"I trust you with my daughter. I don't have to tell you that our girls mean everything to us. To allow Christine to sleep with you is a huge compliment to you both. We never had a son, but you're everything we'd want him to be. We couldn't be prouder of you, even if you were our own son. I think you know how I feel about you. It's part motherly and part ... well, not very motherly. I'm so happy for Christine, for you, and for us. Maddie's modeling opportunity would never have happened if not for you. She knows that and she loves you dearly. You already know how she feels about you. Thanks for being so honorable and kind to my daughters, and to me. I'm just so happy for my family and for having you as part of it." Camille D’Aniou said. A few dances later, Mitchell found himself being directed to the floor by Camille D'Anjou for another dance. She beamed as he took her in his arms. "Would it be possible for you and Christine to come to Paris sometime soon? We have many events we could i
"Are you alright, Ma'am? Are these men bothering you?" was as far as he got before the larger man swung his weapon toward Mitchell. Luckily Mitchell's friends were on the man's left. Mitchell quickly acted to prevent the weapon from being brought to bear. He stiff-armed the man's wrist just before the gun fired, sending a bullet into the second man. Mitchell immediately kayoed the wrist of the gunman a second time and Makarov was sent sliding across the floor. Then the man struck Mitchell in the eye with his other hand. Mitchell staggered back slightly and shook his head to clear it. The man advanced and Mitchell slammed a fist into the man's chest. The other man backed off a little and eyed Mitchell before swinging a leg at him. Mitchell stepped close, rendering the kick fairly harmless. As he stepped in, Mitchell brought a hard right up into the man's chin. That blow would have ended most fights, but it only served to enrage his opponent. Mitchell took two quick lefts to his head,
Christine had been cleaning the blood from Mitchell's face as she waited for the facts to be sorted out by the police. She didn't understand what Mitchell told the couple, but she understood Mitchell's name when the girl recognized him. Then the girl turned to Christine. "It's an honor to meet 'The Lady in Red,' Ms. Leonard," stated the young woman in flawless English. "It appears that you two have somehow saved my mother's life. The two men trying to abduct my mother were probably Chechen rebels." A police officer approached Mitchell with an FBI agent behind him. "I apologize, Mr. Kays, for the misunderstanding. We had a situation here and our men felt it was better to err on the side of caution. I'll un-cuff you right now." "The side of caution? That maniac wasn't restrained when he jumped up and tried to attack this lady for the second time. With his hands cuffed behind his back, Mitchell was still the only man here with the guts, reflexes, and the ability to keep the creep from
"Well, we were thinking about going to Paris in the spring, if you must know, Mother," laughed Christine. "We were invited by the first family of France to visit and attend any of a number of events that constantly happen in government. It would be a very romantic trip." "Oh, yeah," blurted Hailey. "Romantic. Like a trial honeymoon romantic? I guess there's no sense asking if I can go, too. Those French guys seem to like me pretty well. At least they did last night at that dinner." "We'll have plenty of Time to discuss that when we get home," suggested Melissa. "You two probably haven't read the papers or watched any TV this morning. I have a couple papers here with me. Look at the headlines." Christine picked up the first paper her mother handed to her. “Kays Time.” was in bold print over a picture of Mitchell with blood on his face. The second paper had 'Nailed by Kays.' in large letters over a picture of the unconscious man with whom Mitchell fought. "This story made the network
"She said her news director heard the rumor that Hardy clashed with us this morning and was escorted from the hotel. The local station was disappointed that it didn't have more coverage of Saturday night. They told Nell that she'd be traveling with us when we went to any significant events from now on. Her interview tomorrow will be replayed, at least in part, on the network's morning show. She's going to meet us at school a little early. She thought it would be a good backdrop while she asked us questions,” Christine stated."She wants Hailey, Jordan, and us to be available for the interview. She's going to ask about that encounter you had with that Chechen, so be ready for that. I'll probably tell her about our invitation to Paris, unless you have an objection, Mitchell.""I'm going to be on TV. What should I wear? What will she ask me? What if I sound stupid? Mom, you have to record it for me," insisted Hailey."Go ahead and tell her about Paris. She'll be excited about that tri
"This campaign has been an unbelievable success, and that's mostly the result of everything you two have done to make this work. We have almost three months left, so we should be able to build the total even higher. It would be great if we had a million dollars by graduation. I know that isn't likely, but it would be a tremendous pleasure to announce that total in front of all the parents. But whatever the total, it'll be a wonderful moment for all of us.""Do you want to tell Ms. Metzger, or shall I?" asked Christine, as she watched for Mitchell to nod at her. "Dwayne Burton called last night. He's roughly edited those TV shows we shot in LA, but ABC has already been pushing very hard to buy them. He told us that the network offered a huge sum. It would guarantee at least a million dollars for the hospital fund. Dwayne told them it wasn't enough. He said we'd agree if ABC would ante up another million just to buy an option to hire us to tape two more shows. If they decide to enforce
Dwayne called Mitchell later in the day. "You and Jordan are going to perform on your big hit on 'American Singer' on their season finale. That's Thursday and they'll have a huge audience because that's when they name their season winner. The show's supplying two round trip tickets, two hotel rooms, and paying each of you ten grand for the day's work. If you want that directed to the hospital fund, I'll see that it happens. I have it set up for the two of you to fly out to LA Thursday. You'll do the show that night, stay in a good hotel and fly home the next morning.""That sounds great. That show's huge and millions of people watch it, especially the season finale," pointed out Christine when Mitchell told her about Dwayne's call. "You'll promote your song and make money for the hospital fund. I'm not upset about not being included. We're going to be apart a lot in the future, and we have to deal with it. You can bet I'll be watching the show and wishing you and Jordan the best."T
Mitchell remained silent as he carried Jordan to the door while everyone watched. Before leaving, he gently placed Jordan on a chair, unbuttoned his shirt, took it off, placed it over her, and buttoned it up. More than a few of the watchers noticed the way Mitchell's biceps filled out the sleeves of his undershirt as he easily lifted Jordan and left the suite.By the time the elevator reached the bottom floor, Jordan was making no sense at all. She had her arms wrapped around Mitchell's neck and her head buried in his shoulder. Mitchell turned to his left and exited the hotel through a side door. He crossed the street as quickly as he could, entered his hotel from a side street, and hurried to the elevators. Jordan's room was next to his, but when he reached it, he realized that she didn't have her card key. All she had was a thong and the shirt Mitchell had placed over her nakedness.Mitchell had no choice but to take her to his room. As he kicked the door closed, Jordan began maki