In Love with a Stranger (28 page)

“He was alive when he was loaded into the ambulance. He’s been taken to St. John’s hospital.”

I sobbed in relief. “I need to call William. I need to call my husband.” I gave them his number in hopes someone would call.

I could hear his voice loud and clear as he spoke. “Have you found Hannah? Have you found my wife?”

“Yes, we have her, and she’d like to speak with you.” The officer handed me the phone.

I struggled to speak through my tears. “William?”

“Hannah, sweetheart, are you okay? Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?”

“No, but they shot your dad. Henry came after me. He saved me. He was shot, William. I’m covered in blood. They’ve taken him to St. John’s Hospital. Oh, God, William, I’m scared he’s going to die.”

“Where are you? I’m coming to get you.”

“I don’t know.” I looked around for some sort of street sign or marker, but saw none. Another ambulance came up, and the paramedic spoke with the driver.

“Tell him to meet you at St. John’s,” he relayed back to me.

“They’re taking me to the same hospital.”

“I’m on my way,” he said, cutting me off, and I heard tires squealing. I knew I’d see him soon.

I felt weak and leaned on the officer, as he helped me over to the ambulance. They laid me down, and the officer told them I was pregnant.

“How far along?”

“I’m fourteen weeks.” I found it hard to speak. My eyelids felt so heavy. I felt an oxygen mask being strapped to my face and a blood pressure cuff tightened on my arm, just before I faded away.

I woke to a light kiss on my forehead and a squeeze of my hand. “Beautiful, can you hear me?”

My eyes fluttered open, when I heard William’s voice. I still had an oxygen mask and a blood pressure cuff on, but I also had a pulse monitor clipped to my finger and something strapped to my tummy.

“The baby-” I started to ask.

“The baby’s fine. They want to keep an eye on the both of you, though.”

I nodded and looked down at the hospital gown I was wearing and remembered my clothes. “Henry, is he alive? Did he make it?”

“He’s still in surgery,” William answered, rubbing his face. I could tell he was holding back tears.

When one escaped, I reached up and wiped it away, waiting for him to speak.

“He wouldn’t tell me where you were. He had people looking after you. He said he was worried when we had called for help, and he sent people to watch over you right away. One of the guards followed you. He had a GPS, so they could find you. Dad refused to tell me where you were, he didn’t want me to get hurt. He finally gave me an address, as he was headed out the door. I sped off to get ahead of him. I needed to get to you.” Tears were running down his face in full force. “He lied, it was the wrong address. I was frantic. The address led to a vacant field with a coming soon sign. My father was nowhere in sight. I called him, and he told me that he’d get you out.”

I held him in my arms, and we cried together. Carter slipped into the room, holding some flowers. “Hey, Mary, how’s your little bean doing?” he asked, pointing to my tummy.

“Fine,” I answered, looking up at William, who nodded with a smile.

Carter let out a relieved breath.

“What happened to the others?” I finally remembered to ask.

William scowled. “Lily was shot and killed by the police, when she opened fired on them. Two men were dead on arrival, and the third, my dad’s other security guard, was wounded. He’s out of surgery and stable.”

“She said she shot you.” My eyes searched William, looking for the wound.

He gave me a soft smile. “Just a few stitches in my arm, it’s just a flesh wound,” he pointed to his shirt-covered arm.

“Wait, what happened with Marvin and Layla?” I couldn’t believe I’d nearly forgotten my fallen friend.

“Layla was caught in the crossfire, when Lily came after me. She was pronounced dead, when she arrived at the hospital. Marvin is recovering fine. My private investigator, Stuart, said there’s a little brunette nurse who challenges him with math equations to test his cognitive abilities. I guess he’s smitten with her, and she seems to like him, too.”

“That’s good, he deserves to be happy.” I was glad Marvin had found someone.

William grimaced and looked away.

“So it’s over? With Lily gone, we don’t have to worry about the arsonist, right?” I asked hopefully.

