10. Rowan

"Give me a minute."

Annabeth didn't argue, staying in his arms. They were hidden in the library, clinging to one another. The police had beat him here, and Rowan cursed the distance between the new condo and Haven House.

His system had failed them.

He had failed her.

"I'm so sorry."

"I'm glad you're here." Her voice was muffled from being squeezed so tightly. "I feel like my heart is stuck in my throat."

Tonight, he would move over to the Firewater townhouse. Liam and his broken heart be damned. There was no way he was going to let Annabeth go so unprotected again.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly to keep herself steady. "I have to help Abe get my mom to a hospital. The EMTs say she's fine, but I can tell they're wrong. Something is off."

"I'll get her to the hospital." It was the least he could do for Simone. The woman had fought like hell to protect her girls and her home. "You stay and talk to the police."

"No, I want to be there, but I want you with me when we go."

Screw the townhouse, he was staying here.

A booming crash sounded out in the hall, followed by shouting and a deep voice ordering people to get the hell of out of the way.

"Ben's here." Annabeth unhooked her arms and rushed to the door. "Hurry before he murders someone."

Rowan chased after her and saw officers attempting to restrain Benjamin Fairweather from entering the house. Cop or not, it was a stupid move. The man might be getting up there in years and have a little more salt than pepper on top, but anyone idiotic enough to try and stop him would get what they deserved.

"Let him pass," Rowan yelled as more police stepped forward. "That's Ben Fairweather."

Having said the magic F-word, the sea of blue parted. Ben stormed through them to Annabeth, his eyes skimming her bruised and battered face. "Dear God."

"It looks worse than it feels," she insisted when he hugged her. "Liam said Jamison is awake and fine."

"Where's your mother?"

Simone must have heard the commotion and come out to see what was happening. She made her way down the hall, clutching Liam, who kept her steady enough to walk. Samuel and Evie's girls were with them, but seeing their Papa had the girls running over to Ben.

"Unc say he gonna kill'em good," Theo said, twirling around Ben's legs in her princess pajamas. "Don't be sads, Papa."

Simone came to stand in front of Ben, almost unrecognizable with shades of purple covering much of her face. A patterned trembling shook her frame, and as she fought to remain standing, a silent conversation passed between the two of them. An argument? An understanding? Rowan didn't know, but whatever it was ended with Ben saying, "I understand, SiSi."

Liam cleared his throat. "She's informed me that under no circumstances is she going to the hospital without hearing the full details from Jamison." He turned Simone toward the parlor. "And since I'm smart, I know not to argue."

"I'll take her into the parlor," Rowan offered. Liam had been antsy to go back upstairs since he'd brought the girls down. "Annabeth and I will get her settled whi—."

Clamoring footsteps pounded down the stairs, and Jamison rushed into the foyer and straight into her father's open arms. "I'm okay."

It took Ben a few seconds, the relief over being able to hold his daughter shattering him for a moment. Jamison practically disappeared in the hug, and once Annabeth was pulled into the center with her, Simone surrounded the girls from the other side.

Tears were shed, blending with words Rowan couldn't understand from Ben. The man had experienced so much loss in his life. Hell, all these people had. It was a wonder they could get out of bed in the morning.

Liam stood to the side with him, the tiny hands of Samuel's girls secured in his. "This needs to happen fast," he said quietly to Rowan. "Simone is refusing to go until she hears everything."

Rowan knew Annabeth's mother did things her way, but delaying the trip to the hospital was not a good idea. "Is she always this stubborn?"

The girls and Liam looked at him as if he were insane. "You don't tell GiGi what to do," Harper whispered, appalled that he would even question it. "Ever."

"Yous get a time out," Theo added. "And nopes desserts."

Well, there you go. "Thanks for the tip."

Once the hug was over, Liam led everyone into the parlor. Rowan snatched Annabeth's hand, keeping her with him before she could run off.

"Your mom needs a hospital."

Chewing on her bottom lip, Annabeth nodded. "I know, but Klausen is here. She won't leave with him in the house."

"Klausen?"

"The guy in charge of the Zanmi task force." Samuel appeared on the stairs, carrying Evie in his arms. "Or I should say Toby's task force since they refuse to acknowledge Zanmi as a threat."

Annabeth leaned up to whisper as Samuel set Evie gently on the ground. "She's on bed rest, and stairs are a big no-no, so he carries her. It's sweet."

