by Tessa Teevan
She blinks as she looks up at me. In this moment, she looks so soft. So innocent. So vulnerable. It’s times like these that I want to pack her up and take her far away, where no harm can reach her.
“Do you mean that, Rafe?”
My eyebrows knit at the hesitation in her voice. “Tomorrow or the next day, whenever the hell this is all over, nothing is going to change for me. Not between us.”
Brie’s eyes soften, and I can tell she’s struggling to keep them open.
I lean down and press a kiss to her forehead. “I love you, Brie. Loving you means taking care of you. In all ways. And right now, you need sleep.”
“Rafe,” she whispers, her voice laced with exhaustion. “What I had with Adrian… Well, it pales in comparison for what I feel for you.”
I didn’t know how much I needed to hear those words until she said them. A swell of relief floods my chest. An unexpected weight releases its burden on my shoulders.
“Tomorrow,” she says, “when we finish this, I want to leave this place and never look back. I want to make a life with you, build our family, our future. I love you, Rafe. More than I ever thought possible. And I don’t want to give Theo or Adrian any more time than we’ve already wasted on them.”
“Babe, look at me,” I say, watching as her eyelids flutter before breathtaking brown eyes peer up at me. “You don’t have to worry about either of them anymore. I will always protect you. Soon enough, this will be in the rearview mirror.”
“I know. That you’ll always protect me.” A delicate hand settles on her belly. “Protect us. We’re lucky to have you.”
“Pretty sure I’m the lucky one. Now get some sleep. This will all be over in the morning.”
That earns me a final sweet smile before her eyes drift closed. I don’t dare move until I’m sure she’s in deep slumber.
I wasn’t lying when I said it’d be over soon. I just want it over before she wakes and thinks to be a part of my plan. Because the idea of Brie going anywhere near Theo Morningstar is absolutely out of the question.
The benefits of satiating Brie to exhaustion were twofold. One, the obvious. Two, I need to get out of the hotel room and make contact with Howard. Now that we’ve found the ledger, the forensic accountants at the agency can start connecting the dots and doing their magic to bring down the Morningstar empire. And now that I have proof of what Morningstar’s real aim here is, it’s more urgent that he’s taken into custody, far away from reaching Brie. The longer this goes on, the more the anxiety builds within me. I won’t rest until Theo Morningstar is behind bars and Brie and our baby are safe.
After I’m sure she’s tucked into bed and fast asleep, I dress and holster my gun, adding two knives to my person just in case. Theo’s had people following me before, so I can’t take the chance of them getting the drop on me before I can shake them in order for me to meet Agent Howard.
This is it. We’re so damn closing to ending this.
So damn close that it thrills me, and I can almost see the end in sight. Pretty soon, this will all be a distant nightmare. Pretty soon, we’ll be living life as a family. As I step out onto the darkened street, I think of that future.
My grin widens at the thought of her swollen belly. The way my imagination runs wild at the idea of her breastfeeding. Our baby in her arms, on her breast, in my arms. Taking its first steps, saying its first words, taking equal parts of both of us to become this amazing tiny human.
Just as I’m passing a dark alley, I hear rustling and realize I’m caught entirely off guard. Instead of being usually alert, my mind’s wandered.
Brie’s left me vulnerable. It’s not her fault, of course. It’s mine.
A figure steps out of the shadows.
“Fancy meeting you here, Matthews.” I can barely see him, but I don’t miss the sneer in his voice. “I’d say I’m sorry about this, but why lie?.”
Fuck. The implication of those words doesn’t escape me, and I know I’ve severely fucked up and played right into the enemy’s hands.
And before I can reach for my weapon, my mind explodes with flashes of light and excruciating pain. Then the world around me goes black.
THE BAG’S RIPPED FROM my head and I have to blink a few times for my eyes to adjust to the light. I’m in what appears to be a large, ornately decorated bedroom. Bars on the windows are the only thing that make the room feel all wrong. And when I hear a door open and close, I turn around.
