One Wild Night

"Nah. I don\'t want to leave until I\'m done with this case. Once I\'m done, I\'ll officially resign to start my own practice..."

"Or you could just join the legal department at I-Global. The pay is good, and it\'s less stressful and dangerous," Harry offered.

"Are you offering me a job?" Jade asked with a grin, and Harry nodded.

"Yes. The company needs intelligent lawyers like you," Harry said, making Jade\'s smile widen.

"I like it when you compliment me."

Harry scoffed, "Will you at least think about it? At least that way I don\'t have to be deployed to be your babysitter when next you have a life-threatening court case," Harry said making her scowl at him.

"Who knows? I might have a boyfriend by that time so I won\'t need you here to babysit."

"For your sake, I really hope so. I don\'t think my girlfriend is going to like that I babysit a full-grown lady either," Harry retorted.

"That\'s if you are able to get yourself a girlfriend by then," Jade said with a tsk as she stood up to leave for her bedroom.

"Is that a dare?" Harry asked with a slightly raised brow, but before Jade could respond her phone started to ring.

"It\'s Matt," she informed him as she received the call and placed it on speaker.

"Did you..."

"Brandy is in trouble. The so-called bachelor\'s party is a trap. The other stripper who went with her was shot," Matt said with a note of urgency in his tone making Jade\'s heart skip a beat.

"Is it Jero or the Legion?" Jade asked curiously.

"How am I supposed to know? Is that important right now? Her life is in fucking danger! I\'m calling the cops," Matt informed her.

He had been unable to follow the limousine into the port because it would have been too suspicious and he would have been in danger too. So instead he had driven to a different location closest to the port where he stayed back in the car to observe what was happening around Brandy.

"You do realize that some of the cops are under the payroll of the cartel, right? She will be dead long before the cops arrive there. If you want to save her, then just listen to me. You said you gave her a recording device, didn\'t you? First, find out who they are and what they want from her. If possible I want to see and hear whatever is going on there," Jade said, making Matt\'s blood boil with anger.

"Your case is more important to you than her life?" Matt asked angrily.

"Are you deaf or just stupid?" Jade asked impatiently, beginning to feel very angry herself, "Andy knew what was at stake before she decided to put her life on the line for us to crack this case. She knew the risks before offering to stay back instead of leaving with Candace. Now set aside your fucking sentiments and help me do this, or Candace and her boy\'s life will be in danger after Andy is killed!" Jade snapped at him irritably.

Matt took in a deep breath, "So we are just going to leave her there to die while we observe what is happening around her?" He asked, thinking about his promise to Candy to make sure Brandy was safe.

Jade took in a deep breath to stop herself from exploding with rage, and Harry who had heard enough to know what was going on stepped in and took the phone from Jade.

"Hey, it\'s Harry. I understand that you\'re worried, but you really need to relax. Andy won\'t die. Jade cares about her a lot too. Once we know who is holding her and what they want, we will know how best to approach them. So just share whatever you see and hear with us. We will take the next available flight and join you wherever you are," Harry said in a calm tone and Matt sighed.

"Okay, I\'ll see what I can find while I wait for you," Matt said and hung up the call.

"You need to calm down," Harry said as he returned her phone to her, and Jade glared at him.

"What did you just say to him that I didn\'t say already?" She asked, feeling angry that Harry had only spoken once and Matt listened, whereas he hadn\'t listened to anything she said.

"Or what did you say that I didn\'t say? I didn\'t lose my temper, and I didn\'t call him deaf or stupid. Go and get dressed while I give the pilot a call. We will meet him at Sogal," Harry said as he picked up his phone and walked away.

***********

As Lucy opened the door of her apartment, her parents rushed over to the door to meet her, and her mother embraced her, "I\'m proud of you, baby," her mother said as she hugged her tightly and patted her back.

"Thank you, mom," Lucy said with a smile as she held on to her mother. She had tried not to break down because she knew that her family and Tom were watching her and she didn\'t want them to be upset.

"And I\'m sorry I wasn\'t such a good mother. Maybe if I was, you wouldn\'t have gone through any of this," she said making Lucy pull away from the hug to look at her.

