Unfinished Page

Emily was perfectly comfortable where she was, but then she felt a familiar buzzing in her pocket. She pulled her phone out to see she got a text message. There was no caller I.D. on the number but it read, You owe us. For now, she ignored it. She didn't know of anyone she personally owed. Wrong number probably.

Gavin held her close to him. He almost wanted to fall asleep himself but he just couldn't. His eyes were closed but his thoughts were swarming.

Nate was paying attention to the movie and didn't notice Emily get a message, he just pulled her closer and laid his head on top of hers.

(what now for Gavin and Jess?)

Emily glanced up at him and settled down, relaxing against him.

(They're probably going to have to deal with Mason.)

Halfway through the movie, Nate was craving popcorn. He kissed the top of Emily's head before sliding out of his spot and going to the kitchen to pop popcorn and get drinks.

(okay, you want to start that?)

Emily continued watching the movie before she was interrupted again. This time, by her parents. You need to come over a.s.a.p. It read. Her eyebrows scrunched together. Something was up.

After Jess had woken up, Gavin gave her a small kiss on the forehead and started to get dressed. "We need to go take care of this as soon as possible." He stated.

Nate brought everything back and saw the look on Emily's face. "Em, what is it? Is something wrong? Are you okay?" he asked, worry laced into every single one of his words.

Jess groaned, but made her way to her closet, going to the back and reaching in a few of the drawers she never opened that contained things from her other life. She pulled out black skinny jeans, a fitted gray V-neck, a dark purple hoodie, and black ankle boots. She hadn't worn these things for at least three years and they felt odd on.
She reached into the bottom drawer of her jewelry box and pulled out a pendant with an Irish symbol on it, the sign for her family's mob. If she was going back and dealing with it, she might as well dress the part.

Emily blinked as she looked up at him, not entirely realizing she had been so obvious. "My folks..." She answered softly, "Something's up. We need to go over there to find out."

Gavin pulled on some dark jeans and slipped a black shirt over his head. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. He wasn't going to say things were going to be okay now. He didn't know, he couldn't tell. He did say though, "I'm right beside you."

Nate nodded and turned the movie off and put the things back in the kitchen. "Alright. Let's get ready and we'll go."

Jess gave him a small smile and gave him a peck on the cheek before grabbing her phone and started to walk out of the room. She sighed as they climbed into the car and she took the driver's side because she knew where they were going, where everything was centralized in the city. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she drove down the street.

Emily gave a small smile, before quickly going upstairs and changing into some street clothes. She came back down, joining him once again.

Gavin glanced over at her. His hands clenched and un-clenched rhythmically. He was actually nervous. He hadn't been in a long time. The last time being when he asked Jess to marry him.

Nate smiled at her. "Ready, Em?" He asked, keys in hand.

Jess was biting the inside of her cheek and her knuckles were white from her grip on the steering wheel. Though it was familiar to go back, she was still nervous--she didn't know how all the men would react after her return after three years of nothing.
She pulled up to the warehouse and turned the car off, she could hear the men blaring the music inside and she sat there for a moment. "Gavin, you don't have to come in. This is mine problem."

"Yep." Emily answered. She was almost trying to act less anxious than she was. She had a sense that it was something serious they would be walking into.

Gavin shook his head. "I'm not letting you go in there by yourself." He insisted.

Nate grabbed her shaking hand and walked out to the car with her. He gave her a kiss after he was in the driver's seat. He pulled out of the driveway and made his way to her parents' house.

Jess smiled and gave him a quick kiss before getting out of the car.
By now she wasn't nervous anymore, she was back in her element, one that she had been in all her life, until she met gave about 2 years ago. Her hips swayed as she walked her way into the building. There were loads of men filing around the warehouse, yelling at each other over the music. She found the stereo and stomped over to it, turning it off.
One of the men--Nickolas--yelled out before looking. "Hey! Which one of you assholes turned the music off. I told you no one touches it! I'm gonna give whoever did that hell!" He looked around at the men, who were stark white and silent. "What, have you never heard a threat before, you little shits."
Jess chuckled. "Oh, Nickolas, you haven't changed one bit. Have you?" She spoke up, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared at the back of his head.
He swallowed hard before turning around. "Ah, Jess," he replied, his face as white as a sheet as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I didn't know you had returned."
Jess laughed. "Apparently not. So, where's Mason?" She asked, getting right to the point. She knew he wouldn't have called her back into this is there wasn't a real problem.
Nickolas swallowed again and pointed to the back room with this tatted arm. "In back."
Jess nodded and each of the men followed her with their eyes as she walked that way and they could hear those signature ankle boots clack against the concrete floor.

