“Could we do that?” he looked at her hopefully. She smiled back and nodded. Aaron couldn’t help himself and gathered her in his arms, hugging her tightly.
“Please don’t give up on me, Mina,” he begged, “Please don’t leave me.”
“I won’t,” she promised, “I’m in this with you. We’ll get through this together.”
They stopped in front of a large gate embedded within a tall, tan wall that stretched out and around an expanse held within it. The metals gates gave way to a quaint scenery. A neatly trimmed lawn spread out before them with a path leading from the center to a villa, a roundabout interrupting it in the middle where a large fountain stood proudly in the center, gushing with crystalline water. Vines took to the boundary walls from the ground, blooming with flowers here and there. Age old willows placed systematically danced in the breeze that passed through them, stretching out providing a large area of shade.
The villa was a beautiful thing. Quite ironically, it looked like the one she had worked on a few years ago. Her second project after she had landed her job. It was surprising to see it loom above in front of her. And as she looked around, the setting became more and more familiar, and she realized that it really was her own work. She remembered being paid a huge sum for this one, and it had seemed odd to her but the client wanted her specifically to design their house after she had stumbled across her portfolio in the consultation office.
“Wait, who lives here?” Mina breathed.
“Well, I had it made for myself to move into,” Aaron said casually, “in case any emergency arrived and I needed to quickly relocate. Do you like it?”
“Oh, I dunno,” she shrugged, “I mean, it’s my design.”
Aaron blinked at her a few times.
“Wait, really?”
“Aaron! Mina!” Gale’s voice called from a car as it slowed down approaching them, “Good thing you made it.” The car stopped and he stepped out, “All your things will start arriving soon. Glad to see you’re okay. Mina, does this place seem familiar?”
Gale’s smirk was enough to let her know that he knew she was the one behind the whole structure, “You were the one who asked for me to work on this?”
“Indeed,” he admitted, “Your portfolio was a spectacular work of cultural and modern integration. I knew Aaron would have loved it if you’d worked on it. It’s strange how fate worked to bring you two together over here.”
“Are you serious?” Aaron was bewildered, “Mina, you did the interior, too?”
“I do everything, Aaron,” she said, “Well, almost. The designing, at least.”
“Even the furniture?”
“Even the furniture.”
“Let’s head in, guys,” Gale suggested, “There’s a lot of explaining to do.”
“He’s not just after your money, Aaron,” Gale explained as he poured them both some coffee, “He wants to take your whole company down. Also, Greta has been taken and is forced to live with him. She’s not happy, but her parents can’t work against him to get her back. We pledged our security to her no matter what so we have to get her back somehow. Negotiate and all.”
“I don’t see what he has to gain from all of this,” Aaron sighed as he rubbed his temple. He leaned back against the arm of the love seat and set his head back to look at the grandiose ceiling.
“Revenge, basically,” Gale stated, “Says you didn’t help him out of his mess and only got him stuck further in the black market and drugs. It’s like you owe him. Also, of course, he isn’t happy about you breaking up with Greta. That woman is insane, though, so how could anyone blame you?”
“She’s just very intolerant,” Aaron claimed, “Took a lot to keep her under control. I don’t know how I put up with her or why I even liked her in the first place.”
“Eh, happens when you’re young,” Gale chuckled, and handed Mina a cup, “You look absolutely lost, Mina. But the bad news is that he’s after you, too, obviously. It’s in my knowledge you secured an estate to start your own company, and your office was currently under construction?”
“Yeah,” she admitted, “I wanted to start up my own business a few years ago and got around to initiate the beginning of it over a month ago.”
“Tyler has no clue about it so it’s all right for the time being,” he informed her, “But I think your ambitions will have to come to a small halt until after this whole situation calms down.”
“So what are we going to do?” Aaron demanded, “Can’t we just capture Tyler and have him sent to court?”
“He has other contacts ready to destroy you once he’s gone,” Gale warned, “We’ll have to come up with a careful plan to dissociate his image and links with the bigger organizations underground, and provide them incentives to take our side against the main syndicate he works for.”
“Gale, you know I refuse to get involved in such messes,” he sighed, “Is there no other way?”
“Do you want to live in peace or not?” Gale replied with a raised brow, “I told you back then not to get involved with Greta, but you didn’t listen. She’s the reason all this started in the first place. You were her main source of financial support. She was using you and now Tyler will either get you two together, or ruin the Empire your fathers have built. It’s an ultimatum you don’t need to be put through. He’ll use Greta as a puppet to take over your hard work and call it his own.”
“He lives in a mess of an illusion,” Mina murmured. Aaron and Gale nodded, and Mina continued further, “If I leave the picture, will things get any easier for you guys?”
“You’ll still be in danger,” Gale admitted, “There’s no point in it. But Mina, I have some grave news for you and you might have to play a part in all of this.”
“Oh, no way am I letting her get stuck in this!” Aaron declared, “Leave her be, okay?”
“It involves her father, Sean East, and I’m sure she knows him better than anyone,” Gale quipped casually, “Mina?”
