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It felt good to kick back at home tonight after a tension-filled Monday at work.

Rian insisted that since we’d been staying at his place or the resort, it was only fair that he stay with me.

I hated how small and unassuming my apartment was compared to what he was used to.

I tried to convince him it would be better to stay at his house, or if he wanted a break from me, I would stay at my apartment alone.

That was all discussed this morning before I went to work. My man quickly told me he didn’t want to have space. His words were he wanted me in his arms and bed every damn day. He asked if I needed space, which I denied. In the end, I gave in to his insistence.

It was funny to see him in my home. Rian appeared comfortable, having taken his time to check it out.

He asked where I got the paintings on the walls.

They mainly depicted ocean seascapes at various times of day, under different weather conditions, and in other seasons.

I was embarrassed to confess they were mine.

I painted to de-stress. I recalled his response to my whispered revelation.

“Gianna, why are you embarrassed? I can tell you are. You should be proud of these,” he gently chided.

“I do them for fun, to relax, not to show them off. I don’t have many people here other than family and Aurora. I hung them because they made me feel peaceful. I know they don’t compare to what your family has in their homes, but they work for me.

“We indeed have expensive works of art, but you didn’t look closely at the family house.

And you haven’t seen Siv’s home. Several aren’t painted by someone famous or cost tens of thousands or more.

Some are unknown artists we like. And others have been painted by Siv.

She runs our art gallery, Modern Muse, for a reason.

She has a gift for spotting artists who will become famous, and she paints herself.

Many of the paintings at her house and the main one she did. ”

I was surprised by this, and it made me want to see which was hers.

He went on to tell me more about her work and insisted I show his sister mine.

I left it as we’d see. My family and Aurora had always told me they were good, but I expected them to say that.

Rian’s declaration made me wonder if they might be good.

I felt he wouldn’t just say that if it wasn’t true.

That conversation and our subsequent dinner were a couple of hours ago.

We were now cuddled together on the couch.

I hadn’t mentioned the fight at work. And Rian hadn’t asked how my day went, which was unusual.

I wanted to maintain a good mood, and talking about my brothers would destroy it. I’d wait and tell him tomorrow.

We’d decided to watch a movie together. He was a fan of the typical male genres such as action and adventure, military, documentaries, and a few sports.

What surprised me was his confession of liking romantic comedies.

He swore if I told anyone, he’d have to punish me.

I waggled my eyebrows and told him he wasn’t motivating me to comply.

This led to a tickle fight until I surrendered. I was too ticklish to hold out long.

We were almost done with the movie we had chosen.

It was one we’d both seen before, but we loved it and weren’t opposed to watching it again.

The sudden interruption of the peacefulness in the room by a ringing phone made me jump.

We both leaned forward to grab our phones off the coffee table, but when I lifted mine, I saw the screen shine.

They’d been placed face down. I went rigid.

It was Papà. What could he be calling about at this time of night?

I exchanged a worried look with Rian as I answered, “Hello, Papà. You’ve got me and Rian. What has you calling this late at night? Is everything alright?”

“I’m sorry to disturb you. Good evening, Rian. I wouldn’t have called, but I thought waiting until morning was too late. Plus, I hoped you’d be together. Rian needs to know this.” Papà’s voice sounded strained.

“Is everyone okay? The boys? You?” I asked anxiously.

“No, your brothers and I are fine. It’s not us. It’s about you.”

“I don’t understand. What about me?” I frowned at Rian in confusion.

“I received a call not long ago. It was from Warden Laughlin at the prison.” He paused.

We’d been responsible for capturing many people who ended up serving time in all the Florida prisons and those in other states. I knew Warden Laughlin, so it told me Papà was referring to the closest prison to us.

“Okay, that’s odd. What did he have to say, and what’s it got to do with me?”

“He called to let us know that Jericho Beecham attempted to escape. He was killed in the attempt. Laughlin knew of our interest in the case, especially yours. He wanted us to know before it hit the media. It seems Beecham refused to give up on his threat to get free.”

A momentary flash of weakness hit me. I sagged into Rian. He took the phone away and held it in one hand as the other curled around me.

“Alphonso, who is this Beecham, and why does Gianna look sick?”

I sat straight. “I’m fine. There’s no need to worry.

I was taken by surprise, that’s all. I can’t believe he’d attempt it.

And as much as some may condemn me for saying it, I’m glad the son of a bitch is dead.

He didn’t deserve to spend thirty or more years on death row, filing appeals and living off taxpayers’ money. I hope he suffered,” I snarled.

“ Tesoro , I know this upsets you. That’s why I wanted to tell you tonight, so you had time to calm down.”

“Have you told my brothers?”

“Not yet, they’re next. Will you be okay?” Papà asked.

“I’ll be fine,” I assured him.

“Rian, will you be staying with her tonight? If not, I’ll come over.”

“I’ll be here, but can someone tell me who the hell Beecham is and why Gianna is reacting to his death this way?” Rian asked gruffly.

“I’ll explain. Thank you for calling to tell me, Papà. I promise I’ll be okay. I just need to think it through. You tell the boys, and I’ll see all of you tomorrow. Try to get some sleep,” I assured him.

“I will, and you do the same. If you need us, call.”

“I will. Love you.”

“Love you, too. Good night, Rian.”

“Good night, Alphonso. I’ll take good care of her.”

“Thank you. Goodbye.”

