Page 54 of Midnight Legacy

Jordan arrived earlier with a van which was filled with computer equipment and suitcases from all of us. A motorbike was in the back of it as well. When we left, it was to look as if we were going shopping or to the gym. Megan went with him to swing past her apartment and collect the rest of the belongings she needed for our road trip.

I sat staring out the window at the view that had come to comfort me in recent weeks. Since I was so lost in my thoughts, I jumped when Xavier’s arm wrapped around my growing waistline. From being barely noticeable, it seemed like overnight I looked pregnant. Something that seemed to amuse my husband since he kept touching my stomach.

“Everything is nearly packed,” he said against my throat, his lips skimming my sensitive flesh.

“Yeah, there are only a few bits and pieces left in case we need them here.” I loved our apartment, and the thought of leaving it made me feel queasy.

“This is still our home in London,” Xavier said as if he read my mood. “We’re just shifting our move to the country forward.”

“I just like the thought of the doctor being close at hand here.” The idea of giving birth terrified me and I generally tried to put it to the back of my mind. Now all my fears seemed to be coalescing into a focal point that I wasn’t sure that I could face.

“She’ll be on speed dial and we should be back closer to the birth.” His arms squeezed me, and his forehead pressed into my shoulder. “You need to relax, Cas.”

“As a child, I never knew any different, but as an adult who studied law, I knew what happened to me wasn’t right. There was nothing I could do about it—who would believe someone who was supposed to be dead? Now I need to face the fact that my family was slaughtered, and I should have been included.” Taking a deep breath, I met his eyes in the reflection in the window. “My father was in the Council and should have been safe, but someone targeted him and his family. What if the same thing happens to us, Zee? What if it’s our little girl, left on a country road holding her dead sister’s hand.”

He engulfed me in his heat, lifting me into his arms. “Not going to happen, Cas. Jay, Ash, and me aren’t the same lazy businessmen who hide within the Council. We’re the ones who take the fight to the door of whoever is our enemy. If that turns out to be the Council, they need to start watching their backs, because none of us will stop until every single one of them has vanished like Malcolm.”

I burrowed deep into the heat of his arms. “I can’t lose you, too.”

He grabbed my chin between his fingers, forcing me to look at him. “Not going to happen, baby. I told you that this was forever. I meant it. I want to build a treehouse with our son, feed the ducks in the pond with our daughter, have a life with my wife.”

“Dad wanted that too…”

“That may be true, but I promise you that I will do everything in my power to ensure that it happens.” He kissed the tip of my nose.

“So what happens in the morning?” I asked in an attempt to try and move my brain from the sorrow that was threatening to crest over me in waves.

Xavier sighed, and carried me over to the sofa to settle us both on it. “We need to check the safety deposit boxes to see what breadcrumbs have been left. You know what should be in there, so we’ll look to see what your uncle wants us to see.”

“And the other box that requires two keys?”

“I don’t know if we have time to get to all of them, it would have been quicker and less noticeable on bike.” I opened my mouth, but he shook his head at me. “Not going to happen, so don’t even think about it.”

“We can use the tube to most of them. That’s what I used to do, and let’s be honest, no one is going to suspect a playboy billionaire to be using the tube to get across London.”

Xavier stared off into space, chewing the side of his mouth. “It’s possible. The security is ridiculous, but possible.”

“Hooded tops and caps cover a multitude of sins and help avoid CCTV when you travel. Big sunglasses are an advantage too.”

“We could buy a backpack to put all the stuff into…” he agreed.

“And cheap hooded tops so that no one suspects that it’s us.” I bumped him with my shoulder. “One last adventure before we retire to a boring life in the country.”

“Life with you isneverboring,” he retorted with a delightful pout.

“We could make this work,” I encouraged. “Since Jay is already at the house, we can enlist Ash like that night at the auction.”

Xavier rolled his eyes at me since that night didn’t turn out as planned.

I knew I’d won when he got his phone and started texting on it. They never planned anything without all of them being involved. He became engrossed in his phone, so I turned on the TV to watch nonsense in the background.

“Do you still have the keys or were they in the van with Jay?”

I lifted a long chain from around my neck and jangled it in his face while still watching a documentary on serial killers. He narrowed his eyes at me as if suspecting I planned this all along. In reality, I just wanted to keep them with me.

Xavier’s phone rang and he lifted it to his ear. “Honestly, Jay. Ash and I are going to throw a few diversions up for anyone tracking me from here. Yeah, I know you have your bike with you. What about Megan? Oh, she didn’t look upset earlier. Hold on and I’ll ask.” He held the phone away. “Is Megan upset with Jay?”

“Yep. He kept that he was a homicidal maniac from her,” I replied, still glued to the documentary.

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