Legal Legacy (Surrendering Charlotte Chronicles) (2 page)

“You n
ever told me that story,” Charlotte said, shivering at the thought of the dangers her husband had faced, both human and non-human.

“Yeah,” Finn said, “I
’d forgotten about it until now, JP reminded me.”

“
JP? When did he remind you, just then? Finn, I hate those stories and I don’t want any of this… this tumor business to happen, I don’t want to gamble, I don’t want to hear about you swimming with sharks… I don’t want you to
die
,” Charlotte said and her voice caught in her throat as she scooted in next to Finn and buried her face in his neck as he held her.

“Charlotte, my love, I believe in fighting ferociously, fighting and winning the good fight. I’ve been lucky and I’ve been unconquerable, the only loss I’ve ever thanked God for is when I lost my heart to you. Some battles are won when they’
re lost.”

“I’m with you, Dad, let’s blow it all in Vegas, let’s have a
fu… a freaking great time,” Atticus said and the tender gratitude in Finn’s smile was so plaintive that it made him look away. Atticus stared out the window at the clouds beneath the jet, so white and pure, floating effortlessly. The clouds had a habit of rolling across the sky, hanging there for a while, then moving on or coming apart at the seams. Those flawlessly fashioned clouds were at the mercy of their environment, dissipating as the air warmed and all the moist, buoyant life within was drained away. The same thing was happening to Finn, and Atticus wanted yell “FUCK YOU!” to the filthy cancerous tumors and the world. He was a grown man now and he should be able to make everything alright for his dad and his mom, and for Hadley and Charlie. But he couldn’t and pain seemed much larger now, so much sharper and more jarring and jagged than it had been in his innocent youth. 

“Billy,” Bly called to his bodyguard who sat motion
less at the front of the jet, “Tell the pilots we’re going to stop off in Las Vegas, please.”

*

If the Chairman Suite at the Venetian Resort and Casino was occupied when Alexander Bly visited Las Vegas the unlucky gamblers staying there were spirited away to a less opulent villa. The one exception being the President of the United States, he didn’t have multi-billions of dollars at his disposal, but it was simply good manners not to ask him to pack his bags in the middle of the night. Billy Kipling made a quick call and the ten-thousand-square-foot ‘by invitation only’ suite was made ready for Bly and his guests.

“Charlotte,”
Bly said as he watched her walk slowly through the incredibly beautiful penthouse gazing out the wide windows as if she were in a trance. “This suite has everything you might need without ever setting foot outside the doors. I know how you love the Canyon Ranch Spa and of course they have a facility right here in the hotel. Billy is speaking with the butler now and he’ll make arrangements for two aestheticians to set up a full spa right here so you can relax and let me… let the staff take care of you.”

“I appreciate that, Bly, this monstrosity of a suite is…
incredible, it seems to go on and on. Hadley says it has twenty-five TVs, is that right?” Charlotte asked, she stopped and turned quickly causing Bly to bump into her.

He reached out and caught her
before she fell backwards and then he pulled her against his chest. His strong hands rested on the small of her back and he whispered, “Twenty-seven, I believe. I should check with the butler to make sure… but there are twenty-seven TVs, if I recall.”

Charlotte wanted to melt into the warm strength of this man who had been a vital part of her life for so long. She
was tired beyond the point of exhaustion from worrying about Finn, and suddenly she couldn’t remember why she hadn’t simply lived with both the men she loved. Would it have been that complicated? The three of them had been circling each other for years, moving forward and then away in a strangely illogical dance. Together they had raised Atticus, all the while trying to find a level patch of ground to support the weight of their unconventional love affair. She loved them and they loved her and Bly and Finn weren’t actually rivals, they just competed for her attention. Each one wanted to be her truest love, all the while knowing she could never be complete without both of them.

She looked up into Bly’s face and it was so filled with love and conc
ern and sorrow for her that it made her dizzy. She knew she should have made a decisive move in the beginning, she wished she had spoken the words to set things straight right from the start.
We can be together, I love you both, and we have nothing to lose, only a lifetime of happiness to gain
. She should have made it clear that she belonged with them
both,
just as they belonged with her, nothing should have kept them apart. But… that moment was long gone and their threesome was doomed, soon there would be two left behind… and eventually… only one.