There’s Theo Morningstar, standing across from me. It’s the first time I’ve seen him since this whole thing began. Every time he’s summoned me in the past, he doesn’t face me. Just has his goons tell me whatever fucking directive he’s decided on. The sight of him should unnerve me, but it does the opposite. In fact, I have an intense urge to wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze until the final breath leaves his body. Suffocate him the way he’d have had Adrian do to Brie.
But I can’t. I’m his employee. His enforcer. His investigator. I shouldn’t have any clue why he’d have me taken and beaten.
“Why the hell am I here, Morningstar?” I seethe through gritted teeth. “What the fuck is this about?”
Lying through my teeth to this man was so much easier before he wanted to kill my girlfriend. But I’m good at what I do, so I try to maintain my composure as much as possible.
Theo raises an eyebrow. “I was under the impression that you knew everything. This subterfuge of you working for me is no longer necessary.”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. What do you want from me?” I ask, the taste of copper on the tip of my tongue. “Why the fuck are you doing this? I’ve done everything you asked.”
“Matthews, drop the act. You’re not fooling anyone. Certainly not me.”
I spit out blood onto the white carpet, not giving a single shit when Morningstar looks down at me with disgust.
“You have betrayed me for the last time. Bring in the woman,” he says to the guard by the door.
My chest constricts, all breath leaving my body, my heart nearly stopping at his words. I wait for moments to pass before I hear a knock on the door. No. She can’t be here. He can’t have gotten to her, too.
I’ll never forgive myself if Theo Morningstar has her in his clutches.
“Enter.”
When the door opens, my stomach tightens at the sight of Helene’s limp body, pale and cold. It’s only the trickle of blood streaming down the side of her cheek that lets me know she’s even still alive. Desperation claws me at with the need to go to her. To ensure she’s okay. To rip the throat out of the motherfucker who dared to lay a harmful hand on her.
But I can’t. I’m not supposed to care about her in a way that means I can’t do my job. So, with indifference I sure as hell don’t feel, I shrug.
“Another one of your whores, Morningstar? You know, if you’d stop beating them, they might not cost you so much.”
The guard sets her on the bed and then resumes his place at the door, ever the dutiful sentry.
“Matthews, when are you going to realize that I know everything?”
“Yet here we are. If you knew everything, why involve Brie? Why involve me?”
He waves me off. “Do you forget that I found your little hotel hideaway? That my physician came to that room to tend your lovely, little Gabriella? Do you honestly believe I wasn’t having the room watched the entire time you were there?”
My blood runs cold, but my face gives nothing away. “Like I’d ever put that past you. I was aware you knew we were in Chicago. It was Adrian I didn’t want to find out.”
Theo’s eyes turn downward for the slightest of seconds. “Adrian’s dead,” he clips, and I wonder if he actually believes that.
Sure, that’s what the news reported, but Theo’s been in the business long enough to know the nature of the game.
He waves a hand in the air. “No matter about that. He outlived his usefulness to me anyways. As for this one, I saw her come to your hotel
room. I know she spent time inside. There’s only one reason why she’d have been there. I’m just wondering how long you’ve known.”
I shift, feigning boredom. “Known what? Is there a point you’re getting at?”
It’s as if he doesn’t hear me.
“She thought she could hide you all this time. A fool, Helene thought of me. And for two decades, she might’ve been right. It wasn’t worth going after her. After all, I had my firstborn son. What did I need with a temperamental wife and a bastard second-born?”
“Are you going to start making sense anytime soon, old man? I don’t give a damn about your family history or your romantic entanglements that went south.”
“Raphael, you can pretend all you want, but I know you know the truth and it’s time you face it. It’s time you face me.”
