Chapter 33

CHAPTER 33

B y the time Kyle had secured Maeve in Daisy's room, instructing her to wedge a chair under the door handle and not come out under any circumstances unless she heard him tell her their password, there was all-out shouting and sounds of a scuffle coming from the living room. He stopped back in his bedroom to get his gun; he knew his brothers would not have theirs on them, not having suspected intruders to show up at their front door. Aside from Finn, they didn't think anyone else had found them. They thought they were in the clear.

He quietly and carefully made his way, grateful for the carpet that muffled the sound of his feet on the stairs. He realized that these intruders might be armed, and he didn't want to startle them, causing one or the other to shoot one of his family members. As he got closer, he could see his brothers, hands in the air being threatened by two burly men, each with a gun. All he could hope was that the rest of his family was downstairs in the cedar closet, locked in and safe. Then he realized that Finn was not there. Was he hiding out somewhere else, planning an ambush? That could lead to errant shots fired and one of his brothers getting hit. Or was he working with these two somehow? If that was the case, Maeve would be devastated.

Aside from the night that Maeve had the nightmare that brought him running to her bedroom, this was the only other time since the incident when he shot the young man by accident that put him on administrative leave that he held his gun. The time he went to find Maeve alone in her bed, he had grabbed the gun without thinking about it. He knew that he'd shoot anyone who might have posed a threat to her, but he'd been thankful that there was no one there. Now, with his brothers threatened by two actual intruders, he realized that the risk of firing his weapon was greater. If one of those two men primed their gun, he'd have no choice but to take them out. He hoped that in the moment he'd make the right choice.

Kyle steadied his breathing; that was step one in a crisis. Stay calm, he told himself. Stay in the shadows; listen and go slow. He focused on the conversation that was now taking place between these two men and Conor and Tim. He knew that they'd both gone through hostage negotiation training in their roles as a police officer and a firefighter. They would keep these two men talking for as long as possible to avoid a negative outcome. He strained to hear what was being said.

"We want those DNA results. Where are they?" one of the men said.

"They haven't arrived yet," Tim replied.

"Bullshit. We watched the mailman ring your doorbell thirty minutes ago. I saw him hand you an envelope."

"That was nothing, just the regular junk mail that gets delivered to this address."

"Cut the crap. We want that test result. We want it now. And then we'll take the little girl and go. No one needs to get hurt."

"If you think that you're taking anything out of this house…" Tim began.

One of the men brandished a gun, pointing it directly at Tim's chest. "We don't want to make a mess here, buddy, but we will if need be."

"You won't shoot us," Tim said. "The cops will be all over you. I'm a police officer, my brother here is a firefighter. The penalty for shooting one of us is greater than it is for an average citizen, if you know what I mean. You won't make it to trial. Our fellowship runs deep, if you get my drift."

"I'm sure you can appreciate that we have a job to do," the other intruder said, as if he could broker a deal. "Let us take what we need, and we'll never darken your door again. Your family will be safe."

"C'mon, man! What do you take us for? We all know that you can't leave a trail behind. If we give you what you want, you'll kill all of us."

"If you don't give us what we came for, you're dead anyway. Let's make this less painful all around," the first man said.

Kyle could feel the pounding of his blood as it traveled through his body. These guys were serious, and time was growing short. He had to make his move. He lifted his foot to place it quietly on the next step when he saw a shadow cross the room, then a body. It was Finn and he was holding a large kitchen knife!

The next piece unfolded in slow motion. Finn lifted the knife in both hands overhead and ran into the man closest to him, wedging the blade in the man's back, landing it between the intruder's shoulder blades, causing him to fumble his gun. The second intruder whirled around and fired his weapon, hitting Finn in the thigh. Finn dropped to the ground. Conor reached for the fallen gun and the second intruder then raised his own pistol and took aim at him. That's when Kyle made his move.

Without a sound, he rushed down the staircase and took a shot. He hit the second intruder in the shoulder, the man falling to his knees, his weapon skittering across the floor, out of his reach. With three men bleeding on the floor in front of him, Kyle's first thought was that Sibby was going to be pissed. But he calmly said, "Tim, secure those weapons. Conor, call 911. Tell them we need medical and police details here right now."

His brothers leapt into action. The guns were laid out on the coffee table, Tim putting his body between the injured intruders and their weapons. Conor called it in and then turned to his brothers and said, "They're on their way. Four minutes out."