"You\'re the best mother I could ever ask for. What happened to me had nothing to do with you being a good parent. It\'s not your fault," Lucy assured her mother as she reached out to wipe a tear from her mother\'s cheeks.

"I\'m so proud of you Princess. You handled yourself really well," Her father said, and Lucy smiled at him as he stepped forward and embraced her while her mother stepped out of the way to look at Sonia who had just stepped in.

"Sonia you did well too. Thanks for being here for her," Lucy\'s mother said as she embraced Sonia.

"So we need to get ready for dinner. Tom is sending a car over to pick us," Lucy informed them, and her parents exchanged a look.

"He offered to accommodate us for the remaining duration of our stay here. Is it okay by you?" Lucy\'s father asked.

Lucy sighed. Grateful that her parents had not jumped on the offer but had waited to seek her opinion first, "It\'ll be more convenient for you. I don\'t mind," Lucy said with a shrug and her mother smiled happily.

"I like him, and both your father and Lucas approve of him," her mother informed her, and Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Isn\'t it too soon to give your approval?"

"If you waited this long to have a boyfriend, then we are sure you made the right choice," Her mother said with a wide smile.

"Where is Lucas?" Lucy asked when she didn\'t see any sign of her twin brother around.

"I asked him to go get their stuff from the hotel," her mother said, making Lucy raise a brow.

"So you already made up your mind to move to his house before asking if I was okay with it?" Lucy asked, looking at her father.

"You know your mother. I insisted that we ask you first but..."

"But I thought it would be okay by you, and I was right. Besides, there is no harm in asking Lucas to bring their stuff over before asking you. It saves us time. Now instead of arguing over this, you ladies should go in there and put on something lovely, while you get your stuff ready to leave," Lucy\'s mother said excitedly, changing the subject. She couldn\'t wait to get back to Heden so that she could brag to everyone that cared to listen about her son-in-law\'s house.

She and her husband had received a couple of congratulatory calls from some of their neighbors who had watched the interview already, and somehow it turned out that this whole thing had been a blessing in disguise.

Once Sonia and Lucy walked into her bedroom they both turned to look at each other with a big smile on their faces, "I really can\'t believe that the nightmare is over," Lucy said feeling very happy that she had finally been able to face her fears and put it behind her.

"That bitch wanted to ruin us, but she ended up giving us a platform to face our fears and announce our relationships to the world," Sonia said with a smirk, "I\'m sure she is boiling with anger right now. I wish we could see her face."

"I should probably send her a thank you note," Lucy said thoughtfully, and Sonia giggled.

"I\'d rather we return the favor. It\'s better that way," Sonia said as she opened her luggage box to find a suitable dress to wear to dinner. She smiled as she looked at the dresses in the box, remembering Bryan\'s reaction the day she had gone shopping for the dresses. So much had happened in such a short time.

Lucy watched as Sonia picked up a very skimpy red bodycon dress which exposed more parts of her body than it covered, "If I were you, I wouldn\'t wear that. Tom\'s butler reports everything to their mother."

"I\'m supposed to care about what she thinks about my dressing?" Sonia asked incredulously, "You worry too much, Lu. Besides, I was picking out this dress for you, not myself," Sonia said with a giggle as she threw the dress at Lucy.

"You can wear that. It\'s the most decent indecent dress in my luggage, and I can bet my last dime that it is the most indecent dress in your wardrobe," Sonia said with a grin.

"No, I\'m not wearing that. Especially not when my parents are here," Lucy said with a shake of her head as she returned the dress to Sonia\'s box.

"We both know that your parents don\'t have a problem with such clothes. Besides, you should know that now that Tom has revealed his identity to the world, there will be thousands of women who want to have your man, so you have to be on top of your game at all times. You don\'t have to worry though, I gat you. Let\'s make both brothers speechless," Sonia said with a wink as she picked up the dress and handed it to Lucy who took it from her reluctantly.

Two hours later, it was not the brothers, but their mother who was staring speechlessly at her prospective daughters-in-law as she welcomed them at the door.