Her Twin Surprise (Forsaken Sons Book 2) Read online

  Alas, her life had taken a different path. Now was not the time to dwell on what might have been. Now was the time to look into the future. A future that might, hopefully, include an aunt and uncle and, looking at the woman’s huge belly, a cousin for her children.

  “Halley and Harrison,” she said softly, nodding towards the slide. Halley was whispering in Harrison’s ear and Stevie groaned. Their secrets were always bad news, she thought.

  “Who is this?” Kinsley asked, easing the tension by allowing Herbie to sniff her hand. Herbie took only a brief sniff before he nudged the woman’s hand, silently asking for affection.

  “This is Herbie. Don’t let his size fool you. He’s very gentle.”

  Kinsley laughed as Herbie moved forward, getting closer to the person offering to rub his ears. “He’s adorable. And huge! I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a big dog before.”

  Stevie relaxed, smiling at the kind dog’s sweet nature. “He was actually the smallest puppy at the rescue organization. He was so small, the owners warned me that he might not survive.”

  Kinsley looked up at Stevie with a surprised expression. “This guy was small?”

  “Yeah. I called them up and asked if they had any small dogs that I could adopt. The woman said they had one dog that had been dropped off the previous week, but they weren’t sure of his pedigree.” Stevie looked over at Halley and Harrison again. “They couldn’t have been further off on their guess for this guy.” She patted Herbie, who literally groaned with happiness.

  She glanced up at Lincoln to see his reaction. He was staring at Halley and Harrison. It wasn’t a surprise that the man had zeroed in on her kids. Her twins looked strikingly similar to him, although a younger version.

  “Would you like to meet them?” Stevie asked, deciding she liked him.

  He pulled his eyes away from the kids and shook his head. “I’m still…this is all such a surprise.” He looked at her seriously. “Is their father still alive?”

  Stevie cringed. “I don’t know. The last time I had any contact with their father, it was…” she took a breath, remembering the letter from Janus’ lawyer after her phone call, warning her to stop harassing his client. “Well, it was contentious.”

  Lincoln nodded. “I can’t imagine what you’ve gone through.” He glanced down at his wife’s huge belly. “I’m just relieved that we’re having only one at a time.”

  Kinsley laced her fingers through his. “Linc has been a bit nervous about the upcoming birth,” she explained. “He’s interviewed the doctor several times and has done so much research on giving birth, I’m wondering if we even need a doctor at this point.”

  “Don’t even joke about that,” he growled, pulling her close and pressing a kiss to her temple.

  Stevie jerked to attention and realized that they were still standing. “Please, why don’t we sit down? We can watch the kids and talk.”

  Over the next forty-five minutes, Stevie listened while Lincoln told her about his mother, how he’d grown up not knowing anything about his father except that he’d rejected his mother after she’d told him that she was pregnant. Edward Meyers had insisted that Lincoln’s mother get an abortion. Because of that, Lincoln had decided the man had no place in his life.

  Until Frankie had come into his life. Frankie had introduced the idea of talking with Edward Meyers to Kinsley, and Kinsley had convinced Lincoln to at least meet with his father.

  “He’s not a good man, Stevie,” Lincoln said in a dire voice. “He threatened to cut me out of his will if I didn’t move into his house and take control of his company. He even told me that Kinsley,” he paused to kiss her forehead, “wasn’t worthy of his legacy and I should dump her. Edward explained that he would choose a more socially acceptable wife for me.”

  Stevie rolled her eyes. “Okay, so if Kinsley isn’t worthy, then I’m sure I wouldn’t be. I can’t imagine that a kindergarten teacher would be worthy of his exulted self either.”

  Kinsley nodded her head. “I wouldn’t put it past him to sue you for custody,” she warned. “Don’t let him get near you, Stevie.” She looked at her husband. “At least not unless you have Lincoln with you.”

  Lincoln nodded. “You’re family now, Stevie. If you need something, please come to me. No matter what it is, just ask. I don’t care if its money or just advice, we’re here for you.”

