Chapter 20
Keith’s POV
I sat at my desk, staring blankly at the piles of paperwork in front of me. The numbers and words blurred together, refusing to make any sense. My thoughts kept drifting back to Emily, to the way she looked at me with that cold, distant expression, as if I were a stranger.
I couldn’t shake the image from my mind. How had we ended up here? How had I allowed things to get this far?
If it weren’t for Amanda, I wouldn’t even know how Emily was doing now. That thought gnawed at me, a constant reminder of how much I had failed her. Hiring a nurse had seemed like a necessary step, something I could do to make up for my absence, but it wasn’t enough.
Nothing felt like it was enough anymore. Emily had become a complete stranger to me, and I couldn’t decide if that scared me or just left me feeling hollow.
My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. I glanced up to see Detective Vincent standing in the doorway, his expression serious. “Keith, do you have a moment?” he asked, stepping inside before I could answer.
Chapter 20
“Of course, Vincent. What’s going on?” I motioned for him to take a seat, bracing myself for whatever news he was about to deliver.
He sat down, leaning forward slightly as he spoke. “We’ve been digging into Jimson’s murder and the attack on Emily. After Jimson was shot, the criminal gang we suspect went
underground. It’s been difficult tracking them, and so far, wel haven’t found any definitive leads. What’s troubling is that we still don’t know why they targeted Emily. There were no clues left at the crime scene, nothing to suggest a motive.”
I felt a chill run down my spine at his words. The idea that someone was still out there, possibly hunting Emily, filled me with a sense of dread I couldn’t ignore. “So, what does this mean? Are they going to try again?”
Vincent nodded grimly. “It’s possible. We have to assume they might continue to go after her, especially since we can’t determine what they were after in the first place.”
The thought of losing Emily again, of almost losing her twice already, was more than I could bear. My mind flashed back to the explosion, to the sheer terror that gripped me when I realized she was in danger. I couldn’t let that happen again.
“Keep investigating,” I said firmly. “I want to be informed the moment you find anything, no matter how small.”
“Of course,” Vincent agreed, standing up to leave. “We’ll do everything we can to keep her safe.”
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Chapter 22
After he left, I sat there for a long time, lost in thought. The idea of Emily being in danger, of someone actively trying to harm her, made me sick to my stomach. I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. I needed to take action.
I picked up the phone and dialed Captain Matt of the security team. When he answered, I wasted no time getting to the point. “Matt, I need you to assign two of your best people to protect Emily. Twenty–four hours a day, and I don’t want her to know about it.”
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line. “Boss, are you sure? I mean, it’s a bit unusual…
I knew hwy he was uncertain, since I never cared about of Emily. before. “I’m sure,” I said, cutting him off. “Just do it. I don’t care what it takes.”
“Alright,” Matt replied, though I could hear the confusion in his voice. “I’ll get it done.”
I hung up the phone, feeling a mixture of relief and regret. I should have done this sooner. If I had arranged protection for Emily
I
before, maybe none of this would have happened.
Zane had always had bodyguards; why hadn’t I thought to extend the same level of care to Emily? My attitude towards her had changed, but I still couldn’t fully understand why. It was as if something inside me had shifted, something that I hadn’t even
Chapter 20
realized was there.
11
In a desperate attempt to clear my head, I decided to go to the club for a drink. I needed to drown out the noise in my mind, even if it was just for a little while.
When I arrived, Tyler was already there, nursing a drink. He looked up as I approached, his expression dark and brooding.
“She kicked me out,” Tyler muttered as I sat down beside him. “Emily doesn’t want anything to do with me. Can you believe that?”
I took a sip of my drink, letting the alcohol burn its way down my throat. “What did you expect, Tyler? After everything we’ve done to her… She has every right to want us out of her life.”
Seth, who had been sitting quietly on the other side of Tyler, finally spoke up. “Keith’s right. We’ve treated Emily like crap for years. We can’t expect her to just forgive and forget.”
Tyler scowled, his fingers tightening around his glass. “I just want to make things right. But it’s like she’s built this wall around herself, and there’s no way in.”
Seth shook his head, his voice calm but firm. “She’s protecting herself, Tyler. After everything she’s been through, can you blame her? She’s stressed, and she doesn’t want to let anyone get close, not even us.”
I stared down at my drink, feeling the weight of Seth’s words. He was right. Emily was trying to protect herself, and I couldn’t fault her for that. But it didn’t make the reality any easier to swallow. The consequences of our actions had come full circle, and we were left to deal with the aftermath.
As we sat there in silence, Lily suddenly appeared. The sight of her made my blood boil. “Who invited her?” I snapped, glaring at Tyler.
Tyler shrugged, looking just as surprised as I was. “She heard we‘ re meeting in the bar, so she wanted to come here to see you.”
Lily walked over, her eyes fixed on me with a look of concern that felt like a dagger to my chest. But instead of feeling comforted by her presence, I felt a wave of frustration and anger. I didn’t want to see her. All I could think about was Emily, and the way things used to be between us.
Lily was supposed to be the love of my life, the woman I had pined for all these years. But now, being with her felt wrong, like a piece of a puzzle that no longer fit.
