by Marie Wathen
“Who wants to go first?” Rhys begins the debriefing, interrupting our sweet, private moment. “Sam?”
She shakes her head, not looking back at Rhys, but keeping her focus on Morgan. Clearly unhappy about continuing their conversation with everyone here, Morgan stands and refills his glass, leaving Sam staring after him. With him refusing to make eye contact with her, she rises and glances over at Rhys before speaking.
“Fine,” she concedes. “After staying at the mansion for the past week and observing some of the odd things going on, I’ve come to the conclusion that someone is doping Tristan.”
“Shut the hell up,” Kole bellows directly behind me. I twist around and Marcus pulls me into his lap. “Do you know who and what yet?”
“I know that it’s Ryske,” Sam replies sternly. I suck in a deep breath and nearly choke on it. “But I haven’t narrowed it down to who’s doing it or why.”
After a couple of murmured ‘damns’ a silence falls across the group. Everyone looks at each other and then gives a good bit of attention to the floor before Sam speaks again.
“The behavior Tristan displayed was so unlike his character that I knew he was being influenced by something. At first, I thought it was the head injury, but I sent blood and hair samples to the forensics office. They came back positive. Whoever is supplying him the shit isn’t maintaining a regular schedule. Some days he seems almost normal. Then the next he’s totally fucked up again. His appetite for sex is increasing. Goddammit if keeping him from doing something stupid with Elise isn’t turning into a full-time job.” Kole chuckles and Sam sighs while pinning him with a pissed-off look. “He’s being weaned from the pain meds and should be completely off soon, but I think if we delay extracting him he may not recover from this behavior change.” My hands grip around my mouth, stifling the sob lodged in my throat. Sam glances up to Rhys before turning her attention back to the rest of us. “His behavior is rapidly digressing. He claims that when he’s healthy, he is going to work with Beck, giving up on his dreams of law enforcement. He keeps trying to get to Elise, but I’ve convinced him that she isn’t the type of girl you deflower because of her powerful daddy. I may have lied when I told him that the last guy who tried lost one of his dangly boys. He believed me because he doesn’t remember that I’m usually full of shit.” All the guys chuckle. “We’ve seen the results of what Ryske has on people after prolonged use and before we lose him completely, I want him moved here.”
“Agreed,” Marcus votes, tightening his grip around me. “Let me know when and I’ll help.” Sam nods and arches an expectant eyebrow up at Rhys.
“What else?” Rhys flips his gaze over me before he turns his attention back to the group.
Tac clears his throat, “Well,–”
“Not you!” Rhys cuts him off.
Tac throws up his hands in surrender and shakes his head with a proud smirk on his face. They antagonize one another like Morgan does Marcus. Glancing between them, I smile thinking that they look so much alike that they really could be brothers.
“Miller busted Breesan’s cover, but I think the situation is diffused,” Kole states, glancing over at Raithe impatiently. I cringe knowing Marcus will be pissed off about this little nugget that I failed to mention before now. “Correct?”
“Yeah, she’s agreed to keep her mouth shut,” Raithe responds half-heartedly and Kole snorts.
“How the fuck did that happen?” Marcus growls low, glaring disbelievingly between the two protectors.
“She was on to me,” I answer quickly, jumping in to defend the guys before he can throttle them for something they couldn’t anticipate and weren’t prepared for. “It was bound to happen. Miller told me she thought that she knew me.” I look into his eyes filled with deep concern. “Since it appears that we’re never going to find the third abductor at Toxic, I told Ensley that I needed some time off. I was going to quit completely, but she begged me to just take off a couple of days.” Marcus nods, and I notice Morgan’s posture turns rigid. I catch his eye, but he simply shakes his head and forces himself to relax. I need to figure out that look. If he’s truly lost his shit, and just the mention of the last abductor has him turning into a cement statue, then something is definitely up.
“That’s good. I’m over this undercover bullshit,” Rhys chimes in. “We need everyone working on the issue with the shipments of Ryske getting onto the island. Up until recently there were only a couple of reports of usage on the island. With Julia no longer here, I assumed that Dr. A would no longer have a reason to come back. That isn’t the case.”
