Stepbrother's Secrets (A New Adult Forbidden Romance) (5 page)

Chapter nine

Something crashes and I jump. Marcos' face is swelling as I watch but the coldness of his eyes reveal nothing. Stoic doesn't describe the way he sits silently staring at his nephew. The skinny white boy goes to the window, stands to one side, and peeks through the curtain.

"Shit," he exclaims jumping up and down.

"What?" Jesus asks.

"Cops. Crap ton of them. Damn man, you said this was in and out. That he had a big stash here!"

"He does!" Jesus yells. He moves a little more to my side. "What's it going to take old man?"

Jesus runs the gun down the side of my face. I sob, my chest wracked with pain. Fear makes it hard to inhale a deep breath. The gun runs down my neck then between my breasts pushing my shirt in and pulling the fabric tight. Marcos stares at him and if looks could kill I'd be fine but it's not working.

"Leave her be Jesus," Marcos says. "There's no money here. There are no drugs here. Do not make this worse for yourself."

"Worse? You pushed my father to disown me! He kicked me out. What am I supposed to do? I got nothing."

"Shit Jesus, they got a damn tank or something!" white boy yells from the window.

"Damn it," Jesus says pressing the gun against my chest hard enough to bruise.

A loud sound comes from outside the room and up the stairs. The three hostage takers look at each other.

"What was that?" the black boy asks.

"Go check it out," Jesus orders.

"Shit, 'kay," he says.

He works his way to the door placing himself against the wall with his gun in front of his face just like an action hero in a movie. Then he jumps around the corner with the gun held on its side in front of him looking up the stairs. His hand shakes as he stands there then he looks back over to Jesus.

"It's clear."

"Go upstairs. Where's the bitch? She must be up there," Jesus says.

The black boy nods and disappears from sight. Jesus moves the gun back and forth between my breasts. He's breathing heavily looking around the room. He mutters to himself but I can't make out the words over my own heart beat pounding in my ears.

"They got one of them armored trucks man," the white boy at the window says.

"Well good for them! What the hell are we going to do?" Jesus says.

"Lay down your guns and walk away," Marcos says. "You're in too deep now. Turn yourself in."

Jesus whirls around pointing the gun at Marcos.

"You shut up! You don't tell me what to do, not anymore!"

"I told your father you were worthless. You're no man. Threatening a woman? What kind of man does that?"

"Shut up!" Jesus yells. "How many families have you ordered killed?"

Marcos smiles at him. "Put the gun down and I'll see to it you get an easy sentence."

"You'll do shit old man. This is all your fault. Yours and that damn Jake. Your surprise bastard. I was supposed to inherit. Not him! Not him, ME!"

"You'll inherit nothing. You are weak. A user. Now roll over and lie down like the dog you are."

Something thuds on the stairs and all of us jump and Jesus' gun goes off. The bullet ricochets off of something making a zinging sound. I scream.

"The fuck was that?" Jesus screams. "Go! Check it out!"

The white kid by the window shakes as he looks at Jesus. Jesus points the gun at him and motions towards the door. He closes his eyes and mutters something then makes his way over. He peeks around the corner then pulls his head back paler than he was before.

"It's Jamal! I think he's dead!"

"Shit! Who the hell did that?"

"Probably my wife, who is more of a man than you are," Marcos taunts Jesus.

Jesus storms towards him in a rage. His arms waving around crazily the gun points in all directions as he screams unintelligible words at his Uncle. The white boy watches terrified. His eyes are wide and his mouth hangs open as he dances from one foot to the next. Jesus swings at Marcos with the pistol cracking him against his skull with a sickening thud. Marcos' head swings to the side then back coming to a rest with his chin on his chest. Blood pours down the side of his head.

"There old man! I'm not useless now am I!" Jesus sputters.

I start to slide out of the chair to try and crawl away. I have to get out of here. This is devolving fast. Something clatters into the room. Jesus turns to see what it is just as the white boy screams. I look and see a small canister tumbling across the floor then the entire world disappears in a white flash and an enormous bang. I roll out of the chair to the floor holding my head and covering my eyes which feel like I just stared straight into the sun.

Hands grab me and I'm pulled to my feet. My eyes are filled with tears and I still can't see clearly. I'm lifted into the air and being carried somewhere. Cool, outside air hits my face and I gasp. I blink hard my hands rubbing my eyes.

As my vision clears I see Jake. Impossible. I must be imagining things. Jake is gone. He can't be carrying me out of the house.

I shake my head. Blink several more times. Rub my eyes. It's him. He's carrying me. He came back for me. I smile as the world fades to black.

Chapter ten

Light.

Hurts.

I inhale.

That hurts too.

Voices.

What are they saying?

"She'll be fine shortly."

"Are you sure?"

Jake?

"Yes, there's no sign of concussion. A few bruises, some scrapes. Her eyesight may take a bit to regain full clarity, side effect of the flash bang unfortunately."

"Yeah, I didn't really have a choice there," Jake says.

"We'll want to debrief you fully Agent McCall."

"Can it wait? I want to be here when she wakes up?"

"You broke protocol. You weren't supposed to be there. You're still our star witness against the Benito Cartel."

"I understand sir. There are guards on the door. I won't go anywhere and will report for debriefing as soon as I can ascertain she is awake and all right."

"Jake," the voice says. "You're too close to this. You have to drop this identity. The assignment's over."

"Yes sir. I understand sir."

The other voice sighs. "Very well son. I'll hold your debriefing until tomorrow. Nine am."

"Yes sir, thank you sir."

A door opens and closes then there's a creaking sound. It all comes in just over the ringing in my ears. I inhale but it turns to a cough and then I'm sitting up in bed. Something is supporting me from behind, gently tapping my back.

