by Julia Gray
"Well, it won't." She crosses her legs and avoids making eye contact with me. "I don't have the chip, and I have party guests waiting for me downstairs. Eventually, someone will come looking for me, and for my daughter. The smart thing to do would be to let us go."
Burns looks like he is about to lose his temper. His cheeks start turning red. He waves his knife at my mom and growls at her. I try to jerk my arm away from the bed, but it doesn't do any good. I need the handcuff key.
"I have searched high and low for that chip," he shouts. "You're hiding it somewhere in this house. Tell me where it is!"
"Do you know how tiny that chip is?" Mom improvises. She doesn't appear to be bothered that Burns is yelling in her face. She keeps her expression calm. "It could be anywhere. You could tear this entire house apart, and you still wouldn't find it."
He raises his hand as if to smack her the face.
"Stop," she interrupts him before he gives her a black eye. "I will tell you where I've hidden it after my sister's engagement party." Her eyes dart to the floor near my feet again. I look down at my star necklace.
"Let me think about your offer," Burns replies. He scratches his thick chin. "Sorry, I don't think so." His eyes go wide as he raises his hand again. I take a step forward, but my handcuffs stop me. Mom's face twinges as she braces herself for the weight of his heavy hand.
My bedroom door bursts open and I feel relieved to see the one person I've been thinking about all day. Gavin enters my room with my dad. Dad wastes no time running at Burns and knocking him to the ground. He falls and remains still and unconscious. Burns' partner draws his gun, but Dad is ready with clenched fists. He snatches the man's weapon from him in one swift motion and smacks the back of his head with the metal handle.
Dad pulls out more handcuffs and secures both men with their hands behind their backs. He hands Gavin a handcuff key. Gavin grins as he uncuffs me. I immediately bend over and grab the star necklace. Gavin wraps his arms around me. His hand caresses the back of my head. He stops when he runs his fingers through the strand of hair that is shorter than the rest. He pulls away and raises his eyebrows.
"They tortured me," I say.
Chapter Thirty Nine
". . . everyone knows . . . everyone wants it . . ."
Gavin kisses me, and I kiss him back even though my parents are watching. I carefully slip the star necklace into his pocket, realizing what it is. My mom gave it to me for a specific purpose. Not because she saw it and thought of me. She used me as a pawn.
"What-"
"I think it is what you've been looking for," I whisper. "My mom gave it to me when she got here. She told me always to wear it."
His eyes go wide as he places his hand on his pocket. He nods and glances at my mom who is rubbing her forehead. My dad finishes securing our captors before facing her. I expect the two of them to jump into each other's arms like Gavin and me.
I am so wrong.
"Matt!" My mom yells. "Of course, you had to go nosing around and find out I was here."
"Well, you didn't make it that difficult, Miss Penny C. Zuwella." He folds his arms. "I know what you did Heather. How could you?"
"You drove me to it," she shouts, though Dad isn't shouting back. But he doesn't need to raise his voice to show her that he is mad. The angry look on his face is more than enough evidence. "I told you two years ago that if the sneaking around didn't stop if the dirty business deals didn't stop, that we would be over. I'm a woman of my word!"
"You don't complain about the money it brings in," he responds, raising his eyebrows. He looks at her like he looks at Dane and me when we are about to be grounded and sent to our rooms. It drives my mom crazy.
"I'm finished, Matt. I'm taking my half, and I'm leaving." She marches towards the door.
"You took way more than half, Heather." Dad raises his voice, and it forces her to stop dead in her tracks. The hairs on the back of my neck stick up.
"It's what I deserve," she says quietly, keeping her back to him.
"You faked your own kidnapping, made me drain our savings account to pay your ransom, and then you still had the audacity to steal all my personal contacts, aliases, and contracts."
The room is eerily silent.
"And if that wasn't enough," Dad continues. "You went gallivanting around London with all that cash and all that dangerous intelligence, and now everyone knows about the chip. And everyone wants it." He takes a deep breath. "Your selfish acts have put our entire family in danger, Heather. Burns and his men are only the first. I will never forgive you for this."
I look at my mom who still has her back turned towards my dad. She bites the corner of her lip but shows no other emotion in reaction to what Dad just said. She glances at my feet before her eyes dart up to my neck. She narrows her eyes when she sees Gavin holding my hand.
"What is he doing here?" she says. "Get your hands off my daughter." She takes a step towards Gavin.
My entire face feels like it is on fire. My chest pounds as I think of how she has ignored me this whole trip. She even gave me the one item that a bunch of crazies would literally kill me to have. At least, I think she did. She doesn't care about me. She doesn't care about anyone.
