by Erin Osborne
Next week I have my first appointment with a doctor here. It’s another woman because I know Flynn will not allow me to see a male doctor. Not if he has any say in the matter. I’m excited to see the new one because I’m hoping to have another ultrasound done. The change won’t be extremely significant, but any chance to see the lives we’ve created will be a day that excites me.
Flynn has been buying me baby books every time he finds a new one. Instead of leaving me to read them alone, he’s been right by my side reading them too. When he told me he’d be right by my side for everything, Flynn meant it. We read at night while we’re in bed next to one another. I mark pages I believe he needs to read in the books I’m on during the day. It’s been a wonderful few days.
I know my husband is upset we aren’t going on an actual honeymoon. He’s brought the topic up several times since being home. That’s the last thing I care about though. The only thing that matters to me is Flynn and I being married and the two little ones we’ll be holding in our arms in a matter of eight months. If we decide down the road to take a trip for a honeymoon, we can. Our children can be included in it. That may not be the standard protocol for a couple’s honeymoon, however Flynn and I aren’t standard and nothing about us is. We do things in our own way in our own time. That’s been proven just based on what has been done between us so far.
“Angel, are you ready to head out?” Flynn asks, coming in our bedroom where I’ve just finished getting ready.
“Yeah. Are you sure you want to come to this appointment with me? I’m sure you have things to do after being gone for so long,” I ask him as he walks up and places a kiss against my neck.
“There is no where I’d rather be,” he tells me, looking over my shoulder in the mirror as he meets my eyes.
Nodding my head, I turn slightly to place a kiss against his cheek. Lacing our fingers together we leave our room and make our way down to the driveway. Flynn leads me to one of his cars and helps me inside before walking around to the driver’s side. Liam will be following us to ensure nothing happens on the way to the lawyer’s office. Some might say Flynn is being paranoid, but they don’t know the situation we’re in.
Liam and Flynn have been telling me about the horror stories he keeps digging up about my supposed father. King is a vile and despicable human being. Everything I once hated Flynn for are things King does on a daily basis. He lies, cheats, kills, harms, and doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process. He’s had people killed for simply looking at him the wrong way. He goes to the gambling halls, getting drunk and losing all of his money. Getting into fights simply because he can’t stand to lose. Now, I’m causing him to lose a great deal of money. Ten million dollars is a lot of money for a man who’s desperate to lose.
Flynn is going to take every precaution to ensure I’m safe. I just hope he doesn’t get hurt in the process. If anything were to happen to him, it would kill me. He doesn’t know just how far I’ll go to protect him either. I’ll do anything in my power to make sure he’s okay. I’ve already talked to Liam about being with him every single second they’re out working. And I’ve been assured he’s got it taken care of.
We pull up to the lawyer’s office and Flynn parks in front. After getting out, he rushes to my side and helps me get out of his sleek sports car. Together we walk into the office and let the receptionist know who we are and that we’re there to see a Mr. Wallen. She lets us know he’s finishing up a meeting and will let us know when he’s available. Flynn leads me to the waiting area and helps me in a chair before getting me some water. He’s always trying to make sure I’m drinking and keeping hydrated. That’s what the doctor told us we need to watch out for since I get so sick on a daily basis.
The last person I expect to see walks in the door as we’re sitting there waiting; King. He triumphantly sits down next to me and tries to grab my hand. I’m not sure what his game is here, but I pull away from him as Flynn jumps out of his chair.
“You have no business here, King,” Flynn states, his voice loud and booming in the small waiting area.
“I have every reason to be here. Imogen is my daughter, and her business is my business,” he says, his arrogance shining through.
“Are you sure about that? Maybe we need to have some testing done,” Flynn says, not losing the edge to his voice.
“Ah, so you have discovered my secret. Does Imogen know what you have discovered?” he asks, a smile covering his face.
“She knows everything we have uncovered. And it’s been a lot,” my husband says, putting himself between the two of us.
King stands up suddenly, moving faster than I’ve ever seen him in my twenty-one years. A gun appears in his hand in the blink of an eye. My heart races while I can’t breathe, my body tingles, and I imagine horrible things happening in this small lawyer’s office. The worst things because it’s just Flynn and myself with other innocent people here.
“Imogen is going to sign that money over to me. I’ve earned it after years of raising her and supporting her ass. Of pretending to be the doting father my brother would have been. The reality is the sight of her disgusts me and plagued me from the very second I killed my own brother. All to get what’s rightfully mine,” King says, waving the gun around in the air as if it’s nothing more than his empty hand.
“I’m not signing anything over to you. The money doesn’t even belong to your family,” I state, knowing my words are true.
The money in my trust belonged to my mother’s side of the family. Not one penny of that is his and never will be. As I turn my attention back toward King and shake the thoughts from my mind so I’m present in the current dangerous situation, I find the gun King’s holding pointing directly at me. Flynn is trying to put his body between the end of the gun and myself, but King keeps moving around.
I hear shuffling in the background but don’t bother turning around to find out what’s going on. My only hope is that the secretary and anyone else leave the building as quickly as possible. King is reckless, and as I stare in his eyes, I know without a doubt he’s high on something. Or drunk. Either way, he’s out of his mind.
