Ulrich Drummond pulled the curtain open and gave Kelley and Mason a smile. “How big is your family exactly?”Mason smiled as Kelley pulled his shoes on. “Why?”“Well, you have thirteen brothers in the waiting room and an uncle.”“We don’t have a tv at home.” Mason’s laugh reverberated through the room and even Ulrich chuckled as Kelley’s expression remained stoic.“Your uncle, though, wouldn’t take no for an answer, he’s right outside, a Jesse Owens.”“He’s my uncle, for real.”Ulrich shook his head lightly and stepped to the side as Jesse slid past him. “Shit, Kelley, I just heard.”Jesse pulled him into a hug and Kelley’s arms clasped around Jesse’s back. “Thanks for coming but I just got discharged.”“Let’s get you home, kid.”Jesse slapped Mason on the back too and the three of them walked out of the trauma bay. Kelley’s steps faltered as Charles and Laura stood to one side with Petey’s parents. Kelley nodded his head at Mason who understood instantly and he led Jesse to the waiti
Kelley felt a chill creep up his spine as he drove up the driveway and parked his Escalade in front of the house. It didn’t feel like mere months since he’d last been there, but years. He realized also that this house had never been his home.The front door opened just as he reached the steps of the stone porch and Laura smiled as she stood waiting for him. Sudden guilt hit him at how he’d treated his mother the last time he’d spoken to her but the feeling didn’t last long.“Kelley? What are you doing here?” She looked genuinely confused at his sudden appearance at the house.“Charles invited me to dinner, said we needed to talk.”“Oh, come in.” Her smile lit up her eyes and Kelley gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ve missed you, Kelley.”Kelley felt awkward as he stepped inside the house. It still looked the same but it felt completely different, like he’d lived there in another lifetime. He didn’t have a nostalgic moment of good memories flooding him, he only remembered that la
Kelley sat on the beach close to the hotel where his father had retreated to earlier. Even after vomiting, he still felt sick to his stomach. His mother had made herself a slave to Charles Alexander for seventeen years just not to own up to her own mistakes.He wondered who Marley’s father was and then another though trickled into his mind. It could be any of the elite men in Yorkdare Bay or even one of the bastards living in the city. He’d never forget the way his mother had crawled towards Charles, begging and pleading.He had betrayed the girl he loved for her, yet she had never even tried to protect him. If she went to prison though Marley would be left in Charles’s care. He couldn’t let that happen either, Marley was only a year younger, but he couldn’t condemn her to that sort of life, not if he could help it.It was a sickening cascade of emotions that went through Kelley as he watched the waves. Where in the past the crashing sound had soothed him it now only proved to add to
Autumn was in full swing and the leaves had turned a golden brown colour. Mason lay awake in his bed and listened to the rhythmic breathing coming from Kelley, across the room from him. He smiled then as he thought about their brotherhood and how he’d never thought he’d be friends with him.A baby’s cry cut through the silence, it was faint but Mason had still heard it. None of their neighbours had a baby. It was with that thought that he got out of bed and headed downstairs. It was still early, only five am and normally he wouldn’t even be awake.‘Maybe that’s what woke me,’ he thought to himself.The house was still quiet and dark as he switched on the lights downstairs. He heard the baby again, closer this time and a chill ran down his spine. He opened the front door and nestled on the porch was a small bassinette with a baby inside.Mason picked the bassinette up carefully and looked around before he brought it inside. The baby’s cheeks were red from the cold and its eyes were scr
The next few weeks saw Mason and Kelley thrown into a new routine as Grace’s bassinette was moved into their already cramped room. Mason usually slept like the dead but during that first night they both sat up straight in their beds every time Grace made a sound.Marella offered to move to the motel but both Mason and Kelley shut her down quickly, they’d make the situation work. Lee had regarded the baby like she was a stick of dynamite, clearly afraid of touching her.For the first week Carey had woken up with them too, checking up on them before she decided that Grace was in capable hands. She did go shopping for Grace though and Mason sat on his bed, eyes red rimmed from lack of sleep as Carey unpacked baby things.“It gets better, Mason.”Mason stifled a yawn. “Does it?”“If you’re lucky within a few months.”“Shit.”“You’ll be okay.” Carey hid her laugh and smiled lovingly at her son. “You make me proud you know.”“Some days it still feels surreal, having a kid at seventeen.”“I
“Are you settling in okay?”Mason shifted in his seat and pressed the phone closer to his ear with his shoulder as he changed Grace’s diaper. “Yes, Mom, we’ll be fine.”“Have you found a nanny yet?”“Jesse’s sending over four vetted resumes for us to interview.”Carey sighed audibly. “Vetted? Are you guys the mafia now?”Mason laughed and Grace’s eyes widened slightly at the sound. “No, we’re just being careful. Charles threatened Kelley and he’s not taking any chances, especially with Grace here.”“Call me if you need anything or if Grace needs anything.”“We’re fine, really. I love you, stop worrying about us. The only thing lacking here is my sex life.”“Dear God, Mason, your sex life? That’s what got you a daughter.”“She’ll need siblings, Mom. I’m just being realistic.”Carey started to laugh. “You almost had me, Mason. Take care of my little angel. I love you too.”The phone call ended and Mason smiled as he put the phone down on the changing station and finished dressing Grace.