(haha sorry, got a little carried away. )

(I've been prone to do that before lol.)

Emily let out a small, soft sigh. She was honestly glad he was there with her. Once they arrived, she got out and when he did as well, she took his hand. She didn't bother knocking when they went in and called, "Mom? Dad?"
"In here." Was the reply from another room. She headed over there and saw both of them weren't their normal selves. They seemed very stressed.
"What's wrong?" She questioned, going over to them.
Her father swallowed hard and explained quietly, "We're about to lose everything..."
Emily blinked in surprise. "Why? What's going on?"
Her mother spoke now, "Honey, we never wanted you or your brothers to know about this but...how we paid for all of this, the house, the car, everything...wasn't exactly...legitimate."
Emily's mouth set into a slight frown.

Gavin couldn't help but give a small grin when the guys started bitching, although he wasn't too happy when they were watching her every move, no matter the reason behind it. He made sure he was close to her as they made their way into the back room.

Nate was shocked, he had known them his entire life and would never have guessed that that was true. He held Emily's hand to give her support.

(Do her parents know that she is pregnant yet? I know she is like 5 months, but it doesn't seem like they talk much.)

Jess heard Gavin's soft, unsure footsteps behind her has she made her way to the office.
She didn't bother knocking, though she had a feeling Mason was doing something inappropriate. She was right. She pushed the door open and saw him about to go at it with a random girl. "Really, Mason? What did I tell you about the random chicks?" She bellowed, at her wits end with these men.
Mason froze, not expecting her until this afternoon, or later, and was even more shock, but amused that Gavin was there. "Jess, you know me, I'm not really a rule follower." he retorted with a smirk.
Jess rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the chick. "You. OUT! NOW!" She yelled, not caring how it affected the girl. She turned her attention back to Mason. "I told you not to have any outsiders in here. Ever."
Mason swallowed. "Yeah, I know, but..."
Jess held up a hand, having heard enough of the excuses. "Enough. What did you call me here for?"
"You knew you were back in when you paid your boy-toy's debt with your trust fund. It went right back into your trust." he answered, eyeing Gavin.

Emily glanced at him before saying, "What can we do about it? Who do you owe?"
Her father shook his head. "There's no point."
"The hell there isn't. I'm not going to let you get kicked out on the streets. Who do you owe and how much?"
He cleared his throat. "The mafia in town...and with interest, at least $300,000."
"$300, 000?" Emily choked on the number.
"As a payment." He continued.

(I don't believe they do. But they will soon enough. )

Gavin grunted, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms as he glared at Mason, "Don't try and make this all my fault. You're the one that decided to suck her back in."

Nate's mouth fell open, he didn't even try to close it. He was just in utter shock at the number, he didn't really have that money, well legally anyway--he had a good amount from his distributing days. The he realized that it didn't have to be legal, it was the mafia.
"We'll fix it, Mr. Hepburn." He stated, taking Emily's hand, again.

(haha okay of course it leads back to Jess...these things all work out don't they )

Mason stood, but didn't try to get closer, he knew Jess would step in and stop it, which wasn't something he wanted to happen. She was already pissed and he didn't want her to take it out on him. "You're the reason she left in the first place. She was never supposed to leave anyway."
Jess pinched the bridge of her nose, getting irritated. "Mason, what is the problem? Why call now?" She asked, with her head still down.
Mason sighed and turned his attention back to her. "One of our loaners has a big payment that has come due and they haven't paid yet." He replied and opened the ledger that was on the desk and turned it to show Jess, pointing to it.
Jess stepped forward and leaned on the desk, looking down at the book. "Ah, good. That payment will be nice, it's about time it has come due. They have been sitting on our money for at least two decades." She smirked as she stood back up.
Mason nodded and closed the book before Gavin got a chance to look at it. He turned his attention, more like annoyance back to him and said, "Looks like loaning runs in the family, Hepburn."

