Page 221 of Seizing Control: Part One

“He’s not leavin’ here alive,” I tell her when it becomes clear she’s not going to explain why she’s so interested in Noah St. James’ fate. “I can promise you that much.”

“Good.” After making herself comfortable on the floor in the far corner, Layla leans her elbows on her bent knees and rests her chin on her folded hands. “Any time now would be lovely.”

After removing my suit jacket and folding my shirt sleeves up my forearms, I select a blade from my tool bench. With a deft hand, I slice the material away from Noah’s mouth. A pink summer dress with Hello Kitty all over it drops to the floor. I look at the girly garment, then shoot Layla a questioning look. She ignores my curiosity, keeping her attention fixed on the man screaming obscenities at me.

“Fuck you. Piece of Shamrock shit. You’re dead.” As the truth in his statement dawns, he blanches. “No way...”

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Fuck. Venom.”

Baring my teeth at the flailing man, I correct him with fake pleasantness, “Lazarus.”

He screams as I draw the knife along the bottom curve of his left eye, dissecting his lower eyelid with expert precision. The noise echoes around the sound-proofed cellar. I grin. Noah St. James screams a second time as I mangle his other eye.

This time, he’s calling for help from his big brothers.

Jack and Hugh.

It’s not the last time he screams their names.

It happens, again and again, before I finally put him out of his misery the next evening.

44

LILY

Zeke’s alive. Zeke is alive. Zeke. Is. Alive.

Those three words bang around my skull as I haul myself back to my feet. I’m careful as can be, my speed and balance hampered by my quickly burgeoning belly, when I pull my shorts top back into place. My bump has popped in the week Slash has been gone. Appearing almost overnight as I head towards my twenty-week scan in five days’ time.

I can tell by Crystal’s shrewd looks that I’m bigger than expected.

She hasn’t directly addressed the issue.

However, I can tell that she thinks I’m hiding something from her.

It pains me to admit it, but Mumma C is right. I’m not hiding the truth about how far along I am. My secret is far worse than that. The father of my baby is unknown, and while I thought that was only going to be a problem that Slash and I would have to deal with between us, the surprise resurrection of my first love has thrown a spanner in the works. My reckless behaviour, having sex with my husband and my ex-fiancé on the same day, is going to blow up in my face if Zeke’s surprise reappearance is an accurate indication of his future intentions.

I know the man inside and out. He’s not going to quietly fade into the background if he discovers that I’m carrying his child. My marriage to Slash was hard enough for him to deal with—I experienced that first hand when he tried to make me hate him during our interlude in the Perth lockup after my second wedding ceremony.

But... I’m still beyond excited that he’s alive.

It feels like my prayers have been answered.

My heart sings, filled with glee at being proven right.

Mind spinning with disbelief as reality and hope merge into a perfect storm, grabbing my robe from the end of my bed, I’m halfway to the door Zeke just exited through before I realise that I’m not sure how I should handle things if I catch up with him. The world thinks he’s dead. That’s not by mistake. A lot of effort was put into this ruse—including making me believe the lie.

“Damn it.”

My body is replete, tired yet satiated, my limbs heavy and relaxed, the hole in my chest no longer plaguing me. I yank my tank top back into place, determined to at least try to find him without causing a scene, the almost-dried stickiness on my stomach scrapes my inner wrist. With one arm, I hold my breasts out of the way so I can look down at my skin. A heartbeat later, I’m biting back a sharp laugh.

“He came all over me.”

My exclamation is loud in the quiet house.

Tears in my eyes, I clap my hands over my mouth.

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