Georgia On My Mind - Second Generation - Book One

Chapter 38 - The Takedown

I turn my head towards the guests to find John Luke standing with his hands on his hips. I smile at him and pull from Mitch. Lester quickly jumps up. "Ladies and Gentlemen, ignore this man, please. He is just a jaded ex-boyfriend of the bride. Why is he even here?" He yells.

I turn and glare at him, "That is not true; she is pregnant with my child! We are still together!" John Luke yells.

Everyone gasps and stares at me with eyes wide. Suddenly, everyone's attention is diverted elsewhere. "Actually, I object also."

I look back across the aisle to find Simon standing. Millie inappropriately busts out, laughing as she reaches into her purse. "God, I need a drink." She chuckles.

I watch her fish out of her purse a mini bottle of alcohol and begins to chug it. Lester glares back at Simon. "Sit down, Simon!"

I turn back to find Mitch staring at Simon, his eyes wet with tears. Lester gets furious, "Security, escort these two men out of here!" He yells as he points at John Luke and Simon.

They begin to close in on John Luke and Simon when Simon cries out, "Not so fast! I have something you all might want to hear." He says as he holds up a recorder. The Secret Service men freeze in place.

Simon pushes play on the recorder. I can hear him speaking.

"Please don't do this, Lester. You know I love your son." He pleads.

"Shut up, you son of a bitch! No son of mine will be gay! Do you hear me?!" Lester yells.

"Dad, please don't do this! Do not force Georgia and me to get married. You know we are just friends. You know I am in love with Simon, and I want to marry him. You know she loves John Luke! She has a child with him! Don't pull her away from her child!" Mitch cries out.

"You are not in love with Simon! You will not marry him! You will marry Georgia, and that is final! If she does not comply, I am going to have her little boyfriend shipped off to Afghanistan! Don't fuck with me, boy!" Lester yells.

"Lester, you ran your campaign on LGBTQ rights. Why are you so against having a gay son? It doesn't make sense." asks Simon.

"I already told you! I only do that for the votes." Lester responds.

Everyone is silent as they look amongst each other in disbelief. Stacy and Lucy stand up, "Oh well, I know who we won't be voting for this time around!" Stacy blurts out as she shakes her head.

The paparazzi are taking photos and recording the entire thing. I smile at Simon as he turns off the recorder, "Okay, does everyone get the picture of who we are dealing with?" He asks with an evil grin.

"Security escort these guys off the premises now!" Lester orders.

Millie takes a huge swig from her mini liquor bottle and shakes her head in disbelief. Security proceeds to approach John Luke and Simon.

Then I hear another voice call out, "Special Agent Robbins, FBI. Lester Harrington, you are under arrest for insider trading, racketeering, fraud, the misuse of campaign funds, and corruption charges." Skip calls out as he stands in place, displaying his badge for everyone to see.

Oh, my God! Skip? FBI? I glance back at Mitch as he pulls me in for a hug. A flurry of FBI Agents swarm Lester and force him into handcuffs. "Are you out of your mind? Do you know who you are dealing with? Get your hands off me!" Lester yells as they lead him down the aisle, cuffed.

Mitch whispers into my ear. "Go get him, sweetie."

"You too!" I say as I kiss his cheek.

"I love you, bestie." He says.

"I love you too, bestie. Thank you."

I release my grip on Mitch and run towards John Luke. He makes his way down the walkway through the guests and meets me in the aisle. I jump into his arms; he embraces me as we kiss passionately.

My whole family cheers. The paparazzi circle us, taking photos. I lace my fingers through his hair. "I missed you so much, John Luke, I love you. I'm so sorry this happened."

"God, I missed you more than you know. I love you too." He says as he tightens his grip on me and leans his forehead into mine.

Scarlett runs up to me. "Momma!" she cries out.

"Oh, my baby girl! I love you so much!" I respond tearfully as she runs into my arms. I pick her up, stroking her hair and holding onto her tightly.

My family forms a circle around us to block the paparazzi. I look over everyone, catching Mitch and Simon's embrace before they run off together.

I reach out and grab John Luke's arm. "I have to go back inside and get my things."

"No, you don't. We leave now. We will have someone get your things from the house, but you and I are leaving with Scarlett immediately." He responds.

Starlah and Michael approach us. "Don't worry, we will pack up everything and bring it to you, Georgia," Michael says.

"Yeah, we have known about this the whole time. It is about time someone took the son of a bitch down. He deserves it." Starlah says.

"Okay, thank you," I say gratefully.

John Luke wraps his arms around me, leading me to the car; my family lined up behind me. The paparazzi are following us and taking photos on the way back. I keep my head down and follow closely behind John Luke. Seth holds Scarlett while Daddy pushes the paparazzi back as we storm down the sidewalk.

Once we get to the car, John Luke helps me into the passenger side of the vehicle as Seth straps Scarlett into her car seat in the back. Daddy grabbed one of the paparazzi by the shirt, throwing him to the ground. "Back away from my daughter and granddaughter, you piece of shit!" he yells. Oh, Lord! They are getting Daddy all fired up now.

John Luke comes around towards the driver's side while swatting at the paparazzi. "Out of the way, you fucking asshole!" he yells as he quickly opens the car door and hops in. He turns the ignition to start the car and slowly drives down the road as we dodge the group of paparazzi as they swarm us on the way out.

I immediately take off the engagement ring on my finger, place it into the cup holder, and then reach out for John Luke's hand. He grasps my hands tightly and smiles at me. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again, Momma." He exhales as he speeds off down the road.

I pull his hand to my lips. "Good," I say as I exhale audibly and lay my head back on the headrest. I'm so glad this nightmare is finally over, and I can go home.