“King, be reasonable. Why do you need the money so bad?” Flynn asks, trying to divert his attention off of me.
“That’s none of your concern. Though, I’ll fill you in. I have several habits, as I’m sure you know, and my income has run out. I can’t get any more loans and I’m no longer welcome in your gambling rooms or casino. With no other choice, I have a business partner who’s willing to wait for me to get the money so we can move on to the next phase of our plans. The wedding between the two of you will speed things up. Yes, we both know you got married while in the states. Now, Imogen just has to be dealt with and the money is all mine. So, you have two choices my dear. Sign over the money to me, or sign your death warrant,” King orders, giving me no way to make a good decision here.
I know money is just money and we don’t need as much as I’m being given today. However, I have plans for the money and they don’t include giving a dime of it to King. Or whoever his business partner is. Flynn and I will have this money to ourselves if we can get away from King and make it out of this alive.
“Imogen, you will tell Wallen the money is to be put in my account without fail. If not, the child you carry will not make it to take it’s first breath. Seems you two have been quite busy while you were gone in the states,” King demands, letting us know he knows more than we thought he did.
Someone has been giving any and all information regarding us back to him. I’m not sure who it is, but I know Flynn is pissed off. His body as gone rigid and I can see the angry lines in his profile as he turns his head. Including the vein pulsing in his neck. I’ve only ever seen him this angry one time. I hate seeing him so tense and angry. The carefree, loving Flynn is the man I want to see on a regular basis. Even though I know that’s not possible and won’t happen. My only hope is I can make this right for him.
“Imogen get over here,” King o
rders, moving once more so Flynn isn’t between us.
I don’t move a muscle in my body. Flynn tenses even more, waiting to see what’s going to happen. My mind is playing the entire scenario over and over again as I stand frozen in the same spot. It’s as if this is happening to someone else and I can’t move even if I wanted to. Out of the corner of my eye, I see movement. It’s there and gone so quickly I’m not sure what it was or if it was even there.
“Imogen, I’m not going to tell you again to get over here by my side,” King growls out, taking several steps over toward me.
“You’re not touching her or getting any closer than you are right now,” Flynn matches his tone.
Before another word can be said, I hear glass shattering. Everything begins to move fast paced but slow motion at the same time. Chaos reigns supreme and I’m suddenly hit with two separate pains at one time. The first erupts in my shoulder while the second is from Flynn dropping me to the floor beneath us. The pain drags me under and takes me from the chaotic scene as it continues to unfold before us.
I’m woken up to incessant beeping and bright lights flashing before my eyes as I open them. My eyes open at the same time unbearable pain hits me. It radiates from my right shoulder and down to my ribs. There’s a heavy weight sitting on top of my hand as I slowly turn my head to see Flynn laying on top of my hand. His own head is covering all of my hand and part of my arm. Even in sleep, he doesn’t look peaceful. Pain fills his face as his forehead creases and his eyes are pinched shut.
Moving my fingers, I find them laced with his own. As I continue to move my fingers and my hand twitches, Flynn’s head shoots up and his eyes meet my own. Just like his face when he was sleeping, Flynn’s eyes are filled with anguish and pain.
“Angel, are you in any pain?” he questions me, his voice hoarse and low.
“Yes, I am. I’m more concerned about you though. What happened?” I ask him in return.
“Let me get a nurse and more pain medicine,” he instantly states.
“I don’t want pain medicine. Not with our babies,” I tell him, not trusting them not to hurt our children. “All I want to know is what happened. I remember pain shooting through me before everything going black. Then nothing until now.”
“King shot you,” Flynn states, pain ripping through his voice. “As he pulled the trigger and the bullet hit your shoulder, Liam came in behind you and shot him. King is dead. We still don’t know who his business partner is or if there will be any blowback because his plans are hidden deep somewhere. I’m sorry Imogen. I don’t know what to do now. How to keep you and our babies protected and safe.”
Tears fall from my eyes. Not because King is dead. There is no better finality for him. Though I wish he would have been tortured and filled with all of the pain he’s caused for so long. I feel horrible for wishing and thinking that about another person. King doesn’t deserve anyone’s sadness or pain. All he deserves is a shallow grave where the animals can dig him up and feast on his bones.
My mind turns from those dreadful thoughts to knowing there is someone out there who may now be after us. Someone we don’t know and can’t begin to protect ourselves against. Liam has been working day and night to figure out things and he isn’t any closer. As my thoughts twist and turn while trying to figure things out, I vaguely hear Flynn’s phone ring. His voice talks to someone, but I’m so lost in my head I’m not sure what he’s saying from a few feet away from me.
It’s not until he places his hand on my arm that I’m pulled from my thoughts.
“That was my youngest brother, Lachlan,” he informs me. “Him and Hunter are here and will be up to meet you in a few minutes. We need to talk to them.”
“Oh, um, okay,” I return, not sure this is the best time to meet anyone.
Before I can think too much about it, the door to my room opens and there stand two imposing figures. Lachlan and Hunter are dressed in suits, there isn’t a wrinkle in the fabric or a hair out of place on their heads. Hunter is the bigger of the two while Lachlan is slimmer than Flynn. I’m sure he’s muscled but it’s more of a fighter’s build than someone who body builds or works hard.
