Chapter 24
The door to the suite closed softly behind me. I took a deep breath, trying to control my emotions. Nothing could have prepared me for the shock of Victoria’s actions. Self-hatred raged inside me.
That I’d handed her the ability to destroy me and then watched her do it without a single shred of remorse or hesitation killed any last remnant of confidence that remained.
How could I have been so fucking stupid?
What the hell was I going to do now?
In my mind, I had this fantasy. I’d bring her home; the girls would fall in love with her, and we’d what? My mind taunted me like the idiot I was. I fought to chase the darkness away. The worthless feelings of disgust didn’t want to let go.
With my eyes closed, memories of her face tormented me. The short time we’d spent together had meant something. At least it had for me. I wracked my brain trying to find where I had missed the signs that she was playing me.
Was I really that gullible?
The analytical part of my brain wouldn’t shut the hell up either.
And it also forced me to look at the strange dichotomy I willingly walked straight into.
Regret and resignation—a series of events that created this state of my new existence.
Images of my childhood appeared, followed by my time with the guys, my schooling, my career, and then her.
The single most important relationship I’d ever experienced was—fake. I really was that pathetic and deserved everything I got.
In one sweeping motion, I pushed the glass down the length of the bar, where it shattered against the wall. The liquid soaked into the top and dripped onto the hardwood floor. I walked to the antique mirror, sneering with anger and disgust at the image.
“You should’ve known better, fat ass.”
I closed my eyes and mouthed her name, feeling the vacuum of her absence. I let it consume me. Her face, her voice, the look in her eyes as she opened up and shared parts of her soul. For the first time ever, I wished that life had a rewind button. Hell, I’d go for a delete button.
Professionally, I knew better than to go down that path, but the man in me traveled it anyway. I looked at my watch. Forty minutes had already gone by. There was no sense in staying any longer.
I stood and cleaned up the mess I had made. Sighing, I walked to the bedroom to finish packing my things. The bags from Victoria’s shopping trip were still in the closet. What the fuck was I going to do with the shit now? I threw it into the empty suitcase we’d picked up.
Sighing, I plopped my suitcase on the bed and started throwing my clothes inside, not even caring.
I sent a message to Marcus to meet me downstairs in the lobby.
With one final sweep of the room, my eyes landed on Kinsley’s letter.
It was lying flat against the counter. My eyes narrowed at what looked like frantic handwriting scrawled across the back. I picked it up.
Andy,
I’m sorry for all the heartache and mess I’ve caused. By the time you find and read this, I will be dead. Cameron bugged the room and heard everything. He has Declan and his nanny. I think he may have killed her already. I had no choice but to go with him for the safety of YOUR son.
You read that correctly. Your son.
You asked me days ago if we’d ever met before, and the truth is—yes. Parknasilla Resort. The summer you lost your mother, the same as me. We were both on the beach at the same time. I was the angel you thought you saw. I helped you back to your room.
You were very drunk, and one thing led to another.
I know how you feel about children, but what is done is done.
Do a DNA test, and you will see it is true.
I was three weeks late for my period and had already taken a pregnancy test when Cameron raped me for the first time. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.
Declan is a good boy, sweet and innocent, nothing like Cameron.
Please rescue him. I can’t save my life or Jenny’s, but you can save our son from having that monster for a father.
You’re a good man, Andrew Marcel, and I know that with you and your crew by his side, Declan will have a better life.
Tell him I loved him with every fiber of my being and everything I did was to keep him safe.
And most of all, tell him I’m sorry I wasn’t stronger.
Tori
All the air left my lungs, and my hands shook violently. My heart constricted, and I grabbed my chest as the weight of the words hit me. Re-reading it, I wondered if this was a sick joke on her part. A child, our child, a part of me, existed in this world for six years. And I never knew?
The idea felt improbable, but the words our son leapt off the page. And the desperation in the penmanship, the way it scrawled so differently from her poem from last night. A thousand questions rushed at me, but I didn’t have time to process or dissect them, not now.
Not when they were in danger. I reached for my phone, needing my guys. Marcus and Pasha were still at the hotel. My mind kicked into gear. I tore out of the room and yanked the door open. Marcus was standing out in the hall, ready to knock on the door.
“You didn’t make it down. I thought you might need some help.”
I shoved the note into his hand and pushed my way out with the bags.
“Shit. I knew something was wrong. Did you call the guys?”
“We can in the car.” I mashed the button for the lift, cursing under my breath.
Pasha straightened up the minute he saw us exit the hotel.
His cheek twitched. He could tell something was up, and he looked around as if trouble was around the corner.
Marcus popped the trunk, and I unceremoniously threw the bags in, not even taking care.
