Chris stormed back into the room where Lisa was sitting in the wingback dressed only in the bed sheet. She looked so desirable, the white sheet against her light pink skin, one of the domes of her breasts partially uncovered and her beautiful legs peeking out at the bottom. All he wanted now was to take her back to bed, but he couldn't.
Lisa had that feeling again. Something was wrong. "Where were you?"
How could he tell her? "I was with my father. Seems he had time to think. He doesn't approve of our relationship anymore. He said that now that you are a King we cannot be together anymore."
"Your father wouldn't. He knows how we feel about each other and I am not a King, my biological father might be a King but I am not. I didn't accept that name as my own and who knows if that is really true, my mother could have been a slut and had several affairs at the same time."
"He is insisting that you leave with Brendan King in the morning, I am to leave these quarters immediately."
"No, no I won't let you. I love you and you love me and we won't let him dictate our relationship. I cannot live without you."
"I am sorry but if I don't my father would send me away from here for a very long time. I would be banned to the desert and there I would have to suffer in hard training, people lose their souls there, they never return the same person as when they left. I would rather leave you now and fight with him, beg him and plead our case to him until he allows us to be together again."
"Would he allow us to be together again?" Lisa didn't even try to stop the tears.
"I don't know but we can only hope, it might take a few years or it might not take even one month."
Lisa was in his arms a second later sobbing into his shirt. "What if we don't see each other again? I don't want to go with him, he is nothing to me. Please I would rather go home and beg my mother to take me back into her home, I don't want to go with him, please don't make me."
"I will not stay away forever and Brendan King can take care of you, he wants to take care of you. He can give you what you need and the baby, he will spoil you both rotten."
"But he can't give me you. What about his wife and his other children, how will they treat me or is he planning on keeping me a secret forever by hiding me away in a small apartment and only visit to bring me food?"
"I don't know, I wish I did but I don't." Chris listened as she kept crying. It broke him to hear her sobs but it was all for her. His father didn't tell him who or why Lisa was in danger from again.
A knock sounded at the door and Chris went to open it. His father stood there once again. "Chris a room on the next floor had been readied for you for tonight. Take what you may need and come with me please?"
"Can I just have a few more minutes with her? I need her to be calm before I leave, it's not good for the baby if she is upset."
"Fine, do I need to bring the doctor to bring her something to calm down?"
"No, I will be there in about thirty minutes or so." Chris closed the door even before his father left and went back to Lisa. "Come let me help you to the shower. You will feel better once you are clean and dressed."
"Was that your father?"
"Yes, my room for the night is ready."
"Nothing will help me feel better."
"There are a few things that might, that little baby growing inside you, who knows you might just find someone else out there whom you will love more than me."
Lisa slapped him as he said that, his cheek red and prickly seconds later.
"Don't you ever say something like that? I love you and there could never be anyone else."
"We will survive this."
Lisa was lying on the unmade bed crying like she has never cried before. A hand on her arm made her look up.
Mrs. Morgan was sitting on the bed beside her rubbing her arm. "Lisa honey you need to stop crying, this isn't good for the baby. Please let doc give you something to calm down?"
Lisa just nodded, anything to numb the pain of her broken heart. She felt the prick on her arm and welcomed the drowsiness.
"She is sleeping now son so please stop worrying about her. Soon all of this would be forgotten."
"I will never forget her mother, I love her. How would you feel if someone told you that you can never see father again?"
"I know what you are saying but it is all for the best."
Chris watched his mother leave and focused on the screen again. He could see Lisa on the bed sleeping, she looked peaceful but he knew that if she didn't get the sedative she would still be crying. He wanted this to stop and hopefully by the time she opened her eyes all of this would be over. He had placed the secret camera in her room while she was getting dressed and no one not even his parents knew about it, for all his mother new when she was in his room seconds ago, he was reading a text or something on his phone, she wouldn't know that he was watching Lisa.
Chris was once again disturbed an hour later when his father and Brendan King came to him. Father, Mr. King what can I do for you?"
"We are here to talk to you about tomorrow. Your mother said she will help Lisa to get her things together, she will go help her in the morning. I know this is very hard for you and I understand completely if you feel like you hate me at this time but I am doing this to protect you."
