Page 104 of Now or Never
What happened to her, or her family, next wouldn’t have anything to do with him. Their lives would part ways here, and she didn’t know if she would ever see him again.
Jax shifted his stance. “I’m surprised she didn’t implicate you in the operation Schnell was part of. She could have had you arrested as a co-conspirator and taken you both off the board.”
“No one would have believed it. They’d have seen immediately that it was a ruse.” Petyr shrugged one shoulder. “None of us work together in that way. It’s just not done.”
As it was, the news reports all failed to mention his presence. That had been the easiest way for the president to control the narrative.
“I’m surprised she didn’t have you killed,” Kenna said.
“What makes you think she didn’t try?”
She met his gaze, refusing to be sympathetic about that. There was nothing about his presence in her life that should make her care about him. And yet, the love of Jesus in her wanted to offer him something. She held the words back, warring with the fact he deserved nothing from her. He’d been part of tormenting her and never once showed empathy unless he was going to get something out of it.
“Now you’re going home?” Kenna asked, purely to move the conversation along.
He nodded. “My people need leadership, and my task here failed spectacularly. There are measures to be taken and plans to be made.”
“Long as none of that involves me, we’ll be good.” She folded her arms, determined not to owe him anything. And yet, the still small voice nudging her toward forgiveness said otherwise. “Sorry you didn’t get what you want, but my family has nothing to do with your war. I’m not getting dragged into it again.” She swallowed, aware she needed to say it. “I forgive you for all the fear you put me through. And I hope I never see you again.”
“There may be a day when you need my help.”
“More likely, you’ll need mine,” she said, “and you’ll leverage my help to get what you want. That’s allDominatusdoes. Using people as game pieces on a board like they mean nothing aside from what they gain you. Either you win or the pieces are lost.”
“And you intend to stop the game?”
“I intend to give birth to a healthy baby and protect my family from whatever comes next. Because there’s always something around the corner, heading our way.” She would do all that surrounded by the family she had chosen, people who willingly put their lives on the line for each other. “And none of it will have one thing to do withDominatus.”
“She won’t let you go that easily.”
Of course, Kenna wasn’t presuming that the president didn’t have a plan. That she wouldn’t interrupt their lives with her own agenda. That was how these people worked, and with her bid to take over, she needed all the leverage she could get.
Kenna said, “We’ll deal with that when it happens.” Much like pregnancy, birth, safety, solving cases, and anything else. “As a family.” She indicated behind her.
“I wish you well, Kenna Banbury. And you, Oliver Jaxton. But I doubt that’s what will happen. So best of luck to you both.” Petyr didn’t shake their hands. He just walked away, flanked by his security team.
She watched him board the plane, staring at the open door for longer than she probably needed to.
Jax slid his arm around her waist and stepped in close to her back, his protective embrace covering the baby. “She’s just letting him go?”
“If she kills him, her life will be fair game in recompense.” Kenna leaned her head against his chin. “But for a second there, I thought the plane was going to explode.”
“How about we get out of here, just in case?”
“You think it’s going to blow during taxi, or takeoff?”
“I’d rather not be here to see it,” Jax said. “We’ll be late if we’re detained by the police.”
Kenna let out a long sigh. “Let’s go.”
They held hands back to the convoy of parked vehicles. Her RV wasn’t exactly inconspicuous with the car hooked up to the back, the front wheels off the ground.
“Lot of miles between here and Colorado,” she said.
Jax glanced over at her. “We’ll get there soon enough.”
“Maybe I can solve a cold case on the drive.” She lifted her brows, as if challenging him to wager with her. “We can use thewalkie-talkies between the cars to bounce ideas around. Try to figure out who the killer was.”
He grinned. “Whatever passes the time, I guess. Most people just play road games.”
