Her Shield (The Uncut Series Book 1)

by D. Camille

  “Don't shoot me babe,” Isis said with her hands up sitting on the dining table in one of his shirts.

  Marc lowered the gun. “Shit Isis! What the hell are you doing here sitting in the dark?”

  “I was waiting for you.”

  He replaced his gun and flipped a switch, bathing the room in a soft light. Marc walked over to where she held her arms out to him and she he embraced him whispering, “The desk attendant let me in.”

  Marc pulled back to look at her. “What are you doing here?”

  “Tasha told me what happened at your family's home.” She touched his face. “Are you okay?”

  He nodded and blew out a long breath before taking a seat on one of the chairs.

  “What happened?” Isis asked before hopping down from the table.

  Marc shook his head. “That's what I need to find out.”

  She came to stand in front of him. “Is your father okay?”

  “Yeah, we talked.”

  Isis looked surprised. “Was it good or bad?”

  Marc pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her waist and placing his head on her breasts. “Both.”

  Isis held him, rubbing his head while waiting for him to continue.

  “We talked about a lot of things that we should have talked about a long time ago,” he told her quietly. “He finally realized that I'm good at what I do and I didn't ruin my life.”

  Isis looked down at him. “You're the best at what you do. It took me a minute to realize that too.”

  He smiled up at her. “What made you come here?”

  “You, of course,” She said sitting on his lap. “Pepper Potts is always there for Iron Man.”

  “Pepper Potts doesn't interfere when Iron Man is fighting crime,” he pointed out. “She lets him do his job.”

  Isis smiled ruefully. “Yeah...about that.” She looked down into his face. “I'm sorry. I clearly wasn't thinking.”

  “I mean, what if you walked on the stage while I was performing?” she asked. “That was crazy.”

  Marc rubbed a hand down her back. “I know that you love me Princess.”

  “I do. I love you so much Marcus Graham.” She kissed him gently.

  “I love you Isis Martin. I love your loyalty and your strength. I love your sweetness and your beauty.” He kissed her back.

  She smiled at him. “I'm glad you and your father talked.”

  “He never understood why I became an agent,” Marc told her. “He thought it was foolish of me to try to redeem myself for killing that agent when it was an accident.”

  “He didn't understand how it haunts me every day,” he said quietly.

  Isis pulled him close. “I'm sure you've rescued many people Marcus. There's nothing more you can do.”

  Marc held her tightly and breathed in deeply.

  “You rescued me...” She lifted his face to hers. “And not just from a gunman.”

  He watched her for a moment. “You rescued me too Princess...and I didn't even know I needed it.”

  *********

  The Black Diamonds met in Jordan's office the next day. The three looked at each other before they began their conversation.

  “Sorry to take you away from your new babies, but this is a priority. We have to find out what is going on,” Ray told them.

  Sean looked perplexed. “When I asked Marc to look into this, I never thought it was this deep.”

  Jordan frowned. “I can't believe you're saying there's someone out there that looks just like my father and he's watching all of us.”

  Ray looked to Jordan. “Are you sure it's someone who just looks like your father?”

  “What the hell are you talking about Ray? My father is dead!” Jordan stormed.

  Ray shrugged. “I'm just saying Jay. I thought my mother was dead for over twenty years.”

  Jordan's eyes narrowed. “So you think my father is alive and running some sort of network of spies with Dr. Camille Smith?” he demanded hotly.

  Sean intervened. “Ray, when Jordan and I got back after Justin's death, we checked out everything thoroughly. That man is not Justin Black.”

  “How do we know for sure?” Ray asked.

  “Jordan has his ashes. We can test them,” Sean offered.

  Jordan looked at Sean. “I don't have his ashes.”

  Both men looked at Jordan. “What did you do with them? I went with you to pick them up,” Sean asked confused.

  “His Foundation asked for them a few months after his death.” He shrugged. “So I gave them the ashes. It was his Foundation.”

  “The Foundation that Dr. Camille Smith chairs...” Sean commented.

  Ray stood. “Dammit! She's been at this for a while.”

  “My father is not alive!” Jordan snapped getting to his feet. “And whoever this imposter is, his ass is done!”

  Sean looked at Ray. “This is a definitely a problem.”

  *********

  Two weeks later, Isis took the stage for rehearsals. The director had announced some changes in the script and had called the entire cast in for a run-through. Isis walked to her mark and looked up as the new lead actor joined her. Denzel had recently taken a personal leave to deal with some emotional distress and no one seemed to miss him.

  Holding the new script, she began to recite her lines. The two continued as the spotlight shone on them and the rest of the cast sat around the stage and in seats watching. Isis paused in her lines as the director set up the next scene.

  “In walks the shield and kneels before the Princess, pouring out his heart to her...” he said with zeal.

  Isis frowned and looked at her paper. “That's not what mine says,” she said confused.

  She looked at the paper again trying to find the place where the director was reading. Isis looked out into crowd. “I'm lost, where are we?” she asked.

  “We're right where we're supposed to be Princess...”

  Isis turned at the sound of the familiar voice and saw Marcus walking across the stage towards her like a seasoned actor. The new lead actor smiled at her and moved away from the scene.

