Chapter 49 | Kincade
Three weeks later, I was moving without help and pretending that meant I was fine. Close enough, anyway.
Anna had talked someone into making deliveries to the villa. I hadn’t asked who. Didn’t need to. She had her ways. Winter clothes arrived like she had an internal barometer that said the season was about to turn and we needed to be ready.
She wasn’t wrong. She rarely was.
Two days after she unpacked the boxes, nighttime temperatures dropped, and the days turned drizzly. The jackets she insisted on were all waterproof. Of course they were. She’d thought three steps ahead, as always.
And managed to outfit all of us without breaking a sweat.
Summer was gone. Autumn had arrived. Time kept moving whether we were ready or not.
And Walker Manor had been out of reach for three and a half months now. Too long. Far too long.
When Silas arrived unannounced one morning, rain darkening his shoulders and a hard case in his hand, I knew we were about to get information none of us wanted. The hard case alone told me that. Silas didn’t make social calls.
He stepped across the threshold. Nodded once at Ludwig. Once at Ulrich. Professional courtesy. Acknowledging allies. And then his gaze pinned me.
The moment Anna saw him, she crossed the room and wrapped him in a hug that startled him. Not much startled Silas. She’d managed it. His one good eye flicked from her to me. I shrugged. She’d earned the right to hug whoever she wanted.
“Ah, lass,” he said, rough amusement threading through the fatigue. “You’re still breathing.”
From Silas, that counted as reassurance. High praise.
“Thanks to you,” she said, pulling back. “It’s good to see you. I’ll get you some of Ludwig’s coffee.”
“Don’t you dare, woman,” Ludwig called, following her into the kitchen.
“You can share,” Anna shot back. “It’s not like the beans are made of gold.” Her voice faded as she disappeared deeper into the villa.
“This isn’t a friendly visit to catch up,” I said.
“No. I need her to hear this, too.”
I didn’t like the way that sounded. But I’d hear it, anyway. I motioned to the sitting room.
The room had two low sofas, two chairs, a coffee table in the center, and long lines built for quiet conversations. Silas walked in and chose a seat with his back to the wall, his eyes on the door like it was muscle memory. Old habits. We all had them.
“Is this about the manor?” I asked.
“Yes.”
He placed the case on his lap, flicked the latches and opened it. Anna returned carrying a steaming mug. He took it from her, wordlessly, took a sip and then set it on the table.
“This looks serious,” she said, eyeing the open case on his lap. She gave me a questioning glance.
“It is,” Silas said. “You’ll want to be sitting down.”
Her brows drew together, fighting the urge to snark back. Instead, she took the seat next to me and waited.
Silas pulled papers from the case, then spread them out on the table in front of him.
“That looks like the floor plan of the manor,” she said. And she didn’t sound pleased.
“Yes,” he agreed.
She looked from it to me. I knew where this was going. And she wasn’t going to like it.
“The manor was severely compromised with all the devices. After the sweep, I made some decisions,” Silas said.
He didn’t say my name, but it was there anyway—decisions. Plural. Without orders. On my ground.
“There was virtually no security. Piers told me you dismissed the guard at the front gate.”
Her posture went rigid. “Yes, I cut back the staff after my uncle died. There were so many people in and out, it was becoming a nuisance.”
A security nightmare, more like.
“And he also told me there was no control over when and where packages were delivered. Anyone could walk up to the front and inside at any given time,” Silas continued.
I watched her face. She wasn’t happy with this information. Like the realization settled deep, and she hated it.
“Okay, so, security was lacking. But I had—” she motioned my direction, “and others.”
Others. I knew who she was referring to—Darius, Sariel, and any number of people who came and went when they pleased. And when she was traveling, she never gave it another thought. It was always about the next clue, the next destination, the next relic.
And that was on me, too. I should have seen it. Should have fixed it.
The war had been different then. We’d been hunting. Now we were being hunted.
“Wasn’t enough,” Silas said.
He was blunt. Never one to mince words. Never had been. We’d gotten lucky.
Silas leaned forward. “I installed a guard shack here.” He pointed to the front gate that opened onto the main road. “Manned twenty-four/seven. No one gets in without an appointment or a damn good reason.”
“A guard shack?”
“Yes. Cameras on each exterior door including the outer buildings. Workout space. Stables. Garage. Chapel—”
“There’s a chapel?” she interrupted. The color had drained from her face. Less fear than the sudden realization of what else lived on the property.
Silas’s gaze flicked up to hers then. “Do you realize how large the estate is, Anna?”
