by Jessie Lane
Did he recognize me? He had been with Ginny at the club that night in Miami when I had first carried her away. Would he speak up and create chaos in an already tense situation? We had to wait in a large, ostentatious office for Wellington while Dexter remained outside. Would he alert them before they entered?
I couldn’t be too sure. Looking at Wall, I gave a slight nod so he knew I was ready.
Waiting.
Something I wasn’t very good at.
Currently, I was waiting for the confirmation that ATF and the DEA were in position. They were to apprehend all individuals once we secured Wellington. Therefore, anyone who made the decision to scatter when shit hit the fan, would find themselves caught by the officers covering the perimeter.
We had only been able to secure six of us to enter the home with Kahn; three of which had to remain outside the office. That left Wall, me, and Boyd in the room and in charge of apprehending, charging, and arresting Richard Wellington.
Wellington finally entered the office, looking like the put-together businessman he was. Meanwhile, the agents outside had yet to confirm their positions, meaning we would have to drag this out some.
Now was not the time for a single thing to go wrong. There was too much at stake.
Wellington crossed the room to shake Kahn’s hand. It took everything I had not to pull my gun out and blow his brains out, right then and there. I wouldn’t do that to the agents, though. They had assured me the man was going to be put behind bars until he was old and withered. It wouldn’t be fair for me to blow a case like that simply for self-gratification.
Waving his hand at the chair in front of his desk, Wellington said, “Have a seat, Kahn. Tell me what you have learned about my daughter’s whereabouts.”
Sanjay sat to keep up pretenses, while I moved a step to the side so I would be clear of him if I had to pull my piece out to shoot. It put me closer to the office door, which meant I would have to be careful about anyone coming up behind me.
My movement left Boyd standing directly behind Kahn’s chair and Wall over to the far left, similar to my angle and relative to Wellington’s position. We had Kahn covered for safety and Wellington wide open.
“The private investigator I hired is one of the best in the world. He tracked her down to a bed and breakfast in Maine. Have any idea why she would go there?”
Poor Wellington looked confused for once. It almost made me laugh.
“Maine, you say? I have no earthly idea why she would go there. Of course, that’s probably why she would go there. Probably thinks it would be the last place we would look for her. That’s neither here nor there, though.” He waved his hand in dismal of the subject. “When would you like to go get her? Or would you like my men to do it? I could send Dexter. He is very much accustomed to my daughter’s charades.”
Where the fuck was the go signal on this operation? I was starting to get antsy having to stand here and listen to all this idle bullshit. Still, I remained calm, watching as Kahn continued to play his role.
“No, I’ll go get her myself. I think it’s about time I take that role over if we’re to be married, don’t you?”
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Kahn smirking. I knew that motherfucker was throwing that taunt at me and not Wellington. It made me want to sock him in the face. A nice black eye and busted lip would make sure he wasn’t half as pretty.
But then Ginny might get mad at me and feel bad for the bastard. Dammit!
My ear piece started to crackle, and I wiped everything from my mind. This could be the start of the takedown.
A few more seconds passed, and I heard more static-like crackling and the whispered voices of the officers outside, stating they were in place, one by one. It took approximately four minutes until the last one said he was in place, and then one of the DEA agents said in a low voice, “Takedown is a go. I repeat, takedown is a go.”
In a flash, Boyd pulled out his handgun and pointed it at Wellington. With his other hand, he whipped out his badge that was hanging from a neck strap and had been hidden under his bulletproof vest. As soon as he identified himself as an ATF agent, he started the legal spiel.
“Richard Wellington, put your hands up above your head and step away from the desk.”
Wellington didn’t move, only stood there and glared at Boyd.
Somewhere, seemingly from a floor below us, a gunshot rang out, followed by people screaming. Running footsteps from behind me caught my attention, and I turned around just in time to see Gin’s mom running toward the office in fear.
Boyd was telling Wellington the many charges he had against him as I looked past her at where Dexter had been standing. The man had disappeared, as good as a ghost. There was no telling where the fuck he was, and that wasn’t good.
Mrs. Wellington’s eyes widened when she realized who I was, and then she called out, “Lucas, no!”
“Stop there! Don’t come any closer!” I shouted at her., putting my hand out in a stopping motion to prevent Ginny’s mom from coming into the room.
The order didn’t stop her. If anything, her pace quickened as a horrified look crossed her face.
I turned my head back toward the room just as Boyd shouted at Wellington to drop the gun. As my eyes landed upon him, I realized Wellington had his gun trained on me.
I figured that out a second too late.
Just as the thought had crossed my mind to move for cover, he had already pulled the trigger.
I braced myself for the hit, knowing there was a good chance I might never see my angel again. Only, the bite of the bullet never came. Instead, a petite figure flew out in front of me.
A feminine scream of pain echoed throughout the office. It took my stunned brain a few precious seconds to realize that Ginny’s mom had just taken a bullet for me. Now she was sprawled out on the floor at my feet, blood from a chest wound rapidly spreading across the front of her pale pink dress.
