Yours Book 3: Life Mastered (13 page)

“When I went off to boarding school I started my detail with him. When his world fell apart, the truth came to light. Nick and I were already really close. He knew what I wanted to do with my life so he fronted me the money on two conditions….

I finish the rest of the story and laugh when Jas replies with, “Well, shit.”

“You didn’t know all that, did you,” I chuckle.

“No,” Jasper grumbles.

“You see the trick is to find what you love and go after it. The old men aren’t as hard as we think. Sure, my dad was pissed at first. He didn’t speak to me for about a year, but he got over it, and he is there when I need him,” I explain as KJ starts to whimper.

“Give Jr. and Mariah a kiss for me. I’ll figure this all out,” Jasper says abruptly. I can sense his candid time is up. More than likely, the reason behind his musing and decision making is about to interrupt.

“Hey, call me anytime, Jas. You know you can, right?” I ask hoping he really does know this.

“Yeah, I know,” He replies.

I smile at the cousin I see as a little brother. “I’m expecting you to make a trip out here too. You can meet my son and bring Marie with you,” I tease with a chuckle.

“What,” Jasper replies. I know this kid can’t think I am that obtuse.

“You really think no one knew. I figured it out that summer I came to train with you guys,” I laugh. “Be well little cousin, it will all work out.” I hang up and kiss the top of my son’s head once more. “It will all work out,” I say more to reassure myself. 

It is not an option to fail my friend… no, my brother again. When this all ends, I will have done my job as a Briggs and Nick will be safe. I put that on my son.

chapter Twenty-Two

Too Far

Sephora

This cannot be happening. I haven’t stopped crying since Bailey called Nick’s phone. Nick has been in a silent rage. He and Luke haven’t let Kimmie and me out of their sight. Nick has made sure that Bailey has stayed close as well.

She is a witness to attempted murder after all. If it weren’t for Bailey and her roommate Ebony, Mark would be dead. From what Bailey told us Mark told her to hide until he and some guy with a gun left Mark’s apartment. Bailey rushed out to get dress and follow them against Mark’s orders.

They ended up in an alley not far from FLI. Bailey said the guy made Mark get down on his knees. He was about to shoot Mark in the back of the head when Bailey screamed out, and Ebony, who had been following Bailey, fired a shot into the air.

The shot from the guy’s gun was thrown off from him jerking when he was startled. Mark also turned his head when he heard Bailey’s scream, apparently. The bullet still hit Mark, but at an angle that may have saved his life. We are stay waiting to see where this is going to go.

I haven’t missed the evil looks Ebony is giving me as I hold Bailey in my arms as we cry together. I am grateful to Ebony for helping, but there is something off about her. Well, for one she has the same exact haircut and color as Bailey. Her lip is pierced just like Bailey’s as well.

I tell myself that they could just be that close and shrug it off. I am trying to push these feelings aside as I focus on my friend Mark and his grieving girlfriend. This is the worst thing in the world that could happen.

Mark has been so happy lately. We just started our business, and he and Bailey have been doing so well. I have never seen him smile so much. My heart couldn’t hurt more than it does right now. I am hurt and angry.

“Sephora,” Mark’s dad calls as he rushes into the ER. “Bailey, what’s going on?”

“Where is my son? I knew letting him get involved with you people would be nothing but trouble,” Mrs. Feinberg snaps.

“Barbara, I told you in the car not to start spewing that hateful garbage,” Yosef Feinberg snarls at Barbara Feinberg.

“Humph,” Barbara snorts and tosses her shoulder length brown hair.

“Come, girls,” Yosef opens his arms for Bailey and me.

We both go to him after taking a moment to glare at Mark’s mom. It would be comical if we weren’t in the middle of such a serious situation. Mr. Feinberg pulls us into a tight hug. He talks to Nick as he holds onto us.

“Nick, can you tell us what is going on,” he asks over our heads.

“Mark was shot. From what we know he is in surgery. We haven’t had much information so far. We know he is fighting, and they are doing everything they can. A friend of mine that works here said Mark got lucky with the angle of the bullet entry. We are hopeful,” Nick offers.

“Thank you, Nick,” Mr. Fienberg says gruffly. “How are you two girls doing? You both mean a lot to Mark, I know he would be happy to know you two are out here. Let’s have a seat, girls, I could use two little prayer warriors with me.”

