Page 37 of Secrets

She stopped in front of him and nodded. Taking his hands, she pulled him to stand. Slowly, she linked her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. All her life, all she wanted was a brother who would protect her. She had no clue that he actually existed in disguise.

Jay couldn’t stop crying. He laid his head on top of her head and sobbed.

“It’s alright, Jay. I understand now. I understand.”

The room just watched, allowing the two to have their brother and sister moment. They weren’t prepared to let him be alone with her, but they damn sure were going to allow her to have this moment with her brother.

When she pulled back, wiping her own tears, she turned to Nine and the leadership team.

“How do we stop our mother and protect Jay?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“We shouldn’t be seen together,” said Fowler, scanning the crowded city square.

“I’m aware of that, you idiot! How is my son free? Where is my son?” she scowled at him.

“We’re working on that. There were some issues with the cameras at the prison. It was obvious that the guard was speaking to the two prisoners before everything went down. The prison and the bureau are seeing this as a conspiracy gone wrong. They think they killed one another, and somehow Jay got out.”

“Those men and their lawyers are responsible for this,” she frowned.

“I warned you not to confront them,” said Fowler. “I told you to stay away from them and not allow yourself to be seen. You did this.”

She whipped around to face him, her nails digging into his forearm.

“You do not tell me what to do. How was I supposed to know how influential they really are? But they are not untouchable,” she grimaced.

“You don’t know them. They are untouchable. There is no one in the bureau, in the agency, in the whole fucking government that wouldn’t help to protect them. You are not going to get to them. If they have Jay, and that’s a big if right now. If they have him and Millicent, you have nothing. I have nothing. They will not hesitate to come for us.”

“Please, we won’t be sent to trial for this,” she laughed.

“I didn’t say they’d send us to trial. Beatrix, these men handle problems much the same way as you but do it under the pretense of defending their country, defending the weak. They are more violent than you can possibly imagine, and they do not tolerate people like you and me.”

“You sound frightened,” she laughed.

“I am. And you should be too. If they come for you, you will be out of luck, Beatrix. The Dyatlov family will not protect you.”

“Hello, darling,” said her husband, kissing her cheek. He was fifteen years older than Beatrix but looked like he was forty years older. He walked with a cane, a long scar down the side of his face. Ivan Dyatlov had lived a rough and difficult life, climbing his way to the top.

“Ivan, this man seems to be under the impression that this new threat could harm our family,” she giggled.

“Harm our family?” he questioned. “Who is this threat?”

“Gray Wolf Security. Formerly known as REAPER and REAPER-Patriots,” said Fowler. The smile on Ivan’s face disappeared. He gripped his wife’s arm, forcing her to stand.

“We’re leaving,” he said.

“No! No, I want what my son and daughter have. It’s mine!” she yelled. Ivan slapped his wife so hard, she fell to the ground. Fowler didn’t bother to help her up. This was a family matter.

“You will listen to me now. If you engage with these men, everything we have built will be destroyed. There will be nothing left to fight for any longer. I will not engage with them, and if you do, you are doing it on your own without my help. We will be divorced by the weekend.”

Beatrix stared at him, her mouth agape. She couldn’t believe it. Her tough-as-nails, strong-as-a-bull Russian husband was backing down from something.

“You can’t be serious,” she whispered.

“I am deadly serious. Leave this alone. The authorities will find Jay, and he will be in prison for life. We are done with this insane vendetta of yours.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I have never defied you before, but I will defy you on this. I want what is owed to me, and that requires me to go through those men and take my daughter and kill my son.”

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