By late afternoon, we're able to see William again. He looks a little better with more color to his face, his eyes more alert. As we're talking to him, Logan appears and asks Grace and Meredith to come out in the hall.
"I'd like to listen in," I say to Meredith, "if that's okay."
"Certainly," she says.
"Let's go to the office." Logan walks us down there and once we're seated, he says, "William's test results came out normal. His blood pressure was low when he arrived here, but it's now within the normal range. We haven't been able to find anything that would explain why he feels this way."
"So is it what we suspected?" Meredith asks. "He's been working too much?"
Logan nods. "As of now, that's what we're concluding. We'll keep him overnight, then re-run some tests in the morning to make sure nothing has changed. If all looks good, we'll send him home. I would advise he take at least a week off to rest, more if he's able to."
Meredith looks at Grace. "He'll never agree to that."
She pats Meredith's hand. "Then we'll lock him up in his room. Or lock him out of his office. We'll find some way to make that man rest."
She smiles. "Whatever it takes."
"You can go back and see him now," Logan says, "but that'll be it for tonight. We want him to get to sleep early."
Grace and Meredith leave but I remain behind to talk to Logan. "So there was nothing unusual in his blood?"
Logan shakes his head. "Not that we could detect. We tested him for everything and nothing showed up. I really think he's just too overworked. And too stressed. He's going to have to make some changes. Pearce, I haven't mentioned this to William yet, but I think he needs to give up his position at the organization. Or at least have someone fill in for him until he's able to retire from Sinclair Pharmaceuticals. He can't do both. It's too much. Everyone else at that level is retired and can devote all their energy to it. I'd like for you to talk to him about this. I'll tell him as well, but I think he'd be more receptive to the idea if it came from you."
I can't do it. That can't happen. William can't give up his position. If he did, I'm certainly not taking it. Maybe I could find someone else who would.
"Pearce?" Logan says, getting my attention.
"Yes, I'll talk to him." I stand up. "So where is Shelby? I thought you brought her along."
"She's at the hotel. I thought we could all go out to dinner tonight."
"Yes, we'll do that."
We leave his office and I return to William's room. Everyone is there talking to him so I decide to wait until tomorrow to discuss what to do with his position. Besides, I could use a night to think about it.
At six, we go to dinner with Logan and Shelby. Rachel cries when she sees Shelby, but they're happy tears. They haven't seen each other for over a year. They talk a lot on the phone but it's not the same as seeing each other in person.
It's odd being here with Logan and Shelby. It reminds me of my old life, before Rachel was gone. Everything was so different back then. I was deeply enmeshed in the organization, doing their assignments, trying to hide them from Rachel, fearing my son would someday be part of it. I was constantly stressed. Overworked. So I understand why William is struggling and his health is failing. He probably never should've taken that position, but if he hadn't, the organization would be much different right now. More violent. More controlling. More like it used to be before William used his influence to change it for the better. They still do bad things but not nearly as bad as they used to.
The next morning, we return to the Clinic. William is awake and alert and looks much better, almost like his old self. But he's still very thin and very weak, which is not good when you're in a position like his. He has a lot of enemies, including some of our fellow members, so he needs to be strong and able to defend himself. I, too, have enemies, which is why I keep myself in top condition, working out with a trainer. I also go to target practice every week and carry a gun, either on me or in my car. Rachel often goes with me to the shooting range, and whenever we're not together, she brings her gun with her.
William carries a gun but he needs to be strong enough to take someone down without it. And right now, he's not. He's frail and weak and looks much older than his actual age.
At noon, they discharge him and we all go back to his house, which is a mansion enclosed by a large iron fence with security cameras all around it. This isn't unusual. All the members have tight security at their homes.
Once William is settled in his room, Grace and Meredith make lunch while Jade calls home to check on the children. Rachel phones Lilly, then goes out to the patio to talk to Shelby, who arrived a few minutes ago. While everyone's occupied, I make my way up to William's room.
"Can we talk?" I ask. "Or would you like to rest?"
"We can talk. Come in."
I go and sit on the chair by his bed. "Logan wanted me to speak with you about your role at the organization."
"Yes, he told me. He suggested I find someone to fill in until I'm able to retire as CEO. I think it's a good idea."
"William, you know they won't allow that. You can't just take a year off. It's never been done."
"That doesn't mean it can't happen. And they might be more receptive to it if the right person volunteered to fill in for me." His eyes go to mine.
"For the last time, I am not doing it. I've done everything possible to keep my distance from them. To stay off their radar. There's still a chance they could come after Garret but that chance is minimized if I stay away and make them forget about me."
"They won't come after Garret. They officially released him from his duties years ago."
"Since when have you ever known them to be fair and just and follow through on their promises? They said they'd stop tracking him and yet I know for a fact they're still doing so."
"Yes, they check in on him now and then, but it's only because he knows about us. They just want to make sure he never tells anyone. But I've made it clear they are not to go near Garret or his family or approach him or threaten him or do anything that violates our agreement. And they haven't."
"That could change if you leave your position. Right now, you're the only one protecting him and his family. Knowing you're in charge is what allows me to sleep at night."
