50. Alyssa

I'm not sure how things would've gone had I not forced his hand, but in the end, Kevin chose to press charges against his wife. Not that he had a choice once the video went viral. Her family had rushed and had her committed to a mental health clinic, but I wasn't satisfied with that.

This had started out as me trying to make her miserable for talking shit about me but had turned into something else entirely. I no longer cared about her petty bullshit; I was more interested in protecting that little boy from her and her crazy ass parents.

Kevin had been granted temporary primary custody until the case went to trial, and the way things were looking, according to his lawyers, he stood a very good chance of getting it permanently. Natalie was still yelling to anyone who would listen that I had stolen her life.

Her friends had abandoned camp at the first sign of trouble. There was a lot of chatter among the elite, with people taking sides, but I just ignored anyone who claimed I should've handled it differently and that it was a private matter and should've been kept between the family.

I put them in the abusive parent pile because the only ones who would say that shit would be the ones who saw nothing wrong with it. I called out most of them for their bullshit, and Garrett took care of the rest.

I guess that's not the way they handle things around here, but I let them know that I wasn't interested in being chummy with idiots, and Garrett wasn't shy about telling them not to fuck with his wife. That got a whole lot of them to change their tune, but it was too late. Once they showed their true colors, there was no turning back.

Garrett was pissed because a lot of people he thought were upstanding sorts turned out to be abuse sympathizers, and now they're blaming me for turning him against them, which doesn't bother me in the least. I just let him know that none of them were allowed near me or I'll beat their ass too, so he culled the herd.

Somehow, I ended up being the designated matron of these people by the end of that week. By that, I mean I was now the go-to girl. I had invitations coming out of the ass, and everyone was asking my opinion on shit that had nothing to do with me.

They were acting as if child abuse was something unheard of, and suddenly I was the voice for that shit. Meanwhile, I was side-eyeing all their asses because I'm not that stupid.

They were like a big monster machine that I wanted no part of. I wasn't interested in joining their mean girl clique, especially since I knew that had it not been for my husband's money, none of them would give me the time of day.

I wanted out of there and was headed back home by the next weekend because that place gave me the ick. Now that everyone knew what Natalie was really like, their mouths were moving.

All the lies she'd told about me and about her and Garrett since our wedding came out, and it was a doozy. How none of these people realized that she was out of her damn mind is beyond me, and they call themselves friends. It was obvious that she'd been spiraling right before their eyes, and they either didn't see or didn't care.

By the time we left California, I had gained a reputation for championing kids, which was not my intention, but it is what it is. Little Andrew was doing better since his paternal Grandparents had come to help watch him while his Dad worked.

They'd asked to meet me and had thanked me profusely for what I had done. Apparently, Natalie had been keeping the kid away from that side of his family for whatever reason, so I was sure they would do whatever it took to keep her away from him, at least for now.

I didn't stop with Natalie, though; I was sure to let it be known that her parents were more than willing to let her get away with harming a child, which had some backlash against her Dad's company.

Throughout all of this, Garrett never once tried to stop me. I kept waiting for him to say something after each new revelation, but he didn't; he just let me do my thing. When I asked him that last night before we came home why he didn't stop me or say anything, he said it was because he agreed with the way I handled things, and he wasn't there to stifle my passionate nature.

I think he was still a bit shaken up himself because he didn't realize that his friend was as far gone as she was. The nanny was in therapy because apparently Natalie was abusing the hell out of her as well, and the poor girl was too afraid to speak out until Natalie was no longer there.

I'm not sure how everything is going to turn out, with Natalie's parents still doing their best to make it all go away, but Kevin knew that Garrett and I were on his side and there if he needed us.

I did get to learn a bit more about Natalie from her friends, who were only too happy to fill me in. Apparently, she was under the impression that she could win Garrett back up until we got married. In her eyes I was the usurper who had stepped in and taken her man, never mind that she was married with a kid.

That's when it came out that she had contemplated getting rid of the baby, but her friends had talked her out of it. Kevin had walked around like a zombie for a few days before his family came to take care of him and the baby, and he was thinking of moving back home with them so they could help with the kid after the divorce that he was dead set on getting.

I already told Garrett that I would spend all of his money making sure Natalie's parents never won custody of that kid, which is something they had threatened. My new in-laws hailed me as a hero, and I'm the new ‘it' girl among their peers.

