by Jillian Neal
Eventually, talk of the house bled into Valentine’s Day the next weekend. Vindico was apparently taking Fionna off somewhere, but it was a surprise. Emily offered a few guesses, but he gave nothing away.
Glancing at his watch, Rainer grimaced. “We better go, baby. We’re supposed to watch the twins this afternoon.”
“Oh, you should come by just for a few minutes. It would mean so much to Mom and to Keaton,” Emily extended the invitation.
Fionna raised her eyebrows hopefully as she and Vindico had a silent conversation.
“If you want to, baby doll.” Vindico didn’t seem too thrilled with the plan, but he also wasn’t going to tell Fionna no it seemed.
They pulled into the barn behind Rainer and Emily. The Governor and Connor had the twins bundled up outside on the swing set.
As soon as Keaton spied Fionna, he began kicking his legs wildly until Connor relieved the swing of his weight.
“Ni-on-na,” he sprinted towards her. Fionna lifted him up into her arms, and Keaton hugged her fiercely.
“Hey, little man.”
“Hi,” Keaton batted his long eyelashes at her.
Everyone laughed as she brushed a sweet kiss on his cheek.
He slapped his hand over his cheek with exuberance in effort to protect the kiss.
“That what Daniel does when you kiss him too, sweet girl?” the Governor teased as he made his way to the new arrivals.
“Nah, I do something a little different,” Vindico laughed.
Upon seeing the Hummer pull in, Nana called from the side porch, “Emily, sweetheart, I just finished taking in the waistline on your gown. I was hoping you’d stop by. Would Fionna mind helping you try it on once more, and I’ve got her gown finished as well.”
Emily looked thrilled as Fionna nodded her agreement. “I’m going to go help Emily, okay,” Fionna explained to Keaton. “You play with Dan and Rainer, and we’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“No!” Keaton shook his head back and forth.
“Come here, son,” the Governor lifted his son out of Fionna’s arms, “Dan might not mind you getting a few kisses, but I think we better let the girls dress on their own.”
“No,” Keaton shouted defiantly. The Governor seemed weary, but gave Keaton a look that had him quieting down.
Keaton turned and extended his hands to Dan. “I help,” he requested in a much sweeter tone.
Chuckling, Dan took Keaton from the Governor. “How’s Mrs. Haydenshire?”
Connor released Henry from his swing and walked with him towards Rainer and Vindico.
Henry bounded into Rainer’s arms. “Hey buddy,” he grinned as he scooped him up.
“Mommy is a-sleeping.”
Rainer nodded. “That’s good. She needs to rest.”
Turning back to Vindico, the Governor forced a smile. “She’s a little better. The medicine seems to be helping, but it makes her tired. I think she feels better when either I’m home or Adeline is with her. Not sure how we’re going to go on for another five weeks like this, though.”
“If Fi and I can do anything to help…” Vindico offered as visible pain hardened the Governor’s face.
“Thank you, Daniel. I appreciate it. We may have to take you up on that.”
“Just say the word.”
“I’d invite you inside, but I was trying to wear them out for their naps.” He gestured to the twins.
“We could probably help with that,” Rainer volunteered. “Henry, do you and Keaton want to play a little football?”
Keaton’s eyes lit as he nodded and wiggled down from Vindico’s grasp.
The twins sprinted into the barn and returned, each carrying a football awkwardly.
Vindico laughed, “Okay, so how does this work?”
“Come on, Dad. You need to blow off a little steam,” Connor urged his father. Connor, Rainer, and Henry squared off against Governor Haydenshire, Vindico, and Keaton for a loosely-interpreted game of football.
After a half hour of the guys running them up and down the backyard, Keaton stopped with the ball midfield to yawn deeply.
Laughing, Vindico scooped him off of the ground and ran Keaton and the ball in for a touchdown. The guys all laughed. Emily and Fionna joined in, having come out on the back deck to watch.
“I think it’s time for your nap,” the Governor instructed the twins after he caught his breath.
“I want to take a nap with Ni-on-na,” Keaton fussed pitifully.
