She

by J. S. Cooper

  “Larry is being held by the FBI,” Jakob said softly. “He’s in federal custody and being prosecuted for insider trading, attempted bribery, extortion, and racketeering. Rosie tried to run off, but they have her in questioning as well.”

  “How did they get Larry?” I asked, surprised. “He hid his tracks so well.”

  “David helped us.”

  “David?” I asked, shocked. “What?”

  “After we found out Rosie was Larry’s daughter, I knew she was playing us all,” he said. “That’s why I went to go and see David that day. That video you saw wasn’t real,” he said, and sighed. “David and I were acting.”

  “David believed you?”

  “He’d been suspicious of Rosie for a while.” Jakob nodded. “And of Larry. He said that he knew that something fishy was going on, but he could never figure it out.”

  “But he hates you,” I said with a frown. “Why would he believe you?”

  “David doesn’t hate anything but having to actually work for a living.” Jakob sighed. “He bought into Larry’s hype. Larry told him that I was planning on taking the company away from him and that I wasn’t to be trusted. He thought I was after all the Bradley money.”

  “But you did buy the company, right?” I said, my head hurting as I tried to get my mind around everything. “Why did you do that?”

  “I did it for you,” he said, and his fingers ran up to my breasts. “I wanted you to own the company that was founded on your father’s inventions.”

  “But they weren’t my father’s inventions,” I said. “They were Oliver’s.”

  “Actually, they were both of theirs,” Jakob said. “I had an IP attorney look at all the paperwork. The ideas were Oliver’s, but your father helped him build the working prototypes. So technically they’re both the inventors.”

  “So why did he try to get the patents out of his name, then?” I said. “And how did Jeremiah think he could take my dad down that way?”

  “Maybe technically your father didn’t actually consider himself an inventor.” He nodded. “He didn’t want the patents in his name because all he was really doing was helping Oliver, but based on the paperwork we’ve found, he was responsible for some key upgrades to the prototype.” He shrugged and looked at me. “It’s a gray area. And that’s what Larry knew. He knew your father was an honest man, and that was the way to get to him. So that’s what Larry told Jeremiah. He knew that Jeremiah wanted to take down your dad, and he knew that your dad did not feel that he was a real coinventor of the inventions. So he played them both,” Jakob said softly. “Larry was the guiding force behind everything. He lied to everyone. He was the one who caused your mother’s death. And he was the one who was actually responsible for Oliver’s death as well, and my father’s.”

  “He killed them all?” My eyes grew wide, and I turned around to face him. I rested my hand on his chest and asked him softly, “Why did he do that?”

  “He wanted to be number one,” Jakob said, and leaned forward to kiss me. “He felt inferior and wanted to show everyone that he was running the show.”

  “He was setting us up from the beginning, then?”

  “Yup.” Jakob nodded. “Only problem is that he didn’t count on Steve outwitting him and warning your dad. He didn’t count on Steve falling in love with your photograph or getting so crazy.”

  “His parents’ deaths really affected him.” I sighed.

  “No, it wasn’t just that,” Jakob said. “Steve saw himself as your savior. That’s why he gave you the clues. That’s why he turned on me on the island. All this time, Steve has been doing this for you. He wanted to protect you. You were the only one he cared about.”

  “But he didn’t even know me.”

  “Remember that note that he left you?” Jakob said. “The one we found in the old shack on the island?”

  “The one that said, ‘Your life may be saved in death’?”

  “Yes.” He nodded. “That one. He was telling you that he was saving your life by having faked your father’s death. He’s the one who convinced Larry he’d had the body cremated. He took care of everything.”

  “I had no idea.”

  “None of us did.”

  “That makes me feel ever sadder,” I said. “It seems so unfair.”

  “He was crazy, Bianca.” Jakob squeezed my hands. “There was nothing you could have done to help. He was crazy.”

  “So what’s going to happen to Larry and Rosie?”

  “I think they’ll both go to jail for a long time,” Jakob said, and smiled.

