by Helen Vera
“Your husband got what he deserved. He dug his own grave when he decided to put our reputation and our livelihood at risk. I spent 41 years of my life building my empire and making hard sacrifices along the way. Sacrifices your dearly departed husband was not capable of making. The law firm’s reputation was untouchable. It was the holy grail that drew our clients to us. I was on the cusp of retirement when your file landed in my lap.” He said, pointing to Jax. “When I found out what Andrew was up to, I knew I had to stop him from burning my legacy to the ground.”
“So you resorted to killing him? Did that save your reputation? Because in case you haven’t noticed, your law firm has become the laughing stock of New York.” I glare daggers at him, wishing I had Andrew’s gun. “No one wants to work with you anymore.”
“On the contrary my dear.” He chuckles. “Our clients have doubled since November. It all worked according to plan. Now I just need to tie my loose ends.”
I dig my nails into Jax’s arm. His shoulders are tense and he looks like a wolf who’s about to lunge at his prey. “Was Sue a loose end too? Because she knew nothing.”
Cooper shrugs nonchalantly. “That one was a mere misunderstanding. I thought maybe she knew too much, especially when she showed up at the firm asking nosy questions. She came by twice asking for the JC Construction case files. She pretended to be a safety inspector from the Department of Buildings. I heard her mention going to the police, so I needed to make sure that she left a text on her phone saying everything she said was a lie. It was quite entertaining to watch her swallow those pills, knowing she was going to die.”
“You asshole!” I lunge at him, but Jax traps me in his arms. “I swear I’ll kill you! You’re dead!” I want to punch him, kick him...anything! His lizard eyes are gleeful and filled with evil.
“Look at you, ready to do anything for your daughter. This is how I feel about my firm.” Cooper says. “You, on the other hand, defied my expectations.” He looks at Jax with a hint of admiration in his voice.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“The money of course.” He reveals. “Bradshaw hid the millions we found in Andrew’s secret account for a rainy day. He planned on using it for a time like this. A time when everything falls into place. We thought you would take the money because you’re famous for being a selfish fuck. This was clearly a mistake on my part since I forgot to add Vivian into this little equation.” He smiles down at Lucy and strokes her curly hair. “I thought a little improv would go a long way.”
“No! Don’t you fucking touch her!” I shout. “Lucy, baby!”
She wakes up and starts crying. Her blue eyes find mine and she starts calling for me too. I feel like somebody’s crushing my soul every time she cries. I sink to the floor while Jax takes one risky step forward.
“Stop it right there.” Cooper picks up the gun and points it straight at my baby. “Now here’s the deal. You either take the fall for Andrew’s murder or I kill that sweet little baby. Your call.”
“This is not a game of chess, you piece of shit!” Jax snarls.
“Dada!”
“Jax!” I tug on his jeans, willing him to look at me. I want him to save us all from this hell.
“Tick tock.” Cooper taunts us. I spit at him, wishing there was a way to save both Jax and my baby. We cannot let the bastard win. We can’t let him get away with this. He killed both Lucy’s father and my best friend. Jax is my saving grace at this very moment. Lucy’s life is in his hands.
Jax crouches down beside me and pulls me into a tight hug. “I love you. Never forget that.”
He kisses my forehead and lets me go. Our eyes meet for the longest time, and I can tell that he’s already made up his mind. He’s going to save Lucy and take the fall for what Cooper did.
34
JAX
“You already know that I made my choice, so why don’t you cut the bullshit and let the kid go?”
“Turn yourself in first, and I will gladly hand her over to you.” Cooper, the piece of shit says. I swear if it weren’t for Lucy, I would have ripped his head off by now.
“Fine.” I grit my teeth. “Give me your phone.” I reach down and try not to look at Vivian’s face. She’s still crying and I’m fucking trying not to lose it here. My body is strung tighter than a bow. My suppressed anger feels like a nuclear bomb about to explode. This is all my fucking fault. I started this whole mess by giving him that stupid file. I should have known better than to trust another lawyer. Karma is indeed a bitch, and right now that bitch is kicking my ass.
