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
Four years later …Kelley was now twenty-four and he had successfully completed his degree in Economics two weeks earlier. He was packed and ready to move back to Yorkdare Bay to implement the next phase of his plan. It was his last night in St. John’s City and one he planned to remember.His time at St. John’s University had been fruitful. He took Grace to every game and Mason patted his heart before the time, signaling to Grace. Kelley had also resigned himself to his life and as time passed it didn’t sting as much when he thought about Jule.His decision hadn’t come lightly, he’d taken his time in thinking through it all. He vowed never to fall in love again, never to put someone’s life in danger like that again. Kelley believed that Jule had been a target with every fiber of his being. Petey had seen his opening and had taken it.They had only been together for five months before she died and he knew that at some point he’d move on. That time wasn’t now though and his plan for Pet
Lee Munroe stood in line as the Dean of the University called out names. It was graduation day and he had finally completed his law degree. Marella sat in the audience with David, Cecile, Blaire and Blain. Behind them sat Mason with Grace on his lap and Kelley next to him, both of them looking as proud as could be.David and Cecile were still annoyed because the twins had opted not to go college but had started working for Kelley’s company straight out of high school. Lee hadn’t commented because the twins did valuable work for them, work that David and Cecile didn’t have to know about.“Lee Munroe, Summa Cum Laude.”Lee stepped forward as the Dean shook his hand, handed him a scroll and he smiled for the photographer. He had graduated in the top five percent of his class and he already had two job offers in St. John’s City.He walked across the stage and took his seat again. The valedictorian, a girl named Sue-Anne Maloney, gave her speech and then they clapped politely. They left th
Kelley stood in the foyer of his childhood home, now his home and left his suitcases right there as his phone rang. He fished it from the inside pocket of his jacket and looked at the name highlighted on his screen.“Hello, Charles.”“We need to talk. You went too far this time, Kelley!”“With what exactly? I’ve been quite busy the last few weeks.”Kelley could hear the irritation in Charles’s voice and he had to smile. He loved irking the old man. “Are you still in St. John’s City?”“No, I’m in town.”“Where are you?”“My house on the hill overlooking my new kingdom.”Charles’s intake of breath was audible and Kelley waited patiently for him to recover from the shock of that news. “I’ll come to you.”The line went dead and Kelley grinned as he pocketed his phone again. It would be an enlightening conversation. Approaching footsteps made the grin disappear and his features returned to stoic as the man stopped in front of him.“We’ve cleared the house, no bugs and no cameras. Your secu