Until My Last Breath

by Tiffany Patterson

  It was a dizzying experience. One that had my eyes rolling to the back of my head.

  “Come for me, princess.” The magic words.

  He loved it when I came on his orders. I’d managed to stave off my orgasm for those exact instructions. And I let the feelings overcome me until I was coming. Toes curled, heart racing, thighs tightening around his hips coming.

  By the time my body let up, my arms felt like Jell-O as they fell to the side of the bed and I laid back against the pillows, still working hard to control my breathing.

  Robert pulled out from inside of me, but still remained over top of me, staring down at me.

  “Are you still not feeling well?”

  I wrinkled my forehead in confusion before remembering that I had indeed not been feeling well. That morning I’d told him I might make a trip to the doctor’s office due to what I’d thought was the flu.

  Reaching up with my arms again, I circled his broad, sweaty shoulders.

  “I’m feeling better, but it turns out there is something the doctors found.”

  His head jutted backwards and he gave me a curious look.

  “It’s the kind of something that lasts for nine months,” was all I said before clamping my lips shut, letting the words I’d just shared ferment in his mind. It took a little longer than I thought, but I guessed that was what happened when you told your husband that you were pregnant for the first time.

  I saw the exact moment he caught on. His face changed, eyes widened just a little and there was a glint in them that I’d never seen before. He pulled back and his hand went down to cover my still flat abdomen.

  “How far along are you?”

  “The doctor thinks I’m around six weeks or so. But I made an appointment with my Ob-Gyn for next week to confirm that.”

  He sat up completely, eyes still glued to me.

  I wanted more of a reaction. From almost day one of our relationship he’d been telling me about having children. To be more precise, that we’d have four children, all boys, who’d be a handful. If they were anything like their father, I didn’t have a hard time imagining that fact at all.

  “Are you going to say something?”

  His brows spiked. “You need to eat.”

  I frowned as I watched him quickly dismount from the bed, pull on a pair of running shorts, and head out of the room, presumably to get some food. Looking around the room, I saw the shadows of our clothing on the floor but still couldn’t make out what time it was. Robert didn’t believe in having a clock in the bedroom, preferring to let his body wake up naturally. I thought it was a ridiculous notion, but it worked for him. He woke up around five a.m. every morning, with no clock and no need to set an alarm. So I let it go.

  I padded over to our shared closet and pulled down the silk robe he’d purchased for me a few months earlier. After slipping my arms into the light blue robe, I tightened the belt before heading out to go search for my husband. I found him in the kitchen; the smell of butter burning on the stove stopped me in my tracks.

  “What are you doing?”

  He glanced over his shoulder. “Shit,” he growled when I began coughing from the smoke.

  “Take that off the stove,” I told him, pointing at the frying pan he was using.

  Upon moving closer, I could see that he’d sliced a few squares of the cheddar cheese I’d purchased earlier in the week. Next to the cutting board were a couple of slices of French bread along with the butter.

  “I could go to the store to pick up some of that tomato bisque soup. Or Campbell’s,” he mumbled the last part, obviously hating the brand name soup I still had an affinity for.

  I shook my head. “The grilled cheese is good enough. I’m not even sure how long I’ll be able to keep it down.”

  I quickly finished what he’d started, making two grilled cheese sandwiches and plating them before carrying them over to the large table where he sat. Instead of finding my own chair, I opted to sit in his lap. His arm went around my back, leaving his other hand free to pick up his sandwich. I watched as he took the first bite, chewing and savoring it.

  “Are you happy? About the baby.”

  He paused mid-chew, his forehead wrinkling. He swallowed the food he’d been eating before leaning up and planting a kiss to my forehead. “Of course I am.”

  That was all he said. However, as we ate our food in silence, I could feel something was off. I’d felt it from the moment I awakened to find him staring at me in the dark. There was a strangeness about the way he’d made love to me in our bed. As if he was questioning for the first time ever. Robert was the most assured man I knew. From the outset, he’d never had any doubts about our relationship. Not one. I thought the news about my pregnancy would’ve had him doing cartwheels down the damn hallway. But aside from insisting on feeding me, and a few questions, he was closed off.

  I ate, without tasting, wondering for the first time if I’d made a huge mistake.

  ****

  Present

  Robert

  “So you did doubt Mother.”

  I frowned as I gazed at my youngest son. We were sitting in the offices I held at Townsend Industries. It didn’t matter that I was no longer CEO, and hadn’t been for some years now, this place was still like my second home. Aaron continued to seek out my council when he needed it, and I sat on the board of directors.

  “No. If Father says he never doubted her than he never did.” That was Joshua. He also had offices here at Townsend Industries.

  The three of us were having lunch together. Aaron had had a business meeting and Carter was halfway across the city at the fire station.

  “Have you ever doubted your wife?” I questioned Tyler.

  He lifted an auburn eyebrow in my direction before sitting back against the leather sofa, spreading his arms to rest atop the pillows. He sat as if he owned the entire building. But I couldn’t blame him. I’d taught all of my sons to never shrink in front of any man. And the only woman they’d shrink in front of better be the one who they spent their lives with and beared their children.

