Blackness Takes Over & Blackness Awaits (63 page)

“You try to keep this child from Kel and I’ll come after you myself. And I promise you I won’t be using words the next time we communicate. Sit your ass the fuck down now while I call someone to come draw your blood. I see you’re thinkin’ about tryin’ to run. My suggestion is you stay put so my boys don’t have to grab you and hold you down.” Cassie is shaking from head to toe; Kel is shaking too (with fury).

“You’re doin’ drugs while you’re pregnant? What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Kel bellows. She flops dramatically into a chair.

“It’s not that big a deal. It was early in the pregnancy. Bein’ alone and knocked up was hard,” she says as she shrugs like it’s nothing.

“You do know you’re sittin’ in a room full of attorneys right?” Cally asks from behind her bugging his eyes out at me. Yeah this bitch is stupid.

“Why does it matter? You think any judge is gonna listen to you all and not me? It’s my baby, biology always wins,” she scoffs.

“Wow, Kellerman you took a huge step up movin’ on to Kid,” Sully teases. “This one is cute at best, but fuckin’ dumb as a rock. You lucked out findin’ Kid. You coulda been stuck with this shit the rest of your life.”

“Tell me somethin’ I don’t know O’Sullivan,” Kel replies shaking his head. I need to sit down. I move into the bed as though it’s easy, even though that couldn’t be further from the truth. I press the call button and ask the nurse to send up someone to draw some blood. She hesitates before she complies. I’m guessing somewhere out at the nurse’s station there’s a note from Doc that says do whatever I say. We all sit in silence a long time before Crazy starts to talk again.

“If I find out it’s yours and you won’t go back to Seattle with me I’m havin’ an abortion,” Cassie threatens. All my boys’ eyes bug out and I sit up a little straighter. That was a threat I wasn’t expecting. I’m trying to formulate a response when Kel speaks.

“You try to abort my child and I’ll kidnap you and lock you in a fuckin’ basement until you deliver. Then I’ll feed you to the lowest scum of the earth I can find. You fuckin’ threaten me again and you’ll learn real quick what type of man I am,” Kel growls sounding smarmy. Okay that was quite a warning.

“Yeah, not a real bright move Tinker Bell,” Kavy grunts.

“You can threaten me all you like, but I know that you can’t prevent me from having an abortion. Woman’s right to choose,” she says flippantly.

“You have no idea what we’re capable of,” Cally threatens. I can see all of our attorney brains are working overtime trying to come up with a solution to her threat. The problem is she’s right. I could file an injunction to stop her from having an abortion but it won’t hold for the term of the pregnancy. FUCK!

“Dylan, I’m guessing you can tell I’m right by their silence. So, would you like to come home now?” her voice is completely devoid of anything human. Kel looks at me trying to come to grips with her threat and what to do.

“Don’t know if it’s mine,” Kel grumbles in frustration.

“It’s yours. I had the maternal blood screen two weeks ago. Got the results yesterday,” she says in a flourish pulling out an envelope from her handbag. Shit! “It’s a good thing your DNA was on file. You remember giving a sample when that murder happened at your neighbor’s? Came in handy.” Wow this chick is an absolute cunt!

Kel hands the envelope to me without even looking at it. I rip it open and read quickly. It’s Kel’s baby. I feel acid rise up my throat stopped only by the melon sized lump forming. I look at Cassie and she’s beaming from head to toe with her victory. I look at Kel and without a word he knows the answer. He scrubs his mangled hands vigorously across his face.

“I’ll wait for you to get dressed,” she says clinically pulling her phone out to completely avoid having to look at anyone. We’re all silent. She’s got us all where she wants us.

“If I go back to Seattle you won’t do drugs, drink or do anything else to endanger the baby,” Kel commands forcefully.

