Secrets Chapter 4

Albert Hicks gave Thorne the rest of the papers. Thorne looked over the papers and nodded his head. “Everything looks good to me.” Thorne leaned back in the chair thinking for a moment. “ You plan on being a silent partner like you were when Deacon owned 50% of this bar.”
“Well, Deacon had experience in running a bar. I’m sorry Mr. Forrester but you and your wife haven’t had that much experience. Not that you haven’t done a good job running Forrester Creations.”
“I’ve already taken care of that. Lance Carpenter who ran Club Inferno is willing to come here and be the manager. Brooke and I also thought about knocking down the second wall and turning it into a club for just the weekends.”
“That is a great idea, but that is going to cost money. I thought that you and your wife were buying this club to get back at Deacon Sharpe.” Thorne closed the file.
“Why would you think something like that?”
“It’s just…well, you know. I heard about how Deacon ran off with Amber Forrester and then your interest in his half of the club.”
“The reasons why my wife and I want to buy his half of the club are really none of anyone’s concern. We are making an investment and with the changes that we have suggested, I think that this club with to better than ever.” Albert nodded, with the additional finances that the Forresters would bring into the bar, and with the addition of Lance Carpenter, the club would make more money than ever. Thorne opened up his checkbook and wrote out of check and handed it to Albert.
“ I think that this will more than over the amount for Deacon’s part of the club.” Albert smiled once he saw the amount. “Just remember Albert, Deacon is not to know who is buying his half of the club.” Thorne stood up. “ Also, I want to know where the money is being wired too.” Albert wondered what the Forresters had planned for Deacon. He looked at the check, for this kind of money it didn’t matter. He’d give Deacon the original asking price and keep rest of the money. After all, Deacon had left him in a bind leaving like he did. Albert gave Thorne the papers and smiled.
“It’s good doing business with you.” He looked around for a moment. “ Is your lovely wife going to be meeting with us for some contractually champagne.” Thorne almost laughed out loud. Albert seemed to get tongue tied whenever he was near her.
“Sorry but Brooke is currently tied up at the moment. I’ll be sure to let her know that you asked about her.”
“Please do.” Thorne shook Albert’s hand and left the club. He and Brooke had taken of phase one.

Brooke opened the door to Rick’s place. “ Rick?” She walked into the dark guesthouse. Brooke noted the smashed picture and the glass on the floor. She picked up the picture; it was of Amber and Rick. Brooke shook her head and headed toward the sliding door that were currently lead to the bedroom. Brooke opened the sliding door. “ Rick?” Rick was sitting in the dark with an empty bottle of Jack Daniels on the nightstand. It took a moment for Brooke to realize that her son was asleep. He was asleep sitting up in bed. Brooke shook Rick gently. Rick slowly opened his eyes.
“Mom..” Brooke could clearly smell the alcohol of her son’s breath. Brooke got on her knees and smoothed out the hair on her son’s brow.
“You’ve been drinking, haven’t you?” Rick moved back and then got out of bed. Brooke turned the lights on. Rick took the bottle and threw it in the trash.
“I’m 21 mom. It’s legal.”
“That isn’t what I’m worried about. You sitting here in the dark and drinking.” Brooke reached out to her son but he moved out of her reach. Brooke tried to hide her hurt.
“I know that you are legal. It isn’t that honey, it just the drinking… it can lead to other things.”
“ What in the hell am I supposed to do mother? My****ing whore of a wife has left me for that thug!” Brooke had never heard her son so bitter as he had been the last month. Gone were the smile and his carefree attitude and replaced was pure hate. She couldn’t blame him, yet it worried her. She wanted to help her son move on. Letting anger fester could only lead to disaster.
“ Honey. I know what you are going through.” Rick sighed. He shouldn’t take his anger out on his mother. It wasn’t her fault. He remembered how she had tried to talk him out of marrying Amber, he had been a fool.
“I’m sorry mom. It isn’t your fault. You tried to warn me and I didn’t listen.” Rick threw the empty glass in the sink. “ You knew what that bitch was really like, I should have listened.” Brooke looked at her son. He looked older than his 21 years. Amber had done this to her son.
“ Rick, I don’t think that you should continue with this search.”
“What? Mom, how can you say that? You think that I should just give up my son?”