We move to sit with Mr. Feinberg. Mrs. Feinberg stomps off to find her own information not trusting ours. It is not long before she returns muttering about the staff being useless. I have never spent a lot of time around Mark’s mom. She has always seemed a little uppity. Mark’s dad on the other had has always been nothing but nice.

“Can I tell you, girls, a secret,” Mr. Feinberg says softly with a wistful smile.

“Sure,” I whisper, and Bailey gives a teary nod.

“Mark is just like me. I am not surprised he used to have a crush on you, Sephora, or that he is now in love with you, Bailey. I almost married a girl that you two could pass for,” he chuckles.

“I love him so much,” Bailey sobs.

Mr. Feinberg’s face crumbles and he pulls Bailey into his arms to soothe her. “We all do, Sweetheart. He will pull through. My son will pull through,” he says as his voice breaks.

I wait a moment before I slip away and let the two share the moment alone. Nick is over in the corner with Luke and the rest of the guys. Kevin looks exhausted, but he is still handling his team to keep us all safe. I wish I would have known to ask for security for my friends.

“This is your fault,” I hear a feminine voice hiss in my ear. I turn to see Mark’s mom. Tears well in my eyes because I know she is right. “He has been sniffing around you for years. Just like his father and the whore I took him from. I had to make him see reason, and I will do the same with my son. I won’t let that one get her hooks in him.”

“Now you didn’t really think you were going to come in here with that BS, did you,” My mother appears out of thin air and hisses just as low. “I do give you my sympathy for what your family is going through right now. However, whatever high horse you rode in here on, I suggest you go get back on it. And trust, your husband already knows you are the biggest mistake of his life. You can stop reminding him. Thank you, you’re welcome, bye-bye.”

My mother wraps an arm around me and pulls me away. “Thanks, Mom,” I sniffle and giggle a little because that was awesome. Mom gave it to her Faraz style.

“Don’t drop a single tear in front of that witch. I know the woman she supposedly stole Yosef from, I am sure he is still regretting that decision,” my mother shakes her head and sighs heavily. “This is not your fault, Sephora. Mark wouldn’t want you thinking that it is.”

“I know,” I whisper.

“Do you,” mom stops and turns to me. “I mean it. Don’t let her words sink in. Mark will pull through, and we will find those two troublemakers once and for all.”

“Oh, that I am sure of,” I say with renewed purpose.

chapter Twenty-THree

The Return

Nick

I am watching my baby with her head on my chest, as she is curled into a ball at my side holding on to me tightly. I’ve been on the phone ever since we returned home. It is a wonder she was able to fall asleep at my side.

We stayed at the hospital as long as we could. Once Mark was placed in a private room, I am paying for, instead of in ICU, Sephora wanted to stay a little while longer. We left once her feet and back started to hurt, and she couldn’t take it anymore.

Brooklyn sent his brother, Dylan, over to help Johnathan Black watch over Bailey. We are all concerned that those two will come back to finish what they started, and that Bailey is now a target.

I feel like I am suffocating. People I care about are getting hurt, and I don’t know what to do. It should not be this hard to find those two. Especially now that we know, we are looking for my look-alike and his sidekick.

I’d be lying if I said a part of me isn’t curious about the two brothers that I have out there somewhere. I might have even welcomed it if they weren’t trying to destroy me and my life. We shared a womb once, yet they are two strangers to me now.

I found the note in Sephora’s purse, and I have read it a million times. It looks to be in the handwriting of the one that has been impersonating me. At least, that is the assumption I made since it is so close to mine. After all, I really know nothing about the two.

I don’t know what to think. The letter seems like a real call for Sephora’s help in stopping whatever is coming to a climax, but right after receiving the letter she was almost run down. Now this thing with Mark.

I close my eyes tight and ward off my headache. Mark was almost killed because of me. He is still not out of the woods.

I have repeatedly tried to understand what my father was thinking. The sad part is that I can see my parents doing something like this. After their reaction to Ivana and wanting me to get rid of Nicky. I can totally see them just getting rid of my two brothers.

What I don’t understand is why they would rip them from a family where they were loved. I may have grown up to know my brothers someday if they had stayed with the Hiltons, but I guess that is why my father did what he did.

I wonder what kind of life Gavin and Rick ended up having to make them so bitter, hateful, and dangerous now. Something in the pit of my stomach tells me that it is not a pretty story.

