Chapter 13 Home Security （Margot）
HOME SECURITY (MARGOT)
Iknew something was off the second I walked in.
But it wasn’t until I saw the ceramic plate smashed on the kitchen floor that I understood why my senses were tingling.
The air was wrong.
Dan’s sneakers by the front door were nudged to one side.
The pantry door is open, when I distinctly remember closing it.
But the sight of that colorful shattered plate tells me beyond any doubt what my instinct whispered.
Someone paid us a visit.
And not for a friendly hello.
I don’t remember screaming, just the scratching in my throat.
My legs feel unstable, my hand trembling as I reach out to steady myself against the wall.
Holy shit, I should’ve known this day was too good to be true.
Too happy, too relaxed, too easy.
All the fear behind us, shrinking in the rearview mirror.
Idiot!
Whoever came lurking around the house before wasn’t done.
The danger isn’t over.
“What is it?” Kane pushes past, pressing his big, warm hand to the small of my back as he coldly assesses the scene.
I’m sure he feels it before he notices the plate, the wrongness that hit me from the second I opened that door.
It’s like watching a lion turn defensive.
His jaw tightens. His eyes narrow. All his features sharpen, stiffer and angrier and ready for a fight.
That makes me feel a bit safer, at least.
“Was it locked?” he growls.
There’s a feral edge in his voice that makes me shiver.
“Yes. I’m… I’m sure of it.” I stoop down to grab the keys I dropped on my way in. “I didn’t realize anything was wrong until—”
My voice chokes off, not quite a sob.
“You’re okay, duchess,” he whispers.
“Dad? What’s wrong?” Dan whispers cautiously from behind us.
Kane eyes me, and I suck in a breath. The keys are clenched between my fingers now like little blades, just like Ethan taught me years ago.
I guess it’s an old habit after years of doing that on late nights in New York City parking garages or outside at night when I’m at the curb, waiting for a lift.
I’m not helpless.
If push comes to shove, I can defend myself.
I can even protect his kids.
Kane must reach the same conclusion. He nods curtly.
“Stay with them,” he tells me, then looks behind him, ushering the kids into the house and shutting the front door behind us. “Dan, Soph, hang out with Margot while I check the house.”
“Daddy?” Sophie’s voice is high and unsure.
She’s seen the plate.
“We’ll be just fine, kidlet,” he says, casting a fierce look over his shoulder. “Margot has you guys covered. Stay put.”
I nod back at him, wishing I had his intense confidence.
For their sake, I’ll find it again.
For a second, I panicked, but these adorable children give me good reason to harden up.
I need to keep it together.
“We’re cool, guys,” I whisper, holding out my arm and pulling Sophie closer. “Kane, be careful… okay?”
“Don’t worry about me. Odds are we’re alone,” Kane says sharply, already stalking through the great room, scanning every corner.
Sophie wraps her thin arms around my waist, but Dan tries to follow his dad.
“I’ll come too. Backup,” he announces.
“No!” I catch his arm. “Dan, I know it sucks, dude. But your dad asked us to stay here. It’s better to have strength in numbers, right? Plus, we can use an extra strong man around while Kane checks things out up there.”
“Yeah,” he says with a determined look. “I guess you’re right.”
Thank God.
I’m glad it’s easy to flatter a little boy’s ego.
We huddle awkwardly in the kitchen, pressed up together near the island.
Dan doesn’t want to admit he’s worried, but his silence says everything.
Meanwhile, Kane prowls through the house, a wall of bristling muscle with the lightest footsteps.
What did he do overseas, anyway?
Wherever he learned to charge into danger, I’m grateful.
And I almost feel sorry for any reckless intruder he finds.
Almost. But they’ve invaded my privacy and that’s unforgivable.
It’s the second time this creep violated my safety, and worse, they’ve made these lovely children feel rattled in my home.
I breathe slowly, my nostrils burning as my blood simmers.
Fizzing anger replaces the fear.
Just who the hell do they think they are?
Breaking into my house, scaring my renters? My friends? My—
No, they’re not my kids. Even if they kinda feel like it.
I swallow thickly.
All this craziness must be going to my head.
When Kane reappears on our floor after checking upstairs after what feels like forever, it’s so sudden I jump.
“They’re gone,” he says tersely. I sigh with relief. “Let me have a look outside. If there’s a footprint, any evidence at all, that’ll only help us.”
“Be careful,” I whisper.
His eyes meet mine, and he gives me a nod as he heads out the back door.
For a second, we don’t break our huddle.
Not until Sophie raises her head and looks at me, her little brows knit together. “So… we’re safe?”