  “Are you sure? Is there any proof?”

  “Loads.” He grinned. “Penny kept all of the paperwork that Larry told her to shred. And she recorded all of his cell phone calls.”

  “What?”

  “Crazy, right?” He shook his head in amazement. “Here we were thinking she was doing anything she could to protect her husband, but she was trying to set him up. It had been her plan from the day Oliver died that she was going to make Larry pay for his role in influencing Jeremiah. Turns out Oliver was convinced that Jeremiah loved him as well and that the reason why Jeremiah never left David’s mom was because of Larry.”

  “Do you believe that?” I asked softly, wondering how someone in love could listen to someone over their heart.

  “No.” He shook his head. “My dad didn’t love him. My dad didn’t love anyone but himself and the power he had over everyone.”

  “That’s sad, but do you really think that?”

  “It is sad and I don’t just think that, I know.” He sighed, and he clasped my hands tightly.

  “How do you know?” I asked softly, my heart slowing as I stared at the adoration in his eyes.

  “I know because there is nothing in heaven or hell that could stop me from loving and being with you. I’d move mountains, swim in oceans, jump in volcanoes, walk across hot coals, swing from trees in the Amazon to be with you. There is nothing and no one that could stop me. I’d visit the depths of the earth and sing to every angel of the sky to help find you if you ever got lost.”

  “You’re just saying that,” I said breathlessly.

  “I would never just say that.”

  “I love you, Jakob.”

  “I love you too,” he said, and leaned over and gave me a quick kiss. “And Penny loved her brother like nothing on earth. She plotted and planned for years, just waiting for the opportunity to take Larry down.”

  “I still can’t believe it,” I said, my mind blown. How I’d been fooled by her during that first meeting. I smiled to myself as a thought hit me. I wondered what Larry was thinking. He’d been totally bamboozled.

  “I know.” He laughed. “Turns out Penny knew exactly what she was talking about when she said people were listening that day you went to her house.” He grinned. “She just forgot to tell you that it was her.”

  “Wow. And she’s willing to come back from France and testify?”

  “She’s already back.” He nodded. “Blake e-mailed her right before the ball. That’s why he was late. They were e-mailing back and forth.”

  “I had no idea. I was wondering what he wasn’t telling us, and now I guess I know why. He couldn’t exactly tell us Steve was highly dangerous in front of Steve.”

  “Exactly.” Jakob nodded. “But everything’s okay now. We’re going to be okay. We have the answers we needed. We can move on with our lives. Or at least try to.” His hand moved to my ass, and I shifted.

  “Jakob.” I giggled. “Stop it.”

  “Stop what?” He licked his lips and then licked mine.

  “I’m not making love to you in your hospital bed.”

  “Why not?” He grinned. “Just think how hot it would be.”

  “I’m not doing it.” I shook my head. “No way, José. What if your stitches opened?”

  “What if I told you it would make me feel better?”

  “I’d say, oh well.” I leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.

&nb
sp; “Meanie.” He made a face and then his eyes lit up. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”

  I groaned as I looked at him. “I’m not sure how much more I can handle right now.”

  “The nurse came in when you were sleeping.”

  “Okay, and . . . ?”

  “She asked me if you’d told me.”

  “Told you what?”

  “About the baby.” His eyes were alive with glee, and my heart stopped beating.

  “What?”

  “She asked if you’d told me about the baby. We’re pregnant, Bianca.” He brought my hands to his lips and kissed them hard. “We’re having a baby.”

  “No way!” I shook my head in shock. “Are you sure?”

  “As sure as I am that we’re getting married just as soon as we make it out of the hospital.”

  “Oh, Jakob, I don’t even know what to say.”

  “Just say yes, my darling. Just say yes.”

  fifteen

  One Month Later

  “There are two letters that have come for you, Bianca.” Jakob held up a small yellow package and a flat white envelope as he walked into the bedroom.

