I couldn't fall asleep. As much trouble as Joan had caused, I couldn't shake the feeling that she was right. Maybe the Peterson family was in danger again from the threat of Bennett Klein. Bennett was a dangerous man that had killed people and tried to steal Ellis' fortune by kidnapping our son.Maybe Ellis would need someone else with him to help secure Peterson's future. I couldn't entertain such thoughts. As long as Ellis would want me, then I would stay. Not only would I stay, but I would fight like hell to do whatever he would need from me. I wanted to be by his side as long as he wanted me there. As I turned over, I caught Ken sleeping on the long couch near the balcony doors. He didn't like sleeping in bed, mentioning the smell of this room like it was cloaked with mildew. I know he just missed his bed at Ellis' home, but he was sticking it out for me. My hands toyed with the sheets, my eyes clinging to the ceiling while my mind was riddled with pressure. My phone humm
I woke up to Ken jumping into bed while Ellis held me firmly. Both of my guys were awake and I dazzled in their holds. Even at the Peterson house with so much bad energy flowing through this place, I still found time to be with my favorite guys. I wanted to savor it forever, leaning on Ellis' bare chest while he held me, Ken bouncing in my lap. The moment was stolen from me with a demure knock on the bedroom door. I set Ken aside and walked to answer it, but Ellis beat me to it. He flung the door open and leaned intimidatingly on the doorframe. My body shivered at the sight of Joan in the hall, giving Ellis a look of resentment as he answered the door with just his trousers on. She looked to us both like she had to reform her words with Ellis being here. "If you don't have anything important to say," Ellis started first. "Then I think you should leave Olivia alone today."I bit back a cough of laughter. The look on Joan's face went even more sour and it pleased me more than I thou
I hissed as I dropped the gun at last, feeling the new audience in the bedroom begin to surround me. My heart raced out of my chest and I lowered myself out of protection. At least in the large group of onlookers, Ken was not a part of this witch hunt. He would be oblivious to the setup happening here today. I couldn't escape all of these people, either. Even if I wanted to run away from this obvious attempt to frame me, I feared it would work. Would the police believe me when I would tell them it was all a lie? I held the gun and Herman now laid with a bullet wound to the chest. They knew I was the easiest target to blame. That's why Joan sent me here in the first place!Joan put away her phone when the wailing to Ellis had finally run short. It wasn't long before I could track the sound of his steps coming up the stairs. He raced into the room, nearly knocking Joan off balance, and rushing to his grandfather's side. I watched in dismayed horror as he worked to find a pulse but w
I hadn't slept since the moment Herman was found out to have been shot. Thankfully, he was still alive and being looked over at the hospital but that didn't settle my nerves. Ellis was still fighting to make sense of this tragedy and I had to face my own reality. If I never came to the Peterson household, would Herman be in this state?"Mommy, are you coming with me?" Ken pondered. I could only shake my head at first, busy wiping my damp cheeks. "No, Ken. You have to go with Luke. He's going to take you to your grandparent's house and you'll be safe there.""What about you?" he blurted, his wide eyes wandering down to his car seat like he would stage an escape if I didn't reply to his satisfaction. "Are you going to be safe here?""I've got her," Ellis said, kissing his son on his disheveled scalp. "Mommy is safe with me, I promise, Ken. She's going to be fine. You're going to go with Luke and have a good time, okay?"He nodded but didn't look fully convinced. "I love you, mommy and
**Ellis POV My eyes opened and shut, but everything was a blur. I couldn't make sense of where I was or anything around me. I must have been somewhere between waking and sleeping. Something was missing. No… Someone was missing. She was screaming.I jerked awake, reaching my arms out to grasp her, all I clutched was empty space, as if the woman I reached for had suddenly disappeared. I tried to think who I was expecting to hold onto, but a splitting headache gripped me and I lay back on the bed.I had hangovers and headaches before, but nothing like the skull splitting pain I felt as I closed my eyes and put my hand to my head. I didn't remember drinking the night before but I swore it would be the last time I touched a drink for quite some time. Then I felt the bandage on my head and realized that somehow I had gotten hurt. But I couldn't remember how. "Ellis?" I felt my body go rigid at the unexpected sound of a female voice beside me. I hadn't noticed her in the brief moments my
**Olivia POVI nearly stopped breathing at Ellis' cold words. What was he saying to me? Why was he looking at me like that, so cold and distant? Was he mad at me?I didn't understand what was going on. I remembered Ellis grabbing onto me and holding me through that terrible ordeal as our car crashed and flipped over. I got chills thinking about how things could have ended so much worse for both of us. We were both alive, that alone was a miracle. I don't know how long we were stuck in the wreck. Firefighters had to cut open the car to get us out. I was knocked unconscious until they got to me. I could see Ellis as he was still in