Art of War (A Stern Family Saga Book 3)

by Monique Orgeron

  I ask, “Gabriel, will you have time tomorrow to go over some business? I’d like for Liam to be involved also since he will be the one running the casino for me while I’m home resting.”

  Gabriel nods. “After breakfast, we’ll go over everything we can. He then addresses Liam, “I think Murphy’s right, it’s important for you to be there. Will you be available?” Liam nods, and we all say our goodbyes as they leave our room.

  Zander closes the door and turns around. I start first, “Zander, I… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have flown off the handle like that. I know you’re just worried. I keep forgetting how dangerous this is. I’m not used to someone telling me what I can and can’t do. I’ve always been the kind of person that if you tell me I can’t do something, then I am going to show you I can.”

  Zander raises his hands to stop me. “I know, Red, you’re spoiled rotten.”

  That just infuriates me. “I am not spoiled!”

  Zander chuckles. “The hell you’re not!”

  He walks slowly over to me and grabs my face. “Red, I knew going in how spoiled you are, it’s one of the things I love about you. I want nothing more than to continue to spoil you.”

  I swallow hard. “That’s one reason. What are the others?”

  He laughs. “I love how confident and strong you are.”

  He kisses my forehead. “I love your red hair.”

  He kisses my left cheek. “I love your tits.”

  He kisses my other cheek. “I love your ass.”

  Then he kisses my nose. “I love your freckles.”

  “I love your stubbornness and feistiness, I even love when you yell at me,” he bends to whisper in my ear, “I think it’s hot as shit.”

  He straightens. “But I can’t have you doing that in front of anyone, you understand?” I nod my head and wrap my hands around his wrist.

  He then says, “I love all of you.” He kisses me, making me shake at the knees. “I especially love your pussy and when I can get back in, I’m going to show you how much.”

  I slap his arm. “Zander, don’t tease me. It’s not funny.”

  He releases me laughing and walks backwards. “The hell it’s not.”

  “Listen, Zander, I trust you. I really do and I am sorry. From now on I’ll listen to what you say.”

  “Aww, baby, can I have that in writing?” He continues to laugh.

  “I’m being serious, Zander, I will do whatever you say.”

  He sits in a chair, spreading his legs out. “That’s the hottest thing you have ever said to me. Promise to say it again after the babies are born.”

  I decide to play with him a little. I stroll up to him, wiggling my ass back and forth, I lean over him with my hands on both sides of his chair. I look deep into his eyes and say in a low, sexy voice, “I will promise to do whatever you want. Anytime, anywhere.”

  He grabs my wrist. “Oh no, you don’t! Come on, we’re going back downstairs before you seduce me into fucking you.”

  I laugh all the way downstairs. It’s so funny to see a man his size blush.

  61

  Catherine

  I’m extremely worried about what’s going on. I haven’t had anyone not scared of this family in a very long time. Now someone is after us and they’re using Murphy to do it. Zander still believes it’s about her, but I don’t, not anymore. I have been going over and over it in my mind trying to figure out who would be stupid enough to want a war with us. I can’t come up with anyone. All I know is this has more to do with us than it does Murphy. It might not have started that way, but that’s how it is now.

  Two weeks have gone by since Zander put Murphy on lockdown. I even had Gabriel and Liam do the same with their wives. If this guy wants to get to us, he will use one of them. Whichever one is easier to get to. The only problem now is they are all going stir crazy being in this house all day and night. Especially Murphy, that girl won’t rest for anything. I like that about her, but she is stressing herself out way too much.

  All the men are gone for the morning, preparing the casinos for Thanksgiving. So I decide to invite all the women to the kitchen with me to help prepare the Thanksgiving feast for the family. My hopes are that it will give them all something to do. Besides, I love cooking; it always took my mind off all my worries for a while. Plus I have always tried to prepare all our holiday meals myself.

  Right on time, they all start piling into the kitchen. With Murphy dragging behind, she’s on the phone again with Liam making sure he has everything she wants to be done, done. I walk over to her and grab the phone.

  “Liam, angel, do you have it all under control?”

  He tells me yes and begs me to tell Murphy not to worry. I look at her scowling face and tell him I will try. Once I hang up, I pocket the phone instead of giving it back to her.

  She yells out, “Hey, Catherine, I need that!”

  “No, you don’t, you need to relax and enjoy the day. You won’t have much more like these once the babies come.”

  I go over the menu with the girls, including Cherry, and give them all assigned jobs to do. I planned out an elaborate meal, and I need all their help.

  Murphy walks up to me and whispers, “You might want to give Mom something simple, she is not the best of cooks.” I look over to Cherry and see her studying the recipe I gave her. I can’t help laughing; she looks dumbfounded.

  “How are your cooking skills?”

  “Ahh, not that great either. Never really had anyone to teach me.” She looks back at her mom to see if she was paying attention.

  “Come on, I’ll show you how to bake the turkey.” The kitchen is large so it gives us all the room we need to maneuver around without being in each other’s way.