  Their unconditional support brought tears to her eyes. Stevie bowed her head and took a breath. When she was more in control, Stevie looked up at them. “Thank you for that,” she whispered. Clearing her throat, she explained, “My mother passed away several years ago. She left me her house as well as a small inheritance. So, I’m okay with money. But I might take you up on the advice.”

  Lincoln smiled warmly. “Whatever you need.” Kinsley nudged his shoulder and Stevie knew what she wanted her husband to ask.

  “You want to know your brother,” she whispered.

  Lincoln looked at her, his eyes concerned. “No. There’s a reason you haven’t contacted the father. I’ve known you for just under an hour, but I don’t think you’re a horrible person. So, there must be a reason he’s not in the picture.”

  Stevie’s sigh was profound as relief surged through her. Still, this man was kind and she sensed that he was a good soul. Besides, Frankie had vouched for him.

  “His name is Janus Meyers,” she blurted out, staring at her children.

  There was a stunned silence. “Not the football player, is it?”

  Stevie shrugged. “Yes. One and the same,” she replied with a bit of bitterness. She hadn’t know that Janus was a football player when they’d been together. But she’d figured it out when his lawyer had threatened her. “When I realized I was pregnant, I tried to let him know. But he ignored my phone calls. I went to his business address, but he refused to see me.” She took in a long, slow, deep breath, letting it out just as slowly. “When I got home, there was a letter from his lawyer’s office explaining that if I persisted in harassing Janus, I would be prosecuted.” She looked at Lincoln. “So, make of that what you will.”

  Lincoln swore under his breath, and they watched as Halley and Harrison raced across the playground, yelling excitedly.

  “I agree,” Stevie laughed.

  “Okay, so we’ll ignore him for a while.” Kinsley smiled and leaned her head against Lincoln’s shoulder. “But can we be in your children’s lives? I’d love for my baby to get to know their cousins.” She grinned. “And you are officially this little one’s aunt.”

  Stevie was startled by that realization. “Wow! I hadn’t thought that far yet!” She paused, then smiled weakly. “That’s…amazing!”

  Lincoln recognized the look in Stevie’s eyes. “You’re not alone anymore, Stevie. We’re here for you.”

  Tears welled up again. “Thank you!” she whispered. Lincoln squeezed her hand briefly. “That means a lot.” Then she straightened up. “Why don’t we all head back to my house for lunch? I can introduce you to the kids and they can get to know their aunt and uncle.”

  Lincoln grinned and Stevie felt a warm glow with his approval. “That sounds great.”

  Chapter 13

  Janus stared at the person sitting in his office. “Excuse me?” he snapped. The man looked…incongruous among the refined elegance of his massive office.

  “Kids,” the guy replied succinctly. He pulled a wrinkled envelope out of his pocket, and tossed it on the desk. “Two of ‘em. Twins. They’re pretty cute,” the guy chuckled, shifting in the expensive leather chair.

  Janus stared at the man. “How do you know they are my children?” Janus demanded. The floor to ceiling windows behind him revealed an extraordinary view of Elliot Bay on one side and Century Link Field, where he’d played many hours of football, on the other.

  “Your father hired me.” He snorted and grinned as he added, “He’d hired some chick as well, but he said she wasn’t moving fast enough to suit him. That’s why I’m here.”

  Janus i
gnored the envelope. “I don’t know who my father is. How can you know?”

  The guy…Jerry? Yeah, that’s the name he’d given. This private investigator was one of the world’s slugs. He was the kind of person who preyed on the weak, the kind that pissed Janus off.

  “The mom,” he continued with a lecherous chuckle. “She’s quite the hottie!” The guy snorted at his joke. “But the kids, they’re cute.”

  Reluctantly, Janus opened the envelope and pulled out several photographs. His heart stopped when he found Stevie laughing at something off in the distance. She looked…amazing, he thought. Simply amazing. It took him several seconds to remember that Stevie had ignored him while he was in the hospital. She’d only contacted him months later, after he had recovered the full use of his legs again. After she was assured that she wouldn’t be saddled with a disabled man for the rest of her life.