“Not at all,” Kole interject, shutting the office door in case Ensley drops in. Leaning his back against the door, he supplies, “In fact, the increase is up almost one hundred percent. The coast guard busted a small vessel carrying a large shipment, but the only crewman onboard shot himself before they could question him.”
“Damn…” Morgan whistles, his eyes as wide as a cue ball.
“Is there a contact that we’ve missed?” Sam solicits everyone before narrowing her eyes on Rhys, who holds her gaze while shaking his head slowly. What could that little exchange mean?
“There must be, but who is it?” Kole asks, shrugging a shoulder, and the group sits solemnly contemplating his question.
“Could it be Julia’s son?” I suggest and every eye in the room lands on me.
“That’s another thing we need to discuss,” Rhys interjects, finally ending his staring competition with Sam. “As it turns out, Mrs. Maxwell has a son, whom we didn’t have details on until the recent disclosure of the Willow Island heiress.” He tips his head my direction while glancing down at a file folder with my name on it. I shift on Marcus’ lap to get a better look and Rhys offers it over without hesitation. “We’re still working on getting more information, but I believe that Julia used Dr. Moneybags and hid him well. We know that she lived in London a few years before Breesan was born. We speculate that this is when and where her son was born. Because of the connection to our case, I can justify sending someone there soon.” He turns his attention to Marcus and my stomach flips. Rhys is going to send him away again and who knows how long this trip will keep him from me. “But before we leapfrog across the pond, I want to know more about Casandria, Breesan.”
I shift my eyes from Marcus and nod. “When the news release broke the story about me, I immediately called her over to discuss it. She gave me general information that anyone can get from the damn public library,” I tell them and then mumble to myself. “If you knew to look for bullshit like a family you didn’t even know existed.”
“What was that?” Rhys leans sideways, suggesting I repeat my pitiful remark.
“Nothing,” I tell him and then replay everything that Casandria confided in me.
“Vivian Andrews is my dad’s mother. According to Casandria, Vivian divorced my grandfather, Charles Maxwell, after a major falling out involving their children. My dad has an older sister named Faylen who left when she was twenty because of her mother’s control issues. Apparently Granny was a tyrant,” I mock. “No one knows Auntie Fay’s location and since she was disowned by Vivian, no one cares to find her, except for me,” Marcus rubs my back supportively. “I assume she is Wren’s mother and if so, Faylen may still be in Paris. Finding her is one of the first things I intend to do after we get Anna and Waverly back.” I turn around and devote my attention to Marcus. He nods and squeezes my hip, acknowledging my plea. I look back at Rhys and spill everything else. “She also told me about my dad’s brother who is older by several years. Apparently, Declan was disowned as a teenager after his first arrest which disgraced the Maxwell name. Casandria doesn’t remember much else about him, but the last thing that she remembers hearing about him was that he had been charged with multiple murders and is currently rotting in a prison in South America.”
“Damn,” Kole mumbles, staring at Rhys. Looking to me, he says, “This is some crazy shit. Your mother gave you a helluva lot more info than I’v
e been able to dig up. I wonder what else she may know.”
“Well, she didn’t know anything about Julia having a son.” I look from Kole to Rhys. “She was adamant that Julia was only on a trip with friends from college that year.”
Marcus says, “I think we need to do some fact checking before we just accept everything at face value that Casandria gave Breesan. I want to fly down to the prison and speak with this uncle…”
“No,” Rhys barks, cutting off his request.
“If she is a target because of her inheritance, I want to find out who is behind it,” Marcus demands, gripping my side tighter.
“No,” Rhys repeats, glaring back. “You will go where I say you go. For now we can’t connect the Andrews family fortune to Dr. A. So drop it.”
“Fuck,” Marcus growls furiously.
“It’s okay,” I soothe, wrapping my hand over his, making him aware of the death grip he has on me.
Relinquishing his anger, he strokes my side softly. “Sorry, baby,” he whispers, tipping me toward him so that my forehead touches his tenderly. He’s really upset by Rhys’ orders.
