“Hey, sweetie,” he greeted. He heard no reply other than what sounded like muffled scratches. “Sweetie? Bianca? Are you there?” As he continued to listen, he shot Jayden a quick look. “Get us there… fast!”
21
Lionel guided Bianca into the elevator and pushed the button for the fourth floor. When the doors opened, Bianca continued to walk down the hall on rubbery legs. Her weight was partially held by Lionel as she leaned heavily on him.
“It’s a fun house,” she mumbled, then a giggle slipped out from her lips. The memory of her father taking her to the fun house at a carnival when she was a little girl moved through her and she laughed again. Watching the numbers on the doors as they passed, she called out, “Four-thirteen… four-fifteen… four-seventeen… oh!”
Lionel opened the door and guided her into the room. Staggering, she stumbled toward the bed, sinking into the soft mattress as she bent forward and propped her head on her hands.
Wishing the room would stop spinning, she heard a familiar female’s voice call out, “How much did you give her?”
Lifting her head, trying to focus, she watched as Lucille stepped from another room. Lucille’s head seemed to float away from her body, and another giggle erupted from Bianca’s lips. She attempted to point but was uncertain that her hand was moving in the right direction when she slurred, “Whas you doin’ here?”
“Jesus, Lionel, can’t you do anything right?”
“I did exactly what you told me, Lucille. I put everything in the vial into her water,” Lionel argued.
“How much did she drink?” Lucille asked, her fists on her hips.
“She didn’t order anything else to drink except coffee, but she ended up drinking all of her water,” he continued.
Bianca’s gaze bounced back and forth between the two others in the room as they continued to argue back and forth, but the movement made her dizzier. Finally, giving up the attempt to follow their argument, she flopped back onto the bed and closed her eyes. Unfortunately, she continued to feel as though she was in a boat on the waves even with her eyes shut, and her stomach rolled.
“How can we get her to sign these papers if she’s unconscious?” Lucille cried out.
Bianca heard the words but struggled to figure out what Lucille was talking about. Papers? Signed? I signed all the papers my lawyer gave me. I think. Were there more? And why would Lucille want me to sign papers?
“You can’t do anything right, can you?” Lucille complained, her voice harsh.
“Shut up,” Lionel growled in return. “I got her to meet. I got her to drink. I got her up here. I did my part. You’ve done nothing but bitch and moan my whole life about how unfair life is. You bitched your way through three husbands but didn’t count on the last one not planning on making you sole heir. So, bitch your way out of that!”
The ping-ponged words bounced around in Bianca’s mind, but she found it too difficult to make sense of them. Opening her eyes, she tried to focus her vision on Lucille’s pacing and Lionel’s angry face. The instinctive desire to be safe kicked in, and she knew she did not want to be in this room with them regardless of what they were arguing about.
Pushing up on her elbows, she licked her lips and sucked in a deep breath before sitting upright. Her head immediately felt like it was rolling and her stomach pitched. She bent forward, her hands on her knees, and gulped in air, forcing her lungs to breathe deeply. She looked up and saw that the door to the hall was only about ten feet in front of her. Blowing out her breath, she managed to get to her feet, but as the room swayed, she was uncertain if it was her unsteady feet or just her swimming head.
“I want her signature on these papers, but they need to at least look like her handwriting,” Lucille groused.
“Well, when the effects of the drug start to wear off, then we’ll get it,” Lionel bit back. “That would be the same as how she would be if she had only drunk a little water.”
“Yes, but by then will she be missed?” Lucille bit back.
Bianca took a step toward the door, but Lucille whirled around and grabbed Bianca’s arm. “Oh, no, princess, you’re not going anywhere.”
“This fucking plan is going south,” Lionel cried, stomping about the room. “It was never going to work. I can’t believe I let you talk me into this!”
“Shut up—”
“Open up! Hotel security!” a deep voice boomed from the other side of the door.
