Page 45 of Ma Belle Marguerite (Hidden Secrets #1)

Alexander

I wake up in a panic to the sound of someone screaming. I go to grab my gun on the nightstand and realize I’m in Bella’s bed and it’s not there.

I look towards the door and see Brielle screaming, “Remi, I told you!” What is she talking about? “You owe me twenty dollars!”

“Brielle, that’s enough.” Bella scolds her gently while pulling the blanket up over herself.

“For what it’s worth, I approve. Mom hasn’t been this happy ever.” With a wink, she turns and walks away.

What the fuck? As I lay back to try and process what just happened, I feel something heavy land on me, knocking the air out of my lungs and causing my ribs to scream. I open my eyes to see Remi on me, looking furious.

“You cannot take advantage of my mother!” He tries to punch me, but I’m faster and can block his fist. He’s pretty strong for his age already.

“Remi, get off of him. You need to relax.” Bella steps in again reaching for him. “We’ll all take a moment to get ready and meet in the kitchen to discuss this like adults in thirty minutes over breakfast.”

She always knows what to do. I feel the fight leave his body, and he hesitantly climbs off of me and the bed.

“Fine, but there is nothing he can say that will make me like him now.” Remi glares at me as he walks backwards out of the room while staring me down.

Even though his mother is a full-grown woman who can make her own decisions, I’m glad he’s taking his responsibility to keep her safe seriously. I couldn’t be prouder.

“Well, I guess they know about us now,” I say to test the mood and break the silence.

“Can you give me some time to get ready alone? I need to think.” She’s pushing me away again.

“No, because this isn’t a you thing. This is an us thing now, and we will deal with it as a team.” She isn’t going to like me throwing her words back at her, but they’re true.

“Fine, but let me shower and get dressed. If you join me, it’ll take too long.” She isn’t wrong there. I don’t think I’d be able to keep my hands off of her, looking like the snack she is.

I shouldn’t push her too hard after the few days she’s had either. “Fine. I’ll be in my room. Come see me so we can rebandage your arm before we go downstairs.” I kiss her on the forehead and walk to my room.

I find my phone on my desk. This is a good moment to see if there are any updates from my men. I see a message from Josh that was sent not long ago.

I have news, boss. If you don’t answer within an hour, D will take point.

Now, my curiosity is piqued. What did he figure out during the night when I told him to rest?

Just about to have breakfast with the family. I have a small emergency to take care of, then I’m available.

I see the tell-tale three dots moving at the bottom of our chat immediately like he had been watching for my response.

I should probably skip breakfast and deal with the bigger issue, like my father would have, but need to be there for my family. I missed out on so many years, and it is my job to ensure they know they are important to me.

Got it, boss. We are getting things started so that we are ready to go when you arrive. Meet us at the gatehouse out front when you are done.

Thank you. It shouldn’t be too long.

I hear the shower turn off in Bella’s room; she must have left the door open. Fuck. Did she actually want me to join her?

I move quickly and see her drying off. She looks amazing, and I can’t believe she’s all mine. I don’t deserve someone like her, but I will try my hardest to be the man she needs.

“Like what you see?” She has a smirk on her face.

Two can play this game. “No, I don’t like it.” I see her face drop, “I love it.”

She runs towards me and smacks my arm, “You asshole ! Don’t do that to me again.”

I grab her around her waist and kiss her forehead. “Let me help you with your arm so we can get downstairs. I have something I need to take care of with my men. Breakfast will need to be quick.”

I feel her stiffen in my arms. “You can just go. I’ll take care of the kids. It will probably be easier that way.”

My voice comes out harsher than I intend. “No! I want to be there. This is my responsibility, too. Please don’t shut me out.”

Her face softens, “I didn’t mean it in that way. I just know that what you are dealing with is important right now.”

I don’t want to be my father and put the ‘business’ ahead of my family. They are my life, and they are number one now. Everything else is second unless it is also a threat to their lives.

“I just want to be better than what we had growing up. I’m going to start from day one, not say, ‘oh, after this problem.’ There will always be another problem. There won’t always be more time with you and the kids.” This woman and the kids have me so soft, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I love you, and I’m sorry that I wasted so many years. I should have known better. From here on out, we will both work harder to put our family first.” She smiles at me and I can see she means it by the glint in her eyes.

