Chapter Eleven Reckoning at Taylor International #3
“I kept believing if I held enough information, I could prevent the next disaster.”
“And?”
“And I became one.”
Adrian swallowed.
Mercer’s eyes moved toward the observation window.
He knew Naomi was there.
“Joseph saw it before I did.”
Adrian’s voice softened.
“He usually did.”
Mercer almost smiled.
Then Adrian stepped closer.
“I’m not promising forgiveness.”
“I know.”
“I may never visit you again.”
“I know.”
“But I needed to say something.”
Mercer waited.
Adrian took a breath.
“You were my father.”
Mercer’s eyes filled.
“You were also the man who hurt me.”
A tear slipped down his face.
“Both things are true.”
Mercer lowered his head.
Adrian continued.
“I’m going to figure out who I am without needing either truth to disappear.”
Mercer nodded.
“That sounds like Joseph.”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
A small smile appeared.
“It sounds like me.”
Mercer closed his eyes.
Adrian left.
Naomi waited for him in the corridor.
He looked at her.
“Well?”
She shrugged.
“Still annoying.”
Adrian laughed.
Then, without warning, he hugged her.
Naomi wrapped her arms around him.
This hug felt different from the first.
Less shocked.
More chosen.
When he released her, he looked embarrassed.
“Don’t make that a thing.”
“Oh, I’m absolutely making it a thing.”
“I regret finding you.”
“No, you don’t.”
“No.”
He smiled.
“I don’t.”
That evening, Naomi entered Hudson’s hospital room with Lucas.
Olivia sat beside the bed.
She looked tired but unharmed.
When she saw Lucas, she stood and pulled him into her arms.
No hesitation.
“My boy.”
Lucas closed his eyes against her shoulder.
Naomi looked away.
Hudson noticed her.
“Naomi.”
She approached.
“How are you feeling?”
“As though a building fell on me.”
Lucas frowned.
“That dramatic?”
Hudson looked offended.
“Kells kicked me in the ribs.”
Olivia rolled her eyes.
“He has bruising. Nothing broken.”
“Marriage has destroyed all mystery.”
“You were never mysterious.”
Hudson looked toward Naomi.
“Do you see what I endure?”
Naomi smiled.
“You chose her.”
“The best decision I ever made.”
Olivia softened.
Lucas sat beside the bed.
“Kells is in custody.”
Hudson nodded.
“I heard.”
“The archive is secure.”
Another nod.
“And Taylor International?”
Lucas hesitated.
“Changed.”
Hudson studied him.
“You gave the statement.”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Lucas looked surprised.
Hudson noticed.
“That still happens when I approve of something?”
“A little.”
“Then I have more work to do.”
Silence settled between them.
Not uncomfortable.
New.
Naomi watched father and son look at each other without Arthur standing invisibly between them.
Hudson finally spoke.
“I should have protected you from him.”
Lucas frowned.
“Grandfather?”
“From becoming him.”
Lucas stared.
Hudson looked toward the window.
“I spent years trying to earn Arthur’s respect. Then I became a father and somehow believed demanding the same from you was preparation.”
“You loved me.”
“I did.”
Hudson looked back at him.
“I just wasn't always good at loving you without conditions.”
Lucas’s eyes filled.
Naomi’s throat tightened.
Hudson continued.
“You are better at it.”
Lucas looked toward Naomi.
His expression softened.
“I learned.”
Hudson followed his gaze.
Then he smiled.
“Yes.”
He had.
In Spain, Elias James died shortly before midnight.
Not violently.
Not dramatically.
His heart simply stopped.
Beatrice was with him.
So was Amara.
Serrano remained under guard after successful surgery.
Before Elias died, he gave one final recorded statement admitting his role in radicalizing Gabriel, manipulating Covenant succession, separating Naomi and Adrian, and concealing criminal activity under the language of protection.
No excuses.
No final demand.
Only confession.
Amara called Naomi afterward.
They spoke quietly for nearly half an hour.
Naomi did not cry until the call ended.
Lucas found her standing near the apartment window.
He came behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
She leaned back against him.
“I don’t know what I’m grieving.”
“You don’t have to name it.”
“He hurt everyone.”
“Yes.”
“He was my grandfather.”
“Yes.”
“I barely knew him.”
“I know.”
Naomi looked out across London.
“I’m tired of meeting family at the end of their lives.”
Lucas kissed her temple.
“Then we build something with the ones who are still here.”
Naomi turned in his arms.
“Something normal?”
“Absolutely not.”
She laughed softly.
“Good.”
Lucas lowered his head.
Their kiss began gently.
Then Naomi slid her hands beneath his jacket and pulled him closer.
His breath caught.
He kissed her again, deeper this time, one hand settling against the curve of her waist.
Naomi felt his entire body soften against hers.
No bells.
No guns.
No hidden passages.
No one chasing them.
Just Lucas.
Just her.
When they finally parted, both were breathing harder.
Lucas smiled against her mouth.
“You know what I’ve been thinking about?”
“Our wedding?”
“Yes.”
Naomi raised an eyebrow.
“Not the company?”
“No.”
“Kells?”
“No.”
“International criminal investigations?”
“Naomi.”
She laughed.
He pulled her closer.
“I want to marry you.”
Her teasing disappeared.
Lucas looked directly at her.
“Not after everything is fixed.”
His thumb brushed her engagement ring.
“Not when every investigation is over.”
His voice became softer.
“I don’t want our life waiting for people who have already taken enough time from us.”
Naomi stared at him.
Emotion rose slowly.
Warm.
Certain.
She touched his face.
“Then let’s stop waiting.”
Lucas’s smile spread.
“You mean that?”
“Yes.”
“How soon?”
Naomi pretended to consider it.
“Before another secret relative appears.”
Lucas laughed.
“That gives us roughly forty-eight hours.”
She kissed him.
“Then we better start planning.”
Outside, London moved beneath them.
Investigations had begun.
Trials would follow.
Some families would deny everything.
Some institutions would collapse.
Others would finally be forced to change.
Mateo Serrano would survive to face charges.
Daniel Mercer would answer for what he had done.
Beatrice Vale had agreed to oversee the dismantling of the remaining Covenant structures with international humanitarian organizations rather than rebuilding them.
And Adrian James, for the first time in his life, had no assignment.
No Keeper.
No hidden role waiting for him.
Only choices.
Naomi rested against Lucas.
The world was still complicated.
Their family certainly was.
But for the first time since she had walked into a London museum and noticed a handsome stranger studying the same painting, the future did not feel like something waiting to attack her.
It felt open.
And Naomi intended to fill it.