Becca.Too much time had passed since Neal had been gone, and as the sun slowly crossed over in the sky, I became more and more worried about what was going on. I tried a few times on the satellite phone to get hold of him, and yet, there was nothing. Nothing, but ringing and my constant aggravation over the entire situation."Nothing yet?" Layla had asked me this at least a dozen times, and as I turned to her shaking my head with a sigh, I saw the disappointment in her eyes."I'm sure everything is fine," I muttered quickly, pushing a smile on my face. "They just got wrapped up in things. Had there been an issue, the men outside would have come to say something."No matter how often I tried to reassure her, I could tell she didn't believe me. She had already cried more than once today, and I felt terrible for it, but at the same time, there was nothing I could do. I was just as much in the dark as she was."Okay, I'm going to find something to make for dinner. The kids
Becca.I stormed past Layla and the kids, going to my room. Neal was right, I was lucky we had packed everything. I might have thrown things, otherwise.The door to the bedroom opened, however, before I could lock it."Becca," James said in a warning tone, "we really don't have time for this.""We're going to make time," I replied, folding my arms over my chest. "I can't believe you'd just show up here, thinking I'd f*cking prance away with you like some mindless bimbo."James took a deep breath. "I don't think you're a mindless bimbo. But I do think you're rather stupidly fighting with me right now when you should be getting yourself and the children out of danger. You want to scream at me? Hit me? Accuse me of God knows what? F*cking fine, Becca, but do it on the jet."I bit back a why-would-I-go-anywhere-with-you retort. James was right. We needed to leave before Neal's past came to our doorstep. I'd learned that the hard way with Xavier Michaelson in the grocery store p
James.My stomach dropped to my toes. "You want to leave and take the kids with you?" I inferred."Yes. They deserve a better life, a happier one, and not to mention, a safer life than you can ever give them. So whether it's New Zealand or somewhere else, I intend to make something pure and wholesome for them. Far away from you, from Neal, from Allegra, and your problems," Becca confirmed.I scowled. "Those are my child and my grandchild. You can't just take them away from me."Becca shrugged. "You're dead, and Tally gave custody of Alessandro to me, so, it would seem I can take them away from you. And I will.""I don't intend to stay dead. Everyone who wasn't supposed to know I was alive knows I'm alive. There's no point in hiding it anymore. Besides, I left witness protection the moment I left Japan," I said."Japan…" Becca's eyebrows drew together. Then her eyes widened. "You're the one who sent the box!"I inclined my head. "Guilty as charged. I wanted Dahlia to have
Becca.Italy was beautiful. There was no other way to describe it. History radiated off of every building, the Roman statuary and architecture were exquisite, and the weather was beautiful. From the moment we touched down at the Aeroporto di Firenze-Peretola, when I hadn't been helping Layla mind the children, I'd been glued to my window, staring out at the Tuscan city of Florence.We took several dark sedans. I was again sitting next to Layla in the back seat of one, a child each in our arms. James was the front passenger, and Tony drove again.My father and stepmother were in another car.The windows on all the sedans were heavily tinted, but that didn't mean I couldn't appreciate the view from my side of the glass."Having fun?" James asked from the front seat.I realized then he'd been glancing back from time to time, always seeing me pressing my face to the window like a kid outside a candy shop. "It's okay," I said indifferently.James chuckled at my answer. Both of
Becca.Layla and I were dictating to the housekeeper what we needed bought and brought in for the children when James arrived at the door to my suite. He leaned on the doorframe, just watching. Alessandro was on a blanket on the floor, blowing bubbles and kicking his little legs in the air.Dahlia was under a different, lighter blanket as I breastfed her."... Lightweight pacifiers, if you can find them," Layla was saying. "Alessandro won't take the heavier ones yet.""Of course, Miss Garcia," the housekeeper, Giana, confirmed. "We can get anything you need.""Don't forget about things you need for yourselves," James called, and Giana turned around and gave a slight bow."Yes, I was just getting to that, signore. But they have been terribly concerned about the children," Giana explained to him.I liked Giana. I'd never actually met a housekeeper who was in charge of a whole fleet of maids, but she was a no-nonsense woman in her sixties with gunmetal gray hair and a sharp
Chad.Paul's dad's yacht was the best place we'd ever partied. Partly because it was large and luxurious with all the amenities we could think of. But mostly because Paul's dad kept it stocked with high-end liquor, and Paul kept it stocked with babes and roofies. And cocaine.I did a snort off some blonde who was nearly bouncing out of her bikini bra. That and the Macallan scotch had me high and happy.When Paul's brother, Ted, came up from the lower decks with a revolver, most of us were too drunk to even register there was a gun on deck.The blonde I was snorting coke off of just giggled and pointed. "He's got a big gun.""Not as big as mine, babe," I snickered, pulling her into my lap."Let's play Russian roulette," Ted slurred, setting the revolver down on a table."F*ck, I'm in," Paul said, shoving a redhead off his lap and taking a seat at the table. "What about you, Chad?"I shrugged. "Sounds like fun." I smacked the blonde's ass to get her moving, then sat down