She hands me her phone and I dial the number to my favorite precinct. Luckily, officer Mike answers the phone. His familiar monotone voice gives me hope that this could actually work.
“Hello. Yes, I would like to report a crime.”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
I tell Officer Mike that I’m turning myself in for the murder of Andrew Caldwell. He immediately transfers the call to Deputy Mark. Everyone at the police department seems to be slow on the uptake today because I repeat myself more than three fucking times. Cooper looks like he’s enjoying himself to the maximum. I clench my fists and try to stay calm. If my plan fails, then I will end up in jail and bring shame to the law firm and to Felix. There’s no going back from this. If I get convicted of first-degree murder, then I’m officially fucked. The state’s attorney will have a field day with this. He’s always hated my guts and this is the perfect excuse to lock me up for good.
Deputy Mark recognizes my voice and tells me that they’re going to send a patrol car to my location right away. I hang up and wait for Cooper to fulfill his end of the bargain. He gets up and releases Lucy, keeping his gun pointed straight at me. Vivian hugs our baby to her chest and takes her to the kitchen. I can hear them both crying behind me and all I want to do is comfort them.
“Love is indeed a curious creature. It can make us do the unexpected.” Cooper seems to think that he’s Anthony Hopkins because he keeps on spewing philosophical shit like we’re supposed to fucking care.
“What else do you want? Huh?”
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I can hear the sirens in the distance, so enjoy your time in jail, Knight. Thanks to your violent track record, you will probably end up living the rest of your life behind bars. Meanwhile, Vivian, who promised to wait for you, will move on and get married to yet another aspiring lawyer. So much for your happy ending, eh?”
“Fuck off!” I growl.
He gives me a mocking salute and leaves the house with the gun pointed in my direction. The moment his Mercedes drive away, I pull out my iPhone from my back-pocket and hold it to my ear.
“Please tell me that you fucking recorded everything,” I tell Alison, my genius assistant.
“Yep. I fucking recorded everything, Mr. Knight.”
“We did it! We actually did it.” Relief washes over me as I rush towards the kitchen.
I have the bastard by the balls. The fucker is going to pay for what he did.
“Jax!”
I pick up Lucy and kiss her tear stained cheeks. Vivian wraps her arms around me and cries even harder when I tell her about recording Cooper’s confession on tape. She rains my face with kisses and makes me promise not to keep secrets from her ever again. Our nightmare is finally over.
Officer Mike shows up a few minutes later. As usual, he can read me like an open book. He tells me that he knows I’m lying about killing Andrew Caldwell. The donut obsessed cop takes Vivian’s statement and listens to the taped confession. He instantly issues a warrant for Cooper’s arrest saying that he’s been on their short list of suspects for quite some time now.
Vivian shuts all the doors and windows the second he leaves. She asks me to stay the night, so I build a sheet fort for the three of us to sleep under. My little lucy falls in love with the idea and brings her teddy bears to sleep with us. I feel relaxed and content for the very first time in weeks.
This is how I plan on living my life from no
w on. In a sheet fort with the love of my life and our baby girl.
“Dada!”
“I love you, baby cake.”
EPILOGUE
VIVIAN
The day is sunny with bright blue clear skies, matching my smile as I putter around the backyard, putting flowers in the vases on the tables and arranging the gift bags in strategic points around the yard.
The yard is already filled with our friends who came to help out in putting Lucy's birthday party together. The whole place looks like a castle, with miniature walls surrounding the yard, a princess slide with towers and small gold thrones surrounding a long table for Lucy and her friends.
It feels like just yesterday when Lucy and I moved in with Jax. Well, not moved in actually, Jax made it seem like an unending sleepover, he kept bringing our stuff over little by little until the day he gave me a gold necklace with an infinity pendant dangling from the end during breakfast.
