Rose In Bloom (16 page)

Putting the last bit of the food away, I walk back outside. Sebastian is now resting on his stomach, his arm stretched out onto my side of the bed. It is as though he is reaching for me in his sleep. My mind replays this magnificent perfect day. Looking down at my beautiful ring, I don’t think I can possibly be any happier. And then… it happens. I feel the baby move inside me. I’ve felt little butterfly flutters for weeks now, but this was a full little nudge on the inside. My heart fills with love, I feel it once more, and I know I’m not imagining things.

Rushing towards the bed, I can’t help but shout his name.

“SEBASTIAN!” I scream, not thinking about how it might terrify him.

Immediately, he bolts from the bed, terror fills his eyes.

“Skylar? Are you all right? What is it?” he asks, rushing towards me.

The smile on my face confuses him. Reaching for his hand, I place it on my belly. As if perfectly timed, the baby nudges me a couple of times. It is very light, but you can feel it.

His amber eyes look into mine. The joy on his face is priceless. No one who knows my husband would ever believe this side of him existed. This side is for me… for us. He doesn’t have to be anything for me but himself. In the business world, he plays the role he has to. There is no softening in that ruthless society.

“Oh my God! Is that the baby?” he asks, grinning.

“No silly, I woke you because of gas bubbles. Of course it is the baby.” I tease him.

He keeps his hand on my stomach, waiting for another movement, but it doesn’t happen again. Hesitantly, he drops his hand and pulls me against him. Placing his hand behind my head, he looks me straight in the eyes.

“You will never know what you mean to me… what this means to me.”

“Yes, I do, because I feel the exact same way.” Releasing his hand, I back away. “Do you remember when you said you’d always be there to catch me?”

“Yes,” he answers me still confused.

“Then catch me,” I tease and begin running towards the waves. I get a good head start on him before I feel myself being carefully picked up from behind. Easing my feet back to the sand, he turns me to face him and I see him grinning from ear to ear.

“Told you I’d always catch you. Promise me this though… no more running.”

“I promise.” I reply, throwing my arms around his neck.

He leans down and kisses me as he urges me back down in the wet sand. With the night sky all around us, I revel in this paradise he has given me. The warm wave of water rushes beneath me, causing me to squeal in delight. Sebastian leans down and kisses me, taking my breath once again. My legs fall apart for him as he moves between them. I feel his hard thick cock as it enters me, filling me up so deliciously. Another wave spills around us, but I no longer care. All I want… all I need is this man. We now have our whole lives ahead of us and this sweet baby on the way. My life is absolutely perfect. I finally have the happiness that I’d wished for, for so long.

Lucas

“Married? What the fuck do you mean married?” I scream into the phone at Kylie. I had been trying to call her for days now and she’d finally picked up her phone.

“I’m so sorry, Lucas, but Sky and Sebastian married a few days ago. Nik and I just flew back in last night.”

I knew this was inevitable, but I also thought my plan would have worked fast enough to stop the wedding from occurring in the first place.

She married him?

The intense pain in my chest deepens.
I’m trying to keep her and the baby saf
e. I try to reassure myself of my devious plan. No doubt, she will hate me now, but she can’t be with someone like him. Look at how much he has hurt her. I never once hurt her and I never will. Although, I’m pretty sure my now desperate plan will definitely be doing just that.

“Where are they?” I ask her, my desperation now very noticeable in my voice.

“Lucas, don’t. I know you are hurting. She never wanted to hurt you and you know that. Don’t do something stupid.”

“If you aren’t going to tell me where she is, then at least tell me when she is getting home.”

“I honestly don’t know. Probably sometime next week, I suppose.”

Another fucking week? I am going insane now as it is.

Taking a deep breath, I remain quiet on the line.

“Lucas. She is happy. I’ve never seen her this happy. After everything I’ve seen her go through and struggle with, she deserves this. You have to let her go.”

Let her go? Never.

“I’ll talk to you later. Goodbye Kylie.”

“Luc-. “ I end the call before she can continue.

Grabbing my keys, I head out in search of a way to clear my mind of all of this. That way always ends up in the bottom of a bottle.

Brandon

It’s really late as I enter my father’s building, but I know that he’s still here. I hate to get into a heated battle with him this late at night, but he and I have to talk. We can dance around the subject all we like, but he’s going to let me in on his plans with Sebastian Thorne. Between the three lines of coke I’d just snorted and the two mystery pills my buddy Lenny had given me earlier, I’m feeling pretty fucking brave.

I wave at Pops’ guard, Lucky, at the end of the hall and walk on past him. One good thing about being the boss’s kid is hassle free entry. I am just about to make the turn into my father’s office when I notice the door is almost all the way open. His deep, authoritative voice spills out into the hallway. Hanging back, I hug the wall behind the door and listen carefully to his conversation.

