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  I exit and find Baxter standing against a wall right across from the double-doored entrance to the room.

  “All clear?” he asks me.

  “Yes,” I answer quietly, and we walk back downstairs and to the waiting car. The car takes me to a private residence belonging to an ex-con turned FBI informant that owes Jack a favor. I’m to stay here until tonight when there is a party on the premise, and I can be whisked away in a car unseen and untracked.

  “They’ll be watching you,” Baxter says as we get out and enter the house.

  “I know,” I say, and he leads me into a wood-paneled study where Jack sits.

  “You did good,” he says. “We didn’t get anything on him, but we’ll be able to track his movements thanks to that handshake. But we did get Hank. He’ll be arrested within the next three days.” Jack had me slip some sort of dissolvable tracer onto the cuff of Ben’s shirt as we shook hands. They are now tracking him. I am debriefed by Jack and then in the late afternoon, as guests start arriving, I’m smuggled out to a waiting car that is exiting from dropping off a guest.

  “For the next two days, no one will come or go from Jesse’s house,” Jack announces to me as we pull into Jesse’s compound. “We need to find out what Ben is up to. I don’t think we’ll need your services again, but if we do, are you up for it?”

  I nod and grimace at the same time. I was very much hoping this would be behind me now.

  The house is quiet when I return. Jack heads upstairs, and I walk out back. I find everyone lounging by the pool and hot tub. The kids are splashing around, and my sister is relaxing on a lounge chair next to Zoe, my mom, and Vanessa. Melissa splashes Leidy in the pool, and Lance and Cody each have a twin. My uncle is sitting in the hot tub, talking on a cell phone. It all looks so normal. I’m suddenly uncertain of how to handle my onslaught of fear. I start to slowly walk back into the house, but Melissa catches my movement.

  “Hey, you’re back,” she yells, and everyone turns to look at me. I put on a fake smile as fast as possible and walk forward toward them.

  “Hey,” I say as she gets out of the pool and walks toward me, grabbing a towel on the way.

  She wraps her arms around my waist. I lean down and kiss the top of her wet head. She smells of chlorine, sunscreen, and her own unique scent. I inhale, and it calms me. My sudden panic attack vanishing as I wrap my arms around her.

  “Hey, beautiful,” I whisper in her ear. I can feel her lips curve in a smile against my chest.

  “I missed you,” she whispers back and lifts her head to look up at me.

  I lean down and plant a kiss on the tip of her nose. “I missed you too.”

  “Are you alright?” she asks me, cocking her head to one side.

  “I’m fine now,” I say to her and she gives me a look. “I’m fine, really,” I repeat, trying to sound like I mean it.

  She squeezes me tighter, and we stand like this for a moment, until Leidy starts yelling for me to join them in the pool. I laugh, leave it to a kid to break through an intense situation.

  After dinner, Melissa and I retire to the yacht. I’m completely drained, and I need to distance myself from my family. I flip on the satellite television. I find an old movie. Mel curls up with me on the bed, and we watch in silence.

  “Are you going to talk about whatever is bothering you?” she asks me as the movie credits begin to roll.

  I pause, unsure how to maneuver this minefield. “Mel, there’s a lot going on, and I just want to keep everyone safe. I don’t want to keep anything from you, but I just can’t talk about certain things yet. Do you understand?” I ask her.

  She shakes her head but then stops and nods. “Actually, I do,” she whispers. Her eyes seem to be telling me something, and I wish I could understand what that is.

  “Good,” I say to her.

  I lean down and kiss her slowly, letting only our lips touch. Then something in me snaps and I run my tongue over her lips and claim her mouth as mine when she opens to me. The kiss takes on its own life. We begin to strip off the clothes we are wearing until we are naked and lying skin against skin. Melissa feels so warm in my hands, her skin so smooth and soft. It’s a balm over the blistering hot wounds from my day. I caress her arms, her breasts, her belly, and slowly trail south until I feel the wet heat on my fingers. I circle her clit with my finger until she’s begging me to make her come. I move down her body and suck her clit into my mouth, flicking it over and over with my tongue, while I slowly move my finger in and out of her. I don’t stop when she starts to tremble. I still don’t stop when she screams out my name. I do it again until she begs me to be inside her.