  Isis looked up at the man who'd captured her heart. “Marcus... what?”

  Marc reached into his breast pocket and produced a light blue box before kneeling in front of her as the entire cast watched in delight.

  “Isis Martin, you are the light to my darkness...the joy to my sadness...the beauty to my beast and I love you.” Isis put a hand to her mouth as she stared down into those amazing platinum eyes. “Will you do me the honor of becoming the woman I spend the rest of my life with?”

  Isis bit her lip as he opened the box and revealed an exquisite diamond encased in a smaller box. She watched as he took her trembling hand and placed the ring on her finger before kissing her hand.

  Marc looked up at her. “Can you work with that sweetheart?”

  Isis tasted the tears streaming down her face and took a breath. “Yes Marcus, I can work with that!” she choked out before he took her into his arms kissing her passionately as all the cast began to clap in delight.

  The two stood in the spotlight wrapped in one another for a few moments before Isis pulled back and looked out at her cast members.

  “I'm getting married!!!” she shouted at the top of her lungs before she burst into laughter holding on to Marc.

  Marc smiled down at the woman who made his life complete. Her laughter lit his heart as it always did. He'd tried to repay his debt and now that this woman had agreed to be his, he felt that he'd been forgiven. Now, he could let someone be good to him...

  Isis caught her breath as Marc lifted her into his arms and she smiled at him. “I love you,” she whispered as he carried her off the stage.

  ********

  Trent sat next to Callie in the back seat of the car driving them to the airport. She sat staring out of the window.

  “Callie...”

  She continued to look at the passing scenery.

  “Callie, come on. Don't do this.
” He took her hand.

  She turned to him. “Why are they making you leave early?”

  “I told you. They need us to get started sooner,” he explained.

  “Your family didn't even get to give a party or anything,” she said sadly.

  Trent shrugged. “In a way, I'm glad they didn't. Everybody would've been all sad and I don't want that.”

  “We're going to be sad anyway.”

  He pulled her into his arms. “Callie, I'm doing this for us. I don't want you to be sad.”

  She held him tightly. “I'm going to miss you so much...” she cried.

  “I'm going to miss you too.” He kissed her cheek. “This is so hard Callie.”

  Callie hiccuped against his shirt. “Promise me you'll be safe. Don't take any chances. We still don't know who this Doctor is or the man who looks your father.”

  “My brothers have quadrupled the security on me. I doubt anyone can get to me at this point.”

  She looked into his handsome face. “Oh baby, call me as soon as you get there.”

  Trent nodded. “I will call you Callie. I will call you when I get there and I will call you every day, I promise.” He kissed her softly. “You just make sure you don't go disappearing and dying on me again.”

  “Hahaha…you just take care of yourself. I don't want your mother on a plane to Africa starting a war of nations.”

  Trent laughed. “My mother was not happy. She's probably asking Sean to contact the African government right now.”

  “My brothers are cool though. Well Sean and Ray are cool, Jordan is Jordan,” he finished.

  Trent lifted her face to his. “I'm coming home as often as I can. I gotta keep you tightened up.” He laughed and she frowned.

  “Your ass better not be tightening up anybody in Africa,” she warned.

  “Nah, my Nubian princess is right here,” he said before lowering his mouth to hers.

  They arrived and Trent looked into her face. “I love you Callie.”

  Callie fought back the tears. “I love you Trent.”

  After one last kiss, he exited the car. Trent had been adamant that no one but Callie see him off to the airport and that Callie would drop him at the door. He hated goodbyes and leaving his family was harder than not having one, but he was determined to forge his own path outside of his brothers.

  Trent went through the airport to the terminal where his plane would depart from. He took a seat and was soon joined by his fellow project member, Elle. She smiled and took the seat next to him.

  “Hey Trent!” she said happily. “I can't believe we get to spend two years together in Africa.”

  Trent nodded. “Yeah, that's cool.”

  “We're going to have so much fun.” She reached over and grabbed his hand. “Aren't you excited?”

  Trent discretely removed his hand. “Yeah, I'm looking forward to the work we'll be doing. We can really make a difference.”

  She looked into his eyes. “We can do a lot of things Trent.”

  *********

  Marc laid back on the bed in his boxers with a smile on his face. He could hear Isis singing happily in the bathroom. Her bubbly personality made him love her even more. She exited wearing another of his shirts and ran over to the bed jumping on top of him.

  He caught her laughing before she began placing kisses on his face. “You are so special,” he told her.

  She smiled at him. “I always knew you liked me.”

  “Yeah, okay. I guess I did.”

  Isis laughed. “I liked you to, but now I love you.”

  Marc stroked her hair. “We need to tell our families and set a date.”

  She paused and pursed her lips. “Uh,...yeah about that.”

  He sat up looking at her. “What's the problem?”

  Isis sat back on her haunches looking at him. “Well, see um...”

  “What Isis?” he asked confused.

  “Your mother and my sister have already planned everything,” she said simply.

  He tilted his head. “What?”

  Isis let out a breath. “Our families have already booked the venue, selected the invitations, prepared the guest list and picked the food.”