“No. I don’t think that you should give up on your son. You should allow the detectives to take care of looking for Amber. Let them do their jobs.”
“ Mom, I can’t just sit there and do nothing.”
“ No you have to take care yourself.” Rick turned away from Brooke. Brooke reached out and turned Rick around to face her. “ You need to be ready for your son. He will come back and you need to have yourself together. In order to get custody of Eric you will have to show that you are working hard in school and at Forrester. You have to be able to show that you are the responsible parent, not Amber.” Rick didn’t seem to be listening.
Brooke shook him a bit. “ Are you listening to me? You have to get yourself together. Don’t let her win.”
“Don’t let her win?”
“Yes Rick. Amber wins if you continue like this. She has thought nothing about you or how this is going to effect YOUR SON.”
“ My son?” Rick wasn’t really listening to his mother. His thoughts were caught up with her mother’s comment. He wasn’t going to let Amber win.
“Rick. Think a little about Eric; think about what he has to come home to. He missing you, he loves you. Think about him. Think about what he is going to need when he comes home. He is going to need you. Your love and your attention.” Rick thought about his son. A knot formed in his throat. He missed his son. He missed holding him, reading to him and just watching him sleep. He was scared. When he and Amber married, it took a while for Eric to adjust, to his chagrin, Eric loved Deacon. It had taken a lot out of Rick to admit that, but he did. He had even allowed that bastard to see Eric. Things have changed however, when Rick had adopted coudosty. Deacon and Amber had some sort of fight, that had made Deacon so mad gotten drunk and started to small up the bar, right front of Little Eric. Rick, with the suggestion of his father had taken the custody papers to Deacon who hadn’t really known what he was signing and signed it. His mother had told him not to do it, that tricking Deacon could he dangerous. Rick had figured that his mom had been worried about of the Deacon, Bridget scare. Bridget had been dating Deacon and his parents, along with the family had freaked, thank god Bridget wised up and saw that he was using her. Rick frowned, he remembered how Amber had acted, and she had been really upset. Rick had thought that she was upset that Deacon had been using his sister, but knows, he knew the truth. Amber had been jealous. So after there argument over god knew what, Deacon had taken off a couple of weeks and Rick had gone to court and had adopted Little Eric. He should have known that it would later haunt him. Deacon had come back and proceeded to steal his wife. In the end, he had nothing, no wife and no son.
“ I miss him mom. I miss my son.” Tears formed in his eyes. “ I’ve scarified everything for HIM. I gave up my life. My youth, my high school and college years to give him a family that he needed.” Rick started to cry. “ I need him, I can’t let Amber and Deacon steal my son.” Brooke gathered her son in her arms and stroked his head as he cried.
“ I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for what Amber has done to you. I’ll see that we get your son back. I don’t want you to focus on Amber, let me handle her. We will get Little Eric back for you.” Brooke’s heart ached. Amber had done this. She had taken her son’s life away and left him with nothing. Things would never be the same. Brook knew that this was her fault, she had bought Amber into their lives, and she had to find a way to make it right.


Ridge walked into his house and stopped when he found his wife playing on the living room floor with his daughters. They were having some sort of tea party. Taylor looked up and smiled. Ridge felt a moment of guilt. He had the kindest beautiful wife in the world, and earlier he had been thinking about Brooke in a sexual manner. He shook his head. He had lost his mind. Hadn’t he learned anything from the mess that he had gotten into Morgan? He was a fool. He had everything and he wasn’t going to waste anymore time thinking about Brooke. Brooke was his friend and his sister-in-law.
“ Hi Honey.” Ridge smiled. “ How are my beautiful ladies doing?” Ridge kissed Steffy and Phoebe. He then sat down and pulled his wife in his lap. He kissed her passionately; Taylor opened her mouth under her husband, his tongue slipped in between her mouth. Taylor sighed and stroked her tongue against his.
“Mommy, daddy, kissing..” Phoebe and Steffy clapped and laughed. Taylor pulled her head from her husband. Ridge caressed Taylor’s ear lobe with his finger.
“We will have to finish this later.” Taylor felt warmth spread through her. She turned her head and kissed him quickly again.
