Chapter Forty-Eight
Kiyah
The lock clicked, and the sound snapped every nerve in my body like a tightrope.
I sat up slowly and schooled my face into a neutral expression as the door opened.
One of Todd’s men stood in the doorway with a hand firmly resting on his sidearm.
He intended to be threatening, but he wasn’t in a position to threaten me.
If Todd wanted to take me out, then he’d do it himself, just like he did with his wife.
“He’s ready for you.”
I nodded, pushing myself to my feet. My body felt stiff, and my muscles were sore, but I welcomed the ache because Dad taught us that pain meant awareness, and awareness meant control.
“Try that shit you did earlier, and I’ll put a bullet in the back of your head,” he threatened when I passed him. I didn’t smart off because I needed to appear timid and compliant—only then would they drop their guard.
I walked beside the man without speaking, and a memory resurfaced halfway down the staircase.
The garage.
The five digits belonged to the garage. I’d never had the code because I hadn’t needed it.
Todd preferred drivers. Pete and I had always been ushered into back seats with dark-tinted windows, ferried wherever we were needed.
Then, I thought he was hypervigilant about our safety, but now I knew it was always about control.
We entered the parlor that glowed with warm lights that were meant to be soothing and calming.
Todd was already there, seated in his favorite chair with a crystal glass in one hand and a bottle open on the side table.
The bastard looked relaxed—pleased with himself, uncaring that lives had ended and his son had been injured by his own hands.
“Kiyah,” he said, smiling as if we were old friends meeting for a drink instead of captor and captive. “You cleaned yourself up,” he said, motioning his glass up and down my body, admiring the athleisure set I wore. I ignored his assessment and asked the only thing that mattered.
“Where is Pete?”
Todd smiled knowingly and sipped from his glass. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten his bedtime.”
I shook my head. “Has he been asking for me?”
“He has.”
“How are his fingers?”
“Stabilized. Desi fixed him up well. I want to apologize to you.”
I raised a brow. “Apologize for what?”
“I was irrational earlier. Hurting Pete like that? That was low, even for me. That’s not the kind of man I want to be.”
“You’ll do it again,” I whispered.
He pointed at the leather love seat across from him. Wordlessly, I sat and repeated the garage code in my head.
“Despite what you may believe, I love Pete.”
“Breaking your two-year-old’s fingers is not love.”
Todd swirled his drink and grinned. “You should know better than anyone that sometimes love and pain coexist. Sometimes you can’t have one without the other. This leads me to why you’re here. I think you finally understand the stakes. You will be the First Lady of Texas whether you like it or not.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little premature to name yourself the winner? The elections aren’t until November.”
He cocked a brow and asked, “Have you not been paying attention, Kiyah? I’m ahead in the polls—78% to my opponent’s 22%.
I am the new governor of Texas; the public will catch up in November.
You’ll stand beside me,” he said calmly.
“You’ll attend events, fundraisers, and dinners—not as Pete’s nanny, but as my partner.
We’ll be introduced as a couple. People won’t question the timeline because of who you are and what your family represents.
” He lifted the glass and watched the liquid swirl.
“I’ll propose the night of the election results.
” My stomach turned, but I kept my face neutral.
“We will have a December wedding—very tasteful and private, catering to the right people.” He paused and allowed his gaze to slide over me slowly.
“We’ll live happily ever after. As long as you let us. ”
“And my family?” I asked.
Todd smiled indulgently. “You’ll be just fine without them.” The words landed brutally. “Don’t make that face, Kiyah. You disappeared for seven years,” he went on. “You held no regard for their feelings and made no real effort to return. That tells me everything I need to know.”
“That’s not—”
“Pete and I are your family now,” Todd said, cutting me off. “This life is what you make it. It can be a peaceful one or a painful one. Your choice.”
Rage simmered inside me as I stared at his smirking face. He’d already determined that he won, but what Todd didn’t know was that I’d kill both of us to protect my family.
