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Chapter 16 – Rocky Road

Rocky POV

"So what's your beef with this bitch? You askin' for some sick shit man – she the reason you in here?"

"Let's just say if it wasn't for her my woman and I would still be together."

"I can dig it, but I don't know man, how I know this ain't no set up – your celly tells me he sees you up in here talkin' to this one and that one, how I know you ain't try to hire ten motherfuckers promising them all the same shit? Plus when I talked to him yesterday, he told me you ain't even had no visitors, not even your mama has come to see your ass – it won't be hard to find me if I'm the only motherfucker that's been here to see you. Shiiiit, how I know you ain't tryin to set my man Mike up to get yourself a lesser sentence? I can tell you ain't built for this prison shit, you could be up to anything. Yeah man I'mma have to pass man." I say starting to stand up.

"Wait!" he says with urgency pleading with his eyes for me to stay, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Look! First of all I have not talked to anybody about this other than Mike. He's been straight with me and looked out for me. I can't trust anybody else, plus trying to hire multiple people or hedge my bet would be the easiest way to get myself killed in here, and I might not be built for prison, who is by the way, but I'm at least smart enough not to fuck somebody over, not in here. I want…I need to get out of here."

"Fine, what you're asking for though…is gonna cost you."

"Name the price."

"Twenty five large."

"No problem, my business partner will have your money for you – but you cannot approach him until the deed is done, we do not what to tie this to him."

"That's not a problem for me."

"Once I have proof the carpet has been cleaned, I'll give you his contact information. I'll make it worth your while and throw in an extra five for the inconvenience of my not being able to give you a down payment."

"You got yourself a deal, when do you want this done?"

"As soon as possible. My preliminary hearing is scheduled for two weeks – I'd like it done before then."

"Fine, I'll be in touch." I say standing and leaving.

This never gets old, stupid criminal even more stupid than we originally thought, how shocking. Not only is this nimrod attempting to have an innocent woman killed he now wants to implicate his former business partner, and possibly get him killed visa vie the big scary black guy, Mr. Jackson has clearly watched too many episodes of The Wire. He screws the guy over in business and now he wants him either dead or in jail, he clearly is greater than pragmatically impaired, he is a fucking moron. This shit sounds like a made for TV movie, I should try and sell this one to Lifetime my wife and teenaged daughter would love it.

###

"T! Long time no see my brother." I say embracing my longtime friend and fellow marine.

"You were spot on, the guy is unhinged, and I would not put it past him to try and contact multiple sources – though I think my scary thug routine has him convinced that I am a professional and I believe I have established trust."

"That's good news – my biggest concern was that he would attempt to contract with multiple sources."

"We have his cell miked up – his every move and conversations are being recorded for the most part – our informant sticks close to him now, we initiated a bit of forced drama with a small group of inmates and now he goes nowhere without Mike out of fear he might get beat up or worse."

"Perfect. I feel a tremendous sense of relief knowing you are taking the lead on this."

"Anytime, I'll be in touch."

###

CPOV

"Sweetheart try not to worry, your security is clearly on top of this entire situation. For the first time I can remember I can truly see your happiness and not in a fleeting sense, please Christian, try to enjoy your life…and love."

"Heavy is the head that wears the crown Mom."

"Christian, we are all safe. You said it yourself that this Jackson person is under constant surveillance and he has not contacted anyone else other than authorities for his sinister plot, and to top it all off Elena is in hiding somewhere, she would never risk capture and incarceration for some misguided revenge – that woman is nothing if not the consummate self-preservationist, she staged that whole thing with the intent to disappear and while I would feel much more at ease if they found her body in the rubble, I am pretty sure she would not go to the trouble and not get as far away from Seattle as her broom could take her." At her words about Elena I can see my mother's sadness for what she still sees as her failure to recognize a predator in our midst. I reach out and touch her hand in reassurance.

"You are an excellent mother, you always have been."

"Well, thank you for having lunch with me today – Elliot wanted to be here, but he made it clear to me that the excavation and foundation pouring for a fabulous new house on the Sound for an engaged couple was his top priority and he needed to be there personally to supervise. I am so excited for the two of you." She adds her eyes dancing.

