Dennis POV:
"Is he dead?" Mrs. Moore whispered, entering the room with a shotgun. It wasn't loaded. I removed all the shells from the gun cabinet I found in the west wing. Right? I couldn't take the chance.
I pulled out my weapon and aimed it at her. "Put the gun down, Mrs. Moore."
Her eyes widened for a moment as if she hadn't seen me. "I think you should, young man."
"Ariana?" Vianne asked, coming between the shotgun and me. I groaned and pulled her to the side.
"Is he dead?" she asked again, her eyes darting from his body and then to us.
"No," Vianne whispered.
Then the woman aimed the shotgun toward him.
Before I could stop her, she pulled the trigger, but it was empty, as I had thought. I wrenched the gun from her hands, tears falling from her eyes. "He deserves it," she whispered.
"Fuck," I hissed. What the fuck were we supposed to do now? With her there, we had a witness to my killing
Keegan POV:After we returned from school, Claire managed to nap for a few hours. When she had awoken, I helped her take a bath, not minding how hard she held onto me. It was something we both needed. Though I could not reach Vianne for her, I asked if she'd like to watch the videos Vianne made for her.She sat on her little bed, her legs dangling as I knelt on the floor and helped slip socks on her cute feet. Usually, the task had her giggling, but she remained quiet."Claire?" I said softly, taking her small hands in one of mine."I want to talk to Mommy."I swallowed as big tears started to fall down her soft, pale cheeks. "I know you do, princess," I replied, cupping her face and brushing the tears away. They kept coming. It killed me to know that I couldn't give her what she wanted.I understood her need to talk to Vianne, but we had to be cautious of someone listening in on her phone calls in Darwin. We didn't want anyone to know
Keegan POV:The wig's long tresses covered most of her face, but her hand lifted to tuck some behind her ear. It was the signal we discussed she'd use before she left, something to tell me that she was okay. I felt some of the pressure around my heart ease.Her head lifted slightly, one of her big blue eyes visible through the wealth of hair, and I saw a bruise on her cheek. My heart stopped for a brief moment, long enough for me to notice the dried tear tracks along her cheek, but the absence of new ones. I couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not.Sometimes a person couldn't live with the fact that they killed someone, no matter the reason. I hoped that wouldn't be the case for her."Please be okay, baby," I said softly, watching as she disappeared into a van with Pratt, and his partner steered Dennis toward another car. It was procedure to separate them, but I hated the fact that she would be alone.Suddenly, Jarred, Ronan, and Faron were t
Keegan POV:She fucking growled and that shit shouldn't be turning me on, but it did. Fuck, I missed her. It was hardly the right time for that. "There is one part of this freaking elaborate plan I always questioned how you'd allow happening, one of the next steps. For you to put that much trust in someone else to do what needed to be done. Now, I figured out why you were so sure it'd be all right. There's no one you trust enough to do it."There was no use in denying it. "No. There is no one I trust to do that.""Will I see you before then?""If you'd like," I said, breathing a sigh of relief. She wasn't angry that I had gone behind her back about this. I hoped she'd asked me to come to her.In a whisper-soft voice, she replied, "Okay." I knew she was either very angry with me or relieved. I got my answer immediately."I was going to ask you to do it," she said. "It's selfish of me, but there's no one I trust more. I
Keegan POV:Edwin and Deven should have gotten two of the other guards; the other two were also accounted for, if everything worked out, of course. The rest of the men were waiting for the scheduled time when we were done and ready to go inside.Giles and I, thinking we had a clear path toward the entrance we'd take, were in for a surprise when a big motherfucker blocked it. The lucky thing was he was just as surprised as we were, and his cigarette dangling from his lips fell. We hadn't accounted for breaks.Before the guard could bring up his semi-automatic weapon to fire, Giles threw a knife, but only hit his arm. The fucker was about to let out a monster roar, forcing me to dart forward and jab him in the throat. Big, meaty hands wrapped around his neck, choking for air.Before I could land another blow, he swung his fist out, connecting to my temple, sending stars through my vision. I heard the hiss from Giles, and I knew he caught some of that hit, too
Vianne POV:Looking in the mirror over the bathroom sink, I could see the damage to my face. I cringed at the color that seemed to burst across my cheek and along my jaw. I was lucky Brant hadn't broken it. I rubbed the ointment mom found me in preparation for the day, something my lawyer had recommended to help with the bruising.God, that woman was a freaking godsend. Even though she worked mostly in Family Law, she also had the ability to handle criminal cases. Though the interrogation the night before seemed to go on forever, it was considerably shorter than most, because of her. She was very good at what she did. I was grateful for that and the fact she helped me call Keegan the night before, and bought the time I needed for the rest of the plan to work.The following afternoon, I had to go into the precinct to sign an affidavit and my statement, after which I had to stand behind Pratt at the press conference. Dennis and Jarred continued to monitor the Cong
Vianne POV:I laughed and answered, "Sure. It can't be that bad." Keegan didn't seem to cook much before we came into his life, and he did happen to have many frozen dinners in his freezer when we first arrived months earlier. Cooking lessons might be a good idea, especially since I planned to work eventually."His cooking is great," she said loud enough for Keegan to hear her. Then she dropped her voice and whispered. "But his pancakes are lumpy!""I heard you!" Keegan said before a series of cute giggles and excited screams came through the phone."Oh my gosh! That tickles!" Her laughter was infectious, drying my tears a little. "Daddy! Uncle! Uncle!""Go wash up, breakfast is ready," Keegan said. "Let me talk to your mom for a little bit.""Okay, but I get to talk to her again. I need to tell her about Jeremy." I heard her retreating footsteps as she ran out of the room and Keegan's voice called after her. "Jeremy? Who's that?"Aft
Vianne POV:Dennis took off in the direction I pointed, taking a few steps at a time, and moving quickly down the stairs. I looked up, as Clement demanded to see me. The rest of my security made sure he didn't come to harm, too. That was the only reason they weren't listening to him because they were doing their job. Shit, that meant he'd be pissed for a while.Jarred offered me a hand, lifting my body up as gently as possible. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying out. Damn, the big asshole had nearly crushed me. I looked to where Ronan continued to manhandle the beast.He looked oddly familiar."He works for the Smiths," I said to Jarred. "I remembered from all the photos you had me look at so that if I ever saw one of their men, I was to go the other way.""Yeah, I recognized him, too.""I don't get it." Shaking my head, I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache coming on. "Why are they still helping him? Why would th
[WARNING: This chapter has some sexually explicit content towards the middle. Please read at your own risk.] Vianne POV: "He'll be here soon, Vianne. He's just making sure he's not being followed." I nodded and entered the room once Dennis finished with his search. After saying goodbye, I went straight for a shower after dimming the lights. Twenty minutes later, my real hair pulled up in a messy up-do, I slipped into one of the luxurious silk lingerie pieces Tory bought me. I refused to dwell on the fact that she had her own bag. I needed to have a one-on-one talk with her, soon. I loosened the tie in my hair, the ends skimming the top of my shoulders. Turning toward the bedside lamp for more light, I almost screamed when a dark figure rose from a chair in the corner of the room. I moved quickly, my fist slicing through the air, but my would-be attacker saw it coming and captured my hand. With a hold on my wrist, he twisted it and me around, my back to his chest. I hissed and stom