Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29

K ane found the black suit waiting in the private jet hangar. Even though Charleston was not Franklin's home, his family had flown from Boston to meet him here. It was a happy reunion full of tears and love. All it did was make Kane miss Waverly even more.

He excused himself, changed into the solid black suit, and wondered what his costume was because, right now, he looked like a hitman.

"You look like a hitman," Wilder said with a chuckle when Kane made his way out of the private jet hangar.

"I thought the same. What are you doing here?" Kane asked.

"Waverly texted that you were coming back and asked if I could pick you up. She might have bribed me with the promise of the best sopapilla I'll ever taste if I take you to the science party before heading back to my club."

"Thanks, Wilder. What have I missed since I've been gone?"

Wilder frowned as they got into his car. "Damon, Hunter, and Stone failed with Quad. He was scared but didn't piss himself. You and I are on deck."

"We got this," Kane said with a chin nod to his brother. "Quad's a strong guy. Physical violence won't be enough."

"Nice. Pulling out some BAU torture?"

Kane just chuckled. "It's good he didn't back down. Maybe he really likes Lark."

"Oh, one hundred percent. He's totally in love with her. It's written all over his face. That doesn't mean he gets a free pass."

Wilder told Kane about the Halloween parties at WET as they drove to Garvey's house. It was a large mansion in a gated neighborhood. Lights and decorations were outside where cars lined the street.

Kane recognized some of the security guards, the receptionist, Kelvin, and some other scientists as he and Wilder walked inside. His eyes were constantly scanning for Waverly.

"Kane!" Garvey called out as he walked over to greet them. Kane was a little rusty on the periodic table, but he was pretty sure Garvey was radium. "Welcome!"

"Thank you for inviting me. Garvey Levins, this is my brother, Wilder Townsend. Waverly told him he had to try your wife's cooking."

Garvey slapped Wilder on the back. "You'll never be the same again. Maria and Waverly are in the kitchen. Go, help yourself. My Maria always makes twice as much as needed so she can send everyone home with leftovers."

Wilder thanked him and they began to move through the crowd. "Is that your assistant?" Wilder asked.

Kane looked to where Wilder was looking and saw Angelica and Elwood dancing. Angelica was in a leather outfit with a whip tied around Elwood. She saw them and waved. "Hi, you two. What's your costume?"

"I'm dark matter and Elwood is stuck in my gravitational pull," Angelica said with a smirk. "Had the outfit at home already."

Elwood blushed. Poor, innocent man. "Thanks so much for introducing us. Angelica is amazing ." Maybe not so innocent anymore.

"You're welcome. You're a good guy and Angelica deserves that." Kane shook Elwood's hand and then headed for the kitchen with Wilder.

"Where are they?" Wilder asked, but Kane was already wondering that as he looked around.

"I'll call her. The house is big. Maybe they're upstairs?" Kane called Waverly's cell and heard it ring. He looked around the kitchen and found it and her purse sitting on a nearby desk. A desk with no chair. "Something is wrong."

"What do you want me to do?" Wilder asked.

"Search the house. I'm going to look outside. Let me know if anyone has seen her or if you find her. Have Angelica and Elwood help you."

Wilder nodded and instantly went back to the party. Kane opened the door next to the desk. It was a garage. He glanced around and he walked into it. Two cars, still there, with cold engines. He approached the side door and found it wasn't closed all the way. His gut tightened. He knew that feeling well. He was onto something. He sent a quick text to Wilder to tell him he was going out the side of the garage.

Kane slowly opened the door and glanced around. The backyard was in darkness, except for a sliver of light shining through the crack at the bottom of the shed's door.

The shed had no visible windows. Before he approached, Kane scanned the backyard. He didn't see anyone else as he crept forward.

"No. I won't sign. You're going to kill me anyway."

Waverly! Kane could barely hear her as he fought against his immediate protective instinct to rush inside. He needed to know how many people were inside and if they were armed.

