Page 19 of His Toy

“Knew what?” their mother questioned.

“Knew that she’s been missing for almost three years and her brothers are offering millions to get her back,” Neil answered for him. “Yes I knew and if you eventhinkof hurting her by telling them she’s here, that she’s my wife, I will take you down brother or not.”

“What on earth are you talking about?” their mother demanded and she explained it to her as kindly as she could. She didn’t want Neil’s mother thinking she was a sex fiend; she wanted them to like her because she loved him.

“My parents were preparing for me to marry Dalton Tolson, who is twenty-eight years older than I am, so the family can retain ownership and control of the company.”

“Why would they do that?” she questioned as Neil trailed his hand up and down her arm comforting her.

“Because technically I have control of the majority shares, married to Tolson they could control them. My grandparents weren’t pleased with my parents and when my grandmother died, she left her shares solely to me because I was just a baby. Grandfather controlled the voting privileges on them until I turned eighteen or he died. He passed away about six years ago, leaving everything in the company to me, and after that, I knew I couldn’t stay there any longer. I was prepared to run away and once I graduated from high school I did. I’d gotten a scholarship here under an alias and did my utmost best to not let anyone discover who I really was, but I wasn’t prepared for Neil.”

“Wait, you have majority control of the shares for the company?” Simon asked in shock.

“Yes.”

“They can’t force you to marry some guy,” Phil countered.

Brooke couldn’t help but scoff. “You don’t know the Fields family. They will do anything to ensure they don’t have to work. None of them can feasibly run the company, but they know how to spend money, including how to spend it to falsify documents regarding my metal state. I saw the paperwork they’d drawn up. It would allow them to marry me to Tolson and from there he’d have control over the shares because I wouldn’t be able to clearly vote on matters.”

“Why not simply declare you incompetent and take the votes that way?” Adam asked.

“Because Grandfather’s will specifically states that they cannot have any rights or privileges to the shares, only I or a party outside of the Fields family can on my behalf. They can control Tolson, but I refused to let them try to control me. I won’t go back to them. If they find out I’m here…”

“That’s not going to happen,” Neil said feeling the shudder that ran through her as her brothers’ taunts replayed in her mind. “I won’t let them hurt you baby. I won’t let anyone hurt you ever.”

She turned her face into his neck and held onto him as the tears and fear hit hard. She no longer had any control over the group’s decision and that was terrifying.

“What aren’t you two saying?” Ted asked as Neil’s eyes darkened further, noting Brooke’s tense state.

“Let’s just say that Brooke’s brothers are not the nicest bunch and Tolson’s reputation is entirely true. With Brooke labelled incompetent or mentally unstable they could do whatever they wanted to her, let anyone they wanted to hurt her, and Tolson wouldn’t be man enough to stop them.”

“You’re saying…no way,” Ted replied.

“They made it clear to Brooke that while Tolson might not want her, there were plenty of other men out there that would enjoy the perk of a woman who can’t file legal charges, and they were willing to entertain other ideas as far as negotiations went,” he said pulling her into him further.

“Surely they were just…” Simon offered but the look on Neil’s face told them that wasn’t the case. He would kill the bastards if they ever came near her again. He’d been ready to the first time Brooke told him what they said to her, but the other taunts and tactics they’d used against her made the anger deepen further. Nothing would ever hurt her. He’d see to that.

“You have our word, nothing will happen son,” his dad said looking at his brothers for confirmation.

“Not a chance,” Ted agreed as their mother moved over to their side sliding her hand up Brooke’s back.

“Oh sweetheart, it’s alright,” she said wiping the tear from her eye. “You’re a Wilson now and we don’t let anyone hurt our family. After everything you’ve been through the fact that you can stand here and love our son…that’s all we’ll ever need from you.”

Something inside her cracked and Brooke couldn’t stop the new tears that hit her.

“Ah baby, come here,” Neil said softly seeing them. He gathered her into his arms, holding her as she wrapped hers around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder, letting him soothe her fears away. “Shh…it’s okay I’ve got you Brooke. I’ve got you, baby.”

“Looks like we were majorly wrong about the situation,” Phil said to his brothers.

“Yeah…but just because we don’t say anything doesn’t mean no one will ever figure out she’s really Brooklyn Fields, so I’d suggest we get ourselves backed up pronto,” Ted warned and the others nodded as they watched Neil comfort Brooke.

“You’re alright with this?” Jacob asked his wife.

“My son’s in love and happy with the woman he loves, what’s not to be alright with? As for who her family is…that’s them not her. They could have kept this from us but she didn’t and that tells me that she loves Neil enough to risk everything. That’s all I’ve ever wanted in the woman he or any of the others marry.”

“She’s only twenty-one though.”

“When has age ever mattered? She’s far older than her years and there’s no denying the pain in her eyes, pain no one should ever know.”

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