Chapter 99

Renee’s POV

A couple days later, I’m discharged from the hospital. Eric, Debbie, myself, and Liam are home.

I looked it up, Liam means protector which exactly what he was doing while I was held hostage. He was the reason Mark didn’t kill me. The name also means strong, and despite him being born prematurely, the doctors said he’s the healthiest premie they’ve ever met.

“How are you feeling?” Eric asks covered in paint while leaning against the doorframe of of our unfinished nursery for Liam. With all that’s been going on, we didn’t get around to completing it. Which is why Eric is wearing a pair of old blue jeans and a stained white t shirt, looking achingly handsome.

It’s a loaded question. I’m sore from pushing, my ribs still ache and my cuts sting when touched. Poor Liam probably thinks his mom looks like a monster, but he still looks up at me with nothing but love in his eyes. Kind of how Eric is looking at me now.

“I’m okay,” I tell him and it’s the truth. Despite almost losing my life and Liam’s, we survived. Not only that, but Eric reposted his businesses finances so the market is stabilizing, Emily and Jasper are back home healing. The only problem is Mark and Mia are still out there.

I seat back and forth on the caramel colored rocker that’s in his nursery, looking down at his Cupid-like lips. I can’t believe that Mark once held Eric who was once this small and vulnerable and completely dependent on his fathers protection, had also tried to kill Jim.

It makes me more certain that maybe he did have it in his to kill his wife, Eric’s mother. “How are you?” I ask Eric who’s come further into the room. He sighs.

“Good,” he settles on and I don’t push him because the truth is we will be good. “I was thinking we put the mural of the jungle animals on that wall,” Eric suggests. “Whenever you’re up to paint it,” he adds.

Liam’s nursery theme is born to be wild, because even though he’s on a few days old when he is awake he’s already so alert and such a wiggler. He might just actually be able to tire Debbie out.

Speaking of which, “Where is Debbie?” I ask.

Eric points a thumb behind him over his shoulder. “Margaux came by to drop off some food for you and check in after,” Eric hesitates, “everything,” he finally says.

Of course the media is going wild over the breaking news about the Lunas held hostage situation. The plus side is that public opinion is much more sympathetic to Eric which made forgiving him for withdrawing everything from the bank and tanking everyone’s accounts more forgivable.

The downside is there’s still complete unrest as no arrests have been made. It’s like our house is a fortress of solitude and just outside these walls is mayhem. If I tune in enough, I can feel the panic mounting outside, sometimes it seems palpable enough to shake the walls of the house.

It doesn’t help that basically everyone knows where we live since all the recent press.

I nod. “That’s nice of her,” I say. “Does she want to come say hi?” I ask silently hoping that she doesn’t. I don’t look exactly presentable for company and while it’s only Margaux who’s basically family, I just don’t want visitors.

Eric shakes his head. “I already told her you weren’t up for visitors yet,” I smile easily. Its nice when the gates bond is nurtured because it makes things like this easier. Eric just gets me.

“Mommy! Daddy!” Debbie comes skipping inside the room. Liam stirs at the sound of his sisters voice. “Oh, sorry,” Debbie adds in a loud whisper. “Grandpa Mark is on t.v” Debbie says.

I internally cringe that Debbie refers to Eric’s father with an endearing term like grandpa. But she doesn’t know.

We decided to tell her that Grandpa Mark isn’t a very nice man and when money got lost and hurt he didn’t help her. It’s a vague story that has many holes, but I didn’t exactly have the mental stamina to come up with a better story. Besides sooner or later, she’ll learn the truth.

I was just hoping it would all be later. Eric and I have been shielding her from the t.v and the news. When the time is right, we want to be the ones to give the full story not whatever dramatized way the media is spinning it.

Eric helps me out of the rocking chair and we walk to the living room where Margaux is fiddling with the remote. “I was trying to put on cartoons,” she says all flustered.

“It’s okay,” I say as Margaux looks sheepishly down at her brown sensible shoes. I put a gentle hand on Margaux shoulder and she looks up at me with tears in her eyes.

“You are so beautiful,” she tells me. It’s a comment I’m not expecting, one that I don’t know how to respond to. “I’ve always loved you like a daughter,” she tells me and my throat constricts. Damn hormones.

Before I can even think of what to respond, Margaux looks down at Liam and a tear rolls down her cheek. “He’s perfect,” she tells me. “Well, I’ll be going. I didn’t mean to bother,” she says and now I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut completed record with guilt for not wanting visitors.

“Stay,” I tell her. “You’re family,” Margaux doesn’t protest. Instead she takes Debbie’s hands.

“Well, I say we go bake some cookies,” Debbie’s eyes light up.

“Yes!” She agrees joyfully. I give Margaux a thankful expression as she leads Debbie out of the room.

Eric unmutes the t.v and we sit on the couch. The anchorman describes the scene that’s unfolding on the screen. Sure enough, Mark is handcuffed and being escorted into a police car. Though his head his hung low, I can still see a black eye and split lip. He looks worse than I thought.

I look over at Eric wondering how he feels seeing his father in such a state, but his expression reveals nothing.

The anchorman is a polished middle-aged man with black hair that’s so heavily gelled it looks like plastic. He speaks comfortably into the microphone tuning his voice at just the right pitch and octaves at the right time as he covers the breaking news.

“At a attempt to cross the border, Mark (last name?) age 60, Has been captured. An immediate arrest has been made for the following charges: fraud, theft, damage to personal property, stolen identity, and federal blackmail,”

“Wow,” I say under my breath. Still Eric remains silent, but his state grows more intense. The anchor man continues.

“We still have no location on the female accomplice; but we are hopeful that she will make an appearance soon now that her leader has been captured,” Eric turns the t.v off.

I wait for him to break the silence. After a couple minutes he finally does. “Good,” I wait for him to say more, but he doesn’t. After that long pause and that news, that’s all he has to say?

“How are you feeling?” I ask trying to sound gentle but my questions comes out more inquisitive.

Eric shrugs. “He’s getting what he deserves,” I ponder for a minute what Eric says.

“Is that why you didn’t kill him?” I ask. Eric nods slightly.

“He’ll be in jail for a long time, it may not be for the murder of my mom, but with all those charges he won’t be getting out anytime soon. Death would be too easy for him,”

I nod. While I believe what Eric is saying, part of me also thinks he didn’t kill his father for the simple fact that he is his father. Mark might have been able to kill his own son, somehow, but Eric isn’t heartless like that. It’s just one of the many ways that shows Eric is nothing like his dad.

One other thing had been bothering me. “What about Mia?”

Eric scrunches his nose. “What about her?”

“Do you think she’ll come back?” I chew the bottom of my lip. Eric shakes his head.

“No way. If she is dumb enough to return, she has no one on her side. The second someone notices her they’ll have her head,” Eric assures me, but my concerns are sidetracked by a ping on my phone telling me about an incoming text.

It’s from Natalie, the client Mark was impersonating.