Kyle nodded, put his own gun in the waistband of his jeans and knelt next to Finn. His wound was bleeding quite a bit, but the bullet had just grazed him. Thankfully, it hadn't hit any major artery. He'd be okay once the paramedics arrived and bandaged the wound.

"What were you thinking, man? A kitchen knife?" Kyle asked him.

"I thought I'd create the diversion you needed to move from the fucking staircase, that's what."

"How did you know I was there?"

"I didn't, really. I counted on the fact that you're in love with my sister and would never let anyone harm her or Daisy."

"You're right. I'd take a bullet for either one of them any day."

"Clearly, so would I. Keep that in mind."

Kyle smiled. "I'm on the case, you can relax."

Finn closed his eyes. "I think I will, then."

Kyle could hear the sirens in the distance. He knew that this incident would probably delay him returning to work. There would be an inquiry, but he didn't care. He knew the law. While this wasn't Kansas or Florida, where there was a "stand your ground" mandate, Massachusetts did have open carry laws. His weapon was licensed and registered with the proper authorities, and he had felt as if his life and home were endangered. What happened here today fell into the common law principle of "castle doctrine." He was allowed to use reasonable force if an intruder threatened him or his home, and that's exactly what he did. Plus, no one died, and the men's injuries were minor.

What mattered now was that Maeve and Daisy were safe. And when this entire ordeal was over, he could hope that they could start planning for the future. Together. Because one thing was certain – now that he'd found her, he was never going to let her go.

Just then, the mailman showed up at the open front door. "Excuse me gentleman. Can one of you sign for this envelope, please?"

Maeve sat on the floor Daisy's room, her back against the wall, her baby wrapped tightly in her arms. She hated not knowing what was happening downstairs. The guilt of bringing trouble to Kyle's family door was overwhelming her and she began to question everything about her decision making. First you get drunk with the prince and get pregnant. Fool! Then you crash a car and basically lose your mind. What's next? How can you humiliate yourself further?

She knew what was to come next, though. Anyone who lived in London knew that the British tabloid press was ruthless. They'd come at her with telephoto lenses, hoping to catch a grainy picture of Daisy. She'd brought the world to her daughter's door before the child could speak for herself. Shameful.

And that wasn't all. The press would dog Kyle and his family, too. They'd all be under the same microscope, hopefully not for as long as she would be, but still. They deserved better. All they did was help a young mother in need.

Hot tears burned her eyes and fear sat at the base of her belly. How would she live with herself if anyone got hurt because of her? How could she go on? Oh no… what if Kyle got shot?

She had to stop herself before this spiral of bad thoughts spun out of control. She had to be strong for Daisy and herself. She sat up straighter, as if that was the only way to regain control and began to think about the future.

She'd go somewhere else, find a bakery and apply for a job. She'd live a quiet life in a place where she could raise Daisy and give her a happy childhood, away from the scandal and character assassination that was sure to follow in the wake of this explosive news finding its way into the world. She'd allowed her daughter's early life to be earmarked by ugliness; she'd spend the rest of her life trying to make it up to her. As for the matter of her father, she was sure that he'd deny everything, even a valid DNA test. She could only imagine that The Firm would not respond to her accusations; they never answered a public cry of wrongdoing. It would be in their best interest to now ignore her and Daisy. If need be, she'd relinquish all future claims to any part of the monarchy's vast supply of cash for support of this child. She didn't want their money or their involvement in Daisy's life. At some point, if Daisy wanted to meet her biological father, she'd have to arrange for it on her own. In her heart of hearts, Maeve knew that wouldn't happen, though. She planned on more than making up for her indiscretion as time went on. What she did know, though, was that when Daisy was old enough, she'd tell her the truth. She had the right to know and decide her own path when the time was right.

As far as her own future, well, that was truly unknown. The only thing she knew for certain was that after today, she couldn't allow herself to count on Kyle anymore. She could not let the tabloids destroy his life as well as her own. He had exceeded every promise he'd made her, sharing his home with her and his family, too. She could not ask for anything more.

Just as she was beginning to feel that she had a plan in place, she heard gunshots, and every rational thought she'd had flew out the window. Please, she sent a prayer up toward the ceiling of the room. Please let Kyle be safe. Please don't let those shots be aimed at him!