“ Don’t worry, I won’t let you forget.” Ridge grinned. He wanted some quality time with his wife. He wanted to prove to her and to himself that he could make her moan with pleasure. He had been wrong earlier to insinuate that Taylor wasn’t satisfying him. She made him happy, but it was different. Maybe they had both gotten comfortable in their roles and their marriage. Tonight, he’d show her what sort of man she had married and make her moan in desire. He wanted that for her and he wanted it for himself. Taylor took her husband’s hand and squeezed it as Ridge took a cup of “tea” from his daughter.
Ridge smiled.

Brooke heard the shower running. “ Rick, I am going to talk to Eric and Stephanie for a while. You are going to come to my house for dinner right.”
“Yeah mom!”
“Good” Brooke walked across the courtyard to the house. Eric answered the door.
“Brooke. I thought that you were still at work.” Brooke kissed Eric on the cheek.
“No, I was just talking to Rick.”
“ Rick? He’s back?”
“ Yes and Eric, I’m so worried about him. He is a mess.” Eric followed Brooke into the living room and sat down next to her.
“He didn’t find Amber.”
“ No, thank god. In the condition that he is in, I don’t think that it would be wise. He is drinking again.”
“ Damn it! I thought that we had talked to him about that.”
“ Eric, you should see him. I looked a mess. This thing is really rearing him up inside. He can’t seem to think right. I talked to him about seeing someone, maybe Taylor could suggest someone. He has to deal with his hurt and anger.” Eric clenched his fist into a ball.
“How could she have done this to him. She swore to me that she and Deacon…”
“ She lied! She got what she wanted and left our son. I knew it! I knew that this would happen. But I’ve gotten something planned for her. She isn’t going to get away with this.” Stephanie who had come down the stairs heard this.
“ Leave it alone Brooke. I’m sure that Amber will come to her senses and come back.” Brooke and Eric turned toward Stephanie. Eric went toward his wife.
“ Stephanie, I don’t you should get involved with this. After the stroke and all.”
“ I’ll be fine Eric.” Stephanie looked at Brooke.
“You are only going to make things worse Brooke.” Brooke wore an incredulous look on her face. Stephanie still wouldn’t see Amber for the user that she is.
“ I can’t believe that you are still defending her. Look at what she is doing to my son! He is a wreck.”
“ That is why you should try to help him and not focus your anger at Amber.”
“ I am helping him Stephanie. And if I thought that it would help, I’d have the divorce papers draw up myself, but it won’t at the moment. I am telling my son to focus getting his son back. I want him to pull himself together so he can be a father to Little Eric when he finds them.”
“ You aren’t going to object to Rick and Amber working things out, good, I thought…”
“ Wait! Rick and Amber aren’t getting back together. I’m going to help him get his son.”
“ Brooke, what about Amber?”
“Amber will get what she deserves Stephanie. She will be in jail.” Eric looked at Brooke.
“ How?”
“The trust fund. Sooner or later, that greedy little girl will take money for that trust fund and then we got her.” Stephanie looked worried for a moment.
“ She won’t touch that money, it’s for the baby.”
“ I think that she will Stephanie. Amber has no other money and how long can Deacon pay cash? He is smart enough not to use his credit cards cause of before, but sooner or later, he will need money. He hasn’t been able to get the money from the sale of his business yet.” Eric listened intensely.
“ How do you know that?”
“Because Thorne and I looked into it. We are buying his half of the Lair.”
“What? Brooke why would you buy that bastard’s club.” Eric was angered.
“ To make sure that he has no withstanding job here in L.A. I’m sure that he is going to be coming back to town once Amber does. Thorne is solidifying the deal now. Part of the deal with Albert was to put the word out at the clubs and bars in L.A, not to hire Deacon or suffer losing our business.” Eric almost smiled.
“You thought of everything.”
“ Of course. If Rick wants Eric back, he should have him. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure if it is the right thing. I’d love it if he would let the entire thing go.”
“ Brooke, that is your grandchild.” Stephanie chastised her. Brooke ignored Stephanie.
“ I care about Little Eric. But I know that Amber will always be with that boy. Even if Rick gets full custody of him, Eric will suffer without Amber. With Amber in jail, it might be a problems.”
“You’d really throw her in jail. She is your daughter-in-law.”
“ Did you throw me in jail?” Eric saw where this was headed and wanted this to end.