the car lying on his side unconscious.I thought that we would be taken to the hospital together. But we were separated at the scene. He was rushed unconscious in one ambulance and I was taken in another.Although there was a small cut on my head that had been bleeding, all of my injuries and abrasions were minor. While I was being treated, Joan and Brenda a
I took the rest of the day to rest and get warm. Bennett made sure to send warm tea and sandwiches to the room I was instructed to stay in. I still couldn't believe all that had happened with Ellis and his step-mother at the hospital. It was true that there was nothing I could do. Ellis and I weren't married and I had no legal right to stay in the hospital by his side if he didn't want me to. When I was alone and settled down I was able to allow the tears to fill my eyes and spill down my cheeks. None of this could be real. How could it be that Brenda was by Ellis's side and I was now being saved by Bennett Klein? My heart broke as I thought about Ken. After everything he had been through in his short life, how could I tell him that his father didn't remember us? No, there had to be something I could do. Even if we weren't married, there must be a way to convince Ellis that I was his fiancée.In the end I realized that I would have to call home and at least tell my mother what was
**Ellis POVEver since I woke up from the hospital, nothing felt right. It was difficult trying to navigate my life when there was so much I had forgotten. Brenda did her best to help me get my bearings, but still, things just felt off. I was not sure that I wanted to attend this dinner party at the theater. But there were important colleagues and businessmen that I was interested in meeting and getting reacquainted with.I was surprised to find myself relaxing in the atmosphere after we arrived. Everyone was glad to see I had recovered so quickly and was interested in starting business ventures in the area again. However, as soon as Olivia entered the room, I noticed her. She looked stunning in her red dress that hugged her torso and flowed just to her knees. It took some time for her to notice me but once our eyes met it was as if all of the air left my lungs. As I looked at her, everything that Brenda told me about her came to mind and I couldn't help scowling in anger before tur
Ellis POVI sat in the executive chair in the office, getting work done as well as I could under the circumstances. Even with the new legal troubles, some things never changed. “And tell them if they don’t they will have to answer to me,” I said. “Got it,” my project manager, William, said, looking a little shaken. Handling contractors came with the job, and was mostly a matter of patience, and being commanding. Much the same as handling a child having a tantrum. I relaxed a little as the call went away, taking more of the immediate problems with it. There were other problems hanging over my head that I didn’t like to think about. A little annoyed and very tired I loosen my tie, which had come to feel like a noose. After the house arrest, theoretical as it might have been, I hardly wore one anymore.I felt Olivia’s absence in my chest, like a weight. One I tried to lighten with another drink. Sipping lightly from the tumbler of rum, careful not to get drunk. I wanted to be alert
**Olivia POVI woke up still groggy, the world going from a dark blur to a light blur. Everything that had happened slowly rearranged itself in my mind.Pain came back along with the memories, if in a reduced form. With a wince, my head turned just right, and I saw Ellis seated by the bed, where he’d always been before getting arrested and would always be if I had anything to say about it.Ellis looked troubled, something I rarely saw. He was always so capable and in control of himself if not the situation. I reached out to him instinctively, and Ellis took it tenderly.“Can you be here?”“Of course,” he said.“No, I mean your house arrest.”“That is taken care of. Even if it wasn’t, I think this counts as compassionate grounds.”I relaxed a little, letting out a breath. Then I remembered what happened with the baby.“How is she?” I asked.He squeezed my hand, letting me know something was wrong, no matter what he might say.“She will be fine,” he said, “I’ll take you to the NICU to se
**Olivia POVI’d always heard bad things about hospital food. Fortunately, this proved not to be true. Everything Amber brought was great. I started to feel stronger just from the diet alone.If it wasn’t for hospital policy, I probably could have walked on our twice daily outings onto the hospital grounds. The baby seemed better too, moving even more than before.I started to suspect Nurse Anderson might have cooked the meals at home and smuggled them onto the hospital plates.I was near the end of my bacon and eggs, when a familiar face peeked in through the door.“Mom!?” I asked, more delighted to see her than I had words to say.“Hey, baby.”Mom came over and gave me a kiss on the cheek, like she used to do when I was little and feeling sick.“Me or her?” I asked, patting my belly.“Both of you, really,” mom said with a rare smile.Mom put her hand on my belly and felt it as the baby moved again.“Hello, little one, it’s Grandma.”I was surprised to hear her use the term. Something
**Ellis POVI paced the hallway, resisting the urge to hit something. The control I showed in most situations was carefully built up over years. There were times I worried about Ken and his potential impulse control. Then again his mother was so patient and gentle, except when truly riled, it could be her genetics that might win out. I went to the door again, just to see if I could hear what was being said. The wood was too thick and all I could hear was muffled hums. “You know you could just go in right? You’re on the list.”Spinning on my heel, resisting the urge to yell in fright, I saw Nurse Anderson with a food tray. “I can’t actually.”