Jesse Owens had taken over the security department of Nascosto Scelto. He hired ex-marines and put them through a vigorous training regime before they were accepted into their ranks. He handled everyone’s personal security and he scouted locations before they travelled. Kelley, Mason, Lee and Marella were living in St. John’s City in a five bedroom house where he’d redone the entire security system and placed three armed guards on the perimeter. On Kelley’s eighteenth birthday he received his first deposit from his hotel shares and a threat from Charles Alexander. Jesse hadn’t taken it lightly. He had personally vetted and screened the live-in nanny who was also their housekeeper, an older woman named Theresa. Carey and John had received the same treatment with a live-in guard in their house. They had tied the knot in a small, private chapel with only their family present. Jesse had moved too and he’d sold his dojo. He now lived in the better part of Yorkdare Bay, central to most of
Jesse woke up with a smile. Marley’s body was warm next to his, her hand clasping his. He could feel her breasts rising and falling with each breath and he wondered what it would be like to wake up like this every morning.He untangled himself from her and switched the shower on in the bathroom. He got under the spray and closed his eyes as he turned his face up into the water. The door of the shower opened and Jesse turned to look at Marley.“No regrets, Jesse.”“No regrets.”Marley went down on her knees in front of him and gripped his stiffening erection and then started sucking. Jesse closed his eyes as Marley took him deep and her one hand started fondling his balls. Jesse lost himself in that moment as her tongue swirled over his head.He could feel it at the base of his spine and he pulled out of her mouth, pulling her up and pressing her against the shower wall. He kissed her and lifted her one leg before pushing inside her. The steam rose around them and Marley’s cries echoed
It was a week later when Jesse called him. It was a go. Nobody talked about his little meltdown, instead they walked on eggshells around him. Lee and Mason hovered, worked out of his study and at night Milana occupied his mind with sex. It wasn’t a bad deal, except that they all watched him, constantly.Nobody told her that it was Ernesto that he had killed and neither did he. He kept quiet and he waited. He tried to be himself, it was hard, but he tried. It didn’t fool his brothers though. They knew something was up and Connor finally broke the ice.“I can’t really decide who’s the crazier motherfucker, you or Lee.”Kelley looked up from his laptop and Lee huffed out a laugh. “Kelley. Definitely Kelley.”“You stabbed your father over thirty times, how am I crazier than you?”Mason leaned back against the sofa and took turns to look at them. “Did you see that guy’s face? You caved his skull in with your bare hands!”“Soft in the head just took on a whole new meaning for me,” Kelley sa
The front door opened as Kelley walked up the two wide stone steps. “Welcome to Meadow Lake, Kelley.”“Ernesto.”Kelley followed him to his office and they sat down on the two sofas facing each other. Ernesto poured them each a drink, assuming that Kelley would want one. He didn’t really but he took it and emptied the glass.“So what brings you to my little town?” Ernesto looked smug and Kelley fought to keep the sneer from his face.“I want to know where Milana’s mother is,” Kelley said.“I see.”Kelley’s expression remained stoic and he could see Ernesto was thinking about his answer. It wouldn’t be a good answer, Kelley knew that too. Kelley shifted slightly and pulled the pistol from under his jacket.Ernesto’s eyes followed the movement and his left eye twitched as the pistol came to rest on Kelley’s thigh. “Where is she?”“She’s dead. She killed herself four years ago,” Ernesto said calmly.“You didn’t think to share that news with her daughter?”Ernesto shifted and Kelley’s han
Kelley walked into his study with a grin on his face. He’d barely slept the previous night, despite his exhaustion. Once hadn’t been enough and he’d reached for Milana a few times until the sun rose and he’d gotten up for Kyzer.He walked over to the couch area and moved the one he and Milana had been on back to its original place. His tie was on the back of the other couch and it slipped to the floor against the wall just as he reached for it.Kelley moved the couch away from the wall and bent down to retrieve his tie. The wooden part of the skirting lay on the floor and he pushed the couch further away and picked it up. He looked at the piece in his hand, the edges a little jagged, like it had been cut out.He pulled his phone from his pocket and turned the flashlight app on and directed the light into the hole that had been hidden by the skirting piece. He lay flat on his stomach as he moved his phone and something caught his eye.Kelley stuck his fingers inside and it gripped the
The dining room remained quiet for exactly twenty seconds when Kelley walked out before everyone started talking at the same time.“That was intense,” Sylvie breathed.“You!” Marley stood up and pointed her finger at Sylvie. “You couldn’t keep your eyes off him the entire time. Get over it, he’ll never love you. He loves her!” Marley pointed at Milana and sat back down.“Shut up, Marley,” Jesse said softly.“Is that true?” Mason asked. “Are you still in love with Kelley?”“I should go talk to him,” Lee said.“No!” Milana said fiercely. “I’ll go talk to him, if any of you go up there now he’ll probably kill you. He won’t hurt me.”“Says the one that tried to kill him,” Marley muttered.“You created this whole mess, Marley. You should listen to Jesse and shut the fuck up,” Milana hissed and walked out of the dining room.Nobody moved and then Jeannie stood up and glared at all of them. “This is all levels of fucked up but Kelley’s right about one thing. You all want to get angry and gla
