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Killion reached for her hand and pulled her into him, kissing her. With his arm around her, he led her to the lobby seating, where Cormack and they took their seats just as the team engaged their enemy.
As the door on the TV screen was breached, so was the door to Safe Haven. Everyone took to their feet and pulled their weapons only to find Wit and Hen on the other end of the guns pointed back at them.
“Ah, hell. I fuckin’ knew it.” Wit lowered his weapon, as did the others. “You owe me ten bucks, Hen.”
“Shit. I was sure I had this one,” Hen said, holstering his weapon and approaching Killion. “Good to see you, man. Jesus, it’s good to see ya.”
“You too,” Killion said, awkwardly accepting Hen’s forceful embrace.
“Well, I don’t know if I am,” Wit admitted. “You lied, you son of a bitch. You know what we’ve all been goin’ through? Even Duchess ain’t right over this. I’ve been makin’ soup for everyone. Comforting them. Sharing nice things ’bout your big dumb ass. And your sisters. Pregnant sisters… shame on you, Killion. Shame. On. You.”
Killion looked at Rainy, who shrugged. “I’m… sorry.”
Wit rushed in and pulled Killion into a tight hug. “Ah, hell. I know you are, buddy. Man, it’s good to see you alive. I missed the hell out of you.”
Rainy bit her bottom lip to avoid laughing. “Sorry, but you deserve that hug. I hope it’s making your skin itch.”
“I have hives. It’s giving me hives,” Killion teased.
“How’d you know?” Killion asked, pushing Wit off him.
“It didn’t add up for me. I know you too well. That night of the explosion just never sat right. Then Rainy here made a lot of valid points. So I looked into it. Looped Hen here in.”
“By looking into it, he means we followed you, Rainy Jo.” Hen laughed.
“I didn’t need to do the hard work. I knew if anyone was gonna find his ugly ass, it was her. I just watched and followed. Work smarter, not harder.” Wit winked. “We also know you got Relay watchin’ your back and that she’s in the vault back at Watermark with the babies. Smart move.”
The vault is a penthouse-like space at Watermark on a hidden floor that can’t be seen inside or outside the building. The only way to get up here is a hidden button on the outside of the elevator. The only way down is if someone lets you down because the elevator access is disabled once someone accesses it.
Killion turned to Rainy with surprise. “Relay with the babies in the vault? I’m impressed.”
“I needed someone I could trust to keep a secret.” Rainy looked at her brothers with a scowl. “Someone who had the know-how, someone like you, Killion. The night of the explosion, she sat with me and the babies the entire time. Walked me through it all as it unfolded.”
“You settled your differences.”
“She’d met me in the atrium the day she was hurt. We talked it all out. She respects our family, and I respect her for that. She cares… a lot… about everyone at Watermark. She said we’re all the family she never had. We’ve been working on figuring out what happened that night at the market from the very beginning.”
“Now that’s quite the plot twist.” Wit chuckled. “But, uh, how about we watch what’s going on back home.”
The group turned their attention to the screen and watched as their friends and loved ones created an ultimate plot twist of their own. It was always hard to watch; tensions were high, the anticipation higher. The arrests were brutal and hard-won, as their enemy didn’t go down without a fight. A fight the Keepers won with little effort on their part… they were there for vengeance. When all was said and done, everyone zip-tied and tossed in the back of a federal detainment vehicle, the team broke down. Emotions were high, and they were consoling each other as they finally had closure on the death of their loved one.
It was hard to watch. Especially for Killion because he knew he was the source of their pain.
“Everyone in this room knows those guys on the screen are grieving a lie. Relay will know before long too,” Rainy said. “What next?”
Killion shrugged, unable to look any of them in the eye. “I don’t know. I didn’t have a plan B.”
Cormack chimed in. “I might have a plan.”
29
Killion and Rainy sat on a blanket with the twins on a grassy knoll tucked under a canopy of trees adorned with swags of lights. They were in Ponderosa Peak, at the lake house they lived in, just above the shore where Ayelish and Wit got married. They watched on as the reception was in full swing –– and made up only of close family and friends to protect their secret.
Cormack’s plan to move forward was brilliant. He’d told his sons that they’d inherited Safe Haven, so they should run it from Ponderosa Peak. Killion was already active in Safe Haven, and Rainy knew the ropes too, so it made for a perfect partnership. Cormack was also part of that plan, but only as an adviser, as he wanted to retire and get to know his children and grandchildren.
It was a perfect way to keep Killion’s secret just that, a secret, at least for the time being, while those closest to them didn’t have to grieve a lie. Toby Gannon and his MC were relocated as extra security to protect the town that worked so hard to remain anonymous.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t have a big wedding or even one like this, Mrs. O’Reilly,” Killion said, stealing a kiss.