"Pearce, I honestly believe they'll leave Garret alone, even if I step down. They don't need him. Now that we're able to bring in people from the outside, there's less focus on retaining sons of members. And that's all thanks to you. You're the one who started the initiative to recruit from the outside. That was a bold move, Pearce, and people still remember it. That's why the members still see you as a leader."
"I'm not doing it, William. I'm not taking your place."
"Then would you at least consider going to some meetings? If I'm temporarily stepping down, I need someone to be my eyes and ears."
"Why? You'll still attend the meetings."
"I can't. Someone at my level can't associate with the other members. If I want to eventually return to my position, I can't attend the meetings with everyone else."
"Yes, I forgot about that," I mutter.
"I'm not saying you'd have to go to all of them. Just enough to let me know what's going on."
I sigh. "Let me think about it. In the meantime, you need to find out if a leave of absence is even possible."
"Yes, I'll call them later today."
"Pearce?" I look up and see Rachel walking in. "Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to let you know that lunch is ready." She smiles at William. "And your wife and mother have instructed me to tell you to rest."
He chuckles. "I may not survive a week at home with those two. Tell them I was just about to take a nap."
"I will." She looks at me. "Pearce, are you coming?"
"Yes." I get up and follow her to the door.
I'm going to have to tell her I'll be attending meetings again. She's going to be furious. Doing this means going back to a time in our history we'd rather forget. Back to
the people who tried to kill her. Tried to take our son.
We've spent the last seven years trying to stay away from them, and now I'm going back. William says things have changed, that they're different now, but it doesn't matter. I don't want any part of it. But I don't think I have a choice.
Chapter Four
Garret
"You guys up?" I knock on Lilly's door. She stays here so often she has her own room.
The door swings open and Hannah slams into my legs, hugging me, still wearing her pajamas. "Morning, Daddy!"
"Morning?" I pick her up. "It's almost afternoon." I kiss her cheek and smooth her hair which is sticking up every which way. "Did you guys just get up?"
"Yeah." Lilly appears at the door, rubbing her eyes and yawning. "What time is it?"
"Eleven. How late did you guys stay up?"
Abi sneaks around Lilly and over to me. "We had a princess movie marathon!"
"Remember when we did that?" Lilly asks. "You and Jade and me? It was the night of grandpa's memorial."
"Yeah. You were awake for like ten minutes and then you were out."
"So were Abi and Hannah. They were out by midnight. I stayed up until three."
"Watching princess movies?" I smile.
She shrugs. "Why not? They're good movies."
Sometimes Lilly acts like a little girl and I forget that's she's an adult. Until I see her with her boyfriend, holding his hand, kissing him. That's when I have to remind myself she's not a little girl, and as much as I want to, I can't kick Reed's ass for holding her hand. Or doing other things with her, which I choose to pretend don't happen.
"Daddy, when's lunch?" Hannah asks.
"I don't know. I haven't figured that out yet. I was taking care of your brothers. Now they're taking their nap. I feel like I need one myself."
Lilly laughs. "Missing Jade?"
"I can handle it. At least you took care of these two." I kiss Abi's head, then Hannah's as I set her down. "Go get in the shower and get dressed."
They run off and I say to Lilly, "Can you keep an eye on them? I'm gonna go make some lunch. Any requests?"
She stops to think. "Grilled cheese and potato chips. And fruit punch."
I smile. "You're as bad as Jade. Do you ever eat a vegetable?"
"I drink fruit punch. The bottle says it has vitamins in it. Hey, have you heard from Mom and Dad?"
"I got a text from Mom saying they're flying back later today. Grace is staying behind."
"How's William?"
"He's back home now. Jade called last night and said the doctors think he was just overworked. He's supposed to take some time off." I hear giggling coming from Abi's room. "Would you go check and see what that's about?"
"They're probably looking at cute boys on the Internet." She walks past me.
I grab her hand. "Are you serious? Have they been looking at boys? Because if so I'm taking that computer out of their—"
"I'm kidding," Lilly says, laughing.
I let out a breath. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack? It's bad enough you're out there dating. I'm not ready for those two to start."
"That reminds me. I need to call Reed." She takes out her phone. "He called this morning when I was asleep."
"Just send him a text. I need your help with the girls." We go down to Abi's room where the giggling continues. "What are you guys up to?"
They turn around and I see makeup spread all over their cheeks. Jade bought them some play makeup to put on their dolls, but today they've decided to try it on themselves. Hannah has blue eyeshadow smeared on her cheeks and Abi has hearts drawn all over her face using pink lipstick.
"Look, Daddy!" Hannah points to her cheeks.
"Yeah. I see it. Now get in the shower and wash it off so we can have lunch."
"You're no fun," Lilly mumbles as she goes past me.
"I'm all kinds of fun."
Lilly goes over to Abi. "You should draw pretty hearts on your daddy's cheeks too."
"Okay!" She runs toward me, holding the tube of lipstick.
"Maybe some other time," I tell her, glancing at Lilly. "Or maybe wait until the next time Reed's here. I'm sure he wouldn't mind a few lipstick hearts."