I peck the tip of his nose with a soft kiss and then turn toward his pain-in-the-ass Commander. “Casandria said she’ll make a few calls, but her last contact didn’t pan out so well.”
Rhys’ eyebrows scrunch inward. “What contact?”
“She had a nurse friend who was working on the night I was born. She visited her a few days ago.” Avoiding eye contact with everyone, I say, “Unfortunately, the woman died a week after I was born and no one on staff was working there nineteen years ago.”
The silence in the room is so creepy that I allow my gaze to lift. First, I’m pierced with an odd look from Morgan, making me think that he doesn’t believe my mother’s story. The others are completely avoiding eye contact and I know exactly what the hell that means. They are still hiding shit from me, and I’m getting really sick of it. I wish they would treat me as an equal for once.
Chapter Sixteen
Breesan
“Really?!” I shout, looking from Rhys, to Kole, to Sam and then back behind me to Marcus. “After all the bullshit that I have been through, you’re all still hiding stuff from me?”
“I’m not,” Morgan mumbles, saluting me with his empty tumbler. “I didn’t even know that you were the Heiress Maxwell. By the way, congrats on joining the club.” He winks roguishly, pouring two glasses of amber liquid and then he brings one over to me. I shake my head, refusing the alcohol, but he thrusts it toward me while tsking. “Just a celebratory drink for the latest millionaire on the island.” Rhys clears his throat, shaking his head when Morgan twists around to look at him. “Not a millionaire?” He looks back at me with a full-face smile and both eyebrows reaching for the sky and then guesses, “Billionaire?”
“Multi,” Rhys replies for me and I shrug.
“Well, shit,” Morgan plops his butt down hard on the cleared-off corner of Rhys’ desk directly in front of me, tipping back the liquor he intended for me to drink only moments ago. “That clears up a lot of things.”
“What does it clear up exactly?” I request angrily. Still pissed off at the rest of them, I hope Morgan isn’t going to turn into a silent member of this stupid so-called cavalry.
Without a pause, Morgan slurs, “Uh, why someone wants you.” His eyes narrow on the man sitting behind me for a split second before devoting all of his attention back on me again. “I mean…If you’re really worth that much money, then it explains why you were a target for the shooting as well as the abductions.” He points a finger at me and asks, “But who would gain anything if you were to disappear? That’s the multi-billion dollar question.”
“No one,” Rhys and I respond at the exact same time.
“Not necessarily,” Morgan counters, shaking his head adamantly, “Your stepmother knew about the money. Plus, whoever her son turns out to be will most likely be part of the plan to take you out of the equation.”
“Morgan,” Marcus warns.
“No,” I demand. “I want to hear what he has to say. At least someone around here isn’t afraid to tell me the damn truth.”
“Breesan, I haven’t lied to you about anything,” Marcus cups his hand around my jaw, drawing my face around to his. “I tell you everything I know, but I won’t tell you utter bullshit.” He glares at Morgan before shifting his burning green eyes back on me. “And I refuse to freak you out unnecessarily when we can’t confirm what Morgan is saying to be the truth. I do agree, though, that if Julia’s son is behind everything, then we need to identify him and interrogate him now.”
“No,” Rhys booms angrily, his voice echoing off the wall. He thumps his fist against the top of his desk. “I’m not sending you on any more missions unless they involve tracking Dr. A. I’ll not repeat myself on this topic again, Marcus.”
Marcus lifts me up from his lap so he can stand in front of his commander, draws my hand into his and shouts back at Rhys, “You know what, fuck you! My priority is her.” Without looking, he points a finger at me. “I want off the Dr. A detail until the motherfucker who wants to hurt her is either arrested or six feet under.”
“Marcus,” Sam draws his attention away from a red-faced Rhys. “You’re not helping her if you go off half-cocked, flipping over every stone trying to find some little rat bastard who is a master at hiding. I agree with Rhys; for now, you need to focus on your job.”
“Thank you,” Rhys chimes in smugly.
“However,” she continues, looking at her boss, “I feel it in my gut that there is a definite connection between everything that has happened to Breesan and our Ryske case.”