  Bitch, he thought and put the photo off to the side.

  The next photo was of a pair of toddlers, a boy and a girl. For a long moment, Janus wondered how this guy had gotten a picture of himself when he’d been small. But looking at the image more closely, Janus realized that this wasn’t himself. This was…!

  He flipped to the next picture. It was a close up of the boy. The next picture was a close up of a girl. They were adorable, with huge grins and…and hauntingly familiar silver eyes. The next picture was of both kids hugging a dog…or maybe it was a pony. He wasn’t sure, but if it was a dog, then it was beyond huge! The dog was sitting on his butt and a toddler leaned in on each side. The kids’ heads didn’t even reach the collar on the dog, but they looked…right together. They looked happy. Especially the dog, who looked as if he’d just been crowned king of the jungle.

  He flipped to the next and…Oh hell! It was Stevie and she was holding the two kids on her lap with that enormous dog behind her. It was a picture of a happy family and…and these were his children? No, she would have told him if she’d gotten pregnant.

  “How old are they?” Janus demanded.

  The guy smirked. “They were born on June third, four years ago.”

  Janus did the math quickly in his head. Four years ago…that would have meant that she’d gotten pregnant…in September five years ago? No! That seemed impossible! He remembered that time period painfully well. That was about when he’d gotten slammed to the ground by that ass Rockwell!

  Every moment of that day and the following week had been seared into his brain. It had taken him months to recover, not only from Rockwell’s ambush but also Stevie’s betrayal.

  Janus suddenly realized that the disgusting slime ball was watching him. Wiping all emotion from his face, Janus leaned back in his leather chair and dropped the pictures. “How do you know these are my kids?” He pressed a button on his phone, starting the recording app.

  The guy’s toothpick almost fell out of his mouth. “Are you kidding me? They’re the spitting image of you!”

  Janus shrugged. “I have brothers, Jerry. They could have been fathered by one of them.” At least, that’s what he’d heard. He hadn’t tried to contact his brothers, assuming they were just as vicious and amoral as his father, Edward Meyers. He had no interest in muddying up his life by bringing desperate, pathetic, money grubbing family members into his world. He liked his life just fine the way it was. Over the past five years, he’d grown his businesses into an empire. He was part owner of Seattle’s premier football league, plus he owned at least five bars and restaurants around just about every stadium in the country. He’d started out taking over small, unprofitable establishments and converted each one into a massively profitable business. Now he was building his own restaurants, using the same methods but applying a different theme for each, depending on the city.

  Five years ago, he’d been a silent business owner, but had been powerful due to his celebrity status and his skill on the football field. Now, he was a powerhouse.

  There was no way a slime ball like Jerry was going to control him with this information. Not a chance!

  “Your old man did a DNA test. Those kids also did a DNA test.” Jerry nodded towards the pictures. “Your housekeeper gave me a bit of your hair and,” he splayed his fingers out wide, “voila! The kids are a match to you, my friend.”

  Janus was disgusted and made a mental note to fire his housekeeper immediately. “And you’re working for Edward Meyers?”

  The guy shrugged. “Your old man paid me to find you. I’ve already given him copies of those pictures, as well as your contact information.” The guy turned smug. “The big question is, how much are you going to pay me to keep quiet about your kids and your little lover?”

  Janus’ eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to blackmail me?”

  The guy snickered. “Let’s just say that, if you make it worth my effort, I’ll keep the press from descending on you. I remember how bad they were five years ago. You couldn’t even step out of your ritzy buildings without being mobbed by a horde of reporters after being tackled on the football field. Just think what might happen to those little cuties if the world knew that you were their daddy?”

  Janus had only known about the toddlers for five minutes, but he felt an almost overpowering need to protect them. From the world, yes, but also from this man. Thankfully, Janus was well-schooled in dealing with the scum of humanity. With effort, he kept his revulsion off of his face and stared blandly back at the man, all the while, pressing a button on his cell phone.