  “Who are they from?” I asked suspiciously as I sipped from a glass of cold water.

  “Not sure,” he said as he sat on the bed next to me. “Do you want me to open them for you first?”

  “No.” I shook my head and smiled at his worried expression adoringly. “I can check.”

  “I just don’t want you to make yourself sick.” He touched my forehead. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

  “It’s morning sickness, Jakob.” I rolled my eyes. “Not the plague.” I grabbed the letter and package from his hand. “I don’t even need to be on bed rest.”

  “The doctor said you need to take care of yourself.”

  “That’s just prenatal care, darling.” I gave him a quick kiss on the lips, my heart thudding as I recognized Rosie’s handwriting on the envelope. “All pregnant women have to take care of themselves.”

  “Well, you need to take extra special care.”

  “I guess that means there will be no secret excursions to any stranded islands.” I laughed and stroked his face. “No hot sex in the sand as we wait for a boat to find us.”

  “Haha.” He laughed and grabbed my hand and kissed it. “Who knew that would become your new fantasy? I wish I’d played it up for you more while we were there.”

  “I didn’t really know you then.” I laughed. “I would have slapped you and ran away and hid in the jungle. And most probably I’d have been eaten by a monkey.”

  “Or a boar,” he said matter-of-factly, and I slapped him on the arm.

  “I think this letter is from Rosie.” I licked my lips nervously as I looked down.

  “You sure you want to read it?” he questioned me, his eyes darkening at the sound of her name.

  “Yeah.” I nodded. “I want to know why she’s writing.”

  “I don’t want you to feel sorry for her.” He looked angry. “She knew what she was doing. She knew that her father was evil incarnate. And she went along with his plan.”

  “But she was doing it for him,” I said softly, my heart breaking all over again as I thought about my previous best friend. The one person I’d always thought had had my back. To know that it had all been a lie, well, it killed me.

  “She knew better than to just go along with it,” he said with a frown. “She wasn’t some little kid being led astray.”

  “People do weird stuff for love,” I said, and sighed. “She just wanted her dad to be there for her.”

  “I’m sorry, but I have no sympathy. She put your life in danger.”

  “Jakob,” I said softly, and leaned back against the headboard. “I’m going to open the letter now.”

  “Read it aloud then,” he said, and got up on the bed properly. “Tell me what she said.”

  “Fine,” I said, and opened the letter slowly. It was on a single piece of lined paper, and I unfolded it. “ ‘Bianca, no matter what I say now, you will never believe me. I’ve lied to you more times than I can count. You have no reason to trust or believe me now. I’m not writing to you for your forgiveness. I don’t expect that. I’m writing to you because I truly am sorry. One day, you might believe me. But for now, accept this gift. Your friend, Rosie.’ ” My voice caught as I stopped reading. I looked back at the words, and I wasn’t sure what to say.

  “What gift?” Jakob said, frowning.

  “I don’t know.” I shrugged and then sighed. “I wish I didn’t feel so sad.”

  “Don’t.” Jakob’s voice was unforgiving. “Her words are empty, meaningless.” His voice was angry. “She still hasn’t given a real reason for anything that happened.”

  “Maybe she doesn’t know how to voice it?” I shrugged and sighed. I then looked at the small package and opened it quickly, wondering who this was from. There was a small green velvet box and an envelope. My breath caught as I stared at the handwriting on the envelope. It was my father’s. Immediately, I felt tears in my eyes, and my chest grew heavy.

  “Bianca, what’s wrong?” Jakob’s tone was sharp and concerned. “Is it the baby?”

  “No.” I shook my head and gulped. “My dad.” I pursed my lips, and my heart exploded with love as Jakob brushed the tears away from my cheek and then kissed me softly. “This must be the gift Rosie is talking about. She found a way to get me this letter from my dad.”

  “Don’t cry,” he said. “Do you want to read it now?”

  “Yes,” I said, and opened the envelope carefully, not wanting to damage the letter inside. I pulled out the letter, and my heart banged at the familiar handwriting. “You read it,” I said as I handed him the letter. “Please.”

