Chapter 47
Chapter Forty-Seven
CHRISTIAN
It’s been three hours since I woke up, and I still can't shake off that fucking dream. I’m on edge, and although I know there is no way any of those particular people can get to my family, there are still people who can. I can’t let that happen; I won’t let it happen.
There is only one thing, other than losing myself in Jasmine, that helps me clear my head and work out what I need to do: hit something.
Within ten minutes of Jasmine leaving our room, I was in my gym shorts and walking down to our gym. I was so glad I didn’t bump into anyone, whether family or friends; I wasn’t ready to speak to anyone other than Jasmine. I have never been very good when it comes to talking about feelings. Tommy drilled it into me from a very young age that feelings will get you killed. “It's best to shut that shit off and stop focusing on the past. It's behind you for a reason.” Even though I have pushed my brothers and Jasmine to accept their emotions and talk about them, I’ve never been able to follow my own advice until today.
When Jasmine sat on our bed and encouraged me to talk, I felt a little lighter than I had in a long time. Could I be like that with someone other than my girl? Probably not. Jasmine has this way of making me comfortable enough to talk without even realising it. How did I, of all people, get lucky enough to have such an amazing woman by my side? I will never understand it.
I will never understand how Jasmine has grown into the big-hearted, considerate, selfless woman who always puts everyone before herself. She was brought up by such an evil, manipulative excuse of a mother who never showed her any love, yet that’s all Jasmine does. It’s why everyone who meets her loves her.
Jasmine and Carol Connors couldn’t be more different if they tried. Carol thought of no one but herself; the only time she ever wanted to admit she was a mother was so she could use her daughter to get what she wanted: drugs and money. Yet Jasmine was the perfect daughter in so many ways. Even when her mother was using drugs and abusing her, Jasmine still believed that there had to be some good in her somewhere.
The morning Jason and I took Jasmine to the house to get her things, I realised just how bad things had gotten and how evil Carol could be. Jasmine had told us several times what Carol was like when she was using, but seeing it first-hand made me realise just how strong Jasmine had been all those years. How she lived in those conditions with a mother that vile, I’ll never be able to comprehend. Tommy was an arsehole, violent and controlling, but my brothers and I had each other, as well as Mum, Mrs Brown, and a handful of friends, such as Terry and Geralt Young, who always looked out for us the best he could, it’s why he put up with Tommy’s shit. But poor Jasmine had no one in her corner once her grandparents died.
Thinking of Carol and Tommy, my nightmare flashes before my eyes again. Instead of letting it pull me under, I envision Hardy standing before me with that smug smile I took great pleasure in removing from his face. After all the pain he had caused my brother, there was no way I was going to let him live. I put everything I had into getting harder and stronger. I took out anyone who dared to look at me the wrong way. But the main plan was to make Hardy pay, and I did.
I’ve never taken pleasure in causing death. Every single one was a necessity to ensure that no one even considered attempting to hurt my brothers again. Even if I made myself the primary target, I didn’t care as long as those three were safe.
The whole time I’ve been trying desperately to push back all the memories of how I got to this point, I attack the punch bag like it is every single person who attacked me in one way or another. With Guns N' Roses blaring in my ears, I don’t hold back, desperately trying to find some sort of release because then I may be able to think of a way to get this latest threat away from my family. My mum told me to mend my broken wings and fly, but how can I do that when it will leave us all vulnerable? I will never take that risk, not now that we have Jasmine.
Every nerve in my body comes alive as I sense someone approaching me from behind. I don’t stop to think; I spin around whilst dropping to the floor, taking out their legs in the process. Before they’ve even hit the deck, they flip forward so they can get their balance before jumping back.
“What the fuck?” I yell, pulling my earbuds out. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” I stare at Terry, who looks a little shaken.
“I called your name four times, O’Reilly!” he snaps as I hear someone laugh from the door.
“I had these in!” I thrust my hand out to show the two earbuds now resting on it. “If I had heard you, I would have fucking answered.”
“I tried to warn him,” Jason announces as he walks into view. As soon as our eyes meet, he gives me a look, checking to see if I’m okay. I nod subtly before turning my attention back to Terry.
