by S. K. Lessly
I had asked him to take time off to be with the family. We had talked about having another kid, since both Jay and Gracie Bell were out of diapers and pullups. Maybe I was putting pressure on him or something.
I felt Misty squeeze my leg and I turned back to face her. She gave me a sympathetic look as well as a promise to talk when we had a moment alone. I sent a grateful smile her way and tuned back into the conversation.
“I can find out what’s going on. That sounds serious. Someone said they heard a woman scream for help?” Shane inquired. He had a cup of coffee in his hand and he brought it to his lips for a sip.
“That’s what I gathered from the manager of the hotel. He was very apologetic and advised they had everything under control,” Pops told him then smiled and shook his head. “We uhh… at first thought it was you two.”
Shane looked puzzled. He placed his coffee cup down. “Why?”
“You two have uhhh… history with the cops and hotels. We were just wondering if it was the two of you.”
Shane and Misty looked at each other and grinned.
“Nope,” Shane said finally. “It wasn’t us.”
“I raised you boys to be gentlemen not ravagers,” cried Mama Joe.
Shane chuckled. “Ma, we can’t help it. It’s in our genes.”
Pops and Dr. King laughed at that. Mama Thom just shook her head.
“They’re hopeless, Joe,”
Mama Joe rolled her eyes. “Like father like son, is that it?”
Shane shrugged.
“Pretty much,” chanted Shane, his father and Misty’s father all at the same time.
“Gah! Mi dai sui nervi, you get on my nerves!”
“You know you love us,” returned Shane.
The table launched into loving banter and jovial laugher. I ignored them all. My heart remained heavy. Maybe I should go find my husband and talk to him. Ask him what’s bothering him.
It’s been hard on the entire unit since the deaths of Jacks and the others, but we all worked through it. Especially me. I had witnessed Jacks getting murdered, my husband kidnapped and despite what he did to me, it was a blow to know Noah was dead. I hadn’t asked what happened. I knew. Once Josh told me how he found out what happened in hell, I knew Josh killed him.
Was I upset about it? A little. Would I lose sleep the asshole was gone. No.
Anyway, Shane ordered everyone to counseling and we all went. Josh was against it from the beginning, but I talked him into going with me. I knew Josh had felt the loss of his friend and I didn’t care what anyone said. He had suffered from being kidnapped, beaten and watched his brother almost bleed out. His other brother had been fighting for his life and he never received the revenge he so desperately wanted. That was a lot for one person to deal with. Maybe that’s what’s bothering him. The crazy things we had to deal with over the years.
Whatever it was, he and I definitely needed to talk or fuck, one of the two. I smiled, leaned over to Misty to ask if she could watch the kids and stood when she nodded that she would. Without a word I turned and practically ran for our cottage. Once I was safely inside, I started removing my clothes with only one thing in mind. I went searching for my husband. It was time to unwind. It was time to fuck.
“Oh, Josh,” I called out. “I have something for you.”
“I’m in the kitchen. Listen, I’m sorry I…” he paused just as I stepped inside the kitchen, naked, a smile on my face, heat in my eyes.
“Fuck me,” he murmured, placing the bottle of vodka down on the counter.
I stepped further inside and said to him, “Oh, I plan to!”
Epilogue 3
Shane…
My phone started ringing and I opened my eyes and stared up at the ceiling. It was after two in the morning. I had just managed to fall asleep. Misty was lying with Jay and Gracie Bell in living room of our suite. They wanted her to read to them and all three of them fell asleep.
I started to wake her and drag her into our bedroom so I could have my way with her and fall asleep with her in my arms, but Jay and Gracie were cuddled on either side of her. I didn’t have the heart to disturb them just because I was horny.
I grabbed my phone off the nightstand next to me and looked at the screen. A picture of the actor Charlie Hunnam, as King Arthur, popped up on my screen. I groaned, cursed Misty, and answered the call putting it on speaker.
“Please tell me why you’re calling me at two in the morning? And where did you two disappear to? Ma thinks you were arrested last night and was unable to call for help.” I placed my phone on my chest.
Malcolm was quiet for a few seconds before he stuttered, “Wh-what? Why would she—”
“The cops were called here last night and she thinks they were called because of you two.”
“Why would she think…” He paused for a beat then sucked his teeth, putting a bit of disdain in his voice as he spoke. “We’re not like you and Misty.”
