Chapter 31Lily withdrew from James's embrace, cleaning her wet cheeks. "I'm so sorry, I look messy right now. It's just...I've been so scared to tell you about my past. That was why I was so scared when Chloe reappeared...I'm sorry."James shook his head. "No need to apologize, babe. We all got baggage." He shot her a wry look. "Hell, you've seen how crazy my family can get. The Watsons aren't exactly Leave It to Beaver material."That startled a watery giggle out of Lily. Leave it to James to find the humor, even in such an intense moment. Her husband had a gift for cutting through the tension with his blunt charm."I suppose you've got a point there," she conceded, feeling herself relax a little. "Your grandmother certainly seems like a piece of work."Michael cleared his throat then, reminding them both of his presence. "Sorry to interrupt this heartfelt moment," he said dryly. "But maybe you could fill us in on what you found out, James? About Chloe's situation?"James's expressi
Chapter 32An hour later, Lily and her dad were settled into a lavish penthouse suite, courtesy of James's security team. The place was like a fortified bunker - cameras mounted everywhere, armed guards patrolling the halls. Lily felt identical elements reassured and unnerved by using the intense precautions."Goddamn, that is a few next-level stuff," Michael muttered as he took a look around the opulent residing region. "Your husband simply does not do something half-assed, does he?"Lily shook her head, sinking onto one of the plush couches."That's an understatement. When James goes into protective mode, he holds nothing back."Her mind drifted to her husband, questioning where he might be now and what he was probably facing. She attempted not to stay too much at the myriad worst-case eventualities.Her dad must have read her worried expression because he settled a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Hey now, don't you start fretting too much. James is a tough son of a bitch - he can
Chapter 33 One Year LaterLily stretched out lazily on the front room chair, soaking up the warm sun. She sighed contentedly as a moderate breeze ruffled her hair. Man, this private seashore within the Bahamas was an absolute paradise."You look entirely too relaxed over there," James's deep voice rumbled from beside her.She cracked one eye open to see her husband watching her with an amused smile, those intense blue eyes of his sparkling. He was shirtless and bronzed from their tropical vacation, looking like some kind of ridiculous romance novel cover model.Lily grinned back at him cheekily. "Well, why wouldn't I be? We're living the dream, babe."James chuckled low in his throat. "Fair point. Still getting used to this whole life of leisure, I suppose.""Better get used to it fast," Lily teased, poking his rock-hard ab muscles playfully. "Because I could get accustomed to this level of luxury and pampering."It was wild to think how much their lives had changed in just one short
Chapter 34 Intruders. James heard them too judging by the thunderous look that settled over his chiseled features. Without hesitation, he moved in front of Lily in a protective stance, pushing her in the back of him. "Stay returned, child," he growled in a tone that brooked no argument. His eyes appeared like flint as he glared toward the source of the disturbance. "Daddy's were given some uninvited visitors to address." Lily opened her mouth to protest, however, the sounds of violent warfare spilled out into the hallway, slicing her off. Two masked figures burst into view, grappling furiously with individuals in their safety detail. One guard was sent crashing right into a desk with a pained grunt, successfully taken out of fee. The opposite changed into embroiled in a savage hand-to-hand struggle with one of the intruders, trading vicious blows and grappling viciously. "You've got to be kidding me," James snarled, any strains of his earlier joviality replaced by bloodless fury
Chapter 35Lily stared in shock at the groaning, beaten guys lying on the ground. Her heart became nevertheless pounding from the insane fight they had just been through. One minute, the whole thing turned into the best.She glanced up at James, who also looked at her with concern. His top became ripped, and he had a cut over one eye, however, in any other case, he appeared ok. Lily felt a surge of alleviation washes over her. If whatever had passed off to him...She shuddered at the idea."Are you okay, baby girl?" James's gruff voice snapped her out of her daze. He reached out and cupped her face, eyes searching hers closely.Lily managed a shaky nod. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just...stunned, I guess. Who the hell were those guys?"James shook his head grimly. "I have no idea. But we're sure as hell gonna find out." He turned to his security team, who were roughly restraining the last couple of intruders. "Get these assholes locked up tight. I want them ready for interrogation ASAP."The gu
Chapter 36A few hours later, Lily found herself pacing the length of the private study, unable to sit still. While James interrogated the captured intruders, she was supposed to wait here out of harm's way. Big chance of that happening.Her mind kept on replaying what has happened earlier. Those armed thugs had come dangerously close to seriously hurting James...or worse. Her chest felt tight just thinking about it.The sound of the door brought her back to reality, she whirl around. James strode in looking grim, his brow furrowed in a deep scowl. Lily felt her stomach clench anxiously."Well?" she demanded without preamble. "Did you get anywhere with those bastards? Who were they and what did they want?"James shook his head tightly, jaw tensing. "Hired muscle, as far as I can tell. Tough guys who don't ask too many questions as long as the money's right."He dragged a hand through his tousled hair, letting out a frustrated grunt. "I leaned on them hard, but none of the grunts know