"Ana and I are excited as well, we have a lot going on with the wedding planning and the new house, in addition to running our companies, but honestly I've never been more content or sure of anything in my life."

"Ana is such a lovely young woman, I could not be more thrilled that the two of you found each other. I am so over the moon that all three of my children have found love, you will understand this of course when you and Ana have your own children – a parent's solitary mission in life is the happiness and fullness of life for their children…period."

My own children, wow. Just a year ago I would have blanched at such an idea, but just imagining Ana pregnant with my child has me almost tearing up. Being a family with her will be my greatest joy.

"I am looking forward with eager anticipation to becoming a family with Ana Mom." I say with a childlike smirk to my mother's delight "we have talked about waiting a couple of years before doing so, but we are both excited about being parents someday in the not so distant future." For a moment I allow a bit of self-doubt to creep in before I correct myself. "I used to think I would be unfit…" I start. "but somehow, I know that in spite of my past trauma, I already love and feel fiercely protective of the children Ana and I are yet to conceive. You and Dad taught me that I could overcome anything with love."

###

"Mr. Grey, I must admit I'm surprised to be here."

"To be honest Mr. Markum, I am a bit surprised to have you here as well. Please have a seat." I say gesturing towards the chair to my left." I conference room is primarily used for complex acquisition negotiations, when I worked with the designers to build it I had intended it to be intimidating to competitors and impressive to those I was wooing for business relationships. Right now Shane Markum is the most impressive thing about this room, I am glad Barney finally stopped beating around the bush and convinced me that I should take a closer look at Interspace and Mr. Markum.

"I want to cut to the chase Mr. Markum, I would like to save Interspace." His gaze is both reflective and impassive at once. Mr. Markum is an enigma I must admit I am having trouble understanding his reaction or lack thereof in this moment.

"Why?"

"I have been paying attention to what has been going on with Interspace and not just because of what has transpired between your former partner and I but also because the idea of hundreds of dedicated employees losing their livelihoods because of one mal intentioned individual does not sit well with me. My IT director speaks highly of your dedication to Interspace and it's employees, and I have learned about the lengths to which you have gone to ensure that they are able to recover…at your own expense, and I would like to help you. We have done our research, and we believe that with some rebranding, mentoring and financial backing we can not only save jobs but also continue your vision.

"Mr. Grey I took care of my people because I felt responsible for what happened to them, this was not some sort of faux altruistic ideal. I did this because I am guilty. Guilty of being a bad businessman, guilty of trusting the wrong person and most importantly guilty of failing to protect the interests of those to whom I made promises that I failed to keep." He pauses seemingly to reflect.

"My dreams were not the stuff of pipes Mr. Grey. While making an obnoxious amount of money was always a part of the plan, my greatest joy was in the work, in being an innovator – I was building a legacy and for a while, a long while I felt we were a beacon for every disenfranchised, socially awkward, pocket protector wearing geek kid who dreamed of being the next Bill Gates in this country. Right now I don't have a dime to my name but my parents have stood by me and committed to lend me money to stay afloat – funny they never did like Hy and neither did my girlfriend, who by the way still wants to marry me. I have real friends and I have had employees refuse to take money from me because they believed me innocent in all of this – I am the richest man in the world Mr. Grey."

The man in front of me is not broken, but he is racked with guilt and remorse. In his eyes I see truth and profound disappointment, but not for himself, his greatest disappointment is having failed those in his charge. Shane Markum is a good man. Just before I start to speak we are interrupted by a wrap on the door.

"Come in."

"Christian." He greets enthusiastically.

"Bill, how good of you to join us."

Now, that got a reaction from Mr. Markum. He is staring at Bill like he's Big Foot. Blink man!

"Bill allow me to introduce Shane Markum."

"Shane Markum…Bill Gates."

APOV

"Ana! Hi."

"Hey Mom, how are you guys?"

"We are doing very well, Jaiden is doing so well in school and she kicks ass in Tae Kwon Do, she already has a yellow belt." She shares excitedly.

"Where is Jaiden now?"

