Page 135 of I Replaced His Husband
He wanted us to move into his place across town, near the coast.
At the hospital, the doctors examined Kay while the paralysis gradually wore off. An ultrasound showed the baby was fine. His heartbeat was normal, and there were no signs of harm.
They asked us to stay overnight so they could keep an eye on us, and the next day, we were discharged.
Just like Marco suggested, we headed straight to his house. Adam went back to his place to grab our stuff and some clean clothes, though he was clearly uneasy about going near the blood-stained terrace.
Marco's place was the old Darnell family home, a big, elegant Southern-style mansion.
It was much larger than Adam’s house and had full CCTV coverage of every entrance, a huge garden, and a driveway.
I suggested calling the security team the next day to install more cameras and motion sensors along the fence. The technicians walked us through the whole system and told us to check the footage regularly.
For hours, none of us talked about what had happened. Marco and Adam didn’t press us.
Kay stayed really close to me the whole time as we were settling into Marco’s house. He literally followed me everywhere while I carried our bags, unpacked, and put things away in the closet. When Marco showed me around the kitchen, explaining where he kept everything so I could cook for Kay, Kay stood right beside me the entire time and even followed us into the pantry.
When he needed to use the bathroom, he looked at me shyly, biting his lip, and asked me to come with him. He didn’trequest me to hold his dick while he peed, thankfully, but still, it was clear he wasn’t in a state where he could relax. A couple of times, when Marco suggested we take a walk around the neighborhood or go down to the beach, which was maybe a couple hundred feet away, I said I needed to make some calls to my family first and that we might go later. Marco gave his brother a questioning look, but Kay immediately stepped closer to me, grabbed my hand, and said, "I’m staying wherever my alpha is."
That declaration made Marco’s eyes go wide, but he didn’t say a word.
Later that same day, Detective Moor called to let us know the identities of the two men who had come with Jorah. Their names were Harry Dawson and his cousin Nicholas Dawson.
Moor sounded quite different this time; he even showed a bit of sympathy.
There was no talk of charging me with anything. The doctors confirmed we had been completely paralyzed, and both Adam and Marco had solid alibis. The gas analysis showed it was a rare paralyzing agent, really hard to get. Since Nicholas had worked at a gun shop that sold certain ‘self-defense’ items under the table, the cops figured that’s how they got their hands on the canisters. Thankfully, the gas only caused temporary muscle paralysis and wore off completely after about twelve hours.
Moor also said that the shots that killed the three attackers came from a pretty long distance—maybe 30 to 40 yards—and from the direction of the forest. Kay asked if it was a rifle or a handgun. The detective said it had to be a high-quality 9mm pistol, maybe even a competition-grade one. Nothing cheap, since most pistols can’t shoot that far with that kind of deadly accuracy. No shell casings or signs of the shooter were found, though. Either he picked them up, or he used a brass catcher.
We ended up talking about it that evening after the call, while sitting together in Marco’s spacious living room.
"Who could it be?" Adam asked in a hollow voice. He looked awful, still refusing to go back to his own house, even though the bodies were long gone.
He’d admitted earlier that he might sell that cursed house. Too many terrible things had happened there. Marco had kindly offered to let him stay, so we were all under one roof again, our strange ‘foursome’, just like when I first came to White Cliffs.
Marco spoke up, "I have a few theories. Either it was a cop who got a tip-off about the attack but didn't want to go public to avoid backlash from the local community, or it was someone else who didn't want the Dawsons to beat Rain and rape Kay."
Adam shook his head. "Nah, I think you’re wrong. I’m pretty sure I know who it was."
We all turned to him, surprised by how sure he sounded.
"Kay, do you know who John Sanders’ brother is?"
Kay blinked, then nodded. "His younger brother, Garry? He was in the military for years. From what I’ve heard… he was a sharpshooter."
Marco and I stared, stunned, but Adam kept going.
"I think the Sanderses took those attacks on Kay way more seriously than we realized. I think they asked Garry to help with setting up discreet protection, to prevent something exactly like this. When I spoke with them on the phone about what happened, they were beside themselves. Danny Sanders started crying…"
"Why didn’t you tell me?" Kay asked softly, clearly surprised.
"I didn’t want to worry you," Adam said. "But he was really shaken that stuff like this kept happening. If I’m right, they arranged for someone to keep an eye on the place quietly. They’ve got the money to hire professionals for 24/7surveillance. And they knew how reluctant you were to accept help before, so I doubt they made a big deal out of it. Maybe they’re not such awful people after all."
We all went quiet, thinking about what Adam had said. It actually made a lot of sense. The Sanderses were the only ones with the kind of budget to hire round-the-clock protection and the motivation to keep it all under the radar. It added up.
And for me, that realization brought some comfort. I wasn’t the only one looking out for Kay. There was a backup. Someone out there was keeping him safe. That thought gave me a bit of peace. Even better, word had already started spreading around town about a mysterious protector. If anyone else was thinking of trying something, they might think twice now.
Still, something kept nagging at me.