Emily looked over at him and questioned, "Nate, how are we supposed to come up with money like that? We spent most of it preparing for the..." She realized where her words were headed and finished her sentence almost hesitantly, "The baby."

"What the hell do you mean?" Gavin questioned, not letting the surprise leak through his voice. If it involved his family, he really couldn't understand how Jess would be pleased in that.

Nate sighed and ran a hand over his face. He turned to face Emily. "Em, don't worry. I have extra of money, plenty of money to help. We will be okay."

Jess sighed, she was getting caught up in her old life. "Gavin, why don't you call your parents, let them explain."

Emily looked over at him, about to ask how exactly he got that and why she hadn't heard about it. She looked over at her folks and they seemed a little surprised at the news.
"You're pregnant?" Her mother inquired.
Emily gave a nervous smile, and rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah..."
"That's great, honey...though it would've been nice to hear it sooner."
"Yeah, yeah. I know, sorry." She got back to topic, "We're kind of veering off the subject. But, well...apparently," She glanced at Nate, "We can take care of it."

Gavin practically groaned. "Why can't you just tell me instead of me wasting time to call them?" He grumbled.

Nate gave a nervous smile when she looked over at him. His one last secret might as well come out, he was going to have to tell her, but he didn't know how she'd take it.

Jess sighed and walked over to him, trying to reach the new person that she was, the sweet girl that was married to Gavin. "I think it would be better to hear from them. They can explain it."

"So, we have to go and figure that out. We'll get back to you as soon as possible, okay?" Emily let go of Nate's hand momentarily to give both her mom and dad a reassuring hug before they went to leave.

Gavin almost objected but realized she wasn't exactly having a fun time right now either. "Right." He agreed simply before leaving and standing right outside of the back room. He dialed the number and his father picked up.
"Hey, Dad. What's going on? I heard there's a...situation."
He got a sigh, and then received the explanation his sister had.

Nate hugged Emily's mom and shook her dad's hand before they left. He reached for Emily's hand as they walked toward the car. Nate turned to face her once they were in the car. "Em, I will explain everything when we get home."

Jess sighed and set down on the corner of the desk, her arms crossed over her chest.
Mason came around the desk and peered through the crack in the door and still saw Gavin on the phone. "Listen, that wasn't the only reason I called you down here."
Jess scrunched her face in annoyance and turned her attention to Mason. "What else is wrong? I leave you for 2 years and you let this go to shit. Mason, how hard is it to run this?" She started to yell, but lowered her voice so Gavin wouldn't hear.
Mason rubbed the back of his neck nervously and chewed on his lip before continuing. "The big supply of drugs that we received from the distributor about a year ago--you know the really BIG supply that should have lasted for a while? Well, its completely gone and we have no new distributor/supplier."
Jess angrily pushed herself off the desk and pushed at Mason, pushing him against the wall, her face and finger inches from his face. "You piece of shit! What the hell happened to it?! You know we aren't getting anymore!!"
Mason's eyes went wide and he swallowed hard, again, his face going white. "I-I-I don't know, it j-just disappeared..." he sputtered.
Jess pushed him once more before walking over behind the desk and taking a seat. "It doesn't just disappear. Someone took it."

"Right." Emily acknowledged simply, nodding a little. She just wasn't sure how to act about it yet.

Gavin ended his call after a while and was on his way back into the room but then he heard Jess yelling about something. Literally fuming. He himself never had pissed her off like that before to have her react like that. He decided not to take his chances and stay where he was.

Nate helped her inside once they were home and then sat down on the couch. Before talking, he placed his head in his hands and rubbed his face. He honestly never thought that it would come out, that his big secret would come to light, especially to Emily, he never wanted her to know about it.

Jess sighed and sat back in the chair, propping her feet up on the desk. She was about to ask who it was, when it occurred to her. She slammed her fist down on the desk and turned back to Mason. "It was that bottom feeder, Jake," she stated and then added, "you and a few guys go pay him a visit."
Mason immediately knew what she meant by that and simply nodded.
Jess smiled and stood back up, waiting for Gavin to come back in.

Emily looked over at him worriedly as she sat beside him. He wouldn't be acting like this if it wasn't something extremely important. Or detrimental. Her hands laid in her lap, clasped together.

Gavin sighed, taking a deep breath to calm himself before returning to the room. He ran a hand through his hair. "I heard all about it." He spoke of his previous conversation.