Caid held Jemma’s hand firmly as they made the walk up to his parents’ front door. This was the first time they had seen his family since he had arrested Charmont, and to say he was nervous was an understatement.

Although he hadn’t known her long, he was going to ask Jemma to marry him. Therefore, dinner needed to go perfectly if he was going to hope she would say yes when he asked her later that night.

His only saving grace was that Lance and his parents were also going to be there. It was the King’s make-up Thanksgiving dinner. Hopefully his sister would act better this time.

“You okay?” he asked Jemma right before ringing the doorbell his mother always insisted he ignore.

She took a deep breath and forced a smile, “I’m all right.”

“Everything will be fine, baby.” He kissed her lightly and pushed the button. Moments later, the door opened, and his mother stood on the other side in a yellow and orange turkey sweater.

“Caid King, how many times do I have to tell you not to worry about the doorbell? This is your house too. Just come in.”

“Yes ma’am.” He kissed her cheek. “What’s with the sweater?”

“What? You don’t like it? I think it’s festive. What do you think, Jemma?”

“I like it.”

“See, Caid? At least she has good taste.” She winked at Jemma and then led them both inside. Lance and his parents had already arrived and were in a conversation with Caid’s dad.

“Wait--” Jemma stopped and stared at the man and woman who stood before her. She knew them.

“Oh!” The woman covered her mouth with her hands. “There she is.” She took a step toward Jemma and gently touched her cheek. “You look just like her.”

“You used to sit and eat pancakes with me.”

“Yes, we did.”

“So, every time my mother took me to that diner, she was meeting with Lance?”

The woman nodded sadly. “She desperately wanted you two to meet, but was so afraid of your father finding out.”

“You two did meet once,” the man said softly as he took a step toward her. “When you were six, you wandered back in the kitchen where your mom was talking to Lance. You said hi and the two of you colored a picture together while Jenny and I tried to convince your mother to leave Liam.” Jenny handed Jemma a piece of paper from an old kids’ menu from the diner. The coloring was less than perfect, but to Jemma it was priceless.

“Thank you,” Jemma said with a smile.

“You are so welcome.” Jenny pulled Jemma in for a hug. “You are family just like I told your man back there. You two are more than welcome anytime.”

“Does this mean free pancakes?” Caid joked and earned a slap on the arm from his mom.

Jenny and her husband both laughed. “Of course, family doesn’t pay,” the man said with a smile.

Caid turned to see Sophia walking toward them. His back stiffened, ready to defend Jemma if necessary.

“Caid, can I have a moment with Jemma?” Sophia asked easily, and Caid noted it wasn’t a fight in her eyes, but shame.

“That’s fine,” Jemma said politely.

“You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine, Caid.”

Caid nodded and stepped into the kitchen to help his mom, while Jemma followed Sophia to the couch.

* * *

Jemma took a seat on the sofa and faced Caid’s sister. She hadn’t seen her since she’d rescued her from Liam, and if this was another fight she wanted, then Jemma would damn sure give her one. She had no intention of walking away from Caid after everything they’d been through, so she hoped his sister wasn’t looking for that.

If she was, she was going to be highly disappointed.

“I wanted to say that I’m sorry,” Sophia said, and Jemma relaxed. “I never should have judged you based on your father. Especially since I didn’t even know you.”

“Thank you.”

“I know it’s no excuse, but I liked my brother’s ex, Brittany. We were friends, and I didn’t see her betrayal coming. I already had my back up about you even though you had nothing to do with it.”

“I can understand you wanting to protect Caid.”

“I can see that you love him, and I know that he loves you too. I never saw him look at Brittany the way he watches you.”

Jemma smiled as she glanced at Caid, who was trying to not look like he was spying on them from the kitchen. “He’s a wonderful man.”

“He is, and he’s lucky to have you.”

“Thank you.”

Sophia nodded. “So I hear you have panic attacks too?”

Jemma stared at her.

“I’m sorry.” Sophia laughed. “I didn’t mean for that to sound so crass. Caid apparently mentioned it to my mom, who told me when she was yelling at me after the way I treated you during Thanksgiving. I get them too. How do you handle them?”

“I box.”

“Ooohh, that sounds fun. Maybe once this girl comes out,” she said as she patted her swollen belly, “you can show me how.”

Jemma smiled. “I’d like that. Maybe one day you can show me how to knit.” At Sophia’s glance, Jemma added, “Caid told me that’s how you handle yours.”

“Oh okay.” Sophia laughed. “I’ve knitted a lot of shit lately.”

Jemma snorted, surprised that Caid’s sister had cussed. Before she knew it, Jemma was relaxed and deep in conversation as if she and Sophia had known each other for years.

* * *

Caid’s phone rang, and he stepped out onto the front porch to answer.

“King.”

“Sir, it’s Agent Omars.”

“What is it?”

“We’ve got a problem.”

“What do you mean?” Caid’s blood chilled. Had Charmont escaped? It was the first thing that came to mind followed by a panicked response to get Jemma and his family to safety.

“It’s Charmont. Someone got to him in prison. He’s dead.”

“What do you mean, someone got to him?”

“Maybe you should get down here. It’s nasty, sir.”

After saying a brief goodbye and leaving Jemma behind, Caid and Lance drove the thirty minutes to the prison where Charmont was being held. After checking in at security, they made their way to Charmont’s isolated cell.

Omars stood waiting for them, his face paler than usual. He nodded toward the cell, and they stepped inside.

“Son of a bitch,” Lance cursed and looked away briefly.

Caid ground his teeth together and took in the scene before him. Someone had tied Charmont to the bars and gutted him. It was a violent crime, and one Caid didn’t even have the stomach to look at for long.

“Who had access to this cell?” he asked the guard standing behind Omars.

“All the guards and the warden.”

“I want a list sent to my office ASAP.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And I want to see security tapes.” He stepped away and dialed Zach’s number. Not that long ago, he’d informed Caid that Matthews had been killed, and from the description, it appeared to have been in the same manner.

Now the question was, who would want both Matthews and Charmont dead? And why?