Page 204 of Make Us Yours
“He went after a child? Are you freaking kidding me?!” Emma shouts. “I wish I could bring that fucker back to life, just to kill him again!”
“I’m right there with you, Bunny,” Greyson agrees.
“And I’m guessing they weren’t empty threats?” I question Julian.
“They were not. He had photographs of Fisher’s daughter at their home, her daycare. Everywhere that little girl went, he was right there. Fisher gave Victor access to your penthouse the first time. But once we changed the keycodes, he handed him a key for the main entrance,” Julian informs us.
“He also informed Victor about one of the tenants having a condo in the building that was rarely being used, since the owner is away half the year for business. Which is where Victor was hiding out on the nineteenth floor.”
“So, what? His plan was to stay hidden there until I accepted a car ride, and instead of it being an actual driver, it would have been him?” Veronica frowns, trying to put all the pieces together.
Julian nods. “Originally, yes. But he became impatient and decided on a different course of action. He had Fisher close the main breaker to the entire building and instructed him only to turn it back on five minutes later, not a second sooner,” he says before continuing.
“When the power went out, Victor snuck into the penthouse through the mainentrance at that exact moment. He knew the camera would need a second to regain focus once it switched from day vision to night vision, making him a smidge too blurry for our sensors to alert us of movement. The asshole was a lot smarter than we anticipated.”
“And the explosion?” Gabe asks next.
“Fisher was unaware of that part. But my guess is that Victor knew it would be impossible to keep the power off for so long without someone checking on the breaker. The explosion was planted in the condo Victor was using as housing. And had you two not already been on your way up, it would have made it impossible for anyone to make it up to the penthouse before the five minutes were up.” Julian explains it like it’s all so simple.
But it’s not. We had this guy pegged out as just a petty criminal biker, but in the end, he was a fucking mastermind.
“He said it was a distraction…” Veronica mumbles to herself, looking down at her hands. “He knew all our schedules. He knew how the cameras worked. He knew about the guards. He knew everything.” She finally looks up. “God, we were such idiots to think we could ever get him. This whole time, he was right under our nose, literally! And we never once caught sight of him.”
“He definitely was significantly more intelligent than any of us could have imagined. Do not blame yourself for this, Veronica. None of us could have seen it coming, myself included,” Julian tries to reason with her.
“And what was he planning on doing once he was in the penthouse?” I wonder because we still don’t know what his big plan was.
“I do not believe he intended to harm Veronica, at least not in the building. From what Fisher told us, he needed the five minutes to get her out of the penthouse. My guess is he would have waited the five minutes to then take the elevator back down once it was up and running. Thinking my men would have been waiting at the stairs. The moment they would have slipped in, he would have already been riding it down with Veronica.”
Julian looks down and shakes his head, elbows resting on his spread knees. “And that is exactly what would have happened. If Marcos and Ricky had not picked up on Fisher’s strange behavior, one would have been waiting at the top of the steps to get through the fire. And the other would have been on the closest floor, waiting by the main elevator in case the power came back, to get to her as soon as possible.”
He lifts his head with a dejected look I’ve never seen on him. I think it’s the most human expression he’s ever shown us. “He would have slipped out that front door with Veronica, and we would have just missed him. Even if the cameras had seenhim, by the time my men would have run back down, he would have already been gone.” His eyes fall to Veronica. “And now knowing just how well orchestrated his plan was, we likely would have never seen you again.”
She nods, a tear slipping down her cheek. “Not until he would have wanted you to find me.”
Fuck, I hate seeing her like this.“Come here, Kitten.” I put Blubber down on the ground and open my arms for her.
She shakes her head. “No, I don’t want to hurt you…”
“Please, just fucking come here. I need to hold you right now. So, it’s either you come here on your own, or I’ll pick you up and carry you myself.”
She gets off Gabe quickly and tentatively climbs onto my lap, making sure not to press against my stomach. I palm her cheeks, forcing her to look at me. “I’m right here, Kitten, and so are you. We’re all safe now. It’s over.” I press my lips to hers. “It’s all over.”
“But there’s still one thing I don’t understand. How was he getting in and out of the building unnoticed?” Gabe asks Julian.
“Fisher uses one of the residence parking spots in the underground garage, although he should not be. Victor would wait at the end of his shift to leave the building in the back seat of his car and would not return until his next. He would show up at Fisher’s house before he would leave for work to get back into the building unnoticed,” Julian clarifies the last puzzle piece to this whole shit show.
“Well, it’s over now, and that’s all that matters.” Greyson stands. “I need a beer after all that.”
“Indeed, it is. You may all go back to living your lives as you wish.” Julian lifts from the couch, straightening his suit jacket. “We will leave you to your celebrations. Thank you for having me, and for trusting me despite the outcome.”
“It may not have gone as planned, but it could have been worse if we didn’t have your help,” I tell him, shaking his hand when he comes over and offers it to each of us.
Shane stands as well, saying goodbye with one last lingering look at Aubrey, then leaves as well.
“What do we do now?” Veronica asks now that the room is silent.
“We celebrate like he said. We celebrate life, and friendship, and family.” I kiss her cheek. “We celebrate love and all the beautiful things it brings into our lives.”