“Welcome to your new home, Babe,” he kisses my nose, then takes my lips in a hot and demanding kiss before Lucy's loud giggling breaks us up.
I shake my head a little to clear the sexual haze from Jax's kiss.
“What do you mean by welcome to my new home?” I ask.
“You and Lucy have moved in,” he says like it's something I should know.
“But you never asked us to move in.”
“I did ask you to move in.”
“When was that?” I cross my arms on my chest and try my best to look serious.
“The day you came to my office for a midday snack, the whole floor heard us by the way, I asked you and you said yes or as I recall ‘oh yes Jax, yes!’ You fulfilled one of my fantasies that day, I wouldn't mind a repeat performance.” He cocks a suggestive brow at me and smirks.
My cheeks heat up. "I can assure you that it would never happen again."
"What? No Babe! I'm sorry for moving you in without your consent, though technically you did give me your consent,"
"Jax!" I chuckle at the boyish grin on his gorgeous face as he tries to sweet-talk me into forgiving him. He even enlists Lucy's help, combining her precious puppy eyes and his adorable pout to weaken my defenses.
Jax is a wonderful dad, he treats Lucy like a princess and she adores him too. Whenever I look back at everything Lucy and I have been through, I thank God for sending me the best man I could have asked for. He has really come a long way from the violent asshole he was when he first came to my office. He now attends therapy and is doing well. Oh, he’s still a cocky bastard and has a short fuse when it comes to some people but never to Lucy and me. He might be a bad boy but he’s a good man. My good man.
I turn around to put finishing touches to the decorations and gasp at the sight before me. Jax is kneeling on one knee 3 feet away from me. He's holding a green velvet jewelry box and he looks so sure. Oh my God, is this what I think it is?
“Vivian, before you came into my life, I was an arrogant, short tempered cocky bastard,”
I interrupt him. “You are still an arrogant cocky bastard.” I smirk. This draws chuckles from everyone.
His face breaks into a grin, lighting up his features and making my breath hitch. God, this man is gorgeous.
“I’m going to spank you raw for that later.”
“I’ll look forward to it,” I mumble with my face feeling like a hot tomato. He holds his hand out to me and I walk over to where he's still kneeling.
“I never thought I would have a family, I didn’t even know if I want my own family. I've barricaded my heart for so long, I thought nobody could ever open it up. You proved me wrong, Babe. You took a fucking sledgehammer to the walls around my heart and tore that shit down. You gave meaning to my life. You also gave me a beautiful daughter. You and Lucy own my heart, body and soul. My life would have no meaning without both of you”
He opens the box to reveal a beautiful ring with a princess cut diamond on the top and small diamonds circled the band.
“Marry me, Vivian. Make me the happiest cocky bastard alive.”
Tears fall down my face. “Yes! Yes! I’ll marry you Jax.”
Everyone cheer and whistle.
He takes the ring and puts it on my left hand. He kisses the ring on my finger and stands up.
"I love you so much," he whispers, his forehead resting on mine as he wipes my tears away with his thumbs.
"I love you too, Jax," I reply. His hands cup my face and he slams his lips on mine. I pour every emotion I'm feeling into that kiss, trying to tell him without words how thankful I am that he is in my life.
“Dada, mama,” My little baby is running towards us, her pink fluffy princess gown billowing out around her. Jax bends down, picks her up and swings her around. Her laughter washes over me, sending sparks of happiness through me. He puts her down and kneels before her.
“Baby cake, would you let me be your daddy?”
Lucy grins and slams into him. He lays down on the grass with Lucy lying on him, their faces radiant with happiness. He holds out his hand to me and I join them.
"See that slide, Babe. It has way too many towers, don't you think? We should consummate our engagement there,” He whispers in my ear.
"Jax!" I shriek.
"Fine, I’ll wait till everyone leaves."
"You're unbelievable."
"You adore me," he smirks.
"Be glad I do."
"I am, Baby. I really am."
***
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