“Ah, they start so young,” Connor teased.
Dan scrubbed Keaton’s hair. “Not a bad move though. You know, we’re just gonna take a nap. Work the pity aspect.”
As soon as they reached the deck, Keaton held his arms up to Fionna insistently.
“Here, let’s go get you cleaned up for your nap,” she eased as Keaton tucked his head on her shoulder. Emily took Henry and the ladies headed back inside.
“Thanks, girls,” the Governor called as he went into the kitchen and returned with a cold beer for everyone.
Times Past
“Do I want to know anything at all about my baby girl’s shower last night?” the Governor seemed pained to ask.
Rainer and Vindico chuckled. “Probably not sir,” Rainer supplied readily.
“I had a feeling.” The Governor drew a long sip of his beer. “And do we have Valentine’s figured out, gentlemen?”
Rainer smiled, “Actually, I’m still working on it. I just got a new idea an hour ago.”
Vindico smiled and studied the area around him. He seemed to deeply appreciate the peace and security the vast acreage and the high gates of the farm provided.
“Yeah, I rented a really nice chalet up near Deep Creek Lake in Maryland. Supposed to be very secluded, no one around for miles. Has a gourmet kitchen, a waterfall in the suite, the works.”
Governor Haydenshire and Rainer both noted the excited thrum his voice took on.
“See, sometimes hiding your relationship from the world isn’t such a bad thing,” the Governor drawled.
Vindico chuckled, though he refused to agree. “I just hope she likes it.”
The Governor smiled wryly. “The first Valentine’s Day after we married, Will was just a few weeks old, but Lillian’s parents told me they’d watch the baby so I could take her camping.” He shook his head as he recalled the story. “She didn’t want to go, but she would never have admitted that to me. And I couldn’t afford to do much else.”
“Took her out to a campsite in Great Falls.” He laughed and his face colored slightly. “Now, mind you, it was February in Virginia. It was freezing, and she’d just had a baby six weeks before.” He shook his head at his own stupidity.
“I had an ancient red canvas tent. She’d made a big pot of vegetable stew, and I’d packed embarrassingly cheap wine along with hot chocolate. We were all right for a little while. Let love keep us warm, so to speak.”
“But in the middle of the night, while I tried desperately to keep Lillian from freezing to death, and she tried desperately not to scream at me to take her home, though I definitely deserved it,” he sighed, “it started to downpour.”
Vindico and Rainer both chuckled as they envisioned themselves in the same situation.
“When the sun finally came up the next morning, we discovered that the red canvas tent bled all over everything. Our sleeping bags, our clothes, our blankets, and our skin were red for days. The campsite and my truck looked like a mud pit.” He laughed with Vindico and Rainer. “But,” he drawled with a wry grin, “that November Garrett was born, and that is still one of Lillian’s favorite stories to retell. So I guess it all depends on how you look at things.”
“And does Garrett know the story of his conception?” Vindico continued to chuckle.
“Are you kidding me? He’s our favorite person to tell, especially after all the hell he put us through when he was growing up.”
Fionna and Emily returned to the deck. They were both beaming. “That is the most beaut
iful gown I’ve ever seen!”
“Thank you.” Emily moved to Rainer and he wrapped his arms around her. “I can’t believe I get to actually wear it for real soon.”
Sudden emotion reddened the Governor’s eyes. He swallowed harshly as he gazed at Emily. Rainer felt fear and sadness wash over her as she took in her father’s expression.
She pulled away from Rainer and wrapped her hands around her father’s neck. “I love you Daddy.”
Governor Haydenshire’s eyes closed tightly as he hugged her. “I love you too, baby girl, more than you’ll ever know.”
Fionna blinked back tears as well. She could feel the emotion swirl around her. Vindico wrapped her up in his arms, eliciting a smile.
Deciding that they would tell the Governor later that he and Emily were moving off of the farm, Rainer smiled at them both.
Emily pulled away as the Governor kissed her forehead. “You’re sure you like your dress?” she asked Fionna.
“Are you kidding me? This will be the first time I’ve been a bridesmaid that I’m actually excited to wear the dress.”