I’m done. It’s obvious there’s no point in continuing the charade, and I have no desire to prolong this. “Fine. After nearly thirty years, I not only found out I was adopted, but that not only is my sperm donor a psychotic, murderous bastard, but my girlfriend used to sleep with the crazy brother I never knew I had. Forgive me, Father, for not embracing the delightful news all that well.”
His head falls back as he roars with laughter. “Ah, yes. Gabriella. Imagine my surprise when she fell right into your bed. And so quickly after leaving Adrian’s. It causes one to wonder what else you could’ve stolen from him if you’d only grown up together. It appears I may have raised the wrong son all along.”
I raise an eyebrow.
But he continues. “Just think of all you could’ve had, all you could’ve achieved if you’d been in your rightful home.”
“Or maybe I turned out the way I did because I was nowhere near you.”
Theo’s eyes blaze, and he’s about to retort when the sound of a far-off doorbell breaks the silence. A knock on the door prefaces its opening and a guard pokes his head in.
“Sir, she’s arrived.”
Theo’s eyes gleam as he nods. “Fantastic,” he says, with far too much glee in his voice. “I believe the party is just about to begin.”
I start to rush forward, but something hard comes down on the top of my head and the last thing I see before it all goes black is Theo’s mouth twisting into a sinister sneer.
When I awaken next, Helene is sitting up on the bed, her hands tied in front of her. A guard blocks the door, and when he sees I’m awake, his hand moves to the butt of the gun in his holster.
It doesn’t matter. I won’t risk Brie’s safety by starting a fight up here.
“Are you okay?” I whisper, searching Helene’s face.
She swallows hard then nods. “Rafe…you have to stop him.”
A snort comes from the direction of the door. The guard is glancing back and forth between the two of us. When he sticks his head outside the door then closes it quietly, confusion sets in.
“If either of you are going to make it out of here alive, you do exactly what I tell you.”
Helene gasps as if she’s seen a ghost. “Frederik! What are you doing here?”
The man—Frederik, apparently—takes three quick strides across the room until he’s standing on the side of the bed. He unfastens the rope around her wrists, rubbing the skin with a gentle affection that is far too intimate.
Helene throws her arms around his neck and peppers kisses along his jaw. “I should’ve known you’d come.”
“My darling wife, I will always come for you.”
Ah. So now, on top of it all, I get to meet my dear stepfather. Fan-fucking-tastic.
“As joyous as this reunion must be, we don’t have time for this,” I say through gritted teeth.
“We must hurry and leave this place before another guard comes,” he insists.
“I can’t,” I reply with indignation. “I won’t leave here without Brie. Get my mo—Helene—to safety and tell any backup you may have on standby to wait. If we spook Morningstar now, there’s no telling what he’ll do. So, until Brie is safely out of here, do nothing.”
Helene crosses the room and places a hand on my cheek. Her eyes shine with unshed tears. “I am so proud of the man you’ve become. I only pray that it isn’t too late for us to truly get to know each other. If we survive this—”
“You will,” Frederik interrupts, his voice gruff.
Helene straightens her shoulders. “When this is all over, when it’s all behind us, I hope you’ll give me the chance to right all the wrongs I’ve done. I don’t expect to take your mother’s place, but a place in your life I would like very much.”
I nod. “One day, Helene. One day. I promise.”
She holds my gaze for a brief moment, and then in a flash, she and Frederik are gone.
Wasting no time, I slip through the door and take a few steps down the hall. Then a click sounds behind me, stopping me in my tracks.
I turn slowly, my chest swelling with relief when I see the man standing here, a gun fixed on me, aimed directly at my chest. I blow out a hot breath of air as he lowers it to the ground, then scans the hallway before putting it back in its holster.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I hiss, both grateful and perplexed at his unexpected presence.
“We don’t have time to discuss that right now. You have the book?”
“Not on me, but it’s in a safe place.”
Agent Howard lifts his chin in acknowledgement. “Once Theo’s goons took you, we decided we couldn’t take the chance. The risk on your life is too great. We’ll arrest him and use the evidence you gathered to press more formal charges after the fact.”