"She and your dad went out to get takeout Pizza from that fancy place downtown. Since I started working on my latchkey and car safety projects we now have sandwich night every Thursday – we don't always have sandwiches, but there is no cooking for me."

"How are you and Dad doing?"

"Welllll…your dad officially moved back home two weeks ago."

"Mom, I am so happy for the two of you and for Jaiden. RJ and I can uncross our fingers now."

"Ana, your father is so different now, he's always been attentive and complimentary, but I…it is as if he really sees me now. He even asks my advice on business matters, imagine that!" She exclaims.

"We have been dating for a while and we vow to keep it up – so far so good. How are things going with you and Christian how are the wedding plans coming?"

"They are going great actually, honestly Mom Christian is just amazing – I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Elliot and his crew are pouring the foundation at the house this week, we are going to head out there on Saturday and have a hard-hat picnic. I'm so excited."

"Two weeks from now we are taking the Anastasia out for a cruise to nowhere for our bachelor and bachelorette weekend. Kate and Elliot are planning the festivities – so pray for us." We both laugh.

"It is hard to believe the wedding is just over a month away."

"Jaiden talks about the wedding all the time, she has it marked on her calendar and she just loves her dress."

"That is because she is going to look just adorable. Well I need to get back to work – I have a meeting soon. I love you Mom."

"I love you too Ana."

One week later

HPOV

"Is that what you wanted?" The mountain of a man in front of me says, pushing two Polaroids in front of me, he works fast.

I look at the pictures of Kate, one of her gagged in what looks like the trunk of a car and the other with her face down in the dirt with blood appearing to run from her torso, she's not so pristine now is she. Snooty bitch, she always thought she was so high post with her old money, fancy car and all-expense paid education. In reality she was a dumb slut who I banged with little to no effort at all, hell me and every other dude with a black card and a pulse in Seattle. Pity, she was a pretty decent fuck.

"I wanted her messed up, I just see one bullet hole in her back."

"Look man, the sedative wore off to quick and she tried to run, I had to improvise. Would you rather she got away?"

"No. As long as the bitch is dead, I could care less how it happened, but I did want her to suffer."

"So, have you talked to your man, when do I get my money?"

"Oh yeah, he is expecting your call at the number I gave you last time, this was money well spent." I say knowing this asshole won't have access to me once he leaves this room, I could give a fuck what he does to Shane, what is he going to do, call the police? I stand and extend my hand as our business is done, he tightens his grip on my hand and looks over his shoulder nodding to the guard in the corner of the room.

"Mr. Jackson, good doing business with you."

Out of nowhere I am besieged by no less than six prison guards. Son of a bitch!

###

"What the fuck am I doing in here? I know you can hear me you bastards! Let me the FUCK out of here!"

For the last two hours I have been sitting in a room reserved for attorney conferences with both my arms and legs shackled and tethered to the concrete floor, that is after it was revealed my cellmate is a fucking snitch who set me up with an FBI agent, they of course tried to convince me otherwise telling me Michael had no idea, but I am nobody's fool. So far other than reading my rights and informing me that I am being charged with solicitation of capital murder and conspiracy to commit murder with special circumstances of course my circumstances are 'special' I am nothing if not an over achiever. My so-called lawyer left here about thirty minutes ago after telling me that I needed to admit to not only the new charges, but also the charges that landed me here in the first place – I told him to go fuck himself. What Michael did was entrapment, their case is weak as hell – it's not like Kate the slut actually died, I could care less how many tapes they claim to have.

Finally the door opens, only this time there is no prison official or lawyer for that matter.

CPOV

I finally receive the call we had been waiting for, Jekyl had been taken down for soliciting Kate's murder. Later tonight he will be moved to isolation, which means before his trial and sentencing he will have no access to other inmates or other communication tools. His cell will be fully monitored with closed circuit television with audio, he will be locked down twenty three hours a day with one hour of supervised exercise. I plan to use my considerable influence to ensure that he spends his incarceration in a super maximum facility across the county; his conviction is assured as I was told he refused the advice of his attorney – I am convinced the man is delusional because he actually believes he can beat the charges…all of them.

I had my dad call in a favor, because with the exception of our brief encounter – I have never spoken with him. I need to let him know that this is all over.

