You, Me: Us

8. Princess

Unfortunately, Lainey couldn't stay to help take care of Pin. She had to take care of her brother as there was no one to help him and Ted said that he had it.

Zoe even offered to stay for a bit just to talk to him about the herd and go looking.

Danny once again coughed and then groaned before laying back down. Lainey got a call from Ted and left the room to answer it, going down to the kitchen. "Hey."

"Hey, Lainey. Look Pin is really not doing well. At this point, I don't know what to do. It's cold outside and damp inside," he sighed as he made Pin some soup.

Lainey bit her lip, looking sad, "bring him here. You can come too. It's warm, has nice blankets, and heaters. Please, Ted."

"Well, oh alright, I'll get things settled and then bring him– Oh sorry Arthur is coming up the hill with a basket. I better go, I'll call you back."

"Bye Ted."

"Bye." Lainey placed her phone on the counter as she looked through the mail. It was a load of junk until she got to a letter, addressed to her Uncle Elliot from his contractor

Her curiosity peaked and she ripped open the envelope.

Dear Mr. Macdonald,

I am pleased to hear that you have enjoyed our service. I would love to come and do another project with you again. It was very good money for me and will make you lots in the future, I'm sure.

However, as you can probably tell through the letter, I need something from you and I want this in writing. I want 10% of profits and a promise that you will only come to me with future business. Or I'll tell the media and the authorities the ways that you cut corners during construction. Don't think I haven't heard about the little protection program for the horses being put in place on the island. What you did will kill them and make sure that no generations will ever grow up.

You should make sure that everyone steers clear of that lake over there or else it won't just be the horses dying of lead poisoning or the whole island as well.

Lainey stopped reading with her mouth open in shock, placing the letter back on the counter.

Just then, the door opened, "Lainey!" Her Uncle Elliot called out. "Your mum called to get me to check in on you and Danny." He laughed and walked into the kitchen. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Lainey handed over the letter, glaring at him. He started reading and she tracked his eyes. He sighed, putting the letter down. "Now, I know how this seems."

"Get out," she growled, snatching the letter off the counter. "I'm taking this to the authorities and I never want to see you again."

Elliot shook his head, "I never wanted anyone to find out–"

"Then you shouldn't have done it!" She screamed.

"No one is going to find out about this," he said, taking a step closer to her, trying to intimidate her.

"Or what?" Lainey crossed her arms. He wasn't going to do anything. He may have horrible judgement and be stupid, but he wasn't going to hurt his own niece.

"I'm sorry, Faith." She looked at him confused and he grabbed her, placing a hand over her mouth and dragging her out of the kitchen. She slammed her elbow back against him and he groaned, but didn't let go. No matter how much she kicked, he wouldn't let go. "I have to do this for me and for Mia."

All of a sudden there was a pain in her head and the world went black.

~

Ted had agreed to let Pin go to the castle and Pin said he would only go if they could take Daniel with them. He had called Lainey several times, even from Pin's phone, but she wouldn't pick up.

He didn't say anything, not wanting to worry Pin. He pulled up to their house and knocked on the door. He waited there for several minutes before opening the door. "Lainey?"

There was no call back so he went upstairs to Daniel's room. "Daniel, are you alright? Where's your sister?"

"I don't know," he said weakly. "What are you doing here? How's Pin?"

"Bad," he answered. "Same as you, let's get you both to the castle." Danny didn't even fight him as he got him down stairs and into the truck.

"Where's love?" Pin asked, slightly out of it. "Shouldn't she be with us?"

Ted gulped, worried for the girl, "she'll be with us soon, don't worry about that." He started the truck again and started to drive.

"Good," the duke said, getting comfortable. "She and the baby should be here."

"Baby? What baby?" He asked the boy, confused.

"Pin and Lainey's baby," Daniel answered for him. "They were irresponsible." Although, it sounded different as his speech started slurring.

"Oh no," Ted sighed, looking at his son as both boys fell asleep.

It took about 15 minutes to get to the castle and the man was worried, both boys had woken up from their nap and were a little more in the right state of mind, but not by much.

First, he helped Pin out from the front seat as Arthur came outside, waiting for them. "Listen, are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, you shouldn't have to look after me, it's not fair," Pin nodded and looked at Danny. "And she shouldn't have to worry about the both of us. Anyway, I have a castle, I might as well use it."

Arthur took him as Ted kept talking, "He just needs a good night's sleep. I'm going back to Bright Fields to check on it, and then I'll be back here to collect him, okay?"

"Don't you worry, I'll take very good care of him," Arthur promised him. "And I'll be back for the other one shortly as soon as I get him inside."

Ted nodded and looked out to the grounds anxiously, "where are you Lainey, what's happened?"

~

Lainey blinked her eyes and groaned. Her head was throbbing and her wrists were sore like something was holding them. She looked down to see her wrists covered in scratches.

"Sorry, you were getting kind of fighty," Elliot laughed. She looked around. She was sitting down inside what looked like an old barn. Her pants and jacket were both covered in hay. "Now, I only did this so we could come up with some kind of agreement."

Lainey glared, "I don't want to! My husband and brother are sick because of you."

Elliot groaned, "I never meant for that to happen. Look, either save both of them. I'll let you leave, you'll save them. You just won't say anything."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because, I know where your family lives and everyone you care about and I have access to lead poisoned water," he threatened and Lainey sat back against the wall.

"Fine, but just so you know, they're going to figure it out without me telling them, they're that good." Elliot walked forward and kneeled down to the ground.

"That's why you're going to join the other person I'm blackmailing in making sure they don't find out," he smiled, talking slowly.

Lainey then became more curious, "who else?"

"Your friend from Holloway, Callum," he smiled, standing up. "Now, if you've come to your senses, I think you should really go help your brother, he's not doing too well. I think they've even moved him to the castle."

Lainey took in a deep breath and stood up, "How long have I been here?"

He shrugged, "a while. Now go."

Rolling her eyes, Lainey walked out of the barn to find herself at the Firefly hotel. She sighed, she had to tell someone, but she didn't know what day it was or if her family was okay. She needed to find that out first, meaning she needed to go to the stables.

She felt a buzz from her pocket and found her phone with a text message from Becky that read 'don't worry about Pin and Danny, we're on the case, they'll be better in no time.'

Lainey sighed in relief, "hopefully they will."