“Of course not, honey,” Cassie replies sweetly looking up from her phone lovingly into his face. This bitch is completely whacked (women like her give a bad name to our gender as a whole). “Just a few stipulations though. You break off all contact with
Shannon
and the rest of these people. We live together and once the baby’s born we get married. I don’t want a wedding when I’m all fat and disgusting. If you break any of these rules, I’ll either have an abortion or tell the cops that you beat me so that I can get full custody.”

This is not happening. This cannot be fucking happening. I can’t do anything. Kel can’t do anything. My boys can’t do a goddamn thing. She’s taking him from me! I don’t expect him to leave his unborn child for me. I won’t let him. He and I know what it’s like to be alone in this world and I can tell Cassie is no different from my mother. Without Kel, this baby doesn’t stand a chance. If he lets her go and she has an abortion Kel will carry that guilt for the rest of his life. I can’t do that to him.

“I’ll give you five minutes to say your good byes,” she states and moves from the room quickly. Kavy, Sully and Cally are stunned stupid. I sit forward and wrap my arms around Kel’s neck pulling him in tight.

“I don’t wanna leave you,” he whispers into my neck.

“I don’t want you to leave me,” I whisper back. “You have to go though, Kel. We’ll figure this out somehow. You have to play her game right now. I can’t do anything to stop her.” I release Kel’s neck and he gently eases me into his lap crushing me into his chest.

“This can’t be happening. I can’t do this. How am I gonna do this?” Kel pleads.

“You record everything she does or says,” Kavy orders. “You get every piece of evidence you can that she’s an unfit mother for the next six months. The whole time pretendin’ to be exactly what she’s askin’ for. You buy a burner phone and keep in contact with us so we know where we’re at. She goes into labor…we’re on a plane to Seattle to have that baby taken from her.”

“What if she’s not an unfit mother?” Kel questions quietly.

“She already fucked up doin’ drugs and drinkin’. She’s a shit person on the surface. That means deep down there’s somethin’ worse. You’ll find it. We’ll find it,” Kavy spouts confidently.

“Kiddo?” I turn and look up into haunted teal eyes.

“Kavy’s right. You make it your mission to find dirt on her. Anything and everything. I’ll get you the baby Kel I promise. We’ll be okay,” I assure him sweetly pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“She’ll want sex,” Kel mutters.

“I know,” I sigh. This fucking sucks!

“Can’t do it,” he states firmly.

“You’ll do whatever you have to,” I command sitting up to look in his face. He’s in pain. His life is being held hostage and there is no foreseeable escape. Maybe I’ll shoot her after she has the baby. “You better get goin’.” Kel hesitates for a moment before placing me back in bed. He leans over my face and captures my mouth in a searing achingly sad kiss. I work my mouth and tongue in concert with his, drinking in every last memory. He slows the kiss and rests his forehead against mine. His teal orbs open and my heart shatters.

“I love you, Shannon Kelly,” he says with a firm gaze his eyes broken.

“I love you, Dylan Kellerman,” I respond with a waver in my voice. We hold each other’s eyes a breath longer before he stands. He quickly pulls on jeans and a T-shirt, shoving the rest of his stuff in a duffle bag. He gives the guys each a chin lift before looking at me.

“Bye, Kiddo.”

“Bye, Kel.”

He’s gone

April 28, 2014

Shannon

I haven’t heard from Kel in five weeks. I’m worried. Struggling doesn’t begin to describe what he’s been since he left Christmas morning. We’ve only talked on the phone once since he left. Talking is too hard because Cassie is a fucking leech. She never leaves his side. The one time he called me he was in the bathroom with the shower running. We talked for four minutes before she started banging on the door insisting to be let in. So now Kel only texts. It’s difficult too but more manageable. Five weeks is scary. The longest he’s gone without texting before this was three days. I have no way to contact him without jeopardizing the safety of the baby. He buys a new phone every time he contacts me so it’s not like I even have a number to call him at. This is bad.

I walk out my front door to be greeted by Rodger’s warm smile.

“Morning Shannon,” he coos.

“Morning Rodger,” I coo back.