“Why? Is the door locked?” she asked, testing the knob. “Yes, but that is not the biggest problem.” “Oh, how so?” Nurse Anderson asked. “It was locked from the inside,” I said.“Yes, that is how it works.” “By someone else, on purpose I mean.” “Who?” “Some Fed, I think he said his name was Smiley.” “Agent Smiley?” Nurse An
**Olivia POV Ken came out of nowhere. The only warning of his arrival, an excited shout echoed down the hall. He still hadn’t got the hang of his ‘inside voice.’ Like a shot he was in the room, shattering the quiet solitude. I couldn’t have been happier. Kevin was more subtle, coming in behind and waiting to be beckoned before coming forward. There was something about hospitals that made him less than comfortable. “Mommy,” Ken cried, up on the bed like a shot. “Hey, baby,” I said, as he took me in a near-choking hug. “Hi,” Kevin said, quietly, keeping his wheelchair near the door.. “Get over here,” I said. Kevin came up beside the bed, not needing to be told twice. From my bed I hugged Ken and held Kevin’s hand tightly, tears started to roll with little choice. “Mommy?” Ken asked. “Happy tears, baby,” I said. “Oh.” The room felt smaller all of the sudden and all I wanted to do was go outside with my boys. Pressing the button to page her, Amber appeared in no
**Olivia POV Day came again even as I was sitting on the plane back to New York. It had been a dream, and Ellis was still there, looking deeply worried. “How are you doing?” he asked with a smile that once melted me. “Fine and only getting better. As soon as the doctor gives me the all clear I’m going home with Ken.” “Ken is at home,” Ellis said. “Not your home, my home,” I said. I could see the words cut deep, and almost felt sorry for him. Second thoughts were just coming up when the doctor came in, his expression grim.I instinctively reached for Ellis’s hand. Bad news no doubt on the horizon. “It can’t be that bad,” Ellis and I blurted at once. “It can actually,” the doctor said, looking at the chart. “How so?” Ellis butted in. It didn’t really concern him anymore, but he was the sort to think he needed to be the center of attention in any situation. He must have been a joy at funerals. “You are severely dehydrated, Mrs. Peterson. The amniotic fluid is mu
**Ellis POVI held her hand in the back of the ambulance, never letting her go again if I had anything to do about it. I had gotten far too close to losing her. “We’ll be there soon,” I said, minding the volume. She flinched at the smallest noise if it was unexpected. God only knew what the sick f*cks had done to her, and it was best not to think about it. Anytime I did, the urge to kill them rose. I didn't want to kill Carl, no matter how much of a f*ck up he was.No matter what he did he was still my son. People like us had other ways to deal with our kids when they got off the track. Military service was one popular option, as well as “career opportunities” in another country. Olivia stayed silent, her head lolling to the left before she closed her eyes. “Everyone is excited to see you again,’ I tried, “especially Ken and Kevin.”Olivia winched at the mention of their names. It was probably a touchy subject, after she’d been away for so long, not sure if she’d ever get ba
**Olivia POV“How are you doing, honey?” I asked, rubbing my belly. The baby didn’t move, but she could have been asleep. Apparently, they did that a lot. Resting up for the rest of their life. Bethany and Carl were down there for a few hours. Mostly quiet but with the occasional argument. Things shifted and I heard steps coming towards the attic. I held my breath hoping everything would be okay. I wasn’t sure I’d done the lock up right, and hoped they wouldn’t notice if they came back. It would be an obvious sign of what I’d done, and the punishment could be awful. There was no telling what Bethany might do. She could be merciful and just break my ankles. Or my wrists, to stop me from getting the lock picked again. It would make Ellis really mad, but it didn’t sound like they were planning to stay around, after everything. The clock clicked open, making me flinch and the baby move. I nearly cried to feel her again but had to hold it together. If we were going to get out of
**Olivia POVI felt a thrilling chill run over my body and the baby moved in response, celebrating in my womb. The door was open and we were close to freedom. I rubbed my belly, calming her down. I would need all my focus for the next part. Carl and Bethany could have been back at any time, and I had to be gone before then if there was going to be any chance of getting back to the boys and Ellis tonight. I cracked the door open slowly and I listened to the deafening silence. All was dark but I could just make out the staircase below the door. There was no light from below, so I had to try to get down blind. A little at a time, always sure to hold something, down I climbed. Getting one foot down on the stairs and then the other. Holding the sides of the steps in a death-grip, I finally reached solid ground. The floorboards down below creaking like the ones up above. There was another door at the base of the steps and my heart sank to think that I might have to work to pick another l