Becca.The compound should have felt stifling, but that wasn't the case. It was large, and airy, with beautiful gardens and many walking paths. Men with guns nodded to me politely as they did their perimeter patrols while I explored my gilded cage.Layla was taking the children down other paths on the other side of the compound. I'd offered to go with her, but she'd insisted I get some alone time. Between James and the kids, I hadn't gotten a lot of that since I'd been at the mansion.Over the past week, James had been trying to reason with me every day. Every day. I saw his point, of course, but I was over men lying to me "for my own good." OVER it.Surely there must be some solution he wasn't thinking of, something that could be done where Alessandro, Dahlia, Layla, and I could live somewhere quietly. Just a normal life. A life where Alessandro would go to school and make friends and perhaps play American football or international football and lead his team to victory. Join a
Becca.We sat on the terrace of La Loggia under a white umbrella, a light breeze tickling at the tablecloth and the fabric of the umbrella."The boys" stood close by, but I was starting to get used to their presence and allowed them to fade into the background."How is the fruit?" James asked me, pointing a fork at the item I'd ordered.It was some kind of tart, if I had to hazard a guess, but without the crust. "It's exquisite," I said. "And your… meat tower?"James burst out laughing. "My 'meat tower' is delectable, thank you.""Good." I blushed, but I didn't know Italian, and James had ordered for us, so even if there had been English subtitles, I wouldn't have seen them.We shared what I thought was flan for dessert, which was decoratively covered in sauce. It was almost too beautiful to eat, but James dug in with a fork and held a small bite to my lips before I could protest.It was melt-in-your-mouth delicious."Mmm," I murmured, closing my eyes.When I opened
Becca.I didn't need to push much longer until the baby was born. I let out a sigh of relief as a lot of pressure was released as the doctor announced the head was out. I was almost done pushing. Out came the shoulders, and then the doctor was able to pull the baby out. She lifted the baby up and smiled, studying the baby for a moment. "It's a boy!" she said, causing the room to erupt into cheers. I gave a very quiet cheer of my own, my body completely exhausted. I closed my eyes, tears still spilling down my cheeks. I was still worried about how healthy he was, though, since he had come so early. "The baby is healthy, even if a bit underweight. He'll get meat on his bones in no time," the doctor assured me, reaching over to hand the baby to me. Putting a few clips into place, the doctor handed James a pair of scissors, and he cut the umbilical cord. Then, she began the process of helping me pass the afterbirth while the nurses prepared to clean our son up while
Becca.Several months had passed since our honeymoon, and things had been going wonderfully. The baby was developing very healthily, and they were going to be on the way soon. I was tired as I sat on the couch, reading up on some news. The progress with Guatemala went very well. I had made contact with locals who were going to make sure everything ran smoothly and children would be getting what they needed. The thought made me smile. Children deserved wonderful lives. The kids were just put to bed about an hour ago. 8:00 PM was too early for me to go to bed quite yet, but I was feeling tired. Still, I needed a snack, as my cravings were intensifying lately by quite a bit. I walked up to the fridge and rummaged through it, pulling out a jar of pickles and giving a satisfied sigh. I grabbed a plate, taking out several to munch on while I watched television. Maybe this would help me wake up a little bit. I wanted to wait until James got home. He was busy worki
Allegra."I have made a list of reputable centers that we can look into," I said to Layla, leaning on her as we stared at a laptop on the table. At the moment, we were looking into adopting, though not right this instant. We wanted to do a lot of research first. Not to mention, Layla wanted to get another cat so Onyx had a playmate, and they'd need to adapt to our apartment first. The idea of adoption was a prospect both of us adored. Giving a child a loving home would be a wonderful thing. Layla pointed to the screen, saying softly, "I've heard about that one. Good things, thankfully. I think we should be open-minded about teens." She frowned sadly, closing her eyes. "They are often overlooked.""I agree," I said. "They may be a large responsibility, as teenagers can be rowdy, but I'm confident we can handle it. Can't be worse than being captured by the Russian mob," I said with a chuckle. Layla winced but gave a half-smile. "You still think about that, huh