“Yeah, I already had the first package delivered to Thorne. He should have it by now. We’ll wait to see what his next move is. Hold off on what we talked about on the girl for now. Trust me, I have major plans for her later. She doesn’t know it, but her days are numbered too. I can’t allow her to stick around waving her cunt around at everyone. She’s fucked my son’s life up enough as it is. She’s got to go, just not before she and I have a little chat.”

What did he just say? There is no way in fucking hell he is touching her.

I don’t realize that I bump the door until I hear the thud against the wall. My father pulls his gun out of the holster on his chest and points it at the door, ready to take out whoever it is.

“It’s just me, Pops,” I say, holding my hands up as I walk into the room, closing the door behind me. I don’t want anyone walking in on our conversation.

Immediately, he tosses the gun on the desk and runs his hands through his salt and pepper hair.

“Jesus, Brandon. Don’t do that shit! Are you trying to get yourself shot?” he yells as he walks over to pour himself a drink. My heart pounds and my mind races. I can’t put this off any longer.

“What were you just talking on the phone about?”

“Nothing you need to be concerned with.”

“I think I deserve to be a part of whatever it is you are doing. That son of a bitch ruined almost a whole damn year of my life. If you are taking him down, I want in.”

“You aren’t going to do a damn thing. You’re going to let me handle it. Neither Thorne nor the girl matter. Besides, do you want to end up back in jail? Next time, I won’t be able to get you out. There’s plenty of pussy out there, Son. She ain’t worth it.”

“What are you going to do with her?”

“Let’s just say that I have big plans for Ms. Rose. The less you know about it the better… Trust me.” He smiles, taking a long drink.

I know that look. That coy, powerful, intimidating look that I hate so fucking much! There is no doubt about it. He wants her for himself. Rage fills me, and for the first time, I’m not scared.

FUCK! I don’t know what this shit is that Lenny gave me, but I am going out of my mind here.

He won’t have her. I won’t let him. NO! He can’t do that to me.

“I asked you what your plans are with her?” I demand again. He turns back to face me and quickly moves in my direction. His face is full of anger and fury. He stops right in front of me.

“And I told you! It’s not your concern!” he roars, but I don’t back down. He studies me for a long moment before he speaks.

“You still have it hard for the bitch, huh? Hmm, she must be something else to have everyone chasing her for a piece of ass.”

And there it is. That fucking sly smile. I know my father and he wants her in his bed. It won’t be the first time he took a girlfriend from me. Sick as it is, he likes proving to me that all they’d ever wanted was the power and money. He loves to show me that he has that kind of hold and control over me. Well, not with her. I won’t let him.

Before I can blink, I pull my Glock 26 out from behind my back, taking aim at my father’s head. The adrenaline courses through my body. The drugs have me feeling invincible and I am tired of taking his shit. I have always been his disappointment. The son who always seems to fuck everything up. I can never be what Mikey is in his eyes, no matter how hard I’ve tried to prove myself over the years.

“You realize you are fucking dead to me now!” he roars which only feeds my anger.

“Shut the fuck up! You were dead the minute you said you were going to hurt her. She’s MINE, Pops! MINE! There is no way I’m letting you have her as your own.”

“You’re such a goddamn waste! If it weren’t for the embarrassment of you being behind bars, I would’ve let you rot in that prison. I should’ve let them have their way with the pretty boy.”

“I handled myself just fine in prison. No one ever messed with me.”

“And why do you think that is? I’ll tell you why. It’s because I paid enough people in there to make sure no one did. My reputation had been on the line and I wasn’t going to be the laughing stock of Austin, when it got announced you’d been made the girlfriend of some other inmate.”

“SHUT UP!” My mind is spinning. I think I’m going to be sick. My pulse throbs harder in my neck. My heart is going to explode if it beats any faster.

“You better shoot me because the minute you lower that gun, you’re dead.”

I know he means it. Even if I am high, he’ll never let it slip. Blood or not, I’m dead.

With trembling hands, I keep my aim locked on his head. No one can say I can’t shoot. He knows I am more than damned good at that.

“DO IT!” he screams at me, taunting me to pull the trigger.

I don’t know what is stopping me. This room is soundproof, so no one is going to hear a thing.

“You are such a piece of chicken shit! I can’t believe you are my son!”

His words level me. The previous rush of the drugs has stopped and now my body is starting to bottom out. The room spins even faster, and my face drips with sweat.

“I’ve always known you were a pussy. I should have known only pussies come from whores.”

And with those words, I snap. One pull of the trigger and I land my shot square in the center of his forehead. He falls to the floor and a pool of blood forms beside his lifeless body. Walking over to him, I’m careful not to step in the blood. His glassed over eyes remain open, and I can’t help but silently gloat about what I’d just done. He might have been my father, but I don’t think what I grew up in was love.

My father’s phone chimes from his coat pocket, so I ease down and retrieve it. It isn’t anything important, but it gives me an idea. Smiling, I know I hold a key no one else will ever suspect. I hold the key to becoming Maverick Larson. Scrolling down his contacts, I send his guard a text from him.