Bianca stumbled as Lucille dragged her into the bathroom, closing the door behind them, her fingernails biting into Bianca’s arm.
“Stay in here and stay quiet!” Lucille ordered, and Bianca tripped over to the sink before sliding onto the floor.
Cas and Jayden stood outside room four-seventeen in the Belvedere Hotel, pounding on the door. Calling out, “Hotel Security,” he wanted to kick in the door, but Jayden held him back. On the way over, he could hear Bianca’s slurred voice calling out hotel room numbers and prayed he was at the right one.
Just as he lifted his hand again, the door opened. A young man, dressed nicely but with a face full of fear, said, “Yes, may I help you?”
Putting his hand on the young man’s chest and pushing his way into the room, he looked around.
“You can’t come barging in here!” the man shouted.
“What the fuck have you done with Bianca?” Stalking toward the bathroom, he tried the door, but it was locked.
“My wife is in there taking a bath,” the man said, starting toward Cas but finding Jayden’s hand now planted in his chest.
Calling out, Cas said, “Whoever’s in there better get away from the door because I’m coming through.”
The lock on the door clicked and he hesitated. The door barely moved, and a woman’s face was partially seen through the opening. Lucille. Cas recognized Lucille… older, but definitely her.
“I’m indisposed,” Lucille said, her eyes wide.
“Bianca!” he called out.
“Cas?” a weak voice came from within the bathroom. He gave the door a shove and Lucille flew backward, her arms propelling as she tried to regain her balance. His gaze landed on Bianca, now slumped on the floor next to the bathtub. “Call 9-1-1,” he yelled to Jayden. “Police and ambulance!”
Leaving Jayden to deal with Lucille and the man he assumed was Lionel, he dropped to the floor, pulling Bianca into his arms. “Baby, baby, talk to me!”
“Casssss,” she mumbled, then giggled. “I can’t feel my body.”
“What did they give you?”
Her head wobbled and he stood, picking her up in his arms, stalking out of the bathroom. Looking at Lucille, whose hard gaze was shooting arrows in his direction, he then turned to Lionel, who appeared as though he wanted to throw up. “What the fuck did you give her?”
“It was her… she gave it to me!” Lionel rushed, pointing toward Lucille.
“Shut up!” Lucille shouted.
The sound of heavy footsteps came from the hall and Jaxon appeared in the doorway. “I’d already called him,” Jayden explained as his twin rushed in with his paramedic equipment and partner.
“Let me see her,” Jaxon said. “Put her on the bed.” As Cas lay her down, he kept her hand in his.
Jaxon immediately began assessing Bianca, asking what she had been given. As the police arrived, Jayden filled them in over Lucille’s protestations.
“Rohypnol,” Lionel whispered. Clearing his throat, he repeated it. “Rohypnol.”
“Roofie? You fuckin’ roofied her?” Cas roared, anger bursting forth as he stood from the bed, taking a step toward Lionel.
Jayden quickly stepped in front of him, placed his hands on Cas’ shoulders, and said, “Stand down, man. Let Jaxon help her, and let the policemen do what they gotta do.”
Lucille made a grab for a sheaf of papers on the table, only to be stopped by one of the policemen. Chaos ensued with Lucille still screaming insults toward Lionel and threats toward the policemen who were in the process of getting th
em out of the room so that the paramedics could load Bianca onto a gurney.
Forcing his attention back to her, Cas rushed out with them, calling over his shoulder to Jayden, “Call Detective Chambers… Zander’s friend.”
Entering the elevator with Jaxon and Bianca, he leaned against the wall as the door closed to the cacophony still coming from the hotel room.
22
Bianca snoozed in the hospital room, slowly coming awake as the sound of soft voices came into focus. Opening her eyes, she saw Cas’ face bending over hers, his eyes searching.
“Baby?” he whispered. “You comin’ back to me?”
Nodding, she blinked several times. “What happened?”
“Do you remember anything?”