She was silent for a moment, thinking. “I knew it was big, but—”
“One hundred and ten acres,” he replied, unflappable. “That doesn’t include the forest area the Fae claimed.”
They were fortifying her world like she belonged to it. Because she did. Like she was worth the risk even if I couldn’t put my body between her and it yet.
“Grace signed off on the contractor,” Silas said. “Ophelia argued with me. Natasha watched the whole time like she was memorizing exits.”
Her lips thinned as she processed everything he’d said.
“And I’ve positioned guards outside the perimeter rotating every twelve hours.”
“There are… more men living at my house?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said.
“How many guards?” I cut in.
“Two on the outer perimeter. Two on the manor. Two on the outbuildings. Guard shack duty rotates every twelve hours, too. No one gets close now.”
“And the men?” I asked.
“Quiet Watch,” Silas said. “Loyal. Vetted.” He met my eyes. “All yours.”
Silas handed me an army. On her ground.
“I’ll need names.”
“Here.” He handed over a ready-made list.
“Wait—wait.” Anna pushed to her feet, and she looked one heartbeat from detonating. “You did all this without asking?” Then her eyes cut to me, searching for the lie, checking if I’d ordered it.
I hadn’t. But I should have.
“We had to move fast,” Silas said. “Before anything else happened.”
But she was still looking at me. “Did you know?”
“He didn’t,” Silas said before I could answer. “I didn’t ask permission.”
“So, what—now you’re asking for forgiveness?” she snapped.
“Anna—” I started.
“I should have been consulted,” she said, voice tight, hands curled. “At the very least.”
She was right. And the worst part was—Silas moved without permission, but he treated it like a debt he owed her. Before I ever did. That stung more than it should have.
But we’d been busy trying not to die. Or at least I had.
Silas looked up at her. “You’re right, lass. I should have. But under the circumstances, securing the estate was a priority.”
She inhaled slowly, let it out as slowly. Then sank back to the chair. “All right. And I suppose I’ll be getting the bill for that?”
“No,” he said.
She blinked then looked at me like I was supposed to explain it. I had nothing. This was Silas’s play. His investment. He didn’t spend money he couldn’t justify. That meant this wasn’t a favor, it was a commitment. To her. To protecting what was hers.
Ludwig strolled in, mug in hand, with Ulrich on his heels. “Hey. You didn’t invite us to the party,” Ludwig said. “I feel left out.”
“You’re not,” Anna snapped, still angry, even while she tried to tamp it down.
Ludwig gave her a curious once-over—too slow to be innocent. “Did you have your coffee this morning, missy?”
I closed my eyes for half a second.
Anna said nothing as she huffed out a breath.
“What’s going on?” Ludwig asked.
“This doesn’t concern you,” she said.
Ulrich’s gaze dropped to the papers. “This looks like the floor plan to Walker Manor.”
Anna’s head snapped toward him. Her eyes flashed. “How do you know that?” Her voice went sharper. “You’ve never been there.” Then she looked at me, like a blade finding the soft spot. “What did you tell them?”
“I didn’t tell them anything,” I said, voice even. “And you’re not on some guided tour. He saw a floor plan. That’s all.”
Ulrich nodded once, like that was obvious. “My eyes still work.”
Ludwig’s mouth twitched—amused and unapologetic—as he leaned in to study the plan and the security upgrades.
Anna folded her arms like she still didn’t believe me.
“Closed circuit cameras?” Ludwig asked.
“Yes,” Silas answered. “Piers cleared out the old butler’s pantry off the kitchen and converted it into a security room. Two monitors in the guard shack.”
Anna made a sound somewhere between a cough and a laugh, like her body couldn’t decide which emotion deserved air.
“When do we move?” Ludwig asked.
“Whoa.” She straightened. “Are you moving with us now?”
“Thought we might,” Ulrich said.
“What’s the matter?” Ludwig added, smirk firmly in place. “You don’t like us anymore?”
Her gaze cut to me. Dagger-sharp. “What the hell, Kincade?”
“Hey.” I leaned forward, caught her wrist lightly and swept my thumb over the back of her hand.
“You’re not being bulldozed.” My eyes held hers until her breathing slowed.
“Walker Manor is yours. You decide who crosses that threshold. But if we’re going home, I’m not doing it half-protected.
Not with Grace there. Not with Ophelia. Not with your mother.
” I flicked a look at Ludwig without raising my voice. “Everyone understands that.”
They’d better.
“That’s not my home, that’s a fortress.”
“It’s both,” I said. “That’s the problem.”
And there was no easy solution.
Silence.
Tension so thick it crackled.
She stared me down like I was the one to blame.