Page 69 of Unfulfilled Promises
She began to clear the plates, and when she took Regan’s, I heard my woman whisper, “Thank you.”
Hannah winked at me before she left the room, only to return a moment later to finish grabbing the last of the dishes. When she was done, she closed the door behind her, leaving us alone to talk. I knew none of the guys wanted to upset Regan, but I wasn’t cutting her out of the conversation. Whatever was going on, she was going to know. Information was power, and I was going to arm her with as much as she wanted.
“Where’s Ricardo?” Regan began, and the look Devlin cast down at her was telling.
No one knew. That’s as much as I got before we ran out of the war room, so anything else he’d say was new to me. He cleared his throat before he began to explain. “Giovanni’s phone had a number for Ricardo, but it went to a disconnected number, and with no trackable SIM card, we don’t have a way to locate him. We’re in the dark.”
“Has anyone heard from Waylon? I really think he knows more than he let on, and somehow, I don’t believe he was doing anything out of greed,” Regan said, and I could see the wheels turning in Devlin’s mind.
“What do you mean?” James asked as Rhys watched intently.
“I don’t want to go into too much detail,” she looked at me, and I understood what she didn’t want to say, “but I believe it was Waylon who made sure I was captured on a Callahan camera so you’d know where to find me. He was the one who gave Hannah a phone to call when she was taken, and a memory keeps scratching at my brain that’s telling me Waylon was doing what he did to protect, not harm.”
“Do you have anything besides your gut feeling?” Lucian asked, and I wanted to punch my friend in the face.
He wasn’t being rude to her, but he needed something to go on and a gut feeling wasn’t going to cut it.
“Do any of you know about some rich old guy who had a falling-out with a bank and apparently buried his money inhis back yard?” Regan inquired, and after everyone gave her a confused look, she explained. “One of the girls at Kelly’s said Waylon was hunting for some man’s missing money that no one could find after he died. Maybe that’s where he got the money to bankroll Giovanni and Ricardo’s lifestyle while he was trying to find a way to get inside to stop the madness.”
She shrugged like she was unsure, but her statement had validity. Waylon didn’t run, and when it was discovered that Giovanni had Regan, he called him back to Atlanta, giving her a window to escape. Someone looking for power wouldn’t care about anyone but themselves.
“I think she may be on to something. To find Ricardo, we need to find Waylon,” I reasoned.
“Let me do some digging. When exactly did you hear this woman say that?” James asked as he pulled a notepad from his pants pocket and began to take notes.
“It was the day Giovanni took me from Kelly, so about three months before you rescued me,” Regan replied.
“James, Lucian, and I need to head back to Portstill first thing tomorrow, but we’ll keep digging on our end, and when we get even a peep out of either of them, we’ll be on our way back. Until then, go about your business but keep an eye out. I have a feeling they’re going to pop up when we least expect it,” Devlin said, and we all stood from the table.
Regan walked over to James, and the two of them moved to the side and began to speak quietly away from everyone. I kept an eye on her as Lucian and I spoke about ways to track Ricardo, and when James hugged Regan and she returned to me, I glanced to see him smiling across the room at me.
The preppy assassin seemed to be on board with me and Regan, but every so often, I’d catch Rhys giving me weird looks. If he kept it up, I was going to have a long talk with him about butting the fuck out of mine and Regan’s business.
After hugs and handshakes, we left the dining room, and I followed Regan as she walked down the hallway toward her room. Stopping in front of the enclosed patio, she glanced at me and nodded to the outside.
I linked hands with her as we stepped into the cool night air and walked to the seating area in the middle. The smell of wildflowers was pleasant as she stared up at the night sky. “Did you know Rhys closed this in when I moved in after foster care?” I shook my head, and she smiled at the memory. “He didn’t want me to wander around the grounds, but I loved being outside so much that he built this for me. I hardly come out here anymore.”
“When we start looking for a house, I’ll make sure it’s got a nice huge patio for you to enjoy.”
“You want to get a house with me?” she asked, shocked that I’d want to live with her.
Leaning over, I kissed her softly as I admitted, “I want to be able to shout to the world that you’re mine and I’m yours. And yes, I want to get a house with you, a big one that we can fill with kids, or dogs, or cats, since Edgar isn’t going anywhere.”
“Kids? You want to have kids with me?”
I smiled and replied, “Baby, I want it all. I want my ring on your finger, my baby in your belly, and my name plastered on your ass. I mean, I’m joking . . . sort of.” I offered her a reassuring smile and a wink as she looked stunned by my honesty.
Regan and I were starting fresh, but it didn’t mean that our feelings reset to zero. For months—hell, almost a year—I’d wanted to get to know her and see what wonderful things rattled around her brain. Now that she’s with me, I’d listen to every story, taste every new dish, wipe every tear, and celebrate every victory with her.
As long as she was beside me, we were unstoppable. And anyone who tried to keep us apart would be on the receiving end of a beating. Or worse.
Chapter 32
Regan
2 Months later
We’d been in Pierce Bluff for a few days visiting with James and Amaya, and this afternoon, the men were going shooting at the Death Hounds gun range while the ladies met at Lucian and Rylee’s house for drinks. The kids were being watched by a hoard of nannies and private security at Elise’s parents’ house, since Chuck and Blaire loved having the kids around.