Becca."This place is beautiful," I said, looking around the fancy restaurant in Florence and letting out a happy sigh. Vines practically dripped from the ceiling, making it feel as though we were in a romantic movie. My life was similar enough to one, at this point! Mariano and Neal sat together across the table from James and I, all smiles and warm energy as well. They sipped wine and nodded, agreeing with my observation about the atmosphere. I took a sip of water myself, always mindful of the baby."This is the place where we met!" Mariano exclaimed with excitement. "When I first laid my eyes on Neal, I knew a prince had entered the establishment. A handsome one that made me swoon in my seat," he said. He winked at Neal, and the other man blushed. I giggled, gushing, "You two are so cute! I'm so happy for you. It really does look like you connected, which is wonderful. Just like a storybook!" Mariano nodded, his grin only widening at the idea. This place had a
James. "Look at how wonderful and huge they are, James!" Becca exclaimed, causing me to smile. It was the day after our first engagement on the beach, and I was happy to relax. At the moment, we were looking at some giant tortoises with a deep sense of awe.She was right; they were the size of side tables. A guide handed Becca some lettuce, which she held out to the tortoise. She squealed with delight as the animal took a leaf from her and began munching, causing my smile to widen even further. I was so happy to be able to relax. Security had reported nothing odd happening, and they seemed to be having a ball as well. I was relieved, though I shouldn't have expected anything bad to happen. Not like the Cartwrights tracked our every move. At least, I hoped not. I shook that thought out of my mind as Becca continued to give a ton of attention to the tortoises. One of the security men walked over with a camera in his hand, beaming at us. "Let's get some pictures of
Becca.This was it. The perfect honeymoon, the one where James and I would have the time of our lives. I was thrilled, my heart singing even as I looked out the window of the airplane we were taking. With the money I had, we were able to charter a private jet. Even after all these months, I'd never completely gotten used to always being able to afford the best of everything. The staff was very kind, including the flight attendants who catered to our every need. Our money came with a lot of advantages. I tried not to think about that too much, though. It made me feel guilty.Rather, when my worries became too heavy, I reminded myself of the charity that I was starting off. I realized I couldn't physically go to Guatemala, but with my wealth, I reached out to locals for the best ways to run a charity for kids there. The representative I spoke with had been wonderfully helpful, and it made me beyond happy that I could still help while not being there. I had decided I
James."This is going to be such a wonderful trip, James!" Becca exclaimed, wrapping her arms around me. I smiled, returning the hug and holding her close. When she pulled away, I gave her a tender kiss.At the moment, we were sitting in the living room of the compound with a laptop open on the table showing all the activities we could do in Seychelles. The pictures of beautiful, pristine beaches with shining sand and deep blue water got me excited, too."I think we should see the tortoises and dolphins," Becca said, giving a smile. "The kids are going to love those pictures. Someday, we need to take them with us, to a kid-friendly area." No doubt she would be paying attention to that during our honeymoon. "That is an excellent idea, my love," I said to her, giving her another squeeze. We exchanged another kiss as she continued to scroll through the pictures and destinations. Thankfully, the trip was taken care of flight-wise and hotel-wise. Having money was
Neal.A few weeks had passed since I met Mariano, and the strong sense of attraction I had to both his looks and personality had not faded. In fact, we were hitting it off even harder now, and I couldn't be happier. Thankfully, I was brave enough to call Becca and say I wanted to visit as a friend. I meant it this time. There was no ulterior motive, not that there had been one, to begin with. She may have been stuck in my head a little, but that wasn't an issue anymore. After some hesitation, she agreed to see me. Likely because I wanted to introduce her to Mariano, which put her at ease for me not actually being after her anymore. I accepted that she was with James. Mariano and I were sharing lunch before heading out. I gazed into his eyes, my own full of adoration for the man. "We're really hitting it off, aren't we?" I chuckled, breaking the silence that had formed between us as we ate sandwiches. Mariano winked, saying, "I think we are, yes. I am thrill
James.Still feeling beyond happy about the news of the baby still being healthy, I walked over to the fridge to get myself a quick snack before meeting with Giovani. Becca was dripping with joy, which made me relieved, to say the least. She had no idea what was going on in the background, and I didn't want her to, either. She shouldn't suffer the stress of anything anymore. My wife was looking forward to a wonderful life with our expanding family, and I wouldn't let worry settle in her mind. At least, despite the stress on my end, we were going to have our honeymoon soon. The kids were happy, and that's all I could ask for. Speaking of which, I stopped into the nursery for a visit before heading off to discuss things with my cousin. Alessandro was playing around with a few cars and stuffed animals. Dahlia sat in front of him, doing the same, making happy cooing noises threaded in with a few words. When they saw me, they let out squeals of happiness and hobbled o