“Is our wife in danger?” the low, menacing voice rumbled behind her. Turning quickly, she bumped into Micah and Daniel, who both stood firm, waiting to hear the news. She did not say a single word, when Micah’s arms closed around her or when Daniel silently moved to stand in front of her, shielding her from what, she did not know.
“We don’t know yet. We are still trying to piece everything together. We still haven’t seen the documents and evidence in question,” Braxton stood, looking directly at Richard Masterson.
Richard Masterson nodded quietly and walked away. Only assuming he was getting the documents, she turned her attention back to Jeff, who looked lost. She knew what he was going through. The loss of any parent was hard, but to be close to the one who had passed was very difficult. As much as she wished she had that mother-daughter relationship with her mom, she never did. She loved her mom, but the closeness was never there, unlike with her father, Collin. When he passed, Kelly was devastated. No one in her family knew how to console her, and though she would have liked some sympathy, they left her alone to grieve in silence.
Looking at Jeffery, she knew how he truly felt about his mother. Margaret was a strong woman, and though the two of them butted heads frequently, Jeff loved his mother dearly. Jeffery may have had issues with his mother abandoning him and his siblings when they were younger, but the moment his mother came back, though he would not admit it, he forgave her.
“Jeffery is there anything I can do for you?” she asked, concerned.
“Janie’s pregnant, Kelly. After all this time, I am finally gonna be a daddy and my momma isn’t here,” he offered, his voice breaking. “We wanted to wait till Annie was back to tell the family together.”
Slow tears fell from his heart broken face. Rushing to him, Kelly embraced her cousin, holding his tightly as he cried, “Oh, god, Kelly. I should have told her. She needed to know. She deserved to know she was gonna be a grandma. Oh god help me, I want my momma back.”
She held him tighter, her heart breaking for him as her own tears began to fall. “Oh, Jeffery, your momma knew, and I just know that Aunt Margaret is so happy for you. She is up in heaven right now, protecting you and your family, like she always has, with her strong determination and loud voice.”
Kelly looked at the men on the back porch, and though she knew them to all be tough men, each one silently turned away, giving Jeff the space and respect he needed to compose himself. The whole scene was humbling, that these virile, self-sufficient men could crumble at a moment’s notice. Her eyes scanned, and when they fell on her own two husbands, she was not surprised to see that they, too, had turned their backs, giving her and Jeff privacy. She thought there must be some code of honor men adhered to, some sort of silent acceptance that when one of them cried, he deserved a silent privacy.
Kelly thought it funny that, for any man who felt so strongly about house, home, work, and family, he could be brought to his knees. Grief did not discriminate, she knew that, but in her entire life, she had never seen one of her male relatives ever cry. With all of her training and education, none of it prepared her for the loss of a family member. Still dealing with her father’s death, she knew the rawness of the pain would ease eventually. Until then, she continued on.
She only wished that she had some words of wisdom for Jeff, something that would help alleviate his pain.
“Jeffery, I want you to listen to me. There is nothing that I can say or do that will bring your momma back. I know. There is not a day that I don’t pray for my daddies to come home. Nevertheless, the pain will get better. I can promise you that. The pain won’t totally go away, but you will find a way to work around it. Think of Janie, Caleb, and that beautiful little baby you have coming. Would your momma want you to sit around and cry for her, or would she want you to get up and do something?”
Wiping his face, she felt him chuckle. Then Jeff looked at her and grinned. “Thank you, Kelly. You are right. Margaret would chew my ass if she saw me out here crying like this. She would kick my ass, and then tell me to get off my ass and go find her killer.”
“Now, that sounds like my aunt Margaret.” Kelly laughed. “So what are you gonna do?
“I am going to find that fucker and kill that son of a bitch,” he admitted firmly with steel in his eyes.
Smiling, Kelly hugged him once more and whispered, “That’s the cousin I remember.”
As she released him, Richard Masterson returned with two file boxes in hand. Matthew opened the screen door. Getting to her feet, Kelly quietly walked back into the house, followed by the men of Treasure Cove.
An hour later, the only members left in the house were blood relatives of the Romanov line, along with Richard, Braxton, and Matthew. The family sat quietly in the living room, waiting for someone to start speaking. The silence was grating her nerves, but Kelly knew it was not her place to start this conversation.
“Well?” Caleb asked, looking at Matthew. “What’s the big news?”
“Stubborn woman, I knew she wouldn’t listen and look where it got her.” Matthew huffed, running his hands through his graying hair.
“I told you she wouldn’t listen,” Sophie Kincaid said.
“Be that as it may, Sophie, she should have at least told her sons. At least they could have offered her some protection. This changes everything.”
“Someone want to start speaking English here?” Travis Quinn asked. Travis stood while Tucker and Tate sandwiched a very pregnant Emma.
“Yes please, what is going on?” Alexander asked, rubbing Antoinette’s back as she silently wept in Gabriel’s arms.
“The girls are in danger,” Richard blurted out.
Well, that was one way of breaking the news, Kelly thought as the conversation erupted like a volcano, drowning out any semblance of decorum. Looking at the women, none of them said a word. Only looking at each other for confirmation, they all sat silently, waiting for the men to calm down.