“Good! I want my girls to look hot.”
Everyone laughed as she effectively broke through the sentimental sadness that had set upon the group.
“Adeline voted for the bouquets with the ribbon, so you’re sure that’s the one you like as well?”
“Yes, they’re beautiful,” Fionna assured her again.
“But you don’t think we should give the twins the actual rings?” Emily turned to question her father.
He laughed heartily. “No, baby girl, not unless your goal is to never see them again, because giving your little brothers the wedding bands and turning them loose in our fields would be a recipe for disaster.”
“Oh, are you going to give them each one of those little pillows to carry fake ones on?” Fionna leapt back in the conversation.
Emily giggled, “Well Nana and I tried that, but they just kept hitting each other with the pillows. So I think I came up with something better. I’ll tell you later.”
Fionna grinned broadly as she nodded.
Rainer could feel the excited energy roll off of both of the ladies.
“Aww, I want to get married,” Fionna admitted wistfully, but then suddenly seemed to realize what she’d just said.
The original version of the Haydenshire smirk lit the Governor’s face. He stared Vindico down.
Fionna immediately back peddled. “Uh, I mean not anytime soon or anything. Just at some point in the future. You know… like a long, long time from now.” She stammered over her words. Terror broadcast from her features.
Rainer stared steadfastly at the ground, not wanting to give anything away. But Vindico chuckled over Fionna’s heartfelt declaration and her ensuing panic.
“Hmm,” he took her hands and pulled her back to him, letting her hide her face against his chest. “We’ll have to see what we can do about that.”
Everyone watched stunned disbelief wash over Fionna.
Exhaustion clouded Rainer’s mind as he fell into his desk Monday morning.
Logan was on his cell. “Yeah, I was just checking the room for Friday night. Uh huh,” Logan agreed with whatever the clerk was telling him.
Rainer knew that Logan planned on taking Adeline to the Georgetown Inn for Valentine’s. It was probably the most romantic hotel in D.C., and Valentine’s reservations were nearly impossible to come by.
Logan had worked his Crown Governor’s son angle and managed to get one of the nicest suites.
“Nope, that sounds perfect. I really appreciate you accommodating us.” The grin on Logan’s face let most of the office know his plans for Valentine’s Day had less to do with the actual suite and more to do with what he planned to do once they’d arrived.
A minute later, Logan ended the call and dialed another number. “I just wanted to check our reservations for Friday night,” Logan explained again. “By the windows over the water. Great thanks,” Logan ended that call as the Governor strode through the Iodex wing towards his office.
“How’s Mom?” Logan asked as he set his cell on the desk. A grin formed on the Governor’s face. “Much better. ”He sounded thrilled. “Whatever medication and casting schedule Adeline figured out seems to be the key. She was able to get up last night, even have a cup of tea without her blood pressure spiking, and little Abigail’s monitoring stayed stable. I’m hoping she’ll just continue to improve.”
“Good.” Logan was genuinely relieved, but then teased, “Because I slept with Keaton’s foot in my face most of the night.”
The twins had stayed over with Logan, Adeline, Rainer, and Emily the night before in hopes that if they were out of the house Mrs. Haydenshire might calm even more.
Emily had fixed them a pallet on the floor, but the boys decided they would prefer to sleep with Rainer and Logan. Henry had wiggled between Rainer and Emily, shoving Emily off of Rainer’s chest forcefully and then taking her spot.
Keaton had demanded to sleep with Logan and Adeline by jumping on the mattress and refusing to leave the bed.
The Governor laughed heartily, “Just think about that feeling for a good long time before you and Adeline decide to make me a grandpa again.”
“Yeah, right now, sleeping through the night sounds really good to me.”
“Sleeping through the night,” the Governor drawled with a goading grin, “Don’t think I’ve done that in, say, the last thirty years or so.”
“Sorry,” Rainer and Logan offered quickly.
Governor Haydenshire laughed. “I suppose you were worth it.”
Rainer hadn’t heard the Crown Governor joke so lightheartedly in weeks. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed it.
