Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-One
“He’s telling the truth.” Kelley looked at Mason as he said those words.
Mason inhaled deeply and nodded his head. “Andrea basically said the same thing. Kirk never touched her, he tried to help her.”
Lee swung his legs off the bed and sat looking at them. “He did get her out of there.”
“So we’re in agreement? We kill him and send them his picture? Make them sweat a little?” Kelley's grin looked a little too much like enjoyment.
Connor stood in the doorway and listened to their conversation. “We can have Blaire wire it anonymously but they’ll still know who did it.”
Mason nodded his head. “They’ll be pissed off. Where exactly is your mother, Kelley?”
Kelley sighed. He'd been thinking of calling her but he hadn't, not once. “I’m going to have to bring her in before we do this. Charles has always controlled her and I’m not sure if that spell has broken, even with all the years that she’s been gone.”
“You should get her to the island, it’s the safest place for everyone. You can check on your wife while you’re at it.”
Lee didn’t hide the smirk on his face and Kelley shook his head. “She won’t go with anyone else. Have Blaire track her and book me a flight to wherever she is.”
Connor crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll speak to Black.”
Kelley turned towards Connor who had an angry smile on his face. “Only talking, Connor. He did say no when Charles asked him to kidnap Milana. He’s not all bad, find out exactly how they got to him.”
“Can I hurt him just a little?”
Kelley narrowed his eyes at Connor. “Don’t kill him.”
Mason and Lee watched the exchange with open mouths. “What the hell … you two …”
“He’s kidding, Mase.”
Connor grinned. “Am I?”
Kelley huffed out a laugh. “Aren’t you?”
Lee stood up on shaky legs and pointed a finger at Connor. “If you’re not then I’ll kick your ass as soon as I can walk unaided again. We don’t kill people.”
“Easy Lee, he’s just ribbing Mason.”
Connor shrugged and then smiled. “I’m kidding, Lee. I’ve killed before but only because I had no other choice. It was war and I wasn’t ready to die.”
Kelley nodded his head, not looking forward to tracking down his mother. He didn’t hate her but her weakness left a bitter taste in his mouth. He had set her free but her demeanour hadn’t changed much, she still looked down and he was afraid that Charles had broken her for good.
‘Time to face your demons,’ Kelley thought ruefully.
Kelley sat down behind his desk and accessed the security cameras on the island. He checked the control room and was pleased to see Jesse standing in front of the rows of screens, checking on everything. He switched the cameras to his own private link that showed the master suite and looked at Milana as she walked out of the bathroom.
She opened the nightstand drawer and took her phone out. He smiled then and dialed her number. The screen of her phone lit up and Milana looked at the phone. She closed her eyes briefly and declined the call. He opened his texts and started to type.
Kelley – Please answer your phone. There’s something I have to discuss with you.
Kelley watched as she read the message and started typing.
Milana – Fine.
Kelley dialed her number again and watched as she answered it. “Hello.”
“Hello, Mila. How are you?”
“Still mad at you. What do you want?”
Kelley sighed and took a big breath to keep the irritation from his voice. “My mother will be joining you on the island. I just wanted to tell you so you weren’t caught by surprise.”
“Your mother?”
“Things might heat up here in the next few days.”
“Why can’t you just tell me?”
“Plausible deniability, Mila. If anything goes wrong then it’s only me that goes down.”
Milana shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. “How’s Lee doing?”
“He’s recovering well. Don’t hate me for trying to keep you safe.”
Milana was quiet for a few seconds and Kelley watched the screen intently. “I don’t hate you, Kelley. I just don’t like feeling like I have no choices in my own life. For too many years I had no choices and now you’re taking them from me too.”
“You know that’s not my intention. I love you, Mila, like I’ve never loved anyone else before and like it or not, this … everything I do is in your best interest.”
“What about your best interest, Kelley? Who’s watching your back while you watch everyone else’s?”
“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m good at watching my own back and I have Connor, he never leaves my side.”
“But I do worry! I’m here and you’re there and even though I can hear your voice it’s not the same!”
“You love me, I get it.”
“You don’t get it, Kelley! I hate that I love you right now, I hate that I’m here and that Steel follows me around. I hate that you drugged me and took my free will from me. I hate that you order me around!”
The line went dead and Kelley looked at a crying Milana. Her hand shook as she placed the phone back in the nightstand drawer calmly. Then she screamed loudly and the door burst open, showing a concerned looking Steel assessing the room and any danger there might be.
Kelley closed the link when Steel wrapped his arms around Milana and stroked her hair. He knew she’d be angry and divorce was just her way to retaliate. ‘She’ll be fine,’ he told himself. He now had to concentrate on finding his mother.
It was another guilt trip for him because he despised her weakness but he also understood it. She'd lived in fear her whole adult life and Charles had taken every opportunity to break her. He couldn't allow that to happen again. He'd gotten them out from under his control and Laura had left soon after that, now he had to make sure it stayed that way.