  Not wanting to disappoint my lady, I comply, and move up her body, impaling her as I go. I feel her body tense for a split second and then her tight grip on me loosens just enough for me to begin thrusting in and out of her, losing myself.

  I feel like I could go on forever. After making her come, I flip her over onto her knees and take her from behind. I use her wetness to circle her anus, slowly working a finger inside. She tenses again but then presses back against me. I work on her for a while and then slowly add a second finger. It feels so good. I can feel my cock in her pussy as I pump my fingers in and out of her tight ass.

  “I want you here,” I growl in her ear.

  “OK,” she says. I stop.

  “OK?” I ask her, unsure I heard her correctly.

  She turns and looks back at me. “Yes, OK,” she repeats.

  I nod. I’ve done this a few times, and I know I need to do it right or I’ll hurt her. I reach over her to the bedside drawer and find a bottle of lube, nice, Uncle J. I pour it on my fingers and keep working her until I feel she’s slick and ready. I take my other fingers and place them in her pussy after I pull out and I slowly begin to work my cock in her tight ass. It’s so tight that I nearly come twice while trying to get all the way inside, but then I push past her tight muscles. I feel her relax just enough for me to begin to move.

  “Oh, beautiful, you feel so good,” I moan as I move inside her. I pull my fingers from her pussy and reach around her, inserting them again, feeling my cock from the other side. I crook my finger and find the deep bundle of nerves inside, and I begin to stroke them as my cock pushes in and out of her ass. She’s breathing hard now, and I know she’s close, but I need her there now, her tight muscles are pushing me over the edge.

  “Come for me, beautiful,” I say to her as I thrust once more, my fingers in her pussy are moving so fast. When I hear her cry out, I let go, howling into the night.

  After I clean her up in the shower, we lie back in the bed. I hold her until we both fall asleep.

  The next morning, I find Lily sitting down at the end of the dock. I walk down to her and sit, bumping her arm.

  “Hey,” I say to her.

  “Hey,” she says, she’s biting her bottom lip and I know she’s in her Lily zone.

  “What’s up?”

  “Just thinking,” she says as she stares out at the water and swings her legs back and forth over the edge of the dock.

  “About…?” I prod.

  She shrugs. “You never keep things from me,” she says quietly, and I know that she knows something is up.

  “I want to protect you,” I explain.

  “From what?” she asks, finally looking into my eyes.

  “From everything,” I admit.

  Lily sighs. “It’s about Ben isn’t it?” she asks. I know our twin telepathy is too strong to hide this from her any longer.

  I hold up my pinky finger and a small smile crosses her face as we hook pinkies. We keep them hooked and stare at each other just as we did when we were kids.

  “Ben is in D.C. and Jack had me meet with him,” I say to her.

  “I see,” she answers but doesn’t elaborate.

  “He wanted me to try to get Ben to think that I was taking over Dad’s business and wanted to partner with him,” I say.

  “Did he believe you?” she asks.
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br />   “I don’t know. I think so,” I say.

  “Nick?” Lily asks, her eyes large in her small face. “I get the feeling that something bad is going to happen.”

  “I do too,” I admit out loud for the first time.

  “Please be careful,” she tells me.

  “I’ll try,” I say and then I pull her into a big hug. We hug each other, clinging onto one another like when we were little.

  “I love you, Nicky-poo,” she says into my ear.

  “I love you too, Lilypond.”

  She leans her head on my shoulder, and we sit and stare out at the water for another few minutes. Neither of us says anything. Then Lily gets up and, without any fanfare, she walks back up to the house and the chaos of our family inside of it.

  I stay out on the dock a while longer until I feel a cool shadow blocking the sun from my back. I turn to find Mel standing behind me.

  “Good morning,” she says.

  “Good morning,” I respond, and I stand and pull her into my arms. I breathe in her scent and it calms me.

  “Hungry?” she asks, motioning toward the house with her head.

