to
have Chastity disposed of so she could get her hands on the
children’s money. That’s why Sven's adopting them had been a good
idea.
The flood of information Mr. Baxter unloaded
made it clear he expected them to deal with their personal problems
quickly and move on. The news that someone had searched for her
before and wanted to kill her, took a little longer to digest.
“Since my name has been linked to Chastity's
in the press, someone from the FBI will be contacting her soon.
I’ve done some consulting jobs for them in the past, and to close
out my security clearance, they’ll check to make sure you know
nothing about the cases I worked on. Let me make this clear, they
will be interviewing her as my assistant, not because they think
she knows anything personal. Sweetheart, the only people I’ve ever
told of your past are sitting in this room, and they just heard it
from me. I trust them to keep your secrets safe. Sven, vet the
agents first, make sure they’re on the up and up. I trust you on
this. Kenton, I need you to stay nearby, during the interview. Use
the excuse of being my nephew to get into the room if she needs
you. It should be standard, but it pays to be vigilant.”
A pent-up breath slipped through her lips
and her shoulders relaxed. No way would she talk to anyone about
her childhood. She’d never even discussed it with Mr. Baxter. After
her first few weeks with him, he’d stopped asking.
“Chastity, I need your co-operation. Please
stay close to Kent or Sven. When Kent returns to his assignment,
Sven will assign someone else to stay with you and the children.
Not Robbie, he’s not trained. Someone with training similar to him
and Kent.
“You and Kent need to work out whatever
problems you have, chop-chop. For the kids’ sake, I hope you’ll
forgive him. He’s a stubborn knucklehead, but underneath, a good
kid. That being said, security gets kicked up, no visitors to the
ranch. Not even Maude. She’s bound to come begging. I’m done with
her. If she hadn’t been so greedy, my hand wouldn’t be forced to
move now instead of later when the kids are older. After the FBI
starts their investigation against the men who violated my
daughter, things will move fast and may get ugly. Buckle down. Be
prepared. I wish I were there with you, but I’m counting on all of
you to remain strong and weather this storm.” He paused.
“One last thing. Don’t let anything happen
to my family.” With that last growl, the screen blanked. Silence
filled the room.
A million thoughts ran through Kenton’s
mind. They all looped to the first announcement. He had three kids.
Impossible. Three? Who was the third? Chastity raped? A child
prostitute? By old men. No wonder she had barfed when he mentioned
her and his uncle. He'd been such an ass . His uncle was
running this op from the grave? What the fuck? Was he the only one
who thought that was wild? Three children? Child prostitution?
Someone wanted to kill Chas? Criminals after them? His kids? Even
the Twilight Zone hadn’t been this bizarre. Another thought weighed
him down. Sven adopted his kids? He’s old enough to be my father.
Why? To keep his mom from taking them. Yeah, she would’ve tried.
Still might if she knew. His uncle had a very small sense of humor
and wasn’t the type to joke around, so on some level everything
must be true. His head beat like an untuned drum as he tried to
absorb all the information.
Sven broke the silence. “I hired three men
six months ago and I trust them to a point. They’ve been watching
the perimeter of the property, but I’m bringing them closer in.” He
slid some pictures to Chastity. She looked at each one as if
memorizing every detail before handing them to Kenton. He looked
them over and returned them to Sven.
“Before Mr. B died, we had the security
system upgraded with a few backup generators. But he wasn’t sure
how you’d take this information, Chas, so he bought another large
house in Arizona.
have Chastity disposed of so she could get her hands on the
children’s money. That’s why Sven's adopting them had been a good
idea.
The flood of information Mr. Baxter unloaded
made it clear he expected them to deal with their personal problems
quickly and move on. The news that someone had searched for her
before and wanted to kill her, took a little longer to digest.
“Since my name has been linked to Chastity's
in the press, someone from the FBI will be contacting her soon.
I’ve done some consulting jobs for them in the past, and to close
out my security clearance, they’ll check to make sure you know
nothing about the cases I worked on. Let me make this clear, they
will be interviewing her as my assistant, not because they think
she knows anything personal. Sweetheart, the only people I’ve ever
told of your past are sitting in this room, and they just heard it
from me. I trust them to keep your secrets safe. Sven, vet the
agents first, make sure they’re on the up and up. I trust you on
this. Kenton, I need you to stay nearby, during the interview. Use
the excuse of being my nephew to get into the room if she needs
you. It should be standard, but it pays to be vigilant.”
A pent-up breath slipped through her lips
and her shoulders relaxed. No way would she talk to anyone about
her childhood. She’d never even discussed it with Mr. Baxter. After
her first few weeks with him, he’d stopped asking.
“Chastity, I need your co-operation. Please
stay close to Kent or Sven. When Kent returns to his assignment,
Sven will assign someone else to stay with you and the children.
Not Robbie, he’s not trained. Someone with training similar to him
and Kent.
“You and Kent need to work out whatever
problems you have, chop-chop. For the kids’ sake, I hope you’ll
forgive him. He’s a stubborn knucklehead, but underneath, a good
kid. That being said, security gets kicked up, no visitors to the
ranch. Not even Maude. She’s bound to come begging. I’m done with
her. If she hadn’t been so greedy, my hand wouldn’t be forced to
move now instead of later when the kids are older. After the FBI
starts their investigation against the men who violated my
daughter, things will move fast and may get ugly. Buckle down. Be
prepared. I wish I were there with you, but I’m counting on all of
you to remain strong and weather this storm.” He paused.
“One last thing. Don’t let anything happen
to my family.” With that last growl, the screen blanked. Silence
filled the room.
A million thoughts ran through Kenton’s
mind. They all looped to the first announcement. He had three kids.
Impossible. Three? Who was the third? Chastity raped? A child
prostitute? By old men. No wonder she had barfed when he mentioned
her and his uncle. He'd been such an ass . His uncle was
running this op from the grave? What the fuck? Was he the only one
who thought that was wild? Three children? Child prostitution?
Someone wanted to kill Chas? Criminals after them? His kids? Even
the Twilight Zone hadn’t been this bizarre. Another thought weighed
him down. Sven adopted his kids? He’s old enough to be my father.
Why? To keep his mom from taking them. Yeah, she would’ve tried.
Still might if she knew. His uncle had a very small sense of humor
and wasn’t the type to joke around, so on some level everything
must be true. His head beat like an untuned drum as he tried to
absorb all the information.
Sven broke the silence. “I hired three men
six months ago and I trust them to a point. They’ve been watching
the perimeter of the property, but I’m bringing them closer in.” He
slid some pictures to Chastity. She looked at each one as if
memorizing every detail before handing them to Kenton. He looked
them over and returned them to Sven.
“Before Mr. B died, we had the security
system upgraded with a few backup generators. But he wasn’t sure
how you’d take this information, Chas, so he bought another large
house in Arizona.
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