by S. E. Rose
“What?!” she asks, her eyebrow raised.
“You were sick, and you weren’t drinking, and you always drink. I knew it,” I say again widening my grin.
Zoe rolls her eyes.
“So, when do we get to have a new family member?” I ask as I see Melissa stand and start toward me.
“In about five and a half months,” Zoe says. “I…I had some issues, and we wanted to wait to say anything.”
I nod my understanding and lean down to kiss her head. “Congrats, you two! That’s great news after a week of otherwise horrible bullshit.”
I turn to Melissa. Everything has been so crazy that I haven’t had time to worry about her at all until this very second. I look over and see she is physically fine. We lock eyes. I can tell she’s worried. Suddenly, I want nothing more than to take her in my arms and never let her go.
She hesitantly comes over to me. I wrap my arms around her and kiss her forehead. “I’m sorry this is so crazy. Are you OK?”
“Yes,” she says quietly. I feel tears against my chest, wetting my shirt.
“Hey, it’s OK, beautiful. I’m OK. Are you OK?” I ask her.
“Yes. No. There’s something else we need to talk about,” she whispers.
“OK, we have time,” I say to her, holding her more tightly.
She nods. “But first, you should go shower,” she says. “And you must be hungry.” I shrug.
I head up and take the longest shower ever and change into some clothes that have been left for me. It’s sweatpants and a t-shirt, but I can’t be picky. I walk out of the bathroom and Melissa is sitting on the bed. I sit down next to her.
“What’s up?” I ask her.
“I need to talk to you about something,” she says, looking everywhere but my eyes. I take my hand and force her face up and look at her.
“What is it, beautiful?”
“Nick, I—” she starts but is cut off by a knock at the door.
“Yes?” I ask.
“Jack needs to see you downstairs,” my mom says through the door.
“Coming,” I groan. I look at Melissa. She’s frozen in mid-thought. “Yes?” I prod her.
She shakes her head. “Go ahead,” she says. “We can talk later.” She gives me a small smile.
“Are you sure? Jack can wait,” I say to her, placing my hand over hers. Her hands are so small, my one hand covers both of hers, and I look down at them. She seems vulnerable at the moment and my instincts tell me to protect her.
“Go ahead,” she says again.
I lean forward and kiss her lightly on the lips. “Hold that thought, OK?”
She nods as I stand and go to find Jack. The house is like a maze. It’s chopped into many little rooms. Eventually, I find a wood-paneled study on the first floor. Bryce and Jack sit at a small round table with Lily. They all stop speaking when I enter the room.
“Come on in, Nick,” Jack says and motions to an empty chair at the table.
I sit and look at the two men.
Bryce sighs. “I fucked up, Nick,” he admits. “I underestimated your father—”
“He’s not our father,” Lily hisses.
Bryce holds up a hand. “Your biological father, I didn’t know he was still alive.”
“Clearly,” I mutter.
“Lily told us what happened. It’s lucky they didn’t think to remove your watch,” Jack says, placing a hand over Lily’s.
I nod. “What about Ben?” I ask them.
“We are tracking him. The intel we have from your watch led us to the warehouse, but he wasn’t there,” Bryce says.
Bryce looks at Jack, and I know they have some hairbrained scheme already planned.
I sigh and run a hand over my face. “OK, what are we doing now?”
Jack takes a breath. “We’d like to lure him out here,” he says.
“What?!” Lily and I say in unison.
“This is more than my house,” Bryce says. “I know it looks old, but it’s been completely revamped. It is fireproof, high tech and no one gets on this property without sensors going off,” he further explains. “Everyone has a safe room that is both fireproof and gas proof in their rooms,” he adds.
“How do you plan on luring him here?” I ask.
The door opens, and Walsh walks in with a computer.
“I see,” I say to them. I know they plan to use the data. By now, Ben has to have figured out that the data link I gave him was inoperable.
“We arrested Hank today, but Ben doesn’t know that. So, we want to lead him out here thinking he’s meeting with Hank,” Jack says.
“But…” Lily trails off and her eyes widen.
