Blood Soaked Rose ( Rose Series 4 )

“Mummy come home soon” Cody sniffles as I hug him tight at the airport.

“Mummy will be home as soon as she can. Love you baby boy” I kiss his head and cuddle him tightly.

“I’ll look after mummy Cody” Taylor smiles and ruffles his hair as he giggles and smacks his hand away.

I pass Cody to Brian as Jayden comes up to me and wraps his arms around my waist.

“You better come home in one piece, kitten” he whispers into my ear so Cody can’t hear.

“I will do my best. I will always do my best to get home to my family. I’m going to miss you guys” I kiss him passionately on the lips as his hands thread into my hair.

“You better come home, we have plans for your birthday” Jayden smiles pecking my lips as Brian gags behind us, Cody giggling.

“I’ll do my best” I smile.

“Look after my girl Taylor” Jayden bro hugs Taylor.

“I always have” He answers with a smirk.

I go to hug Brian and Cody together as Cody laughs at the group hug.

“Love you baby boy, you too stinky Uncle Brian” I smirk.

“Take care Sam, we’ll see you soon” Brian nods at Beck and Taylor.

“I love you” Jayden kisses me a final time before taking Cody in his arms.

“I love you all” I say, holding back the tears.

“Bye mummy!” Cody waves as they head off towards the jet.

“Bye baby! Take care of daddy!” I shout as they turn the corner.

“They’ll be ok” Taylor places a hand on my shoulder as the tears escape.

“I know they will” I sigh as he takes my hand and we go out to the car that waited for us.

“I called Henderson this morning” Taylor says driving to the house.

“You what?!” I exclaim looking at him like he was crazy.

“You know I was his favourite person back in school. So, I called him, told him we were back in town for a while and whether we’d be able to visit…Turns out he’s running a gala for potential investors to the school. He’s invited us with open arms” He smirks.

“You tricky little devil” I smirk.

“Now, we have to figure out what to do with Lizzy and Craig” He sighs as we pull into the drive.

“Unfortunately, I think we’ll have to include them. They know more than we do. Plus, he’s after both families. Hayden still doesn’t have a clue about any of this. I talked to her this morning and she doesn’t want him to find out until we’re done with this or he’ll pull her out. I have to agree with her, she’s managed to get a lot of information about this guy that we didn’t even know about. We get this done, we take him down and then she goes back to her father.” I say.

“You still feel for her don’t you” Taylor sighs.

“I hate and love her at the same time. She nearly ruined my life taking my child from me, but she’s been destroyed by our way of life. What if I had gone down the same path as her? I’ve been destroyed by men too. It could have been me”

“That’s where you are strong. You take something and want to make it better. You want to solve issues, love all and make a better world. You are the inspiration for so many. Now, we are going to get through this, you will go home to your kid and lover, I will go home to my husband and Lizzy can go on her merry way and do whatever she does. Just don’t let them distract you” Taylor says, and I nod.

“I won’t let them distract me. We get in, confirm our information, take him out, destroy his mafia and go home. Threat gone.” I state.

“All before your birthday surprise” Taylor smirks and I round to him.

“Surprise? Tell me Taylor!” I smile playfully.

“No! You won’t make me talk!” Taylor laughs as he rushes into the house.

“Taylor! Tell me!” I chase after him as he laughs, leaping over the dining table with a laugh.

“No way. They will kill me for telling you”

“But…” I flutter my eyelashes.

“No! I’m not telling you, don’t flutter them at me, it doesn’t work” He laughs.

“Fine. Keep your dirty secrets” I groan.

“Get your shit together Sammy. We are going to the cabin” He smiles as I squeal. My home away from home, our old cabin we had when we moved out of the school.

“You’re joking right? I thought you sold it” I exclaim.

“Nah, I’ve been renting it out. We just had a vacancy, so I thought why not go there for a little while.”

“Great!” I smile as we gather up some of our gear.

“Sammy here” I answer my phone as it rings loudly in my pocket.

“It’s Beck. We’ve had word from Lizzy that she’s already on route to the school. She and Craig will be posing as potential investors, as will I. We will all mingle with others and keep Henderson in view at all times. You’ll be able to get the closest to him though so be careful. We are struggling to connect him to anything, Craig’s information isn’t in our reach, I don’t trust him. So keep your head to the ground, listen, play your part well with Lizzy and Craig, there may be more to this than they are letting on” Beck says.

“Do you think there’s a possibility he’s not the head of a mafia?” I ask as Taylor eyes me.

“I’m not sure. Everything I’ve dug up shows he’s at least part of one, but I can’t find anything on him being some sort of leader. But if Lizzy is right, he’s kept well-hidden for a long time. It could be true, but I’m still unsure” Beck answers.

“He was friends with my Grandfather, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were in it all together” I say as I put my rucksack on my back.

“Just, be careful. Just remember, we don’t know each other at the gala” Beck says.

“Sorry, who are you?” I smirk.

“Good girl. Do get yourself a nice dress while you’re at it. It’s a fancy gala, dress as you would have for your grandfather. Henderson will expect it. You’ll have to pretend to be loyal to the memory of him. It’s your best option”

“Yeah, I thought that. I’m on it. Stay safe Beck. See you at the gala” I say and hang up.

“He doesn’t think Lizzy is telling the whole story does he?” Taylor says and I sigh and shake my head.

“We can’t be certain though. We get in and find out. If she is telling the truth then our mafia’s are in grave danger. If she’s lying, we’ll find out” I say as we head out of the house and load Brian’s car.

“It’s weird being back home…” Taylor sighs looking at the house.

“I know, it will be even weirder at the cabin and the school” I nod as we head off towards our old cabin.

Damien: We miss you guys already! Stay safe *Photo of Damien and Cody playing on the ground* xx

“Aww, Damien just sent me a text. He sent an image of him and Cody on the floor playing with his blocks” I smile as Taylor briefly looks over with a smile.

“He’d make a great dad right?” Taylor smiles.

“Oh yeah, you both would” I smile.

“We were thinking about adopting one of the kids at the school” Taylor says.

“Really! That’s amazing Taylor!” I exclaim happily.

“Thanks Sammy, it means a lot that you support us so much”

“I always will Taylor, you’re my best friend, you’ve been there almost my whole life. We support each other. I don’t know where I’d be without you. You’re one of the reasons I haven’t become like Lizzy. You help fix me every time I’m broken and shattered, You’re the glue in my heart” I smile placing a hand on his thigh.

“Best friends forever right?” He smiles squeezing my hand in his.

“Forever” I smile as we put on some music for the drive ahead.

It was amazing having this trip with him like old times. I missed having my best friend to myself, we’d always been there for each other and the world had pushed us apart a little. Now we could get some time together, fixing another piece of our world.