"There you go, it's okay, I'm here," Jake says.

I gasp in fresh air then lean back into the bed and pillows. I blink several times then squint. I can see Jake.

"Can you kill that light?" I ask my voice comes out in a croak.

"Yeah," he says jumping across the room to kill the overhead. When he comes back he produces a glass of water with a straw that he holds to my lips.

"What happened?" I ask after drinking deeply.

"Well, you were held hostage by a crazed junkie. Then you were rescued by a dashingly handsome man. Now you're in a hospital recovering."

He grins as he says all this.

"Well so much for self deprecation," I chuckle. "I thought you were gone."

"I was," he says taking my hand in his and sitting on the bed next to me. "I came back for you. I heard it on the scanner."

"You came back for me? Who are you?"

He smiles patting my hand. A shadow passes behind his eyes. That deep pain that makes me want to take him in my arms and hold him until I can heal him.

"I'm Agent Jake McCall, DEA," he says.

I frown arching an eyebrow at him. "DEA? Like Drugs?"

He nods. "Exactly."

"But ... how? I saw you arrested. Twice. How, why?"

"I've been undercover for three years now. Infiltrating a drug cartel. I had just worked my way up the ranks and was being pulled out to testify about my investigation."

"So, it was all just a cover?" My heart sinks and tears threaten.

He shakes his head. "No, not all of it."

"What does that even mean?" I ask as the first tear falls.

"You," he says leaning in close to me. "You were never part of the plan."

A sob grabs me and the tears flow freely. I rub at my eyes trying to stop them but the dam is broken now. He takes me in his arms pulling me up from the bed and I throw myself at him. I cry into his shoulder until I'm exhausted and no more tears will come. He leans back and looks into my eyes.

"Sheila," he says. "I meant every word I said to you. I love you. The moment we met at that party, I fell for you. I knew it then. That's part of why my handler was pulling me out. I couldn't separate you from the cover."

"But I don't even know you! And ... and we're related now. Our parents got married, this can't even be, like, legal."

Jake smiles. "Actually, that was part of the cover. Marcos Benito was an extensive womanizer. My cover as his bastard son is a lie. He was looking for someone to groom as his replacement. Jesus was worthless and he knew it. We cooked up the cover and he accepted it."

"So we're not ... related?"

"No, we're not."

"And you love me?"

"I broke my cover for you. I broke about a dozen rules and half a dozen laws to rescue you. I love you."

I laugh through my tears and pull him close. Our lips meet softly.

"There's something I have to ask you. This probably isn't the best time, but I can't wait. I ... have to know."

"What?" I ask.

He pulls out of my arms and lowers himself to one knee beside my hospital bed. He reaches down then he's holding up a box to me. Inside rests a dazzling diamond ring that catches the low light in the room and sparkles.

"Sheila, will you marry me?"

My heart skips two beats. I gasp in a deep breath as my heart expands to the point I think my chest might explode.

"Yes!" I cry out and he places the ring on my finger.

I'm in his arms, our lips meet, my stepbrother no more, now my lover. The one my heart wants and I take my place in his heart too. 

THE END

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"Sit down kids," Mr. Morian says motioning to the two leather chairs in front of Meryl's old desk. "Now, your mother thought the world of both of you. She told me that her greatest regret was that you two are no longer as close as you once were."

I look over at Ben and then back at Mr. Morian. Her regret? What? She never mentioned it to me. Hell she collected books full of Ben's exploits, I was just going through them.

"We talked a lot once she found out she didn't have long to live you see. She told me that you Victoria were every bit the find your father was. That when she married him it was so she could be a mother to you as much as a wife to him. She also told me that you Benjamin became a much better person when Victoria entered your life. That the two of you would be unstoppable together. This was important to her."

I watch Ben but his face is an unreadable mask. He's had years of schooling himself for high end business deals and being chased by paparazzi so he doesn't give away his feelings on his face.

"So to that end before either of you can claim your inheritance you must spend a month at her villa in the countryside of France. There's an itinerary of things you will do which includes three meals together every day, a daily outing, and other various sundries."

"No," Benjamin says.

Mr. Morian sits woodenly and I turn to Ben with shock. Even for an inheritance he can't spend a month on vacation with me? He'd turn down all that to avoid me?

"Benjamin, there really is no choice. You're living and working with your mother's company. If you want to gain your full inheritance, including keeping your position on the Board of Directors, you have to comply with her last will and testament."

Ben shakes. He literally shakes as he stares straight ahead not even sparing a glance for me.

"Is that all?" I ask.

I'm still waiting for another shoe to drop. There has to be another catch. One month on vacation to secure my education? You bet. Spend it with my stepbrother who hates me? My heart does a nervous flip in my chest.

"Yes, in essence that is it. I've made all the arrangements. It's set around your school schedule so you don't have to worry about that Victoria. I also talked with your Secretary Benjamin and she has cleared your schedule for the duration."

Ben leans back in his chair, steeples his fingers in front of him staring at Mr. Morian. "I'd like my own lawyers to look this over," he says through gritted teeth.

I close my eyes feeling small. It's hard to catch my breath as my chest tightens. It hits me that I'm having an asthma attack. My vision darkens around the edges as I gasp for air. I fumble around trying to find my purse where I keep an inhaler but it's in the kitchen. I try to stand up but fall back into the chair which falls over and I'm on the ground looking up. Ben's face appears in the closing tunnel of my vision.

"Vic!" he yells then he's gone.

It's okay, everyone leaves. He doesn't want me around anyway.

Don't leave me!
echoes through my mind as blackness overwhelms me.

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