Jack shakes his head. “Don’t worry, Lily. We have a second house nearby where we’ll take you, Zoe, and the kids. We won’t risk anything happening to you.”
“Why risk anyone?” Lily snaps.
“We won’t,” Jack assures her. “Do you think for one second I’d put your mother at risk?”
Lily doesn’t answer.
“I see,” Jack says and pulls his hand away.
Lily’s lip trembles. “It’s just. I mean…you guys didn’t even know he was alive. And now you want to send the enemy right toward us. I…it’s not a good idea. Someone could get hurt.”
“I agree with Lily. No one is here when we lure Ben back except those of us ready to fight,” I say adamantly.
“Fine,” huffs Bryce. “But I assure you, my property is like Fort Knox. This is ten times safer than Vanessa and Jesse’s home.”
“And why is that?” I ask him.
“They wanted a home, Nick. This is not a home, it’s a fortress and my office,” Bryce says. “There are security measures in place here that would be impractical for a living space.”
He doesn’t elaborate, so I drop it. Let him think whatever he wants.
“When do we do this?” I ask them.
“I’m setting it up now,” Walsh says. I eye him, and he grins. “I hacked into Hank’s account and am contacting Ben from there. Ben will literally think I’m Hank. I even ran software that changes my wording to make it more like how Hank words things.”
I roll my eyes.
“What?” Walsh says. “It’s cool.”
I roll my eyes again. “Whatever, when is this happening?” I ask again.
“Tomorrow,” he says.
We begin to talk about the plan for the next day, adding in that everyone else will leave the property with Silas, Riley, and Dexter. Lance, Cody, Bryce, Baxter, Pierce, Dean, Jack, Jesse, Walsh, I, and three other agents will remain at the house. Everyone else will go to a small house at a property nearby, also owned by Bryce and will be guarded by four of Bryce’s other men.
Lily clears her throat. “And what if Mom, Vanessa, Melissa, or I want to stay here?”
“Then stay,” Bryce huffs.
I know Lily won’t stay. She won’t leave her kids again.
“How’s Leidy?” I ask her.
Her eyes fill with tears. “She’ll be alright,” she says shakily. “She’s asking for you. You should go see her when we finish here.”
I nod.
After much discussion, we settle on a plan. Jack says he will personally talk with each of us before we decide what we want to do. I head up to see Leidy. When I peek around the corner of the door, I see her sitting on a giant bed with a stuffed frog on her lap; a TV on the opposite wall is blaring with some cartoon movie. I push open the door and her little head pops up and looks over at me.
“Uncle Nick!” she exclaims and starts hacking.
“Easy, killer,” I say to her and I walk into the room. Joanie is sitting in a chair next to her.
“How’s the patient?” I ask her.
She smiles. “She had a lot of smoke inhalation. Bryce has extra oxygen pumped into this room. It seems to be helping.”
Leidy rolls her eyes. “I’m fine,” she says more softly this time. Her voice is hoarse, and I know it’ll be a few weeks before she’s back to
her old self.
I sit down next to her and lean back against the headboard as I pull her onto my lap. “You gave me a scare, kid,” I say to her in Spanish.
She frowns. “It was scary, Uncle Nick,” she admits, her eyes big.
“I know, princess, but you were very brave,” I say to her. “I hear you stayed with the twins.”
She nods. “I didn’t leave them. What if they went the wrong way?” she says in horror.
I squeeze her to me and kiss her head. “I love you, Leidy,” I whisper.
“Love you too, Uncle Nick,” she says, and her little body relaxes against mine. She starts to play with the neckline of my t-shirt. “Mommy’s worried.” She looks up at me with her big brown eyes. I just want to protect her from the whole damned world.
“It’ll be alright. I think Mommy was scared too,” I tell her.
“I know I was,” I admit to her as I snuggle against her and bury my face in her hair. I still smell a slight bit of smoke, but I also smell Leidy, a mix of vanilla and little girl scent, and I want to whisk her away and hide her from Ben.
“Do you think we’re safe here?” she asks me.
