Page 134 of Override

Opens the doors. Unplugs the smart hub. One cord. Then another. The tiny blue light disappears.

"What are you doing?" My voice trembles despite my best effort to steady it.

He closes the cabinet. "The same thing I should have done weeks ago."

He crosses the room toward the hallway. A maintenance panel sits tucked behind a framed painting. I'd never noticed it before. He opens it with a small key attached to his key ring.

Inside, rows of blinking lights fill the cabinet. One switch after another...He flips them off. The blinking lights disappear.

"What are you doing?" I ask again, louder this time.

He closes the panel. Turns the key. Then finally looks at me.

"There were too many ways in."

I don't understand. "I don't..."

"I secured this house." His voice stays level. "I secured the gates."

"The staff."

"The guards."

"The perimeter."

He holds my gaze. "But I overlooked the things inside."

Something cold settles deep in my stomach. "I don't know what you mean."

"I know." Again. Always those two words. Not dismissive. Not cruel. Certain. As though my confusion changes nothing.

A knock sounds somewhere deeper in the house. Moments later, I hear footsteps.

The head housekeeper appears first. Behind her, two men in black polos carrying tool bags. Neither one acknowledges me.

Ronan addresses them without taking his eyes off me. "Begin."

They nod once. Then disappear down opposite hallways.

"What are they doing?"

"They're removing the doors." The words make no sense. I must look as confused as I feel because he softens.

Actually softens. "I don't blame you for this, Maeve." The kindness in his voice breaks something inside me. "I blame myself. I gave the world too many ways to reach you." His thumb brushes a strand of hair away from my face. The touch is gentle. Tender. "I won't make that mistake again. I've tried giving you freedom."

Freedom? The word catches me so completely off guard that I almost laugh.

"I've tried believing that you'd make good decisions." His gaze searches mine. "You continue proving me wrong."

Something inside me cracks. "I saw my parents."

"You ignored my instructions."

"I talked to my mother."

"You disobeyed me."

I stare at him. Really stare. Looking for the man I married.