  I smile. “Yes, let’s go get breakfast.”

  The day seems so normal. The kids are playing in the pool again. The women are gathered in the kitchen cooking some sort of grand dinner. Lance and Cody splash the kids from the edge of the pool. Jesse sits on a lounge chair looking over reports from his company. And Jack and I sit at the outdoor bar sipping scotch and watching our family. The only odd thing is the occasional movement of Pierce, Baxter, Dean, or Bryce as they keep the perimeter of the yard secured from, well, I know what. I’m really just skeptical that we need so much security on top of the normal security Jesse and Vanessa have at the house. They must be working in shifts because I haven’t seen Silas, Dexter, or Riley today.

  “You OK?” he asks me after watching me from the corner of his eye for at least ten minutes.

  “Yeah,” I huff.

  “Nick, it’s OK to be scared, you know?” he states.

  “I know, Jack. And trust me, I am,” I admit.

  Jack sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I just want to end this, but we need to follow through with Ben, and I need to find out who the mole is at my office,” he says.

  “Any ideas?” I ask him.

  “Some suspects, but nothing yet. I have Walsh holed up looking into some stuff for me.”

  I clink my glass against his. “Well, here’s to hoping you find this shit out sooner rather than later, so we can bury this fucker and move on with our lives.”

  “Cheers to that, mate,” Jack says as we both take long sips of our drinks.

  By the time dinner is ready, I am ready to eat an entire turkey myself. I realized by three in the afternoon, that I’d not eaten since breakfast, but by then the ladies told me to wait. So, I resumed my liquid diet until I was beckoned inside with everyone else.

  The food laid out in the dining room looks amazing. It is literally like Thanksgiving dinner only better. Each of them had cooked their favorite meal. Melissa made a lasagna. Vanessa made a turkey complete with roasted vegetables. My mom made some homemade manicotti. Lily made a plate of panini. Zoe made pizzas. And Joanie made a bunch of side salads.

  Everyone digs into the food, and by the time the sun is setting, we lie around the house like overstuffed pigs.

  “That was amazing!” Zoe says laughing and rubbing her belly.

  “Lance?” Lily says, turning to her husband. “I regret to inform you. I’m pregnant…with a food baby. Possibly twins.”

  “That’s OK, beautiful, ’cause I’m having triplets,” he laughs and pulls her against him.

  The twins are passed out on the floor, and Leidy is sitting in the corner reading a book.

  “I think I’m going to turn in,” I announce after attempting to eat one more bite of a pie that was put out after all the main courses were done.

  Everyone grunts and slowly we all say goodnight and head to our respective corners. Mel and I pass out without much fanfare.

  Chapter 16

  Nick’s Playlist: “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People

  Present Day

  When I wake to find Mel missing, my heart literally skips a beat. I’m worried even more after searching the house. I can tell by the grim faces of Bryce, Dean, Baxter, Pierce, Jack, and Jesse that they are concerned about our security situation and that has me on edge.

  But now, as I watch Bryce walking toward the figure down the beach from us, I’m holding my breath and hoping it is Melissa. He has just cleared the far side of the house when a fireball comes bursting from the back windows.

  It’s like everything is in slow motion after that. I can see the flames, and I can see Bryce. He grabs whoever it is, and they both hit the ground. I can’t make out who it is from the distance and dark, and now I’m confused and shell-shocked from the explosion. I run toward the flames. Jesse is at the back door which is now missing glass. I can see flames inside. It’s in that moment that the skies open and rain begins pouring down on me and the flames creating giant clouds of black smoke. Lightning strikes near the barn on the property. I hear horses whinnying in the distance.

  “Get back, Nick,” he yells as he ushers Vanessa and Lily outside. Joanie runs from the guesthouse next door. A second later Pierce, Baxter, and Dean are on the back deck. “Joanie, take them out to the water.”

  Joanie goes to pull Vanessa and Lily back, but Lily starts screaming. “The kids! The kids!” she cries and tries to run back inside.

