Page 60 of Beautiful Vengeance

That made her smile. The man knew her too well. And shewasworthy of him, no matter what she’d done, or what dangers they had to face going forward. They belonged to each other. Trinity would take on any threat, take any risk to ensure she spent the rest of her life with this incredible man at her side.

Including setting a date.

“Where to now?” Brody asked as they got into the vehicle.

“To pick up Kiyomi at the manor.” Trinity was sorry to end her friend’s time with Marcus, but there was no help for it. “It’s time to move on.”

Chapter Seventeen

Janelle grabbed her bags and rushed out of the rental house to the SUV idling in the driveway, excitement fizzing inside her like the finest champagne as she approached the trunk of the vehicle.

This was it. After years of waiting and planning, this was finally it.

She tossed her gear into the back then slid into the front passenger seat with her cell pressed to her ear. “You’re certain?” There could be no mistakes. They had only one shot at this. In order for this to work, both operations had to take place simultaneously.

“The drone captured three separate vehicles leaving between midnight and six this morning. And when we checked the entrance off the east side of the property, we found the tire tracks. It has to be them.”

Janelle shut her door and motioned for the driver to move. “You’re positive Kiyomi’s still there?”

“Unless she was hidden in the back of one of the vehicles. The cameras our team posing as the construction crew installed identified Kiyomi in a vehicle with Laidlaw yesterday afternoon, and she hasn’t been seen since.”

It would have to do. Janelle couldn’t afford to wait now. She had to act. “I’m en route with team alpha.” Her best unit, though not nearly the caliber that her operatives would be after she’d finished the next phase of her new program. Her objective wasn’t possible without Kiyomi, however. She was the blueprint, the inspiration behind everything. “Is bravo team in place?”

“They reached the meeting point ten minutes ago. No sign of Amber or Megan yet.”

“I’m almost sorry I’m going to miss the reunion.” But her top priority was waiting for her at Laidlaw Hall.

Today would erase her past completely and give her the future she’d always dreamed of.

****

“Stop picking.”

Megan rolled her head from side to side and shot an annoyed look at her sister beside her in the backseat as she lowered her hands into her lap. “I can’t help it.” It wasn’t that bad. Most of the raw spots and scabbing around her nails were from the other night when they’d realized Kiyomi was missing.

“Yes, you can.” Amber kept clicking away on her keyboard, doing whatever it was she was doing.

“I’m nervous. Aren’t you nervous?” About meeting the woman who had abandoned them so long ago. And she was also sad. Leaving Marcus behind had been hard.

After saying a perfunctory goodbye she’d snuck out the back like a coward so he wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes, afraid she would break down and embarrass herself if she’d lingered. If it had been that hard for her, she couldn’t imagine how devastated Kiyomi must be right now.

“A little. But you don’t see me picking all around my nails until they bleed.”

She gave her sister an annoyed look. “It’s my one flaw, Amber. Can’t you just let me have my one flaw?”

Her sister looked up to arch a brow at her. “Only one?”

Ty swiveled around in the front passenger seat to give them a hard look. “Am I gonna have to come back there and break you two apart?”

“No.” Megan huffed and tucked her hands beneath her arms to resist the urge to keep picking. Thank God he and Jesse were going to be with them—nearby at least—during the meeting, or she would have been twice as nervous.

What if this person wasn’t even their aunt? They’d only agreed to this meeting because the timing suited them, and it would be quick. The whole point was to find out if it was her, and if so, find out exactly why she’d dumped them into the system rather than become their guardian. Anything else was a bonus, though if their aunt had dreams of spending Christmas together, she could fuck right off.

Ty reached a long arm out and squeezed her knee. “Hey. It’s gonna be okay, dimples.”

A tiny smile tugged at the edges of her mouth. She loved it when he called her that. “Yeah.”

He grinned and turned back around to face front. “Jesse and I’ll be there through the whole thing, and the others will be nearby just in case. If the meeting turns to shit, you just pull the chute and leave.”

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