By the time we left, I had turned Natalie's crew against her, exposed her for the delusional nut bag she is, and came out smelling like roses. I don't think I'll ever have to worry about her again, no matter how much she was still cursing my name.

In all the uproar, it was days before I realized that Jacks was gone, and when I asked Garrett what was going on, he hemmed and hawed so much that I started to get really suspicious.

He ended up telling me a little bit about her background and the things she was into before working for him, but I didn't care; I wanted my Jacks back. It was selfish, I know, but that shit sounded dangerous, and she had already faced danger so bad that she'd gone into hiding.

I called her phone, and some man answered and grilled me up one side and down the other before letting me talk to her. She sounded fine, but I was still pissed at the way he'd just snatched her away, which is how Garrett explained it to me. I told this Marcus person he better not do anything to make me come looking for him, and he just laughed and told me I'd be better off protecting my husband from him.

I don't know what that was about, but when I mentioned it to Garrett, he just rolled his eyes and went about his day, so I guess it was no big deal. We went back home, and I felt the stress of the past week and a half evaporate once I was back on my turf.

I woke up in the middle of the night on our second day back to a bunch of men in Garrett's office. I stood outside the door, eavesdropping until one of them stopped the others and ordered me to come inside. I don't know how he knew I was there because I hadn't made a sound.

I walked into the room to find three strange men sitting there. "Lyon, Mancini, Blair, this is my wife, Alyssa."

"You the one who sent my kid that video?" This was the one who had ordered me to come inside.

"Your kid? What video?"

"The video of that moron beating her kid."

"MengeLiNi is a kid?"

"Why are you listening in at doors?"

"How else am I going to know anything?"

"Typical fucking female."

"Which of you is Marcus?" The one Garrett called Blair raised his hand. "Where is Jacks?"

"Who?" He looked at Garrett. "Oh, so that's what you were calling her. No wonder I couldn't find her." He seemed a bit salty and I had no idea what the hell they were talking about.

They didn't tell me why they were there, but from what little I'd heard standing outside the door, I figured it had something to do with the men who had turned up to the party where Mitzie was almost violated.

"Does she know?" The one called Lyon asked Garrett.

"Do I know what?"

"What you saved those girls from. How did you know to send in help?"

"I didn't, Jacks, recognized one of them or two; I can't remember."

Marcus Blair looked at the other men in the room before looking back at me. "What did she say exactly?"

"Nothing much, just that they were bad news. Why? What's going on? Is Jacks in some kind of trouble?"

"She is, but not the kind you mean. So, you don't know them, you don't know anything about them. What about the Peter guy?"

"I don't know him either; this was the first I heard of any of them. Mitzie might know more, I guess since she was staying with him as far as I know."

"And where is this Mitzie?"

"She went abroad for school; what's this about? You guys are scaring me."

"We need to speak to this Mitzie person." I started to protest, but Garrett gave me a nod. I just wrote her number down and gave it to him since he didn't look like no was part of his vocabulary.

"Okay, we have to head back to the island, then we'll head to New York once we've got more."

"What about the stuff you got from his house?" Garrett asked, and my head was on a swivel again. Whose house? What the hell were they talking about?

"We've packed it up to take with us. Keep your ear to the ground, Jacobi, and keep your woman out of trouble. Let's go. Blair, you can fuck him up on your own time." Marcus was glaring at Garrett, who was pretending not to notice when Lyon made that announcement.

"You and me, bud, once this is all over."

"Would you calm down? She's in one piece, and she got the help she needed."

"Yeah, well, I should've been the one helping her."

"You? You would've browbeat her into having your way."

"So now you're telling me how to handle my woman?"

"No, I'm just saying that as your friend, I chose the lesser of two evils. She needed time to heal, and you, well, you're too damn hotheaded for your own good. What do you think Lyon?"

"I think if it was my woman, they'd still be extracting my foot from your ass."

The one called Mancini, who had yet to speak, grinned and got to his feet. "And on that note! We'd better get a move on; we don't want the trail to run cold. Once those assholes realize their guys are gone, they're going to be on the move."

He reached his hand out to Garrett, "Nice to see you again." Marcus grumbled something but still hugged Garrett in one of those awkward man hugs with a clap on the back.

"By the way, you fight like a dude," Lyon said as he passed me to leave the room with the others following behind.

