by Lannah Smith
“About your plan…” Alec started but Christopher shook his head.
“Martha won’t like it. Everyone won’t like it. But I promised April I’ll give her clean. They’ll all have to accept it.”
“I’ll be with you every step of the way,” Alec promised. “I’ll help you.”
He smiled. “I’m counting on it. How’s your woman anyway?” he asked when Alec pushed the door open.
Alec’s smile instantly vanished.
“Don’t ask,” he grumbled. “And she’s not my woman.”
The hospital room was mingled with the sobs of people who had come to love April. Christopher entered the full room and her eyes went directly to him.
She knew where he had gone.
Her eyes narrowed on him.
He gave her an innocent smile in return.
Fortunately, she let this go.
Leon, Rohan and John were here with their women. They also knew where he had gone.
"Your shit together?" Leon whispered when he stood and gave him a one-armed hug.
"Barely," Christopher whispered back honestly.
Leon pulled away his face worried. But before he could speak, April took their attention.
"When am I getting out of here?" she demanded, her angry gaze on Christopher.
"Until the doctor says your fine, honey," he told her, detaching from Leon and making his way over to her, dodging weeping women who were seated on the chairs of her room
"It's just a concussion," April argued when he sat next to her and kissed her.
"You shouldn't underestimate concussions," Emmy scolded. "What if you have some brain injury we don't know about? You need to be in complete health before they discharge you, April."
April glared at her. "It's been two days. He's just keeping me here so you can all cry and nag at me."
"Oh, excuse me for the waterworks," Terry snapped. "I just couldn't help it. You see, the tears just come naturally whenever I think about your brilliant plan of getting yourself killed."
April's glare returned to Christopher. "You shouldn't have told them about that."
He didn't dare say a word. Having come directly from prison, his anger was still fresh as a flower bud about to bloom and he still felt that he was close to being totally out of control.
It was Sophia who answered her.
"Leon told me and I told them," Sophia, in an uncharacteristic display of anger, crossed her arms and glowered at April. "I can't believe you. What kind of stupid plan was that? Did you think dying would make us feel any better? Did you think...?" she trailed off, her face cracking and the tears started around the room again.
Christopher breathed low. The reminder was pushing him near the brink of explosion. Rohan was giving him a worried glance and John leaned forward on the chair, ready to put him on lockdown if needed be. Her fingers found his on his lap then and he felt her curl her hand around his. It calmed him a little.
"I had to do something," April muttered quietly back. "I thought you were all hurt or worse, dead. You didn’t know how terrified and devastated I was because my worst fear came true again. I brought harm to the people that I care for again."
"But we don't blame you," Emmy insisted, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. "We never did."
"I don't even know how to thank you for still accepting me," April replied in a small voice.
"You breathing is enough thanks," Terry responded. "So don't ever think about sacrificing yourself, you got me?"
She was shouting at April again.
Luckily, it didn't upset April.
With a look of deep exasperation, she looked around for anyone in the room who could help placate the women. Rohan shook his head when their eyes met.
"Happy wife, happy life," Rohan told her, giving Emmy another tissue. "I learned that from Leon."
"Suckers," April grumbled.
John rolled his eyes as he straightened and put a hand around Terry’s shoulders. "It might be worth the effort for you but it's not worth the headache Terry will give me when we get home. So just let them get it all out. You did do something unnecessary, April. We weren’t just sitting ducks for your father. You know who we are. What we do. And you insulted us when you immediately assumed that we were helpless. I can take care of us and save your ass without dropping a sweat and we were more worried about you than—."
“Do you realize you’re shouting, John?” Terry said, giving him a side-glare.
John heaved a deep sigh. “It’s because April still has the ability to drive us crazy.”
“Crazy with worry,” Sophia clarified.
"Hannah already gave me the same complaints but without tears, thank God," April said, leaning against Christopher's side.
Terry snatched the fourth tissue Rohan offered to Emilia and blew her nose unladylike. "Where is she anyway?"
"Paris. She couldn't cancel it." April turned and slapped Christopher on the shoulder with the back of her hand. "How about you? Aren't you going to get rid of all them?"
Christopher lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. "You're loved," he pointed out. "So just suck it up, honey."
Her face was annoyed but her eyes were warm. "They're making me feel guilty."
"You should be."
"I knew it. You planned this. That's why you're not taking me home."
