CHAPTER 8

Lucas

“Christ, it’s like déjà vu,” I tell Nero, who stands stiffly in front of me, his eyes and ears focused on the door Embree walked through fifteen minutes ago. His pitiful whine confirms he feels much the same as I do.

This time though, it’s on me. I’m the one who insisted she get checked out. After what that asshole did yesterday, I needed someone more qualified to confirm she is in fact, all right. Thankfully, she agreed without much fuss and made an appointment with her gynecologist, who is another blast from the past, Hannah Blake.

She was a close childhood friend of Embree and my sister. Unlike Nic, who was wild as hell and loved to cause trouble, Hannah was timid and quiet. She spent more time with her head in a book than doing much of anything else. She was a good influence on the girls, which is why I never minded when she came around to hang out with us. That they’re all still friends makes me happy, for it means that while I was gone, my sister and Embree had a stable support system.

“What the hell’s taking so long?” I growl into the quiet waiting room. The sound must grab Nero’s attention, for he breaks away from his stare down with the door long enough to acknowledge me.

Sitting out here after what happened the last time is killing me. An endless loop of alarming possibilities keeps streaming through my thoughts, making it hard to sit still. Everything in me wants to go to her. To run through that door so I can see with my own two eyes that all is well. Part of my anxiety has to do with the way she slipped through my fingers yesterday, but the bigger part of my worry has everything to do with what he did.

I know what she told me, what she begged me to believe he didn’t do, but truth be told, I still want to kill him. She may not want to use the term rape to describe his actions, but it doesn’t change that he preyed upon her vulnerability in that cabin, after methodically isolating her from those who would protect her. He took advantage of her, knowing damn well he was there to break not only her trust, but her heart.  

“Christ. That’s it, I’m done.” Standing, I tug on Nero’s lead, and he follows me to the reception desk. “Morning. Could someone go back there and check on Emilia Preston? I just need to make sure she’s alright.”

“Of course. One sec, let me check…” says the older woman as she turns back toward her computer screen. “It says here that Dr. Blake is with her now. They’re almost done. Would you like to come back and see for yourself?”

Fuck yes!

Except no, I can’t. As much as I want to, I’m not in a position where I can infringe on her privacy that way.

“No, that’s good enough. Thank you for checking.” 

I knock on the desk twice before taking my leave and resuming our positions in the waiting room. Nero takes a seat by my feet, his eyes going back to the door that separates us from her. Thank fuck he’s here. With him at my side, I can rest a little easier knowing he’ll alert me the minute something feels off, just as he did at her agent’s office.

“Lucas? What are you doing here?”

Though I’m surprised to hear Jen’s voice, I’m thrilled when I turn and see her and Ben walking into the waiting area. Running into people I know is a new feeling, one I guess I’ll have to get used to.

“Hey you,” I stand to greet her and pull her in for a hug. “Embree had an appointment with Hannah. What are you guys doing here? Everything okay with the baby?” Suddenly worried, my eyes scan down to her still-flat stomach. Fear over my soon-to-be niece or nephew’s well-being is yet another unfamiliar feeling.

“Yes, everything’s great.” She smiles as she rubs her belly.

“Since I missed her last appointment, Hannah’s squeezing us in for a quick ultrasound so I can see the little slugger,” Ben adds as he wraps an arm around my sister and looks at her adoringly.

“Mrs. Chelsey, why don’t you come on back? Dr. Blake asked I check you in and get your vitals.”

“Oh, perfect,” Jen says to the receptionist before turning to Ben. “You wait here. I’ll make sure they call you back when we’re ready.” After a quick peck on Ben’s lips, she turns to me and wraps her arms around me. “It’s good seeing you, big brother. Any chance you’re free for dinner tonight? You can bring Emilia and the girls.”

“We’ll see,” I respond as she pulls away. “I’ll run it by Embree and get back to you.”

Standing side by side, Ben, Nero, and I watch as she too is swallowed up behind that same damn door. The same sinking feeling as before hits me, only this time doubled as the blanket of anxiety expands to include my sister and her unborn baby.

“How the fuck do you do this, man? Sit out here while she’s in there?” I ask Ben, as Nero and I resume our positions.

“Trust me, it ain’t easy.” Taking the seat across from us, he asks, “How’s Emilia doing?”

“Seems okay, considering. Thanks for keeping the girls’ last night. She needed the time to process everything that happened.”

“Anytime. We adore them, so it wasn’t a problem. Did it give you guys a chance to work out what all the changes mean for the girls?”

“She wants to keep things as they are for now. Says she’ll figure out a way to tell them eventually.”

“Makes sense. I already told the boys to keep it quiet, and I’ll let Emilia be the one to tell Jen when she’s ready. What about you, though?”

“What about me?” I ask, even knowing damn well what he’s hinting at.