Chris didn't take his eyes of the phone since he saw who was at the door. She was still sleeping peacefully. "I don't want to talk to you about this. You know how happy I have been since I met her? The nightmares were gone and it was all because of her. With her in my live Jason's death felt like it wasn't for nothing. She brought me back to life after he died, because when he died I a part of me died, he was my best friend my brother and the person in my life that I always knew I can trust." She was still sleeping but there was movement in her room. "Is someone supposed to check on Lisa at some point, I think doc should just to make sure she is okay after the sedative?"
"No I didn't think it would be necessary but I will ask him."
"Where is mother?"
"She was in our room before I came here, she says she has a headache so she wants to get to bed." His father looked suspiciously at him. "Why do you want to know?"
Chris looked at the screen again and saw Mina in the room with Lisa. She had something in her hand. "Mina is in her room. Did you send her there?"
"No, how do you know that."
Chris turned the phone so his father could see.
"We need to get there now." Chris snr said and ran out the door with Brendan King and Chris on his heels.
Chris watched it as it happened in slow motion, the gun pointed at her head and then Mina falling to the floor after Brendan tackled her from behind. His father got the gun out of her hand but not before a shot went off. Pain seared through him but he didn't give into the pain. Another shot fired and Lisa started to scream. "No not Lisa not again." He ran to her but she wasn't the one who was hit, Brendan was kneeling over holding his stomach.
Other people were starting to gather at the door and medics came in to take care of everyone. Chris snr had Mina in cuffs holding her down. Mina wasn't moving or trying to get loose, she was knocked out, probably by Chris snr.
Chris had Lisa in his arms and he tried to ignore the splitting pain in his shoulder. "It is over baby please calm down."
Lisa couldn't stop crying. She was too scared. Everything happened so fast. She still didn't know what was going on except for the shots that were fired and Brendan King that stepped in front of the bullet that was meant for her. "You are bleeding, you have been shot Chris." Lisa grabbed the towel from the floor and held it to his shoulder. "Sit down so doc can look at you please?"
Chris did what Lisa told him to do. He watched her as she moved to where Brendan was lying on the floor while the medics were trying to save his life. She kneeled beside him and took his hand in hers. He watched as she talked to him even though he couldn't hear her. She kept talking only to him and no one else could hear what she was saying except maybe the medics that were close to him.
"Please don't leave me now, I haven't even talked to you yet or introduced myself to you. You have to stay alive to meet your grandson and so we can get to know each other." Lisa pleaded while tears stained her face. "I still need to thank you for saving me, you can't leave me now. There is still too much to say." Lisa didn't stop. She didn't want him to die, she needed to know the man that was willing to sacrifice himself to save her.
"Miss we need to get him to the ship bay so we can remove the bullet." The medic said to Lisa. "We really need to go now."
"Okay." Lisa moved so they could move Brendan King. "Please let me know as soon as I can see him, I will go there as soon as possible." She wanted to be there for him when he woke up.
"Lisa baby we can go there as soon as you are dressed. Let me help you get ready." Chris spoke softly and with so much love.
"No you just got shot, I will be back in two minutes, go with your father so doc could do what he needs to. I will meet you there."
"Lisa baby I don't want to leave you alone, we don't know if this is over."
"Ok, then just give me a minute to change." Lisa ran to the closet and got jeans and a loose jersey out and quickly dressed in the bathroom, she finished the look with tennis shoes and washed her face. She still felt a little drowsy from the sedatives she was given earlier.
Lisa Chris and his father were on the way to the ship bay minutes later. "Where did they take that girl?"
"She was taken to the prison on the ship." Chris snr said. He looked mad as hell.
"I want to see her as soon as I know my father is going to be ok."
"Lisa that is not a good idea." Chris said a little out of breath. "What could possibly be the reason?" He has already told her about the promise he made to Mina and he also told her that wasn't an option anymore.
"I only want to talk to her."
"No Lisa, you cannot do that, it is dangerous and I am not going to take any chances anymore. We have both been shot by people who wanted to get rid of you and your father's life is hanging on a very old string that could break at any moment, do you really want to take another risk."
