“I would think you would be happy to see me since you have been looking for me.”

“I made no secret of it.”

“No…you didn’t, did you? Well, here I am.”

“And all this?”

“The only reason you didn’t kill me as soon as I arrived.” Keiran stared at him and then grabbed the duffle bag, tossing it to Mitch’s feet. Mitch’s gaze flicked to the black bag and then back to Keiran. “What’s this?”

“Twenty grand in cash. Leave.”

Mitch smiled at Keiran. “She must be a special girl,” he remarked. “That’s romantic of you son but I’m afraid that isn’t enough. You see…you and Keenan,” he sneered his name, “are worth so much more than that.”

“Take the money, bitch.” Keenan spit at the ground near Mitch.

His gaze was cold as he took in Keenan. “You are every bit of your father.”

“You mean your brother, pussy?”

“Keenan!” Keiran yelled, catching Keenan’s attention. The cousins appeared to be having a silent battle and then Keenan sucked his teeth and glared at Mitch.

“Why wait ten years?” When everyone’s heads shifted to me I realized I had spoken the question out loud.

“Believe it or not, Miss Monroe, I did not come to the decision to kill my only child so easily and there was still hope of marrying someone as naive as his mother had been. After all I was pretty young myself. And there was this other little hiccup that says I’m supposed to be dead.”

“So how do you plan to get away with this?”

“It isn’t a crime to return from the dead. A quick DNA test will prove that Keiran was indeed my son and I collect his inheritance. After I take care of my brother there will be no one left to refute any of it.”

“You won’t touch my father,” Keenan growled.

“Son, you won’t be around to stop me.”

“Mitch, take the money and go. I’ll even give you a head start. That’s my only offer,” Keiran ordered.

“You think you can just stand there and puff your chest up at me? I am your father, you shit. You don’t dictate to me. I made you,” he roared.

“And a fine fucking job you did. You made me and then you sold me.”

“You were always a means to an end and that end was money. I was supposed to marry and produce an heir. Your mother screwed that up when she ran off to be a whore for my brother!”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Keenan asked. He was looking between Keiran and Mitch while I stood by in shock.

“Isn’t that the reason you hate John so much, son? Because my brother,” he sneered, “forbid Sophia from reporting you missing to the police so that they could protect another child.” He looked toward Keenan, “the bastard child she had with him.”

Keiran’s glare darkened while Keenan froze as the aftermath of the catastrophic bomb, Mitch dropped knocked us all on our asses.

They’re brothers.

Oh fuck.

He had to be lying. He’s told many lies before in order to get what he wanted. “Shut the fuck up, Mitch,” Keiran warned.

“When Sophia left me, I had every hospital watched for any sign of her, so when Keenan was born, it led me right to her. Imagine my surprise to find her with my brother of all people. I wasn’t even aware that they’d met but apparently he’d come sniffing around and decided to play the hero.”

“You were holding her hostage,” I guessed out loud, thinking about the housekeeper that was dismissed. It all made sense. “She didn’t want to be with you anymore, did she? Leaving you meant ruining your plans.”

“You’re smarter than I gave you credit for,” Mitch snidely replied. He turned his eyes that lacked any fatherly warmth, on Keiran again.

“Tell him, Keiran. Tell him how Sophia died because she wanted to protect you and this little bastard. Tell him how you killed his mother. The mother you both share.”

Keenan took a threatening step toward Mitch but the two men grabbed his arm. “My mother ran off when I was seven,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Nephew, it is amazing how money can spin a tale many ways and no one bats an eyelash. Just as I was able to play dead for the past ten years.”

“You’re lying,” he gritted and turned to Keiran. “Keiran, what the fuck man? Tell him he’s lying!” It broke my heart to see a tear run down Keenan’s face before he wiped it away with an angry hand. Keiran stood there, silent and unmoving. “You killed her? You killed my mom?” Keiran remained silent but his unflinching gaze was fixed with Keenan’s. “Answer me!” he roared. This was the first and only time I’ve ever seen Keenan, who was usually the joker, so angry. Mitch’s dark chuckle broke the brief silence.

“He can’t. He shot her right in the head and didn’t even blink an eyelash,” he laughed again. A split second later before any of us could react, Mitch was on the ground and Keenan was pounding his fist into Mitch’s face, creating a bloody canvas. I was thrown to the ground as dust and bullets flew. The sound of gunfire was deafening as all my senses went on alert just before shutting down. I couldn’t make out anything or anyone. The lights from the vehicles must have been shot out as darkness and dust mixed.

Where was Keiran?

I didn’t realize I was screaming until someone appeared out of nowhere and clamped a hand over my mouth. Once I quieted, the hand was removed and I heard footsteps running. As the dust settled I could see two large bodies lying still on the ground and under them both was a pool of blood.