  “Of course.” He nodded and cleared his throat. He took the letter from me and started reading. “ ‘My darling Bianca. If you’re reading this, everything didn’t go according to plan. I tried so hard for you, my dear, my darling daughter. I know that you most probably don’t understand why I faked my death. I’m not sure I could understand myself if it wasn’t in my head. My darling daughter, you were my life, my breath, my heart. Your mother and I were so thankful for every day we had with you. When you were born, your mother, selfless angel that she was, made me promise that everything that we both did in this world would be to protect you and to love you. And when she died, I failed you. I became a shell of myself. I blamed myself for so many things. I lived in the past, and I lived to regret it. I regretted it because you were still there with me, living, loving, breathing, and I squandered so many years. When I realized what had happened with Jeremiah and Oliver, when I realized that Larry was as evil and as cruel as I’d always imagined him to be, I knew I had to do something. They were coming for me. They were coming for you. And you, my beautiful, wonderful daughter, needed to be protected at all costs. I entered into a deal with the devil. I knew that Steve was unstable. I knew that I was taking a risk. That I might not make it. That my life as I knew it, my freedom, my sanctuary would be gone. But I willingly gave that up for you, my love. I gave it up because I would give ten thousand lives to save you. This letter means that I tried my hardest and something happened. Do not hate me or mourn me. Live your life. Love your life and be free. Free to do as you want. Free to love who you want. Free to think what you want. Never be afraid to speak up for what’s right. Never be afraid to spread your wings and fly. Jump into the ocean and swim with the sharks. Your mother and I will both be watching over you. I know you may never understand the why or the how. I know you may never fully understand. But please forgive me and love me. I did it to protect you. I did it because it was the only solution I thought I had. My death for your life. Something had to give. Something and someone had to take Larry down. I would do it again. Just for you. I did it all for you. For I will always love you. Your loving papa.’ ” Jakob’s voice was soft as he finished reading the letter, and he held me in his arms as I sobbed.

  “I hate him a
nd I love him,” I said as I cried, and Jakob’s hands rubbed the back of my shirt and my hair softly. “Why couldn’t he have told me what was going on?”

  “He wanted to protect you, Bianca,” Jakob whispered next to my ear. “He thought it was his best bet.”

  “I guess,” I said, and opened the green velvet box to see what was inside. “What’s this?” I said, and looked at a small silver ring. I looked up at Jakob and he shrugged. I pulled the ring out slowly and stared at it. I’d never seen it before and was puzzled why my father had sent it to me. I looked the ring over and then noticed a small indent where the ring had been marked. I started crying when I read what it said: Nick and Angelina forever. I showed Jakob the ring and he smiled at me tenderly.

  “They’re both in heaven now looking down at you,” he said as he held me close to him. “They are your protectors in heaven, and I’m your protector on earth.”

  “I love you, Jakob Bradley,” I said as I gazed into his strong blue eyes. “I love you more than you’ll ever know.”

  “And I love you too,” he said, and kissed the side of my face. “Jakob and Bianca, forever and ever,” he whispered into my ear. “Nothing will ever split us apart.”

  epilogue

  Two Years Later

  The hot sun beating down on my face was oddly comforting. I lazily opened one eye and sat up slightly to check up on Isabella and Jakob. A wide smile covered my face as I watched Jakob patiently building a sand castle with her. Isabella was her daddy’s mini-me, with her bright blue eyes. She beamed up at him as her little hands crashed down on the turret that had taken Jakob an hour to create.

  “All falls down, Daddy!” She giggled as her fingers played in the sand.

  “Yes, all down,” Jakob said, smiling at her adoringly. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

  “Daddy, slobber.” Isabella giggled again and then jumped up and ran over to me, her chubby little legs moving as quickly as they could. “Mummy, Daddy, slobber.” She fell down next to me, and I pulled her into my arms.