I walked around to the driver’s side. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“We’re going to break some laws. I’m driving and don’t look at me like that. I know it’s your damned job. Get in, we need to go now,” I exclaimed.
He and Pasha climbed in and buckled up. They exchanged a look before I pulled out into traffic, slamming my foot down on the gas.
“Get Ivan and Bash on the phone. Tell them to meet us at Victoria’s. Tell them it’s a matter of life or death,” I barked to Pasha, who whipped out his phone. Mine rang at the exact time. I hit the Bluetooth; it was Nik. Feelings of dread settled in my chest.
“Alek and I are at—”
“Cameron got to her. He’s going to kill her. Get Matty to send a patrol car to her house now. We’re fifteen minutes out.”
“I’m on it. We’ll head back to town,” Nik said.
“Did you read it?” I asked Marcus. He nodded. “Pass it to Pasha. He needs to know.”
Without hesitation, he did as I asked. Pasha glanced down at the paper, confused. He was probably reading the side Kinsley had written.
“Turn it over,” I breathed, trying to keep calm.
A few seconds in, he exclaimed, “No fucking way. Shit, this changes everything.”
Nik called once again, and I put him on speaker, and I filled him in.
“Jesus, this is bad. I knew something had to be wrong when the coach told us there was some sort of emergency at home and they left early. There’s no way Alek and I will make it before any of you do.
Brother, save them both, but be careful. ” He hung up.
My mind raced as I tried to make sense of everything. I’d kill Cameron with my bare fucking hands. God, don’t let me be too late. If we couldn’t save them…I didn’t even want to think about it.
Losing my mother was the single darkest thing I’d gone through. With our complicated history and her dying abruptly in her sleep from a brain aneurysm, I never got to say goodbye, or that I forgave her. Not having closure nearly destroyed me.
That night in Ireland, walking on the beach, I swore angels were real. I’d had it fucking memorialized in tattoo form on my back so that I never forgot my life was spared. I was so drunk that night, and the waves from the raging storm would have easily taken me under if not for her.
Victoria was my real-life angel. And I was a father. To a six-year-old child. We had a child together.
But a new reality hit. I was amazing at guiding others through obstacles, struggles, and complex emotions, but if something happened to either of them, who would save me? Were guardian angels like soulmates, and you only got one in your lifetime? And what about my son?
While the thought of fatherhood had always been a sore subject for me, I would reconcile this new reality. My mind drifted to the little bit of conversation I’d had with Victoria about Declan.
What kind of life had he led? What kind of influence had Cameron had on him up to this point?
I could already feel my mind shifting and my life being redefined. I knew everything could change in the blink of an eye, but this was the biggest change I’d ever been through.
Turning to Marcus, I said stupidly, “We have a kid.”
“Indeed, we do, Boss. Now what’s the plan when we get there?” he asked, a steel edge entering his voice.
“Depending on his household staff—we’ll be dealing with him, Nigel and potentially whoever else was with him this morning. We need to secure the boy and find Victoria. Beyond that, we won’t know until we get there. But nothing is standing in my way. We are going in.”
As the house came into view, I switched my mind off, trusting my instincts. The police hadn’t arrived, which was going to make it that much easier. I brought the car to a screeching halt in front of the house. We jumped out, and the three of us exchanged a look; the urgency pulsed between us.
This mission wasn’t like any of the ones we’d done as a group before. Pasha was likely to have blood on his hands at the end of it. The stakes were high. My eyes lifted, and my mouth opened to warn him.
“Don’t bother asking. I’m all the way in,” he hissed.
A warmth spread through me as I clapped him on the back. The three of us burst through the door. Adrenaline coursed through me. Then a child’s anguished cry, gut-wrenching and haunting, had all of us racing toward the sound.
“Mummy,” he screamed, this time louder. “No, Daddy you’re hurting her.”
The fear in his voice made my stomach lurch.
Who knew what the fuck he was witnessing?
The house was a labyrinth of shadows and eerily silent, except for the screams. Our footsteps loudly echoed through the hall.
The closer we got, the banging grew louder.
Marcus was the first through the door. He and Nigel immediately went at it, with Marcus subduing him.
With a warrior’s cry, he quickly snapped his neck.
I pushed around Marcus and froze for two seconds. Pasha bumped into me, and I startled. Directly in front of me was my son. He was staring at an ornate, framed mirror on the wall. A two-way mirror. Pasha moved around me, heading for the child.
Thank God for his quick thinking, or I may have just stood there and stared.
“Go. Find her Counselor, you and Marcus. Save her,” he barked.
It was just enough to get me moving, that and Marcus’ hand on my shoulder. We shot out the door without a glance at Nigel.