“Hey Shannon,” Thomas calls in his deep bass voice.

“Hey Thomas,” I say as I fold into the back seat of the S-Class.

Thomas (the security guard from my building that watched me the first day I was in danger back in October) is my bodyguard now. He doesn’t live with us, but he’s always with me if I’m not at home. I don’t mind it. I actually like it. I’ve had a constant shadow since I came home from the hospital, and it suits me just fine. I’ve been in therapy with a new doctor here in Kansas City. Dr. Wells is an older woman that reminds me of a grandma you don’t want to fuck with. She tells it like it is and that works well for me. I’m healing.

We ride in comfortable silence to One Kansas City Place. When we get to the building Thomas escorts me in an elevator and then to my office. Karl is waiting for me like always.

“Good morning, Shannon. Here are your messages. We’ve got a busy morning at the courthouse,” he informs me following me into my office. I head to my desk securing my gun in my safe and flop down into my Donghia chair. Thomas leaves my office closing the door behind him. He’s a silent giant.

“Still no word?” Karl asks taking a seat opposite my glass and mahogany desk from me. I shake my head. “There has to be a good reason, Shannon. He wouldn’t just drop off the map for no reason.”

“Doesn’t make it any easier,” I whisper. My door slams open and Kavy, Sully and Cally charge in. Thomas follows with a curious look on his face.

“Look at this,” Kavy orders shoving a phone at me.

They’re trafficking drugs –Kellerman

“That’s it? That’s all he said?” I ask hoping there’s more somewhere else.

“That’s not it, Kid,” Sully says softly. He hands me a piece of paper and cringes as I read the headline.

Fishing Magnate George Yates Announces Daughter’s Wedding

George Yates and his wife Camilla are pleased to announce the upcoming nuptials of their daughter Cassandra Yates to fiancé Dylan Kellerman. The forthcoming event will take place at the Yates’ family home on Mercer Island August 2
^nd
. The happy couple is expecting their first child…

I drop the paper and slam my head onto my desk. This bitch is one for the record books. I pull my head up and look at the announcement again. There’s a picture of Cassie and Kel standing next to each other. There’s water behind them and the sun is shining on Kel’s golden hair. He’s grinning at the camera with a shimmer in his teal eyes. Cassie has an arm around Kel’s waist and his is resting around her shoulders. Her other hand is resting on the slightest baby bump with her head tipped up looking lovingly at Kel’s face. They look like the perfect couple. My stomach rolls.

“I need a drink,” I say to whoever will provide some booze. Kavy slides a glass of whiskey in front of me. I toss it back and relish in the burn. “What’s the text mean?”

“We don’t know. We’re assumin’ her family is usin’ their business to run drugs between countries. Finn’s lookin’ into it,” Sully informs me with a squeeze of my shoulder.

“He doesn’t love her, Shannon. This is just a means to an end. Keep sight of that,” Karl says softly. I nod and swallow back another shot of whiskey.

I run my hand over the necklace that Kel gave me for Christmas. It’s a large round intricate Celtic knot pendant covered in pavé diamonds with one large round diamond at the center. It’s my family swirling around me. I haven’t taken it off since Kavy fastened it around my neck in Kel’s absence.

There was a Celtic knot theme to my Christmas. The rest of my family all got versions of our clover tattoos. Aidan has ten clovers running down his spine (each of us represented), Ryan and Adam got tribal designs on their right calves the clover in the center, Finn got the same small clover on the inside of his left bicep that Cally has (Finn’s afraid of needles too), Hugh started a large half sleeve years ago and added the clover to cover his shoulder, and Collin put the clover in the center of his chest (similar to Kavy’s). The shocker was my parents. Maggie and Mary both got small clovers on the inside of their left wrists, Doc got the clover and a further Celtic design on his right shoulder, Pappy added the clover below a military tattoo he has on his upper right arm, and Pop got the exact same clover as mine on the underside of his forearm. Everyone in our family wears our clover now. We’re always together.