With a snippy attitude, Marcus mocks Rhys’ earlier comment, “Thank you.” He’s ready to launch in another attack, but his sister cuts him off too quickly.
“But, you have a job that you can’t just walk away from, little brother. This is all turning into a bunch of bullshit, and I can’t keep up with all the players. It is what it is. The four of us were each selected specifically to capture that bastard and stop the spread of Ryske before he leaves a blood trail deeper than the Grand Canyon through Willow, which includes your cousin.”
Marcus’ shoulders slump and he drops back down into his chair. His eyes scan over every inch of my face, and I can see the disappointment etching deeply into the creases along his forehead. “Breesan–”
“It’s fine, but…” I turn back to make eye contact with Sam and then Kole before looking directly at Rhys. “I am sick of the lies and omissions. You already know that I will help in any way possible, so just let me. If something is too dangerous, I’ll step back and let the professionals handle it. But you owe me the truth.” Morgan chuckles and I punch him playfully in the arm.
“Ouch, meanie,” he pushes me back down on Marcus’ lap.
“I have a few ideas about that,” Tac exclaims animatedly.
“You,” Rhys points a finger at the large man sprawled out across the low leather sofa on the far wall. “We need to deal with the shit you’ve been doing since taking up residency in my house.”
“Kiss my ass, Rhys. I don’t work for you, and I’ll do whatever the hell I want on my buck. So, until I’m satisfied with the current situation involving the abduction, you can count on me to pursue the most obscure leads.” My heart leaps in my chest hearing Tac sticking it to Rhys. I mouth a ‘thank you’ to him and he gives me the cutest wink I think I’ve ever seen before. I’m sure that it’s because it comes with his promise, making it the most important wink I’ve ever received. Even though Marcus wants to devote every second to helping me unravel this messed-up riddle, he can’t just walk away from his job. Luckily, Tac’s got my back.
“Like brothels in the Keys?” Rhys snorts and Morgan busts out laughing like a madman, nearly dropping his glass of whiskey.
“I’m sorry,” Morgan stifles his laughter and tries pulling a serious face, but he’s too hammered. “He wasn’t alone and it didn’t cost your little crew here any
thing. So give it a rest.”
“Motherfucker,” Rhys growls angrily, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “I’m nearing the end of my rope with this shit.”
“Commander,” Sam leans over his desk, capturing Rhys’ full attention, to ask, “Is there something, anything that we have which connects Dr. A to any of this recent information?” Rhys shakes his head, but Sam continues staring at him and beams, “We’ve got the boxes in Breesan’s attic. The way Julia outlined everything about her life in all of those journals we found inside the couple of boxes of journals that Marcus first brought over, I guarantee the identity of her son, and quite possibly Dr. A’s, too, are in them.” Smiles ignite across the room.
“Brilliant, Sam,” Rhys cheers.
***
Morgan
My head is spinning from all this new information dumped all in one night. Or maybe it’s the alcohol. I grunt, too loudly, and attract the attention of everyone in the room. Shrugging my shoulders, I look down at Breesan and catch her staring intently at me. Her eyes are sad. I’m not stupid. I know why she’s looking at me like this. She wants to talk about it, but I can’t. Not now. And Sam wants me to go see a fucking shrink. Pfft, yeah, like that shit will ever happen.
Leaning forward, I attempt to whisper, “Want that celebratory drink yet, heiress?” Breesan scowls at me, and I chuckle until my gaze shifts to the pissed-off face of my brother sitting behind her. I roll my eyes at him and stand, pouring another glass of bourbon.
“Cap that damn bottle off,” Commander Rhys shouts from his ruling seat in the big office of his compound. “He’s shitfaced and we’re not finished here.” Prick!
“Oh, bugger off,” I shout while overflowing my glass and laughing at the mess I’m making all over the bar. Sam turns, grabs a cloth and begins dabbing up the spilled whiskey. “Super Sam to the rescue! Such an awesome sister,” I tease.
“Seriously, bro, I won’t stand for alcohol abuse,” Tac chomps. “If you can’t pour without spilling, ask me to do it.” He raises his glass up, we clink and drink together.
