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“Are you still at Konnor Hennie’s place?”
How the fuck does he know that? I shouldn’t be surprised. This is what he does, after all, but it pisses me off that in less than twenty-four hours my hiding place has already been ferreted out. It won’t be long before Rafe is banging on the door as well, making demands I can’t meet.
“Yes.”
“I’ll be there in three hours.” With that he ends the call.
I sit in the gilded chair with my burner phone resting on my lap. I take in my surroundings once more. Konnor’s home is exactly that—a home. There are photographs everywhere in the living room where I am sitting. From the older generation in Ireland to the most recent, here in the city.
I hear noises coming from the kitchen and shake off all the thoughts in my mind, opting to go in search of food. Passing Konnor’s office, I catch the end of the conversation when I hear Rafe’s voice.
“Wherever Willow is, Rafe, I’m sure she made her own choices. It’s up to you to understand those choices, and why she might make them,” I hear Konnor say.
He has kept his word, not betraying my confidence in him.
“You’re talking in riddles,” Rafe says angrily and I hear a chair scrape against the hardwood floor. “If Willow is here, and you are holding her against her will, I will rip your world apart and kill everyone you love. Slowly.”
My heartbeat accelerates as I wait for Konnor to speak. Will he bow to the threat in Rafe’s voice and hand me over?
“I understand, and I would do the same for the ones I love. But Rafe, for her, would you kneel?”
What the fuck is he doing? Rafe has too much pride to ever give in to something so outrageous. It wouldn’t matter either. What we had was a beautiful dream but the reality is far murkier. There cannot be an us. Too much is broken in both of us for that to ever be a possibility.
“I will do whatever it takes to claim my wife and bring her home.”
My heart sings at his words and I almost run to him. My senses kick in at the last possible moment and I slip back into the living room to listen as Rafe stomps out of Konnor’s house before continuing my trek to the kitchen. Konnor nods as I pass his open office door but I don’t give him the satisfaction of acknowledging him. He’s a fucker, has been since we were children and if I had any other option I sure as shit wouldn’t be here.
As soon as Diego gets here, I will be heading home. My home.
“I heard you were staying with us,” Mary Hennie says when I walk into the kitchen. “But I thought my son had finally lost his mind.”
She smiles brightly, arms open to receive me as we hug each other. Mary Hennie hasn’t changed much from the woman I grew up knowing. Yes, there are a few more gray hairs streaking her flaming mane, and the crows’ feet around her eyes have deepened. But Konnor and Devon’s mother is still breathtakingly beautiful.
“I’m leaving today,” I say once she releases me from her embrace.
She nods before sliding a sandwich in my direction. “Eat something,” she commands. “You are too skinny.”
I smile, remembering all the times she has said the exact same words to me before taking a bite. A comfortable silence falls over us as Mary prepares a second sandwich before eating.
“Heard you got married,” she mentions, trying to act innocent.
“You know I know who actually heads this family?” I ask with a raised brow. “You know more than Konnor can ever imagine.”
Head thrown back, she laughs loudly. “Don’t tell him that.” She winks and I smile.
“What do you want to know?” I ask after finishing the last bite.
“I know what I need to know. But you need to remember this world isn’t built for us women. I only want you to be safe, dear.”
“I will. But I can’t go back and be the dutiful little wife.” Mary gives me a dark look and I raise my hands in the air. “I didn’t mean any disrespect. But you loved your husband and ruled by his side. Rafe … he wants me to know my place.”
“And where is that?”
“I’ll let you know once I figure it out.”
****
“There’s a man here for you,” Konnor says a couple of hours later, standing in the doorway to the room I have been using.
