Page 70 of The Caress

Pure fury flashes in her eyes. "We’ll cut you out of the will. You and your brother. His campaign is already on its last legs, so I guess you’ll both be out there floundering together. We’ll see if you learn some humility when you have to come begging us to pay your bills."

I’ve seen some pretty intense arguments between Keir and his family since I’ve been here, but nothing compares to what I’m witnessing now.

Not only is it the first time I’ve seen Keir’s mother lose an argument, but it’s also the first time I’ve seen a look of genuine fear on her haughty, aristocratic face.

"Do you understand just how much trouble you’re in?" Keir asks. "I know you’re not used to hearing this, but you’re screwed."

His dad nods, frowning. "The family lawyer said we need to hire a criminal attorney."

"Exactly," Keir says. "You’d be smart to follow his advice. In the meantime, you don’t need to worry about James. He’ll land on his feet after the campaign. NewsCorp takes care of our family."

His mother snorts. "Since when?"

"Since now." Keir’s voice turns from sarcastic to stern so quickly that it even makes me jump. He pulls me in closer and rests a hand against the small of my back, making sure I’m taken care of even while he’s going back and forth with his parents. "Since I realized there are more important things in life than acquiring money and manipulating the people we’re supposed to love the most."

Wow.

Shots fired.

If this was a soap opera, I’d be sitting on the edge of the couch by now. But it’s so much more intense when it’s happening right in front of my eyes, right in the middle of our living room.

Keir’s dad holds his phone up and squints to read an incoming message. "Oh, no," he mumbles, the color draining from his face as his shoulders sag forward. "No, no, no. This can’t be happening."

"What is it?" Keir’s mom asks, leaning over to read over his shoulder. "No. They can’t do that. I refuse." She looks over at Keir. "The police are here. Downstairs in the lobby. They’re going to arrest me, Keiran. They’re going to take me away in handcuffs."

He takes a deep breath, then slowly exhales. "I’m sorry to say you’ve brought this on yourself. There’s nothing I can do to help you now."

His dad sputters and fumbles to put his phone away as she stomps off to the elevator. "What about me?" he asks, though I’m not sure if he’s talking to his wife or his son.

Keir answers first. "You’d better start thinking about yourself and what your needs are going to be. Because mother will almost certainly spend a long, long time in prison." He waits until they’re both on the elevator and the doors are closing before adding, "Oh. I really would look into hiring that criminal attorney. You’re going to need all the help you can get."

The doors close on them, seamlessly ending that entire chapter of our lives. I clutch my chest, finding myself suddenly able to breathe more freely again.

Can it really be so easy? I pull Keir close, needing to feel the reassurance of his touch.

"Wow," is the first word I say after they leave. "That was the craziest, most intense thing I’ve ever experienced. And I saw some crazy stuff while I was working for you."

He smiles, but it fades just as quickly. "Was I too hard on her? Should I try to do something? I could probably pull a few strings and make a few phone calls to help her out."

This feels like one of those times when I should probably keep my opinion to myself. "That’s totally up to you," I say, tipping my head back so he can capture my mouth in a long, deep kiss. "I think you’d be justified either way. But like you said, she brought it on herself. And what did she get out of it?"

"Arrested."

"That’s right."

I don’t say anything else because I don’t think I need to. Like Keir said earlier, she brought it on herself. Now she’s getting what she deserves.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR

ELLA

Epilogue

Fiji is literally paradise. I could happily spend months right here on the beach with the man I love, the crystal clear water lapping at our feet as we talk, laugh, and kiss.

It felt a little strange to wake up the first day and not immediately reach for my phone or look at my calendar to see what I had planned for the day, but it didn’t take long to get used to the feeling of being totally, completely free.

"I wish we could stay here forever," I sigh happily as we stretch before our jog along the beach. "Maybe when we’re ready to retire and nobody cares if we disappear from the face of the earth for months at a time."

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