  Murphy’s following my instructions perfectly then she asks, “Who taught you how to cook?”

  “When I married William, I couldn’t cook to save my life. I was bored in this house all day and night by myself so I asked the chef if she could teach me. Every day I would come in here and learn something new.”

  “Did your husband like your cooking?”

  My mind flashes back in time for a moment. I shake my head clear from the memories and answer, “No, he thought it was underneath my status. He never wanted me to cook again when he found out. But I kept learning anyway. Then when the boys got bigger I begged him to let me at least cook meals for them. I didn’t do it every night, but I tried as much as he would allow. He would, however, let me bake for them. He said the boys liked my cookies so he would let me do that whenever I could.”

  “What do you mean, he wouldn’t let you or allow you?”

  Before I could answer, Cherry walks into the conversation. “Murphy, leave it be.”

  “It’s all right, Cherry.”

  “Murphy, my husband was not like my sons. He was not a kind man. He had limitations on everything I did.”

  She looks back towards the turkey, knowing it upsets me to think about it. “I wish I had the strength you girls have at your ages. I was weak and even though I tried to shield the boys from it, they were aware of more than I thought. That’s why it’s important to me that the mother of my grandchildren not be like that. I want their mothers to be strong women that won’t give up on making them or this family the best we can be. There will be times you will have to make hard decisions for them and I need to know that you will be able to do so.”

  Murphy looks at me and says, “I think all mothers want that for their children.”

  “Not all, Murphy. Some mothers aren’t there and some give up, finding the easy road. There will be nothing easy about being a part of this family.”

  “I’m learning that.”

  “No, Murphy you’re not. But you will.”

  I decide to leave it at that and walk over to Fallon and see how the dressing is going. When I look up, I see Murphy studying me, trying to figure me out. She has no idea what kinds of decisions she might have to make. It’s not easy training your children how to protect themselves
. It’s definitely not easy knowing your children’s lives are at risk all the time or that you have sent your son out there to take someone’s life. But it’s necessary for our future. Sacrifices will have to be made that she has no idea about yet. I hope she will be strong enough to handle them.

  Hours later, the men all arrive in time for Thanksgiving dinner. We all sit in the dining room and I have set everything out on the table. Gabriel has been the man of the household for so long now that he has taken the lead to cut into the turkey like always, but then he stops.

  He looks over to Theo. “Theo, I think you should cut the turkey from now on. It only seems right.” Theo looks at me and I nod. He stands, looking happy and proud that Gabriel gave him this honor. His son Teddy refused to join us, so I know he has been upset. I’m very happy to see that Gabriel’s offering made him so happy.

  We all begin to eat and throughout the meal we talk about nothing important just about life. We find ourselves laughing often. I watch all of them around the table and my heart skips a beat. Seeing my dinner table full and joyous is all I ever wanted. I look at my family with so much love. Who would have ever thought I would one day have all this? I hoped and prayed but never saw this much love.

  I look over at Vin. I see him also watching everyone and I know it hurts him that he is not privy to the love of a woman yet. I grab his hand and when he looks at me I tell him, “I love you, son. You know that, right?”

  He leans over and kisses my cheek. “I know, Mom, I love you too.”

  He hardly ever calls me ‘Mom’. I’m not his real mother, but I have loved him like he’s mine. Hell, he is mine and that will never change. So, when he does call me ‘Mom’ it always brings a tear to my eyes. I squeeze his hand tighter, knowing that he means every word he just said. I never question his love ever, he has proven that love to me in more ways than you can imagine.

  I wipe my eyes and continue enjoying the meal. After dinner, we all enjoy the rest of the night and it all ends on a high.

  62

  Zander

  Murphy is driving me crazy. She is driving my brothers crazy. She is constantly worried about work. We all keep promising her that everything is handled and going well. She just won’t let it go. Today, we have the doctor coming over. Mom made arrangements for him to come to us for her examinations. He even brought some of his equipment here to make sure he has everything just in case. Mom even made up a bedroom downstairs for us. Murphy can no longer go upstairs easily.

  She’s 36 weeks and 5 days now and the Doc keeps telling us it can be any day now. Murphy keeps telling him that she is holding them inside for as long as she can, even with how uncomfortable she is. With all the time on her hands, she has been reading up on pregnancy books for twins. I’ve even been reading them. Some of that shit is scary. But when the doctor leaves he guarantees us that Murphy and the babies look great. He says, though, we should be prepared, anything can happen from now on. He even tells me that if nothing happens in a couple of days he gives us permission to start having sex again to try to help with bringing on her labor. I get excited, but Murphy looks at me like it’s not going to happen. She was so frisky the whole pregnancy, but now she is just miserable.

  I try to help as much as I can, I rub her aching back and feet every night. I even rub her belly with oils to help with her skin stretching. She cries almost daily now. Complaining about how fat she is and how I’m not going to love her anymore. She cries about not seeing her feet or being able to shave. So of course, I start shaving her legs and help her dress, which makes her cry even more.

