The UN Series Complete Box Set

by Shantel Tessier

  “Yes I can.” I feel around on her forehead. “And you do feel hot,” I say with concern. “Do you feel bad anywhere else?”

  She nods her head once. “My throat is sore. It’s hard to swallow.”

  “I’ll take you to the doctor. Come on.” I stand up.

  She closes her eyes and sniffs. “No doctor’s office is open this early. I’ll go tomorrow.”

  True. “I’ll take you to Urgent Care,” I say matter-of-fact.

  “I don’t want to get out of the shower,” she argues.

  I look up at one of the shower heads on the other wall. Its spray is on full blast, but it’s not directly facing her—she is just getting lightly misted.

  “I’m taking you,” I say turning around. “Finish up while I get dressed.” I exit the shower and make my way to the closet. I throw on a pair of sweatpants, a long sleeve shirt, and my hoodie before making my way back into the bathroom. I find her passed out still sitting on the floor.

  I can tell by the way her breathing sounds that she has some sort of respiratory infection. I turn the water off and bend down to pick her up, soaking the clean clothes I just put on. It’s a hassle getting her dried off and clothed, but we get it done and then head off to Urgent Care.

  Three hours later I place her back in bed and give her the antibiotics the doctor has prescribed. Come to find out she has strep throat and a sinus infection.

  Once I give her the medication and tuck her in, I call Rose. “Hello Mr. Long.”

  “Hello, Rose,” I say quietly walking out of our bedroom. “I won’t be in today; Angel is sick and needs me home.”

  “Oh, I hope she’s okay,” she says sounding worried.

  “She will be,” I assure her. “I do however have a meeting at three thirty with Mr. Smith. Can you shoot him an email letting him know I will able to do his meeting, but it will be by phone?” I walk into the kitchen and place Peaches in her crate. The dog is not going to sleep with us anymore.

  “Absolutely,” she replies sweetly. “Tell Sam to feel better soon.”

  “Thank you. And I will.” I hang up and make my way back to our bedroom. I yawn as I pull my alarm up on my phone. I set it for noon, that way I get a little bit of sleep before I have to start work from home today.

  I sigh as I cuddle up next to her back and close my eyes.

  *****

  We’ve been back a little over a week now, and I’m just starting to calm down with the whole Jax situation. We haven’t seen or heard anything from him since the night outside of Larry’s. I spoke with Tate last night, and I think even he has given up on the idea of beating him to death.

  “We need to get these taken care of.” I hold up a few envelopes to Braxton as I sit in the conference room. I couldn’t be more thankful that my father hired him. He has done a lot for me in the last week around here, especially when I was home sick with her for two days.

  “When do you need them back by?” he asks looking them over.

  “By tomorrow afternoon. I have court Wednesday morning. You are welcome to come if you’d like.”

  He smiles up at me excitedly, looking more like a little kid than an adult who just graduated from Princeton law early. His brown hair, almost black, makes him look older than he really is. Especially with how he styles it—taking the longer pieces and combing them back. And the stubble along his chin that he’s trying to grow makes him look confident.

  “Mr. Long?” Rose’s voice comes through the speakerphone.

  “Yes, Rose?” I say holding down the button.

  “A Mr. Lewis just called to cancel your lunch appointment with him tomorrow,” she announces. “He wanted to see if you could do next Monday?”

  “That’s fine,” I answer.

  “Okay. I will call him back and confirm for Monday.”

  “Thank you,” I say before looking back to Braxton.

  Rose’s voice comes again. “Oh. And you have a client in your office. He said it was important.”

  I frown. I didn’t have a client scheduled. “Okay. Thanks, Rose.”

  I look down at my watch and sigh. I hate it when people just pop up at my office. Don’t they understand I have shit to do?

  “Thanks, Slade,” Braxton says with enthusiasm. “I would love to accompany you on Wednesday.”

  I nod my head as I stand and walk out of the conference room toward my office. As soon as I enter, I come to a stop when I see who is standing at my desk with a picture of Angel in his hands. Instant rage causes me to slam my door shut.