"Chill, Mother." I take a step forward. "He and I are a thing now."
"What?" She looks him up and down with a mischievous smile. "Him? I don't think so."
"Get used to it." The more I speak my mind, the freer I feel. "He's going to be around a lot from now on."
"We'll see about that." She laughs and tilts her head to the side as if thinking of a plan to put me off of him.
"There's nothing you can do to make me hate him, Mom." I squeeze his hand. "Because we're pregnant." The twisted look on her face brings me joy. I feel like I can conquer the world right now. Nothing she says to me can hurt me. "Grandma Heather," I add just to see her cringe.
I hear Gavin chuckle. I would never have been able to stand up to her like this if he wasn't right next to me. I need him. I hope that he needs me just as much when we settle back into our lives in Seaside.
"You're lying," Mom responds.
"You wouldn't know morning sickness from a case of bulimia. I am not lying."
She starts to breathe faster.
She takes a deep breath, glances back at my Dad, and then turns towards the door. I can't believe she has nothing more to say. Maybe she thinks she is taking the high road? She leaves the room and at first tears well up behind my eyes. They stop when I see my dad staring at me.
"Is it true?" he asks calmly. "Or were you just getting back at your mother?"
"It is true, Sir." Gavin steps forward with his arms at his sides. His muscles flex like he is bracing himself to be beaten to death. "Go ahead Sir, teach me a lesson."
Chapter Forty
"I have had it with that stupid mutt!"
Dad doesn't lift a finger.
Gavin is standing in front of him, waiting to be beaten up for getting me pregnant. My dad is taking the news a lot better than my mom. After she had stormed out of the room, I heard her heels clang on the floor downstairs. I don't know if she left the house or returned to the party like nothing is wrong.
"I assumed that might be the case," Dad mutters. I step forward.
"Whoa," I respond. "You know about us?"
"I knew about you and Gavin," Dad answers. "And after observing your strange behavior back on home, I thought you might be in the early stages of pregnancy. Of course, I wasn't one hundred percent positive."
"Strange behavior?" I repeat.
"Aversion to certain smells," he responds. "You have been eating less, and you are very pale."
"Not to mention moody," Gavin teases.
I smile. Something I never thought I would do when telling my parents my secret.
"Mom didn't notice those things." I sigh.
"That doesn't mean she doesn't care for you," Dad responds. He says it softly as if he is speaking for my mom. It surprises me to see him with a gentle ex
pression on his face.
"So, what now?" Gavin asks. He stares down at the two unconscious men next to Dad's feet.
"We get rid of these guys, find the chip that your mother hid, and we go home." Dad nods at the door. "Paige, you better go back downstairs and carry on with the party. We don't need any horrified party guests calling Scotland Yard."
"Okay," I agree. I glance at Gavin's pocket. He nods as if reading my mind and hands the star necklace to my dad. "Mom gave that to me when she got here. She kept looking at it when those men asked her about your chip."
My dad's eyes go wide as he examines the necklace. His finger runs over the silver chain and charm of a star. He scratches the surface of the charm and grins. He sets it down on the floor, taking out a pocket knife. The star splits open as soon as his blade touches it like it was glued together. He wipes away some silvery dust and holds up a tiny, black square.
"That's what this is all about?"
"You have no idea what's on here," Dad answers. "We need to get back to Seaside right away."
"I'm ready to leave this place as soon as you want to," I respond. I look down at the two unconscious men in suits. "And while you are cleaning up this mess, see what you can do about the passed out coat check girl in Myra's room."
Dad doesn't say anything as I leave the room, but I hear Gavin laughing.
* * *
"Dad is here," I whisper in Dane's ear as soon as I take my seat next to him at the table. He glances at me as Victor stands up and makes a toast. Mom is sitting next to Sheila, and she won't look at me. She probably thinks that in time I will go over to her and apologize. This time is different. I can't apologize for being pregnant. I won't.
"Where?" Dane's instincts were right. I guess him and Dad are two peas in a pod. I know Dane will be just as disappointed when he finds out that Mom faked her own kidnapping just to take our family's money for herself. "Upstairs. My room."
He leans forward slightly, but I grab his hand.
"Not now," I mutter. "You'll have plenty of time to talk with him on our plane ride home tomorrow."
Dane looks at Mikki who is eagerly listening to Victor's botched engagement toast.
"I can't," he whispers. "Mikki and I are happy here. I don't want to take her back to Seaside. Her aunt Scarlett will force her into catering for the rest of the year."
