Chapter 26
Regan
W e touched down on the small runway near Rhys’s house and the jarring of the plane as the wheels grabbed onto the pavement made pain shoot through my arm.
Trying to hide the wince, I looked at an observant Seth, who was sitting next to me with his arm around my neck.
I’d been resting against him for the last thirty minutes as Rhys, James, Devlin, Lucian, Booker, and Caldwell spoke quietly up front.
“Shouldn’t you be up there with them?” I asked, and Seth leaned over and placed a kiss on the side of my head.
“I’m exactly where I need to be, darlin’.” He paused before asking, “Do you want to get cleaned up when we stop by your brother’s place?”
Rhys let us know he was going to call Hannah when we landed, giving her a head’s up that we were on our way home.
I wasn’t sure what else he was going to say to her, and the thought of her blaming me for something happening to her brother made my stomach upset.
She was like a sister to me, and seeing how much she loved my brother, I feared she wouldn’t forgive me, even if I was wrong.
As the plane slowed next to the hangar, I looked at Seth. “What if I’m wrong about Waylon?”
“Then we can check him off the list, but I don’t know that you are wrong. There’s been something off about him since we raided that house and discovered he was connected to all this,” Seth remarked, but his reassurance did little to dissuade my worry.
The pilot stepped out of the cockpit and unlocked the door before lowering the stairs and stepping off the plane.
Booker stayed seated as everyone else stood and began to exit.
We were in a hurry but we weren’t rushing.
It was a little after eight in the morning as Seth stood and offered me help off the plane.
Booker stood as we walked past, and as he followed us down the stairs, I gave Seth a confused look.
When we were walking across the runway, Seth explained, “Michael has vowed to have your back until this is over, so expect him to be close by for the foreseeable future.”
As we got to our waiting vehicles, I turned and looked up at the tall man. He smiled down at me and seemed like he was waiting for me to speak. “Thank you, I guess.”
“Don’t be alarmed, Regan,” said the man I’d always known as Booker but who was now introduced to me as Michael. “I don’t have the back of many people, but you are a true fighter and it will be an honor to make sure you are protected.”
Seth winked at me as he opened the back door and helped me inside. Rhys stood off to the side, speaking to who I assume was Hannah, as we waited for him to join us. He hung up the phone and walked up to us.
“Hannah knows what’s going on and she asked to go with us.
” He sighed heavily as he ran his hands through his hair.
My brother looked tired, and I wanted to apologize for putting everyone through so much, but then I remembered it was all their fault this night happened, so I stifled my words.
“She said she felt like he was sidestepping something when we spoke with him a few months ago, and she thinks something is going on with him.” He looked directly at me as he added, “And she’s sorry you were ever put in the position to have to keep secrets, but she isn’t upset at all. She’s just worried about her sister.”
I wanted to cry but couldn’t start or I would never stop. Sniffling, I looked at Seth, who kept his eyes on me as he said to the group, “Let’s get this going.”
I slid across the seat as Seth, Michael, James, and Rhys got into our vehicle, and Devlin, Lucian, and Caldwell got into the other.
The drive to our house wasn’t long, and soon we pulled through the gate and past the security.
I felt relief but instantly realized the relief wasn’t anything but a slide into the fearful state I’d existed in for years. And I refused to hide anymore.
As we pulled up to the front of the house, I looked at Seth. “Can you help me really quick?”
“Whatever you need,” he returned, and I went to slide across the seat, only for him to open his door and help me out his side.
Hannah walked out the front door at the same time I stepped out of the vehicle, and when I looked up, I saw tears flowing down her face as she ran down the couple stairs and carefully pulled me into a hug.
“Are you okay?” she asked as I one-arm hugged her back, feeling soreness in my injured arm.
I nodded, and she stepped back. “I’m okay. I’m . . . I’m sorry.”
“Shh,” Hannah responded, “you don’t apologize to me or anyone else. And I’m sorry my . . . Kelly was such a horrible person to you. I . . . I’m glad she’s dead.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but me too,” I returned, and she smiled at me.
“Do you need help?” Hannah asked, and looked from me to Seth.