"How does he know how I fight?"

"Jacks has been singing your praises. I guess she has the video of your sneak attack."

"What was that all about?" I asked after his valet showed the other men to the door.

"I told you what Jacks was into before. That big guy, Lyon, is the head of the organization."

"They just go around saving kids?"

"You can say that. They deal mostly with trafficking. That's why they were here."

"I don't understand."

"Those guys you saved Mitzie from, the ones Jacks recognized, are associated with a very large trafficking ring that works out of this side of the country. They gave up some information while being interrogated that led the guys to believe there's some kind of cell around here."

"So, what's in New York?"

"That's one of the places they mentioned and that's all I'm prepared to tell you about that."

I smacked his chest and pouted. "No secrets, remember."

"I do, yes, but this is not something you need to get involved in. I mean it, Alyssa, no more of your running around getting into shit."

"When did I ever do that?" He pulled me down on his lap and wrapped his arms around me.

"Be good! By the way, your… that woman, Helen, accepted a plea deal."

"Oh! That was fast."

"Wasn't it just? I told you; no one is allowed to mess with you."

"How much time did she get?"

"She got to keep her life, but she won't see the light of day again." Sometimes, I forget his darker side. "Well, it couldn't have happened to a better person. Now, what's going on with Lacey and Denny?"

"You'll know in another couple of weeks."

He'd finally told me what he'd done to them, and I couldn't decide if to be scared or impressed. Now, I can put down the gauntlet and go about my life without idiots littering my path.

GARRETT

"What the hell? This is the third skirt that won't fit. I don't feel like I gained any weight."

"Come here, love." I've been waiting for her to catch on, but she's too stubborn for her own good. She'd thrown up two mornings in a row, and I thought she would get it then, but she'd found every excuse in the book for why she was sick in the mornings only to eat everything that wasn't nailed down hours later.

Since she's been playing the avoidance game, I've had to do most of the legwork. I had her doctors lined up and ready to go whenever she got over being scared. I knew that was the block in her mind that she was terrified of being a mother since she'd seen what her mother went through after she was born, so I've got a therapist waiting in the wings to help her deal with that as well.

I was willing to let her come to grips with things on her own in her own time, but now I don't think that's such a good idea. Who knows what this crazy nut would do to fit into her clothes again. "What?" She came over to my side where I'd been sitting, watching her get dressed.

I pulled her down on my lap and took a deep breath. "Baby, tell me why you think your clothes no longer fit."

"Because you made me fat."

"And how did I do that?"

"By making me eat all the time. Every time I turn around, you're feeding me."

"Because it's good for you and the baby."

She tried jumping off my lap, but I held her in place. "I know you're scared, but I'm here. I've got the best OBGYN in the country, as well as a therapist who specializes in postpartum care. I will be with you every step of the way. Nothing is going to happen to you and our child; trust me."

"Garrett, I'm scared." Thank heavens. She's been wound so tight I was afraid she'd snap.

"I know, baby, if you want to keep ignoring it a little longer, go right ahead. Just understand that you have to eat right and take care not to do anything too strenuous. I'll do the rest."

"You? How are you going to do that?"

"I'll do the worrying so you don't have to."

"Oh no, you don't, I know what that means. You're going to nag me to death. Don't think I haven't noticed that you've already changed my diet. What's with all the damn green shit on my plate at dinner?"

"Spinach is good for you and…" I pointed at her tummy since we were still pretending that she wasn't pregnant.

"You and your spawn planning to take over my life? You can think again."

"Don't call my child that."

"Whatever, I still need something to wear."

"Would you like to go shopping?"

"Why? I'm sure I can find something."

"We might as well because at the rate you're going, you'll be out of things to choose from soon." I got another smack for that.

"Are you calling me fat?"

"No, you're beautiful." I placed my hand on her tummy, and my heart skipped a beat.

Who could've imagined that the elusive Garrett Jacobi would be here? All my life, I chased after my dreams, never once thinking that something as simple as a wife and child would mean more to me than all my past dreams combined.

I still wake up in the middle of the night sometimes to just stare at her. I thought when I started my first startup, and it took off, that there could be no greater feeling in the world. Then, after I married her, that feeling was once again surpassed, but not even that compares to what I feel now. Just to sit here with her like this feels as if my whole world is in my hands.