“Brooke and Stephanie…both of you stop it right now! You two have gotten along pretty well the last 6 months. Very well. I don’t want you two to start your war again especially about Amber. Especially now that Brooke is going to have our grandchild.” Brooke looked at Stephanie for a moment.
“ I’m sorry about the jail remark. But that doesn’t change how I feel about Amber. Rick is MY SON and I knew from the beginning that Amber would hurt him. You didn’t listen Stephanie, no one did. You used our relationship, as a way to keep me in line about Amber and that wasn’t fair. I was right all along and even now you still standing up for her. She took Little Eric, the trust fund and Brooke my son’s heart. I will forgive her for that. “ Brooke sighed. “ I’ll never forgive myself for allowing that girl to hurt my son. I should have fought harder. I should have fought you. I didn’t and Rick paid the price, well he won’t pay again. I’m going to make sure of it.” Stephanie went to open her mouth but Eric stopped her.
“ Brooke is right. Amber is going to have to pay for this. I won’t allow her back into the family.” Stephanie looked at Brooke. Brooke gave her a sad look.
“ I really hope you will not allow this to ruin things between us Stephanie. I really feel that we have come along way. I also know that you have feelings about the baby.” Surprise shown on Stephanie’s face. “ It doesn’t matter. We are family; don’t let this thing create a rift between us. My baby is going to need his or her grandmother in his life. My husband does need you and maybe I do, a little. I will not go easy on Amber and you wouldn’t in my position either.” Brooke got up. “ It’s getting late and I still have packing to do when I get home. Brooke turned to Eric. “ Look out for Rick while I’m gone and if anything happens call me.” Eric nodded and walked Brooke to the door.
“ Don’t worry about Stephanie, I’ll help her come around.” Brooke nodded and left. Eric turned toward his wife. “ Brooke is right.”
“ No she isn’t. I know Amber, she is a good person.”
“ Stephanie, how many chances are you going to give her before you admit that she is wrong. We won’t even get into the things that she has done in the past. She took the baby and left with Deacon. Brooke has every right to get upset with her.”
“ Amber made a mistake Eric. And when she gets back, I plan on helping her realize that. This is Deacon’s doing, not Amber.”
“ Brooke is going to be upset if you support Amber.”
“ Brooke will get over it. She and Thorne will be so busy with their baby.” Eric stopped Stephanie.
“ I’ll be upset. I MEANT what I said. Amber will no longer be a member of this family or protected.” Eric walked away. Stephanie picked up her phone and made a call, she’d find Amber herself get the girl back before Brooke had her thrown in jail. Thank god Brooke was going out of town.

Alexandra got in back of the surveillance truck. She wore blue jeans, a tight white shirt a blue blazer that hid her gun holster. She was a very pretty woman in her mid- thirties with long dark hair that had a natural spiral curl to it and gray eyes that could eyes that could enrapture any man. She had worked for the International Task Force of the United States for the last three years. They were a special covert operational force that dealt terrorism and other international problems that could affect the country. They had a big problem in the name of Victor Andros. They also had the biggest break they had ever had in all the years of trying to stop this crazy terrorist. They knew that Sonny was going to lead them right to Victor that is why they allowed him to get his “information.”
A handsome man with short blonde hair with a face of a model and an equally sexy body smiled. A tattoo of a Native American design was etched across his bicep smiled.“ Hey Alex, what goodies did you bring us?”
“ Well, hello to you Mark.”
“ Sorry Alex…” He grinned. “ You did bring us something, didn’t you?”
“ Come on fellas, you know that I always look out for my boys.” Quinn, a gorgeous black man standing at 6’2 with a muscular body and a killer smile looked into the bag and pulled out a Tupperware full of fried chicken, homemade rolls, pasta salad and homemade chocolate chip cookies.
