They got a call from Doctor King
saying he saw you all on the boat. That’s how they were able to track you down.
Because of the other guy’s blood on the boat deck, we found a DNA match in the
system. We tracked him down and arrested him. We know who the fourth guy is,
but he’s on the run.”
“So who sent the letter to Zoë about
Todd?”
“His sister. We tracked it from the
courier company. She paid with a credit card. She didn’t think you’d believe it
if you knew it was from her.”
“She’s right about that.”
“Apparently she and Jodi Mathews
are close.”
“That’s how Todd found out I was
with you and where you lived,” Zoë murmurs.
“She says that she and Todd Hughes
aren’t seeing each other anymore, but they are close friends. She wanted to
help him.”
“I suppose she succeeded in doing
that,” Zoë replies.
“Is it safe to return home with
this one guy on the loose?”
“All thirty-four doctors were
indicted yesterday. We don’t think the last guy at this point would have
anything to gain by you being dead. We have reason to believe he left the
state. I think it’s safe to say you are free to return home.”
Two years have
passed. It’s been a rough road. After
returning to San Francisco, I needed a break from everything and everyone for a
while. Morgan and I stayed only a few days. We met with family and friends then
boarded a jet with my animals and flew to Santorini, Greece where we stayed for
six months.
Seeing Barney again was wonderful.
Although it was difficult for him to be away from Morgan, he understood why it
was necessary for us to leave without anyone’s knowledge. He was heartbroken
about his daughter.
Robin’s affair cost her her marriage,
her kids, her medical license, her freedom and, for a while, her brother.
Barney hasn’t forgiven her. Morgan stayed angry and didn’t speak to her for
almost a year, but he eventually came around. Things between them were never
quite the same. She is currently on year two of her seven-year sentence.
As for me, I respect her as Morgan’s
sister. I’m polite when she calls, but I will never forgive her for her
involvement and the role she played in my brother’s death. If she were anyone
else, I would have pushed for a heavier sentence. Nevertheless, her actions
ruined not only her life, but the entire Drake family and, most of all, her
innocent kids.
José remarried and moved on with
his life. The twins have a new stepmom and a new sister, and Morgan maintains a
relationship with all of them.
Jada and the Kole family have
become my family. They took care of Peaches and Pixie. They took care of my
business and looked out for Morgan and me during the greatest battle of our
lives. They’re at all family functions we have, and we’re at all the ones they
have.
Megan is the little sister I never
had. When we returned to San Francisco from Greece, it was just in time to meet
a healthy Zachary Charles Jenkins, who came in at seven pounds, two ounces. The
Jenkins name will live on.
I love Megan with all my heart. She’s
a wonderful mom and a great sister, but to this day, it breaks my heart that
she still has not been able to move on. Her whole life revolves around her work
and little Zach. Having been in a similar circumstance to her, I can only hope
that when the right man comes along, she will finally move on.
I still think about Zach every day.
I realized one day that if Morgan had not agreed to perform his surgery, I
would have never found out the real reason behind Zach’s death. The other
doctor who referred Zach to Morgan, the doctor who might have performed the
surgery had Morgan not done it, was one of the seven arrested at Mount Sierra
Hospital.
As promised, I, along with the
other families, filed a class action lawsuit against the hospital. It is still
in litigation, and Jonathan’s firm is handling the case.
Both Dr. Grant King and Dr. Francis
were sentenced to life in prison. The other thirty-four doctors sentences
ranged from ten to thirty years, depending on the number of procedures in which
they had participated. Every single one of them got their license revoked. They
will never work in the medical field again.
I still had a job to finish when we
went to Santorini, but for me, I needed that transition back to normal life. I
spent some of the day at work and the rest of the time with Morgan as he slowly
rebuilt his strength. And while I was not able to get Jada’s new resort open in
time for summer, it was ready at the beginning of fall.
When we returned from Santorini,
the first thing we did was visit Washington to spend some time with Abby. Two
weeks later, Morgan was on a plane to Africa on another one of his missions. I’m
so proud of him.
Robin’s clinic was shut down, but
Morgan partnered with Maria, the doctor who helped me after the fire, to open
another one together. His schedule is much the same as it was when I met
him—two days a week at the clinic, two at St. Francis Memorial and the rest of
the time he raises funds for his cause.
Leo and Trevor are no longer my
employees. They’re my partners. My old house was rebuilt and furnished; and
together with Zach’s house that he left me, we rent them both for additional
income.
I did, eventually, get around to
opening that little home décor accessory store. It has become a nice complement
to our business.
I’ve come full circle in my life,
from being angry at the world for what it took away from me, to being thankful
for what it gave back: friends, my family and everything I have in my life.
Barney and Uncle Tony have become
the dads I did not have for most of my life. Megan is my little sister, of whom
I am so protective. Though all these people I love and call my family don’t
have the same blood running through their veins, there is one little man, my
nephew, who shares my DNA.
He’s smart and bright and some of
his mannerisms remind me of Zach as a little boy and a grown man. He is the
image of Zach, but he has his mom’s blue eyes and smile.
Today is the three year anniversary
that Morgan and I met in this very house. It would have been nice to celebrate,
but he’s in Malaysia, making a real and important difference in the lives of
children. He’s been gone for two weeks, and I miss him terribly. I can’t wait
for his return home.