  “We're getting married in two months. Surprise!” she said putting her hands in the air.

  Marc frowned. “But nobody knew I was proposing.”

  “I think they just took it as a given,” she told him.

  “So you just knew I was going to ask you to marry me?” He frowned some more.

  Isis picked up on his mood. “No babe, I didn't know anything. I tried to tell them, but I couldn't stop them.”

  She looked away. “I mean, of course...I hoped you would.” She studied the comforter. “I want to always be with you.”

  Marc lifted her face and kissed her lips. “I clearly need to have a talk with my mother.”

  “Tasha said she booked the venue the day after the birthday party,” Isis told him.

  He sighed. “You're okay with all this?”

  Isis smiled. “Yes, they included me every step of the way.”

  He shook his head. “I can't believe all of you. What would have happened if I didn't propose before the date?”

  Isis shrugged. “I don't know, but they said they had a Plan B.”

  Marc shook his head again. “Wow...I'm afraid to find out what that was.”

  “I wasn't going to pressure you,” Isis told him linking her arms around his neck. “And if you want to change the date, I'm fine with that.”

  He placed his hands on her waist. “Since everything is in place, I see no need to change anything.” Pulling her closer he said, “As long as you have what you want, I can work with that.”

  Isis kissed him slowly sucking his luscious lips. “I have what I want...right here.”

  “Two months, huh?” he asked.

  She nodded. “And your mother thinks we should start working on grand babies as soon as possible.”

  “See, she's out of control.”

  Isis laughed. “I think I'd like some more making love on the dining table before we get to that.”

  Marc picked her up from the bed. “Yeah, I can work with that,” he said carrying her to the dining room.

  Chapter 25

  Two months later, the day of Marc's wedding to Isis dawned bright and clear. As she sat staring in the mirror, she thought of the man with the beautiful platinum eyes and she smile broadly.

  “I know what that smile means,” Isabelle said watching her sister.

  “It means I'm so happy,” Isis told her.

  Isabelle hugged her sister over her large baby belly. “I'm so happy for you.”

  Isis touched her sister's stomach. “And I'm so happy for you.”

  “This is your day Isis, enjoy it.”

  Isis sobered. “I always thought Daddy would be walking me down the aisle on this day.”

  “I know he would have wanted to.” Isabelle told her.

  “He wouldn't have been happy with me marrying Marcus,” Isis said quietly.

  Isabelle lifted her sister's face. “But you're happy and that's all that matters. You're marrying a man that loves you and will always take care of you. If Daddy wouldn't be happy with that then he didn't care about you at all.”

  “Don't let Daddy spoil your day. He's done enough,” Isabelle finished.

  Isis smiled. “I won't. I'm too happy to let anything spoil today.”

  There was a knock on the door and both women turned to see who entered. Gregory Graham poked his handsome head through the door and smiled at them.

  “Hello ladies,” he greeted smoothly.

  Isis and Isabelle returned the greeting before he asked to speak with Isis. Isabelle smiled and kissed her sister's cheek.

  “I'll see you out there.”

  “Okay,” Isis answered while standing to give her a quick hug.

  Gregory and Isis watched Isabelle depart before he turned to her and looked her over. “My, my...you look beautiful.”


  “Thank you.” Isis gave him a hug. “And thank you for walking me down the aisle today.”

  “It's my pleasure and an honor.” He took her hand. “Not only have you made Marcus the happiest man in the world, you've brought our son back to us.”

  “You opened something in him that closed a long time ago and we are so grateful to you,” he told her.

  “I'm happy that Marcus has gotten closer to all of you. Your family has been so good to me.”

  Gregory smiled. “That's because you've made us a family again.” He patted her hand and watched her for a moment.

  “I want you to know that you are my daughter and if you need anything, I am here for you just like a father.”

  Isis gave him a soft smile. “Thank you. You don't know how much that means to me, especially today.”

  Gregory nodded. “Well I'll let you finish and I'll be waiting for you outside.” He gave Isis another hug and she embraced him before he exited the room leaving her alone.

  Isis took a deep breath then walked over to the large mirror and took in her reflection. She placed a hand on her stomach to quell the butterflies inside and looked away. Her mind replayed her entire relationship with Marcus beginning with meeting him at her father's office to dancing with him at Trent's birthday party and then Isabelle's wedding party. He'd rescued her, made love to her, comforted her and shielded her. He was everything she ever wanted and never knew.

  She could admit now that she'd fallen for Marcus Graham the first time she'd seen him and each time they had encountered one another, her feelings had increased. When she'd finally gotten to know the man behind the glasses, she'd been a goner for sure.

  When she looked back into the mirror, platinum eyes caught hers and she gasped as Marc hugged her from behind then whispered in her ear, “It's okay Princess, it's just me.”

  Isis leaned back into him. “I didn't hear you come in.”

  “You were deep in thought.”

  She nodded. “I was.”

  “I know this day probably feels bittersweet for you with your father not being here and your sister waiting to be sentenced.”

  Isis closed her eyes.

  “But we've taken care of everything that your father left behind. You're no longer under investigation and we're free to move on with our lives.”