  “How much would you charge for your silence?” he asked.

  The guy shrugged again. “I think a cool million would suffice.”

  Janus hid his hands under the desk. “You’re willing to keep my children a secret from the press if I pay you a million dollars. Is that what you’re saying?” This guy was an absolute idiot!

  “Hey, you’ve got lots of money. And my silence is very expensive. I have needs and those pictures are worth much more than that if I sold them to one of the tabloids.”

  Janus stared at him, disgusted. He’d do it. This ass would sell his children’s pictures, their contact information, to the press if he didn’t pay up.

  “I’ll get back to you,” Janus said, standing up. “I appreciate your silence on this issue.”

  The guy must have thought that he’d won, because he extended his hand. “When will you get me the money?”

  “I’ll contact you.”

  “When?”

  “Soon.” Janus stood there, staring him down. Slowly, the guy nodded, pulling his hand away when he realized that Janus wasn’t going to shake it.

  “Fine. I’ll be in touch.” A moment later, he sauntered out, wearing a cocky grin.

  Janus pressed the button on his phone, saving the recording. “Mary!”

  His personal assistant immediately stepped into his office. “Please tell me that you’re not going to do any sort of business with that jerk,” she said, shuddering with revulsion. “I feel like I need a shower after talking to him!”

  Janus agreed. “Can you get Tom on the phone?” he asked, referring to his personal lawyer. He could use the company lawyer, but this was a personal issue. Janus kept his business and private affairs completely separate, guarding each with an intensity that bordered on reclusiveness.

  “Absolutely,” Mary replied already turning on her heel.

  “Tom,” Janus greeted when Mary put him through. “I need your help on a couple of issues.”

  “What’s up?”

  “First of all, I just had a visit with a private investigator claiming to work for my father, Edward Meyers.”

  Tom groaned. “You knew that your father would find you, eventually. What does he want?”

  Janus shook his head. “I haven’t spoken to my father, nor do I plan to. But my father has discovered that I have two children. Twins. They’re about four years old.”

  There was a long silence on the other end of the phone and Janus knew that Tom was doing the math in his head. “Four year old twins. But…that would mean that…Five year
s ago?”

  “Exactly. Their birthday is June fourth.” Again, Janus paused while his lawyer mentally went back in time.

  “But that would mean that…were they conceived right before your…accident?”

  “That was no accident,” Janus growled. “It was an attack.”

  Tom sighed. “Yeah, sorry. Bad choice of words. If it’s any consolation, Rockwell was convicted of beating a guy in a bar fight three months ago. He’s been on a downward spiral ever since being kicked out of the league. I think he’s finally reached rock bottom.”

  “I don’t give a damn about that ass. What’s on my mind now is protecting my kids.” Janus picked up the paper that showed the DNA tests. Sure enough, there was the evidence. He was a father. A father! Damn it, what the hell had Stevie done?!

  “I’m sending over a voice recording of a conversation I just had with the private investigator, Jerry something or other. I’ll get you his full name. But the recording is proof that he is trying to blackmail me. If I don’t pay him a million dollars, he’s going to release pictures of my kids to the press as well as their contact information.’

  Tom hissed. “The media will go nuts over a story like that!”

  “I know. Especially since I’ve refused interviews for so long. The press salivates over anything about me that they can get their hands on lately.”

  Tom laughed. “Yeah, you’re a good target.” He sighed. “Okay, send me the recording and I’ll get the police involved. I have some contacts that can keep this quiet. You’re still a legend in this town and you’ve always contributed heavily to the police fund raising efforts.”

  Janus didn’t correct his friend’s assumption that his contributions had been altruistic and not a way to earn points with the police. He just wanted the task accomplished and knew that Tom would get results quickly.

  “What’s the other issue?” Tom prompted.

  Janus glanced down at the pictures. “I need to file for custody of my children.”

  Another silence, this one longer. “Um…I…that’s going to take time, Janus. There’s groundwork that needs to be laid before a custody hearing. I didn’t know that you even had children before five minutes ago.”