Stitch by Jaime Lewis (ebook reader online .txt) 📗

Sure, the cabin was nice, but his spot was like heaven, though he never experienced heaven, but he imagined it had to be a close comparison. It was secluded and surrounded by nothing but nature and peacefulness. It was his spot to think and let his mind run free.

As they came to the small clearing that only yielded a small wooden bench that he made himself, Stitch inhaled deep, taking in the crisp, clean air.

He heard the faint gasp that came from Mia as he pulled her in front of him.

“Oh my gosh, Stitch…it is beautiful up here.”

He cuddled close, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on top of her head.  The sun was setting, and the sky was painted an array of colors. The purples and pink against the orange backdrop was breathtaking. The small peak where they stood offered a landscape that could be a painting—mountain peaks capped with snow could be seen all around.

“Welcome to my private haven. It’s where I come to expel the demons trapped inside my body. I’ve seen a lot of bad shit, but this right here is what grounds me.”

Mia turned in his arms, and he gazed down into her beautiful brown eyes. He saw the love and emotion and knew she understood what this place meant to him. She placed her hands against his chest.

“So, nobody knows about this?”

“Yes and no. The guys on the team know about it, but none of them have ever been here. They know its significance to me and respect it.”

“It’s so high up. You can see miles and miles.”

There is only one spot on my property that’s higher, and the only spot you can get a glimpse of this spot from.”

“Where is that?”

He turned and pointed up and toward the left. “I thought about making that location my special spot, but it didn’t offer the privacy and seclusion like this one does.”

She turned in his arms and hugged him close.

“Thank you for sharing something so private and special with me. I promise always to respect it.”

He nudged her chin up towards him and gazed into her eyes.

“I want to share everything with you, Mia. What is mine is yours, including this spot.”

She snuggled into his chest. “I love you, Stitch.”

“I love you too, babe.”

He took another deep breath and exhaled. Yes, this was heaven, with his angel by his side.

Chapter Twenty

Mia felt disgusted and shocked as she, Stitch, Derek, and Tink listened to Ace and Alex explain what they found out on their little jaunt to New York.

She and Stitch had arrived in the morning and invited the others to lunch. They opted for the small family diner just down the road from Stitch’s parent's house.

“They think Dr. Walters is involved in puppy smuggling and my abduction?”

“They aren’t a hundred percent, but it isn’t looking good for him.  When the detective called me back last night, he said that he was waiting on some information. But, Mia, how else would Dr. Walters have your hoodie?”

Mia shook her head. “I don’t know. I mean, I just can’t believe this.”

Ace gave Alex a quick glance as if trying to communicate with her silently, but Mia hadn’t missed the look.

“What else did you find out?  How was my apartment?”

She got complete silence for a couple of seconds before she looked at Stitch, who shrugged his shoulders.  He hadn’t spoken with Ace yet either.

“Ace, was something wrong with my apartment?”  God, she hoped not.  That was all she needed, to owe her landlord for damages.  It was bad enough she was going to need to break her lease.

Ace blew out a breath. “Your apartment was fine.”  He rubbed the back of his neck.”  However, we did run into an old acquaintance.”

She scrunched her eyebrows together. Nobody but Danny had a key to her apartment, and he was a friend, not an old acquaintance.

“Jesus, Ace, just tell her.”  Alex blurted out.

“Terek.”

Her eyes widened, and she looked at Stitch, who looked like he was thinking, but then his mouth opened slightly all too suddenly, and she knew he figured it out. He squinted his eyes as he looked right at her.

“The Green Beret? Your ex that cheated on you.” Before she could answer, he looked over at her brother.  “I hope you gave that asshole a piece of your mind.”

Ace smirked, “Well, Alex gave him a good beatdown. Literally.” He used his thumb to caress the scab that had formed on Alex’s lip.

“You got into a fight with him?! He fucking hit you?”  Stitch roared.

Alex shrugged her shoulders. “He didn’t know who I was, and I didn’t know who he was. Once we realized who was who, everything settled down.”

“Why in the hell was Terek at my apartment?  How did he even get in?”

Everyone just stared at her as if she asked the dumbest question.

“What?  What did I say?”

“Terek was a Green Beret, remember? The locks on your front door are shit.”

“Oh…”

Stitch chuckled and patted her shoulder.

“Why was he there?”

Ace took a deep breath, and Alex looked nervous, which only made Mia more anxious.

“Mia, there is something you need to know about Terek, and what happened the night you were abducted.

As Ace and Alex told her everything, she had so many mixed feelings. She was grateful, hurt, angry, and sad. She had tears in her eyes.

“Terek saved me and warned me. I don’t understand why he was so secretive.” They had left out the part of him being an undercover FBI agent.

Ace looked torn, but then Alex spoke up, “Ace, you need to tell her.”

Mia looked at her brother. “Tell me what?”

“Terek works for the FBI. He’s in New York working on an undercover assignment.”

“What?” She put her hand over her stomach. Had their whole relationship been a sham?

“There’s more.”

Jesus, she wasn’t sure if she could take more. She was ready to cry as it was.

“Terek never cheated on you.”  Mia started to speak, but Ace told her to let Alex finish explaining. “Because of