Gentle rain patters on the pavement as Deklan and I enter the Foley mansion, wipe our feet, and head to the study.  Teagan is waiting for me.  She’s going to show me the rest of the accounting software today.  As we work, Deklan, Sean, and Brian talk quietly off in the corner.  I can’t hear them, and Deklan didn’t give me any idea why they are meeting today.

“The numbers here update another spreadsheet,” Teagan says.  “I know it seems complicated, but once you figure out how they tie together, it will all make sense.  It’s actually pretty easy to run the numbers when you need to.”

“It seems pretty straightforward,” I say.  I flip from one spreadsheet to another.  “I’d like to get a look at the backend database.  I think I could learn faster if I did.”

“You fancy yourself a database girl?”  Teagan smiles.  She obviously loves her tech, and I think she appreciates having another technical person around.  “I’ll give you access, but it will be read-only so you don’t have to worry about fucking it up.”

“Cool.  I just want to look at the structure and relationships.”

Teagan shows me the database and then joins her brother and the rest of the guys.  Deklan comes over a few minutes later.

“We’ve got some business,” he says.  He doesn’t make eye contact with me, and I’m not about to ask him where he’s going or what he’s going to do.  “I don’t like the idea of leaving you here, but Sean will be with me, and Teagan is in the house if you need anything.  Are you going to be all right?”

“I’ll be fine.  I’m still learning the system, and I need alone time with the computer to get the hang of it.”

“I don’t know how long we’ll be gone.  It might be a while.”

“I’m fine, Deklan, really.”  I am, too.  As long as Sean is with Deklan, he can’t bother me.  “I’ve got plenty of work to keep me busy.”

“Okay.”  Deklan takes my chin between his fingers and kisses me lightly.  “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

I glance over and see Sean watching us with narrowed eyes.  I shiver slightly.  Deklan glances over his shoulder and then looks back at me.

“Love you, babe,” he says loud enough for anyone in the room to hear.

“I love you, too.”  My voice isn’t as loud but probably still audible enough.  Deklan smiles and kisses me once more.

All the men leave.  Teagan heads into another part of the house, and I go back to my work.  Teagan comes into the room once or twice to answer questions, but for the most part, I am on my own for the afternoon.  I’m finally getting the hang of the spreadsheets and how they interconnect, and it’s nice to have something to focus on for a while.

I’m also getting an interesting view of the Foley family enterprise.  Between racing and stud services, the horses are a major source of legitimate income as are the investment firms and a chain of delicatessens.  Interestingly enough, I see funds set aside to buy out a list of car wash facilities, one of which is owned by my father.

Out of curiosity, I look at the plans for future business acquisitions and notice that most of my father’s businesses are on the lists of places to be purchased.  In fact, some of them have already transferred ownership.

Is this my Dad’s way of getting into the family?

I remember Deklan’s response to my father’s involvement in my kidnapping, and I’m sure he wouldn’t allow my father to profit from business sales.  I check the numbers, but I don’t know if the offers are high or low.

I shake my head.  I don’t want to think about my father.

As early evening approaches, it starts to rain harder.  Thunder rattles the windows, and the lights flicker before going off altogether.  The power outage only lasts a couple of minutes, and I’m grateful for the laptop’s battery.  I’ve lost my connection to the database, but at least I haven’t lost any work.

When the lights come back on, I can’t get the damn laptop to connect to the Wi-Fi and eventually give up.  Before the power went out, I was really close to being done with the last task Teagan gave me for the day, and I want to finish.  I know there has to be another computer around here, so I head into the room behind the office where Deklan and Sean hold their conferences.

I see a laptop on a desk facing the far wall.  The computer is still illuminated from whoever might have used it last.  I’m surprised to find that it’s not password protected, and I wonder if I will even be able to access the server.

There’s a thick cable coming from the floor under the desk, and I see the laptop has a wired connection to the server, which is perfect.  It’s not at all secure, and I make a mental note to talk to Teagan about security in general.

I look at the icons on the desktop, hoping to find the software I need, but the icon isn’t there.  I start to browse through the files to find the right program but stop when I see a folder with my name on it.

I can’t help it—I double-click the folder to open it.