  He ignores me but smiles down at the picture. “You guys look like the happy couple,” Jax smirks. “I almost believe it.” He runs his hand down her picture and lets out a hard laugh. “You know I treated her very well. She didn’t deserve how good I was to her.”

  I stand rooted to my spot—killing the guy in my work place would be hard to explain. “From what I know, you laid your hands on her. And no woman deserves that,” I assert as my jaw twitches.

  “I believe a bitch needs to learn her place,” he sneers. “Do you know she’s fucking Tate?” he asks, surprising me.

  So he think he’s figured out Tate. He thinks she’s dating Tate. I can’t help it. I throw my head back and laugh—this fucking idiot comes into my office and tries to convince me that she’s fucking cheating on me. With her brother. He obviously doesn’t do his homework.

  “I know they had a thing,” he insists, not pleased with my laughter. “He came after me and tried to kill me. If I wouldn’t have gotten away I would be dead.”

  I smile at how much fear Tate has instilled into him. So, I’m going to use it to my advantage. “I know what they…are,” I decide to say with a careless flick of my wrist. Which is the truth—no one else knows but me. “And you would be smart to stay the hell out of his or my way,” I threaten as I take a step toward him.

  His eyes bug out. “She is cheating on you; the bitch was probably cheating on me with that bastard too.”

  I shove him into my desk and wrap my hand around his throat. “Just shut the fuck up. You have no idea what you are talking about and do not call her a bitch.” I tighten my hand, and he squirms trying to get free. “You were fucking around on her so why does it matter if she was fucking around on you?” I lower my voice. “It’s definitely none of your fucking concern who she fucks now.”

  I let go and step back from him, straightening my suit jacket. He takes in a few deep breaths rubbing his neck. “Get the fuck out of here. And I won’t tell you to leave her the fuck alone again.”

  He storms past me knocking his shoulder into mine before throwing my door open and running out.

  “You okay?” Rose inquires, looking into my office. Her eyes get bigger as she takes in the mess on the floor from the papers I knocked off my desk.

  “I’m fine.” I walk behind my desk and plop down in my chair.

  “Let me help you,” she offers, walking in.

  I place my hand up. “That’s not necessary, Rose. Thank you though.”

  She stands there for a few seconds wanting to argue, but I dismiss her with a wave of my hand.

  After I hear the sound of my door clicking shut, I grab the mug that held my morning coffee and throw it at the wall. “Fuck,” I hiss loudly as it shatters.

  Shaking my head and breathing heavy, I try to calm down. What the fuck am I going to have to do to get him to stay away from her? I can understand why he wants her. Who wouldn’t, but the question is why all of a sudden? Why after four months does he want her back?

  As I sit at my desk with my head in my hands, I come up with nothing. And it makes me uneasy. The bastard has to have some sort of plan, and I need to figure it out.

  I pull out my phone and call Tate.

  “I just can’t make sense of it,” I grind out as I look at the pieces of the broken coffee mug that are scattered across the floor of my office.

  “So he thinks I’m dating Sam?” he asks slowly.

  “What else would he think? There’s noth
ing for him to piece together. He’s coming up with the most logic answer,” I growl as I pick up the picture of us at our first Rams game. The damn frame broke.

  “Well, I did tell him I was her boyfriend when I beat the shit out of him,” he admits with no remorse.

  “You did?” I’m not surprised.

  “Of course. How else was I going to terrify him enough? I needed him to stay away from her.”

  “Smart.” I’ve never been happier knowing that Tate secretly stalked us.

  He sighs. “Maybe he will be too afraid to come around now,” he offers.

  “Doubtful,” I mutter placing the broken frame on my desk. “I think he’s growing bigger balls. He did just show up at my work.”

  “Just let me take care of him now. He knows about me. What makes you think he won’t tell Sam?”

  I thought about that. “He doesn’t know about the real you. Only I do.” I roll my eyes. “And he won’t get close enough to her to tell her anything.”