“Go with Finn, watch out for him, will you?” she said, her fingers reaching up
to brush the lock of hair off his forehead before she could stop herself.

He caught her fingers and kissed them and then he released them and stepped back forcing his eyes away from her eyes, her lips.
Oh how he loved her and how it hurt him to see her suffer. He would easily part with every dollar he owned to live out his life with her in the McCall house or just anywhere as long as he could lift and carry the weight of her burdens. Finn was a good man and he had been a formidable adversary, and Bly truly hated that cancer was putting an end to his life far too soon.

“Hey, how’s my girl?” Finn was standing next to Charlotte and neither she nor Bly had noticed. “Ready to gamble,
my love? Look at all this nasty blood-money, we have to get rid of every penny. I’ve already given half of it to the kids and they’ve gone shopping and to see the Blue Man Group or… something. I sent Billy with them in case they want to wander the strip tonight, they need a chaperone and a bodyguard to stay out of trouble. Atti stuffed about a hundred grand into Hadley’s duffle bag and he left the rest of it on the bed. I didn’t want them carrying a half-million bucks, don’t think that wouldn’t be safe. The butler said I should have them lock all this cash away in the casino’s vault, but I told him not to worry because we’re here to blow it all. So, I’m ready to hit the baccarat tables, how about the two of you?”

“
I have a migraine just thinking about three kids under twenty-one flashing a truckload of hundred dollar bills in this town. I’m staying in and getting a two hour massage,” Charlotte said, and she could tell that Finn must have been on an “abnormal brain pressure induced rush of energy and elation” that the doctors said they could expect. Of course it might be followed by a low-sad-weepy-shouting-forgetful-off-balance phase, but Finn was not one to be coddled or told to get into bed and mind his health. She’d also heard something unfamiliar in his voice when he said “how about the two of you?” It sounded as if he was not only resigned to the fact that Bly and Charlotte would indeed be left without him, it sounded like he expected them to become a couple.

“Let’s go ahead and
have the butler take this down in the private elevator,” Bly said, taking a bulging leather carry-on bag from Finn. “He can have them hold your money in the cashier’s cage and we’ll ask for it a hundred thousand at a time.”

“If it makes you feel better, alright,” Finn said, kissing Charlotte tenderly before he clasped Bly’s shoulder and the two men walked out the door like the best of friends. “But I do intend to bet ten-thousand a hand
and I’ve never been any good at cards so it should go relatively fast. Goodnight, my love,” he called to Charlotte before the butler closed the tall, heavy door, “I won’t be gone long, try to relax and find some peace of mind, it isn’t the end of the world, my love.”

Chapter Two

“Okay, where is the
mall? I feel the need to spread a little, make that a lot, of cash around,” Hadley said, as they stepped out of the elevator and into the noisy casino. She was full of energy suddenly as a rush of adrenaline shot through her body. She knew it was a defense mechanism, just her brain’s weak attempt at providing a much needed dose of happiness in the midst of the chaos in her heart. Her father was not going to get well, he wasn’t going to see what she would make of her life, he wouldn’t be there to walk her down the aisle or teach her children to cheer for Manchester United. “I really want to feel free for a few hours, don’t you Atti? Like nothing has changed, like we all felt when we were in New Orleans. Damn, where is Skyler when we need her? Call her, Atticus, take Alex’s jet and go get her….”

“Let’s just enjoy tonight,
I’m going to New York tomorrow to be with her for a couple of days before she leaves for Paris. Hey Billy, I’m thinking we could all use a drink, except for my sister, she’s just too young and impressionable,” Atticus laughed and put his arm around the older man’s shoulders and Hadley stuck her tongue out at him, proving his point.