"What the fuck do you want? What? Are you here to kick my ass? Go ahead, I'm all chained down, you made sure I couldn't fight back. You must know I would kick your ass."

"Mr. Jackson, if you ever dreamed you could kick my ass, you would be compelled to immediately wake up, find me and apologize for being so damn delusional even in your dreams." He just sits back and smirks.

"What do you want Grey, afraid she wishes she was with a real man."

I casually brush off imaginary lint from the slacks of my wool crepe custom Brioni suit.

"You mean my fiancé, Ana Steele soon to be Grey?" He visibly flinches at the mention of her name. Excellent.

"I actually believe Ana is quite pleased with her choice of a life mate. We are both actually very happy and I can tell you this now because you have no contact with the outside world now – at least until your trial that is – we are getting married next month and then we plan to honeymoon for a month. But not to worry I would not miss your trial for the world." I see his jaw clench and while I cannot hear it I can tell that he is actually grinding his teeth.

"Fuck you! They have nothing on me."

"Really? I didn't know you found me attractive, wanting to fuck me, is that a side effect of your short incarceration? As usual Jekyl, you are absolutely right." He looks confused. "Oh, the name Jekyl, that's our little nickname for you, get it Jekyl and Hyden? Ana, spit out her cranberry spritzer laughing the first time I called you that. As I was saying as usual you are absolutely right and the myriad of charges you face – everything from insider trading and embezzlement..." His eyes widen. That's right fucker, the forensic accountants found that you were stealing from your own company and partner, had you not thrown your lawyer out he would have shared that little tidbit with you an hour ago.

"To aggravated stalking, blackmail and solicitation of capital murder…twice! All trumped up charges right? You my boy are looking hard time a lot of it. But clearly this is all some huge misunderstanding."

"So what, motherfucker you show up here, to what? Gloat?"

"Pretty much. Seems petty for a guy of my stature, but yes. You tried to destroy lives Mr. Jackson all to feed your own ego and twisted sense of entitlement. You were making all the money any reasonable person could ask for – you were legitimately a millionaire many, many times over and yet it was not enough, you wanted to manipulate and control businessmen when working in conjunction with their companies would have yielded you phenomenal returns, but instead you burned those bridges for short term almost maniacal gain. So you could what? Pat yourself on the back because you could bend the wills of wealthy and great men?" His glare does not leave mine, he looks positively rabid right now. Maybe he could whip my ass. Nah.

"Your former partner, now owner of Markum Technologies is a good man who worked hard and not only did you risk destroying him professionally, you also tried to get him killed as some sort of twisted bonus in your plot to kill Kate. Really? No matter, he will become an excellent businessman, easily rebuilding his reputation, he has good friends and mentors now." I chuckle. "Hell, when he and I met with Gates it was like the two of them were speaking a foreign language, it was incredible." Countdown to meltdown in three…two…

"Fuck you Grey, and FUCK Shane, he was always weak!"

I cannot contain my smirk. I ignore his little outburst.

"Speaking of entitlement. Did you really think you could make Ana want to be with you? I mean how many ways does a woman have to say she is just not interested before you move along?"

"She was all over me, she…"

"Despises you. You make her skin crawl. Ana was never interested in you, she simply did not feel a connection with you. And it was not because her father failed to talk you up, or because Kate told her she had sex with you, or even because of me. Ana just did not like you."

"You're wrong!" He screams at me. "I could tell by the way she looked at me…"

"What? That she wanted you to plant bugs on her car and in her kitchen? That she wanted you to show up at her place unannounced and uninvited, with a basket full of carbs no less?" He glares at me his chest rising and falling rapidly, so I go in for the kill.

"Tell me something Jekyl, if my Ana is so interested in you and you could tell this by the way Ana looked at you, then why is Ana marrying me?" His eyes grow wide and he starts to make a low guttural sound that could best be described as a…growl?

At this he begins to bang his head on the metal table in front of him. I quickly rise, bang on the door and the guards come in taking him away while he screams and cries like the lunatic he is. He is a bloody mess, I heard his nose crack from across the room, that took real concerted commitment to crazy. I was told he would be on suicide watch for the next seventy-two hours, and placed in solitary once physicians determine he is no longer a threat to himself. His cellmate has been transferred to the county jail and will be released from custody soon per his deal for cooperation in our case.