But Mina had paled considerably. Muscles tense and eyes wide, she couldn’t believe she’d worked so hard to get rid of him only to have to confront him again. She flexed her fingers, breathing deeply to bring back her composure.
“What does he have to do with all of this?” she asked calmly.
“Well, he was an avid drinker, and a drug addict. He was one of the clients of Tyler’s syndicate,” Gale went on to relay, “After his divorce with your mother, he became desperate for income and got involved in the business. He’s one of the top people in the syndicate, and a messenger to the head. We need to use you as bait, and manipulate him into getting rid of the one who is in control of the whole thing.”
“Gale, no,” Aaron begged, grabbing Mina’s hand for support.
“If it helps, then I’ll do what it takes,” she affirmed. Gale bit his lip at her confidence, but he nodded gratefully.
“We can’t do this without you, Mina.”
“There has to be another way!” Aaron demanded.
“There isn’t,” Gale stated simply, “I spent all night with Rhonda trying to get information and piece together whatever we could that would ensure minimum loss to the company-”
“The company is not our priority, Gale,” Aaron seethed, “It’s the family. Money can come from anywhere and we have plenty of reserves to keep ourselves going for a few generations. Have you forgotten who we are?”
“Have you forgotten who you are, Aaron?” Gale snapped, “Have you forgotten about those who work under you? What about them? They have families to feed and lives to live. I didn’t go about thinking just about your family, I’m doing this thinking about all of them!”
Aaron fell silent, knowing he was right.
“Yeah, sorry,” he sighed apologetically, “I’m too caught up in myself these days. There are others to think of.”
Gale sighed, “Your sister has offered to take care of all the other aspects of McCarthy Continental. In the meantime, you need to focus on building security not just for this fam
ily, but for the rest of those involved with McCarthy Continental. We have a lot to think of.”
“When do we start all this?”
“In a few weeks,” he said, “Meanwhile, we need to hold meetings and transfer hierarchies and responsibilities before we leave to tackle this. Make sure the company does not halt to prevent losses. Also, the security forces will be here to discuss all the plans with you and explain what steps we will be taking in the next few weeks. Our goal is to not only bring Tyler down, but all those who are with him in this. It’ll be a huge operation and we need you guys in the best state of mind.”
“Sounds fair,” Mina said, “What about our parents?”
“We’ll have them stay away from here until all of this is settled,” he said, “Also, you have a cousin, Elijah East who can be of good use to us.”
“Wait, what?” Mina cried out, “Why him?”
“He’s in contact with your father and knows of his activities and whereabouts. We’re not the only ones trying to bring your father down, and Elijah has been doing it all undercover, making sure your father thought of him as an ally this whole time. He could help us a lot and we’re flying him in next week.”
“Wait, are you sure we can trust him?” Aaron scoffed, “We don’t even know this guy well!”
“Mina does,” Gale gave her a pointed look. Mina nodded, explaining that she and Elijah had been very close since childhood, and he had a hand in getting Heidi to divorce Sean and keeping her safe through the ordeal at his place. She was Elijah’s favorite cousin and was almost a decade older than her. He’d helped her more times than she could count, and he had hinted he was trying to get Sean in jail because he was putting the rest of the family under debts they could not collectively afford to handle.
“We can definitely trust him on this,” she admitted.
“Well, if she says so,” Aaron shrugged, “I guess this means we get to start wrapping up before next week arrives.”
“Starting tomorrow,” Gale nodded, “We have a lot of work regarding your previous apartment. I’ll handle it all. You guys should have some time to yourselves to think it all through. The two nodded in silence, sipping at their coffees going cold. Gale turned around to leave them be.
The two were lost in thought as they tried to process the situation. Mina had always found watching movies involving money and crime exciting, but this was so uncalled for. She didn’t want to be involved in it herself. And now she’d have to face her father. After all these years of trying to undo the damages he did to her, she would have to face him again, reopen her wounds, and pour salt in them.
No, she thought to herself, I need to become stronger. There is no way I’ll let him drag me down anymore. Enough is enough.
The following week was quick to come. They were all seated at a large round table, waiting for Aaron to relay all that had happened since Heidi’s and Dave’s wedding. And all before that when it came to Greta and Tyler, if Greta knew something that would have an advantage over Aaron or Mina, and everything that could be useful in protecting the company against their moves.
It didn’t take long for the rest to arrive before the meeting began. And there was a lot of explaining to do of how Tyler Morgan and Sean East worked. Elijah was soon to take the floor and explained how Sean had managed to work his way close to the top, and Mina wasn’t surprised with how dirty had father played to get there. But it put her heart at unease that he had killed people for it. That he was so desperate and ready to end anyone in his way to get what he wanted. She couldn’t understand how she managed to survive his presence in the 18 years she spent with him under the same roof.
Also, she had something to discuss with Aaron. She felt it was important for everyone to know but wanted to make sure if it was even okay to do so. She grabbed him as soon as everyone dispersed to catch a break, and dragged him to their room. No one said anything and left themselves for a walk outside, or to stretch their legs on the balcony.