I grinned. “You should be. You have no idea what you’re missing. But don’t worry, I can show you a couple of moves that will blow her mind. There’s a spot right—”
“Shane!” Malcolm snapped and I grinned. However, the next thing he said to me, and the uneasiness in his voice, had the smile on my face dropping. “I didn’t call to get sex advice from you. I need your help.”
I sat up, bringing the pillows underneath my head to rest at my back.
“Okay, what do you need? And again where the fuck are you?”
“Columbia. Listen—”
I sat up fully. “What the fuck are you doing in Columbia?” I boomed, my anger rising.
“Calm down, little brother, so I can tell you.” Malcolm went quiet, giving me time to get my shit in check. I took a few calming breaths, counted to twenty because ten just wasn’t enough, before I spoke.
I asked as calmly as I could, “Tell me why you’re in Columbia and your family is close to a thousand miles away?”
“We found her. Well Nickels found her,” My brother said simply and at first, I didn’t know who he was talking about. Then I did.
Malcolm had been working a case for a few months now involving some heavy hitters in the drug cartel. He had an informant feeding him information, which he used to take them down. Unfortunately, when they took the cartel down, his informant wasn’t anywhere to be found. We all assumed her cover was blown and the cartel she worked for killed her.
Malcolm continued. “Nickels gave me her location and well I took the next thing smoking off the island.”
I ran my hand through my already rumpled hair and breathed out.
“I take it you’re not alone. Is your wife with you?”
“Yeah, Mariana was her informant first.”
“Okay, so you found her. How is she? Is she—”
“She’s gone. She was in bad shape when we finally got to her. She told us she had made it out of the house before the raid. Someone found her a couple of days ago, someone loyal to the family, and blamed her for the raid. She was stabbed multiple times. She was barely alive when we found her.”
“Damn, bro. I’m sorry. So what do you need from me? I’m not sure what the DIA can do to—”
“I don’t need the DIA, I need my brother,” Malcolm countered in a matter-of-fact tone, which had my eyebrows rising in my forehead.
“Okay. What do you need from me then?”
Malcolm paused for a long time and I almost checked my phone to see if he was still there. When he spoke again, and told me why he needed me, I could understand the long hesitation.
“Mariana was pregnant, Shane. Due to her injuries, they had to deliver her baby.”
“Okay,” I dragged out, still not understanding what this had to do with me.
“Mariana died during the procedure and now her baby is without a mother.” Malcolm paused then added, “She needs a home, bro.”
“Okay. Understood. Do you need me to get Nickels to find her family?”
“You’re not listening. Mariana
had no family. The father of the baby died. His parents are gone. Her parents are gone. She had no one but the cartel family she burned. This baby has no one. She needs a family. She needs you.”
“Whoa, Malcolm hold on a second. We can’t—”
“Yes, you can,” Malcolm cut in and my heart, swear to god, was pounding against my chest so hard I thought it would burst out. “Everything has been arranged. The adoption papers, birth certificate. Even Mariana’s signature is on both documents. She was never going to keep this baby. She wanted her daughter to have a better life and knew she couldn’t give it to her. She had promised me to take care of her, to give her a good home and since she was helping me, helping us, I told her I would.”
“Okay, so you two take her.”
“I would, but we weren’t meant to be this little girl’s parents. You and Misty were.”
“Jovanni.” I closed my eyes, my heart still pounding against my chest. I felt light-headed as if I was going to freaking pass the fuck out.
“Shane, listen to me. You and Misty were meant to be parents to this little girl. She needs someone that would love her so much, she won’t know anything else. She was made out of love and she needs you two to shower her what a true family is all about. She needs you Shane.”
“Fuck,” I mumbled, threw the sheet off my legs, swung them over the side of the bed and placed my bare feet on the cool floor. I dropped my phone next to me and ran my fingers through my hair, resting both hands against my neck. I squeezed, massaged and remained quiet, deep in thought.
So many things could go wrong. That baby was Columbian. We couldn’t just waltz in that country and take that baby.
I was about to tell my brother this, but he must have read my mind.
“I know what you’re thinking and as I said it’s handled. The paperwork is complete and solid. No one would know it was a fraud. Nickels has assured me of this.”
I snorted and the man in question spoke up, scaring the shit out of me.
“It’s true, sir,” Nickels chimed in.