  Lance and Cody come barreling up next. Lance pulls Lily back. He grips her tightly in his arms and looks over her checking her for injury. Her face breaks as she sees him. “I’m fine. The kids,” she sobs. I see the anguished look in Lance’s face. He nods and runs inside, followed by Cody who starts yelling for Zoe. I realize then that I hadn’t seen Zoe or the kids yet. My stomach drops. Silas, Dexter, and Riley are running down the drive from the front of the property. Pierce is barking orders at them. I feel as though I’m in the center of a vortex as chaos swirls around me. I am snapped out of my trance by Jesse’s voice.

  “Take Lily,” Jesse says as he leads Vanessa away toward the side yard. Joanie follows them, while Baxter, Pierce, and Dean run in after Lance. I look around at the chaos. The back of the house is a giant open deck surrounding a cement patio around the pool. A screened-in room is on the right side. A giant lawn runs down a hill to the beach, which is on the left and the dock which is on the right next to a smaller beach that is abutted by the woods. There are people running everywhere. It’s hard to make out who is who in the darkness.

  I grab Lily, and she goes limp in my arms. I carry her down toward the beach where it meets the tree line just a stone’s throw from the yacht. I contemplate putting her on the yacht but decide staying out in the open is better. The lightning makes me pull us back further from the open water. I tuck us close to the trees, but not under them. I start scanning for a safer place to go.

  Bryce is running up toward the house now. I’m hoping the figure slumped on the ground is Melissa, but I know I can’t leave Lily yet to check. My heart is beating a mile a minute.

  Lily is slumped on the ground and crying. I lean down and gently pat her shoulder. I look up and see Cody run out of the house carrying Zoe. She clings to him. She’s covered in soot and she’s coughing but appears to otherwise be fine. Then I see Lance carrying the twins, and Baxter carrying Leidy. Leidy isn’t moving and my heart stops.

  I’m about to run up to them when the yacht explodes. I watch as everyone stumbles from the shock of the blast.

  Lily and I fall back from the blast. The flames are licking so close to us it feels like we are trapped in an inferno. The dock becomes covered with flames in a matter of seconds. And a wall of fire is separating us from everyone else. I look around desperately searching for safety. Lily is still sobbing and trying to get away from me, so she can head back toward the house. I can sense her absolute fear, and
I can feel my own heart beating hard against my ribs.

  I realize we need to go back toward the woods and around. I pull Lily, practically dragging her, toward the tree line. The wind is whipping around us and the thunder is deafening. I’m not sure if she’s even registered her kids are safe, let alone the blast. As I pull her up and turn in toward the forest, I sense a motion to our left and then everything goes black.

  Chapter 17

  Nick’s Playlist: “This Is War” by 30 Seconds to Mars

  The first thing I register is that my head is killing me. The next thing that registers is that I am lying on a cold cement floor. I pry my eyes open. I’m surrounded by darkness. I scramble to my knees and realize my hands are tied behind my back.

  “Lily?” I ask, my voice reverberating into the emptiness of the room.

  I hear a groan, and then I feel something warm against my knees.

  “Lily?” I ask again.

  “N-Nick?” Lily stutters. “Where are we?”

  “I don’t know, Lily. Do you remember anything after the yacht exploded?”

  “No,” she whispers. “Oh God, Nick, the kids.”

  “They got out. I saw them,” I say to her. I don’t mention Leidy’s limp body. I just pray she was unconscious from the smoke.

  “Thank God,” she says. “What…where are we?”

  “Lily, we need to figure out where we are, and then we need to get out of here,” I tell her. I know something isn’t right. I know in my gut we are in danger.

  I’m about to start feeling my way around the room when a light goes on and momentarily blinds me.

  “Hello, Liliana. I do believe you need to introduce me to Nicholas,” a deep voice says. I open my eyes and see Lily first. She’s pale, her eyes wide, and she’s trembling. I follow her gaze to the other side of the room. All the breath leaves my body.

  “Nicholas,” my father says as he gazes at me. “I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting before. However, I understand you are already poised to take over the family business.” He leans forward, examining me closer and he laughs. “Too bad I’m not quite ready to relinquish control yet.”