Fuck me, she took my breath away.

I looked back down at the brown glass bottle I was holding, and swished the liquid around inside. I’d never understood until that moment in time, how being around Lily made me feel whole. I hadn’t been born a romantic, fuck no. Truth be told I didn’t think I had a fucking romantic bone in my body, unless it came to treating her right. But her being with me today, it had made me realise… fuck… how could I explain it? For the first time, I fully appreciated everything the other couples in my family had. We had an organic connection, Lily and me. She was my anchor, my home. When we were together we demanded nothing of each other, and we didn’t have to question each other. Together we were stronger, we had nothing to prove and we could just simply be. I knew it was everything I had been fucking waiting for and more.

Didn’t everyone want that? To be able to just be yourself?

Listen to me! Fucking twenty-five years old and a fucking philosopher.

Although we had spent more time apart than together this afternoon, I had watched her from afar, wanting to give her freedom and space, but to be near enough and on hand if she looked for me. I needn’t have worried, she had captivated everyone, especially Frankie and Alex’s son Ben. I had watched as his big green eyes flirted with her as she spoke to him.

Flirting with my woman was only to be taken from a baby, I thought with a smile.

My heart was now nearly bursting out of my chest with pride, as she sat between my parents on the swing seat under the tall oak tree. I knew she had been nervous meeting my family today. It would have been a waste of time trying to alleviate her fears with words, she needed to experience the depth of love our ever-growing family had for each other. So, all afternoon we had shared small knowing smiles. I had winked at her and God knows what the fuck had come over me… I had even blown her several kisses.

I tipped the bottle of cream soda into my mouth again as I watched my mum take hold of Lily’s hand. A smile burst on Lily’s face at the contact, and then just as quickly it disappeared.

That confused me, and I started to move towards her. Perhaps she was just tired, it had been a long fucking day and multiple orgasms would take it out of you.

As if she heard my thoughts, she looked up right at that fucking moment and I was caught like a horny schoolboy staring at her. She smiled at me and then looked back at my mum.

‘She’s even more beautiful in real life, Jack,’ John said quietly as he stood beside me.

I turned to look at the big guy standing next to me. ‘Yep and she’s mine… excuse me one fucking minute while I just go over and show her that, won’t ya?’

‘Sure, I know how that compulsion goes. But once you’ve done, we need to have a talk. It’s urgent. I think it would be easier for all of us to slip away for ten minutes here and now, rather than organise some other time for a meeting.’

‘Urgent?’ I felt my forehead crease up in question. ‘Why the fuck all of us?’

‘Just go and see your girl and then come up to my office.’

He nodded his head at me and then turned to go into the house.

I walked over to where Lily sat sandwiched between my parents as they tried to show her the Carpenter way of smothering anything and everything with as much love as they could. I stood behind her and teased myself. When I couldn’t stand it any longer I bent my knees, and placed both hands on her shoulders. My insides skipped, fucking skipped, as without hesitation her hands came up to find mine. She wormed her small hands underneath mine and wordlessly willed me to hold them, to hold her.

Without question, I covered them with my own and for a few minutes I just held on as she talked with my mum and dad.

I leant my head down and interrupted their conversation.

‘You gonna be good for ten minutes, babe? I’m needed to help with something inside.’

Her head turned so her eyes could meet mine, they seemed sad. But her eyes lit up as they found mine and she smiled her answer.

I dipped my head and kissed her warm, soft lips with mine.

John’s office was up on the third floor of his and Jasmin’s cottage. I took the narrow stairs two at a time, eager to get to the meeting I had been summoned to, and then to get back down to my girl.

She was tired I had decided and I needed to get her back home.

The cottage Jasmin lived in, was almost unrecognisable to the place my gran and grandad had made their home. It had doubled in size and they had thought hard about its layout. I thought about my home, having Lily back was making my creative juices flow again. I was eager to get back to work on the house, but this time with her input.

I could hear voices as I turned the final corner on the narrow stairs.

It wasn’t a surprise to find not only John in the room, but also Nathan, his brother Alex, and Charlie. I looked around the room taking them all in. I didn’t like the niggling feeling that them all waiting for me produced. The room was immaculate, only them being there made it look flawed and untidy.

It gave me a laugh, as I thought about how that would be making John feel.

That’s good, it’s not only me feeling fucking uncomfortable then.

John was of course sat behind his desk, with Alex in front of him. Alex looked relaxed enough, with his leg bent at the knee and his ankle bone resting on top of his other knee. Nathan was leant against the wall, with his arms crossed over his chest. He was looking down to the floor, where his foot fidgeted and his boot absentmindedly lifted-up the edge of the huge rug on the floor. One of Jasmin’s touches, in a room where the rest of the furniture was definitely John’s taste. Charlie was sat on the cherry-red chesterfield settee that was placed in front of the fireplace. Their heads had snapped around to look at me as I stepped inside.