Sucking in her lips as she pondered, she shook her head. “Uh… not really.” Her brow scrunched. “Yes, Lionel… I remember Lionel.”
Fear snaked through her as she wondered what she was doing in the hospital with Cas looking ready to go ballistic. Her gaze shifted behind him, and she could see the room was filled with his brothers, all with the same expressions that Cas had. “What’s everyone doing here?”
Pete Chambers stepped into the room, looking around before moving to Zander and shaking his hand. “Sorry to have to meet like this again.” With chin lifts to the other men, he walked to her bed and said, “Nice to see you awake, Ms. Winters. I’m Detective Chambers.”
Shooting her gaze back to Cas, she asked, “What’s going on?”
“Babe, you were roofied by Lionel,” Cas replied.
Her eyes shot open wide and she struggled to sit up. He put his hand on her back, slid into the bed with her, and supported her as she sat upright, facing the detective.
“Ms. Winters—”
“Bianca, please,” she interrupted. “Ms. Winters makes me think of Lucille!”
Nodding, his lips curving slightly, Pete agreed. “Okay, Bianca. The doctors have confirmed that you were given Rohypnol by Lionel Baxter. He obtained the illegal drug through Lucille Winters. In their hotel room, we found an unsigned will from you, listing Lionel and Lucille as your heirs in the event of your death.”
Her eyes bugged and she began, “But, I never—”
“Unsigned, babe,” Cas said softly, drawing her eyes to him. “They had it ready for you to sign.”
Shaking her head, she said, “What were they thinking?”
“Bianca,” Detective Chambers said, drawing her attention back to him. “I’ve spent the past two hours with Lionel and Lucille, and I can tell you that I’m not impressed with either of their abilities to think through a plan. What I can tell you is that while they have not admitted it yet, my guess is that once they had you sign the will, they would take you somewhere to sleep off the drug and then you wouldn’t remember anything about it. That’s what Rohypnol does… it causes amnesia, along with the confusion and other side effects.”
“But they still wouldn’t get anything until I had died.” Gasping as the words left her mouth, she clutched Cas’ arm tightly.
“Yes, ma’am, you’re right. What I’m sure Lionel will confess to is that Lucille planned on an accident being arranged at some time in the future that would cause your death, therefore giving them access to your money.”
Slumping back against Cas, she felt nauseous. Just then, a doctor stepped into the room and eyed the large gathering.
“Who are all these men?” the doctor questioned sharply.
“They’re my friends,” she said, her voice stronger. She looked around at Zander, Rafe, Cael, Jaxon, Jayden, Asher, and Zeke and said, “My friends… my giants.”
They all chuckled, but the doctor simply shook her head. “Well, if your friends can wait outside, I’ll go through your checkout information.”
They all shuffled outside, calling out that they would meet up with her and Cas soon. The doctor looked at Cas and lifted her eyebrow.
“Oh, no,” Bianca said defiantly. “He stays.”
Once the room had cleared, the doctors said, “Rohypnol stays in your system for several hours and then leaves without a trace. It appears that you never completely lost consciousness but suffered the side effects of confusion, drowsiness, lack of muscle control, forgetfulness.”
The detective spoke up. “From what Lionel told us, he placed the Rohypnol in your water before you got to the restaurant. He expected you to drink some but order something else to drink. He thought you’d get a little loopy, then he’d easily be able to talk you into going upstairs and signing the papers, and then the effects would wear off. Instead, you drank all your water and therefore had more of the drug in your system.”
“A nurse will be in to get you to sign your hospital forms,” the doctor said. Her gaze shifted to Cas, sitting at Bianca’s back. “A special friend?” the doctor said, a slight smile playing about her lips.
“Yes,” she replied, twisting her head around to stare at Cas’ handsome face. “A friend… and my shield.”
Cas grinned despite his earlier expression of anger and kissed her lightly. Nodding toward the doctor, he pulled Bianca back against his strong body once more.
