Chapter 1
Five, four, three, two, one. Beep.... Alexa stop. Kenley quietly hushed the Alexa in the next room. The moment of truth was here. Trembling she picked up the white stick from the top of the bathroom cabinet. Two pink lines glared back at her leaving no uncertainty in their wake that she was indeed pregnant. Subconsciously her hand went to her stomach protecting the child that she now knew grew inside. Excited she took the stick and went in search of Derek. Taking the steps two at a time she could barely hide the excitement that was coursing through her veins. Down the stairs and to the right was his office. She was never allowed to just walk in. Derek had strict rules and the most important one was to never come in unannounced. She must always knock first. He had reminded her many times that he had important meetings that could not be interrupted. Raising her hand to knock she heard a loud pop followed by a thud. Lowering her hand she pressed her ear to the door trying to listen to the voices inside. Just then the door opened catching her unaware, she gasped as she jumped back seeing Derek in front of her. The excitement she felt moments before was replaced by a sinking fear that something was very amiss. Instinctively she hid the stick behind her back. Derek looked surprised to see her but quickly recovered with a stern look.
"What are you doing here. I thought you were out shopping for the day." he said.
"I got back a little while ago, just wanted to say hi. She said nervously. "I'm sorry to disturb you. I know your busy. I'll uh talk to you later tonight I guess." With that she flashed him a smile, gave him a kiss on his cheek and turn to walk away briskly.
Turning back to his two men who had finished rolling up the carpet behind him, he mused aloud. "Do you guys think she saw any of that?"
Marcus spoke up first. " I don't know boss, she seemed a little weird to be honest. Mateo shrugged busy with the task at hand."
Derek pondered Kenley's abrupt departure. Better be safe than sorry he thought. "I'm going to go talk to her. I need to know if she saw anything. Marcus take care of this uh mess and make sure Victoria has a new carpet replaced pronto."
"Yes boss, they said in unison."
Derek made his way down the hall and stopped in the bathroon to wash his hands. He hated being the bad guy but everyone had a job to do. His was to keep the peace between the brotherhood. A position he was unfortunately both born into and good at. He Washed his hands in the sink bringing them up to smell the sweetness of Jasmine and Water Lily. One of the many little changes Kenley had made when she came to live in the mansion three months ago. Derek had fallen fast and hard for her. He had seen her get off the greyhound with just a backpack over one shoulder. She was a tiny little thing. You could tell she wasn't a local. Her whole appearance screamed country girl. She had worn a white tank top tucked in to her jeans with a blue Jean button up jacket and tan boots. Her chestnut brown hair laid in soft waves cascading down her shoulders under an oversized black cowboy hat. Hardly what a New Yorker would wear. He was smitten with her from day one. As he watched her from afar, the rain started to come down in droves. Poor girl tried to use her backpack for an umbrella without much sucess. Just then a taxi flew by splashing the excess water that was pooling toward the storm drains onto her. In minutes she went from put together down home country to drenched New York City rat. Against his better judgement, he had gone over to assist her. He never could turn a pretty face away. Even being cold and wet, her smile was guinine snd she had the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. They were the clearest blue. It reminded him of the color of the water in the Bahammas and he immediately wanted to take her there and get lost in them. His business had been done for the day so he had helped her find a hotel for the week. She stated she had always wanted to visit the big apple and having recently graduated high school, she felt now was the perfect time before she started community college in the fall. He had learned she was very young, barely 18. He had just turned 25 himself. He knew he should have let that be the end of it but he found he just couldn't leave her alone. She was a breath of fresh air and peaceful serenity he secretly yearned for. In his day to day, their wasn't as much peace as he would of liked. Grown men often acting like petulant children and trying to call shots that went above and beyond their pay grade. It was then that he had to step in. A fixer is what he was called. A role he couldn't escape even if he tried. He asked if he could see her again the next day. He felt the greatest joy when she had said yes. He had taken off that whole week showing her all of New York's greatest sites. He enjoyed giving her the good life. Taking her to broadway shows, the best restaurants with breath taking views and a fancy party or two. He wanted to give her the world and she never even asked for it. Women he normally dated would of asked for his charge card at this point with an unlimited budget, but she was happy to just be in his company. When the time came for her to return home, he couldn't help but beg for her to stay. It took some convincing but she finally agreed. However preperations had to be made. Anyone could take one look at her and know this life wasn't for her. Derek had wanted to keep his two lives seperate. He wanted to keep his private business private from Kenley. He immediately enacted strict rules that everyone was to follow to keep her in the dark for two reasons. One he really did like her. The more he learned about her, the deeper in love he fell. She was pure innocense and in his line of work, that was more precious than gold. And for two he didn't want her to meet the same fate his recently departed friend had met just moments ago. If she knew what had transpired, what and who he really was, it wouldn't bold well for either one of them. He splashed water on his face feeling much older than his 25 years. The sins of a man weighted him, aged him, and day by day killed him. Looking up he spotted a drop of blood on his collar. Swearing under his breath, he unbuttoned his shirt to remove it. He gave himself one last look to ensure he hadn't missed any other evidence before he headed out of the bathroom. He stopped by the laundry to give his shirt to the maid and grabbed a new laundered polo that was waiting to be put up before heading upstairs to find his love. He desperately prayed that she had not seen or heard anything. He didn't want to fathom what would happen to her if she had. In his line of work, no witnesses were left behind. His father had made that mistake and it earned him the death penalty by New York's finest.