The plane touches
down on time for me to take my Zoë
to dinner for our anniversary. I hope my early arrival will make my beautiful
wife happy. I catch a cab home, and my mind drifts back to the day she walked
into my life three years ago.
In the weeks after my shooting, I
realized how seriously she took her vows—for better or worse, in sickness and
in health… she was there. She taught me the true meaning of the word humility.
That experience strengthened the
bond we share. She never once gave up on me. She believed in me and loved me,
despite my condition, not knowing if I would ever make it out of that coma.
Although I could not respond while
in the coma, I heard her supportive words. I also heard the fear in her voice.
I was determined, no matter what, to fight and make my way back to her. I
promised her that I’d always be there for her, and that is a promise I fully
intend to keep.
She has become the driving force in
my life. After the whole debacle with Robin, Zoë was the one who encouraged me
to go see her and to forgive her, even though I know she can’t bring herself to
do that. ‘That’s what families are supposed to do. Family forgives,’ she’d say.
And though it took me a while, I was able to forgive Robin. But I will never forget.
Things will never be the same between us again. She has ample time in prison to
think about what she did, what she lost, and how she could ever make it up to
the people that she hurt.
It’s just after 8 p.m. when the cab
pulls up to the house. Inside, with the exception of the art lights, it’s
mostly dark when I enter. Peaches greets me at the door. Pixie lies fast asleep
on the couch.
As I approach the slightly open
bedroom door, I hear moaning. Zoë lets out a soft cry. I hear her call my name.
At first, I’m a little confused, but when I push the door open, there she lies:
beautiful, naked, her legs extended far apart.
Some of her wet hair sticks around
her neck and unto her breasts, and her nipples look like large raisins that I’d
love to pop into my mouth.
Eyes closed, with one hand, she
touches her breasts. With the other, she trails her middle fingertip lightly
along her inner thigh, grazes past her core, touches the other thigh then
returns to her clit. Adding her index finger to the mix, she slowly begins
circling her folds. With each rotation, her hands become increasingly wet and
her clit becomes more and more distinct right before my eyes.
“Morgan,” she cries out softly,
rhythmically swaying her hips.
It’s a complete turn on for me,
watching my wife pleasure herself while she’s fantasizing about me. Taking off
my jacket, and releasing the buttons of my shirt, I hear the short gasps of air
that escapes her lips then the sweet sounds of her nearing her release. She
holds back, slowing the motion of her fingers.
Watching her, I release the buckle
of my belt and push my pants and underwear to the floor. Stroking myself, I
walk over to the end of the bed, observing her every move as she increasingly
gets close to her peak. When her body writhes in waves across the bed, I kneel
between her thighs, ensuring I’m not touching her. Placing my arms alongside
her head, I bend over, softly kissing her lips.
Her first response is to jolt
beneath me, but when she opens her eyes and hers meet mine, she wraps her arms
around me and pulls me into a deep kiss.
“I love you, baby.”
“I love you, too,” she whispers. “I
miss you.” Teasing my lips, our tongues swirl into a euphoric dance while I
caress her, slipping my fingers over her pleats.
She places her palms onto my ass
and raises her hips to meet mine. Her legs widen, inviting me inside. Slowly, I
sink deep within her.
“God Zoë, you feel so good.”
“Make love to me,” she says,
looking into my eyes. I slowly move into her, circling my ass and reaching
deeper, gently kissing her body, capturing her soft lips.
She lets out a gratifying gasp and
forcefully swings her hips into mine. I, too, want her desperately, yet I try
to preserve my release.
“Come on, babe.” Her soft words
kiss my neck. “I want you to come deep inside me.” At the sound of her words,
her tongue running against my neck and her nearing sounds of release, I bury
myself inside her repeatedly and with loud orgasmic cries, we both come to our
release.
Slowly, we calm.
“So…” I say looking down into her
eyes. “Were you able to see Doctor Anderson?”
“
Immm Hmmm
.”
“And?”
A bright smile beams across her
face. “The IUD has officially been removed. No more birth control.”
“So, it’s possible that we just
conceived a baby tonight?”
“I guess so,” she giggles.
Leaning into her, I kiss her lips,
“I guess in nine months we’ll see. But just to make sure we did it right, maybe
we should practice more tonight.”
A Contemporary
Romance with Elements of Suspense
Jada McLean is about to get married in nine days, when she
walks in on her fiancé in a little more than a compromising position. Days
later, she’s on a trip that she intends to be relaxing and a prelude to her
fresh start, when she runs into the rude, obnoxious, but gorgeous Jonathan
Kole.
Jonathan Kole is San Francisco’s newest District Attorney.
When he finds himself deeply attracted to a stunning beauty, he has no idea
that she’s about to get into BIG trouble with the law—and he’ll be the one
presiding over her trial. To make matters worse, his father is the lawyer
representing her in the high-profile case.
When a series of events force them together over New Year’s
weekend, Jonathan’s feelings and ethics will come into question, while Jada
comes to terms with the fact that she is falling for the man that will be
responsible for attempting to put her behind bars… Little do they know, they’re
both about to fall into a whirlwind so deep, it will send both their lives
spiraling out of control.