“I don’t believe it and neither do you. You would have because you were in pain, but most of all, you were selfish and weak.”

Footsteps approaching cut short our conversation, and when I looked back, Keiran and Q had emerged from the house. The blood that lightly splattered their shirts became more evident the closer they came.

“Don’t let Kennedy see your shirts.”

“Damn… a daddy for three minutes and you’re already bossy,” Q joked. Keiran wordlessly removed his shirt, followed by Q.

“What did you find out?”

“He claimed he didn’t know who his employer was. He kept talking about some rich guy who promised them a lot of money to kidnap Kennedy. He said they were promised double if they had to kill her.”

“Did you take care of it?”

“What do you think?” Keiran countered darkly.

“I don’t know what he thinks, but I think we need to call the Feds and get rugrat home soon,” Q interjected.

* * * * *

Up until the wee hours of the morning, I had gone through the interrogation process that usually followed a murder.

No, I didn’t act with malicious intent.

Yes, it was self-defense.

No, I was not given information on the whereabouts of Kennedy before acting.

They were all lies that I managed to tell well. I had no idea how Keiran fared given he’d just been released from jail on assault charges and not twenty-four hours later had been located in a house of dead bodies.

By noon, we were all standing on the sidewalk appearing none the worse for wear. Dash was there minus the girls as instructed.

“How is she?” I asked as soon as I was in talking distance.

“She’s fine. Sheldon wanted to take her back to her apartment, but we managed to convince her to stay at least one more night. It was an emotional night for them both. You should have seen them together.”

“Take me to them.”

An hour later, after showering and changing, I walked inside the Chambers Mansion just in time to see Sheldon serving Kennedy breakfast. Her gaze collided with mine as soon as I walked through the entryway. Even from across the room, I could see how her hands fluttered and her pulse quickened.

So many emotions passed between us in a short span of time.

“Mama, it’s him!” I looked down to see Kennedy pointing and staring up at me in awe. Her expressive round eyes still held the innocence of youth despite her abduction.

“She hasn’t stopped talking about you.”

“It’s fitting really because I haven’t stopped thinking about her.” I closed the distance between us and added, “Or you.”

I brushed her cheek with my fingers, but rather than responding, she flinched away from my touch. Instinct screamed at me to grab her, but I now had to remember the ever-watchful eyes of my daughter.

“Have you told her?” She shook her head and continued to watch me with a wary look in her eye.

“You?”

“No. Last night didn’t seem like the best time.” Her shoulders visibly relaxed.

“Good. I wanted to talk to you about that.”

The finality in her tone set me on edge and immediately put me on the defensive. Rather than going off on her in front of Ken, I pulled her out of the kitchen and into the large pantry.

“Whatever it is you think you should say to me, I want you to think about it again.”

“I don’t have to think about it. I don’t think you being in her life is a good idea. It’s too late—”

In that moment, I could really see myself killing her, so I shut her up the only way I knew how. The kiss wasn’t meant to arouse. It was hard and punishing. She fought to get away, so I crushed her against me. When she finally accepted the loss of control, I turned the kiss into a sensual embrace.

There was nothing I wanted more at this moment than to take her right here against the shelves full of canned vegetables and tomato sauces. The way she pushed her breasts against my chest and moaned into my mouth pushed me dangerously close to testing out the sturdiness of the shelving.

When she opened her mouth for my tongue to explore deeper, I threw caution to the wind and found myself saying, “If I stripped your clothes away and bent you over for my cock, could you take me quietly?”

When she nodded slowly, I hid my surprise and wasted no time slipping down her tiny sleep shorts. I was lucky and elated to find that she was naked underneath. I didn’t want to risk her changing her mind because I wasn’t sure I could stop if she did. I turned her around and lifted her right knee to rest on a middle shelf.