“It was Layla who set the shop on fire, but yes, it’s over. She’s gone, and so is Lily. It’s over, we’re safe, beautiful. You’re finally safe.” He kissed me softly, and I melted back into the bed, relieved. It was over, it was finally over.

Chapter 35 – Epilogue

WILLIAM

Home...Finding it was easier said than done.

Immigration laws pretty much cut the U.S. out for us. There was no way I was leaving the country to wait for my naturalization, while Hannah was pregnant and alone in the states. I was not missing out on my baby, and I refused to risk missing his birth. Yes, his.

He was born a healthy three and a half kilograms. Picking his name was a battle. To this day, I still thought Travis was a perfectly good name, not a drop of royal pretension in it, but that wasn’t what he was named. My wife had won out, and our boy was named Theodore Henry Greyson, using my middle name and my father’s first name.

My father had awoken from his coma a few weeks before little Teddy was born, and the first words out of his mouth were, “Is she alright? Is Hannah safe?”

When my wife walked into the room, his eyes filled with tears, and they both hugged each other crying. His hand settled on her much larger tummy, and then he kissed her hand. That pretty much sealed the deal for her and caused me to concede to her wishes.

My father blamed himself for the whole mess and swore he’d never put my family at risk by interfering with it again. I was inclined to believe him, since he’d taken five bullets to save my wife, and I knew those scars and his aching body would remind him daily not to put us at risk.

My father now had limited mobility in his left leg and wore a brace. He used a cane to walk, when he was not using a walker or in a wheelchair. He had limited use of his right shoulder, and most of his left arm was numb. They were able to repair all his major organs, but he still had back spasms. He’d been lucky, when one of the bullets had been stopped by his rib. It had entered right by his spinal column, and if there’d been any more force behind that shot, it would’ve paralyzed him. He was not bitter, though, and said it was a small price to pay to save his family.

He and Hannah became thick as thieves, but my mother still drifted on the periphery. I was sure it was my father’s doing. He still had something over my mother’s head, and I wanted to know what it was.

Hannah was in the garden with my father and the children, so I was free to seek out my mother. I found her in the library, looking out the window at my family.

“Why are you in here?” I asked, wanting her to tell me the real reason she was hiding in the library and wasn’t outside with my family.

“I’m sorry, William, I was just catching up on some reading for my book club. I can go to my room if you need to use the library.”

“That’s not what I asked. I don’t need to use the library, Mother. Why are you hiding out? What are you afraid of?”

She looked up at me so sadly. “I can’t begin to comprehend what you must think of me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your father hasn’t asked me to stay away, but I assumed you wanted me to. I was sure you’d want nothing to do with me once you found out the truth.”

“What truth?  He never told us anything. He said it was your secret to tell, and he’d never betray you.”

She fell back into the loveseat and cried into her hands. “I thought…when he didn’t tell me to stay away…but you still looked so upset. I thought you knew.”

“I don’t know anything. So dad isn’t the one keeping you away from us?”

“No, he hasn’t said anything to me on the matter, since he woke up in the hospital.”

“Are you ever going to tell me what he has over you? I can’t imagine anything being so bad that you’d lose your family over it.”

She sobbed harder and shook her head at me. She pulled a hanky out of her pocket and got up to leave the room.

“Tell me. If you want me to consider letting you be a part of my children’s lives, I need to know what it is that’s so horrible he didn’t trust you with us. How do I know I can trust you with my kids?”

Her hands shook, as she reached out to me. I almost didn’t take them, but I did and helped her sit back down. I waited patiently for her to speak. I could tell she was really struggling to pull her words together.

“What I’m about to tell you…it can end me. I’m putting my life in your hands.” Her eyes pleaded with mine for understanding. I nodded at her to continue. “It was just after little Camille was born. There were complications, and I was put on pain medicine. I wasn’t cleared to drive yet, but you’d had a bad ear infection, and I needed to take you to see the doctor. I was so tired, and the pills…I never saw him.” She started to cry, leaving me to try and put together the clues.

