Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
PRESENT
The mid-afternoon sun drips gold through the trees as Santi pulls up outside Julia’s house. The truck idles for a moment, a soft purr beneath us, the vibration buzzing through my skin. But neither of us reach for the door. Neither of us move.
The silence between us stretches, thick and full, packed with everything we haven’t said, everything I don’t know how to name.
My hands are curled in my lap like they’re holding onto something fragile. Maybe they are. Maybe they’ re holding on to the moment before the fall. Or maybe they’re just holding on to him, on to the heat of his mouth, the weight of his hands, the way he kissed me like he was staking a claim.
I need to get out of this truck.
Reaching for the handle, I pause just a beat too long—just enough time for him to shift toward me. Not close enough to touch, but close enough that I can feel him watching me.
“Kat.”
His voice is quiet, gravel and heat. I swear I feel it everywhere.
I meet his eyes.
It’s a mistake.
Because his eyes are saying all the things his mouth isn’t. They’re steady, unwavering, full of something that makes my pulse stutter. Concern. Conviction. That impossible, dangerous pull that has never let me go.
I want to believe it. I do.
But I know better than to trust what I want.
I manage a small, tired smile, trying to soften the tension that’s thrumming between us. “Thanks for driving me.”
Santi exhales through his nose like he’s not sure what to do with me. Like he can tell I’m barely holding it together but he’s too smart to push.
“Anytime.”
I reach for the door handle again, but this time, he stops me.
“I meant what I said,” he murmurs.
A shiver runs through me, and I don’t know if it’s from his words or the way he says them— he’s already decided for the both of us.
I’m not done with you.
If only he could speak the words again. They were a lifeline, the kind of certainty and worth I’ve been missing for far too long.
I tighten my fingers around the strap of my bag. I should say something—anything to make this easier, to make this make sense. But I don’t trust my voice.
Instead, I nod. It’s small, barely there. But it’s all I can give.
I open the door, step down onto the pavement, and close it gently behind me. My pulse is a tangled mess of relief and regret, and as I walk up the steps, I swear he’s still watching me.
I pause at the door, my hand hovering over the handle.
Just turn around. Just look at him one more time.
I don’t.
I have to resist because the truth is I’m not done with him either.
But I have to shift my focus now. My feet carry me up Julia’s path and around the house to the backyard where finally, the tension from my time with Santi starts to drain out of my shoulders.
But I’m only met with new anxiety when I see Anton and Gabriel in the distance, chatting at the end of the yard.
The people Nic did business with must want those drives. I know it’s wrong, but part of me wishes they’d caught me at the farmhouse, hassled me, even beat me then took what they wanted to leave us alone for good.
I can’t even hand the drives over now and end this as they’re in police possession. And it’s not like whoever is after them knows I handed them over.
They’ll keep coming after me.
The thought makes me sick. It coils in the back of my mind like a boa constrictor, tightening slowly around me. Because this waiting? This not knowing? It’s torture drawn out, second by agonizing second.
How did I get into this mess?
Then, a realization hits like a punch to the ribs—I’m not just scared. I’m traumatized. I don’t fight. I endure. I adapt. I survive. I let bad things happen then clean up the mess afterward because I don’t know how to stop them before they start.
Conflicting thoughts cloud my mind. I wish I’d had a few more minutes to consider how much this could change Theo’s life. Handing over those drives is the same as handing over Theo’s inheritance. I hear my father’s voice in my head, telling me I was a fool.
There’s an eerie finality knowing my father will never speak to me again. Knowing I just proved him right—in the end, I have caused the demise of Pacific Dreams just as he thought I was doing when I moved.
Then, from across the yard?—
“Keeper! Wait up!”
Theo’s voice cuts through the static in my brain, snapping me back into the present. I turn just in time to see him mid-run, his body vibrating with laughter as Keeper barrels ahead, tongue lolling. The sight cracks something open inside me.
This is what matters. Not the ghosts of the past, not the weight of a stolen future. Theo is my future. His joy, his freedom, his chance at something better than I ever had.
Come hell or high water, that future will be bright.
Julia kneels in one of the garden beds, her gloved hands tugging at weeds. She glances up as I approach, brushing a strand of hair out of her face with her forearm.
Sweat glistens on her brow. “How’d it go with Callum and the others? ”
“A lot to process.” I glance over to a tree at the far perimeter of Julia’s backyard where Anton and Gabriel are engaged in a discussion with furrowed brows. “Gabriel and Anton are still here?”
Before going to Monarch Hills to hand the drives over, I decided to engage with Shadow Justice. Like Santi said, I can’t let pride get in the way of doing the right thing. I have Theo to think about, and we now live in Julia’s home.
Hiring Gabriel and Anton is something I don’t have money for, and I certainly don’t have any social credit I can use for a favor. But Julia does, and somehow, I get the feeling there won’t be a bill to pay at the end of this.
If Anton and Gabriel can use their stealthy skills to figure something out and watch over us, well, that’s a reality I need to accept.
When I left her behind with Theo, she asked me if it was all right for Gabriel and Anton to check the place. I handed over the key to the farmhouse, too.
