kissed the guy.

“What,” Steven asked, wary by Ridge’s look of
relief. He knew the situation must be hairy for Ridge to look so happy to see
him. “That bad, eh? Where’s she at?” He grabbed his bag and breezed around the
larger man.

Judging by Ridge’s expression, it was going to
take both of them to snap her out of it. Steven remembered how depressed she
had been when he had first met her, now he knew why Alex had shut down back
then. It had taken Steven weeks to get her to open up. This time they didn’t
have that luxury, they had an album to write.

“She’s is in the sitting room, she doesn’t eat
unless I put food directly in front of her. I don’t think she’s sleeping much,
and she hasn’t spoken for two weeks. Steven, he’s coming. It’s just taking time
and I haven’t been able to bring myself to tell him what’s really going on with
her,” Ridge said softly, trying to keep his voice down so Alex wouldn’t
overhear.

“When is he getting here?” Steven watched him
shrug his shoulder noncommittally.

Swearing under his breath, he headed toward the
sitting room. When he walked in, he saw her curled up in the dark, staring out
at the night, and seemingly oblivious to his presence.

He heard Ridge come up behind him, leaning
against the door jam. “And you wonder why I didn’t like your boss at first?
That’s why,” he said, jerking his chin in her direction. He spoke softly, but
with anger lacing his words. “Damn! Don’t worry I’ve been here before. I got
her through it then and somehow I’ll do it again. She’s crawled into herself
and we need to find a way to get her back out. But if your boss ever hurts her
like this again, I’ll kill him Ridge, I swear to God I will.”

“You and me both,” Ridge answered honestly.

“Glad we agree for once. Well, I say a good
shock should do the trick, you?” Steven asked softly.

“I’ll try anything!” Ridge said so desperately
he couldn’t help but laugh softly.

“Does this place have a tub?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Go fill it up. Get the water as cold as you
can. Do you have a bag of ice handy?” When Ridge nodded, he continued, “Put the
ice in the tub and when it’s done, come get me.”

Steven took a deep breath as Ridge went to run
the bath. Alex didn’t even look up as he moved toward her; she just sat there,
lost. He stood still, hands in his pockets, taking in her appearance; her hair
was lackluster, her clothes hanging on her. She looked terrible. He heard
Ridge’s footsteps as he re-entered the room, nodding to let him know the bath
was ready.

“Sorry Red, but it’s for your own good.” Steven
picked her up in his arms and headed for the door in one swift motion.

Alex blinked up at him, seeing him for the
first time. She placed her arm around his shoulders still not understanding why
Steven was carrying her or why he was even here. She lay passive in his arms
not making a sound as he climbed the stairs.