God, this woman is perfect!

“Come on, I want to get this awkward conversation over with.” I pull her gently to the sink to get her arm covered up.

Once we are dressed, we make our way to the kitchen. As we get closer I can hear the kids laughing. Maybe this won’t be as bad as I thought.

Wrong. Remi’s face goes dark when he sees us enter holding hands. His eyes narrow in on our hands intertwined and then he meets my gaze. If looks could kill I’d be dead right now.

“Good morning. How did you sleep?” Bella acts as if everything is normal. I’m nervous as fuck. I don’t want my relationship with my kids to be ruined before it even starts.

“I slept just fine, I woke up and all that rest was ruined.” Remi is going to milk this, isn’t he?

“Be nice, Remi!” Bella sits across from the twins at the table and motions for me to join her.

Maybe I should have opted to skip this. No, I’m doing the right thing, no matter how hard it is.

“Good morning. I need to eat and run, but we should have a quick chat first.” My hands are sweaty. I would rather be in someone's basement tied to a chair right now than sitting here with their judgmental stares. Well mostly Remi, but still.

“Or we can just skip the chat, and you leave.”

“That is enough, Remi! There are many things going on that you don’t understand. Rex is an important part of my past and a very important part of our future.” Bella chides him gently.

“Past? As in when you were with Dad? Is he why you moved us here?” Yep, definitely would rather be in someone else’s basement right now! Remi isn’t going to make this easy on us at all.

“Not that any of this is your business, no. I knew Rex and dated him before I met your dad.” I see her body twitch as she calls another man their dad.

“I ran into your mother at the hospital after you guys moved back. It wasn’t anything that was planned. Things just happened to work out.” I don’t know if they will believe me but I can’t let her take all the heat from the kids.

“Rex, do you still like my mom?” Brielle is looking directly at me as she asks and her face is stoic. I cannot get a read on how she is feeling.

“I’m not going to lie. I do still have feelings for your mom. But, we haven’t fully discussed that ourselves which is why we didn’t say anything to you guys yet.” I wanted to say that I love her but I don’t know how that would go over.

“So you’re taking advantage of her? Using your past to get her here and make her what, your personal slave?” Remi sounds pissed.

“Rex would never do that.” Turning to me, Bella gives me a small smile, “How about I finish this conversation and you can go see what the guys need.”

I feel her hand squeeze my knee under the table. “Are you sure?” I should be here for this, but maybe my presence is actually making it harder.

“Yes. Let me talk with them, then we can all chat later, okay?” She lets go of my knee and I just want her hand back. I don’t want to leave, but I will.

Picking up my toast I nod to her, “Ok. If that’s what you need. I’ll see you all later.”

It’s killing me not leaning in and giving her a kiss. So I turn and walk away before anyone can respond.

That was the most awkward conversation I’ve had in awhile. I’m not looking forward to telling the kids that I’m their biological father. Remi will put me through the ringer to prove I have good intentions with his mother.

I’m proud of him but wish that it wasn’t me that he was using his skills against.

I see at least five of my armored SUVs parked at the gatehouse. This can only mean we are about to enter a potentially dangerous situation. We have avoided showing how many of my own men there are up until now. Waiting for the right time to make our move and separate from my father.

As I reach to open the door, I hear my name being yelled from the other side of the gate. I see D and two of our best snipers beside him.

I walk over to the gate, “Morning, are you guys leaving?”

D nods and says, “Yes, we’re getting set up before you arrive. Josh is just about to brief everyone in the gatehouse, he is pretty sure where Cole is hiding out. We’ll let you get to it, but I wanted to say hi before I left. Be careful today, and hopefully, see you in the basement soon.”

“Be safe. See you soon.” We need to remain positive because you never know what may happen in volatile situations. As much as I hate to admit it, losing D would be a big hit for me personally and business wise.

I don’t want to make Josh repeat himself, so with that, I turn and hurry into the gatehouse.

“Perfect timing, boss,” I am greeted as soon as I enter the room. “We are going to go over the game plan for the day.”

“Can you tell me what you found first?” I don’t like not being in the know. I guess he’ll have to repeat himself a little bit.