I can’t say it was pure resignation over Anton and Gabriel being involved. When I met with them, they filled me with a sense of security and safety, like reinforcements coming into a war zone. I’d like to think I could knock anyone out, but that’s not reality, and having two extra men in addition to Santi watching over us? Three men built like brick walls at a time like this is a welcome fortress.
Julia pushes herself up to stand as if she has creaky knees. “The boys scoured the house; they’ve been checking the perimeter.” She sighs. “Gabriel’s got his theories. Enzo called them with information about the flash drives.”
As always, news travels fast in Echo Valley.
Just then, Gabriel’s sharp eyes flick to me, his expression unreadable, while Anton turns, his face softening just slightly when he sees me. They come over like two soldiers coming off the battlefield with bad news.
Theo throws a ball, and it almost hits Gabriel in the face but, without even looking for a moment of hesitation, he raises his hand and catches it. He offers Theo a simple nod and tosses it back to my son who is as surprised as I am by this man’s reflexes.
“Kat, how are you doing?” Anton asks.
There’s no quick answer to that question, but the guys must realize that because they don’t wait for one.
Gabriel is less chatty and more straight to the point. “You need to see this.”
My stomach knots as Anton holds up a small black device between his fingers.
“Hidden camera,” he says grimly. “We found three of these so far. One by the front gate, another near the porch, and this one here by the fence.”
My breath catches. “Cameras?”
Damn. Those got put up fast. It’s scary that whoever is watching me could be that efficient. That… stealthy. That… dangerous.
Gabriel replies. “There are probably more at Heritage.”
The ground beneath me wobbles. Cameras. Surveillance. This isn’t just about intimidation anymore—whoever’s after me has been gathering information, tracking our movements. My thoughts spiral to Theo, to the moments he’s spent outside playing, blissfully unaware of the unseen eyes on him.
Anton’s exterior is tough, but there’s a gentle nature about the way he delivers the blow. I see now that Ava was raised by this man. “I know it’s a lot to process. But the ’Ndrangheta, if Nic was doing business with them, it’s important you understand these people aren’t amateurs. ”
Panic rises up my chest and I hope they can’t see it. I have to be strong.
Gabriel isn’t quite as soft. “If someone was able to place these cameras without being seen, that in and of itself is cause for alarm.”
“Kat…” Anton steps closer, his dark blue eyes steady on mine. “This isn’t safe. Julia’s house isn’t secure enough. You and Theo need to come to Monarch Hills.”
I shake my head, the words coming automatically. “I can’t. I can’t bring this danger there, too. What if they follow us there? What if…?”
Gabriel interrupts, his tone firm but not unkind. “Monarch Hills is built for this. We have security there. We have the resources to handle this kind of threat.”
I look between them, my heart pounding. I don’t doubt their intentions, but the idea of uprooting Theo again, of relying on Santi, is stepping into quicksand.
I glance at Julia for reassurance, and she simply nods with one of those apologetic, thin-lipped smiles.
“You’re not doing this alone,” Anton says, even softer now. “This isn’t just about you, Kat. Julia has already agreed to stay with Luis at the ranch. And Theo?” He doesn’t need to finish the sentence. Anton might not be a parent, but this man guarded Ava for years and knows what it feels like to be one. He simply adds, “Let us help you.”
My gaze shifts to Theo, still chasing Keeper in the yard, blissful, innocent. I think about the cameras, about the flash drives, about the people who’ve been invading our lives in ways I can’t fully comprehend. And I think about Santi’s kiss, the way it shook something loose inside me I’d kept locked away for so long. My feelings for him are clouding everything, making it hard to see the right path .
But what am I going to do? Everyone is too nice to say it, but I don’t have a choice.Not if I want to keep my son safe.
My pulse hammers. Anton’s expression is steady and reassuring. Gabriel’s sharp gaze doesn’t waver. They’re offering safety. A way out.
I should be relieved.
But Monarch Hills isn’t just security—it’s Santi. It’s stepping into the past. I can tell myself it’s about Gabriel and Anton, about gates and locks and surveillance. But the second I step onto that land, I know the lines will blur. And I don’t know if I can afford that. I don’t know if I can afford him.
I can’t let Santi be the answer to questions I still need to figure out for myself.
This is just about keeping Theo safe.
It has to be.
I steal another glance at my son. He’s still running, still laughing, still whole. He doesn’t know the world is closing in.
And maybe that’s the point. Allowing him to live in my shelter is everything.
The wind shifts, carrying the scent of earth and leaves, and suddenly, the backyard doesn’t feel as safe as it did five minutes ago. A car engine pops in the distance, and my pulse jumps before I even register why. Every shadow, every unfamiliar sound is sharper now, more insidious.
I swallow hard, ignoring the way my hands curl into fists at my sides. This isn’t a choice. It’s survival.
“Okay. We’ll come to Monarch Hills.”
Anton appears relieved, maybe he expected a bigger fight on his hands. Gabriel pulls out his phone to make arrangements. But I can’t seem to move. I peek over at Theo and Keeper, at the quiet ease of this moment .
And I make one last promise.
I won’t mistake comfort for love.
I won’t let Santi cloud my judgment.
I won’t let my feelings for him unravel the healing I’ve barely begun.
This is about Theo. About safety. I repeat it over and over, like an incantation, a prayer.
But no matter how many times I say it, a lie is still a lie. And I don’t believe a damn word of it.