"I don’t like scolding you so I’m letting them do it," she opened her mouth to speak but he went on, “And you're actually going home tomorrow morning.”
She smiled then.
And Christopher felt himself completely relax.
He looked around the room. His eyes met Rohan's. Rohan was smiling at him.
"Don't do that shit again," Rohan had told him the night before. "Don't keep secrets from us again. You know the sun rises and sets for us, for Emmy, for April through you. If anything happens to you, it'll kill us, Skull."
Christopher ruffled Rohan's hair, just like he used to when they were teenagers. Rohan slapped his hand away. "
"I don't want you to get hurt. That’s why I didn’t let you interfere."
"Who likes getting hurt?" Rohan fired back. "You're the only masochist around here, mad dog."
It was no longer a surprise that Rohan knew about his nickname in the underworld. When April was taken and when they found his grandfather with a hole on his chest, Leon, John and Rohan did everything they could to help him, with or without his expressed permission. He had no choice but to let them in on what was going in his head, they were threatening to put him on lockdown if he didn’t keep it together. John lent him the full power of his security detail, including his ex-military butler/bodyguard, Vincent Bennington. Rohan helped him get a lock on where April was kept by hacking into their communications. And Leon made sure that the repercussions of their actions won’t be taken as illegal so they wouldn’t be sent to prison themselves, so April could have Christopher clean and free when she was saved.
Leon was bending laws to help Christopher, risking his career as well did Rohan and John. They risked their lives as well. They risked actually violating the law just to make Edward Locke lose everything he held precious. All for him.
Because they were brothers.
They had also, without his knowledge, gathered and piled up evidences against Edward Locke, so many charges that would support their case against that old bastard that he won’t ever be able to step out of prison as long as he lived.
When he returned to the room alone after seeing their friends off, April was sitting next to the window, looking out into the darkness. She was holding a daisy in her hand.
“Honey?”
Christopher moved to squat in front of her chair, reaching for her hand, and she turned her head.
He thought she was brooding.
But when her eyes hit his, they looked happy.
Really, really happy.
Her arms went around his shoulders. Her head dipped and she kissed him.
Saying, “You know I’m yours forever, right?
”
And that sounded even better than her saying she loved him.
It was over.
Life had given both of them enough heartache. Christopher knew that life with April was still going to be far from easy but that didn't mean it wasn't going to be beautiful.
She had pronounced the sentence on their future. He was going to savor the sweet taste of having her fill his life.
His hand at the back of her neck, he brought her lips down to his once again.
And Christopher was going to do that forever.
Chapter 76
“I know you don’t want a party but that’s what you’re getting,” Emilia was telling me as she sipped on her take-away matcha tea cup on the sofa.
Letting out a sigh, I sat next to her and put on my shoes. “I already told you. I don’t want a party.”
“I don’t see why. It’s only going to be us.”
“You’re making a big deal out of this.”
“We should,” she urged, shaking my arm as I straightened. “You’re getting out of the hospital.”
“You mean this isn’t about my father getting incarcerated?” I lifted a brow.
She frowned at me. “He’s still your father, April. We’re not that thoughtless. And if you’re making me feel guilty just to get me to cancel the party then I’m not, you know.”
Christopher chuckled. He had just finished a call and looked at us.
“They’re not letting you play them, honey.”
“I know,” I sighed. “It’s unfortunate.”
“Unfortunate that we’re finally calling you on your bullshit?” Emilia asked, raising her brows.
I gave her a look. “Yes.”
“You know, it would really suck if you survived murder only to get strangled by your best friend,” Emilia observed.
“I thought we were sisters?” I teased.
“On a good day, yes.”
Laughing, my gaze swung to Christopher. Christopher had a small smile playing about his mouth as he looked at the two of us. Then I looked at my bags on the bed, reminding me that I was leaving the hospital today.
That I was going home.
I smiled at the thought.
To my new home with Christopher, where I belonged.
"There it is," Emilia whispered.
My smiled died when I returned my gaze to her and saw bright fill her eyes. “What?”
"I finally saw it," she said.
"What?" I repeated worriedly, grabbing her hand.
"The happiest smile on your face." She paused to swallow with difficulty. "I had... I had always wished to see that on your face and I finally did." She squeezed my hand back. "I finally did." Then she looked at Christopher. "Thank you, Skull."
