Page 26 of Honest Neglect

“I think they would,” he replied. “I think Tony wanted to get rid of you because you were getting too close to the truth, starting to bring all his exes together in a way he didn’t like, and Mark didn’t want to deal with the damage it would do to the family name if it got out what his son had really been doing behind closed doors. And getting me for the murder would just be the cherry on top.”

I let out a deep, shaky breath. Yes, that sounded right. It would wrap things up in a neat little bow and let Mark and Tony walk away from this, having smeared both of our names and made our relationship out to be a horrible, abusive mess.

“What about those men?” I asked, changing the subject to something a little more hopeful. “What’s going on with them?”

“They’re some of Leroy’s old Army buddies,” he explained. “The ones he’s very closest to, the ones he says he can trust completely. They seem legit, and they’re willing to help us. They’re going to be our insurance when we go back to Oakville.”

“Insurance?”

“Well, we know we can’t rely on the cops, right?” he pointed out. “We’re going to need some other kind of muscle down there to make sure Tony and Mark don’t try to make another move.”

“Of course,” I muttered. Actually, that sounded good. I knew I would feel a whole lot safer if I had a bunch of burly Army guys looking out for me. I wasn’t sure about opening this up to so many new people—it felt like it would leave room for cracks—but if Leroy trusted them, I should, too.

“Yeah, they’re heading down there now to scope the place out,” he added. “They’re going to keep an eye on your mom, so you might want to give her a call to let her know not to freak out if she sees some strange men hanging around.”

“Oh, I think she’s going to be way too distracted by Barry to worry about that,” I replied, raising my eyebrows playfully.

“She did seem pretty anxious to get back to him, didn’t she?” he laughed. “What do you think? They’re going to start a little romance?”

“I hope so,” I replied. “It’s what she deserves after everything she’s been through.”

“She really does,” he agreed, and he leaned over to give me another kiss.

“Not long till this is all over now, I promise,” he murmured to me. I smiled but didn’t make eye contact with him. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe him, it wasn’t anything as specific as that. No, I just still had my doubts about how this was going to go. I couldn’t imagine that something wasn’t going to blow up in our faces soon enough, and I was scared as to what it might be, who it might harm in the process.

“I know,” I murmured back to him. I tried to muster all of my hope and locked eyes with him once more.

And when he looked at me, I was reminded once again what I was fighting for.

Chapter Fifteen

Lily

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WARREN SLIPPED HIS hand into mine as we made our way up the path toward our little bedroom again. We had just finished a quiet dinner with Leroy and Grace. Grace had insisted on cooking, and I had at least picked up a few tips from her I would use when I was back home.

Home. I couldn’t believe I was actually going back to Oakville after everything that had happened. It just felt so...off, as though I should have been putting as much distance between myself and that place as possible. How could I return there, knowing that Mark and Tony were around? Knowing that there were people out there who would look at the man beside me and think he was a serial killer...?

But I didn’t have to think about that now. I counted out my steps as we headed to the house, trying to keep my mind occupied. This was the calm before the storm, before the chaos erupted for good, and I wanted to make the most of it while I still could.

“You okay?” Warren asked me softly as we arrived at the door. I nodded.

“I am,” I replied. “Just...a little nervous, that’s all.”

“There’s nothing to be worried about right now,” he assured me as he guided me over the threshold. Silver was already up, having just been given a delicious and very generous portion of dinner by Grace. She greeted me with a nuzzle and then jumped up to say hello to Warren.

“I know, I know,” I agreed with him as I sat down on the end of the bed. “It’s just...hard not to get distracted, you know?”

“I could do something about that,” he suggested playfully as he sank down on the bed next to me, his arm sliding around my waist. I shifted a little closer to him, feeling that familiar heat start to warm in my belly.

“You think?” I replied, fluttering my lashes at him as though I couldn’t imagine what he might have in mind.

“Mm-hmm,” he murmured as he drew his lips in to mine. His tongue slipped into my mouth as I wrapped my arms around him, and he pulled me into his lap so I was straddling him. I could already feel his hardness starting to grow beneath his pants, and I pushed my hands into his hair, enjoying the feel of him, trying to let myself get lost in it.

His hands fell to my waist, and he gazed up at me.

“You look so beautiful right now,” he told me. It was hard to believe I really did look that good, given what I had been through, but when he said it, I really believed it. I really believed he felt that way about me. I smiled and kissed him again, grinding down on top of him so he could feel just how much I wanted him.