Chapter 37Lily sat unmoved on the sofa, her heart pounding in her ears. She could hear the shouts and the sounds of struggles coming from outdoors. James had rushed out there to handle the new intruders, leaving her behind for her safety. She wanted to go help, to have his back like she promised. But she knew he might in no way forgive himself if something passed off to her or the child. Their baby - Lily's hand drifted to her flat stomach as a wave of fierce protectiveness washed over her. She was carrying their child now. James was right, she needed to stay out of harm's way.The noises of the fight seemed to be getting closer. Lily tensed, straining her ears to try and figure out what was happening. She could make out James's deep voice snarling orders amidst the chaos.Suddenly, the study door burst open. Lily gasped as a large, burly man in dark clothes came barreling inside. He was clutching a nasty-looking knife and his beady eyes locked on her immediately."You're coming wit
Chapter 38"Just for a little while," she mumbled, already drifting despite her best efforts to stay awake and alert. Wrapped in James's embrace, with his powerful presence standing sentry, she knew she could afford to let her guard down, if only briefly. Her eyes slipped closed of their own accord as she felt her husband press a lingering kiss on her forehead. "That's it, gorgeous. Just rest now. I've got you..." The rest of his words trailed off into soothing white noise as oblivion tugged Lily under. She surrendered to the lulling pull, knowing without a shadow of a doubt that James would allow no further harm to come to her or their unborn child tonight. Not while he still drew breath. Some indeterminable time later, Lily slowly surfaced from the depths of an uneasy slumber. She blinked muzzily, momentarily disoriented by her stark concrete environment till the memory got her crashing back. The intruders. The fight. She and James take refuge in this heavily fortified panic r
Chapter 142: The Watson mansion was fully alive. Streamers hung cascading off of everything they could, balloons bounced merrily around various corners, and the air swam thick with the tantalizing smell of BBQ on the back porch. Today was, after all, Ave's party – but it was more than that; today was the day Lily and James had chosen to once again pledge themselves to one another.Lily stood before the full-length mirror, straightening out her simple white sundress. At seven months, she was radiant—a perfect arc the curve of her belly was, below the flowing fabric.From the doorway, the sound of a voice declared, "You look beautiful." Lily turned to see her cousin Maggie smile at her."Thanks." Lily smoothed the dress. "I feel like a beached whale, but James insists I'm glowing."Maggie burst out laughing. "He's right, you know. You look like you're about to light up his world or something." She walked over and hugged Lily. "I can't believe how far we've come since that one crazy nig
Chapter 141: Lily woke up off. She couldn't explain it, but something just seemed… off. And when she rolled over to check the time, a wave of nausea hit her. She groaned and buried her face in her pillow."Alright?" James mumbled, still half asleep."Yeah, I just feel a little queasy," Lily replied. "Probably just something I ate."James sat up concerned. "You want me to get you something?"Lily shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. We should get up anyway; Ave has that school play today, remember?"They climbed out of bed and busied themselves getting ready for the day. James went into the bedroom to awaken Ave while Lily projectile-vomited into the toilet.James had, by this time, somehow managed to dress Ave in her costume: a huge, puffy frog outfit in bright green made for the school dress rehearsal of "The Frog Prince.""Mommy!" Ave squealed as she clumped down the stairs. "Do I look like a real frog?"Lily laughed, pushing aside her queasiness. "Why, yes, my child, the fairest fr
Chapter 140: Giggles consumed the room, and James stirred awake. He opened an eye to find a little face at the end of the bed staring in at him."Daddy! Wake up!" little Ave chirped in at him.Stepping over the landmines that were on the bed, James ran his hand through the small amount of her running down her back and picked her up, digging fingers into her tummy."Morning, princess," he said by way of splaying a kiss on her forehead.Ave giggled and squirmed. "Mommy said breakfast was ready!""Oh, yeah?" said James, sitting up but not letting go of the squirming Ave. "Am I to take it that's why Mommy sent you in here to wake me up?"Ave nodded, her bouncing brown curls saying more than she could. "Yep! She said tell you there's coffee."James laughed, and if Lily knew him at all well, it was all for her benefit. "Well then, I guess we'd better not have Mommy waiting, huh?"He climbed out of bed, Ave still in his arms, and rolled out of the room. The smell of bacon and coffee wafted
