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Charlie raced down the hall, following Soren’s pounding footsteps to the main foyer. There was a dead body at the bottom of the stairs, left there by the assassin. Soren was just ahead of him on the stairs, gun drawn, moving cautiously as they searched for the person with the weapon they hadn’t accounted for. Kairo waited for Charlie at the bottom of the stairs for directions.
“West? Front still clear?” Charlie demanded, pausing with his free hand on the ornate wood banister.
“Clear.”
Charlie turned his attention to Kairo. “Return to the rear of the house. Keep an eye out for anyone approaching the house from that angle.”
Kairo nodded and bit out a quick, “Got it,” before running down the hall again on nearly silent footfalls.
“Um…we need Will in here,” Alexei stated a few seconds later.
“You’re hurt? You told me you were fine!” Soren snapped.
Alexei sighed so heavily Charlie could feel his eyes roll. “I’m fine. I’m not hit. It’s Grandma here. She’s demanding to talk to the one who has been troubling her son. She says she’ll keep firing until the police get here if we don’t let her talk to him.”
Charlie halted midstride, his head cocking slightly to the side as he tried to process what Alexei had said.
“What? Catalina Perez is the one who fired the gun?” Kairo demanded across the comm system.
“I’m coming in,” Will announced.
“Wait! No!” Charlie barked.
“She’s demanding to see me. I’m sure we have mere minutes until the cops are here. It’s only fair,” Will argued. In the background, Charlie could clearly hear the sound of the van side door rolling open. “I’m the one who started this. I want to talk to her.”
“Shit,” Charlie swore under his breath. He didn’t like this. He didn’t want Will anywhere near Catalina Perez on the off chance that she turned out to be just like her son.
“Don’t worry, Charlie.” West’s low voice came across smooth and confident. “I’ve got your boy in sight. He’s jogging up the drive now. No one will have a chance at him. We’re currently alone out here.”
That was a small comfort at least.
“Tell Perez he’s coming,” Charlie ordered as he turned on the stairs and descended to the first floor again. He waited by the front door and stared out the sidelight window, watching for his appearance. A couple of minutes ticked by until Will appeared at the top of the curved stairs. He jerked open the door as Will gave him a crooked grin.
“This is an unexpected development,” Will said.
“I don’t like it,” Charlie complained. Before he could say more, Will tilted his head up and brushed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, instantly erasing his frown.
“It’ll be fine. If she knows someone has been troubling her son, I’d be interested to hear what else she’s been told.” Will slipped by Charlie only to have his steps stumble slightly as his eyes fell on the dead man.
“Will—” Charlie started, placing a gentle hand at the base of his spine while trying to position himself so that Will’s view was blocked.
Will smirked at him, his eyes still sad. “It’s okay. Doctor, remember? I’ve seen plenty of dead bodies.”
That didn’t mean Charlie wasn’t going to attempt to protect him as much as he possibly could.
They climbed the stairs together, Charlie sticking as close to the doctor as he could. The house might seem empty, but he wasn’t taking any more risks than necessary with Will’s life. It was bad enough that he was in the house.
When they reached the second floor, they turned left and headed down the long hall where Alexei and Soren were stationed on either side of a pair of double doors leading into the master bedroom. One of the doors was open, and only thin light was leaking out from the interior. The hallway itself glowed with just a night-light near the baseboard in the middle of the corridor.
“Señora Perez?” Will called out as he reached the doors. “I’m sorry to trouble you this late in the evening. My name is Dr. William Monroe.”
An older woman’s voice rang out strong and firm from the interior of the room. “You’re the one who broke into my son’s house and set it on fire?”
Will winced and glared over his shoulder at Charlie. At least Charlie managed to look a little remorseful about that. The situation had completely gotten out of hand, but he was happy to blame at least some of that on Benicio.
“That would be my fault, Señora Perez,” Charlie answered before Will could.
“And who are you?”
Will threw a repressive glare at Charlie. “That would be my overprotective boyfriend, Señora Perez.”
Charlie thought he heard a soft chuckle from the older woman, but he couldn’t be sure. There were several seconds of silence and then she continued, “Is this about who my parents are?”