Rian pushed the disconnect button, put my phone back down, and then shifted so we could better see each other’s faces.

“Gianna, I need you to tell me why the warden of a prison felt the need to call and tell your dad that an inmate died in a prison break. Clearly, there’s a story.

And your wish that he suffered says it’s personal.

If you need time to compose yourself, tell me.

But I’d like us to talk about it tonight. ”

I smiled and ran my fingertips through his goatee.

“ Miele , thank you for the offer, but I can talk about it. I don’t need a break.

You’re right. It is personal, and I need to explain the backstory so you understand why.

Remember when we first met, and your family tortured and killed Chris and Scotty?

It was remarked that the reasons for us wanting to work with you to stop the trafficking were personal, and I agreed but didn’t say why. ”

“Yes, I do.”

“Jericho Beecham is the reason. I will detest anyone who helps those fuckers who help in any way to steal and sell other humans until the day I die. Four years ago, we were called in to hunt a bail jumper. It seems that he was arrested for assaulting a woman. She claimed she barely knew him, yet he beat her when she refused to go away with him. He tried to force her to have sex with him. He’d come to her home.

Somehow, she got away and locked herself in her bathroom, which had a heavy-duty door that a prior occupant had put on it. She called the cops.

“Of course, Jericho took off, but the cops caught him before he got far. He was arrested, and despite the threat he’d run, a judge granted him bail, but it was two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

He couldn’t pay it, so he used a bail bondsman to get out.

It wasn’t us. He was from southern Florida.

He posted his bond and was released after coming up with the ten percent.

“However, a few days before his hearing, he disappeared. He had a history of arrests and serving time for various things. He wasn’t going to get off without doing time.

He knew it, so he left. He thought there was no way anyone would find him where he went.

He was wrong. His warrant went up all over.

Numerous hunters looked for him. It took me a few days to do my sleuthing.

After that, I thought I knew where he might go.

Papà , my brothers, and I headed out. It took us three weeks to find the bastard.

And it was three weeks of hell and danger. ”

“Was he that dangerous?”

“He was no lightweight when it came to violence, but it was where he was that posed the most danger. He holed up in the Everglades. We were sure it was with his older brother, Tobias. It seems that they more or less grew up in the swamps. They thought no one would think of him going there. We tracked his ass all over that godforsaken area. We hired a local guide to take us out because we didn’t know the area well enough not to get ourselves killed—the heat, bugs, snakes, alligators, crocodiles, panthers, wild boars, and spiders can kill you there.

The guide was invaluable in helping us navigate that area.

“A few other hunters found themselves searching there, too, but they gave up after a few days. They said there was no way he was out there. When we finally found Jericho, he was alone. There was an intense firefight, but in the end, he was captured and brought in. When they held his hearing, the judge did more than just sentence him for the assault and bail jumping. When we captured him, we searched the cabin he was staying in. We found evidence that Jericho was more dangerous than anyone suspected. It seems that he’d gone after the woman because he was looking for a replacement for the one who died.

” I paused to take a deep breath. This was the part that made me see red and want to puke.

“Do you need a break?” Rian asked.

“No, no, I need to get it out. It seems that Jericho had bought himself a woman from someone who was involved in human trafficking.

He wanted a wife to keep his home and bear his children.

She lasted a year and a half from the time she was kidnapped until the medical examiner determined she had died.

We found her remains buried out behind the cabin in a crude grave.

She died because she had no medical care, and he made her have a baby with only him to help her.

“When his case went to court, and this was all brought up, he saw nothing wrong with what he did.

He felt, as a man, that it was his right to take a woman.

He quoted a load of shit out of the Bible and how it was common for tribes to steal women from other tribes in biblical times.

And how women were created and put on earth to serve men.

God, to hear him rant and ramble made me want to take out a gun and shoot him on the stand.

In the end, the jury found him guilty of so many things.

One of them was for the second-degree murder of the woman he took and the third-degree murder of the baby.

The first woman was nineteen years old when she was taken and twenty-one when she died.

“I can’t imagine the terror and horror she went through with him.

He essentially kept her hostage and raped her repeatedly.

Jericho claimed she wanted to be with him and that she loved him.

How could she? Then she conceived her rapist’s child.

I wonder if she willed herself and the baby to die so they wouldn’t have to be at his mercy.

I cheered when they found him guilty and then again when they sentenced him to life in prison.

” I stopped. I noted the loathing on Rian’s face.

“ Dia , I can’t believe the cruelty of some people. What happened to his brother and the person who sold her to him?”

“There was no way to prove his brother had been helping him, so nothing was done to Tobias. He came to the courthouse and sat there every day of the trial and for his brother’s hearing.

He never said a word or showed any emotion.

As for the one who sold her, that was one thing Jericho never wrote down, and no matter how many times he was questioned, he refused to say.

The cops questioned Tobias, who denied knowing anything about a woman, a baby, or a seller.

He denied he knew of his brother’s whereabouts or had helped him.

Now, you know why I have a personal hatred for anyone who does that, and I will always help to eliminate filth like them. ” Tears were coursing down my face.

Rian lifted me up and onto his lap. I lay there for a long time, sobbing.

I ached again, in the depths of my soul, for Amelia Stone and her baby girl.

My rage rose again at the mere thought of Jericho.

And I wish I could’ve been there to see him suffer.

I don’t know how long we stayed that way before Rian insisted I take a bath and we go to bed.

I followed his lead. I was too tired to argue.