“Yes, sweetie, I think we’re safe here,” I tell her.
“Will you stay with me for a while,” she asks me. I nod and only then do I see Lance. He’s on a sofa sleeping. I look at Joanie, and she shrugs.
“He wouldn’t leave. Neither would Lily until Jack made her go downstairs,” she says.
I nod and curl up with my niece to finish watching the movie. A half hour later, I gently set her down and pull the covers over her. She doesn’t even stir. God, I miss the days of being able to sleep that soundly. Joanie has also fallen asleep, so I close the door and check on the twins across the hall. They are also fast asleep. I kiss each of them and walk down to a sunroom off the back of the house. I see my sister sitting on a bench by a small pond, and I walk out to her. I sit down next to her and she leans her head on my shoulder. We sit like that for a long time, saying nothing, not needing to say anything. I grip her hand in mine and lean my head against hers as we watch the moon rise over the vista.
“You OK?” I ask her.
“No,” she says. “But I will be.”
“It’ll be alright, Lilypond,” I say to her and kiss her head just like I did Leidy’s.
“I know,” she says.
“What happened?” I ask her.
She sighs. “He came in my room…I knew what he wanted to do. He was so strong, and he started ripping at my clothes. I couldn’t get away from him. God, Nick, I tried, but I couldn’t. I just kept thinking about our madre and what she went through, and I wanted to kill him, for her and for us and for all those children. I was angry, so angry, I was blinded by it. And then when Bryce came busting through that window, I saw his knife…I didn’t even think. Patrick was surprised, and he loosened his grip for a split second. I lunged at Bryce and grabbed the knife and launched myself at him. It was like in slow motion. I remember the knife going back and then I…I can’t remember anything. I think Bryce grabbed me. I…I don’t think he had expected me to do that.”
“I see.”
“I killed him.” She says it out loud like she is just realizing it for the first time.
“Yes, you did,” I say as I squeeze her shoulder.
She sucks in a shaky breath. “I don’t feel bad though, Nick. Should I feel bad? Is something wrong with me?”
“No, Lil, nothing is wrong with you. You saved yourself and a lot of other people,” I say to her.
“But, what I did…it’s murder, Nick,” she whispers.
“No, Lily, it is self-defense.”
“That’s what Jack and Bryce said.”
“They’re right, you know.”
She shrugs and turns to look back at the house. “I should get back in and check on the twins and Leidy.”
“Let’s go,” I say, rising to my feet and pulling her up with me.
We walk hand in hand up toward the house. She stops. “How’s Melissa?” she asks. Now my sister isn’t always the best at thinking about other people, so this shocks me.
“She’s fine. Why?” I ask her.
“Just wondering. It’s all a lot to take in; I can’t imagine being dropped into our insanity,” she says, quite insightfully.
“Yeah, well, Mel is special,” I say to her.
She gives me a curious look. “I know,” she says and grins at me before walking inside.
There’s a feast of sandwiches and salads laid out in the kitchen. I help myself and walk into the living room where Zoe is now passed out on Cody’s lap.
“How’s the momma?” I ask him.
“She’s better,” he says and squeezes his arms more tightly around her.
“Good. Oh, and good luck with that, man. A mini-Zoe, shit, dude, you are fucked,” I say to him with a wink and laugh as I walk toward the dining room. He just shakes his head, trying to contain his smile.
I find Melissa, Mom, and Vanessa sitting at the dining room table. They are drinking wine and eating potato chips.
“May I join you, ladies?” I ask them.
“Sure,” Vanessa says, motioning toward a chair. I sit and take a bite of my sandwich.
“We’re staying,” Melissa says to me.
I stop chewing. “Fwat?” I say with my mouth full.
“Nicholas,” my mother chastises me.
I swallow. “What?”
“We are not leaving tomorrow,” Melissa restates.
“Like hell, you aren’t,” I say to her.
“Nick, watch your mouth,” my mom warns. “The three of us think we can help and don’t worry I already argued with Jack, but we are not budging on this, so deal with it.”
“Mom, I’m not alright with it. You could get hurt.”