  Once he agrees not to kill him today, he informs me that he’s coming over tonight. I then slide my phone into my desk drawer and try to focus back on what I have left to do for the day.

  *****

  I pull into the garage after a long day at work and slam my door shut. I’m still in a very sour mood. I find Angel in our bedroom changing out of her work clothes.

  “How was your day, sweetie?” she asks as she pulls on a pair of jeans.

  I walk over to her and give her a kiss on her forehead. “It was okay.” I am not going to tell her about Jax making an appearance. We have already fought about him once, and that is one time too many in my book. “How are you feeling today?” I ask.

  She gives me a small smile. “I’m fine, baby. I have been for days now.”

  I nod my head and then run my hands through my hair. I swear if it’s not one thing it’s another.

  “Are you going to change?” she asks sitting on the bed to put her shoes on.

  “For what?” I walk to the closet.

  “We are going over to Courtney and Josh’s tonight. They have invited us over for dinner,” she says frowning. “Didn’t Josh talk to you?”

  “No.” Come to think of it, the only person I spoke with on the phone today was Tate... “Shit,” I say once I realize I forgot my phone up at the office.

  “What?” she asks jumping to her feet in a rush. “What’s wrong?”

  “I forgot my phone in my desk up at the office.” I wave her concern off.

  She tilts her head to the side and frowns like my outburst was exaggerated. It’s just a phone. “That’s okay. Anyone who needs us can call my cell or the house.”

  I start to unbutton my shirt. If only she knew what kind of day I had… “No. I will go by and pick it up on our way,” I say slipping a clean shirt on.

  “Okay. I’m going to go take Peaches out before we leave,” she says as she walks out of the bedroom.

  “Will you call Tate and tell him we have plans? He was supposed to come over.”

  I hear her yell a ‘yes’ before I walk into the bathroom and turn on the cold water to wash my face. I let the water try and calm my nerves. I’m so frustrated that I forgot my phone. I never do that. I need that phone at all times for work.

  I splash my face one last time and then grab a towel to dry it off. I can hear her in the kitchen putting the puppy back in her crate.

  “Ready to go?” I ask walking into the kitchen.

  “Yeah.” She grabs her purse, and we head out to the garage. “Tate got invited to Josh’s as well. He said he messaged you earlier that he would be there.”

  I just nod my head as I get into the car.

  “Is everything okay, Slade?” she asks again, once we pull out of the driveway.

  I reach over and grab her hand. “Yeah, work was just stressful today.”

  Within thirty minutes later we are walking into Josh and Courtney’s house. I smile when I see that Courtney has also redecorated Josh’s house like Angel did mine. There are several different shades of yellow and a few shades of greens, giving it a brighter feel than the dark bachelor pad he once had going on.

  “Hey I called you three times today,” Josh says walking up to me.

  “I forgot my cell was in my desk on silent. Why didn’t you call the office?” I ask guiding Angel to sit down on the couch.

  “I figured if you weren’t answering your cell then you were in court or in a meeting.”

  “No. I just…was busy and forgot about it,” I say.

  I look up when I hear Tate walk in. He looks pissed off as he stomps in with his black boots and leather jacket. His jaw is tight, and his blue eyes hard.

  “Why do you guys look so pissed off?” Holly asks looking at Tate with a frown.

  I go to say something, change the subject, but am interrupted when Missy walks into the living room.

  “I’m fine,” Tate mumbles as his eyes rake up and down Missy. He looks away quickly, but I didn’t miss it.

  “Okay.” Courtney claps her hands together getting our attention as we all gather around in their living room.

  “What’s up with you guys having us over?” Angel asks leaning into me. “You called in sick today.” Angel had called me concerned this morning, afraid that she had passed her infection to Courtney. “You seem fine,” she observes with a smile.

  Courtney blushes and looks at Josh. “She is perfect,” he declares, looking at her from his recliner. All the girls make an ‘ahh’ sound which makes me laugh and Tate roll his eyes.