“Yeah. She sure did hook us up.” Quinn smiled and kissed Alex on her cheek. “ Thanks” Alex nodded; she knew that although Quinn loved the excitement of the job, he often missed his wife and her home cooking. Maybe that is why Alex loved Quinn so much, he was tough as nails and put the fear of god into their opponents but when his pretty little wife Jasmine looked up at him, he became a teddy bear. The last occupant of the truck was a sinfully handsome man with long dark brown hair that was pulled back in a ponytail; he had a killer face and a body that was women loved. He too sported a tattoo on his arm. He looked at Alexis for a moment; his cat like eyes seemed to see through her, she felt a shiver go through her body. His eyes were as handsome as the rest of him. Richard, Wolfe… his friends called him Wolfe. He was like a wolf, dangerous, and quiet. He also was a closet scholar, he read a lot and knew 4 different languages. Wolfe didn’t often work with others, although he has the loyalty of the group, most of the time he worked alone. Wolfe turned his attention back to the surveillance.
“ Did I miss anything?” Alex took off her jacket. Mark bit into his chicken leg and nodded.
“ Looks like the he’ll be moving the information tomorrow. Flight 108.”
Quinn’s cell phone rang; he looked at it and smiled. It was his wife. “I’ll be back in a moment.” Quinn slid out of the van. Wolfe looked at where Quinn had been standing and then looked back at the screen. Alex moved over toward Wolfe. “ You’ve been watching him for 3 days straight. Get some rest, tomorrow will be a long day.” Wolfe said nothing, but he was tired. The last three days be had taken small naps afraid of letting Sonny out of his sight. But maybe tonight he could sleep, tomorrow, he’d follow the tainted information that he planned for Sonny to find and it would lead him to Victor. He had waited for years for this… tonight he’d sleep. Wolfe stood up, slightly took his Tupperware full of food. He nodded at Mark. He looked at Alex.
“ Thanks”. Alex was surprised that Wolfe had said anything. He could go days without talking to anyone. The first time she was teamed with him, it drove her crazy, but after a while she had gotten used it. She had also gotten used to his determination to getting Victor. Mark and Alex watched him leave.
“ Man, I hope tomorrow brings him everything that he wants. He has worked hard to put Victor away.”
“ Do you know why he hates Victor so much? Besides the normal stuff?” Alex had always wondered.
Mark shook his head. Alex didn’t know either.



Brooke got home, showered and changed into a pair of blue jeans and a white lightweight buttoned up sweater. She only bothered buttoning the 3 buttons in the middle allowing a bit of skin to show at the top and at her waistline to show a flat stomach. She went Bridget’s room looking for her daughter, but she was nowhere to be found. Brooke started on dinner. She hoped that Rick would come she was worried about him.

Thorne picked up the last set of papers that he needed for the trip, make one more stop at store to pick up a special gift for Brooke and headed home. When he opened the door, the fresh smell of Italian filled the house. He went into the kitchen and watched his wife sing along with the radio as she put the garlic bread in the oven. He snuck up behind her and kissed her on the neck. Brooke jumped and turned around. She wrapped her arms around Thorne’s shoulders and smiled.
“ You scared me to death.”
“ Sorry.” Thorne kissed Brooke. “ Italian?”
“Yes, stuffed shells with three kinds of cheeses, mushrooms stuffed with sausage, garlic bread, fresh green beans.” Brooke pointed to the box. “ The desert, however I picked up from Kelly’s. Fresh strawberry cheesecake.” Thorne nodded.
“ Smells good honey. All Rick’s favorites. Is he joining us? I heard from dad that he is back.”
“ He said that he would join us. I’m hoping that he will.” Thorne went to the fridge and pulled out a beer. He opened it and took a drink of the cool liquid.
“How is he?”
“A mess. Drinking again.” Brooke dried her hands with a dishtowel. “ When I think about what Amber is doing to him.” Thorne put his drink down and took his wife in his arms.
“ Don’t honey. Don’t start that. You aren’t to blame for what has happened. You tried to protect Rick.” Brooke sighed.
“ I know, but I want to protect him.”
“ You are Brooke, but he is going to have to go through this. You can’t do it for him. Besides, you are doing what you can especially after today.”
“ It went well.”
“ Yes, we are the newest co-owners of the Lair,”


Bridget looked at the bottom on her cup of tea. She had been in the coffee shop most of the day. She still had two finals to complete and she was sure that she would do well although it was hard for her to concentrate.
“Bridget…Bridget are you listening?”
“What? Bridget looked up. I’m sorry Betsy, what are you saying?”
Betsy looked at her friend. “ What is going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“ Bridget, you know what I mean, you haven’t been listening to a word that we have said. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Betsy looked at Sam. Sam got up from the table.
