SARAH I can hardly believe my eyes, or ears, or any god damn thing happening around me at the moment. It is a complete and total out of body experience for me. I almost got killed for the type of shit they do. They stood here, on this very grounds and said they didn’t want to end our relationship, only to turn around and do the same fucking thing I couldn’t look at them for?! Color me a god damn idiot. “Sarah, I don’t know where they are, okay? My guess is they’re probably somewhere taking care of business.” Kevin says to me, no doubt trying to stop me from pacing about the room like I’ve been doing for the last twenty minutes. “Taking care of business?” I shoot him a glare. “Is that what you call this? They killed the man. They killed someone, again!” “And what were they supposed to do? He tried to kill you, Sarah. If Jaxon was even a second late, he would have. I cannot fault them for this one. I would have been there to take his life myself if I didn’t have to look after you.” A bitter chuckle rips out of my throat. I fold my arms across my chest, cocking my right brow. “So what? You’re a murderer now too?” “I never said I wasn’t.” “Are you fucking serious, Kev?” “What?” He springs to his feet. “Someone needed to do something to take care of you, of us. Mum and dad left all those houses and money behind, that’s true. But do you have any idea how long it took to be able to get them? How many papers needed to be signed? Court visits here and there? Aunties and uncles we needed to hold our own against? Goodness, Sarah. Why do you think none of them came to your wedding?” I have never seen Kevin so enraged, or heard him talk about our life. He never told me anything, even when I asked. All I know is that somehow, he saw himself through college, saw me through middle school, highschool, and college. And when it was time, he handed me a huge percentage of the seed fund I needed to start Wellspring as a pre wedding gift. Sure, his real estate company is a big deal in our country, and many others all over the world. Still, it never occurred to me to ask how it happened. I had always thought he used his trust fund to get it started. “For all their faults, Ronan and Malachi showed me the world, taught me strength. I might not agree with everything they do. Some things are…quite overboard, but that doesn’t mean I do not understand. Everything I’ve ever done, Berry, has been for you. To give you the life you deserve and keep you safe, away from everything I had to get involved with. You have no idea how proud I was when you got listed in Taurus 30 under 30 last year.”I blink in awe. Speechless. That’s the only word to describe how I am. “They’re willing to kill for you, Berry. Whether you like it or not. You played with fire, got them to fall for you. There’s no getting out of this now.” He takes his phone out of his pocket and stretches it to me. “Here. Call them if you need to speak with them. I’ll be outside.” I look down at the phone in his right hand, and back to him. “Kev…Kevin, I…” “For once, Berry. Please just get down from your high horse and see, really see the people around you. I was scared that they wouldn't be able to protect you, and they did fail to do that. But they’ll give their lives to make up for that. And I think that says a lot. So if you need to speak with them, take the phone and call them.” I swallow hard. He’s right. All my life, I’ve been sheltered. Even after our parents died, Kevin did whatever he could to make sure it didn’t take the worst toll on me. He had to bear the burden, and I… I take the phone. He flashes me a small smile, taps my head, and turns his back to leave. My eyes are glued on Kevin’s screen as I search for their phone numbers. Ronan’s is the first I find in his recently dialed. I click on it and press the speaker against my ear. It clicks. “Kev, how is she? Is everything alright?” I press my eyelids close. The sound of his voice… Goodness. I’m doomed, aren’t I? “Why aren’t you saying anything? What happened to her?” Speak, Sarah. Surely one man’s voice can't hypnotize you completely. “She’s…I’m fine.” “Sarah?” The worry in his voice transforms into pure bliss. “Baby, why didn’t you say something? You had me all worked up.” Baby. Why does he have to be so…him? “I saw what you did on the news, Ronan. You haven’t changed, have you?”“Sweet kitten, we didn’t promise you we were going to change. We are only promising we would use who we are to your advantage. No one else but you.” My nipples are suddenly so fucking hard, like pebbles. Damn these pregnancy hormones. Sucking in a deep breath, I prepare a response. “I don’t see how killing Luke was off benefit to me.” He sighs. It’s a frustrating one. “I know, baby. We were going to offer you his head like we promised, but he got all cocky and dared us to make his death public. Said we were afraid. We got carried away.” Is he serious? I would laugh if it wasn’t so fucking absurd. “We would do anything for you, kitten. No matter how despicable. Don’t you ever forget that.” “You’re sick in the head.” He laughs. “Only for you, baby. Only for you. Now, let Kevin have his phone back so you can rest, okay? We’ll come see you tomorrow. We miss you.” It’s at the tip of my tongue that I miss them too. But I don’t say it.