I tilted my chin toward his glass. “May I have one?”
“Are we enjoying a celebratory drink?”
“As long as you promise not to go after my family.”
“I promise not to go after your family as long as you are compliant.”
I exhaled a breath and nodded. “I’ll behave,” I replied, folding my hands in my lap.
“Good girl,” Todd said, reaching for another crystal tumbler. He poured two fingers and handed me the glass. I nearly frowned when our fingers grazed, but I quickly recovered when I remembered what was on the line.
Todd lifted his glass. I mirrored him.
“To new beginnings,” he declared.
Now.
Todd shouted when I threw the scotch in his face, temporarily blinding him. He dropped the glass, shattering it around our feet.
“You fucking bit—”
He was cut off when I kicked him in the stomach, powerful enough that he fell over the leather ottoman behind him. My eyes widened when he bounced back to his feet and lunged. I hadn’t expected him to recover so quickly and barely had time to react.
His hand caught my arm. I twisted, driving my elbow back into his ribs. He grunted, staggered, then came at me again, but this time he was armed with the liquor bottle.
I slammed my palm into his nose and felt cartilage give. He roared and swung the bottle wildly. He caught my shoulder, then struck me in the head. The glass shattered, and I screamed when he drove what was left of the broken bottle into my side.
My adrenaline spiked, and my fist connected with his jaw. But it wasn’t enough to deter him. He grabbed me and had me twisted in the same lock that Grant had me in. I closed my eyes against the pain in my arm and the searing in my side. I inhaled and exhaled as I mapped out my next move.
“You just had to be fucking difficult!” Todd growled. “It didn’t have to be like this!” he yelled in my ear.
I stepped out, pivoted, planted my weight, and used the destabilizing momentum to flip him, slamming him onto the table.
He went down hard, clipping his head on the edge of the table. He collapsed to the floor, body folding wrong, eventually unmoving.
I stood there for half a second, chest heaving, staring at the man who thought he could erase my life and replace it with his sick fantasies.
I hissed, checking my injury. A shard of glass protruded from my flesh. Meticulously, I pulled out the piece of glass and dropped it to the floor. Then I turned and ran. I took the steps two at a time, lungs burning, and heart working double time trying to keep up with the frenzy.
I halted when I reached the landing. Desi stood there, holding Pete to his chest. Pete was crying, red-faced and frantic, blindly reaching out for me. Desi didn’t hesitate and shoved Pete toward me.
“Go now!”
I clutched Pete to me.
“I will hold the others off. Don’t look back. Just go!”
I didn’t argue.
I turned and ran until I was confronted with the touchpad that would grant us freedom. My slick fingers slid across the keypad as I typed the code in.
“Oh, my God,” I whispered when the indicator flashed green and the door unlocked.
The garage was massive and immaculate with polished concrete floors gleaming under recessed lighting.
Luxury cars and SUVs lined the bays. I sprinted to the Range Rover Sport SVR and opened the driver’s backseat door, depositing Pete in the back.
I’d barely secured him in a seat belt when I jumped in the driver’s seat, pressed the automatic garage open button, and pushed the start button.
The tires screamed as I shot out of the garage.
One of Todd’s guards planted himself in front of the SUV.
I didn’t brake or swerve. The tires went over him, and I floored the gas pedal, launching the SUV through the gate.
I didn’t bother looking back at the carnage.
I needed to put as many miles between Todd and me as possible.
If he came to, he’d mobilize a team to hunt us down.
The road unfurled ahead of me as I drove like Hell itself was chasing me. I pointed the SUV toward San Antonio and kept my foot down.
I glanced in the rear-view mirror and was relieved when Pete had fallen asleep again. I blinked through tears and tightened my grip around the steering wheel until my knuckles whitened.
“We’re going home,” I said aloud, words steady despite the terror clawing at me.
I pressed my hand to my side and gulped at the blood that painted my palm.
Please, God. Let me get there in time.