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I smiled down at the latest series of pictures Arella had posted to her social media. She and Jordan were having a great time on their honeymoon from the looks of it. The incident with the unwanted wedding present was out of their minds as they baked in the sun on the beach in a country Jordan had refused to disclose.
Not that I could blame him. With the identity of who had sent the disgusting “present” still unknown, keeping their location a secret was better for everyone. Especially my own sanity, as well as Drake’s. Knowing our precious angel was safe with not only Jordan to watch over her, but five bodyguards as well, had made letting her go off on this mysterious honeymoon easier.
“She’s happy?” Emmie asked quietly from beside me in the back of the unmarked SUV.
I nodded, turning the phone so she could see the screen that was filled with my beautiful daughter in a bikini with her husband wrapped around her. The smiles on both their faces, the joy in their eyes, were all I needed to see to know I was doing the right thing.
Emmie’s eyes softened at the sight of the pictures, and then she nodded to the two women in the front seat. “We’re ready.”
The blonde in the driver’s seat glanced at me for a long moment before reaching back to pat my leg. “You know in your heart that she did this to your child,” Raven Reid said, further strengthening my conviction. “Getting rid of the threat to your baby is the only way you’ll ever be at peace.”
Clenching my jaw, I nodded.
Across from her in the passenger seat, Anya Vitucci was busy checking the chamber of her gun before shifting her gaze to me as well. “We are all family now,” she said with a grim smile. “We take care of our family. Right?”
“Right,” I whispered, not afraid to admit that the woman scared the fuck out of me. Something about her was so chilling, yet at Lyric’s wedding, I’d seen the way she treated her children. I’d seen the softness in her then—and only then—but when she called us all family, I caught a flicker of that same gentleness I’d seen before.
Emmie didn’t seem intimidated by either woman, and as long as she wasn’t scared, then I wouldn’t be either. And even if I was, it didn’t matter, because the threat to my baby would be gone once and for all after this night.
It had taken every bit of acting skill I possessed to pretend like I didn’t believe Claudia had something to do with sending Arella the decapitated cat. As soon as the suggestion left my daughter’s mouth, I’d gotten an oddly calm feeling after all the chaos I’d felt for hours. Hearing Arella scream and then being sick from opening the “present” had sent me spiraling down the same path I’d been on when she and I had both received notes and packages from her original stalker.
That it had been my own brother had left me physically ill for days. I’d been unable to eat for over a week because of the nausea from knowing the bastard had tried to harm someone I loved. Our dad had loved her too, and those facts had driven his weak mind over the edge until he’d snapped and started stalking her.
I didn’t think Claudia was as weak-minded as her son had been, but I did know she was an evil cunt. One who wouldn’t get the chance to so much as scare my child again.
When Detective Kirtner had said he couldn’t prove her involvement one way or the other, that only pressed the truth home for me. Barrick and Braxton ran surveillance on her for a few days, but I’d asked Emmie to keep it short. As far as they could tell, she was a weak old lady who could barely walk, let alone harm an animal.
That didn’t change my mind. I knew it was her, and I didn’t need proof of it. But I’d kept that to myself. Until yesterday, when I’d confided in Emmie that I knew it was Claudia and I needed her to help me eliminate the danger to Arella.
She’d made a few phone calls, and right after dinner, she’d picked me up at my house. I’d told Drake it was just Emmie and me getting together to plan a birthday party. With as big as our family was, there was always a birthday party to arrange. When I’d climbed into the back seat, I hadn’t been completely surprised to find Raven there, but I’d been unable to hide my apprehension when I’d spotted Anya.
On the drive to Claudia’s house, the Russian woman had told me about her childhood, and how she was still in the “business” when the work was something worthy of her time. Since we were family now, and one of her family had been threatened, she felt it was her duty to help take out the threat.
Ten minutes later, I watched the life fade from Claudia’s eyes after she’d admitted to me that she’d been the one. She’d tried to put up a fight at first, showing that the cunning bitch wasn’t nearly as frail as she wanted everyone to believe.
Despite the hole in her head, there wasn’t much mess to clean up. Apparently Anya knew what she was doing when it came to this kind of thing. Not only did she erase any visible trace of DNA, but she had Raven run a light over everything to ensure there were no invisible signs left behind either.
It took several more hours before Emmie dropped me off at my house. I felt lighter. The fear of anything happening to Arella was gone. I harbored no guilt for what I’d asked others to do for me. Just a sense of relief that the danger was gone once and for all.
As Raven pulled to a stop at the end of my driveway, they all turned to me with bright smiles. “This was fun,” Raven said with a laugh. “Best time I’ve had in a while.”
“Agreed,” Anya said with a wink at me. “Let’s do this again sometime.”
“It’s a maybe from me, ladies,” I said with a snicker. “But I did have a surprisingly good time. Learned a few new things too.”
“It was definitely educational,” Emmie agreed with a smirk.
I leaned forward and grasped Raven’s and Anya’s hands. “Thank you,” I whispered. “For everything.”
“Don’t mention it,” Raven said.
“No, really. Don’t mention it,” Anya urged, her blue eyes sparkling with not just amusement but something dangerous.
“Never,” I vowed. Turning to Emmie, I hugged her, hard. “Thank you.”
“It’s what I do,” she said, hugging me back. “Now go snuggle with your husband. I bet he’s getting twitchy without you home.”
“Oh, I know he is.” Waving, I jumped out of the back and was halfway up to the house when the door opened, and Drake stepped out onto the porch.