My heart was pumping so hard I thought it might pop out of my chest as I dropped to my knees next her body. Then I immediately pressed my comm. link and shouted an order for an ambulance while I used my other hand to apply pressure on the wound to slow the bleeding.
Wellington cried out in despair, dropping his gun on his desk before running to his wife’s side. He was about to pick her up when I pushed him away.
“Don’t fucking move her. Don’t even touch her. You might make it worse.”
“Not you, my love. Oh, I didn’t mean to shoot you!” Wellington shouted, tears running down his face. The man who had once proclaimed himself a “king” now knelt on the floor next to his wife, sobbing like a fucking child.
He reached out a hand to touch her face, but Boyd grabbed that hand before he could make contact, slapping a handcuff on it.
“Richard Wellington, you are under arrest for the following charges: attempted murder, possession and distribution of illegal narcotics, possession of illegal weapons …” Boyd droned on for a while with all the charges. “You have the right to remain silent. If you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you desire an attorney and cannot afford one, an attorney will be obtained for you …”
I blocked out Boyd’s voice as I took off my shirt and used it to apply pressure over Mrs. Wellington’s chest wound. There was a good size hole in the tissue, where I could see ravaged flesh and small white bits of bone fragments.
Mrs. Wellington turned her head to look from her husband to me. The fear rolling off her almost made me sick to my stomach. Her breaths were ragged with audible wheezing, as well.
Wall was now kneeling on the other side of her, trying to help me staunch the blood flow until the ambulance arrived and shouting orders to the others who were now scurrying around, trying to help now that the gunshots had stopped.
“One of you find Dexter!” Commander Wall shouted. “He’s too dangerous to be on the loose. And get Kahn the fuck out of here!
The last thing we need is for his daddy to sue us all because we got his rich ass shot.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the DEA agents grab Kahn by the arm and start to drag him out of the room. The concerned look on his face warned me that he might say something to Ginny about her mom. That was not how I wanted my girl to find out.
“Make sure he doesn’t call Gin!” I shouted toward the DEA agent while giving Kahn a look that warned him to keep his goddamn mouth shut. “I want to be the one to tell her.”
“Lucas?” Mrs. Wellington whispered in a weak voice, bringing my attention back to her.
“Hey, Mrs. D. Or, I guess I should call you Mrs. W. now that I know your real name, huh?”
She shook her head in a slow, disoriented motion. “No, Lucas, the only thing you should have called me these past years was Mom.” She paused and gasped for breath, freaking me the hell out. “Promise me you’ll take care of Ginny.”
My eyes stung with the tears I wouldn’t allow to fall, and my heart stopped in my chest. These were not the words someone said if they thought they were going to live.
“You know I will always take care of Gin, right? But you don’t need to worry about that because you’re going to be around to see it … promise.” Her blood was seeping through the makeshift bandage, flowing between my fingers. It scared me to death. “I’m even going to ask her to marry me after all of this is over, so you hold on. I know you won’t want to miss that.” I managed a small smile for her and a wink.
Mrs. W. gave me a sad smile in return as her eyes glazed over. “Always loved you like a son …”
As her words drifted off, true panic set in.
“Come on, Mrs. W; hang in there!” I told her, barely resisting the urge to shake her. “You’re going to be fine. The ambulance will be here any second. Just stay with me!” If she died on me, Ginny would never forgive me. Hell, I would never forgive myself.
Her eyes focused for just a few seconds longer as she looked straight into my eyes. And then, in the softest of voices, she said, “You have to make her believe in fairy tales again, Lucas. How else will she have her happy ever after?”
After slurring those final words, her eyes closed and she stopped breathing.
Wall immediately started to do chest compressions while I held her bandage in place.
“We need that ambulance now, goddammit!” I roared before bending over to force air into my future mother-in-law’s lungs.
Chapter
13
Lucas
Ginny was sitting quietly next to her mother’s hospital bed. The room’s silence was only broken by the beeping of the machines that were keeping her mom alive.
No one knew if she was going to make it. The bullet that Wellington had fired had broken several bones in his wife’s chest, while also managing to clip her heart and a lung, which had caused the lung to deflate. On top of that, she had lost an extraordinary amount of blood. The doctors were amazed she was still alive.
So was I.
But every second Ginny’s mom kept her heart beating, I considered it a miracle.
Even more amazing was the fact that the little blue cast still on her arm had taken no damage in the altercation. At least we didn’t have to worry about her arm being any worse than it already was.
It had been ten hours since the ambulance had brought her in, and she had come out of surgery only a couple of hours ago. She looked so frail; her small body on that big bed, and the tubes running in and out of her from seemingly everywhere.
Since the takedown, I had stayed by Mrs. Wellington’s side, from when the paramedics had loaded her up into the ambulance until they had taken her through the doors to surgery room. I felt like I had owed it to both her and Ginny to encourage her to fight for her life. Therefore, it had been Commander Wall who had personally picked Ginny up and brought her here to be by her mother’s side. And we hadn’t left her bedside since they had allowed us in here.