“I was going to come and see you after I finished in here anyway,” I sigh, turning back to the punching bag.
Getting my feet in the right position, I start jabbing at the bag. Terry stands behind it, far enough that if it swings, it won't hit him, but close enough that I will hear him over the sound of my fists hitting the stiff leather.
“I’ve managed to unscramble the footage from the night before the attempted break-in.”
I grab the bag as it swings back towards me so I can give him my full attention. He holds out a small stack of papers, which I notice all have pictures on them.
“Do you recognise any of them?” I ask, taking them from him and flicking through the pile. Each one is time-stamped. It looks like it took them a grand total of five minutes to get the jacks in position. After all, they had a ladder, which conveniently disappeared so Maximus was forced to climb up the wall.
“No, I have run them through our databases, and they don’t match any old employees. I’m going to ask Calvin to give it a go on his system.”
I nod, knowing it’s likely he will be able to match them to a name, and if he can't use his system, then Logan will be able to by hacking the CCTV database or something.
“Chuck me my phone,” I nod towards the ring where I placed it when coming in. Jason throws it to me, and I quickly take a picture of the prints. “Are these on the system?” I ask, flicking through the images to photograph each one.
“No, thought it was best to just keep a paper trail for now until we can clear our people.”
“Good, that’s what I was thinking.” I pull up a contact number and click call. I listen to it ring three times before he answers.
“McIntire.” His voice comes through sharp and stressed.
“It’s me. Have you got a minute?” I listen to mumbled voices on the other end of the line and wait to be addressed.
After a few moments, I hear what sounds like a door closing and footsteps echoing before the squeak of McIntire's office chair sounds out, signalling he's sitting down.
“Hey, how's it all going?”
“It’s okay. Been better, but that’s to be expected.”
“I can imagine,” he sighs. “What can I do for you, Christian?”
“How well do you know Nicholson's men?” I ask nervously. McIntire and Nicholson are not friends, but they do respect each other to a point. If anyone knows who these guys works for, it is the man on the other end of this call.
“I make it a point to know all who pose a threat.”
“Do you have your laptop to hand? We have some stills from our security footage. I would like you to look at it and tell me how worried I should be.”
“Send them over.”
I explain I’m putting him on loudspeaker and hold my phone in my hand as I pull up my encrypted email app.
“You should get them any second.” I click send and wait patiently to hear if he knows who it is. If it is Nicholson, the wedding will be off, and I’ll send everyone home. My brothers and Jasmine will be on a plane within the hour. I’m already planning where to send them when I hear McIntire curse.
“They don’t work for Nicholson.” That should be a relief, but his reaction has me doing anything but relax.
“How worried should I be?” I ask, looking at Terry and Jason, who are ready to follow orders.
“You still on lockdown at the house?”
“Yes,” I answer nervously.
“Is Abigail still there?”
I look to Jason, who frowns, nodding.
“She’s here, as are Verity and Danielle King.”
“Send them all home and wait for my call. I will collect this bastard myself and bring him to you.” I can hear him walking around again through the phone as I look at Jason, who is staring at me wide-eyed.
“Do I need to get Jasmine to a safe house?” I ask, looking at Terry, who is already tapping on his phone.
“No, she will be perfectly safe. You all will. But everyone else needs to leave, and don’t tell them why. I’ll be in touch.” He ends the call as I look at Terry and Jason, hoping they have some kind of idea of what the fuck is going on.
“I’ll go get the girls out of here; you shower and get dressed. We will all meet in the sitting room in thirty minutes,” Jason orders before turning to Terry. “Can you fill Layton and the twins in?”
“What will you tell everyone to make them leave?” I ask, making sure everyone knows the story.
“I’ll explain that we need some time as a family before the wedding. They know something is up, as Jazzy nearly called everything off this morning. We can just play along with whatever she told them.”
“Sounds good to me. Send Jasmine to my room, and I will tell her, so she isn’t blindsided or panicking that something is wrong with me,” I say, grabbing my shit and heading towards the stairs leading up to the main house.
“I’ll send her as soon as her friends go to pack.”
I nod once and take the stairs three at a time, praying that whoever McIntire is collecting to bring here isn’t another major threat to my family.