###

One week later aboard the Anastasia

APOV

"Shit Ana, you're so tight…aaaah fuck you feel so damn good baby."

"Chris…Christian…fuck me harder Christian!"

We collapse into a sweaty sated mess onto the king sized bed in our master suite aboard the Anastasia, it has been this way for our entire trip - thank god for soundproofing. We spend time with our family drinking, dancing and eating; we have enjoyed swimming and water crafts including Seadoos and Flyboards which were out of this world.

Both Christian and I were thrilled that our guests turned out to be just our families, and that the only real surprise was that Kate and Elliot flew RJ in with his friend Tyler, a very refined, mature and reserved young lady he met at an off campus party, who is studying pre-law in D.C. at nearby Howard University. Having never observed RJ with a date or girlfriend it was refreshing seeing him as the gallant gentleman he has grown into, and though it is hardly a surprise I am extremely proud of him.

The crew was amazing with the exception of one young…lady that had to be removed before we even embarked on our cruise because of her shameless flirting with every man who boarded with us, including my brother and my groom to be. While there was no real harm done, Kate decided why chance the assured irritation when we knew up front what she was all about, she told me she could not imagine that seeing our men shirtless, not to mention wet would help matters at all and since we failed to pack any bibs she didn't want things to get messy. The rest of the trip was seamless including the food prepared by the chef which was incredible, Mia had gone to great pains to secure a friend for the job – the only one she emphasized that she felt worthy and up to the task.

We are all going to need some time to recover from this trip. During the day we play hard including deep water volleyball that was much too competitive for Kate, Mia, Tyler and I but a real joy to watch, Christian and Elliot on opposite teams was probably not the best idea, considering how competitive they both are – it's funny actually, I have never met two brothers who were closer but when it comes to competing they leave no prisoners, in the end Christian and RJ won the series of three very physically taxing games.

At night we partied until we dropped, each night having a different theme – my favorite night was the nineties themed night. We all danced to top forty hits from the nineties with an accompanying video show that looked like it was straight from MTV, there was a light show as well. Everyone dressed in clothes from that unfortunate fashion decade and topped off the looks with outrageous nineties hair. That night we dined on flounder and perch that we caught while fishing earlier that day – Kate even caught two fish, okay Kate held the rod until there was a bite and Elliot did the rest, but it counts, it was after all, her rod and line.

We are spending our last full day at sea mostly consisting of lazing about on deck sunning ourselves and enjoying friendly chit chat, the boys decide to do the water motor sports thing on their own today, while we ladies relax and enjoy mani pedis with paraffin dips.

Later in the evening the couples have parted ways and Christian and I relax alone on the upper deck listening to soft instrumental jazz and star gazing.

"I cannot believe this is my life." I say sitting on Christian's lap while he absentmindedly plays with my engagement ring. He does this a lot, and each time we're not in the throws of passion it sends shivers through me remembering him kissing my ring finger while driving into me with caution abandoned while growling 'mine'.

"Why?"

"I just never believed fairy tales came true."

"I guess I can see that, well the happily ever after part anyway – though we have had our share of evil witches and big bad wolves." I giggle at the reference.

"That. That's my happy ever after – that has to be my favorite sound in the world. My guess is it always will be, well until…"

"Until what?" I say raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Well, Mom and I were out to lunch the other day and she brought up you and I having children, and just the thought of hearing our children laugh and play made my heart smile. I am looking forward to our marriage and our family."

"That has to be the most unabashedly romantic thing I have ever heard. Are you even real?" Before I can blink I am under Christian and he is grinding his erection against my core.

"Does that feel real baby?"

"Yes." I say barely in a whisper.

###

ElenaPOV

***Flashback***

"Hello Grace dear!" I say sauntering into Grey Manor like I own the place, and I do – it only took a moment however, to understand that something was off…very off. I had been summoned to lunch on a Monday, so I was not expecting to see Carrick, I also did not expect the scowl on my friend's face.

