Page 113 of Four Fiances & I

“The flowers for the wedding?” I ask, already having guessed the answer.

“Gone. They don’t think they can get anything replaced in time. They have lost everything.”

I know I should feel sorry for them, and I do. But all I can concentrate on is how much this will devastate Jazzy. She loved the flowers she picked out for the bouquets and centrepieces. She dragged us all along and spent hours going back and forth with ideas. She has designed them all herself, and the florist was so excited about putting her pieces together. They even tried to encourage Jazzy to work for them, as they loved her designs so much.

“Do you think it is a coincidence? Or was this done because someone discovered the florist we are using?” I ask, knowing what my brother will be thinking and will have come to the same conclusion as me.

“You know my view on coincidences. There are none,” he replies as he walks around his desk and switches on his laptop. “The florist thinks there must have been some sort of pesticide used locally which has gotten into the air vents or water.” He looks up at me, and I see the disbelief in his tired eyes. “It must have been put in there on purpose. The florist knew it too, but she didn’t want to admit someone could do something that evil on purpose.”

“Oh, if only they knew how evil people can be,” I sigh, taking my usual seat in front of his desk. “I was going to ask what the plan was to deal with everything from last night, but I think you are a little preoccupied now.”

Christian sighs as he sits back in his chair and rubs his face. “Any chance you can grab me a coffee? I need to try and sort this shitstorm out whilst finding other options before I have to tell Jasmine what’s happened.” It’s written all over his face how much he dreads that conversation. He’s not the only one.

“No problem. I’ll be back with it now.” Standing from the chair, I head out of the room, wanting to give him a little time to clear his head.

When I find out who was responsible for this, I will be the one to end them. It’s one thing to go after my brothers & me; let's face it, we've done plenty in the past to probably deserve it and more. But Jazzy has done nothing wrong, yet here she is being victimised purely because of her association with us again. It infuriates my brothers and me. There have been times we have all wondered if we are doing the right thing by marrying her. But Jaz has made it clear she would never let us walk away, even if we tried.

Reflecting on how well she handled herself in the last twenty-four hours shows how far she has come. She is handling everything so well, but we are waiting for the situation that will be what starts the avalanche of emotions she must be bottling up. Maybe this will be it.

It looks like we were all called away last night to ensure she was on her own. Drew suggested that it may have been a trial run, a way for the perpetrators to see if they could control the security system and get us away from the house. Logan doesn’t think they are that clever, and they had hoped to trap Jazzy last night. To do what, I have no idea.

Until last night, they seemed to have left her alone. They didn’t do anything at her hen party or try to get to her when she’s out of the house. Nothing is adding up, and it’s infuriating me. We are all stressed and being pushed to the breaking point, and I honestly think Jazzy is the only reason none of us has gone on a rampage and started killing people until we get answers.

I walk into the kitchen to find Mrs Brown humming as she makes up salad for dinner.

“Afternoon, Mrs Brown.” I don’t manage to hide the sigh that follows.

“Well, that doesn’t sound like someone about to get married in a few days. What’s happened now?” she asks, looking at me.

“Just things going wrong that shouldn’t be. I’m sure everything will be okay,” I smile, hoping to reassure her. She watches me momentarily and nods, knowing better than to ask too many questions.

“Well, one thing that will go right is that you will be happily married in just a few short days,” she winks before returning to her salad. I smile, realising that it’s one thing guaranteed to make me happy.

Everything aside, my Jazzy is about to be my wife, and that one thought alone is enough to lift any mood. That is until I hear the back door slam as someone charges into the kitchen.

“Where is he?”

Terry stands with his phone in his hand and looks furious.

“His office. What’s happened?” I ask as Terry looks to the kitchen door, and Christian appears.

“What the fucks with the SOS message? I was on the phone,” he demands, looking at our head of security.

“I know because I tried to call your phone. We are leaving now,” Terry demands, heading to the garage door before looking at me. “That includes you.”

“What the hell is going on?” Christian and I say in unison, never expecting the words that leave Terry's mouth.

“There's been an incident at the dress shop.”

ChapterThirty-Seven

CHRISTIAN

For the last twenty minutes, as Terry drives Jason and me to the shop where we know Jasmine and the girls are waiting for us, my mind has thought of everything that could be wrong. We have tried to talk to the guards and Jasmine, but the signal in the shop has been a real issue. I tried to call the shop, but the call just rang out.

Terry explained that he had a few calls where Layton would answer, but the line was too distorted for either of them to hear the other. In the end, he messaged with a brief explanation.

Layton: There has been an incident here, and I have taken control of the building. All girls are safe and will remain here with Gordon and me until you send back up or get here yourself. Someone has possibly hacked the system, and I don’t trust using their phone line or internet, and the signal is terrible. The important facts are that the building is secure physically, and the girls are safe and in no immediate danger.

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