“What the fuck do you mean danger, asshole? And who the fuck said you could stay?” Caleb shouted.
“Yeah, who invited the interloper?” Steven Conner added, standing next to Caleb.
“Margaret invited me when she hired me,” Richard said, instantly quieting the room. “Now if you all would shut up and sit down, Matthew and I have something to tell you.”
The room fell silent.
Taking a file from the box, Matthew began, “Last December, Margaret came to me and asked me to look into her family history. She believed that the town charter was a front for what was really going on in the town.
“Now, we all know about the previous mayor embezzling money from the town. In addition, we all know that since Annie married Gabe, the town charter reverted back to the town. Each plot of land rightfully belongs to each individual owner. Margaret was instrumental in making sure that came to fruition. It wasn’t until Tabitha found the music box that Margaret became suspicious. She did some digging and came across some family papers, which entails a very large sum of money to the descendants of one Countess Beatrice Marguerite Alexis Marbois.”
“You’re talking about Nana Bea, right?” Emma asked.
“Yes. Mrs. Beatrice Romanov, mother to Tatiana, Margaret, Sophianne, Annabelle, and Isabella. Your mothers. Now, when Margaret realized her mother’s family heritage, she contacted me. With the documents signifying Annie’s heritage, we knew that if Annie legally married Gabriel, then the town would be saved. “
“Did you know about this, Gabriel?” Annie looked up at her husband, questioning him.
Gabriel silently shook his head no.
“So our nana was some French nobility? What does that have to do with Margaret’s death?” Steven asked.
“It has everything to do with it, son,” Anne said quietly. “If all of you will sit down, Sophie and I will try and fill in the blanks.”
Her mother looked at her aunt Sophie and smiled. Taking a deep breath, Sophie started, “Back in the 1940s, there were a lot of immigrants fleeing
to the Americas for a new life, but mainly they were running from a tyrannical rule. Europe was in chaos. Adolf Hitler was raising his army and invading Poland and Russia.”
“Our papa came from Russia. When Stalin began drafting men into the guard, our papa fled. Of course, I don’t blame him. Who wouldn’t leave during that time? The world was a mess,” Anne added.
“Actually it makes perfect sense now that I think of it. If my memory of history is correct, during the late 1940s, when Hitler invaded, not only did the Jews flee but a lot of the remaining royal family. They scattered all across Europe,” Sophie said, adding, “Now, it was widely known that most of the royal families headed for France and England, trying to get out of Europe. However, Papa was a commoner, a carpenter. He couldn’t afford the passage needed to get him to freedom.
“Papa used to tell us a bedtime story of how he met Mother. It goes something like this… There was once a beautiful countess sitting on a dock, weeping for her family had left her. All alone and afraid, she never saw the young man sit next to her. She was finely dressed in satins and silks. Afraid he would soil her clothing, he scooted away from her, for his clothing was worn and tattered. When the beautiful countess smiled at him, his heart filled with joy, for she brought the sun into his heart. After talking, he asked where she was going. When she told him America, he felt happy that she would no longer live in the land of evil. However, when the time came for her to board her ship, she refused to go without him. The beautiful countess marched up to the captain, informing him that the young man was her servant, and paid for his passage. The long journey across the ocean was hard on the beautiful countess, but he never left her sight once. Finally, after a long voyage, they sailed to Ellis Island and disembarked. On land, the Americans immediately separated them, not knowing who they were in the presence of, which upset the beautiful countess. She screamed and screamed for him to help her, and doing only what he thought was best, he yelled, ‘She is my wife!’ claiming her forever, never leaving her side again.”
Kelly felt a tear fall down her cheek as the room stood silent. It was a heart-warming story, downplayed for children, but knowing history, the story left a lot out, and for that, she was grateful.
“Are you telling me that Margaret knew the story was real, and not something made up?” Jeff asked.
“We think when Tabitha found Mother’s treasure box, Margaret put two and two together. You see, our papa was always catering to mother. Always hovering over her, making sure she had everything she needed. He adored her,” Anne said softly.
“No, Papa was her servant. Mother was too weak, and she left everything for Papa to do. She was feeble, and Papa indulged her,” Sophie said angrily, “and Margaret knew it. She hated the way Papa worshipped Mother. Anyway, we’re getting off topic. When Margaret saw the box and the document inside, she remembered that Papa left similar papers behind for all of us after he died. Well, one thing led to another, and Margaret found that Mother left a legacy.”
“A very large legacy,” Anne added.
“What kind of legacy?” Travis asked.
“A seventy-five-million-dollar legacy,” Anne admitted.
“Apparently when Mother left Europe, she left with her inheritance. Margaret found the bank statements, and called the banks to verify their legitimacy. Only to find out that someone was siphoning off the funds, slowly, and that somehow the funds became tied in with the town charter. Now, what we can gather is that when Annie married Gabriel, it absolved only one portion of the charter. The other, the legacy, is to be given to the sole living female descendant of the Marbois line.”
“But there are five of us alive, and that includes your aunt Sophie and Mom. Moreover, some of us are pregnant. We can continue the line for generations,” Kelly said.
