Page 33 of Explosive Vengeance

His youngest daughter reached up to take his hand as they walked toward the car. “Are you all right, Papa?”

Looking down into her innocent, beautiful little face, Guillaume’s grief lessened a fraction. He smiled at her. “Yes, my angel. Just sad.”

Sophie nodded, her blue eyes somber. “I am too. I miss Uncle Dom.”

“Me too,” he said, squeezing her as tears burned the backs of his eyes. Dom wouldn’t want him to cry. He would want him to find and punish the killer.

He glanced to his right at his wife. She gave him a sad smile and reached for his hand. Guillaume grasped it, shot a wink at their other daughter, who was holding Marguerite’s other hand. “I’m the luckiest man in all of France to be blessed with such precious jewels.”

His wife and girls were the most valued things in the world to him. He would protect them at all cost—something he’d been unable to do for the brother he’d just laid to rest.

The inspector stopped him on the way to the car and pulled him aside. “Did you think about what I said last night? The offer still stands.”

Be patient.“Thank you. I’ll be in touch.” He ushered his family into the car and drove them home, Jean-Pierre following them. The reception was an agony all its own, people reminiscing about Dom, talking about how much they’d loved him.

Lies. They hadn’t known Dom. Only he had. Most of these assholes were only here to enjoy the food and alcohol Guillaume was paying for.

Finally the guests began to leave, trickling out in maddeningly small groups. The inspector was one of the last. Guillaume was glad to see him go.

When everyone was gone, he locked the front door, bowed his head, and heaved a tired sigh.

“Anything I can do?” Jean-Pierre asked behind him.

Guillaume nodded. “I have something I need to take care of. I need you to follow me there.”

“Of course.”

He caught up with the inspector’s vehicle several kilometers down a quiet, country road, and flashed his lights. The inspector slowed and pulled to the side of the road, rolling down a window as Guillaume approached, keeping his gloved hands in his pockets.

“Did I forget something?” the inspector asked with a smile. “You could have just called me. You didn’t have to come all the way out here.”

“Yes I did.” He pulled out the silenced pistol and put a bullet through the man’s forehead.

The inspector’s body slumped over the steering wheel.

Guillaume bent to stare into the blank eyes. “That’s me being patient,” he snarled, and walked back to his car.

****

Chloe checked her messages on the drive into the closest town on Friday night. After being cooped up in the cottage for so long to avoid detection and no new threats materializing, she’d deemed it safe to at least go out to dinner as a group.

Mostly she’d just needed to get out of there before her head exploded. Being around Heath for that long after that insanely hot make-out session had been hell on her self-control. If Megan and Ty hadn’t been around, she’d have jumped him long ago.

There was a message from Fleur, under the bogus names and email addresses they’d set up to communicate with each other.

Package sent off safely. Should arrive at destination tomorrow.

Kaya. Fleur had taken her for medical care, then put her into transitional housing run by a private non-profit group in Paris that helped female trafficking victims. Kaya would be given the choice of staying in France or returning to her home country. Chloe wished her the best.

“Good news?” Heath asked from behind the wheel.

She finished typing her response, a smile on her face. “Very good. The woman I got out in Paris is okay and on her way to starting a new life.”

“I didn’t know you rescued a woman.”

She set her phone down to look at him, that shock of awareness hitting her all over again. It was impossible not to think about the way he’d held her, the incredible rush of arousal he’d elicited when he’d seized control and kissed her, and having him so close only made her want more. He came across as aloof and gruff, but there had been nothing aloof about that. Now she wanted more, to see just how deep that hot alpha streak went.

She hadn’t slept much last night, thinking about Heath and Megan and Ty’s offer to help her with the Marseille op and targeting Dubois. She had to admit she could use the help, and who better to have her back than Megan and two Spec Ops trained men sworn to her cause?

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