  “Not ever,” he said. “Wait, there were those times when she basically told me to fuck off when I asked her to have another baby,” he amended, frowning.

  Joshua and I both chuckled loudly at that. I could picture the short spitfire he’d married telling him just that.

  “She was exactly what you needed to keep you in line,” Joshua commented, still laughing.

  “Whatever, jackass.”

  “No, really, Ty. Destiny had triplets. She carried three babies at once. Babies, mind you, who are still under the age of one, and you’re already asking her to have more.”

  Tyler’s face folded into an expression of incredulity. “I’m not asking for a second round of multiples like our oldest brother, geesh. Just one more kid.”

  Joshua’s laughter increased before he sobered up. “No wonder she told you to fuck off.”

  Tyler flipped the bird at my third oldest son before his lips formed into a cocky smirk.

  I began shaking my head because I knew what that look meant. “She agreed, didn’t she?”

  His smiling hazel-green eyes wrinkled at the edges as his smile grew. “Of fucking course. Am I not Tyler Townsend?” He arms spread wide, face lifting to the ceiling, eyes closing as if he was soaking in the cheers of an adoring crowd. A move he’d often made after throwing a perfect spiral down the middle of the field to score a touchdown for his team.

  “Such a cocky little shit.”

  “And you love it,” Tyler retorted.

  I sat back, watching my two youngest bicker just as they had while growing up. I didn’t get in the middle of it then and I refused to do so now. They’d work it out. They may seem like they couldn’t stand one another, but the brats would fall apart without the others around. They’d been raised with a special bond that no one could break. I’d made sure of that.

  Even when Carter went off to the military to fight for his country at eighteen, I
knew he was just trying to find his way. Being the eldest with the last name Townsend had had a special meaning his whole life. One that I had pushed for him to take on, but ultimately, it wasn’t his destiny. My wife had had to sit me down and talk me off the ledge, to let Carter go and be his own man. However, I knew he would return at some point. The fact that he’d returned to Williamsport to become a firefighter wasn’t lost on me. He could have chosen any major city in the country. One that, while the Townsend name would still be known, wasn’t as closely associated with Townsend Industries. But he’d come home. To Williamsport. Because this was where he belonged. With his family.

  “You know, you’re one to talk, Father.”

  I returned my attention to Tyler, wrinkling my forehead.

  “You’re the guy who informed Mother she would be the mother of your four boys, the night after you first defiled her. Oh, and by the way, you really could’ve left that part of the story out of it. We didn’t need to know every detail.”

  “Yeah, you know how much I hate to admit when Ty’s right. But it’s true. That part could’ve been left out,” Joshua agreed, frowning and shaking his head.

  Smirking, I sat back in my chair, folding my hands behind my head, looking between the two of them. “She was my wife long before she was your mother. Don’t ever forget that.”

  “Still could’ve been left out,” Tyler mumbled.

  I just grinned.

  “Anyway,” Joshua started, “from what you say, you never doubted Mother, but you were getting evidence from Rick that was pretty much pointing directly at her as at least one of the conspirators behind the Townsend leaks.”

  I nodded. “It did look that way …”

  ****

  Then

  Robert

  “This shit is getting out of hand,” I grunted before taking a swing at Thiers. I cursed inwardly when he successfully ducked the punch and hopped to the side, getting out of my line of sight.

  We circled the ring, aiming for one another’s ribs instead of the face. That had been one of the rules we’d established before this round in the ring.

  “You’re getting faster,” I commented.

  “Or you’re just fucking slow. What’s the matter? Marriage slowing you down?”

  I swung, aiming for his left side ribs and landing a spectacular right hook. Thiers’ grunt was loud and immediate.

  “Don’t mention my marriage.”

  “Fuck you,” he spat back, lowering his hands. “I’m done with this shit. I told you I don’t fucking like sparring.”

  Sighing, I lowered my gloves. He was right. While Thiers was always one for a workout in the gym, he actually loathed getting into the ring and sparring with anyone. My usual sparring partner had canceled, leaving no one to get into the ring with. I’d had to bribe Thiers with front row seats to the Elton John concert that was coming to town in a few months.

  “Don’t think this means you can get out of getting me those tickets.” He pointed back at me as we walked over to the metal folding chairs which sat against the wall, facing the boxing ring.

  “I had no idea you were such an Elton John fan.”

  He snorted before squirting water into his mouth from the water bottle. “I’m not. But my lady is.”

  “Going to an Elton John concert for a woman? You must be serious about this one.”

  He nodded, smiling, a funny expression crossing his face. “I think so. Jeanette is different from all of the other women in my past.”

  “How so?”

  “She’s smart. Loves to read. I mean, this woman can spend hours reading. And she listens more than she talks. Most women I’ve met only want to talk about themselves, who they know, who knows them. All that bullshit. Not Jeanette.”