The weeks sped by and Kelley became broodier and quieter than ever before. He spent more and more time in his study catching up on work and spreading their business further, moving across continents and into other markets.He went to sleep each night with his back turned towards Milana but they always woke up attached to each other in some way. Today would be a test for all of them. They were planning a family dinner and Kyzer was already three months old.He rubbed his temples, wishing the headache would go away. It was the one constant ever since the coma. He had one every night and probably would for the rest of his life. He had an hour before everyone would knock down his front door.Milana walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body as Kelley closed the bedroom door behind him. She didn’t look at him but rather looked past him. His grip on her arm made her waver because he hadn’t hurt her, not once since that night he gave his ultimatum.“Mila …”“I need to get re
Kelley was standing by the crib when Kyzer’s face scrunched up and he picked him up before he had the chance to scream. He changed him and then sat in the rocking chair as he fed him the bottle he’d made. He didn’t feel like he’d missed anything but Kyzer was bigger and heavier and his face had changed a little.The door opened and Kelley looked up just as he pulled the empty bottle from Kyzer’s mouth. He placed the bottle on the table next to the rocking chair and lifted Kyzer to his shoulder. Three burps later and Kyzer was already half asleep.Milana had remained standing in the doorway, leaning against it. Tears were running down her cheeks and she hadn’t bothered to wipe them away. Kelley tucked Kyzer in, sighing softly in his sleep, before he turned to face Milana.He gripped her hand in his as he walked past her and pulled her behind him towards their bedroom. His bedroom, since none of her things had been in the dressing room when he’d changed earlier. He waited until she was
Kelley’s eyelids fluttered and he blinked a few times before the ceiling came into focus. He tried to swallow and felt the nausea rising. Kelley’s hand rose to his face and he felt the tube going down his nose.He started pulling, slowly and swallowed the nausea down. The pipe seemed never ending and when the last bit popped out of his nose, he gagged. The beeping was low in his ears but irritatingly there. Kelley turned to look at it with a frown and then he switched it off.He ripped the patches off his chest and stumbled to the bathroom. His hand was against the wall because his balance was up to shit. Something was trailing on the floor behind him and he felt for the light switch and stepped back as his reflection appeared in the mirror.“What the fuck,” Kelley whispered.He looked down and saw the bag half-filled with urine. ‘Why the hell do I have a catheter?’ he thought to himself as he picked it up and placed the bag on the counter. His head felt fuzzy but he wasn’t in pain at
Five weeks later …Mason looked at his phone for the hundredth time. It wasn’t going to magically ring. He rubbed his hands over his face and walked out of his office at the warehouse. His calm veneer was cracking, his soul was splitting off piece by piece.Their family was breaking and he had no idea how to fix it or even if he wanted to try and fix it. Carey wasn’t talking to him, Marella wasn’t talking to Lee and Connor was like a bear with a sore tooth. Grace had been with Carey for two days now, she’d taken her for the weekend.Marley was the only woman that was talking to them. Steel had drifted to the other side, he’d had no choice. Milana was his detail and he stuck to her side. Connor had lost his shit, broken three chairs and Steel had had to drag him away from Milana.Kelley had survived brain surgery, even though the odds had been stacked heavily against him. There had been swelling, another brain bleed and another surgery, he’d survived that as well, even though his docto
Two weeks passed and they’d fallen into a routine with Kyzer. Kelley did most of the heavy lifting, bringing Kyzer to their bed so Milana could feed him. The doctor’s timeline had been four weeks and Kelley made sure she stuck to it.She looked healthier, her hair shining again although she hadn’t gained any considerable weight yet, though Kyzer had. His pediatrician was happy with everything and Kelley felt like he could breathe easier.He hadn’t heard from Sylvie and he doubted he would and as the days passed he felt more comfortable. Mila looked more and more like herself again and at night she slept in his arms, her head on his chest like they’d always done.Kelley opened his eyes and gripped his erection through his pajama pants. He hated sex dreams, especially now. It was still early, not even six am yet. Milana’s side of the bed was empty and his cock twitched at the thought of her.Kelley closed his eyes again and tried to adjust himself in the loose pants. “Do you need help w