“Thank you. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get out of this one.”
He gives me a curt nod. “Right. Ready to put on a show?” he asks. “To end this once and for all?”
Am I ever.
Footsteps echo on the wooden floors coming from down below. Howard grips my bicep, giving me a reassuring squeeze.
“We got your six.”
He disappears into one of the rooms just as another one of Morningstars henchmen reaches the top of the stairs. It goes against every natural instinct I possess, but I allow myself to be apprehended, yet again.
The next thing I know, I’m hauled down the steps and forced into a room where my heart threatens to jump out of my chest. Brie’s standing there. Her face is pale, and her shoulders are trembling.
Her eyes widen when she sees me, and if I look as shitty as I feel, it must be a shock to her.
I want to go to her. The desire to both wrap her in my arms and force her behind me, to protect her, pounds through me.
Instead, the one man who could ruin everything sends me a smile and opens his mouth, revealing every sordid detail. All I can do is pretend not to care.
After all, it’s a matter of life and death, and the only one who’s meeting his maker today will be Theo Morningstar.
At my fucking hands.
THE SOUND OF MY phone chiming pulls me from a light sleep. After Rafe and I made love on the tail end of a long day, I fell asleep in his arms, just like every night since we’ve been together. Even with all the craziness and danger surrounding us, he’s never failed to make me feel safe. So, when I blink my eyes open and see the side of his bed is empty, my heartbeat quickens. My phone lights up again and I stare at it, abject fear taking hold.
Rafe should be here.
No one should be phoning me.
“Rafe?” I call, hoping he’s just in the bathroom—but somehow knowing he isn’t.
There’s no answer. The silence in the hotel room is deafening. My stomach twists as I climb from the bed. I call his name again as I walk towards the bathroom.
It’s empty.
He’s not here.
I’m alone.
Hope flows through me when my phone chimes again. I rush to the nightstand and snatch it up, quickly unlocking it.
Bile rises in my throat at the photo on my screen. It’s Rafe, tied to a chair, his face bloodied, bruised, and nearly unrecogn
izable.
The captions turn my blood cold.
Bring the book to me, or he dies.
The phone drops from my hands.
This is it.
It’s all come down to this.
I don’t call the police.
I don’t call the agency.
I definitely don’t call Agent Howard.
Instead, I quickly dress, grab everything I need, and rush out into the hotel hallway. I’m about to reach the elevator when Adrian’s words echo in my mind.
“You’re not safe, Gabriella.”
I whirl around, racing back into the room, and rush to the mattress, where I pull out the last thing Adrian pressed into my hands. I hesitate for just a moment, but then I dash out of the room, down the hall. After the elevator doors open, I burst out on to the bustling street, where I hail a cab and silently pray I make it in time.
Rafe is all I have left, and if I lose him now, just when everything is going right for us, I have no idea how I’ll go on.
Fear threatens to overwhelm me when the cab pulls up to a gated mansion outside the city. My legs wobble as I get out and stare up at the ominous wrought-iron gate that stands between Rafe and me. Between safety and me. I know I shouldn’t be here. My hand protectively falls to my stomach. But what kind of life will my baby have if he loses his father before he ever has a chance to meet him? What kind of life will I have if I lose Rafe so soon after finding him?
The gate slowly opens, inviting my entrance. With steeled determination, I set my shoulders and march up the drive, towards the front door. My steps falter when the door opens before I even get a chance to knock. There’s no one there, as if it opened of its own accord.
This is it, Brie. You can do this. You have to do this.
After my little pep talk in my head, I muster up every ounce of courage I possess. With hesitation, I step inside, jumping when it slams shut behind me. Footsteps echo on the marble floor, but the sound moves away from me instead of towards. Against my better judgment, I hoist my handbag onto my shoulder and follow in the direction of the noise until I’m in a giant room that looks like a study fit for a king.