“There was an accident?” I asked.

She nodded yes.

“What happened, Mum?”

“I panicked, I fled the scene and rushed home, where I found Henry and confessed everything. He was upset. I might’ve gotten a slap on the wrist, or he could’ve had the charges reduced for me driving while medicated, but the accident…” she started crying again, “If I would’ve stopped, if I’d stayed and called for help, the man would’ve lived, but he didn’t. I hit and killed a man. He died a slow and painful death, because I left him there and didn’t stop.”

She couldn’t look at me. I’d admit I scooted away from her a little. Her secret was much worse than I thought it’d be.  “So, he threatens to out you if you don’t do what he says?”

She chuckled blackly. “No, he’d never do anything to tarnish the family name, you know that, William. No, I wanted to come forward after being pelted with news report after news report about the man’s death and the poor family he’d left behind. I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t look at myself. I began self-medicating. Henry found you both playing alone, with me passed out in the room, one too many times.

“When little Camille ended up with a horrible diaper rash and you ended up missing nearly a month of preschool for no reason, other than I just didn’t get you ready, he stepped in. He hired Maggie and sent me away to rehab. I doubt you remember it, but I was gone for nine months, dealing with my addiction and my guilt.

“One of the steps to overcoming an addiction, though, is to make amends, but I couldn’t, I can’t. I wasn’t allowed to do that, and so I struggled for years. It makes me feel so sick even now. I know why he insisted. It really was for more than just our family name. I would’ve been sent to prison. He was so furious, because he was helpless, he couldn’t save me from them, so he had to settle for saving me from myself. He’s not a bad man. He really does love me, so much. I know he does, but sometimes it doesn’t matter if someone loves you, when you can’t stand to look at yourself.

“I couldn’t see beyond the mess I’d made. I wanted to leave him, but he threatened to keep you both from me. He wouldn’t out me on the accident, but he would on my prescription drug addiction. There would’ve been no way for me to gain custody of you both. I was trapped. He no longer trusted me with my own children, and he pushed more responsibilities onto Maggie. She always had little Camille in her arms and you on her heels, when you weren’t with your dad.

“He loves you both so much and took you everywhere he could, even a few places he shouldn’t have. I’m so sorry, William. I’m the one who separated you two. It’s true that I stepped in when you were seven. He and some buddies were in his study smoking those horrible cigars, and when you asked for one, I saw him hand his to you. You took one puff and coughed your lungs out.

“His buddies laughed, but he rubbed your back, telling you that you’d get the hang of it in time. That’s when I knew I had ammunition myself. I may have had a drug addiction, but it was under control.  He, on the other hand, was being irresponsible and harmful. When I called him on it, he pushed you and Camille away to stop me from finding anything else I could use against him.

“He still wouldn’t let me near the pair of you. He’d found me relapsed a couple times over the years, and it only made him more protective of you. He knew I’d never win my children, but he didn’t want them taken from him, either, so you were both left in the care of Maggie, but he was always watching over you.

“As you both grew older, we began to heal and learned to love each other again. It took time, but I began to fully understand why he did what he did. He was just trying to take care of us, of his family, the only way he knew how. I’m sorry I’ve failed you so many times over the years. I was sure he’d told you. That was the looming threat I was afraid of, that you’d find out about my addiction and the accident.”

“When I asked about it, he said he wouldn’t betray you.”

She nodded at me, holding a small smile. “He’s a good man, and he really does love me.”

“Are you still in counseling?” If she wasn’t, I was going to insist that she be in it, before she was allowed around my kids. It was obvious she was still struggling with things through our whole talk.

“Yes, your father insisted I go back shortly after you were married, and he goes with me. He knew I wanted to be a part of your lives, but he still didn’t trust me. He said I could only see you if you agreed to it, if you could handle dealing with me. He also threatened to send me back to rehab, if I relapsed from the stress of dealing with the family.

