Page 48 of My Addiction
“They all die. Promise me they all will die, painfully if possible. The buyer for Ollie, my parents, and the leaders of the cult all die.”
“I promise you they will. I already plan on handling the ones involved with Ollie myself.”
I hear what he isn’t saying. My parents. Or the people who were supposed to be my parents. I should feel something for them, but I don’t. They were indifferent to me most of my life, but they had Ollie for a purpose. Money paid for a life. I hate them with every fiber of my being. Ronan is willing to handle it for me, to stand as Ollie’s guardian.
“I want to be there when you handle my parents. I want to talk to them before they die,” I tell him.
“I’ll give you anything you need or want,” he says. He understands me more than he thinks he does.
I go back to the files and, after getting caught up, I work on the buyer’s background information. The piece of shit has been arrested and investigated, but never charged. The arrests were sealed, but with Ronan’s help, I’m able to get into them.
“We have a problem.” I turn to Kieran, who walks into the office.
“What is it?” Ronan asks.
“Colton’s parents filed a missing person’s report right after he left. It was being held by the local police department. They wanted it on record, and with the members of the force, it should have been easy. We already knew that part, but an overeager rookie sent the report to the FBI yesterday. The officer thought it was an oversight. Now the FBI has turned it into a kidnapping case. My contact called me just a few minutes ago. He’s workingto get the case assigned to him, but it’ll take time. We need to move operations to either our house or the compound.”
“Ollie will do better at the house.” Ronan stands and starts packing up his laptop. I move to do the same. Everyone is moving fast.
“We knew this was a possibility.”
“One more thing,” Kieran says. “I spoke to Finn. He can’t locate the parents or Moses. We are looking for travel plans now.”
I freeze. I thought I had been careful enough. I did everything I could think of to stay hidden, but now I’m not sure that it was enough. What if they know where we are? I’m starting to spiral when I feel a hand on the back of my neck. Ronan. He gives me a gentle squeeze.
“It’s going to be fine, a stór. They won’t get to either of you.” He finishes packing up my stuff and slings my bag over his shoulder.
“We are using the private garage,” Kieran says as he walks us to the playroom. Alessia is already coming out of the room. She has a smiling Ollie in her arms and his diaper bag on her shoulder. I reach for Ollie, needing to feel him against me. He comes willingly. How can anyone want to hurt someone so innocent?
We ride the private elevator down to a sublevel of the garage. Two black SUVs are parked only steps from the elevator doors.
“Car seat is in the second vehicle.” A man I don’t recognize says as he escorts us to the one he points out. Ronan seems comfortable with him, and I trust him.
“Kenji, this is Colton and Ollie. They’re the priority,” Ronan says.
“Yes, sir, Mr. Murphy explained it to me.”
“I’m explaining it again. I won’t be as understanding as Declan if we have another Kenneth incident.”
“Understood, sir.”
I have no idea what the Kenneth incident is, and by the tight set of each man’s jaw, I probably don’t want to know.
Chapter 25
Ronan
Kenji better fucking understand. Declan almost lost Xavier because of a security fuckup. Xavier didn’t think that it was Kenneth’s fault, but it was. If he had been paying the attention he should have been, Xavier wouldn’t have been kidnapped and tortured before we got there. That mistake will not be repeated. Kenneth was not happy with his reassignment. Night duty patrols at a warehouse are a step down from the personal security he had been assigned to.
“I will be inside the house with the permanent guards, and I have assigned four more to the outside patrols,” he explains his plan.
“That’s a lot of guards,” Colton comments. “Do you really think that is necessary?”
“I’m not taking any chances with you guys. You will be with me, and Ollie will be with Kenji when he is not with us. You are not to leave the house for any reason.”
He nods but doesn’t reply. He turns to stare out the window.
I watch his face as we drive through the gates of my childhood home. His facial expression changes. His eyes go wide when the house comes into view, the stone façade rising behind the circular drive.