“We’ll be right back. Go see your fiancé,” I replied as Seth took my hand and guided me up the stairs.
Exhaustion was overpowering me, so when we walked by the kitchen, I stopped to grab something to eat.
I needed my strength, as Doc had warned me the blood loss was going to take a few days to get over.
I grabbed a banana and a bag of almonds from the cabinet before starting to shuffle down the hallway toward my bedroom.
Seth stayed beside me, just like he promised, and when we got to my room, I didn’t hesitate to invite him inside. “Come on in. I need to change clothes and wash up a little. I can shower later.”
“Take the time to get the dried blood off you and you’ll be surprised how much better you’ll feel,” he suggested.
“I don’t know if I have the energy to take a shower,” I remarked, and he looked down at me.
“I would offer to help, but . . .”
“Another time, perhaps.”
“Whenever,” he said, then asked, “What do you need from me?”
I sat on the bed and peeled the banana before answering. “Can you grab a washrag from the bathroom and wet it for me? I’ll get some fresh clothes and then we can go.”
He returned as I finished the banana, and with gentle swipes, he cleaned most of the remnants of blood from my arms and hands. Then he turned his focus on the bruise on my head, and with a few passes, he got the little bit of blood removed.
“How did you meet Dick Pickens?” Seth asked as he helped me stand.
I walked to my closet and opened it as I responded.
“He showed up at the safe house Sergey and I were in about three or four months after I was taken. At first, I thought he was another FBI agent, but when he joined Sergey and me for our after-dinner talk one evening, I knew something was off about him.”
“Did you get a sense of how long they’d known each other?”
“It seemed like years from the familiarity between them, but neither ever said.” I pulled out a pair of black cargo pants and one of my dark T-shirts before glancing at Seth. “I need help, but . . .”
“How about you keep on what’s under your clothes and I’ll help with my eyes averted as much as possible.”
“It’s not you seeing me without clothes. It’s . . . I’m really dizzy and I’m afraid I’ll fall over.”
“Have a seat,” he suggested, and I did as he asked.
He removed my shoes then pointed to my pants.
I unbuttoned and lowered the zipper before lifting my butt and slipping them down to my thighs.
He kept his eyes on me as much as he could, and a quick glance was all he did as he pulled my blood-stained pants down and pulled my cargo pants up.
I lifted again and then buttoned the three buttons on the front.
My shirt was even easier to change. “Lift your arms, but be careful with the injured one.”
I did as he said, and he tugged my destroyed blouse off, making sure my injury was never touched. After pulling my clean shirt on, he squatted in front of me and smiled. I looked at him and asked, “What?”
“I’m in awe of you, Regan. You are the strongest woman I’ve ever met.”
I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and lowered my gaze as I muttered, “I’m nothing special.”
I felt his finger under my chin, and as I brought my eyes to his, I saw passion ignite in his eyes as he said, “You, Regan Weston, are the single most precious person in this entire family, and if I have to spend every day of the rest of my life showing you exactly how special you are, then that’s my new mission. One I hope to have for life.”
The feeling of butterflies taking off inside me was a foreign sensation but one I’d always hoped to experience again.
I had a few boyfriends between foster care and my kidnapping, but I’d feared that part of me was gone and I would never want someone to touch me again.
With Seth, I started to wonder when he was going to touch me, to kiss me, and I wanted him to love me.
His phone dinged in his pocket, and when he glanced at the screen, he remarked, “We need to get moving. Hannah wants to catch Waylon at home since it’s Sunday.”
He helped me stand, and I walked to the small box on my dresser and opened it to reveal my gun.
Securing it in the back of my pants, I faced Seth, and he took my hand and kept us connected as we walked out of my room and through the house.
Before we got to the front door, I slowed, and he gave me a concerned look. “I’m . . . I’m . . .”
“Whatever it is, I already told you, I’m not going anywhere.”
Shaking my head, I looked up at him and asked, “What if I’m wrong about everything? What . . . what if Sergey really was using me as a pet?”
“Then we know and we can move forward, but something tells me you were more than a pet to him.”