“He was right, of course. Your father always seems to be right. I think I’m doing better now. Your father looks after me and the rest of you as well. I know you don’t understand it, William, and I know he isn’t stepping into your life like he used to, but he still steps into mine, and I hope you won’t judge him or me for it. It works for us. I need it.”

I was stunned by her confession, but I was relieved that my father had insisted on counseling. “I don’t think it’s a problem for you to visit with us, as long as there are others around. Are you alright with that?”

She looked up at me so hopeful. “Really, you’d allow me to be around the children after everything I told you?”

“Yes, as long as there are others there, I’d be okay with it. I wouldn’t want to stress you and cause you to have another relapse.”  She nodded and stood up, moving back to the window. My father and Hannah were swinging a skipping rope for Penelope, while Maggie cooed over my son. “Would you like to join us outside?”

She nodded yes eagerly, and I took her hand, leading her out to my family. Hannah offered my mother her side of the skip rope to turn for Penelope, and my father gave us a huge smile. I think he was hoping we’d come around and accept my mother back into our lives again. I knew my wife had respected my wishes to keep my mother at bay. I knew my father had truly changed, but I’d had no evidence that my mother had, until today. She’d given me everything I’d need to force her to stay away, with the hope that I’d accept her anyway. She’d given me the power, and it was time I exercised some compassion with it.

We did settle in London at first, but there just wasn’t enough room for our family in the three-bedroom flat in town, when one of the bedrooms doubled as a music room and office. We moved to a small cottage a little ways outside of London. I still commuted into London a few days a week, but I worked a lot from home. At one time, I’d promised Hannah a home with a garden she could look out on when she wrote, and that was what I gave her.

When little Teddy was born, we didn’t put an announcement out like most families did.  We’d come to the decision that it was best to hide our family as much as possible. By keeping it private, it put us at less risk. My father couldn’t erase our existence, but he could hide a lot of my family’s activities and whereabouts. We weren’t necessarily at risk, but the privacy was much appreciated. We completely disassociated ourselves with the peerage, so we were no longer interesting to others.

My little sister, Camille, applied to become a U.S. citizen. Carter visited frequently on business and personal trips, while they waited for her papers to come through. Carter had proposed, but they were waiting to get married until after she was officially a citizen to simplify the process. They made the decision to move there, because his job was based there, and Camille was pretty much just living off her trust fund enjoying life. There was no reason she couldn’t do that in the U.S. It would also give us a reason to go back and visit frequently.

Ophelia did it in reverse. She decided to move to the UK to promote her clothing line and advance her modeling career in Europe. Duncan was still following her around like a lost puppy. I had it on good authority that he’d procured a ring for her, but he still hadn’t gotten up the nerve to ask her to marry him yet.  I knew my mate, though, and it was only a matter of time until he did.

One person who
had
gotten up the nerve to propose was Marvin. That was a great relief for me. His focus had shifted to his current fiancée, Eloise Kinsley, who had been his nurse. She actually did math for a hobby, and the pair were in equation heaven. He was the final threat that’d loomed, and he’d finally been dealt with, thankfully, in a peaceful manner.

Hannah and Scott’s relationship never fully recovered, though she made the obligatory birthday and holiday phone calls.  My wife was just a good person like that.  Frankly, I would’ve been happy if we never saw or heard from that wanker again, but I’d leave that up to my beautiful wife.  Last we’d heard, he was seeing some waitress and was preoccupied these days, so we’d figured it was best to let time do what it would there.  As far as her mother went, that book had already been closed, and we were both keen to leave it that way.

On a more exciting note, Brody and Lisa had a baby girl who they named Clara. Ever since she’d been born, Hannah had tried to convince Brody to move to England. Apparently, little Clara and Teddy were a match made in heaven, and she contended that Brody needed to work security for us.