"Ah, chica . I am going to kill you. But if you sign, I won't also have to kill your sister. This time, when my men take her, I'll give them free rein."

Kane's jaw tightened. He only heard the voice of a woman, but that didn't make sense. What did Maria Levins have to do with DR3? It had to be Maria in there. She was the only other woman missing with Waverly. Unless Maria was also in there and the speaker was a third person.

"Don't hurt my sister!" Wavery yelled, but it wasn't a real yell. It was like a harsh whisper. One Kane barely could hear. "Maria, we've been friends for years. You can't hurt Lark. You're a mother figure to her."

Maria. Why would Maria want to kill Waverly and Lark? It didn't matter. He knew the target. He shot off a text to Wilder to call Peter and tell him Maria Levins was holding Waverly and to hold Garvey in custody until authorities arrived and sorted it out.

Kane reached for the door handle. He slowly pressed the lever down and cracked the door open. Maria's back was to him. Waverly was in the office chair. She wasn't tied up, but she also wasn't moving.

"I can't sign it until I can move again. Whatever you gave me still has me paralyzed."

"You're wiggling your toes," Maria pointed out. "I see everything. You'll be able to sign in a minute."

One thing she didn't see was Kane. Maria's hands were obscured so he couldn't tell if she had a gun or not. That left only one possible takedown.

Kane rushed her. She didn't even have time to turn all the way around when he slammed his body into hers. He wrapped his arms around Maria's waist and flung her to the side as they hit the ground, narrowly avoiding taking out Waverly.

"Kane! She has a hammer!"

Better than a gun or a knife. Maria was a fifty-year-old housewife. This wouldn't be hard to take her into custody. Or so he thought. Maria went wild as if she were a feral animal. She shrieked, clawed, kicked, and moved so much it was hard to keep a hold of her. The hammer came down right beside his head and Kane was over the idea of respectfully subduing her.

Maria somehow rolled so that she was above him. She lifted her arms up with the hammer in them. She screamed like a banshee, ready to smash the hammer into his head. Kane grabbed her by the lapels of her lab coat and yanked her down toward him as he sat up. The headbutt rang his bell, but the impact made Maria's eyes roll back into her head and her body collapsed like a ragdoll.

"Waverly! Are you hurt?" Kane shoved Maria off him and rushed to Waverly.

"I'm getting feeling back. Oh, Kane. She's Maria Medina!"

"The missing cousin," Kane said, shocked.

"Not missing. She's been running the U.S. branch of DR3 the whole time."

Maria moaned and Kane placed a quick kiss on Waverly's forehead before finding some rope and securing Maria.

Sirens sounded and it was then he realized the music from the main house was no longer playing. Shouts from the police and FBI surrounded them.

"Welcome home," Waverly said with a laugh that said she was on the edge of losing it.

"I have one question for you," Kane said as he heard people fill the backyard. "What is our costume?"

Waverly laughed, the fear and panic slowly receding as she told him about elemental particles.

"Crap," a man cursed from behind Kane. He hadn't moved from where he was facing Waverly, keeping her distracted from Maria. "A freaking Townsend."

Kane looked over his shoulder and winked at the wrinkled man. "Detective. Pleasure to see you again."

"Kane, right? What's going on here? Did you take out an old lady?"

"I'd say she's your age, detective. Are you calling yourself old?"

"Freaking Townsends," he muttered.

"Detective, thank you for securing the scene," Peter said, strolling into the shed with Wilder.

"Where's Garvey?" Kord asked.

"In the back of my cruiser," Peter said. "Now, what's going on? Jesus, did you knock out an old lady?"

Detective Chambers snorted.

"She's Maria Levins, aka Maria Medina. Head of the DR3 crime family."

Detective Chambers stopped snorting. His mouth dropped open and Maria began to moan as she woke up.

"Explain," Peter said, looking down at Maria. "And why isn't Waverly moving?"

"She stabbed me in the neck with a paralyzing agent." Kane let Waverly tell Peter and Detective Chambers what happened and why.