Alex let out a sigh.

Maybe he wasn’t as fucking relaxed as he looked?

‘Close the door behind you, Jack.’ John spoke first.

I did as I was asked and feeling apprehensive I then leant my back against it.

‘Come and sit down, Jack.’ Alex nodded at the seat next to him.

‘Why don’t you arseholes stop patronising me and tell me what the fuck is going down? I’ll stand, thanks all the same.’

‘Sit down, gobshite,’ Charlie tried again.

I took a step forward and gripped onto the back of the proffered chair with both hands.

‘I’ll sit… you start talking.’ I tipped my chin at John.

‘OK. I have a few things here that you need to know.’ I nodded at John and finally sat down on the chair next to Alex. I swivelled my head around and looked at Alex, Nathan and even Charlie, wordlessly asking him why they needed to know mine and Lily’s business.

‘I’m getting to it, Jack,’ he answered my unspoken thought. I could feel the arsehole in me rising quickly.

‘Spit it the fuck out then.’ I clamped my mouth together and waited.

‘Well you asked me to look into Lily’s circumstances and her family. You also asked me to keep some extra security around here. Correct?’ His hackles were obviously rising at my aggressive tone. ‘Well, I have done, and in both instances there is information you need to be brought up to date with. So, do us the courtesy of keeping your temper to yourself and winding in your fists.’

I looked down at my lap to see my clenched hands poised. I took a deep breath in and forced my hands to relax.

‘Sorry.’ I let out a long slow breath and lifted my open hands in surrender.

‘You’re ok, bro,’ came from Nathan who was still leant against the wall. ‘Most of us have fucking been where you are. Just remember that.’

‘Right,’ John spoke again and my gaze moved from his face to the thin manila file he was tapping his fingertips up and down on. He followed my eyes and lifted his hands, pushing his fingers together and lifting them up to tap his index fingers on his lips as he thought. ‘I’m sure you and Lily have shared some things about your time apart, Jack?’ I don’t think I had ever seen him so hesitant in all the time I had known him.

‘Yeah.’ If the arsehole wanted me to share what she had told me he had another fucking think coming. Brother-in-law or not.

‘The Antonescus and the Vasiles,’ John spoke. I heard Nathan curse under his breath to the side of me, but refused to remove my eyes from John as I willed him to continue and to get to the fucking point.

‘They appear to have one thing in common. Their families have both been struggling for money for a while. That’s where Lily and her family came in. Both families wanted their eldest sons to be married to Lily.’

I started shaking my head and John stopped talking. ‘That makes no fucking sense. Lily has no money. Her family are dead and she has no money! That’s how she ended up with fucking Tony Vasile. She is repaying her father’s debt.’

‘No…’ He shook his head. ‘Her father had no debts. In fact, he was a very forward-thinking man. But you’re right, Lily has no money… Although her offspring are well provided for.’

The room was silent as everyone listened to John and turned their heads between us both as they tried to gauge my reaction.

‘Her offspring?’

‘Child, Jack… and subsequent children.’

‘Child… I’m not fucking getting this. You’re telling me that her father owed them nothing?’ I questioned.

‘Yes, that’s what I’m saying. He owed them nothing.’

‘How the fuck did they end up taking control of her life, then?’

‘They told her that her father owed them money and she believed them. The truth was, there was no other money that she could see. Her parents’ bank account was majorly overdrawn, even their large house had a mortgage on it, a mortgage that was so substantial that the house had no equity left in it at all. That’s why it was auctioned off. The only place there was any money, was in the trust fund Mr. Green had created for his grandchildren. He was convinced his grandchildren would become somebody and the fact they came from an immigrant background was never going to cause them a problem. He was looking to secure his future family line into the English hierarchy.’

I leant over, my head now forward in my hands. ‘So, let me get this fucking straight. She had no debt to repay?’

‘No, there was never a debt. Just a trust fund to gain.’

‘So, why the fuck would they do that to another human being!’ I shouted out, even though I knew the answer.

‘Jack, we know what the fuck they’re capable off, don’t we?’ Nathan pushed into the conversation.

‘Each of the families wanted that trust fund and their sons were sent to retrieve it. Those families didn’t care how… they just wanted control of the money. I have spoken to people who knew that Tony helped Lily’s father set up the fight that broke the two of you up. I also just this morning received all the proof we need, with sworn witness statements… that the Vasiles and the Antonescus plotted together. They paid for the deaths of Lily’s parents. Their car was never involved in an accident, it was a deliberate takeout.’