"Very funny, Garret," Lilly says as I walk away.
While I'm making lunch, the twins wake up from their nap. I take them into the kitchen and set them up at the table with some crackers to snack on. That holds their attention for about a minute, then they're climbing off their chairs, preparing to make a run for it.
Lilly's right. I need Jade. Taking care of twin toddlers by myself is too much. I can do it for a few hours but it's been over a day now and they're wearing me out. Usually one of the girls will help out but they've been too busy with Lilly.
"Gotcha," I say, scooping up both Miles and Ethan before they can take off. My phone rings but I can't answer it while carrying two squirming toddlers. I set Miles on the kitchen counter, keeping hold of Ethan as I quickly get out my phone and answer it. "Hello?"
"Hey, it's me. How's it going?"
I catch Miles before he wiggles off the counter. "It's a little crazy but we're managing."
"Have you made lunch yet?"
"No, but I'm trying to. The boys just got up from their nap." I put the phone by Miles' ear. "Say hi to Mom."
"Mommy, come home," he says. Then Ethan repeats it, using the same tone. They always copy each other.
I take the phone back. "They miss you. So do I. When do you think you'll be back?"
"Probably around six. William looks a lot better today but he's still tired. I should go. I just wanted to check in."
"Okay, we'll see you soon. Love you."
"Love you too."
I worry about her flying home on that private plane. Normally, I wouldn't let her take it. After nearly losing my mom on a private plane, I don't want Jade on one. Or my parents. But they insisted on taking it yesterday so they could get there quickly. I worried the entire time they were in the air, just like I'll worry again today until they're home. I've got my parents and my wife on the same damn plane. If anything happens to them...I can't even think about it.
"Daddy, I'm hungry," Ethan says.
"I know. We'll have lunch in a few minutes."
An hour later and with Lilly's help, I manage to get everyone fed, then we go out to the patio and the kids play while Lilly and I watch. Then it's nap time again for the boys, then dinner time. By six, I'm completely wiped out.
When Jade walks in, I give her a hug the moment I see her. "Thank God you're back."
She laughs. "The kids wore you out?"
"It's not just that," I say quietly to her. "I didn't like having you on that plane."
She looks at me. "I know."
"Mommy!" Miles and Ethan yell, holding their arms up to Jade.
"Hi, guys!" She kneels down and hugs them. "I missed you!"
"Mom!" The girls run into the living room and up to Jade. Lilly's right behind them.
I walk up to my parents. "How was the trip?"
"It was good," my mom says. "We had a smooth flight home." She smiles, trying to make me feel better. She knows I was scared to death that something would happen to them.
"Next time, would you please just take a regular plane?"
She hugs me. "I'm sorry, honey. We were just in a hurry to get there."
"Garret, I need to speak with you," my dad says.
He's got that serious look I don't like. It means something's wrong. Something happened.
"Let's go outside," I tell him.
When we're seated on the patio, I say, "What's wrong? Is this about William?"
"Yes. But it could affect all of us."
I shake my head. "I get the feeling I don't want to hear this."
"I haven't told your mother this yet. I will as soon as we get home and can talk privately. I'd rather talk to her first, but since I'm here and I can't discuss this with you over the phone I—"
"Dad, just tell me." My heart is p
ounding because I already know this is about the organization. I can tell by the way he's acting.
He sighs. "William is going to temporarily step down from his role at the organization. He's unable to fulfill his obligations while also running his company. It's too many hours and too much stress and his health is suffering. He's already talked to the higher ups and they've approved his request. He got the call right before we left to get on the plane."
"How long is he stepping down for?"
"He's not sure yet. For now, it's only been approved for a few months, but he's hoping he can take a leave of absence until he retires from Sinclair Pharmaceuticals."
"That could be years from now."
"Actually, he's planning on retiring within the next two years."
I look at my dad. "A lot can happen in two years."
He nods. "Yes. And given that William is technically keeping his role as an upper level member, he will not be able to attend the regular meetings."
"Why not?"
"A person at his level cannot attend meetings with the rest of us. That's been a rule since the group was founded."
"So what are you saying?"
"William needs someone to attend the meetings for him. Be his eyes and ears. Let him know if anyone's causing trouble."
"And let me guess...that someone is you?"
He hesitates. "Yes."
"Fuck." I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. "You can't do this, Dad. Tell William to find someone else."
"There is no one else. I'm the only one he trusts."
I sit up straight. "If you do this, you'll be part of it again. You won't be able to go back to your regular life."
"Garret, I've been part of it this whole time. Just because I don't attend all the meetings doesn't mean they've let me go. The only reason I've been able to keep my distance is because of William. But even without him stepping down, there's a good chance this would've happened anyway. I couldn't stay away forever."
I glance back at the house and see my mom in the kitchen with Jade. They're each holding one of the twins while the girls dance around. "Please don't do this. Please don't bring this back into our lives. I have a family. I have my mom back. I can't risk something happening to them."
Lilly and Reed: A Kensington Family Novel Page 4