“It wasn’t just me, Emmy.” Christopher walked over to sit next to her. "It was a group effort," he said with a grin as he put an arm around her shoulders. "Please don't cry," he went on when she looked like she was about to bawl. "Rohan will kill me if you do. Said you're always crying and barely smiling."
"Nothing is wrong with the baby, right?" I asked her worriedly.
She shook her head. "I know there's nothing wrong and we're doing everything to make sure nothing's wrong but at the back of my mind, there's a lot of what-ifs stored, you know."
"Oh, I know," I muttered, thinking about the past. "But all of you made me learn to think positively. To think of the outcome, I desire rather than the bad things. So, if you are still afraid, talk to your husband, to me, to us. We're here for you."
Brighter filled her eyes and she blinked them away. "I'm going to depend on you more than you’ll ever depend on me these coming months. Eonni."
Eonni.
I dropped my head, blinking rapidly to stop the tears that were pricking at the backs of my eyes.
I succeeded in this effort.
God, it felt great to still have someone I could call family. Even if we didn’t share the same blood, I would always treat Emilia as my little sister. And she would always treat me as her big sister too.
On this thought, the door open and Alec walked in. My eyes darted to him and he didn’t even look at me when he asked, "Are you ready to leave?"
He was still disappointed. In me, in himself, I wasn’t certain anymore. And he was also avoiding my gaze.
Christopher nodded, gave Emmy one last hand squeeze before he stood up to get the bags. "Let's get April home." Then he looked at me. "And by home, I mean our new house next to Rohan and Emmy's."
A big smile spread across my face. I stood and slid my arms loosely about his body. "Really?"
His gaze was warm when he looked down at me. "Yeah, honey. You'll love it."
"I already do."
"There's a lovely garden at the back."
I smiled happily back at me. "I love you so much."
"I love you too," he said, mouth smiling, eyes dancing. Happy.
Alec cleared his throat. We turned our heads to him. Looking impatient, he said, "Let's move, people."
Emilia, whose face had a tender look on it, sighed and gave him a frown. "They were having a moment, Alec."
"They can have a moment when they get home." Alec declared, moving to assist her when she got up the sofa. "And you need to go to your OB now. Your husband will meet you there after he picks up your sister."
She sighed prettily again. "My husband..." she murmured wistfully. "I still can't believe I'm married and having a baby with the love of my life. When are you two getting married anyway?"
Christopher and I exchanged glances.
Then we smiled.
"Soon," we both answered her.
Thrilled, she wobbled to me and hugged me. Then Alec accompanied her out the door to her OB.
“Does your grandfather know that I’m getting out today?” I asked Christopher in the elevator.
“He does.”
“I should have gone to see him before we left.”
Christopher laughed. “We should. But he’s currently getting another scan so we can’t go visit anyway.”
Christopher’s grandfather still did not like me.
But considering he saved my life by putting that device on me, I was going to like him no matter what. And he would have no choice but to like me back too. His wife, Christopher’s grandmother, already adored me even before all this madness despite her husband openly showing his dislike of me. And I could put on the charms when I wanted to.
Good things were coming our way.
And I was going to finish what I started.
My eyes strayed to Alec who was waiting for us out the hospital and I smiled. He lifted a brow at me. My smile grew bigger.
I was going to start with him.
His face was one of bewilderment when I hurried ahead to the car. I was ready to start my life again and somewhere, I knew my mother and Dan were smiling.
“Be careful!” Christopher called out when I crossed the hospital driveway without looking at the sides.
“Jesus, April,” I heard Alec mutter and I let out a laugh. Happiness was making me feel reckless. But I shouldn’t worry them too much so I slowed down.
The sound of tires screeching on the pavement made my head turn. A muscle car turned at high speed into the driveway.
Then shots rang out as a gun popped out of the window.
My body froze, heard startled cries and screams but my eyes stayed riveted on the man jumping out of the moving car. Even at a distance, I recognized him.
My father.
Advancing at me, smoking gun drawn.
Time slowed for me again.
Christopher was screaming my name at the top of my lungs. He was running towards me. My father raised his gun once more and took aim. But it wasn't pointed at me. His next bullet was meant for Christopher. My lungs seized and I felt the blood drain out of my face.
Then I finally moved.
"No!"
The bullet struck my chest just as I moved forward, arms wide, to protect Christopher.
My b
ody jerked back as pain and fire ripped through me.
Just as I was falling, I saw my father's body flinch when bullets rained on him.