~Dan Vindico~
A knock sounded on Dan’s door at three Wednesday afternoon. Annoyed with the constant interruptions that day, Dan huffed, “What?”
“Sorry, but we gotta talk.” Ryan Tuttle slid into the office closing the door behind him.
Dan tossed down the pen he’d been abusing for the past ten minutes as he’d watched money be moved from one Interfeci account to another. He’d been planning on shutting one down, but his gut told him to wait. Something else was coming.
“Okay, talk.” He stopped short of rolling his eyes. Tuttle was an outstanding officer, and a hell of a detective. His undercover work was stellar, but he got on Dan’s last nerve with his risky stunts and wild lifestyle.
“It’s Bridgette, Dan. She’s acting weird, and Nic is way too comfortable with her. Keeps tipping her higher and higher for dances, walks her to his car, shit like that. You think she’s two timing us?”
“Nic’s been at the club?”
Momentary panic spiked his blood before he remembered the precautions he’d set up expecting this. Bridgette knew very little about Iodex. He’d lied to her with ease. Given her outlandish stories that he sincerely hoped she’d share with Wretchkinsides. As long as she kept Iodex supplied with as many facts as she could, he’d keep paying her for spying. But Nic wasn’t supposed to be back in the States for another week. The emails confirmed that. He’d been spending time in Berlin.
“Yeah, he was there today. I followed him to the O’Ryans. He checked in on Marlisa then headed back out on his jet. He’s probably back in Berlin now. But he flew Malacai in with him, and he didn’t go back.”
Dan drummed his fingers on his desk. “I don’t give a shit. Bridgette doesn’t know anything. She’s given us a few good pictures, but we can do this without her help. I should never have gotten her into this anyway.”
“You mean you should never have slept with her to get her to spy for us.” Tuttle corrected him with a smirk.
Dan shuddered and all but gagged over the truth. “If we can break ties with her, I’m all for it. She doesn’t know about Fi. That’s all that matters.”
Tuttle nodded his understanding. “You still want me to keep tabs over there and with her?”
“For a little while. As long
as she’s safe, that’s all we owe her. She wants to become one of Nic’s pets, who am I to stop her? He’s certainly got enough money to keep her happy, as long as she doesn’t mind his pesky habit of fucking dozens of women and killing them off if they get on his nerves.”
Tuttle stared at him for a long drawn moment. “I don’t think I’d wish that on anyone, Dan. What’s wrong with you?”
If Ryan Tuttle was questioning his morals, maybe he had gone several steps too far. “Sorry. I’m just sick to death of this. I could arrest Nic for forging Governor Lawson’s custody docs, but I need Pravus and Pendergrath first. I constantly feel like I’m beating my head against a brick wall.”
“Maybe lay off a little. That brick wall is fucking you up, man.”
Long Day
~Rainer Lawson~
By 3:30 Friday afternoon, everyone sat in their desks logging everything they’d found in another safe house that Mitchell O’Ryan had informed Vindico of. His father was out of prison now, thanks to Mitchell, and he was helping as well. Marlisa, Wretchkinsides’ daughter, was still staying with the O’Ryans, so their help was truly at the cost of their own necks.
Rainer yawned. He rubbed his eyes. Vindico had planned the raid with precision. Elite Iodex busted through the front and back doors at three that morning in the cover of darkness.
They’d arrested four relatively low-level members of Interfeci, and then had gone through the house with a fine-tooth comb.
Fire arms, vials of altered methamphetamines, about a dozen laptops, and two file cabinets that Vindico had loaded up into the evidence truck had been brought back to Iodex.
Everyone but Vindico was lagging. They’d been up since midnight. Vindico looked as if he was being physically rent in two as he watched the clock tick closer and closer to five.
As it was Valentine’s Day, he was well aware that all of his officers would demand to leave on time for the many varied reservations and activities they were participating in with their dates. That, coupled with the fact that Fionna texted every few minutes, had him on edge. He worked his jaw rhythmically as he stood over the men trying to hack into the laptops with Ramier. He’d personally shattered the locks on the filing cabinets and was going through every file he found.