  Courtney laughs and stands up from the couch to face all of us. She looks nervous all of a sudden as she takes in a deep breath and looks around, tears brimming in her eyes.

  What the hell is going on?

  Angel pulls away from me and sits up straight. “Courtney, are you okay?” she asks with concern.

  She nods her head quickly. “I’m just really happy.” She then reaches down and places a hand over her belly.

  Angel gasps from beside me placing a hand over her mouth. “Are you...?” she asks slowly.

  Courtney gets a big smile on her face and starts nodding her head quickly, tears now rolling down her face.

  Before I can figure out what the question was, Angel and the girls jump up out of their seats and run to Courtney, giving her hugs as they all cry together.

  “I’m so confused,” Tate whispers, leaning over.

  “You’re not alone,” I retort. I’ve never been much of a guy who understood the female language, unless it involved my cock.

  Josh turns and looks at us. “We are having a baby,” he announces with a proud smile on his face.

  Tate and I sit there for a few seconds trying to absorb what he just said. “What?” I finally ask somewhat shocked. “A baby?” I look back over to Courtney and now realize why she had placed her hands on her stomach.

  “We found out today.” The shit-eating grin he has on his face has me smiling back like a fool.

  My best friend is having a baby. I couldn’t be happier for him. “Congratulations.” I stand up and hug him. “How did this happen?” I ask still shocked. I very clearly remember the conversation Courtney and I had just Christmas Eve.

  “I don’t think I want any kids,” she says.

  “None?” I ask, glancing from her to Josh.

  She shakes her head.

  “How do you feel about that?” I ask him.

  He shrugs but smiles brightly. “Whatever she wants is fine with me.”

  “I’ll let Sam demonstrate that for you later,” Josh says with laughter.

  “You know what I mean.” I laugh.

  “Believe me, no one is more shocked than us,” Courtney says with a smile. “But it was just meant to be,” she whispers looking over at Josh with a smile on her face.

  We all watch as he crosses the room and pulls her into him before he gives her a slow passionate kiss that makes me feel like we are intruders.

  “I’m so happy for you guys,” Angel gushes as tear
s run down her cheeks.

  I plop down onto the couch and look up as her and Courtney talk about my best friend’s baby on the way. My eyes drop to Angel’s stomach, and I imagine her pregnant with our child. I smile as my eyes move back up to her face. I know we are not close to that part of our lives yet, but I can’t help how excited I feel for when that day does arrive.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  SAMANTHA

  “Oh, I like this one,” I say pointing to a white crib.

  Courtney frowns. “Isn’t white for a girl?”

  I shrug. “It could be for either one but I just know you’re going to have a little girl.”

  “When did you become psychic?” she asks placing her hand on her hip.

  “Oh, I’ve always had the talent,” I smirk.

  She laughs as she shakes her head at me. I close the page on my phone and place it in my purse. “How are you feeling?” I ask.

  Even though we’ve known for a little over two weeks, her pregnancy is still the talk of our circle.

  “I’m feeling great. I haven’t had any morning sickness.” She shrugs. “But I have felt emotional,” she admits with a frown.

  “Shouldn’t that come later?” Missy asks before popping a fry into her mouth.

  We finally had a day that all of us girls were able to have a lunch date. It’s very rare that we can all get together at once, with work and Missy in school.

  “My doctor said it’s common to have mood swings around six to ten weeks. But I mean mine are drastic.”

  “Explain,” Holly says sitting down next to Missy after refilling her drink.

  “Well, Josh and I were having sex last night, and I just started crying. Like uncontrollably sobbing.” She laughs at herself. “It was embarrassing.”

  “Why were you crying?” I ask frowning. I’m not surprised she mentions they were having sex. Courtney has never been embarrassed about her sex life. If I have to hear about how great Josh’s dick piercing is one more time, I may scream, and I’m pretty sure that knowledge freaks Holly out. But Missy seems intrigued by it, which is very surprising.