There are pictures inside.  Nothing too interesting—mostly pictures of me working at the coffee shop and a few from the wedding reception.  Still, a creepy feeling runs up my arms as if I’ve just walked through a spider’s web.  I assume these are pictures that Charlie Grange took while he was spying on me.  Looking at them leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I’m about to close the folder when I see that one of the files is a video.  The preview image is dark, and I can’t make out what’s in the frame.

Only one way to find out.

My hand shakes as I press the play button.

The video has obviously been taken on someone’s phone.  I recognize the hallway immediately—it’s the one leading up to the apartment where Deklan and I live.  The video jumps around to the rhythm of soft footsteps before it stops at the door to our apartment.  A man’s hand reaches out and fits a key into the locks—first the deadbolt and then the doorknob.

Inside, the apartment is dark.  The video shifts to the kitchen and then the hallway to the bedroom.  A moment later, I see myself lying on the bed with my arms wrapped around Deklan’s pillow.  The image focuses on my sleeping face and bare shoulders for a moment before the hand returns, grips the top of the sheet and blanket, and slowly pulls it away from my nude body.

“Oh, God,” I whisper.  I know instantly when the video was taken.  I remember waking up in the middle of the night, blankets on the floor, and hearing the front door shut.  “It was him.”

“Kera, Kera, Kera.”  I recognize Sean’s voice on the video.  “So fucking gorgeous.”

The image pans back and forth over my body as my heart begins to pound.  I watch Sean’s hand reach out again.  He touches my shoulder lightly with his fingertip and then moves lower, circling one of my nipples.  It hardens as he touches it, and a wave of nausea hits me hard.

“Should I just fuck you right now?  Have you wake up with my cock buried inside of you?  Would you cry?  I’d fucking love it if you cried.”

I can taste bile in my throat, and I have to swallow hard.

“Deklan won’t like the idea of sharing.  Someday, though—someday he’s going to screw up.  He’ll beg for my forgiveness and offer you up to me.  Then I’m going to make him watch.”

I cover my mouth with my hand as my stomach turns.  I swallow again and again just to keep from throwing up.  My head starts to pound along with my heart as I stare at the screen.

He’s touching me.  He’s touching me.  He’s touching me.

“What the everloving fuck is that?”

I startle, nearly scream, and swivel in the chair to see Deklan standing over my shoulder, staring at the screen with wide eyes and his hands balled into fists.  He turns his glare at me, but as soon as he sees my face, he closes his eyes.  He turns his head away for a moment, gritting his teeth and flexing his arms.

He takes in a long breath before he looks at me softly.  He reaches out and brushes a tear from my cheek.

“Show it to me,” Deklan says quietly.

“What?”

“Go back.”  Deklan turns the chair so I’m facing the computer again and then places his hand on my shoulder, rubbing gently.  “Go back to the beginning.  I want to see it all.”

I swallow hard before I drag the cursor over the screen to bring the video back to the beginning.  It starts up again, and the nausea comes back.  I can’t watch, so I look down at the keyboard instead.  I can still hear Sean’s words though, and they echo in my head even after the video ends.

Deklan turns the chair until I’m facing him again.  He drops to one knee and takes my face in his hands.

“You said you had a dream.  You said you woke up and thought someone was there, but you thought it was just a dream.”

“I thought it was.”

“He…he was there, in our apartment.”  I’m not sure if he’s asking a question or not.  Deklan closes his eyes and shifts his head away.  “You never knew?”

“I didn’t know.”  Tears continue to fall down my cheeks, and Deklan wipes them away with his thumb.  “How could I have known?”

Deklan closes his eyes and grits his teeth again.

“Teagan was right,” he whispers.  “I have been blind to all this.  I’ve been blind to him.  Other than Brian, he is the only other person who knows about the new place.  He has a key, too.”

Deklan takes out his phone.  His hand is shaking as he punches in a number.

“Brian?” he says.  “Gather everyone together—Teagan and Mac, too.  Everyone but Sean.  I’ll meet you in an hour.”

Deklan shoves the phone back in his pocket, rubs his eyes with his hand, and then turns to me.  He leans over and takes my face in his hands and speaks his words slowly.

“This ends now.”