“Nickels? You were on this whole time?”
“Uh… yeah. Malcolm said he needed me to stay on just in case you needed convincing. The paperwork is sound and filed with a reputable international adoption agency. I have placed the necessary documentations needed within their system showing that you have already completed the home study and provided the dossier documents as well. The necessary paperwork has also been filed with the Columbian government and the orphan visa you needed will arrive in Columbia in a few hours. You will need that along with the adoption papers to enter into the U.S. Again, everything will pass the toughest scrutiny. I promise you that.”
I couldn’t believe this shit. Malcolm had to have been working on this a lot longer than a day. This had to have been done weeks ago.
“Come on, Shane. What do you say?”
“It’s not that simple, Malcolm. I mean… shit.”
Malcolm chuckled and I could hear the ease slide into his voice. “You’re not scared are you?”
“No, I’m not scared. And I trust Nickels. It’s just… You’re not giving me a lot of time to get used to the idea of another baby. You know Misty and I are expecting our twin boys in a few months.”
“I know, and I know this is a lot. I just… I believe it’s the right call. You and Misty deserve this.”
I paused and couldn’t help the smile that blossomed on my face. “A girl?”
Malcolm chuckled lightly. “Yeah, bro. A girl. She's beautiful, gorgeous. Her complexion is darker than you. She has a full head of jet-black hair and get this; he has the most prettiest light eyes you have ever seen. I’ve been told they would be blue when she gets older.”
“Blue? That’s not—”
“Yeah, I know. It’s rare in this culture. I don’t know who the baby daddy was, but whoever he was he must’ve had strong genes.”
“Jesus, Malcolm. This shit…” I trailed off when I heard a beep on my phone. I picked it up and saw Malcolm had sent me a pic. When I opened the picture and saw the baby, all the air in my lungs left me in a whoosh. I fell in love instantly.
Malcolm went on as I studied our new baby girl, the newest Cooper.
“As I said, I know this is a lot. Believe me, you’ll have plenty of time to get used to the idea of being new parents, hell you two are already ready. It’ll take you two hours to get to Bogota. I’ll pick you and Misty up from there and bring you to the hospital.”
Misty.
I looked up and turned in the direction of the doorway and found her standing there watching me. I dropped the phone, stood, and stalked toward her after seeing the emotions plaguing her beautiful face. I rubbed her belly, comforting her, and held her gaze.
“Shane, you still there?”
“Yeah, Malcolm. Give me a second.”
I touched the side of her face with my fingers and caressed her cheek.
“Did you hear?” I asked, already knowing the answer to my question. The tears in her eyes were a dead giveaway.
Misty nodded her head anyway and gave me a smile so bright; I almost stepped back from the sheer force of it.
“A girl,” she said softly.
I nodded. “Yeah, a beautiful baby girl. She needs us. Are you ready for this?”
The look of contempt she gave me had me chuckling. “What do you think?” she hissed at me.
I kissed her lips once, twice, then rested my forehead against hers.
She wrapped her arms around my waist and leaned against me.
“I love you, baby,” I whispered.
“I love you, too.”
I leaned back and looked down at my loving and adoring wife. She and I had already prepared our lives for two identical boys. Their room had already been furnished, clothes bought. All we needed were our babies. Now, we were inviting another one into our lives. It was going to be chaotic to say the least and based off the look in my wife’s eyes we wouldn’t have it any way.
My wife was going to be an amazing mother. I’ve known from the moment I met her what kind of heart she had. She may be a badass, but she loves fiercely. Our children, including this little girl, would definitely be loved more than they would probably be able to handle.
I planted a kiss to her lips and said softly, “Let’s go get our girl.”
She nodded grinning so wide I thought her cheeks would climb into her eye sockets, and stepped around me. She picked up my phone and stared at the screen, stared at the picture of our new baby girl.
She glanced up at me just as a tear fell from her eyes.
“Bro, you two on your way?” Malcolm asked anxiousness in his voice.
I stepped to my wife and wrapped my arms around her sizeable belly. I brought her closer and kissed the side of her head.
“Yeah,” I replied finally. “We’re on our way.”
“Okay, see you soon.”
“Hey, Malc,” Misty called out and met my eyes again. She breathed out a sigh and said softly, “Thank you.”
“Anytime, Sis. Anytime.”
The End
And yes… Malcolm will have his say in Obsession 3.
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