"What about Garvey?" Peter asked.

"I don't think he knows anything. She told me that he thought she was a plantain heiress," Waverly said as she began to wiggle her fingers. Kane saw them move but didn't want to wait any longer. He needed to take care of her.

"Are we done here?" Kane asked since Peter had recorded the conversation.

"Yeah, take her to the hospital. I'll call ahead so they'll be expecting you." Peter reached down and hauled Maria up to her feet as she woke up.

Detective Chambers assisted in getting Maria to a squad car and Kane reached down to scoop Waverly up in his arms. "I'll drive," Wilder told them as everyone from the party stared out the windows of the house.

Angelica pushed her way through with Elwood right behind her. "Kane! Is she okay?"

"She will be. Angelica, clear my calendar for the week."

Angelica smirked. "It's a good thing I hired a new negotiator. I have a feeling you may be taking a more active role in administration."

Kane could have told Angelica it wasn't her place to hire anyone, but he knew better. "Thank you. You got yourself a promotion to VP of KAT."

"I assume that comes with a raise."

"You bet your ass it does. Elwood. Enjoy your evening," Kane said as he carried Waverly by a slack-jawed Elwood.

"Goodnight, Elwood. Oh, our new company is a go. Put in your notice. I don't think Charleston Research will be around much longer," Waverly called out.

"Your new company?" Kane asked as he slid into the back of Wilder's car with Waverly still in his arms. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"I'm starting my own lab."

"That's the best news I've heard today," Kane said before kissing her all the way to the hospital, even despite the gagging noises his brother was making.

Waverly had regained the use of her hands and feet by the time they made it to the hospital, but not all of her arms and legs. That just gave Kane an excuse to carry her from the car.

"Oh goodie. Townsends. On Halloween weekend. It's probably a full moon, too for the trifecta of messing with my shift?" a nurse asked from where she was standing waiting for them with a wheelchair.

"You still married, Jen?" Wilder asked.

The nurse, who must be Jen, smacked Wilder's shoulder. "Happily married."

"More's the pity," Wilder said with a wink.

Jen rolled her eyes at Wilder's harmless flirting and then turned them onto Kane and Waverly. "You can put her down, you know."

"I could, but I'm not."

"You carry her into the hospital and half my nursing staff is going to ovulate."

Waverly snorted with amusement at the nurse.

"Only half? I'm slipping." Waverly saw Kane smile and Jen cursed again.

"There goes the other half in an orgasmic coma."

"That's better. Now they'll be too busy to care that I'm carrying the woman I love to her room."

"And now you just turned half the men," Jen muttered. "You Townsends are going to be the death of me."

"But what a way to go," Wilder teased.

Jen chuckled and led them inside the emergency room. Sure enough, a flock of nurses began to follow them. It was crazy how many nurses it took to get her situated in an exam room. They quickly scattered fifteen minutes later at the sound of stilettos echoing down the hall.

"Out!" Olivia's voice rang through her room. "Jen, you were supposed to control the situation."

Jen shrugged and then pointed to Kane. "He insisted on carrying her to the room. Then he smiled."

Olivia rolled her eyes at her brother but rushed to Waverly's side. "Are you okay? Wilder told us what happened."

"They're giving me medicine to counter what Maria gave me. I'm feeling better already," Waverly assured her. Olivia was going to ask more questions, but Lark and Quad ran in with Damon, Granger, Hunter, Maggie, Stone, Natalie, Forrest, Penelope, and Rowan.

Lark was crying. Quad was holding her hand tightly even as Lark flung herself on Waverly, and the Townsend men growled—as one.

"Damn, now I'm ovulating. I better call my husband. We're trying to have a baby," Jen said, hurrying from the room.

