Page 9 of Redemption
All further protest dies on her lips. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Of course, we have to go. You’re right. I’m just … this is a lot, Lachlan. This week … and now this … it’s a lot.”
I release her hand to wrap an arm around her, pulling her into me, keeping Aurora tucked between us.
“I know. And you’re holding up beautifully, darling. You are a queen among women. There is no one like you. You can handle this too. It’s going to be okay. But first, I need to take you both somewhere safe so I can go meet them. Somewhere no one could possibly find you.”
Keira jerks back, but I tighten my arm around her. “What? What are you talking about? I’m going with you, or I’m going nowhere.”
“You’re not going with me. I’m not taking you and Rory anywhere near a hangar with a jet until I know without a shadow of a doubt that it’s safe. I will never risk either of you. But you can’t stay here either.”
“This is my home. If I can’t go with you, then this is where I’m safest.” Her jaw locks, like she’s ready to fight, but even as she says the words, we both know she doesn’t believe them.
“You haven’t slept in days. We both know it. You don’t feel safe here anymore either.” I know with certainty that it’s part of the reason she’s so on edge right now. Our home was violated. The peace of our sanctuary has been shattered. Replacing the bloodstained carpet changed nothing. I know when she walks down the hall, she still sees V’s body where he fell.
“But—”
“Do you trust me, Keira?” It’s a question I don’t even have to ask.
“With my life. You know that.” She sucks in a breath and lets it out, and I know she’s grasping for control. “But you’re not leaving me somewhere to go meet these strangers in a hangar.”
“And you’re insane if you think I’m bringing you with me to meet some strangers in a hangar.” My tone is resolute. “I have to do this, but you’re not coming with me. Not this time, Hellion.”
“But—”
“There is literally nothing you could say to make me change my mind. Grab your purse and Rory’s bag. We need to leave.”
My beautiful wife—the strongest woman I’ve ever known—still has no poker face, and for that, I am eternally grateful. I watch in awe as she struggles with her emotions and pulls herself together like a general preparing to lead troops into battle.
“I’m telling you right now, I do not like this. I don’t like this at all.”
“I know. But it’s what’s happening. Get your things. I’ve waited a lifetime to meet my mother. I’m not going to keep her waiting long.”
Chapter Six
Keira
Every time I think I’ve found the limits of my strength, God gives me something else to overcome and get stronger.
It’s a good thing, I suppose, because as the wife of Lachlan Mount, I have no room for weakness. I couldn’t survive a day in his world if I were anything less than strength embodied.
My life is never going to be the same. I have been on a roller coaster of a ride since that day I walked into my office in the basement of Seven Sinners—my family’s whiskey distillery—and found a man sitting in the darkness, telling me I owed him a debt.
Why would it be any different now that we’re married? Of course, the roller coaster would continue.
But the first thing I do when I reach our master suite and find my purse is pull out my phone and open a web browser. I type in the name Marco Giordano and hit search.
If he’s lying, I’m going to find him, and he will wish he never set foot in New Orleans. A short huff of laughter escapes me as I realize that I’m the only one acting like a typical Mount right now. My husband has already decided to believe a stranger completely without confirming anything.
I get that his gut has kept him alive, but I have a duty as a wife and a mother not to let him walk into an ambush. I would never forgive myself if I didn’t dig up everything I could find first.
“Whoa.” The word pops out of my mouth as the search results load on my screen. “Oh my God.”
I look at the photos of Marco Giordano that are at the top. I tap the screen. There are more pictures of Marco than I’ve ever seen of my husband.
Because he hasn’t been hiding his entire existence from the regular world, like Lachlan has as king of a criminal empire.
“Holy shit.” My head jerks back of its own accord as I see it—Marco standing next to a man who looks just like him, but older with silver hair. It’s like seeing my husband in thirty years.
Oh my God. He was telling the truth.
