Chapter Thirty-Five
Kiyah
I rushed through my bedroom, snatching my professional attire off hangers and my leisure clothes out of dresser drawers while simultaneously booking a red-eye flight to San Antonio.
“Kiyah, please talk to me,” Todd pleaded. I haphazardly threw my clothes into my suitcase before finally taking a moment to breathe.
“My sister and sister-in-law were attacked, and Daisy’s in surgery. I need to leave to be with my family.”
He gasped.
“Oh, my goodness. That’s awful. Will they be okay?”
I shrugged listlessly and continued packing on autopilot.
I was in a fog, unaware of what my hands were doing.
For all I knew, I was throwing the TV remote and alarm clock into the suitcase with my toiletry bag.
Losing Daisy was unimaginable. She was a scorching ray of sunshine with a wicked sense of humor.
On the outside, she was tough as nails, but on the inside, she was as gooey as a molten chocolate lava cake, and our family wouldn’t be the same without her.
Confusion pierced the mental fog like low-beam headlights when I felt warmth and realized that Todd was holding me.
“Let it all out, Kiyah,” he said in what he may have thought was a soothing tone. Meanwhile, the unwelcome touch made my body tense tighter than Kieran’s purse strings. I extricated myself from his embrace and turned to finish packing my bag.
“I’m going to need some time,” I said, pausing to wipe away cascading tears. “I don’t have much information on Daisy’s condition, but it sounded dire. I’m sorry to be leaving you high and dry without childcare, but—”
“Don’t think nothing of it, Kiyah. Family always comes first. Pete and I can manage in your absence.” I nodded and zipped up my bulging suitcase.
“Thank you, Todd,” I said, sliding my suitcase onto the floor. “I need to leave for the airport now if I want to make my flight.”
“Let me have Desi take you.”
“That’ll be great. Tell Pete I’ll see him soon.”
“I’ll let him know. Again, I’m sorry about Daisy and Nori. It shouldn’t have happened like that. I’m here for you if you need to talk.”
“Thanks, but I wouldn’t want to burden you, especially with everything you have on your plate. My family will give me more than enough support.”
He chuckled lightly. “Jesus, Kiyah. Do you always push people away?”
What kind of fucking question is that? You know what….
“Can I be honest with you, Mr. Branson?”
He hesitated before saying, “Of course.”
“I’m not sure this job is working out for me.”
His face fell in disbelief. “I beg your pardon?”
“It’s—” I paused to gather my words.
Honestly, he’s a weird motherfucker, and he makes me uncomfortable as hell!
My conversation with Daisy and Nori came to mind, as well as all the little incidents that made me side-eye Todd over the past couple of weeks—namely, him answering my phone and questioning my whereabouts on my day off.
He’s giving me narcissist vibes with a hint of gaslighting, and I’m not sticking around to prove my theory.
“What are you saying, Kiyah?” he asked with an inquisitive tilt of the head. Although he whispered, his words came out tight and agitated, ringing the alarm bell in my head. I slowly backed out of the bedroom.
“I think with everything going on with my family right now, that I won’t be able to focus on Pete. I still don’t have news on Daisy’s condition, and my grandfather is on hospice and can go any day. I’m sorry, but I can’t do this job.”
“You’re resigning?” he questioned, following me out of the bedroom. I stumbled over a light-up train car set we had neglected to pick up, but caught myself on one of the living room armchairs.
The nice-guy smile Todd sported earlier, full of concern and well wishes for my family, had long disappeared. It melted off his face like someone held a torch to a wax figure—oozing into something dark and malevolent.
Don’t show your opponent fear. Remain calm, and they’ll be more fearful of you.
I stopped backing away and rolled my suitcase to the side. I locked my eyes on him and stood my ground, preparing to fight if I had to. He stopped in his tracks and assessed my posture.
“I’m resigning effective immediately,” I said firmly, clenching my fists at my side.
He sighed heavily before dropping into the armchair. “That’s disappointing to hear, Kiyah. I thought we had something.”
See… this is the weird shit I’m talking about. The fuck you mean we had something? You know what? I don’t even want to know.
“Good luck finding another nanny for Pete,” I said, reaching for my suitcase again. I’d barely had my fingers around the handle when he bolted from the chair. “Don’t come any closer!” I warned, holding out a finger as if it had the power to stop him.
He laughed hauntingly, like a madman possessed by evil.
“Are you afraid of me?”
“Never that,” I lied.
I was afraid of him. He had power, wealth, influence, and a security team that could rival a platoon-sized army. One call and twenty of those motherfuckers would show up with weapons drawn.
“Good… good,” he replied with a nod and a disbelieving smirk. “Well, you’re free to go.”
The suite door opened and closed, sending the hairs on the back of my neck on end.
“Is there a problem, sir?” Desi asked.
“No, not at all. Kiyah feels that she doesn’t want to be part of the team any longer and is resigning effective immediately,” Todd explained.
“I see. We will be sad to see you go, Ms. Baker, especially Pete.”
“I’m sure he will get over it. I’ll call to arrange for my belongings to be picked up.
Take care,” I said before racing out of the suite.
I punched the elevator call button and ignored how my airways tightened from crippling anxiety.
My gaze stayed locked on the hotel suite door down the hall, out of suspicion that they’d follow me.
The elevator doors barely slid open when I forced myself into the car and pressed the button for the first floor.