"Have a seat Elena." Grace orders and I comply, and to my horror Christian and the other Grey spawns emerge from the kitchen.

"What is this all about?" I try to feign innocent surprise, but inside I know this is my worst nightmare awake and in broad daylight, my blood runs cold with fear.

"They know Elena…they know everything." Christian states dispassionately while the rest of the Greys look on like a pack of hyenas ready to tear my flesh from my bones. They must have forced him to do this, I bet it was Elliot I should have dealt with him so much sooner, he never liked me but I just could not control that relationship, no matter how hard I tried. The two of them were always just too goddamn close. They are all too shallow to understand the depths to which Christian and I are connected – the ways in which I helped him to turn his life around, I taught him discipline and helped him to focus…" I feel a hard slap across my cheek and realize Grace has struck me.

"Did I interrupt your little daydream Elena?"

"You don't understand, I helped…"

"Helped." Grace spits out venomously. "When did help become synonymous with pedophilia?"

"I am not a pedophile, he was willing…"

"He was a CHILD…MY CHILD!" Grace screams, this time she moves her face inches from me – I barely recognize my now former friend, she was always so kind and mind numbingly innocent I have never heard her raise her voice before today. I have never seen her this angry; come to think of it I have never seen Grace Grey angry at all so I am a bit nervous, but I will not let it show. I am in control…still.

"You abused my son Elena." She says with bone chilling calm, a calm that was not present just seconds ago, and for the first time in decades I cannot control my body's tremble.

"If you piss on that chair Elena I will beat you to death with that silver candelabra over there, do you understand me?" She asks with an eerie calm and I reply with a nod.

"Excellent, now let me start again…You abused my son Elena, my fourteen year old son…" This time it is not I that interrupts her soliloquy, out of nowhere Grace is pushed aside and I am met with a barrage of blows as a fall backwards still in my chair – all I see is raven black hair and hands – all I hear is non-discernable screaming, and what I feel is excruciating pain as my head is being slammed on the floor. In reality it lasts seconds, but it felt like eternal slow motion as I am pummeled by an out of control post adolescent – who knew this little bitch was so mean…and strong. Everyone rushes forward to pull her off of me and while he would deny it under oath I know it was no accident that Elliot inadvertently stepped on my face, twisting his foot with what felt like his full weight, while half-heartedly restraining his sister, who took half of the right side of my beautiful locs with her and then spat on me.

"Come near my brother again and bitch I'll kill you!" She screeched, while landing her parting shot a direct kick to my crotch. As I lay doubled over in pain the Grey men comfort Mia and Grace while I writhe in pain on the floor…alone. You would think I had murdered Christian the way these people are overreacting.

"I will have that wild animal arrested!" I scream out in pain.

"You will keep your fucking mouth shut Elena." Christian states getting right in my face.

"Let me make this abundantly clear Elena, you are to leave here today and never speak of any of this again…"

"But Christian…" I plead looking into his eyes desperate to find some semblance of my former devoted lover and friend.

"If you call the police, attempt to contact any member of this family again or breathe the Grey name in passing to anyone – I will not only expose you for the disgusting pedophile that you are, I will also make sure you live the rest of your life in fiscal and social misery. We may have passed the statute of limitations to put your demented ass in jail for raping me when I was a child, but I promise you I will ruin you. Are we clear?"

I have never been more afraid and if I am honest turned on in my life, I taught him well – I think they actually bought it.

"Yes."

"Get the fuck out of here Elena."

I thought our little song and dance played well for the low information crowd, I even understood why he failed to put a leash on that rabid bitch when she physically assaulted me, so much so I decided against going after her…for now. My assumptions were confirmed just six months later when I came to GEH and he helped me to start my business, he just had to play along so that his family did not become suspicious. I thought Christian would always be mine. Until her that is.

***End Flashback***

I miss my room, for days now I have been back in this horrible box. I can no longer move about but I can hear sounds in the far off distance though I cannot discern what they are. I have not been fed in a few days and again I lie in my own waste, the air where I am now is thin and I believe I pass out more often than I fall into my desperate, fitful slumbers. I do not know if it is day or night anymore, my water troth is almost empty.

AN: Next, the wedding & honeymoon.