"Doesn't she have a spot in Victor's new collection?"
Victor's public speaking skills are not as strong as his fashion sense. He is stumbling over his words as he explains, for the second time, how he and Aunt Sheila met.
"Yes," Dane answers.
"She won't need the money so what's the problem?"
"Look," Dane mutters. "Nothing back home ever went right for us, but for the first time, things are great. I don't want to mess that up. Mikki and I decided that we are going to Dublin."
"More sight-seeing?"
"To live," he corrects me. "At least, if I find a job there."
Victor sits down, and everyone claps.
"You can't leave me," I say quietly. I recall having said these same exact words to him many times before - once when he got his driver's license and stopped coming home after school. Once when he left for college, and many other times after that. Each time wasn't successful. He always ends up leaving.
Dane looks at me, and his eyes move down to my stomach. I sigh and grab the glass of water in front of me. I am starting to feel anxious. The type of anxious that is usually coupled with a fit of puking. I try to calm myself down by concentrating on my place setting rather than the food around me. I look up when Aunt Sheila stands and asks for everyone's attention. She clinks her glass.
"I just want to thank all of you for coming out today," Aunt Sheila announces. "And I want to thank my wonderful sister for setting all this up on such short notice."
Mom nods, looking proud of herself.
"And I want to-"
Aunt Sheila is interrupted suddenly by the sound of barking. Myra jumps up and grabs Princey who is choking on a chunk of cocktail sausage. Myra yelps as she reaches inside his mouth to clear the blockage.
"Oh, Princey." She hugs him and carries him back to her seat. Aunt Sheila watches in disgust. Her face changes and the way she is frowning makes the wrinkles on her face bulge out.
"That is it," Aunt Sheila says. "I have had it with that stupid mutt! I have had it with this fur-infested house! And I have had it with this engagement!" She throws her cloth napkin on the floor and stomps on it. Every person in the room gasps, except for me, Dane, Mikki, and surprisingly Myra.
The four of us burst out laughing.
Chapter Forty One
". . . Victor is gay."
Myra, Mikki, and I spent the whole night laughing about the party starting with the drugged out coat check girl. Now that we won't be family, Myra and I feel more like ourselves around each other. We exchanged cell phone numbers and plan on staying in touch, especially since Mikki will be coming back to London for Paris fashion week.
Mom left as soon as Aunt Sheila stormed off after giving the worst engagement speech in history. When I went back to my room, Dad and Gavin had taken care of Burns, and Mom's luggage was gone. She must have snuck out after Aunt Sheila ruined the evening. Mom will make an appearance again sometime.
Dad insisted that Gavin stay at his flat even though the two of us have already been intimate. Obviously. I think Dad just wants to scare him a little before he has to start acting like a respectable grandpa. I woke up this morning, drank the ginger tea that Mikki made for me, and packed all my things.
I sit on the sofa in my room, waiting for our car to arrive. Dad and Gavin are waiting outside, probably scanning the neighborhood. I hear a knock on my door, and my aunt Sheila pokes her head in. Her eyes are puffy like she has been crying.
"Bye, honey," she says. "Sorry things had to end this way."
"Honestly Aunt Sheila, you're better off now. I'm pretty sure that Victor is gay."
She laughs at my joke and gives me a hug.
"You take care of yourself," she says sincerely. "And don't worry too much about your mom. She has always been stubborn. You two will forgive and make up in no time."
I'm not so sure about that.
"The car is here," Dane says. He is standing in the doorway ready to help me with my last bag. Aunt Sheila nods and leaves the room. I follow Dane downstairs, carrying a large tote bag. Dane doesn't reach for it. Instead, he puts his backpack on and rolls Mikki's suitcase to the foyer.
"How long is the flight to Dublin?" I ask.
"I'm not sure." He sighs. "We're not going." I look at him until he makes eye contact.
"What?"
"We talked all last night, and we decided to go back home with you." He says it like it is no big deal, but my heart starts racing. "That is if you need us?"
"Yeah," I reply, astonished. "Okay." I watch him pull Mikki's luggage to the foyer.
When I first set foot on British soil, I was pregnant, alone, and afraid. I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. I even took pleasure in watching others screw up because it meant that my screw-ups weren't as bad.
I'm not the same as I once was.
I walk proudly down the last few steps in the front hall, not afraid of what lies ahead. I don't know anything about babies, but Gavin and I will figure it out.
I am not alone anymore.
I have Dad.
I have my brother, Dane.
I have his girlfriend, Mikki.
And I have Gavin.
/div>