Waverly assured everyone she was okay. She saw a man slip into the room as she told her story. She also saw Kane and Damon stiffen, but they didn't move to stop him. Kane kept his attention on her, making sure Waverly had everything she needed. Lark fell asleep on the couch, using Quad as a pillow. Rowan was called back to operate on an emergency case. Then Stone and Natalie said their goodbyes. Hunter and Maggie offered to stay, but Waverly and Kane told them to go home along with Olivia and Granger. It was over now and she was finally safe. That left Forrest, Wilder, Damon, Penelope, and the man by the door.

"You can stop lurking now, Nico," Penelope said with a roll of her eyes.

Nico stepped from the shadows, holding some flowers. "I don't skulk. Kane knew I was here. I was giving her family time to see her first."

Waverly took the flowers Nico offered. "Thank you, Nico."

"I'm sorry my intelligence let you down. No one knew Maria Medina was still running things," Nico told her.

"Is that why you're here?" Kane asked, clearly ready to defend Waverly if need be.

"No, he's here because he's my friend and my business partner. A business partner who would be very smart to swoop in and buy the assets of Charleston Research." Waverly loved the surprised looks on everyone's faces.

"Already laying the groundwork," Nico told her.

"Wait, business partner?" Kane asked, clearly upset.

"Nico is funding my lab. He's handling the business side, secretly of course, and I'm heading up the research part."

"Speaking of which, I'm hiring someone to be my on-the-ground presence. They'll assume everything is coming from her as she'll be VP of business operations," Nico told her.

"Who is it?" Waverly asked, clearly engrossed in her new lab.

"Sister Belinda. She was the CEO of Saint Elizabeth Seton Hospital. She retired last year and decided she was bored. This will be a part-time position for her, so she's happy to share duties with me."

"A nun?" Waverly asked, surprised.

"You would be amazed at how no one argues with a nun."

He had a very good point. She was going to ask more, but then the doctor who had treated her entered the room.

"You ready to go home?" the doctor asked.

Waverly paused. She instantly thought of Shadows Landing, not her home in Charleston. "Yes," she answered since the doctor was still looking at her. Why had she decided she and Kane needed time apart? She wanted every moment she had with him. She knew she'd be busy setting up her lab and he'd be busy with his own company. There was no reason to live separately. She wanted every second she could get with him.

"I'll get to work on the discharge papers."

The doctor left and Kane squeezed her hand. "Whose house do you want to go to?" Kane asked.

"Ours. I want to go home to Shadows Landing," Waverly admitted.

Kane responded by kissing her. "I hope you know I fully plan on having your things packed and brought to my house by the end of the weekend."

"Good. I don't ever want to live apart again. A week was enough for me to know I want to be with you for the rest of my life."

"On that note," Wilder said. "I'm going back to my club. Pen, want to come with me for the night?"

"Sure. I love WET."

Waverly saw Nico swallow hard and Damon stare daggers at him.

"I'll drive you two home," Damon told them.

"And I'll check on you tomorrow," Forrest added. "I'm glad you're safe, Waverly."

"Thank you, Forrest."

"I look forward to having someone to discuss science with." Forrest winked and left.

"I'll call you Monday," Nico told her. "Kane, take good care of her."

"I plan to, for the rest of my life."

Quad cleared his throat. "I'll, um, take Lark home."

Damon growled. Kane growled. Quad stood his ground.

"You'll take her to her home and leave her with her roommate, right?" Kane asked.

Lark rubbed her sleepy eyes. "Nope. He's going to take me to his room and we're going to make D1 basketball babies."

"Lark!" Kane snapped and Quad groaned.

Lark winked at Kane and Waverly shook her head. The poor Townsend men had no idea who they were up against. "Don't worry, bro, I won't do anything you and Waverly wouldn't do."

"Woman, are you trying to get me killed?" Quad asked in a whisper.

Lark only laughed, took Quad's hand in hers, and walked from the room as Damon called out threats.

Kane sat down hard on the chair next to her bed. "We really are losing our touch."

Waverly reached out and took Kane's hand, trying hard not to laugh. "Don't worry. I know how to cheer you up."