Page 69 of Blindsided
The vault is silent when Kane finishes reading; the only sounds are our breathing and the distant hum of the bank’s air conditioning. Kane stares at the letter, his expression unreadable.
“Kane?” I say softly, placing my hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know what I am,” he answers honestly, his voice rough. “All this time... he was trying to protect us. From Russians. It sounds insane.”
“It does,” I agree. “But it also explains a lot.”
He picks up the map and studies it carefully. “This is in the Wicklow Mountains. Maybe two to three hours from here.”
“Do you think she’s still there? After all this time?”
Kane shrugs, a gesture that tries for casualness but misses by a mile. “Only one way to find out.”
He gathers the contents of the box—the letter, the photo, the map, and several legal documents that appear to be property deeds and bank account information—and places them back in the envelope.
“We should tell the others,” I say, reaching for the button to summon the manager.
“Wait.” Kane catches my wrist, his touch gentle but urgent. “Before we go out there... I need to know something.”
“What is it?”
His eyes search mine, vulnerability clear in their depths. “Are you sure you want to be part of this? It’s not your fight. Not your family drama. You could walk away now, go back to Wavecrest, sort out your own life without getting tangled up in this mess. Or I could see if you could stay at the MacGallan estate back home. At least that way I know you’ll be safe from Mark.”
The question and his suggestion catch me off guard. Not only is he giving me an out, but he’s also concerned about Mark. The sensible thing would be to take it.
But as I stand here in this vault, looking at the pain and hope warring in his eyes, I realize I passed the point of sensible choices days ago. Maybe even on that plane when I first noticed the tattooed manwith the kind eyes who saw my pain when no one else did.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I tell him firmly. “I’m seeing this through.”
Relief washes over his face, followed quickly by something warmer, more intense. Before I can process what’s happening, he pulls me to him, his mouth finding mine in a kiss that’s nothing like our rain-soaked embrace at the castle. This is heat and certainty and promise.
When we break apart, I’m breathless in a way that has nothing to do with asthma.
“We should...” I gesture vaguely toward the door, my thoughts scattered.
“Yeah,” he agrees, though he makes no move to let me go. “We should.”
It takes another moment before we separate, Kane pressing the button to summon the manager. As we wait, he carefully tucks the envelope inside his jacket.
“Ready to go find your sister?” I ask, straightening my clothes and trying to look like I haven’t just been thoroughly kissed in a bank vault.
A slow smile spreads across Kane’s face—the first genuine one I’ve seen since we entered the bank. “Ready as I’ll ever be, A stór.”
The endearment sends a warm shiver through me, and I find myself smiling back as the vault dooropens. Whatever happens next, whatever dangers await in those mountains, at least we’re facing them together.
The others are waiting anxiously in the bank’s private conference room. As soon as we enter, Declan stands, his expression tense.
“Well?” he demands. “What was in the box?”
Kane pulls out the envelope and spreads its contents on the polished table. “We know where Ella is,” he says. “And why Tomas hid her.”
As he recounts what we found—the letter, the photo, the map to Miners Village in the mountains—I watch the others’ reactions. Declan’s face hardens with each new detail, while Wren and Kat exchange concerned glances. Rory, surprisingly, seems the least shocked.
“The Petrov connection makes sense,” he says when Kane finishes. “There were always rumors about Tomas’s dealings in Russia. Nothing concrete, but whispers.”
“So, this Viktor Petrov,” Kat says, tapping the letter, “he’s still a threat? After all these years?”
“According to Tomas, yes,” Kane confirms. “Though how much of a threat an old Russian businessman can be now, I don’t know.”
