Chapter 115 Chapter 115
Hailey’s POV
I stood in the garden with Damien, holding him close, feeling the tension radiating from his body despite his attempts to appear calm.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
I could see it in his eyes the worry, the unsettled energy that made him look like he wanted to be anywhere but here having this conversation.
“Damien, what’s really going on?” I asked, pulling back slightly to look at his face.
“Something happened in the city. I can tell.”
“It’s complicated,” he said, his voice tight. “There are things I need to handle, but right now I just need to make sure everyone here is safe.”
“That’s not an answer,” I pressed.
He looked at me for a long moment, and I saw him wrestling with how much to tell me. Then he leaned down and kissed me. When he pulled away, he didn’t meet my eyes. “I need to talk to Lorenzo. We’ll discuss everything later.”
“Damien….”
“Later, Hailey,” he said firmly, then walked past me toward the house, already calling out for Lorenzo.
I stood there feeling dismissed and worried, watching him disappear inside.
“That didn’t look good,” Benita’s voice came from behind me.
I turned to see her standing near the garden path, having apparently witnessed the entire exchange.
“No, it didn’t,” I agreed. “Something’s wrong. He’s more stressed than I’ve ever seen him.”
“He’s probably been through a lot in the city,” Benita said, moving to stand beside me.
“I know, but…” I trailed off, looking toward the house again.
That’s when it hit me.
“Wait,” I said, my stomach dropping. “Where’s Kai?”
Benita’s eyes widened as she realized what I was asking. “He didn’t come back with Damien.”
We looked at each other, and I saw my own fear reflected in her eyes.
“He always comes back with Damien,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “Always. They’re inseparable when it comes to security.”
“Maybe he stayed in the city,” Benita suggested, but her voice lacked conviction.
“Maybe there was business he needed to handle….”
“Or maybe he’s dead,” I said, the words escaping before I could stop them.
The silence that followed was heavy and terrible.
“That would explain why Damien looks so troubled,” Benita said quietly. “If something happened to Kai, if he lost his head of security, his most trusted person…”
“Oh God,” I breathed, feeling tears sting my eyes. “Kai can’t be dead. He can’t be.”
We stood there in the garden, both of us processing this horrible possibility, when Louis appeared on the path.
“Miss Hailey, Miss Benita,” he said, his tone professional. “Mr. Alejandro is back and he’s requested that everyone remain inside the house for the time being. He doesn’t want anyone outside.”
There was something in Louis’s voice a firmness, an urgency that made it clear this wasn’t a suggestion.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Mr. Alejandro will brief everyone shortly,” Louis said, not really answering the question.
“Please, come inside.”
Benita and I exchanged glances. We were both thinking the same thing Kai was dead, and Damien was about to tell us.
“Of course,” I said, forcing a smile that felt like it might crack my face. “We were just heading in anyway.”
“Thank you, Louis,” Benita added, her voice overly sweet and accommodating in a way that was completely unlike her usual tone with him.
Louis looked between us, clearly noticing our sudden shift in behavior but not commenting on it.
We followed him back to the house, both of us being excessively polite and nice holding doors for each other, thanking Louis multiple times, speaking in soft, gentle voices.
We were trying to be kind to Louis because we thought he was about to lose his brother.
Once inside, Louis directed us to the main living area and then left to continue his duties.
The moment he was gone, Benita grabbed my arm. “We need to know what happened. We can’t just sit here wondering if Kai is….”
She couldn’t finish the sentence.
“I’ll find out,” I said. “Damien will tell me. He has to.”
I could hear voices coming from Damien’s office him and Lorenzo talking in low, urgent tones. I positioned myself near the door, trying to hear what they were saying, but the conversation was too muffled.
After what felt like an eternity but was probably only an hour, Lorenzo emerged from the office looking grim and exhausted.
He nodded at me as he passed, heading toward the security office to presumably update Louis on whatever had been discussed.
The moment he was gone, I rushed to Damien’s office and knocked once before entering without waiting for permission.
Damien looked up from his desk, surprise and irritation crossing his face. “Hailey, I said we’d talk later….”
“Where’s Kai?” I interrupted, not caring about his tone. “Damien, I need to know. Where is Kai? What happened to him?”
Damien’s expression shifted to confusion.
“What are you talking about?”
“He didn’t come back with you,” I said, my voice rising with anxiety. “You came back with just Lorenzo, and you’re acting all worried and stressed, and Louis is being extra security conscious. So what happened? Is Kai… is he…”
I couldn’t say the word. Couldn’t voice that terrible possibility.
“Is he dead?” Benita’s voice came from behind me. She’d followed me to the office, unable to wait outside.
Damien stood up quickly. “What? No! Kai’s not dead. What made you think…..”
The sound of vehicles pulling up outside interrupted him.
Damien moved to the window and looked out, then turned back to us with visible relief on his face.
“He’s not dead,” Damien said. “He’s right there.”
I rushed to the window and saw two figures getting out of a car Kai, looking tired but very much alive, and Vincent, his injured hand still bandaged.
Relief flooded through me so intensely my knees felt weak. “Oh thank God.”
“We thought he was dead,” Benita said, her hand pressed to her chest. “We thought that’s why you were so upset.”
“I’m upset for a lot of reasons,” Damien said, his voice tight. “But Kai’s death isn’t one of them.”
We watched as Kai and Vincent approached the house, and I felt stupid for jumping to such a dramatic conclusion.
But then Damien spoke again, and his next words made my relief evaporate instantly.
“I know this is sudden, and I know it’s going to take some adjustment,” he began. “But as of today, Vincent will be living here at the safehouse with us.”
I felt my stomach drop.
I looked at Vincent, another person in this house. Another stranger in our midst.
And something about him made my skin crawl.