My heart was still in my throat as the car descended, but the text message I received brought the slightest hint of relief.
Grant: Daisy is out of surgery and in the ICU. When your flight lands, let me know, and I’ll pick you up from the airport.
* * *
It didn’t take me long to spot him in the small sea of weary travelers, anticipating lovers, and excited family members.
He was a lighthouse in the middle of a raging storm, beckoning me to safety, and it took all that I had not to run to him at breakneck speed.
I had to remind myself that the dynamic of our relationship had changed, and it was best that I keep my distance from him because I didn’t know how to be a sister to him, not when we spent half our lives pining after each other.
He began anxiously shifting when we locked eyes, and I had to wonder if he felt the same debilitating insecurity I felt.
“How is she?” I asked, praying he ignored the slight warble in my voice.
“Already awake and bossing everyone around.”
Tears of relief sprang forth, and I fought back a grin when Grant awkwardly patted me on the back.
“That sounds like her. Is Daisy out of the woods? How is Nori?”
“Nori is still shell-shocked and predictably refuses to leave Daisy’s side. Daisy’s vitals are stable; however, they want to keep her in the ICU for a couple of days for close monitoring. The bullet did a lot of damage, including nicking her heart.”
“Oh, my God,” I whispered, feeling the tears build back up.
“Let’s get you to the hospital,” he said, reaching for my suitcase. His fingers briefly grazed mine during the exchange, sparking a current that was difficult to ignore.
I followed him out of the airport terminal, and it wasn’t long before he navigated the roundabout that would take us to the expressway. It was nearing 4:00 in the morning—too early for bumper-to-bumper traffic but not too early for a heart-to-heart for Grant.
“Kiyah… can we talk?”
I shook my head sluggishly. I’d been operating on pure adrenaline since I received the news that Daisy and Nori had been attacked, and I was still trying to wrap my head around the eerie standoff I had with Todd.
That man had several screws loose, and I couldn’t help but worry about Pete being left in his care.
“Not right now, Grant. I’m not in the right headspace,” I mumbled, watching for the exit that would take us to the hospital.
“I understand.”
We rode in silence for a couple of minutes before he spoke again.
“Kiyah, I get that we’re no longer together, and I don’t have the right to tell you how to live your life, but you can’t go back to working for that guy.
He gives me a bad fucking feeling, Ki, and I’m not the only one who feels that way.
I firmly believe that he was stalking you and he had plans to lure you to Austin all along. ”
He paused to gauge my reaction, throwing furtive glances at me occasionally. I swallowed roughly and asked, “What makes you think that?”
“Are you willing to hear me out and not be dismissive?”
“Of course.”
“I think he hacked your phone when he had it in his possession. Think about it: you didn’t start experiencing trouble with your phone until after he returned it, and he knew things that he shouldn’t have known.”
My brows knitted together in curiosity. “Knew things like what?”
“He knew that we were involved. Did you tell him?”
“No, I didn’t tell him.”
“My point exactly. How did he know when we’ve been fooling our family and friends for years? He also called me out for being an alcoholic, and I’m gonna assume you didn’t tell him that either.”
“I’d never.”
“Have you ever wondered how it was that he kept conveniently showing up at places that you were? And why our calls and text messages were rarely getting through to you? And as over-the-top and dramatic as this may sound, I think his objective was to isolate you from us. I spoke to Daisy and Nori, and they mentioned how often you’re traveling.
Kieran swung by to see you, and guards turned him away. ”
I didn’t want to admit he was right, but deep down, I knew he was onto something.
Todd was a man who craved control; he made it his mission to be in charge of every aspect of my life, right down to how I dressed and where I went.
If I stuck around, it would’ve been a recipe for fucking disaster.
That man would’ve turned me into a victim.
“You don’t have to worry anymore, Grant. I’m not going back.”
“You shouldn’t have worked for him in the first place,” he huffed.
“That’s helpful, Grant,” I said sarcastically.
“I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. I don’t want to fight with you, Kiyah. I just want you to be safe.”
“Thank you for thinking of my safety.”
“Always.”
“What are the chances that Daisy and Nori will let me crash with them while they recover?”
“I know they would be happy to have you.”
“Mhm. When are you returning to rehab?”
Grant sighed laboriously, and an obscenity or two slipped out before he answered. “I don’t know. Dad hasn’t said.”
“How was it?”
“How was rehab?”
“Yes?”
“It was lonely, Kiyah. It was fucking lonely. Don’t get me wrong—everyone made an effort to call, visit, and send care packages, with the exception of one, but it wasn’t enough. It made me grateful for our overbearing, always-in-your-business family.”
I ignored the subtle dig.
“And your sobriety?”
He shrugged in the darkness. “It’s going. I won’t lie. For a split second, I thought about drinking when I heard about the girls, but that quickly went away when I thought about what I had to lose.”
“I’m sure you’ll do whatever you can to gain control of the firm again.”
He shook his head. “The firm is the last thing on my mind. I don’t want to let my family down again. I don’t want to let you down again. I—”
“Grant, you need to get over; the exit is coming up.”
“Shit,” he muttered, changing lanes. I used the distraction to check my phone. I felt sick to my stomach when I found a text from Todd. It was a picture of a red-faced and runny-nosed Pete.
Todd: Pistol Pete misses you dearly. I hope you’ll rescind your resignation.