Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
JASON
I walk through the house, enjoying the peace and quiet for a moment. Everyone has a million and one things to do right now. If it's not trying to find out who attempted to break into our home last night or who is trying to bring us down, it’s to do with the wedding.
The closer we get to the weekend, the busier everyone seems to be. There always seem to be calls to make or things to pick up, and that’s before we even include all the shit that’s been going down.
Christian and I filled Travis in on what's been going on. It turns out Christian had once again tried to hide shit from me. McIntire told him two days ago that Nicholson was asking about us. Travis assured us that it didn’t sound like Nicholson was looking to rise against us, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen eventually.
As soon as Travis left, I demanded to know about the dealers. As I suspected, Christian managed to track down anyone Carol was associated with through other contacts. The six he killed the other night were all who were left. Dealers don’t have the longest life span, as they usually piss someone off or use their own drugs and end up overdosing. Either way, he believes everyone who ever touched Jasmine is dead.
I have spent the last half an hour training in the sparring room, trying to work out what the hell we are going to do. We discussed cancelling the wedding and developing a new plan, but it may be too late. Plus, I can’t see Jasmine agreeing to cancel it; we don’t want to ask her to.
As much as I’m looking forward to the wedding itself, I’m now looking even more forward to the honeymoon—two whole weeks of just the five of us in the villa. We have no plans but just to take some time to relax and enjoy the start of our new lives with our wife.
What Jasmine doesn’t know is that after the initial two weeks, we are taking turns to take her away for a week. Maximus is taking her to Italy—Sean, to Spain. Christian has opted for Paris, and I’m taking her to the Maldives. Christian has cleared everything with her school, and I’m sure he donated a large sum of money to ensure it doesn’t affect her attempts to take on a lead role in the next production.
“What do you mean they are all dead?”
I look towards Christian's office, where the door is a jar. I rush in, desperate to know what the hell has happened now and who the fuck is dead.
The first thing I see when I open the office door is Christian pacing with his mobile to his ear.
“How is that even possible? What could have killed every single one of them like that?” he spots me when he turns and holds up a finger as he continues to listen to whoever is on the other end of the call.
My first thought is that something’s happened to Jazzy or the twins, but I know Christian would never shush me like that if there were a problem with them. Of course, that means it could be about anything.
What the fuck is going on? We have come under fire a few times in the past, but this is getting out of control now. I can’t remember the last time I slept for more than an hour at a time. Even when I do, it’s only because I’m exhausted or Jazzy is in my arms, so I know she’s safe.
“Is there anything we can do to fix this? I don’t care about the cost; money is no object.”
I look back at my brother, frowning. If people are dead, what the hell can money do to fix the situation? What could he be referring to if not people? We don’t own any animals other than the puppy, and I know he's fine as he's curled up on his bed in the corner watching Christian. That dog wants to be wherever he is, and it seems my brother has given up fighting it.
Christian’s shoulders sag as he lets out a long, defeated sigh. “Okay, see what you can come up with, but I understand what you’re saying. If I don’t hear any different in the next twenty-four hours, I will take it as all is lost … No, don’t worry about that; it wasn’t your fault; keep it, and I hope you get to the bottom of it all before anything else goes wrong for you … You too. Thank you again for all you have done, goodbye.” Christian hangs up the phone and curses under his breath before running his fingers through his hair.
“What’s going on now?” I ask, unable to take the suspense anymore.
“That was the florist. They’ve just gone to their warehouse, where they keep all their flowers, and they are all dead. Thousands of pounds worth of plants withering and unrepairable.”
“The flowers for the wedding?” I ask, already having guessed the answer.
“Gone. They don’t think they can get anything replaced in time. They have lost everything.”
I know I should feel sorry for them, and I do. But all I can concentrate on is how much this will devastate Jazzy. She loved the flowers she picked out for the bouquets and centrepieces. She dragged us all along and spent hours going back and forth with ideas. She has designed them all herself, and the florist was so excited about putting her pieces together. They even tried to encourage Jazzy to work for them, as they loved her designs so much.
“Do you think it is a coincidence? Or was this done because someone discovered the florist we are using?” I ask, knowing what my brother will be thinking and will have come to the same conclusion as me.
“You know my view on coincidences. There are none,” he replies as he walks around his desk and switches on his laptop. “The florist thinks there must have been some sort of pesticide used locally which has gotten into the air vents or water.” He looks up at me, and I see the disbelief in his tired eyes. “It must have been put in there on purpose. The florist knew it too, but she didn’t want to admit someone could do something that evil on purpose.”
“Oh, if only they knew how evil people can be,” I sigh, taking my usual seat in front of his desk. “I was going to ask what the plan was to deal with everything from last night, but I think you are a little preoccupied now.”
Christian sighs as he sits back in his chair and rubs his face. “Any chance you can grab me a coffee? I need to try and sort this shitstorm out whilst finding other options before I have to tell Jasmine what’s happened.” It’s written all over his face how much he dreads that conversation. He’s not the only one.
“No problem. I’ll be back with it now.” Standing from the chair, I head out of the room, wanting to give him a little time to clear his head.
When I find out who was responsible for this, I will be the one to end them. It’s one thing to go after my brothers let's face it, we've done plenty in the past to probably deserve it and more. But Jazzy has done nothing wrong, yet here she is being victimised purely because of her association with us again. It infuriates my brothers and me. There have been times we have all wondered if we are doing the right thing by marrying her. But Jaz has made it clear she would never let us walk away, even if we tried.
Reflecting on how well she handled herself in the last twenty-four hours shows how far she has come. She is handling everything so well, but we are waiting for the situation that will be what starts the avalanche of emotions she must be bottling up. Maybe this will be it.
It looks like we were all called away last night to ensure she was on her own. Drew suggested that it may have been a trial run, a way for the perpetrators to see if they could control the security system and get us away from the house. Logan doesn’t think they are that clever, and they had hoped to trap Jazzy last night. To do what, I have no idea.
Until last night, they seemed to have left her alone. They didn’t do anything at her hen party or try to get to her when she’s out of the house. Nothing is adding up, and it’s infuriating me. We are all stressed and being pushed to the breaking point, and I honestly think Jazzy is the only reason none of us has gone on a rampage and started killing people until we get answers.
I walk into the kitchen to find Mrs Brown humming as she makes up salad for dinner.
“Afternoon, Mrs Brown.” I don’t manage to hide the sigh that follows.
“Well, that doesn’t sound like someone about to get married in a few days. What’s happened now?” she asks, looking at me.
“Just things going wrong that shouldn’t be. I’m sure everything will be okay,” I smile, hoping to reassure her. She watches me momentarily and nods, knowing better than to ask too many questions.
“Well, one thing that will go right is that you will be happily married in just a few short days,” she winks before returning to her salad. I smile, realising that it’s one thing guaranteed to make me happy.
Everything aside, my Jazzy is about to be my wife, and that one thought alone is enough to lift any mood. That is until I hear the back door slam as someone charges into the kitchen.
“Where is he?”
Terry stands with his phone in his hand and looks furious.
“His office. What’s happened?” I ask as Terry looks to the kitchen door, and Christian appears.
“What the fucks with the SOS message? I was on the phone,” he demands, looking at our head of security.
“I know because I tried to call your phone. We are leaving now,” Terry demands, heading to the garage door before looking at me. “That includes you.”
“What the hell is going on?” Christian and I say in unison, never expecting the words that leave Terry's mouth.
“There's been an incident at the dress shop.”