There wasn’t much of a point in exploring the space at all. They wouldn’t get any clues from walking around the broken beams of wood or the sad remains of what should have been there. Declan knew he wasn’t crazy. A day ago, there had been a wonderful house here. It had been gorgeous, and despite the fact that it provided shelter to a villain, the house didn’t deserve to be blown up.
He might have been in security and tech, but Declan had a soft spot in his heart for good architecture. The house Kellen hid away in had definitely been filled with good architecture. The paintings had been lovely, as had the tapestries and even the carpets. Had Kellen saved anything from his home? Or had he just blown it up and run off in a desperate attempt to escape?
“We should get out of here,” Brian said.
“Yeah,” Declan nodded. He wasn’t sure exactly what had transpired after he’d left, but Kellen had obviously gotten wind of the fact that someone had taken Zoa, and he’d gone out of his way to cover his tracks.
It really wouldn’t be difficult to deduce that Declan was the one who had shuttled Zoa to safety. He was likely the only stranger on the estate before it had been blown up. Even if Kellen hadn’t seen Declan and Zoa together, the calculations were simple. Kellen might be a jackass, but he also wasn’t an idiot. He’d gotten where he was in life by being shrewd and conniving.
“Declan,” Brian suddenly said. He was standing close to some damaged planks. “Declan, come here.”
The tone of his brother’s voice was unnerving. Declan knew that whatever his brother was going to show him wouldn’t be pleasant. It would be grim, horrible. Still, Declan couldn’t stop himself from walking over to where Brian stood staring down at the remains of the home.
There was a hand. It was still attached to an arm, which stretched out from beneath a wooden beam. Declan didn’t need to get any closer to know that the owner of the hand was dead. They’d perished in the explosion, and Kellen hadn’t cared. The asshole who owned the mansion had not only destroyed the house, but everyone inside of it, too.
Declan shouldn’t have expected anything less.
“He killed someone,” Brian pointed out.
“His staff,” Declan muttered, pissed. “He didn’t leave them alive.”
Somehow, that was sickening to Declan. He didn’t blame himself, although he probably should have. It was very likely that the people who worked for Kellen were just as trapped as Zoa had been.
Maybe he should have tried to save them.
Maybe he should have fought harder to get everyone out and not just the woman of his dreams.
The fact that Declan’s gesture of rescuing Zoa had resulted in their deaths wasn’t his fault, but he suddenly felt disgusted and anxious as he looked at the remnants. Declan thought he might be sick. If he hadn’t rescued Zoa, Kellen might still have killed everyone. He wasn’t exactly a stable person. Declan would never know, though. Maybe losing Zoa had pushed him over the edge.
“We should go,” Declan finally said. He couldn’t stand there and beat himself up. Correction: he absolutely could. He just knew that he shouldn’t. If Kellen had already cleared out of the mansion, then he was probably already on his way to Zoa. There was no doubt in Declan’s mind that Kellen was going to be hunting her. Declan had assumed they had more time, but he was wrong.
“You think he knows,” Brian looked at him carefully.
“I think he knows.”
“How? Our offices are carefully guarded.”
“It wouldn’t take much to get someone to tell him I live off by myself,” Declan said through gritted teeth.
It wasn’t a secret around the office that Declan was a bit of a recluse. In some ways, that was a good thing. It meant that people would leave him alone. In moments like this, however, it was horrible. Everyone knew that Declan lived off in the woods by himself, and if everyone knew it, then maybe someone would tell Kellen.
Kellen knew exactly where Declan’s place of work was, after all. He’d hired Declan to do an installation. He understood that the security firm Declan was a part of was a big deal. He knew where the offices were, and he had already proven to be both cunning and persuasive. In Declan’s mind, that was a deadly combination.
“You might be right,” Brian sighed, shaking his head. “Christopher is strong, though. He won’t let anything happen.”
“She’s not his responsibility,” Declan balled his hands into fists.
“And she’s yours?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s my-”
What?
What was she?