I keep playing my father’s last words to me over and over in my head. ‘…
we will settle this matter once and for all. I am so sorry we have created this mess. But I’ll fix it, Son.”
He knew this mess was his fault. He had promised to fix it. Well, the joke was on him. This has just gotten worse and worse. Now my own children are involved.

Nicky would have been so big by now. Bitterness rises up in me with a vengeance. Nothing would make me do this to my own brothers.

I need to turn my thoughts away from my two siblings, so I start to think about my own two babies growing inside Sephora. We never did make our sonogram appointment. We’ll have to reschedule.

I reach for her belly and imagine what the sex of our babies will be. My mind drifts to having two little boys. I would want them to be close. I would want them to have each other’s backs.

“I’ll teach you two better,” I murmur before drifting to sleep.

It feels like I haven’t gotten any sleep when the phone rings pulling me from a deep slumber. Sephora is still cradled into my side. I am happy that being so close to me brings her comfort.

I reach for my phone trying not to disturb her. She needs the sleep more than I do. I look at the screen quickly and breathe easier when I see it is not the hospital or anyone we left there. I pick up before it wakes Sephora.

“Hello,” I grumble as I start to slip from the bed. Sephora gripes in her sleep, but she doesn’t wake. I walk into my closet and lean my hip up against the folding table.

“Hello, Son,” the voice on the other end says. “It has been a long time since we have talked. I thought I would start with you. I have so much to be grateful to you for. Faraz warned me that you were the first to figure out that I was still alive. Thank you for not telling Luke and Sephora. I appreciate that.”

“It is not a problem, Liam, but I think you are a little premature with calling me,
son
. I want to make some things clear to you before you reenter my wife’s life,” I reply to Liam Emilsson.

“I expect nothing less. That is why I am calling first. I want to see my baby late this afternoon. I know she has been through a lot, and I know she is expecting. My family has grown while I have been away. I have a lot of catching up to do and a lot of time to make up for. I don’t think
son,
is premature. That is what you are, my son-in-law,” Liam states.

“She is not your baby anymore. Sephora has changed, she has grown into an amazing woman. You and my father have left her and I to deal with your shit, and she has enough on her plate. If you are coming here, then it better be with an explanation on why you made her feel like shit before you fell off the face of the earth and had her mourning your ass when you were somewhere sipping margaritas,” I rumble.

“South Africa…I haven’t been drinking margaritas. I have been suffering without my family in South Africa for the past two years. Before that, I was forced to roam from one location to the other. I missed both my baby girls walking down the aisle and my first grandchild was born without me.

“I am not coming to play games in my children’s lives. I know they are angry, and they have every right to be. All I want is to be there for them,” Liam heaves a heavy breath. “I want my life back. My children, my wife. I know Faraz thinks I’m a coward for the way I dealt with things. Maybe I am. I thought I was doing the right thing at the time. Things were different.”

“You don’t owe me anything. Just make sure my wife gets what she needs. Don’t hurt her. I mean it,” I say firmly. “My brothers will be the least of your worries if you hurt Sephora.”

“I don’t have it in my heart to hurt my Lilla du,” Liam says softly.

“Bullshit, you already have,” I snap and end the call.

~ B~

Sephora

I wake to Nick peppering kisses all over my face. My eyes flutter open, and his green gaze is the first thing I see. I smile up at him until yesterday comes crashing back in. I shut my eyes again wanting to restart and make all the bad stuff go away.

“Mark is stable. There is still swelling on the brain, but the doctors sound hopeful. Bailey won’t leave his side so Dylan has given her something to eat and Heather is taking her a change of clothes,” Nick says in a soothing voice.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” I say.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Listen, I have something to tell you,” Nick says cautiously. “You tell me how you want to handle this, and I will make it happen.”

I sit up on my elbows. “What? What is it now? Please, Nick, I don’t know how much more I can handle,” I say sadly. “Is Kimmie okay?”

“Kimmie is fine,” Nick snorts. “Your brother won’t let her or Lilla out of his sight. It’s your father. Brooklyn talked to a friend of ours in the Locatelli family. He is the right person to talk to for something like this. The older members would not take the time to question your father’s actions.

“Our friend is powerful enough to halt any threats against your dad. Brooklyn was able to get the okay on your father’s safety so he has come out of hiding. Gavin and Rick have nothing to threaten him with,” Nick explains as he searches my eyes.

