Page 137 of Finding Peace
Reporters are already gathering outside—their cameras flashing through the tinted glass—which issucha coincidence.
I wonder who could have tipped them off?
Keller almost makes it past us before he turns his head one last time. “You think this protects her?”
The question drips with venom.
He now knows the ranch is no longer our priority. Now it’s her.
It willalwaysbe her.
Jasper leans toward him.
Voice low. Controlled. Venomous. “She was never yours to threaten in the first place, you piece of shit.”
And just like that, agents push Keller through the lobby and out the front doors.
Flashes explode outside.
The glass doors close behind him.
And just like that—
Miles Keller’s empire ends.
Chapter thirty-eight
Abigail
Thebighousehasalways had a certain rhythm to it. The soft echo of the wind outside. The low hum of the refrigerator. The distant sound of horses in the barn or the guys working outside. And the pitter-patter of Lucy shuffling about the house.
Today that rhythm is… off.
I stand at the kitchen island with my hands wrapped around a mug of decaf coffee that’s now gone cold. The smell of bacon lingers in the air from the breakfast I made for everyone. I was quick to learn that Joe and her men aren’t exactly culinary masters in the kitchen. Be that as it may, she wasted no time volunteering to clean once we were all done eating.
I smile as I watch her move around the kitchen like she’s lived here her entire life—opening cabinets without asking, placing pans in drawers, and humming softly under her breath as she washes dishes at the sink.
Lucy follows her every step, eagerly awaiting Joe to slip her another scrap.
“I think you’re spoiling her worse than I do,” I say quietly, just as she hands Lucy another piece of bacon.
Joe glances over her shoulder with the same mischievous smile I often get from Jas. “She deserves it.”
Lucy thumps her tail against the floor like she understands the compliment.
Across the room, Dante leans against the counter with a cup of coffee in his hand. He hasn’t said much since they arrived, but one thing I have noticed is that his eyes calmly flick between everyone in the room. Cataloging our every movement and making sure we’re all okay.
Enzo, on the other hand, is sitting at the kitchen table with his chair tipped back on two legs—the same way Lawson scolds Beau for—tossing a small piece of cantaloupe up in the air and catching it in his mouth.
Lucy spots the piece of food immediately.
“Don’t even think about it,” Joe tells her without turning around.
Lucy sighs dramatically and flops onto the floor between Joe and me.
Luca sits near the far end of the table with a laptop open in front of him, his fingers moving steadily across the keyboard while his eyes scan the screen.
Enzo tosses another piece of cantaloupe in the air. “Would you stop with the fruit?” he snaps, but there’s no real heat behind it. “I know you have work to do.”