“You’re right sweetheart, but if someone were to kill us all off, that would leave the money free to the last remaining descendant.”
“There isn’t anyone left. Other than Mom and Margaret, we’re all healthy,” Emma advised, rubbing her belly.
Kelly just looked at Micah and Daniel, who were silently sitting next to her, absorbing all the information. She knew it was a lot to deal with, and she commended them on their ability to withstand this chaos. However, when she turned to look at her mother, she started to wonder, especially when her mother saw her staring at her and quickly looked away. She could tell by her mother’s face that she was not telling everyone the whole story. Something was missing, and Kelly did not know if she should open up and hash out the whole story why everyone was still grieving about Margaret. Yes, her nana’s past was important, but without that missing piece of information, Kelly did not know to what extent.
Deciding on staying quiet for a while, she continued to listen as her family conversed around her before Richard whistled loudly, halting the ruckus. “What I have found out so far is that the bank drafts are wired to an account in the Cayman Islands. I have someone looking into them. As for the banks here in the States, there are three, one in New York, where your grandparents first docked, one in St. Louis, Missouri, where they changed trains, and the last in the Treasure Cove National Bank. That’s three different accounts, all linked together, and all accessible by the last descendant of the Marbois line. The math is easy, folks. The person who killed Margaret is also the same person taking the money. Now, we can argue about this all day, but it’s rather simple. Since there are five remaining women, and they are all present, I just have one question, which one of you has been taking the money?”
“I know you’re not suggesting that my wife took the money?” Gabriel asked in that low, menacing tone that rattled everyone’s nerves, placing Antoinette behind him.
“Big talk for an interloper. If you think for one second my mom is stealing that blood money, I am going to kick your ass,” Steven said, taking a step closer to Anne, her brother Neil right behind him.
“Don’t worry, Steven, I’ll fucking help you,” Travis commented, moving closer to Emma, with Tucker and Tate each taking her hand.
“Our mother is dead. You are a guest in my house. For your sake, you better not be accusing my mom for anything,” Jeff whispered but looked Richard dead in the eye.
“Fuck him, Jeff. Just kick his ass, or I will,” Caleb shouted furiously.
Knowing this was getting them nowhere Kelly stood and stepped between her cousins and Richard. Looking at her mom, she asked, “Now would be a good time to tell us all what you have left out.”
“That child could always see through any good story,” Anne mumbled.
“I wanted to just tell them, but you said they needed the whole story. It’s not my fault you couldn’t finish it,” Sophie chided her sister.
“Well then you finish it, Miss Know-It-All. Then by all means, tell them.” Anne huffed.
Taking a deep breath, Sophie turned and looked right at her. Kelly held her breath as her aunt began, “Well, it’s like this…”
Chapter Ten
Daniel slowly eased out of bed, trying not to wake his sleeping angel. It had been a week since the funeral, and though she tried to keep her spirits up, Daniel knew she was exhausted. Kelly had started working late, catching up on files, and when she would finally get home, she would just collapse. Micah and Daniel never gave her the chance to appease them. They immediately ushered her into a shower and then straight to bed. Every time she tried to talk about what happened, they silenced her with gentle kisses and subtly changing the subject. By the time they had her dressed and in bed, their tired wife took no time falling asleep. Daniel was grateful for that because his mind was still trying to process all the information over that last week.
After Richard and Braxton made the announcements at the wake, the women adjourned to the kitchen to talk and gossip, leaving the men to figure out how best to keep them safe. Though none of them came up with anything solid, it was determined for the time being that the husbands would take care of their own wives. If anything happened, then they would consider moving
the women to a secure location.
Though he and Micah really did not say much during this time, they took in every bit of information, knowing every tiny detail would count if someone were really after their wife. The main thing they all agreed on was finding Margaret’s killer. Daniel knew if they could find the murderer, then they would be one step closer to finding who the mastermind was behind the stolen money.
Throwing on a T-shirt, Daniel quietly left the room and headed downstairs. He found Molly and Micah sitting at the kitchen table laughing as they ate a bowl of cereal.
“Morning, Uncle Dan.”
“Hey, munchkin, what’s for chow?”
“Captain Crunch!”
“Sounds healthy enough for me.” He smiled and then asked, “Any coffee?”
“Just made a fresh pot,” Micah said.
After pouring himself a cup, he sat at the table, enjoying the laughter and bantering of his best friend and Molly. She was a sweet little girl, and since coming to live with them, she had started to open up more. She still had nightmares about her mother, and that was to be expected, but being in a town with lots of people who welcomed her completely, doting love, and affection was really helping.
He had to admit, he liked having the little tyke around. At first, he thought it was going to be too much for him, but with Kelly, she just made everything better. She made everything feel like home.
“So what’s on the agenda today?” he asked before taking another swig of coffee.
“Well, Macie called and has asked to take Molly into Celestial. Apparently, the town still has that festival going on, and today is the last day,” Micah informed him, roughing up Molly’s hair as he took her bowl to the sink. “So, I figure with her gone, we can get some work done on the house. I want to look at the barn again. I still think it would be a great place to set up shop.”
Kelly's Heroes [The Men of Treasure Cove 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 15