“I—I have to tell you—”

“Who’s Kennedy?” Keenan asked with disinterest.

Before I could answer, the door burst open as my parents and two men I didn’t recognize filed in. They were dressed casually in dark jeans and collared shirts, but the serious looks on their faces said their appearance would be anything but casual.

“Sheldon, these are the men we hired to find Kennedy,” my father stated.

“Yes, ma’am. I’m Greg and this is Vick,” the longhaired blond introduced his partner and himself. “We will be assisting the police offline to find your daughter.” The disinterest in his tone made me wonder how invested in this case he really was. His unkempt attire and scruffy beard were anything but professional. His partner was even worse. It looked as if he had just finished rolling in the dirt. These weren’t the usual men my father hired whenever he needed something taken care of.

“What the fuck do you mean find ?” Keiran bellowed.

“Daughter?” Keenan choked. I could hear the anger and judgment in his voice as if he had the right after coming back into my life uninvited.

If I thought the brothers were intimidating before, it was nothing compared to the sight of them both glaring at me now.

“You haven’t told them yet?” my mother questioned.

“N—no. I was just going to before you guys interrupted.”

“Oh, dear.”

“Someone had better start talking in the next two seconds,” Keiran threatened.

“Two men took Kennedy yesterday morning after her eye doctor appointment. A man had appeared out of nowhere and opened her car door when we were parked at a gas station. I was shot trying to stop them from taking her. I have no idea who they were or why they took her—”

“That’s why we are here, ma’am,” the detective interrupted. We need a complete list of friends, acquaintances, extended family members, neighbors, and anyone down to the mailman who may have come in contact with the child before the abduction.”

“How the fuck could you let this happen?” Keiran began to pace angrily, ignoring the investigators questions.

I never got the chance to respond because Lake had flown out the corner and into Keiran’s face. “She didn’t let anything happen, Keiran.” She stabbed him in his chest with an angry finger, backing him against the wall. “Look at her. Look at where she is. I think it’s obvious she did all she could to save Kennedy. This is her child we’re talking about. She isn’t to blame here, so quit it because you’re not helping.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this shit before?”

“Because I wanted you home safe. You and I both know you would have gone berserk and Kennedy needs you now.” She looked over at Keenan with disgust. “She needs both of you.”

Keenan’s brow lifted, but thankfully, he didn’t question her statement. Either he still had no idea who Kennedy was to him or he was bastard enough not to care. I secretly hoped it was the former.

“Kids, we really need to get started if we want to bring Kennedy home soon,” Mr. Chambers interrupted.

The lead investigator cleared his throat and pulled out a notepad and pen. “Yes. Let’s first start with her age. How old is she?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Keiran barked. “Let me put it this way… she’s too fucking young to survive on her own. Would it matter if she was older or younger?”

“Look, kid, I’ve been doing this long enough to know what I’m doing. Your ruckus and bad attitude are what will get this little girl killed.”

Oh, shit.

Keiran was on him before he could finish. Before anyone could know what would happen, Keiran brought one of the hospital chairs down on the investigator’s head and proceeded to beat him over the head repeatedly until he was a crumpled mess in the corner of the room.

It took every hand to pull him away. Surprisingly, it was Keenan who managed to subdue him well enough to keep Keiran from killing the man.

My attention was diverted by a nurse entering the room to see about all the commotion and quickly dashed back out likely to call for help or the police or both.

“Keiran!” Lake yelled. She was crying hysterically. I hadn’t realized how fast my own heart was beating until the machine I was hooked up to started to sound. My hands clutched the sheets while I willed my trembling to stop.

If Keiran reacted this strongly for Kennedy when she was only his niece, how would Keenan react when he found out she was his daughter?