The drive home was mostly silent, Bianca lost in her thoughts. She knew if her father could see the woman he had married, he would be horrified. And furious. She knew if he could see the young man, one he tried to influence to become a better man, slip something into her drink, he would be devastated. She thought of the seven men — friends — who dropped everything they were doing to rush to the hospital to check on her.
“Cas, how did you know which room I was in?”
“Babe, it was you. You were calling out the room numbers as you walked down the hall with Lionel. Four-seventeen was the last one you called out. It was a guess, but one that I prayed was right.”
Glancing to the side, she smiled at him, thinking of how he raced across town with little to go on other than her initial message and her drugged mumblings over the phone to get to her side.
Turning onto the drive toward Cas’ house, she visibly startled when she saw the number of cars, trucks, and SUVs parked in the front yard.
Swinging her head around toward Cas, she asked, “What on earth is going on?” Before he had a chance to answer, his front door opened and his brothers and their women began spilling out onto the front porch. And right in the middle of them was Miss Ethel.
Parking, he turned toward her. “This is family, Bianca. This is what family does. I know you remember it from a long time ago when your mom and dad were both alive, and you haven’t had it for many years. But this is us, you and me, and your family now.”
Tears slid down her face, but she knew they were tears of joy. Cas opened her door and assisted her down. As her feet settled onto the gravel drive, he bent and kissed her lightly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close. “Let’s go enjoy family.”
He grinned and nodded, but just as he started to step back, she tightened her hold on him and added, “And then we’ll work on enjoying ourselves.”
He threw his head back in laughter, then bent and scooped her into his arms, walking toward the porch filled with their family.
23
Five Years Later
Zander stood by the front door, glancing into the mirror that was hanging by the entranceway, checking his tie. He hated wearing a suit, finding jeans, T-shirts, and boots to be more to his taste. His employees would call that his standard uniform, but to him, once he took off his military uniform for the last time, he was glad to just be comfortable.
He glanced into the living room, seeing Rosalie’s efforts in home decor mixed with their kid’s toys. Last night she had managed to get all the toys in a basket by the side of the sofa. He had shaken his head and told her not to sweat it. Kids’ toys in the house just meant that they had a home. That was more than he ever had growing up before he landed in the foster system.
In fact, he had never owned a toy until he arrived at Miss Ethel’s house.
As always, thoughts
of her brought a smile to his face and caused his heart to squeeze just a little. How she took a scared boy who had been living out of a dumpster and had never been to school and turned him into the man he hoped he was… there was no way he could ever repay her.
He once asked her, many years ago, what he could ever do in return for all that she had given him. Her soft smile had turned toward him as she lifted her thin hand and patted his cheek.
“My dear boy, being allowed to be your mother has given me more than any riches in the world. Remember, St. Francis once said, ’For it is in giving that we receive’. Believe me, his words are true. I have received more blessings in return by being able to give to you.”
A sudden noise on the stairs caused Zander to blink, pulling himself from his thoughts to the children rushing down the stairs toward him. Happy, healthy, cared for, loved. Right on their heels came Rosalie, her blonde hair twisted up and wearing a dress that was both demure and made him want to rip it off all at the same time. The years had not diminished what he felt for his wife.
While their children ran circles around her legs, she stepped into his space and placed her hands flat on his chest, peering up into his eyes. He could drown in those eyes and prayed that he was given a lifetime to be able to do so. His own Sleeping Beauty.
“Are you ready?” she asked, her voice soft as her eyes searched his.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” came his reply. Calling for his kids, he wrapped his arm around Rosalie, and they walked outside.
Rafe stood in the library of Bellamy Manor, staring out over the perfectly manicured lawn and gardens leading down the hill toward the woods in the distance. He could not see it now but knew that those woods held a small cabin.
For several months, the cabin had been his home when he first met Eleanor. Small, charming, with a large stone fireplace surrounded by built-in bookcases loaded with volumes.
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