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“You saved her. You’re a hero too,” Leia says.
“Please, do not do that again. Promise me,” Chiara says through a hiccup. Celia sniffles, nodding. Aurora holds her baby boy tightly in her arms.
After the panic, the kids come down from the adrenaline rush and fall asleep.
“I can take her,” Aurora says, looking at Leia fast asleep in my arms.
“It’s okay.”
After we put them in bed, Aurora grabs Chiara’s hand, who still looks ghostly pale, and leads us downstairs to the bar. She pours a glass of whiskey for each of us.
“I don’t know what would have happened without you... I...,” Chiara says shakily, taking a sip.
“Are you okay?” Aurora asks me.
I was more afraid that something could happen to Celia. “I am. I’m just glad I reacted so quickly.”
“I... I can’t...” Chiara sobs, and I place my hand on her shoulder. She cries even harder. After some time, Aurora and I manage to calm her down. We end up spending the entire day together. I can barely keep my eyes open when I wave goodbye to them. Walking back home, I still can’t believe I held two little girls in my arms and touched Chiara, driven by the need to soothe and comfort. I can feel a switch within me. Bricks of fear crumble away, one by one. I drag in a lungful of air, filling my insides with strength.
It’s too late to call my mother. Still, when I climb into bed, today’s events crash down on me, and I can’t control the emotions they bring. Tears stream down my face while a smile tips the corners of my lips—in relief. When I wake up, I know what I have to do, what I should have done a long time ago.
I call my mother. “Mom, can I come stay with you for a few days?”
“Yes, of course. Did something happen?”
“Yes, and I need to see you.”
“We’ll send the car.”
“See you soon.”
After one hellish week, where I doubt I slept more than twenty hours in total, I clink my glass to Kieran’s in celebration. Hayden and Cato are on their way back.
We have identified and tracked down the first head of the Brotherhood: Isaac Campton. By day, he’s a businessman in the transportation industry. By night, he’s the head of an organization hungry for world domination.
If the other heads are like him, it’s no wonder they’ve flown under the radar. Massive success and loads of money usually raise eyebrows. Campton’s operation works well enough but doesn’t draw unwanted attention. And apparently, he’s just one of many doing well. Smart strategy, but not when you have the Syndicate searching for you.
The element of surprise is no longer in their favor.
We’ve planted trackers in his car, office, and home. Our men have also successfully hacked his devices.
Dark circles line Kieran’s eyes. His hair is disheveled, but he’s smirking. I probably look the same, though my campaign team covered me with enough makeup to hide my exhaustion from the public eye.
Recent projects, like introducing a tech company that will bring two thousand jobs into the city, inaugurating a new hospital wing, and opening one elementary school, have propelled me straight back into the voters’ good graces.
Now, I can finally go home and see Violet.
“Let’s get home, Kieran. Cato and Hayden are safe on the jet.”
We shake hands and congratulate our team. When Cato and Hayden return tomorrow, we will start planning our attack.
In the car, my hands shake with the need for Violet. We have six weeks left before I introduce her to the world as mine.
When I get home, I take the stairs two at a time, pushing her bedroom door open only to come to a complete stop. The bed is made, but Violet is nowhere to be found. I go to her gaming room, but blackness envelops me, igniting my panic. I rush downstairs and into Marie’s room, the door banging against the wall.
She screeches, her hand flying to her chest. “Cameron, what’s gotten into you? You startled me.”
“Where is my wife?” I snarl.
