Page 54 of Pax

“Getting a name to match that pretty face of yours,” said Pax. Brax stepped forward, staring at the man. They all heard a key in the front door lock and turned, weapons ready. The man stared at them, then yelled.

“No! Leave!” he yelled.

“I can’t.”

Their faces told him all he needed to know. The surprise and pain were evident.

“I’m sorry, Brax,” said Aaron. “He’s my brother. I’ve protected him my whole life, and I was trying to protect him here as well. I didn’t know how bad it had gotten.”

“You knew?”

“I only knew he was selling foreign kids. I figured it didn’t matter. When we found out they were all handicapped, I knew that Jared had gone too far.”

“He’d gone too far long before that, Aaron. You’re as guilty as he is. You ruined your career for this. For him!” yelled Brax. Pax could see the pain and betrayal in his brother’s face. They were as tight as brothers could be, but he’d never cover for him on something like this. Never.

“I know. Do what you have to do.”

“No, it’s not that easy,” said Luke. “You’re going to do what needs to be done.”

“Wh-what?” gasped Jared. “No. No, Chuck, I’m your brother.” With tears in his eyes, he nodded.

“I know. But they’re right. I should have handled this sooner.” He lifted the weapon and fired, killing his brother instantly. Looking at the men, he waited a moment and then nodded. With the end of the gun in his mouth, he fired.

The silence was almost too much to bear. Pax gripped his brother’s neck, pulling him in and hugging him.

“He fooled me. He completely pulled the wool over my eyes.”

“He did it to all of us, Brax. He was a brother. We trusted him,” said Luke. “We should know by now that just because you wear the uniform doesn’t mean you deserve to.”

“What now?” asked Pax.

“We go home.”

Luke made sure to call home and let the others know the situation. He warned them all not to ask questions right away and, more than anything, to leave Brax alone for a while.

Pax was never so happy as to see his beautiful fiancée. When he opened the cottage door, he hardly recognized the space.

“What do you think?” she asked. “I can change it back. I saved everything.”

“It’s perfect,” he smiled, hugging her. “You’re perfect, Dee. Thank you. Thank you for being here, for doing this, for everything.” He hugged her so tightly she was almost afraid.

“Hey. Hey, are you okay?” she whispered.

“I will be. It’s done, and it won’t happen again. At least not by the same people.”

“Maybe one day you can tell me how people get to this point. How do they go from being normal children, normal young adults, to crazy psychopaths that think things like this are okay.”

“I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to explain that. What I can explain to you is how much I love you and how happy I am that you’re going to be my wife.”

“Me too,” she smiled. “What do you say we get hitched?”

“Let’s do it.”

With the precision that only the Belle Fleur team can master, the wedding was planned, executed, and done to perfection. Deanna made the decision to take the money her parents left her and donate it to the school, the hospital, and three charities, all owned by the people at Belle Fleur. She’d never felt more grateful for her parents.

“Is he ever going to accept that he loves her?” she asked, nodding toward Brax. He was glaring at one of the Robicheaux cousins, who was dancing with Stephanie. Pax laughed.

“I don’t know. Probably not any more so than him admitting that she’s not a little girl any longer.” Marilisa was dancing with someone they didn’t recognize, but she was laughing, and Saint was fuming.

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