  I nodded, knowing the feeling very well. My friend was falling in love. I could hear it in his voice. If this had been a different time, I would’ve told him to shut the hell up about it and that he probably was just making up feelings that weren’t real. But I didn’t because I knew exactly what he was talking about.

  “What’s that face about?” he questioned, giving me funny stare.

  I clenched my teeth, not wanting to say the words that would answer his question, but needing to. “Rick thinks Deborah is in on it.”

  Thiers’ eyebrows dipped. “In on the Townsend leaks?”

  I dipped.

  “How is that possible?”

  “He has photos of her with one of the guys he’s pinpointed as being behind the leaks. Recent photos,” I clarified. “It’s of her ex, Cohen. He thinks they never broke up. That she’s having an affair with him behind my back.”

  “He thinks?”

  I grunted and nodded.

  “But you don’t?”

  I turned, looked Thiers right in the eye, and said, “I know it’s bullshit.”

  “But the photos are getting to you.”

  I turned toward the rest of the boxing gym, not saying anything. I didn’t need to. He knew me well enough to draw his own conclusions. Seeing my wife in the arms of another man had stirred something inside of me that nothing in my life ever had.

  I stood up.

  “All I know is that when all of this is over, no motherfucker will ever test me, my wife, or my marriage again. And it will be Robert Townsend Junior with his name on the office of the CEO suite at Townsend Industries.” Those two things I were a fact.

  I also knew neither one of them was going to happen without me having to get some blood on my hands. I’d made peace with that weeks ago. It was time to put an end to this shit.

  I wouldn’t let my first son enter this world with questions still being held over my wife’s head. Nor would I let Townsend Industries keep being run by a man with no vision, poor negotiating skills, and only his last name to bolster the confidence of his allies. Even if that man was my father.

  ****

  “It’s been a month!” I barked as I charged into Rick’s office, slamming his door behind me when his secretary tried to intervene.

  “It’s alright, Terri!” he called through the door to his secretary before turning back to me. “She has strict instructions to call either my guys or the police when clients come barging in. She got worried after another client shot me.” He waved his hand in the air dismissively, as if it was more of a nuisance than attempted murder.

  “I wouldn’t use a gun,” I growled.

  He nodded. “I know. You’d be the type to get up close and personal with your prey. Trust, I know the type of man you are.” He sat back down before extending his hand for me to take a seat in the wooden chair opposite him.

  I moved slowly toward the chair, placing my hands on the back, leaning in. “I’d rather stand.”

  “I figured.” He sighed. “Believe it or not, I was just looking over your file.” He held up the case file folder with my name on it as proof.

  “And?”

  “And … as it turns out, you’re right. Deborah didn’t have anything to do with this.”

  I pushed out a breath I didn’t even know I’d been holding. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  “They were using Deborah to make it look like she was involved. Her ex, Cohen …” He held up a picture of the prick. “Turns out he wasn’t particularly happy about the break up. Also, he’s broke. It seems mommy and daddy cut him off months ago because he was taking so long to complete his PhD program.”

  “What the fuck does this have to do with Deborah or Townsend Industries?”

  Rick waited to answer while I rounded the wooden chairs to finally take a seat facing him.

  “Provides motive. A scorned lover and a spoiled, hippie wannabe who couldn’t get mom and dad to support his lifestyle any longer. He needed the money. So when John Lassiter approached him to help him to leak information on Townsend and set Deborah up as the fall guy, or in this case gal, Cohen was in a position where he couldn’t turn the offer down. He’d kill two birds with one stone.”

  “If the stones don’t fucking
kill him first,” I mumbled.

  “John used his knowledge of Townsend Industries and his closeness with your father to try and take apart your company from the inside out. And he recruited his nephew to do it.”

  “Why?”

  As far as I knew, my father and John were friends, at least close business associates. I often recalled John over at Townsend Manor while I was growing up. He and my father had a rapport. John worked hard for Townsend and he continued to reap the financial benefits as a current board member.

  “Is John broke?” I questioned, my brow furrowed.

  “He doesn’t have Townsend money, but he doesn’t have to lose a wink of sleep over not being able to pay his bills either. He’s doing well financially.”

  “Then what is his motive?”

  Rick blew out a breath through his mouth, making a whistling noise. “The oldest reason in the world for a man to take on another man.”

  I glared at Rick.

  “The reason you are ready to tear down anything and anyone who stood in the way of you practically breaking my door down a few minutes ago.” He leaned forward. “A woman.”

  “What woman?”

  “Your mother.”

  I stared at Rick.

  “John is in love with your mother. Has been for years.”

  “They’re having an affair.”

  He shook his head. “Far as I can tell, it’s been one-sided. Your mother, as crazy as this may sound, loves your father. Only has eyes for him. But John Lassiter had eyes for her. My guess is after years of pining over a woman he couldn’t have, John got tired of being second in line. Maybe he thought he’d topple Townsend and your mother would leave Robert Senior and end up with him. Who knows? Love makes a fucker do some strange shit. Glad I’ve never been bitten by the love bug.” A cynical look crossed his face.