“No! Nothing is wrong. Apparently, Dr. Corbin here has decided that I’m no longer able to climb the two steps up on a step ladder to grab a mixing bowl or cook myself some brownies,” I say.
“Brownies, I’m on it!” Waylon says, grabbing the bowl from Corbin before flying over to the pantry to start grabbing ingredients.
I sigh. There is no use arguing with them.
“You. Couch. Now,” Corbin says.
Maxwell runs to my side, taking my hand like I can’t even walk without support. He helps me into the living room and onto the sofa.
“When is Martin getting off?” I ask Maxwell.
I know that Martin is working on his last deal before the babies arrive. It’s a deal with a partner we’ve worked with a hundred times—a Mr. Dunn. Smuggling drugs is a dangerous business, but it’s made my family infinite amounts of money. The business has made us all happy.
Until I fell in love.
Until I got pregnant.
Now, my fiancé and three brothers will stop at nothing to protect me and the babies I carry—including them giving up the business that has provided for us all these years.
What are we going to do once we give up smuggling drugs?
Be incredibly fucking happy; that’s what.
We have more money than we need to survive.
We have three babies on the way that we can all give plenty of love to.
We all have hobbies we can spend more time enjoying.
My brothers can find time to date—to fall in love and fill this house with more babies, more happiness.
Just one more job, and then this is all over.
My eyes drift shut. It’s exhausting work carrying around triplets.
I inhale sweet chocolatey goodness.
My eyes open just as Waylon brings me a plate filled with brownies.
I smile as he sets the plate on my stomach.
“Thank you,” I say.
He glances at his watch. “Corbin and I have to go meet Martin to execute our sale with Dunn. You’ll be okay with Maxwell watching you?”
I nod, my smile brightening. The sooner they leave, the sooner they finish the job, and we can get on to the next chapter of our lives. Selling drugs is a dangerous business, but my brothers and Martin are very good at it. I have no worries they’ll make it back just fine.
“Yep, thanks to you, I don’t have to eat any of his terrible cooking.”
He grins and then leans down and kisses me on the forehead. “I love keeping my nieces and nephews fed.” He leans down close to my belly. “Stay in there until we get back.”
I just roll my eyes and watch as Waylon heads out, followed by Corbin, who just nods in my direction before taking off.
Maxwell collapses on the couch next to me. “So what are we watching while we stuff our faces?”
Maxwell’s phone buzzes as we watch another house-hunting show.
I pop another piece of brownie into my mouth while Maxwell answers, assuming it’s Corbin or Waylon calling to say the job is done and they are headed back.
Maxwell’s smile immediately drops as he listens.
“What is it?” I ask.
He stands, not answering me as he whispers something into the phone.
My heart stops, which isn’t good since it’s supplying blood to not only me but the three babies growing inside of me.
I scramble to my feet, which is easier said than done.
I walk quickly through the house, each step forcing blood through my already breaking heart. I can feel the change, the shift. I know without any words that Martin is gone. I don’t feel him anymore. I feel nothing but numbness.
No, that’s crazy to think. He’s not dead, just injured. He can’t be dead.
I spot Maxwell out on the back deck, pacing, still on the phone. He’s trying to protect me, but I have to know.
I waddle outside, moving as fast as my swollen feet will take me. I throw the door open and step out into the chilly air.
Maxwell drops the phone when he sees me.
“What happened?” I ask, using all my oxygen to get the words out.
He shakes his head. “You should be inside, sitting down.” He rubs his neck. “No, maybe we should head to the hospital.”
Head to the hospital?
“What happened to Martin? How bad is it?”
He closes the distance between us and takes my hands in his. “We all love you. We are all here for you. Whatever happens next, you will always have the three of us to love and protect you.”
The three of us.
“What. Happened?”
He opens his mouth with tears in his eyes. “Dunn betrayed us. He took the drugs without paying. He attacked us.” His throat catches, his tears fall, and the pain ricochets off him and onto me. “Martin—he didn’t make it.”
I feel myself falling, collapsing in his arms as my heart stops. My heart belonged to Martin. He was my everything. If he’s gone, I don’t want to live. I want to be gone too.
My body decides for me as I faint, my eyes roll back in my head, and I’m gone.
6
Liesel
I snuck halfway downstairs during the middle of Phoenix’s story, but I heard enough for my heart to break. I heard enough to understand her pain. Enough that I can understand why she wants revenge, why the whole family does.
My father took the most important person from her.
He took the love of her life.
And the trauma of losing him caused her to lose the babies. She didn’t explicitly say she lost her babies, but I can feel it in her tears. She lost everything, and her brothers, loyal to her above everything, shared her pain.
They want to make me pay for what my father did to them. That’s why they took my kids, that’s why they want the treasure as payback for what was stolen from them all those years ago.
I can’t blame them for feeling this way. I’m sure I would react much the same if they had taken Langston or my kids from me.
When Phoenix finishes speaking, she collapses in Langston’s arms. Just like she did in the story—like the trauma of retelling her experience brought her right back to those feelings.
I peer down to watch Langston hold a limp Phoenix in his arms. He hasn’t spoken since she started telling her story, so I have no idea what’s going on in his head. I’m also not sure if he knows I’m here or not. If he does, he hasn’t said anything.
I watch him hold her in his arms, waiting patiently for her to come to. He checks her pulse with his fingers, but I can see from here that she’s breathing. Then, he pulls a knife from his pocket and slices through the ropes binding her hands.
“I can’t kill her,” he says.
He knows I’m here.
“No, you can’t,” I agree.
“What are we going to do with her?”
“We are going to keep her here until we find Rose.”
“And then?”
I have no idea.
Phoenix stirs, her eyes opening in Langston’s arms. She takes her time sitting back up, but her eyes find mine. She’s wearing black like always. I realize it’s because she always in mourning. Every day she feels that loss because of my father.
As much as she hates my family and me, I don’t think she would inflict the same pain on me. I don’t think she’d hurt or kill any of my kids. She just wants me to suffer a small fraction of the pain she once felt.