“Your father was adamant that if
you want to have a couple of drinks I can look the other way, but only when we’re in the suite. I can promise you, the casinos and the Las Vegas police department will not tolerate underage gambling or drinking,” Billy said and by the look on the faces of his three charges he was sure that he had his work cut out for him.

“Billy, do you ever like
… drop the ex-SEAL bodyguard bullshit and enjoy yourself?” Holden asked as Hadley wrapped her arms around his neck and he stopped in the middle of the casino to kiss her.

“I want to talk to you about that, Billy,” Atticus said, slapping Holden on the back so
that he and Hadley would stop the side-show and keep walking. “I’m not going back to the Academy, I report for Seal training in three days.”

“
You’re not serious?” Holden and Hadley said at the same time, forgetting their desire for each other as the news sunk in.

“Atticus, you’ve
withdrawn from the Academy and you’re going into training
now
? I thought we agreed to get through this year, to amp up our studies and graduate early. We were gonna wait ‘til after your dad was… feeling better,” Holden said, forcing himself to look his brother in the eye and horrified at the devastation he saw there.

“Haven’t you heard the news? Finn isn’t going to feel better,
ever
. I’ve already talked to him about leaving the Academy and he gave me his blessing. We made the call together before we left Houston. It’s done, I’m going to tell Skyler to move on with her life and not to wait for me. I’ll be in Great Lakes, Illinois for five to eight weeks to get the preliminary training over with and then I’ll be moved to Coronado. The Naval Base on Coronado is practically around the corner from home if Dad needs me.”

“If Dad
needs
you? Do you really think Dad will be alive in two months, Atticus? You selfish bastard,
we all need you now
!” Hadley was shouting and she attempted to slap some sense into her brother while Holden held her back and Billy Kipling tried to usher them out of the casino.

“Well, if it isn’t my loving son who never has a free minute to spend with his mother,” Maddie said, catching Holden’s arm and smiling up at him. She had been sitting at a freestanding bar in the middle of the Venetian and she staggered when she stood up and raised her glass toward Atticus. “And who’s this gorgeous devil right here? Let me guess, although it’s written across his face and stamped on his body. Ah, the wonders of DNA, this absolutely has to be Alex’s bastard. Love-child, golden-child, an American prince, son of Charlotte the magnificent, no doubt,” Maddie Beck chattered on in her drunken stupor.

“Hello Maddie, nice to see you, oh, what a surprise to find you with a drink
in each hand,” Holden said, his voice had turned icy and he drew Hadley close to him.

“You always were a self-righteous lit
tle prick just like your father. Now give Mommy a kiss on the cheek and have a drink with me, Holden. All of you have a seat, the drinks are on me,” Maddie slurred, signaling the bartender to pour drinks for them all.

“I’m not twenty-one yet, Mommy Dearest, not a good idea to drink in public
, and I really shouldn’t be drinking at all. You, on the other hand, have obviously had a few too many and I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t insult my brother. And try to hold your forked-tongue in front of the girl I intend to marry.”

“
You’re getting married, Holden, to who? My God, you’re not even old enough to drink or gamble,” she said, effortlessly swallowing a double vodka. “Oh, I recognize the girl now! This is Hadley Hale the hottest star on the rise according to my husband and my son, Milo. Shouldn’t you be thanking me, my dear, since my husband’s little Indie film has made you a sure-fire contender to take home an Oscar? Now, my boy Milo has such a crush on you he can hardly stand it not to mention that it repulses me. And here you are with Holden, well, I suppose being the son of a billionaire can certainly turn a girls head. I know I was drawn to Alex partly because of the size of his bank account… along with his other sizeable assets.”

“I
t was nice to see you Maddie, actually it wasn’t, it was grossly unpleasant,” Hadley said, taking Holden’s hand and turning to go. She took a few steps and then stopped and faced the woman who was staring after her with murder in her eyes, “By the way, I love Holden for all the ways he isn’t like you or your husband or that arrogant little kiss-ass drooling dip-shit Milo. And for the record, your suave husband, Spencer Beck, enjoyed watching my love scenes in his “little Indie film” just a bit more than he should have. Just sayin’.”