She raises her eyebrow at me. “Nicholas, you could get hurt too, but we are stronger together than apart. I will not leave you all here to fend for yourselves. Vanessa and I are already too deeply involved.”
She’s right. I know she’s right, but that doesn’t mean I can hide my need to protect my family.
“Fine,” I mumble.
Melissa gets up and comes around the table and sits down next to me, taking my hand.
“We’ll be alright,” she says to me, her gaze is filled with such confidence that it startles me slightly.
I nod and continue eating. Melissa, Mom, and Vanessa are deeply engrossed in conversation when I decide to head upstairs. I pass Jesse in the hallway, and he stops me.
“You alright?” he asks me. And for a second I can see the flash of concern on his face. It’s been a while since he had to play dad for us, but I know that he still feels protective of us even after all these years. He puts a hand on my shoulder and squeezes it.
“Yeah, I’ll be OK. Mom, Vanessa, and Melissa want to stay tomorrow,” I add.
Jesse’s eyes widen a bit.
“Yeah, I know,” I say to him.
“I’ll talk with them,” he says.
“Good luck there,” I say with an eye roll.
“What’s their reasoning?” he asks me, searching for clues so he can make a valid argument.
I shrug. “Who knows? Girl power? Family sticks together? They are out of their fucking minds? I don’t know, but I wasn’t able to get through to them,” I say. Shit, I don’t even want to be here tomorrow, but I feel compelled to stay and fight to the end. And then it dawns on me that that’s what they want too. I shake my head and put a hand on Jesse’s shoulder.
“Let them,” I say. He looks at me with surprise. “They want to see this through. I know we have some dumb male desire to protect them, but they are the strongest women I know, and they just want to see this through, same as us. We can use their help.”
Jesse stills and looks into my eyes. “When did you become so smart?” he asks me.
I smirk. “When did you become so old?” I tease.
He laughs. “Just give yourself a few more years, kid,” he says, and h
e heads to the dining room.
I walk past the study, and Jack is on the phone. I hear him say his brother’s name, and I pause.
“Oliver, I can only talk for a few seconds, but I need to know you got Mal and Rose somewhere safe. This will all be over soon. I’ll be in touch,” he says.
“Yeah, they are alright. It’s been a tough few days. Yes. No. I see. We’ll talk about that when this is over. Right. OK. Take care,” he says and hangs up the phone with a sigh. I push the door open and look at him.
“Hey,” he says meekly, running his hand through his hair. I study him for a long moment. Jack is a good-looking man. I can understand why Mom fell for him. He also is in great shape for his age, and he’s smart as hell. He also scares me a bit. I truly don’t know what he does for a living, none of us do and that makes me, well, uneasy.
“Mom, Vanessa, and Melissa are staying,” I announce.
He groans. “Your bloody mother is going to kill me! I fucking love that woman, but seriously, she’s killing me, Nick,” he scoffs.
“Yeah, tell me about it,” I say.
“Alright, well, I’ll need to speak with them,” he says standing. He doesn’t even attempt to argue that they should go. I see he already knows what I just figured out. We can use them, we need them here.
I nod and continue to my room. I’m undressing for a shower when Mel walks in and closes the door. I pause with my shirt off, my hands on the edge of my sweatpants.
She walks over to me and cups my face in her hands, pulling my lips down to hers. Her kiss is desperate and needy. I lose myself in it. I pull her up my body, and she wraps her legs around my waist. She’s so small, so light that I barely feel her weight as I walk her backward toward a chest of drawers. For a flash, I wonder if the room has a video feed. That is until she rubs her center against my enlarging cock and then all rational thought leaves my brain and travels south. I roughly toss her down and bend her over the nearest piece of furniture which happens to be the chest of drawers. I yank down the shorts she is wearing along with her underwear. She removes them from her feet and spreads her legs as I yank down my bottoms and plow into her from behind. She whimpers at my sudden intrusion into her tight channel. I feel her internal muscles clench tightly around me, gripping me with such force I’m nearly blinded by it for a moment.