“That’s good right,” I say cautiously not sure how I feel about this yet. It is not as if I hadn’t known that Brooklyn was trying to help. I just thought it would take a lot longer.

“Yeah… it is. What I am trying to tell you, Baby, is that your father is here,” Nick finally says.

“What do you mean, here,” I gasp.

“He has cooked a big lunch for the two of you, and he is waiting for you downstairs,” Nick grimaces.

“Oh my God,” I say more excited than I thought I would be.

I wiggle out of the bed and lift to my feet. I have to use the bathroom, so I can’t run off just yet. I rush as fast as my growing belly will allow and go to handle my business.

My mind is racing. I thought my father was dead for the past two and a half almost three years. I have so many questions for him, but I really just want to see him. From the talk I had privately with my mom, the fights she and my dad used to have were not about the affair.

They were arguing about the pressure Gavin and Rick were putting on him. They were arguing about the danger that we were all in and what to do about it. That was as much as my mother was willing to share with me. She said my father wanted to tell me the rest.

So here he is, and I am ready to hear it. I finish in the bathroom and rush to throw on a pair of shorts and a tank top. A glance in the mirror tells me I have a lot to learn about my new hair. Short hair may not be the smart thing for me. It is not long enough for one of my messy, convenient buns.

I rush into the kitchen with Nick on my heels. I should have known he wouldn’t be willing to let me do this on my own. I am silently grateful for that. I gasp and come to a halt when my father comes into view sitting at our kitchen island.

He looks older, tanner, and sadder than I remember. He is still as handsome as ever, though. An older version of Lucian. Mom did well. My father is a gorgeous man. He could have been a model in his day. Heck, he is doing the silver fox thing pretty well.

“Daddy,” I find myself squealing when the air returns to my lungs.

He stands to his full height and stretches his arms out wide. I run right into them. My belly gets in the way but I wrap my arms around him and cling to him as best I can. I don’t realize I am sobbing until I hear my father soothing me.

“Shh, Lilla du, I’m here now. Shh, my baby girl. Papa’s here,” my father croons as he smoothes down my hair.

I pull away and look up into his grey eyes. “You missed my wedding,” I whisper as I wipe away my tears. “And my graduation.”

Daddy sighs, his eyes glisten. “I missed a lot of things that I will have to regret for the rest of my life. All of my children are married. You and Lucian have started families. I am so proud of you all,” he says and cups my face.

“I missed you,” I say so softly I’m not sure I even hear it.

“I missed you too. For longer than you know. I’m sorry for all of the shitty things I had to do to protect you, Lilla du. I had to make things look a certain way to see if I could get them to leave you alone. I never thought you would fall in love with Nick and place yourself right in the middle,” Daddy pauses with a faint smile on his lips and shakes his head. “Leave it to you to fall in love with danger.”

“Nick is not the danger,” I pout.

Daddy throws his head back and laughs. He looks younger with it. I decide right then that I want to see him laugh more.

“Let’s eat,” Daddy says and ways me over to the table he has set. “I want to feed my grandchildren and catch up with my daughter.”

“Do Lucian and Ettie know you are here,” I ask as I take a seat.

“Your mother thought it would be nice if I surprised you all one by one. Ettie will be my next stop,” Daddy says with a sad smile.

“You’re not looking forward to meeting with Lucian, are you,” I observe.

“No Lilla du, I’m not. Your brother is very angry with me. I don’t think he is going to be very forgiving. He said some harsh things the last time we spoke. I know he has some strong feelings,” Daddy sighs.

“Give him a chance. He has changed,” I offer as I pick up a sandwich and take a bite into it. It is perfect just the way he always made them, all ooey gooey goodness.

I sigh in contentment. When I look at Nick, he is watching me with a smile on his face. I haven’t seen that smile in a long time. He winks at me, and I continue to eat my sandwich happily.

“So Daddy, now that you have bribed me with food, tell me what I want to know,” I say as I turn back to my father.

“And what is it that you want to know, Princess,” my father asks with a smile.

“Why’d you break my heart,” I say wiping the smile from his face.

He nods. “We will be here for a while, but first I need you to know everything I have done in the past has been to protect the family,” He says with genuine pain in his voice.

“Then make me understand, Daddy and I will never bring it up again,” I whisper.

“Deal.”