We started walking again as I admitted, “He was a horrible man but . . .”
“He kept his promise to keep you safe, and it’s hard to reconcile the good parts of him with the bad,” Seth reasoned, and I gave him a look that showed my shock.
“How did you know that?”
We walked outside and Seth carefully helped me move down the stairs. “My father was a great man until my mother died, then he turned into a monster. It was hard to see him both ways and not remember how things used to be.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I offered, knowing the words were hollow.
“When someone becomes a monster and causes pain to others, they don’t deserve to continue breathing, but mourning their loss is still okay. Don’t hate yourself because you miss him.”
“I don’t miss him. I just can’t rationalize why he was so nice to me, yet so horrible to everyone else.”
Devlin must have heard our conversation, and as we approached, he offered a smile as he spoke.
“Sergey wasn’t always the asshole he turned into.
When Lucian, Stella, and I were kids, he would take us and our mother on road trips.
We’d drive two or three days just to try some restaurant or see some random thing my mother thought was interesting. ”
Looking at him, I asked, “What changed?”
He shrugged as Lucian joined us. “Honestly, I don’t know. One day, he was the kind of father you looked up to, and the next day, he was someone I didn’t recognize.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner. If I would have, none of this would be happening,” I remarked, and it was Lucian who spoke next.
“None of this is your fault, and once this is over, I hope you’ll sit down and fill us in on the things you and he spoke about. I’d love to hear what he was planning.”
“If we can locate the book I hid, it had just about everything in it you’ll want.”
“Where did you hide it?” Seth asked, and I looked up at him.
“It was the last safe house we were at. I was able to sneak out while they were waiting on Ricardo to arrive to tell them what to do. I don’t know if it’s still there, but I placed it inside a couple zipped storage bags, hoping it wouldn’t get damaged before I could retrieve it.”
Seth looked at Devlin and Lucian, and Devlin said, “We’ll get the address and go look.”
My brother approached and looked at my clothes before raising an eyebrow.
I looked him directly in the eyes, waiting for his big brother attitude to appear.
He surprised me when he said, “Thank you for helping her get cleaned up, Seth. We need to get on the road. Waylon likes to have brunch on Sundays, according to Hannah, and I want to catch him before he leaves.”
We piled into the two vehicles before pulling away from the house.
James was driving, and Rhys and Hannah had moved to the other vehicle, so Devlin was riding with us and Booker.
James and Devlin were speaking in the front as I rested my head against Seth’s shoulder.
Once we hit the main road, my nerves started to increase.
Just the thought of coming face-to-face with Giovanni again made me want to throw up. I knew Seth saw the scars crisscrossing my body, but he didn’t say anything. Giovanni was a sadist who enjoyed the sight of blood, so he made sure to extract some daily just to prove he was in charge.
The day I was rescued, he’d left that morning and wasn’t there when Devlin, James, and their men burst through the door. For years, I tried to figure out how he knew, but hearing John rattle off, I knew he was the one who warned Giovanni. I had to wonder why they didn’t give Kelly the same warning.
Traffic was low this early on a Sunday as we got onto the interstate and merged into traffic. The distance between us and Waylon was about ten or fifteen minutes, and as we exited the interstate, I looked to Seth.
“Are you okay, darlin’?” he asked, and I glanced at the front of the car before looking back at him. He leaned forward and lowered his voice to a whisper before he spoke. “If you don’t want to do this, we’ll stay back. Whatever you need.”
I looked him straight in the eyes and said the words that had been rattling around in my brain for years, a wish to the universe I never thought I’d be granted. “I want to watch him die, and I want him to know I was the person who sent him to hell, where he belongs.”
Unsure if I could actually face him without withering, I felt Seth slip his hand into mine and give it a gentle squeeze.
His touch gave me strength, and in that, I was able to find that safe place inside myself where no one and nothing could hurt me. It wasn’t a safe place to be for long, but it was necessary to be able to channel the killer I knew lived inside me.
And once Giovanni was dead, I would never give him another thought. People who ruled wanted immorality, so by forgetting them, they were banished to the dustbin of history.
Where they belonged.