  Fallon, Mom, and Cherry all try to tell me it's normal for a pregnant woman to feel this way. They say they can’t imagine how hard it is to carry twins. Which is why I love her even more. She wobbles everywhere she goes, and I love her more with each step she takes.

  It even starts driving her crazy how much time she sees me. I swear she goes from crying to pissed so fast it has my head spinning. I work mainly contract type work, if I had to give it a name. I only work when the casinos need something. Like extra help or collections. But I have a great crew that I personally trained so that even when the casinos need me, most of it can be handled by them.

  But things have been fairly quiet recently, and since Murphy has been stuck at home we haven’t heard anything more from our mystery guy. I know he’s coming, though, I feel it.

  63

  Murphy

  Oh my God!! I feel like I’m going to be pregnant forever. Dr. Martin has been coming every other day now. Catherine demanded that he keep a close eye on me. I am officially 37 weeks and 2 days now. Dr. Martin should be here any minute. The last time he was here he gave us permission to have sex again. Saying it would help. I wanted to kill him for giving Zander the green light to go, but when we did it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Once I was able to find a comfortable position Zander made sure I enjoyed every second of it. Today we’ll see if it helped anything. Last night I got a few contractions, but they went away and since then I haven’t gotten anymore.

  Zander, unfortunately, will not be here for this doctor appointment. He left early saying that he got a clue on the person after us. So, he wanted to be there personally. I welcome the peace. I never realized how much down time he actually has. I love him, but it will be nice to be alone for a few hours. It’s not that I don’t want to be with him, but my emotions are all over the place these days and everything he does, even if it’s to help, drives me nuts.

  Dr. Martin arrives on time and Mom brings him to meet me in my new bedroom. I am so happy Catherine suggested me coming downstairs. It was getting so hard to make it upstairs anymore.

  “Hey Doc, I’m hoping for the word that I am almost there. The babies should be fine now, right?”

  “Yes Murphy, you’re doing great. The babies should have no major issues at this time. Have you and Zander had intercourse?” I look at my mom and she waves her hand like she doesn’t care, so I tell him yes.

  He starts his exam and says I have made progress. He’s willing to see what happens in the next day or two, but beyond that he wants me to go to the hospital. He also tells me to continue to walk and try to have more sex, that it seems to be working in bringing me closer.

  I decide to get out of the bed and walk him out. I want to move around, hoping it will help.

  In the living room, I see all the women. Dr. Martin decides to stay and have a cup of coffee with everyone. He starts filling everyone in on my progress and keeps telling us any day now. Any day couldn’t come fast enough.

  The doorbell rings and Catherine says we weren’t expecting anyone. She’s so surprised that she gets up to follow Jeffery to the door.

  When she returns to the room, we all freeze.

  64

  Zander

  I’m pissed about missing our doctor appointment, this will be the first one I miss. But this is important, it can’t be helped. Anytime I hear that it’s about finding the hitman, I run. The faster I get rid of him, the faster my family will be safe.

  When I make it to the warehouse, I enter seeing a man already waiting in a chair looking comfortable. He won’t stay like that for long. I walk up to him, removing my suit jacket, letting him know I’m ready to play. However, he doesn’t flinch. He’s as cool as a cucumber. It’s strange, usually men see me coming and start pissing their pants.

  “What’s your name?” He doesn’t answer, so I crack my neck and roll my shoulders to get warmed up for the workout I’m about to get on him. I punch him hard, knocking a tooth out.

  “I asked what your name is?”

  “Do your best.”

  He spits some blood out and gets himself ready for another hit. He takes it well, which makes me wonder why he’s acting like there is no hope for his survival. I back up and give the man a good look. He’s older, around Mom’s age, but he is in really great shape. He’s a larger man and I notice his face has some scars. It looks like he’s been in many fights before.

  “You took my p
unch like a pro. Tell me who you are.”

  “Fuck you.”

  I start hitting him again, the man’s bloody and cut, but he still says nothing. I take a seat across from him, studying him. This man can hold his own.

  “Were you a boxer? Or what crew have you worked for?”

  He starts laughing. “Come on, boy, you can’t be tired yet.”

  “You’re so anxious, it makes me wonder why?”

  He smiles at me. “You want something from me, come on, try to get it.”

  “What I want is to know why you were talking shit about my wife and telling people you know who’s been threatening her?”

  “Because I know who’s after her.” Then he laughs. “Plus, I like talking shit about big titty redheads.”

  I stand, immediately going back to hitting him. My guys have to pull me off him before I kill him. When they finally pull me off, the guy is in bad shape. He’s barely hanging on. I try the only thing I have left. I try pleading with him, trying to emotionally connect.

  “Listen to me, man, that is my wife you’re talking shit about, and she’s pregnant with my twins right now. You’re protecting the asshole that is wanting to take her from me. Can’t you understand how that makes me feel?”

  He starts talking, but I can’t make out anything he’s saying. I fall to my knees in front of him to try to hear what he’s saying.