Chapter 139James lay on his back on the pristine white sand beach and took a pounding from the burning Maldivian sun. His hand reached up behind him for the coconut cocktail, tasting sweetness in his mouth as the gentle lapping of waves broke almost ten meters away from shore. It was the first time he had really been allowed to relax, barring a three-month period, since they had released the secrets of the Shadow Council onto the world."Penny for your thoughts?" The sound of Lily's voice broke through his reverie. She settled herself down on the lounger beside him. Her skin was golden against the sun.He smiled, squeezing her hand, saying, "Just thinking how surreal this all is. A year ago, I was knee-deep in conspiracies and shadow organizations. Now I'm sipping cocktails on a private island."Lily chortled; that sound always hit James in exactly the right place in his heart."Life's funny that way, isn't it?" she said, turning her head to look at him with her chin resting on her a
Chapter 138: James was pacing his living room relentlessly. Elena was with Rachel. It was all over. Well yah, anyway that was supposed to mean.Lilly squinted at him from the couch. "James, honey, you're going to wear a hole in the carpet. Come sit down."He sucked in a deep breath and sat down beside her. "I'm sorry; I just… I just can't help but feel this is too easy. After everything we've been through, this is just too easy."Lily squeezed his hand reassuringly. "James, I hardly think that anything about this has been easy. But maybe, this is the way it ends. Not really with a bang, but with a whimper."There was a pounding on the door. The teenager was on his feet before James could even open his mouth. His heart pounded in his chest. This was it.The door was thrown open. To find Rachel standing there—grimy, dirty, and obviously completely exhausted but still with the fires of determination burning behind her eyes. And past her."Hello, James," came the soft-spoken voice of Ele
Chapter 137: Rachel's hands trembled on the wheel. She drove the car towards the lighthouse. It was a full moon drooping low into a mess, ever drooping across the sky to the west, throwing a queer, sickly light over the whole demesne. She could not believe the fact that she was actually doing this, meeting secretly with her mother, Elena.She couldn't bat the feeling away that this time—this time—things were different. There was no hand in the place that could have been straightened just then, and scarcely a hand for him to take.Beside the lighthouse was her mother's car. Ray closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and felt her hand shake again, then brought it quickly up to her chest and gripped hard. "You can do this," she whispered to herself.She scrambled out of the car and up the serpentine path to the lighthouse, where waves dashed to the rocks and her feet crunched over gravel.One figure stood at the top by the railing, looking out at the water: Elena. His mother.Rachel's hea
Chapter 136The world had barely had enough time to absorb the shock that came with the downfall of Shadow Council. News channels were all agog with relentless updates, while governments scurried to try and react to the development; people all around tried to understand what all this really meant and what the implications of the bombshell were that shook the very fundamentals of society.But there was so much more to it than that which James Watson could see coming.He found himself standing outside the hospital room after just a moment's hesitation on the other side of the door handle. He could see from the small window that Louis was lying in a bed, hooked up to a lot of machines, Rachel sat at his side.He steeled himself, took a deep breath, and walked in.Rachel lifted her head. Her eyes were red, red, but glittering. "James," she said very quietly. "I didn't expect you to be here.""How is he?" asked James, who had moved now and stood at the foot of Louis's bed.Rachel sighed. "
# Chapter 135: James took a deep breath and brought his head counterclockwise to his team, tired yet charged. It was time to engage their plan."Okay, let's go over this again. Hawk, are you set up with that kill switch or what?"Hawk just nodded. Her fingers danced across the laptop keyboard. "Okay, I am ready as I will ever be, but remember, this is one shot deal.""Right," James confirmed, turning towards Kelvin. "You got your contacts on standby?"Kelvin lifted his phone reassuringly. "They're all set, just waiting for our signal now."Glancing toward Angie and Agent Johnson, he asked, "You two sure about this? This is going to be dangerous."Angie made a show of rolling up her eyes. "Please. After all else we've done? It's just another Tuesday."It was Johnson's turn to chuckle. "What she said. We've got your back, James."James bobbed his head, his fear mixing in with his excitement. This was it: the last big push to finally bring down the Shadow Council."Alright then," he sai
Chapter 134: Days passed after the warehouse before a blur of debriefings, media frenzy, and shock waves that echoed across the globe. Standing smack in the middle of this hurricane, shaking the very roots of governments and institutions around the globe, was James and his team.They now sat in a safe house, courtesy of Agent Johnson—now an unlikely ally in all of this, ever since the exposure of the Shadow Council. There, in that very suburban home, the living room had now become something of a command center: there were laptops and papers all over, the place cluttered with empty coffee cups.James rubbed his tired eyes at the news playing on mute on the television. Of course, the headline scrolled by in the news: "Global Markets in Turmoil as Shadow Council Revelations Continue.""You should get some rest," Angie said before putting a hand on his shoulder. At least she looked a little better now, with the bruises from her captivity fading, but there was a new hardness in her eyes.