Lisa didn't want Chris to be mad at her. "I only wanted to ask her why she did this?"
"You know why, it was because of the promise she said I made a promise and she was going to make me keep it no matter what and that meant that she would kill you if she had to. I was the cause of this and everything that happened here tonight was my fault and you can't understand how it is eating at me that it all happened because of me. I am just lucky that you didn't get shot again." Chris said tortured.
Lisa didn't know what to say. She started to cry again. "Maybe we weren't meant to be then if there are so many things trying to keep us apart. I don't know why I even considered to say yes to your proposal, this would never end for us."
"No Lisa you can't say that, we love each other."
"Maybe but sometimes love just isn't enough, our pasts would always come between us or try to kill one of us and I can't live with that uncertainty." Lisa wiped her tears with her sleeve. "When he pulls through I will go home with him and if he doesn't I will get a job and a place close to my brother and I will do this on my own." Lisa caressed her belly. "It would be better if I wasn't in your life."
Chris snr had been standing there listening to their conversation the whole time but he needed to speak now. "Lisa and Chris, this is not the time nor the place for this type of discussion, you should get to a doctor and Lisa you need to go to the ship bay where your father is being treated. You are both exhausted and hyped up on the situation. It is not time for rash decisions. Let's get going." He walked ahead so they would follow.
Lisa stood there in the room next to her father's bed. He pulled through the surgery but just barely.
"He would have to be transferred to a hospital where they could take better care of him." Chris snr said in a low voice. "Lisa I need to talk to you please. Chris isn't here and I just need you to understand. My son loves you very much and if you leave him now you will break his heart."
Lisa shook her head in disbelieve. "Just hours ago you forbid us to see each other, you said I was a King and you didn't want him to be with me, what has changed?"
"That was all just pretend to force Mina to show her hand. I knew someone was still trying to hurt you and I wanted this to end. I knew if I took Chris away and added a time limit to how long you would still be here the person who wanted to harm you would make their move and she did. I never wanted you and Chris to be apart, I know you love each other."
"I think I should go with my father when he leaves the ship. Chris has done so much for me already and I think I should give him some space."
Lisa was alone with her father when he opened his eyes four hours later. He looked old and tired and even though she didn't know him well and only saw him from a distance until today she knew that he didn't usually look so fragile. He was a big man with greying blond hair and green eyes. He had brought shoulders and was almost six feet tall.
Brendan King looked at the young woman who sat next to his bed with her worried expression. How she reminded him of his other daughter and himself. He saw the tears before she wiped them away. "Hallo." His voice was soft and strained.
Lisa smiled. "Hallo." She took his hand again. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better now that you are here finally speaking to me." He closed his eyes and not because he wanted to but he was just so tired. "I am sorry about Ryan and what he did to you. I don't know how I can ever make up for it. Please don't be mad at him, he didn't know what he was doing. He was so angry when he found out about you and after that it just got worse. I never thought that he would come after you and hurt you."
Lisa saw that it was hard for him to speak. "Shh don't worry about that now, you need to rest and once we are back on land we can get you healthy and take it from there. I know I won't be a big part of your life but I would like to get to know you better."
"Why don't you want to be a big part of my life?" His eyes were open now to look at her.
"I don't know if you want me in your life and what your wife and other kids will say about it. I didn't think you would want me to be part of it all."
"My wife told me when she found out about you that she would accept you as her own. You don't have to worry about her or my other children, they will all want you in our lives." He closed his eyes again and his breathing calmed.
Lisa held his hand while he slept and she couldn't help being excited about the future, the only thing she dreaded was not having Chris in her life. She would miss him and leaving him would break her heart but it would be best for him not to have her in his life.
"Lisa can we talk?" Chris asked behind her almost in a whisper.
"There is nothing further to discuss, when he leaves here I go with him." Lisa didn't want to cry again.
"So the last six months meant nothing to you?" Chris sounded like he could kill.
"Please not here not now, I don't have the energy for it." Lisa heard the door close behind her and when she looked she found that she was alone again with her father. She would always love Chris, she knew that he would be the only man for her but it was too dangerous for them to be together.