“Yes,” I say before I can question it. “We’re safe, Soph.
It was probably just some idiot pulling a prank.
Who knows. People do crazy things for attention these days, especially if they can show off on TikTok.
” I wish I believed that as I walk through the rest of the kitchen, looking for anything else out of place.
Aside from the plate, everything seems untouched.
That’s not much relief when I’m avoiding the mess of ceramic fragments scattered across the floor, sweeping a few stray pieces aside before the kids step on anything. They’re both wearing their shoes, but still…
It’s not a pretty scene.
The sheer force involved tells me this was no accident. It looks more like the plate was hurled at the floor intentionally.
But why? What the actual fuck?
Who would be that angry? Who would do such a thing if they were just looking for stuff to steal?
Because maybe they weren’t.
And my hands shake when I think it might be more personal than money.
Please, please don’t let this be about me or Gramps. These sweet kids can’t be scared for their lives all because of some dumb grudge I had nothing to do with.
“Guys, be really careful where you step. I need to sweep this up,” I say, guiding them to the table through a clear path. “Take a seat. Let’s have some hot chocolate while I clean up, okay?”
It won’t fix everything, but maybe it’ll help clear their heads while I try to breathe.
“Want some help?” Dan volunteers eagerly, his shoes tapping the floor. I’m glad they forgot to take them off once we came home to stranger danger.
I almost turn him down, but there’s something urgent about the way he asks.
“If you want to, you can sweep the edges, wherever I show you. Just don’t walk over anything until I say it’s clear. There’s a broom in the pantry.”
“On it!”
Outside, the rain picks up, pounding the windows.
Fall means darker, earlier nights. This normal weather only compounds the claustrophobia inside the house.
I shiver.
“Here, hold it open for me,” I say, passing him a big black trash bag from under the sink. After putting two mugs of milk in the microwave for chocolate, I start sweeping.
By the time Kane returns with his shirt plastered to his shoulders and his hair damp, the floor looks clear, and the kids each have a hot chocolate in hand.
Dan fiddles with the windup drummer boy. I’m glad he has it so he’s not hyper-focused on the break-in, even if the little toy feels a touch creepy right now.
“Did you see anything?” I ask Kane the second he’s through the door.
“Nothing.” He shakes his head. “A half-smeared bootprint in the mud by the driveway and some tire tracks, but nothing real useful.”
A flash of the old pickup driving past skips in my memory.
The distinctive dent on the side.
At the time, I hadn’t noticed much—but I recognized that vehicle.
“That truck,” I say, and Kane flicks his gaze to me. His eyes are dark with swirling fury, a forest at night. “The one we passed on the way in… it belongs to the Babins. I saw it when I went to their place.”
His jaw clenches.
I can tell he wants to rain brimstone on these ‘neighbors’ of ours.
That makes two of us.
They lied to my face, claiming they respected Gramps when they’ve been fighting him all this time. They flipping sued him.
Supposedly, they tried to burn the whole place down.
God.
“We should call the police,” I say.
“Yeah, better now than later. The kids will have to go home if the cops can’t find anything useful,” Kane agrees.
“What?” Sophie nearly spills her hot chocolate as she shoves her chair back.
“Dad, that’s not fair!” Dan shouts, glaring at his father. “We never go anywhere nice and now we gotta go home?”
“Nooo, I don’t wanna be stuck with Mom.” Sophie’s bottom lip trembles. “She’s always dragging us on modeling trips and they’re so boring.”
“Yeah, her new boyfriend doesn’t even like me. He sucks at Minecraft too.” Dan snorts, shaking his head with disgust.
Poor munchkins.
My heart aches for them. I hate that they have a mother who makes them play second fiddle to her glamorous life.
Maybe because it feels familiar.
Our parents treated us like accessories growing up, just another thing rich people should have along with personal chefs and perfectly trained purebred dogs. Oh, and we never got to have a puppy.
Just Ares, PopPop’s ancient basset hound. These days, he’s napping away his long evenings with Ethan and Hattie.
Maybe my parents regret their distance now, but they’ve never changed their lifestyle. No big moves to reconnect with us as adults, either.
That’s whatever.
“Your mother can take you somewhere warm for a few days,” Kane says softly. He smiles, but his eyes are steel.
“We never like going away with her and you know it. It’s not like here!” Sophie pouts, her eyes glinting with tears.
Dan nods, folding his arms.
“Dad, this place is cool. We love it here. There’s a lake and a fort and I get to play my drums as much as I like. We get our homework done early and no one ever tells me to shut up so they can watch their dumb dating reality show or pose for another Reel.”
Ouch.
Kane scrubs a hand through his rain-dark hair.