“It’s about Deacon, isn’t it?” Bridget knocked her cup over.
“ Damn it!” Bridget picked up the pieced of the broken cup. “ It’s not about him.”
“ I think that it is. You’ve been upset since he…”
“ Since I found out that he was using me and sleeping with my sister-in-law.” Bridget threw her tissue away. “ Since I found out what I fool that I was.”
“ Bridget, you weren’t a fool.”
“Yeah I was. Thinking that an older man like that would be interested in me. Deacon must have laughed he ass off about me.”
“ I don’t think so. Bridget, I saw him with you. He did care about you.”
“ Come on! He was using me to get to Amber and it worked. Amber ran away with him. He dumped me as soon as he could.” Bridget stood up. “ I don’t talk about it anymore. Look I’ll see you later.” Bridget got up and left. She drove around for a while, not knowing where to go or what to do. Somehow she had ended up at Kristen’s condo. Kristen was surprised to see Bridget.
“I hope that I’m not bothering you. I just need to talk to someone.” Kristen saw the strange look on her sister’s face.
“ Bridget, what is wrong?”
“Kristen, if I told you something, you have to swear not to tell anyone.” Kristen was shocked by Bridget’s request. Although they had become close over the last year, Kristen knew that Bridget and Brooke were really close. She wondered what she had to tell her.
Kristen took Bridget’s hand and walked her over toward the white sofa.
“Bridget, you can tell me anything. What is the matter?”
“ I don’t where to start.”
“ Start at the beginning.”
“ Well, before you came. You heard that I had been dating Deacon.”
“ Deacon? You mean Amber’s Deacon?”
“Yeah.”
“ I heard that you had seen him a couple of times but once dad and Brooke got involved that you two broke up.”
“ It didn’t happen exactly like that.” Bridget felt sick to her stomach. “ I lied. I thought that mom and dad were being controlling so I told them that I stopped seeing Deacon.”
“ Bridget, you were seeing that guy?”
“Yeah. For almost a year, we hid it. Deacon said that it would be best because they would do anything to break us up. And it was exciting. He would make plans with me and we’d do all sort things. Go to movies, he liked the black and white movies like me. We’d ride on his motorcycle and it would be so romantic. He knew about all sorts of things and even literature. You’d never have thought that he’d read Dante’s Inferno or even about_____ but he did.” Bridget thought for a moment. “ He acted like he really cared for me and I thought that he loved…. That he loved me.” Kristen patted Bridget’s hand. She had had some experience in having me lie to her, starting with her ex-husband Clarke.
“Bridget, you fell in love with him didn’t you?” Bridget was silent for a moment.
“ He was wonderful and I felt special. I thought, that he loved me” Tears filled Bridget’s eyes. “ I never felt like this before. It never occurred to me that he’d lie. That he’d use me. I did love him. He made me love him. He using me the entire time to, first get at my parents and then to get at Amber.” Bridget started to cry. “ I was such a fool.” Kristin took her sister into her arms.
“ Bridget, it is okay…let it all out.” Bridget pulled away.
“There is more.”
“ What is it?”
“ I slept with him. I slept with Deacon.”
“Bridget…”
“ Kristen. He was my first. He was using me and I know it but a part of me, a large part of me still loves him. How is that possible?”
“It’s only natural. The heart is quiet separate from the head.”
“ You don’t understand. I should really hate him, like Rick hates Amber. Especially now.”
“ Why now Bridget, what happened?”
“ I don’t know how it happened. We used condoms, I saw them. He said putting it on, I’m sure that he wouldn’t lie about that…”
“ Bridget, you had unprotected sex?”
“No!, Yes… I don’t know. I thought that we used a condom, but now I’m not sure. It was dark and I’d never seen a naked man, the first time. I was so nervous.”
“Bridget.. Do you think that you have an STD?”
“No. I’ve been tested for that. Deacon is clean and so am I. My problem is what happened that night. The night that I gave my virginity to Deacon, he gave me something else. His baby. I’m pregnant Kristen. I’m pregnant by a man who doesn’t love me, hates my brother and who is in love with his wife.”
“ Oh…god Bridget.”
“ I know Kristen. I’m big trouble.”

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