“Did you talk about your involvement in their lives? You know, since legally you’re their adoptive father?”

“Kind of.” I fidget in my seat as I think back to our conversation and her concerns over me abandoning them. “We’re going to wait and see. For the foreseeable future, I’ll remain Uncle Lucas. At least until she figures out how to tell them.”

In my periphery, I see him nod his head before he too, turns his attention back to the door. “And you? How are you handling everything else? You know, with being back and all.”

Uncomfortable with this new line of questioning, I avoid his gaze and give him as little as possible. “I’m good.”

Awkward as fuck, the three of us sit in silence. The god-forsaken door stealing our attention like it’s the most interesting fucking thing in the goddamn universe.

“At 8 o’clock tonight, Owen is releasing the contents of that flash drive to OPR. It’s Saturday, so I suspect we won’t hear from them until Monday or Tuesday at the latest, but just in case I’ll work with Nic to set up a meeting. With everything we have, we can make the case that if they don’t back off, we’ll file a lawsuit on Emilia’s behalf. With any luck, this will all be over in the next week or two.”

I nod, silently taking in the information. While I hope things go as planned, in my experience, it’s best to assume they won’t. These are powerful people we’re dealing with, people who’ve shown they’re willing to bend the rule of law to suit their needs. Plus, they have access to government agencies that could make life very difficult for all of us. It would be stupid to assume people like that would take kindly to us gaming the system in our favor. Especially as they’d correctly surmise the evidence we have came from Creed. They would see it as an insult. Creed flexing his muscles and showing that he too can bend the system to his will despite their efforts. It might provoke them into a show of force that won’t end well for Emilia and her girls.

“We’ll have to up our security, Ben. People like this don’t like to lose. Forcing them to take Emilia off the board may only make them want her more.”

“So you don’t think they’ll give up? Even with everything we have?”

“If we were dealing with honorable, law-abiding citizens, then maybe. But from everything we know, they’re criminals who make money off the trafficking of human beings. In my experience, those who don’t value the most vulnerable amongst us won’t be playing by any rules.”

“You’re right. I’ll talk to the guys, and we’ll do what we have to.”

“What about Creed? Are you keeping in touch with him? It might help to know what he’s planning, and as much as it pains me to admit, we might need the help of his contacts should we find ourselves in trouble again.”  

“Yeah. Agent Hunt is in touch with us. He asked to tap into Owen’s expertise since they’re effectively cut off from using FBI resources. They can’t take the chance someone will catch wind of what they’re up to.”

“Good. What about him? Hunt and that redhead can’t stay with him since they’re tied to their jobs and need to maintain their cover. Would you be opposed to sending Mason to offer backup? Between Zeb, James, and me, we’ve got Embree, and the girls covered. If we need another body, you or Dominick could always step in.”

He considers this for a moment, then nods in agreement. “I’ll have Owen work with Hunt to set it up. But remind me again, why are we helping Creed?”

“Because as much as I want to kill the bastard, he might be our only chance at staying ahead of this thing. If these people are as bad as he says they are, they won’t stop until everyone who could out them is dead and gone. That includes not just Creed, but Embree, the girls, and our families. All of us. As much as I don’t want to work with the guy, he might be the key to making sure we all stay breathing.”

“God, you’re such a fucking downer.” He lowers his head to his hands, roughly running them over his face. “Damn, I hate how right you are about this. Okay. We’ll do what we can.”

“I want to kill him, Ben. I want to wrap my fucking fingers around his throat and squeeze until…” I shake my head and fight to tamp down the red-hot rage that has me shaking. “What he did to her yesterday. He fucking hurt her. In that short time, he made certain we couldn’t get to her, and he took advantage of her. I can’t forgive that and I most certainly won’t forget it. Until this is over, I want you to keep him alive, but you better keep him the fuck away from me because if I see him, I will end him. That goes for Embree and the girls, too. He’s not to have any contact whatsoever with any of them.”

Through my rant, Ben’s eyes never leave me. The deep scowl on his face now matches the outright rage that rolls off of him in waves. “That’s why you’re here.”

Though I nod, I tell him, “I can’t say.”

“Fucking hell. What the fuck am I supposed to do with this, Luc?”

“Nothing. She handled it and says it was consensual but Ben, her reaction when we got to her. You fucking saw. He took advantage of her while she was vulnerable. As far as I’m concerned, he’s just as bad as the assholes he’s investigating. I’ll never trust him with Embree or those girls again. Never.”

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Author’s Note: 

Once again, Lucas and Nero are forced to sit outside in a waiting room while Emilia is out of their sight! After everything that happened the day before at her agent's office, I can't blame Lucas for worrying. His anger toward Creed is understandable and I admire how he's able to put all that aside for the moment to make the logical decision to offer him help and protection.

Are you surprised by Lucas' willingness to help Creed? I'd love to hear what you think about this chapter.

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