I let my mind wander to the mother who had moved in across the street from my family all those years ago with her daughter. The woman who had the courage to leave the man she loved to allow her daughter to be free. The woman who had once been my mother’s very best friend, who had taken a bullet to give Ginny a chance at her happily ever after.
Silently, I bargained with the heavens to let her make it through this.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, forcing me to take my arm from around Ginny’s shoulders.
“Olivia,” I answered. Knowing Ginny and her mom needed family right now, I had tried to get in contact with her earlier.
“Got your text. Mom and I are on our way. Hold her tight, Lucas.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied before simply hanging up, not even giving my sister shit for telling me what to do. Besides, one thing was for sure; I would never let Ginny go again.
I just needed her mother to wake up so I could give my girl her happily ever after. It wouldn’t be possible if her mom didn’t make it.
Jaxon walked into the room at that moment and silently stood by my side. After a few solemn moments, he then leaned over and murmured, “Can’t find Dexter, so if you happen to see him, make sure you call in the cavalry.”
Nodding, I asked, “How about Gin’s friend?”
“The maid?”
I nodded again.
“She opted to leave with the DEA. She’s going to testify against Wellington in exchange for the witness protection program.”
“At least she’ll be safe with them.”
“Yeah.”
Silence resumed as we both watched the subtle lifting and falling of Mrs. Wellington’s chest as machines breathed for her since she couldn’t do it for herself right now.
“She’s going to make it,” Wall predicted out of the blue.
Damn, but I wanted him to be right. However, with the facts staring me in the face, it was hard to get my hopes up.
“I just don’t know, Wall,” I said under my breath so only he could hear.
My commander turned and looked me dead in the eye. “Tell you what; I’ll make you a bet.”
Had the man lost his mind?
“Now isn’t exactly the best time or place to be making bets,” I grumbled.
He held a hand up to shut me up then quickly said, “I’m betting you, she’s going to make it. The woman is a fighter. I saw that when she jumped in front of that bullet for you. And if I’m right, you have to name your first born after me.”
Taken aback, I didn’t know what to say. I guessed that was why Ginny did it for me.
“Deal.”
We both looked over at her, surprised she had heard our conversation.
She cracked a sad smile. “What? You guys were being so loud, I couldn’t help but hear.”
Ginny
One month later…
Lucas was going to lose his mind when he found out I had come to the prison to see my father.
I knew I probably shouldn’t have done it behind his back. However, I couldn’t take it anymore. Even from behind bars, Richard Wellington was driving me crazy.
He had somehow obtained the address and room number to where my mom was still in a coma. And every other day, the hospital personnel brought a letter into my mom’s hospital room from my father.
I was so freaking mad that I wanted to strangle him with my bare hands. It was a damn good thing he was behind those concrete walls and bars, safe from me. Perhaps I couldn’t hurt him like he had hurt my mother, but I could put a stop to it. That was why I was here.
Marching into the prison like I was a one-woman army, I let the detention officers check me in as a visitor. Then they led me to the visiting room that had cubicle-like sitting areas with plastic chairs. There was thick glass separating my side from the inmate’s, regrettably meaning there could be no physical touching during a visit, so I couldn’t throttle the asshole. The only way you could communicate was through a phone that hung on the wall.
I sat in the chair and waited twen
ty minutes for the prison guards to bring him in. And once he appeared, part of me wished he would just disappear forever.
Richard Wellington looked impeccable in an orange jumpsuit, and that just pissed me off more. He sat down across from me, picked up the phone, and then waited for me to do the same.
I didn’t bother wasting any time telling him how I felt. I picked up the phone and spouted, “You’ve got some fucking nerves, old man.”
“Don’t talk to me that way, Virginia; I am your father.”
“No. No, you’re not. A father is someone who loves, cherishes, and protects their children. You’re just a sperm donor, and a piss poor one at that. Everything good I have inside of me, I got from my mother, which is why I am here—to protect her from you. Stop sending Mom those letters.”
He looked back at me, unfazed and with all the confidence in the world. “You can’t possibly think I won’t contact my own wife. No matter what you think of me, Virginia, I love your mother. I always have, and I always will.”
“Yeah, well, let’s talk about your brand of love. You shot her, nicked her heart and lung, causing said lung to collapse. Then, a week later, she had a stroke. She’s been in a coma for a month, and I’m not talking the medically-induced kind. The doctors can’t even tell me if she’ll make it or not. That’s where your love landed Mom … at death’s doorstep.”
“I had no idea she was that bad.” My father paled. He looked like he might get sick from what I had told him.
I didn’t give a rat’s ass. The man should be physically ill over what he had done.
Since the information was getting to him on some sort of level, I decided to press my case.
“Don’t you think you’ve done enough to her? If you really loved her, you would leave her the hell alone. If she gets to live a long life, and that’s a big if because of your actions, she should be able to do it without looking over her shoulder, wondering if you’re going to send someone after her. She also shouldn’t have to dread going to the mailbox or picking up her phone because you’re trying to contact her.”
My father’s face morphed into a mask of sorrow. Still, I didn’t feel one iota of sympathy for him. He had unequivocally ruined our lives for years. Now I wanted him to leave my mother alone in peace.