“Lachlan, Hunter, it’s good to see you,” Flynn says, walking over to embrace his brothers. “Imogen, this is Lachlan and Hunter. Boys, this is Imogen. My wife.”
Stunned silence fills the air as the door closes behind them. Flynn told me for so long he’d never get married. His brothers surely know he felt this way as well. This is why I’m not surprised the two men standing before me are stunned.
“Holy shit,” Lachlan mutters before stepping forward. “Imogen, such a pretty name for a beautiful woman. How the hell did my brother land someone like you.”
“He took me as collateral,” I answer honestly while turning my attention toward Flynn.
“I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” he responds, never taking his eyes off me.
“Imogen, welcome to the family,” Hunter says, bypassing his brothers and walking over to me. “What the fuck happened to you?”
“That’s what we need to talk to you about. I need to be assured you’ll keep this information in the highest confidence just between the three of us,” Flynn begins, only continuing on when they both nod in response. “King wasn’t Imogen’s real father. He killed him when my wife was just a baby. There has been much deception from him until a few days ago. He was demanding Imogen sign over money not rightfully his so him and his business partner could continue on with their plans. King is the one who shot my wife. A woman he raised in order to gain money and who is carrying my children at this very moment. He didn’t care.
Not only that, but someone was feeding him information about what Imogen and I were doing while in the states. I trust Sal and Tommaso, the same as you do. They, along with the other members of the family, Bianca, and Mia. No one else was around us. Tommaso was the main one around us and he won’t tell a soul what we did there. Other than the three doctors, you two are the only ones who know about the baby. To our knowledge anyway. Still, King knew about the pregnancy.”
“What’s all this mean?” Lachlan questions, not knowing what to think of the entire situation.
“Are you thinking what I am?” Hunter asks, not giving away anything about where his mind is right now.
“That’s what I’m wondering. You were there when he demanded I seduce Imogen, marry her, and produce children. He’s never once said a single thing to us about marriage and kids. Until he found out I took Imogen as collateral,” Flynn states.
While Hunter and my husband talk, I keep my eyes on Lachlan. He has no clue what’s going on right now. Right now, he’s trying to figure out what’s going on and who they’re talking about. I’d laugh if the circumstances weren’t so dire. My life is literally on the line though and no one but Flynn will be my protector. Or the men working for him. No one else cares what happens to me except for my husband.
“What are you both saying?” Lachlan finally cuts in to his brother’s conversation.
“We’re saying, we believe our own father is King’s business partner in something. He’s doing business on the side none of us know about. That business all depends on getting their hands, or our father’s hands now, on to complete. Without that money, I’m not sure what King’s business partner will do. Or how far into this scheme they were,” Flynn answers, not holding back from his youngest brother.
“You know,” Lachlan begins. “That makes sense. I went to his house a few weeks ago and he was in a heated argument with someone on the phone. Dad said all of their plans hinged on getting a trust. Without that, nothing could be complete, and they already had buyers lined up and the girls waiting.”
Not a single word is spoken by anyone as Lachlan reveals what he overheard. We all process what has just been revealed in a hospital room while I lay in bed with a gunshot wound. The tension has risen to levels high enough to cut with a dull, rusty blade. It would slide through the tension like melted butter. This is not a situ
ation I ever thought I’d be in. Knowing the man I thought of as my father dealing in the skin trade. Something Flynn and his brothers would never consent to doing.
“Are you fucking shitting me?” Flynn bursts out, not bothering to keep his temper in check. “Why didn’t you tell anyone sooner?”
“I didn’t think anything of it. Hoped maybe dad was bluffing or I didn’t hear him right,” Lachlan answers. “I’m sorry, Flynn and Imogen. If I had known what was going on, I would’ve let you know as soon as possible.”
“We know now,” Hunter interjects, seeming to be the voice of reason. “What now, Flynn?”
“I don’t know. The only thing I care about is keeping Imogen and our babies safe. No harm will come to them on my watch,” Flynn states. “I’ll gladly give my life for theirs.”
“No!” I yell out. “I will not live my life or raise these babies on my own. Flynn, if I can’t have you in my life for the rest of our days, I’ll leave right now. I’ll suffer through the pain of not being with you if it means you’re safe and alive.”
“Imogen, you need to calm down. Please, angel,” Flynn says, rushing to my side as the first tears fall from my eyes.
“I can’t when I continually hear you saying you’d trade your life for mine. You’re my husband and the father to our children. Don’t do anything to be taken from me when we just found one another,” I cry out as Flynn pulls me into his arms.
“Flynn let us handle this. We’ll keep you both in the loop no matter what. Imogen doesn’t need the stress while she’s pregnant,” Lachlan says, coming over to me.
Lachlan and Hunter each surround my bed. They take turns gently hugging me because of the wound I have right now. For the next several hours the four of us talk and get to know one another. It’s the best time I could have while in the hospital. Especially with the youngest Mackay brother telling jokes and sharing stories about Flynn as they were growing up.
