"Where is my son?" Winston Sr. asked from behind his desk as he surveyed the reports I'd brought him. "And you're sure this is correct? The girl is a donor match?"
"Dirk is...occupied with his wife, but I sent Jerry for him," I managed to say with a straight face. I couldn't wait to see Dirk's whole world come to a screeching halt. But first... "Yes, sir, she's a perfect match. It's been independently verified with numbered samples for privacy. No one will suspect a thing if that's the direction you take. The original documents were destroyed, and the tech was informed of what would happen if the information were spread." The find was a game changer, and I had a hard time controlling my excitement. This could be what I'd waited years for.
"Very well. I suppose I should have looked into it sooner. I'll have to call Rafe back as well." The old man pinched the bridge of his nose as the door to his study burst open.
"You summoned, Father?" Dirk was freshly showered, but he'd made a drastic mistake in showing up in his condition, not that he'd had a choice, and it made the next part all the sweeter.
"Yes, Dirk, I did. Have a seat." Then he dampened some of my joy as he kicked me out. "I need a word with my son. If you could step out and wait until I'm done?"
It didn't take long after the door closed for Dirk to start yelling. Moments later, he slammed out of Winston's office to get in my face.
"You'll never fucking have her! Never!" he shouted, spittle flying in his rage, but he was impotent, in more ways than one, and he now knew it. "She's my wife. I won't let him give her to you!"
Unfortunately for him, that was exactly what was going to happen, but for now, I just shrugged. It pissed him off more, and he stalked away, intent on getting back to Shelby. I felt bad for what he might do before I could retrieve her, but there wasn't much I could do about it—besides, I should be able to intervene before he took things too far.
"Carter!" Winston raised his voice as much as he was able, but I heard him all the same and went in to close the door behind me.
"That went about as well as I'd expected," Winston said as he stared at pages that sealed Dirk's fate before looking up to stare at me dead on. "Make sure he doesn't kill the girl and don't drag it out. I'll call Rafe when it's done."
I nodded stiffly, nervous now that the time was here, and stepped out of the office, only to run into a hovering Jerry.
"It's gone too far," he hissed as I pulled him away from where Winston might overhear.
The camera system was down, something the security team was scrambling to fix, but I couldn't be too careful.
"It's being handled. Jer, you need to make yourself scarce," I informed the well-meaning man that was in my way.
"No can do, Carter. I called the cousins. I'm not standing by anymore; I can't have her death on my conscience." He shook his head, probably seeing the same things I had since I knew he monitored them with my access code.
I couldn't keep an eye out while simultaneously handling Dirk's portion of the shipping business, but Winston didn't care about what was feasible. He just wanted it done.
"Are you fucking kidding me right now? Do you have any idea what you've done?" I couldn’t believe he'd gone behind my back.
"You weren't doing anything. You just let it continue!" Jerry was just as pissed, but fuck.
"How long until they're here? Are you going with her?" I had limited time and needed to fix this shit. Now.
But Jerry was shaking his head. "They're on standby for the moment, and no. If I go, it'll be apparent where she went. If I stay, I can prove my loyalty."
I nodded, and it clicked how I could make this work to my advantage, saving me the trouble of escorting Shelby off the property. Winston had given me free reign to handle it, albeit with a couple caveats, but this wouldn't go against them
"Can they be in the area in twenty minutes? I need them to reroute a call and be the ones to respond." Jerry's eyes widened as he nodded.
"Yes, of course, but… It's happening now? How are you…?" Pity and a small bit of sadness entered his eyes. It was something I echoed, but I couldn't let that in right then, not if I were to do my job. "It was always going to come to that. The boy was too soft, and then he was too hard. The old man is such a bastard. Just don't…" He shrugged, unable to articulate his thoughts, but I understood anyway.
"I won't. It's being handled. Just get the cousins here. He was having a fit the last I saw him, and he headed straight for her." I was getting antsy thinking of what might be happening without any way to monitor the situation.
Jerry nodded again and took off, texting rapidly as he went, and I hoped he'd packed a bag for Shelby; she was going to need it.
I moved through the house and checked my equipment before stepping into the room where several guards were trying to get the system back online. I took them all out, one after the other, not giving them a chance to move. The silencer helped, but it didn't eradicate the sound, and I hoped no one had ventured down the hall while I was in there.
A quick check showed me it was clear, but while I could hear Dirk yelling and trashing the room down the hall, Milo's panicked voice filtered through the door as well. Catching pieces of it as I ran, nearly crashing through the door in my haste, I prayed like hell that the cousins were quick.
The only reason I got the drop on Milo was his nudity. If he'd been armed, I might not have managed it since Sasha barreled straight into me in a bid to escape Dirk's insanity.
She was my first target and went down quickly while Milo tried in vain to cover Dirk. The sadness that passed through his gaze once he realized he'd be too late almost made me hesitate, but I only had to remember the torture he'd inflicted on others to shore up my resolve. Then his light went out too.
That managed to catch Dirk's attention, though it would have been hard to miss the spatter that hit him even without Marigold screeching her head off. A moment later, her shrieks cut off. And then it was just me and Dirk, something that had been inevitable since I came into his life.