Page 59 of Question Everything

Kyle nodded, put his own gun in the waistband of his jeans and knelt next to Finn. His wound was bleeding quite a bit, but the bullet had just grazed him. Thankfully, it hadn’t hit any major artery. He’d be okay once the paramedics arrived and bandaged the wound.

“What were you thinking, man? A kitchen knife?” Kyle asked him.

“I thought I’d create the diversion you needed to move from the fucking staircase, that’s what.”

“How did you know I was there?”

“I didn’t, really. I counted on the fact that you’re in love with my sister and would never let anyone harm her or Daisy.”

“You’re right. I’d take a bullet for either one of them any day.”

“Clearly, so would I. Keep that in mind.”

Kyle smiled. “I’m on the case, you can relax.”

Finn closed his eyes. “I think I will, then.”

Kyle could hear the sirens in the distance. He knew that this incident would probably delay him returning to work. There would be an inquiry, but he didn’t care. He knew the law. While this wasn’t Kansas or Florida, where there was a “stand your ground” mandate, Massachusetts did have open carry laws. His weapon was licensed and registered with the proper authorities, and he had felt as if his life and home were endangered. What happened here today fell into the common law principle of“castle doctrine.” He was allowed to use reasonable force if an intruder threatened him or his home, and that’s exactly what he did. Plus, no one died, and the men’s injuries were minor.

What mattered now was that Maeve and Daisy were safe. And when this entire ordeal was over, he could hope that they could start planning for the future. Together. Because one thing was certain – now that he’d found her, he was never going to let her go.

Just then, the mailman showed up at the open front door. “Excuse me gentleman. Can one of you sign for this envelope, please?”

Maeve saton the floor Daisy’s room, her back against the wall, her baby wrapped tightly in her arms. She hated not knowing what was happening downstairs. The guilt of bringing trouble to Kyle’s family door was overwhelming her and she began to question everything about her decision making.First you get drunk with the prince and get pregnant. Fool! Then you crash a car and basically lose your mind. What’s next? How can you humiliate yourself further?

She knew what was to come next, though. Anyone who lived in London knew that the British tabloid press was ruthless. They’d come at her with telephoto lenses, hoping to catch a grainy picture of Daisy. She’d brought the world to her daughter’s door before the child could speak for herself.Shameful.

And that wasn’t all. The press would dog Kyle and his family, too. They’d all be under the same microscope, hopefully not for as long as she would be, but still. They deserved better. All they did was help a young mother in need.

Hot tears burned her eyes and fear sat at the base of her belly.How would she live with herself if anyone got hurt because of her? How could she go on? Oh no… what if Kyle got shot?

She had to stop herself before this spiral of bad thoughts spun out of control. She had to be strong for Daisy and herself. She sat up straighter, as if that was the only way to regain control and began to think about the future.

She’d go somewhere else, find a bakery and apply for a job. She’d live a quiet life in a place where she could raise Daisy and give her a happy childhood, away from the scandal and character assassination that was sure to follow in the wake of this explosive news finding its way into the world. She’d allowed her daughter’s early life to be earmarked by ugliness; she’d spend the rest of her life trying to make it up to her. As for the matter of her father, she was sure that he’d deny everything, even a valid DNA test. She could only imagine that The Firm would not respond to her accusations; they never answered a public cry of wrongdoing. It would be in their best interest to now ignore her and Daisy. If need be, she’d relinquish all future claims to any part of the monarchy’s vast supply of cash for support of this child. She didn’t want their money or their involvement in Daisy’s life. At some point, if Daisy wanted to meet her biological father, she’d have to arrange for it on her own. In her heart of hearts, Maeve knew that wouldn’t happen, though. She planned on more than making up for her indiscretion as time went on. What she did know, though, was that when Daisy was old enough, she’d tell her the truth. She had the right to know and decide her own path when the time was right.

As far as her own future, well, that was truly unknown. The only thing she knew for certain was that after today, she couldn’t allow herself to count on Kyle anymore. She could not let the tabloids destroy his life as well as her own. He had exceededevery promise he’d made her, sharing his home with her and his family, too. She could not ask for anything more.

Just as she was beginning to feel that she had a plan in place, she heard gunshots, and every rational thought she’d had flew out the window.Please,she sent a prayer up toward the ceiling of the room.Please let Kyle be safe. Please don’t let those shots be aimed at him!

CHAPTER 34

As soon as the Wellfleet police finished asking their questions, Kyle had sent Conor along with Finn to the hospital to be checked out, knowing Maeve would want her brother to receive the best care possible. Conor would bring Finn back to the house after the doctors there cleared him. Once the two assailants were carted off in the back of two ambulances, both handcuffed and arrested, he and Tim had quickly cleaned up the mess left behind. As much as it pained him to wait a minute longer to go to Maeve, Kyle knew better than to let Sibby and the rest of the family out of the safe room until they cleaned up the bloody mess on the floor, knowing that if she found it, they’d all have to hide out in that safe room for the rest of their lives. Plus, there was no real need for his nephews to see the aftermath of the shooting. They were young and impressionable, and he didn’t want them to be afraid to be in their family’s beach home because of what had happened here today. Finally, when there was not a drop of blood left on the floor, Kyle raced back up the stairs to Maeve.

Once he got to the bedroom, he took a long, deep breath and then knocked, saying the password out loud repeatedly. “Wellfleet, Wellfleet, Wellfleet.” Then there she was, on theother side of the now open door, still holding Daisy, eyes welling over with tears.

“Kyle. I heard the shots. What happened? Are you hurt?”

He watched as her eyes scanned his body.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Are you okay?”

“Me?” she asked, eyes wide. “Aside from almost having a heart attack at the thought that those men had come for Daisy, I am. I heard sirens. Are they gone?”

“Yes,” he said, bringing her over to the rocking chair in the room and sitting her down. Then he took the baby from her and was rewarded with a gummy smile from the little girl. That one innocent gesture from the baby made the trauma of the day fade just a bit.

“Finn was the real hero, Maeve. He jumped one of the guys with a kitchen knife and that gave me an opening to disarm them.”

“What? Did he stab someone? Is he in trouble?”

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