I stood up quickly, grabbed the edge of John’s desk in front of me and leant forward.

‘THEN. WHY. THE. FUCK. ARE. THEY. STILL. FREE?’

I could feel the palpable tension in the room as everyone poised themselves to intervene. Anger was running with free rein all around my system and try as I fucking might I was grappling with the fact I couldn’t calm it down.

His words had made me out of fucking control, anger flowed around my bloodstream.

‘SIT. DOWN.’ John barked out his order and after a few minutes of staring him out with my nostrils flaring, I sat down heavily. I closed my eyes and rolled my head around feeling the sought after clicks in my neck.

‘Come on, Jack…You know me better than that… It’s more complicated than it seems. Since we put the Antonescus in prison the Vasiles have had free rein over Lily… and her son.’

I heard the words, like I’d previously heard “child.” My brain was on repeat as I pushed one and then the other through it, over and over again.

Son. Child. Son. ‘SON?’

I looked around at them all. My best mate and the men I treated like brothers.

They didn’t look surprised. It seemed they all knew, even Charlie.

John pushed on. ‘Before you let the accusations fly, we haven’t known for long, Jack. A couple of days. I hope now you understand why we haven’t had them arrested?’

‘Because of Lily’s child?’ I muttered under my breath, still trying to work out how I felt about the revelation I had heard. I’d never even wanted children. It took me all of two seconds to work out that I didn’t fucking care. I could love him, if he was hers then I could love him too. I would love him as my own.

‘Yes.’ With that one word, he pushed the thin manila folder over the shiny desktop towards me. Without thinking twice, I flicked up the corner and looked at the picture it contained.

I think I had known what I was going to find inside that inconspicuous piece of brown card, even before I had flicked it open.

Inside was an A4 size picture of a small boy. He had blond hair and bright blue eyes. I knew even before my eyes spied the cleft on his chin that he was mine. He looked like every family photograph of my dad and of myself that I had ever seen, when we were roughly the same age.

I spun the folder around in front of me, so the picture was now portrait and not the landscape view I’d previously had. My index finger touched the dip in his chin and then ran over the dimples that had developed as he smiled broadly at me. I think it was then that I felt the first of the tears run down my cheeks.

It’s a strange feeling seeing your child for the first time. Most men get to see them born or almost straight after. I was getting to see mine for the first time as a toddler. I knew nothing about him, other than the fact I loved him instantly, fucking instantly. I would do anything for him and his mum. If I had hated the Vasiles before, I would now happily kill them with my own bare hands. They had snatched away the woman I loved, had her parents killed and stolen precious time away from me and my son.

‘That picture was taken last week in Romania. That is Lily’s little boy, and well… I think you can see why we think he’s yours? He’s two and a half years old according to his passport.’ He looked back down at his paperwork. ‘He was born in…’

‘He would have been born in February 2015,’ I interjected.

‘Yes, and his name is…’

‘His name is Harry.’ Everything was falling into place. Things she had said and words she had used when we’d been talking together.

I had a son.

Lily and I had a child

‘Those bastards have my son! What the fuck are we going to do about it? I want them dead.’ I swiped the back of my hand across my face effectively wiping away the tears that I had shed. Never for one moment did I doubt that the men in the room with me wouldn’t be beside me every step of the fucking way, whatever we decided.

‘We have a plan, Jack… But, for it to stand any chance of working… you have to let Lily go back to the Vasiles.’ My eyes shot up to his, he felt them boring into him, but he carried on regardless. ‘Our plan has been helped along by the fact that Laura has given her a letter from Tony today, his hired gorillas have been sniffing around the village for a couple of days.’

‘Laura?’

‘Come on, mate, you must know she’d do any fucking thing to get back into your bed?’ Charlie interrupted.

I looked over at him, frowning.

John just carried on. ‘We have also been made aware that Tony has brought Harry back earlier than planned. So, we know something is spooking him.’ My head fell into my hands again. ‘I’m sorry, Jack. I know what I’m asking… She can’t find out that you know about Harry and you can’t stop her from leaving. We need them together, so we have a chance to rescue them both.’

‘Everything we are, or own, is at your disposal, Jack.’ Alex, who had been silent up to now let me know in words, what I already knew about the men that were in the room with me. He squeezed my shoulder as I let his words sink in.

I lifted my head back up to meet John’s eyes. ‘Do it… Whatever it takes, John… I’ll do whatever the fuck it takes. I’m not gonna fucking lose her again, nor our son. They need my protection and they’re gonna get it.’