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“Does he need to be in a hospital?” Liam asked.
Sending Sean a sour look, Doc shook his head. “Since he’d likely escape the first chance he got, I’d say no. But he does need to take it easy. His body’s been through the wringer.”
“Appreciate your help, Doc. I think Monica has lunch prepared for you in the break room.”
Apparently not minding a bit that he’d been dismissed, Doc headed down the aisle. Before he disappeared behind the partition, he sent another stern look at Sean. “Listen to your body, son. Serena’s going to need you strong and healthy when she comes home.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Sean said gruffly.
With a nod and a small smile, the older man disappeared behind the curtained area. The moment he was gone, Ash said, “How are you feeling?”
Sean shrugged. “Like hell but concentrating on getting Serena back will help.”
“Usually, I’d ask you to start from the beginning,” Ash said, “but that’ll have to wait. Tell us about Serena. How did she look?”
He had no problem picturing her as he’d last seen her. Her beautiful face had been pale, but her expression fiercely resolute.
“Stressed. Angry. Exhausted. Determined.”
“What did she say, exactly?”
“She said they’d only had her for a few days, that someone had infiltrated Francine and figured out how to find her. She said she had to stay…to do this. I told her no, that I would give them what they wanted so she could leave. Instead, she negotiated with Kingsley for my release.”
He still couldn’t believe she’d done that. His gut churned at the knowledge that she had given herself to them to save him. And he’d been helpless to do anything to stop it from happening.
“Sean,” Ash said, “stay with me. What else did she say?”
Cursing himself for getting lost in self-pity, he continued, “She quoted a Bible verse. Told me to remember it. Quoted it twice.” He frowned as he remembered. “Said it was her favorite verse. Psalm 18:2. Said, ‘The Lord is my rock, and my fortress and my deliverer.’”
Liam quickly called up the verse on his phone, but Ash apparently already knew the words as he recited them easily. “Actual words are: ‘The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge.”
Serena’s faith was as strong as anyone he’d ever known, sustaining her through some of the hardest things anyone could go through. Her unfailing belief in a higher power was one of the things he admired most about her. No matter what happened in her life, she never lost faith.
“Something’s not right, though,” Sean whispered.
“What do you mean?”
Sean knew his wife well. They’d had numerous discussions about spirituality and faith. She was well-versed on biblical knowledge and could quote entire chapters. So when she’d quoted that verse, he’d been so focused on getting her out of there, he hadn’t picked up on it.
“She was telling me something else. Giving me a message.”
“How so?” Liam said. “Seems pretty clear-cut to me.”
“Because that’s not her favorite verse. Her favorite is Romans 8:38-39. She’s recited it to me numerous times. She wouldn’t have changed it. It’s been her favorite since she was a kid.”
Sean saw interest spark in both men’s eyes.
He repeated the quote to himself, just the way she’d said it. He closed his eyes, saw Serena’s expression, the fierce determination in her eyes. Heard her whispered words. My rock. Heard her emphasis on those two words. Three times. She had emphasized those two words three different times.
His heart rate clipped-up a beat. “Serena has a rock collection at our house. She has smaller ones inside the house, but there are two big ones outside. We found them on our honeymoon and had them shipped to the house. We were going to create a flower garden with them.”
Ash’s head bobbed. “Jazz and Xavier went to her place a couple days ago. They mentioned a garden with some big rocks.” He clicked some keys on his phone and turned the screen to show photographs of the outside of their home in Montana.
A lump developed in his throat at the work she’d done to their place. He hadn’t been there in over a year. Their plans had been to turn the backyard into a flower and vegetable garden. It looked like Serena had not only completed those things, but she had also added a swing, some outdoor furniture, and a fire pit. But what caught his eye were the two large rocks situated beneath a giant oak. One had her name on it, and the other had his name.
Almost a hundred percent sure of his theory, Sean said, “Ask Jazz and Xavier to go back to her house and look under the rock with her name. I think we’ll find our answers.”
While Ash made the call, Sean leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Even after all he’d done, she still loved him. He had done nothing to deserve a woman like her, but he would do anything and everything he had to do to bring her back home. And if she allowed him, he would spend the rest of his life atoning for the hurt he had caused.