“Aaron…” she sighed.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” he leaned his head down to hers. She looked confused and Aaron wanted nothing more than to drive away whatever was causing her any discomfort.
Mina didn’t know how to say it to him. She’d missed her period that morning, and her suspicions were confirmed when she took a test after breakfast. She’d been waiting all day to tell him, and if not now, then it would be too late.
So she fetched the little box she’d put the pregnancy test in, hoping he would react well to it and that this fact would not hinder or break anything that was between them.
Aaron looked at the box curiously, and confused. It was a plain black cuboid with no indication of what it could be. He feared the worst, thinking that it might have been from either Greta or Tyler and that they knew of their new whereabouts despite the measures taken to make them invisible.
He opened the box carefully, coming face to face with a stick.
He didn’t get it.
“What is this?”
Mina threw her hands up in the air, “Aaron, I’m pregnant!”
Silence. He could only stare at her dumbfounded. And Mina knew she had ruined everything.
Until he broke into a grin, and then it was her who was dumfounded. He was happy with it?
And he was. He engulfed her in a hug so hard that she thought she would choke.
“Holy shit!” he whispered excitedly, “Mina, this is the best news I’ve received in my life!”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
“But what about our situation? Our circumstances?” she started to panic, “Will we be able to take care of the baby?”
“Mina,” he said firmly, clasping his hands onto her shoulders, “Trust me, I will do anything to make sure it works out for us. For all of us.”
His hand trailed down over to her abdomen, and he looked her in the eyes with tears in his eyes, “We just have one more reason to make this all happen now.”
The Big Cowboy’s Secret
By: Hannah McBride
The Big Cowboy’s Secret
© November 2017 – All rights reserved
By Hannah McBride,
Published by Passionate Publishing Inc.
This is a work of fiction. All names and characters in this novel are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is entirely coincidental.
This book is for your personal enjoyment only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher.
Warning
This book is intended for adult readers, 18+ years old. Please close this e-book if you are not comfortable reading adult content.
Chapter One
It was the distance that got to you.
Not so much for the native-born and bred Texans, of course; miles between one far-flung destination and another had a habit of melting away beneath the dusty tires of their speeding vehicles, and the shiny wings of their private planes. Growing up here kept you balanced and even a little nonchalant about the width and breadth and size of this state. Gave you bragging rights, too, about the larger-than-life heroism of its men and the sheer cussed beautiful temperament of its women.
How could any male worth his salt and swagger not stride along as if he owned the pavement beneath his boot heels, with the words of so many forbears burned into his soul? After all, Davy Crockett had informed the world, “You can all go to hell; I will go to Texas.” And Sam Houston, in 1833, let everyone know that “Texas is the finest portion of the globe that has ever blessed my vision.”
For the visitor, however, or the immigrant, those distances could often feel as intimidating, as frightening, as for the lonely pioneer women who had, more than a century ago, stared helplessly out toward the horizon, and sometimes lost their minds doing it. In certain areas, the endless wind, and the treeless plain, and the lack of human communication for days or weeks, proved sometimes to be too much solitude for even the hardiest
of souls.
In the Texas Hill Country, stalwart pecan and ash and cedar trees, and the lowly acacia, helped to fill the vast spaces, as did vagrant creeks here and there, and dots of watering holes. A fairly sparse population allowed plenty of land free for grazing the sturdy Black Hereford cattle from several local ranches.
One of which was the Ten Buck spread, owned by Benjamin Milam Taggart.
The billionaire businessman / baron Caroline Finch was—oh, so reluctantly—on her way to meet.
Chapter Two
“Howdy, Miss Finch, and welcome to Texas. I’m Marilou Gilbert, Mr. Taggart’s administrative assistant. We spoke on the phone a number of times?”
“How do you do, Miss Gilbert? Thank you. Yes, we did, and you very kindly answered a few thousand of my questions. It’s a—it’s an awfully big place you have here, isn’t it?”
Marilou, who was bouncing along ahead down the concourse, smiled. She could best be described as “perky,” from her pretty country cream good looks to her swinging blonde ponytail to her sassy gray circle skirt to her lilting steps—in a cute pair of candy-pink ballet flats—that covered so much ground. Actually, her personality reminded Caroline, who was not now and never could have been considered perky, of a bustling Pomeranian. But a friendly one, of course.
“Yes, ma’am, I reckon things can seem a mite overwhelmin’ when you first arrive, especially if you’ve never been to Texas before. How was your flight from Burlington? Were you comfortable? Did you have any problems? I’m sorry we had to schedule extra stops, but you live a far piece away, don’t you? Extra mileage, y’ know.”
Breathe, girl, Caroline wanted to implore of her guide. Just take a breath. Do the residents of this state always talk so much? And so fast?
“Ah—my luggage?”
“Oh, honey, someone is loadin’ your stuff into my car right now, as we speak. Just a little farther now. Did you need to make a pit stop? We can pick up somethin’ to eat, too, if you’re hungry. Lotsa fast food places on the way.”
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