Page 45 of His & Hers

I held my gun up at him, holding out my hand to Alice.

“Come here now, and don’t fucking argue,” I barked as she hurried to my side. “Lucas Deacon? Your boss? What the fuck have you dragged my daughter into, you asshole?”

Eugene stood beside me, bringing a man into the room and throwing him onto the floor.

Whoever he was, he was dead. Alice whimpered again, and I noticed Lucas reach for her.

“Baby, I’m so sorry,” he whispered as she gripped his hand.

Baby?

“Will someone tell me who thefuckthis lump is on the floor, and what the fuck is going on?” I demanded as I heard footsteps thundering down the stairs.

“Put your hands up where I can see them! Police!” I heard a familiar roar, a smile twitching on my lips as my eldest son began slamming bodies against the wall.

“That’s Andre. Seems like someone got him first.” Eugene shrugged, kicking the corpse on the floor. I cast my eyes down, noticing the body lacked his eyeballs, part of his mouth, and his ears. My eyes met the green ones of Lucas Deacon, and I nodded at him.

“You did this?”

Lucas said nothing, continuing to observe Alice.

Alice fell forward, and he caught her quickly, sweeping her into his arms.

“She needs a doctor,” he barked, pushing past me into the corridor. I stared after him as Eugene punched me on the shoulder.

“New boyfriend?”

19

ZANE

You could not make my family’s drama up. Trust me; I’ve read countless books.

I came home from my run to find a man I’d never seen before sitting on our kitchen stools while my Dad nodded at me. I frowned as I took in the scene, suddenly seeing Alice.

My heart lurched when I saw a doctor shining a light into her eyes while she stared vacantly ahead.

“Ali?” I whispered, crossing over to wrap my arms around her. She looked up at me, her eyes filling with tears.

“God, Zane, I’m so happy to see you.” Alice sobbed into my arms as I noticed the doctor staring at me curiously.

“What’s going on?” I demanded as the doctor blinked.

“Alice has had quite a shock, but she appears physically well. I’d say it’s a good job she’s as strong as she is because mentally, this can take quite the toll on someone so young.”

“Alice, come and shower, honey. I’ll help you.” My mother coaxed, smoothing her hair down as she helped her get up. I glanced around as Mom led her from the room, my eyes traveling from the broad-shouldered man to my father.

“Anyone care to fill me in?” I asked coolly, my eyes widening with frustration.

“Your sister was kidnapped last night,” Dad said finally, as my jaw dropped.

“Thefuck?”

“Yeah. I’m just about to see if Lucas here knows why that might be,” he said, cocking his head to one side as he studied the man to my right.

I turned to Lucas, who lifted his eyes to mine, before shrugging.

“It’s complicated, but I’m not a coward. I’ll tell you this much- that bastard paid with his life,” he said calmly, “I’m not just a businessman, Mr. Fallon. But I imagine you knew that.”