Samuel and Evie were always touching. It was one of the first things Rowan noticed when they made their relationship public. If in a room together, one always had a hand on the other.

"Where are the girls?" Samuel asked.

"In the parlor with my mom." Annabeth released his hand, and while it annoyed him, Rowan understood this was a stressful time and he shouldn't push. "Ben is here."

"So, that's the earthquake we heard." Evie scrunched her nose at the police gathering in the hall. "Let's get this over with."

Rowan stood in the corner of the parlor, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Typically, his height worked against him blending into the background, but it wasn't much of an issue in a room with two Fairweathers and Liam.

A small couch on the side wall held Simone, Jamison, and Annabeth. Abe sat parked next to his mother, an agitated nervousness about him. One leg bobbed in place while he talked to Selah on his phone in a low voice.

Near the doorway, a few detectives loitered, hovering under Ben's watchful eye. He and Samuel had taken up the front corner, with Evie and the girls between them. Both men glared openly at the law enforcement personnel, annoyed over being kept waiting.

And then there was Liam.

In the center of the room, arms crossed and clearly pissed, Liam stared down the detectives right along with the Fairweathers. Rowan thought it was rather ironic how well the man fit in with a family that was no longer to be his.

"Where the hell is Klausen?" Liam directed the statement at a plainclothes female detective. "I have a person in need of medical attention."

The woman sauntered in from the doorway. "Ms. Howard is more than welcome to leave."

"As are you," Liam shot back before either Ben or Samuel could respond. Rowan smirked, impressed by the move. Not many people were as fast as a Fairweather when telling someone to fuck off. "Get out of this house and send in your superior."

"Agent Klausen will be with you shortly."

"I've had enough of this." Ben approached the woman, who smartly headed for the door, making it through just before he slammed it in her face. "We're all going to the hospital to get Simone checked out, and then we'll talk to Klausen."

Painstakingly, Simone shook her head, sending a clear message. None of them were going anywhere until this was settled.

"Mama, please." Annabeth took Simone's hand. "We can do this later."

The door opened again, and an older man appeared. Judging by the way all conversation ceased and the smug demeanor of the new arrival, Rowan assumed this was the guy in charge.

The man waved a file at Ben. "Have a seat, Mr. Fairweather, and we'll make this go as quickly as possible."

To no one's surprise, Ben remained standing. "Hurry the hell up, Klausen."

Klausen took inventory of the room, and when he came to Rowan, a gray eyebrow shot upward. "And who might you be?"

The guy was obviously not on good terms with the family, and Rowan wasn't sure if he should shake his hand or adopt a stance of indifference like everyone else. Ultimately, he decided to pull the united front card and offered only a curt nod.

"Rowan McIntyre."

Suddenly interested, Klausen came closer. "Would that be the Rowan McIntyre, who is head of Fairweather Holdings IT department?"

"That's correct." Rowan gave the man a once over, deciding he was likely in his fifties. He wore regular clothes like the detectives, but he didn't carry a sidearm or display a badge as they did. "And who are you?

"I guess you could say I'm the lucky agent assigned to handle all things Fairweather." Klausen popped open the folder in his hand to read its contents. "You were the one who spotted the intruders on the security camera and set off the alarm."

"Yes."

Klausen made a noise as if the information were the most fascinating thing he'd ever heard. "You were running a security check?"

"A standard one," he replied, careful to keep his tone even. "I was about to log out when an invalid security entry popped on the screen, and I traced the error code to Haven's front gate."

"Do you normally execute security checks late at night?" Klausen asked, turning his attention from the file back to Rowan. The man scanned every tattoo, every piercing, even the scar on his upper lip left behind after racing his sister on dirt bikes as a kid. "As head of IT, I would think you have employees to do such menial tasks."

"Depends."

"Depends on what?" Klausen's eyes narrowed behind his dated glasses that looked straight out of the eighties. "You don't seem like a man who would start your weekend off in such a way. Were you looking for something in particular?"

"Maybe I find numbers more interesting than people."

"Right." Klausen gave him a half smile and returned to reading his file. "It says here you're based in Texas. Why are you in Florida currently?"

"I closed on a condo yesterday."

"Looking to move to the area full-time?"

Rowan refused to glance at Annabeth. "Maybe one day."

"Get to the point, Klausen," Liam spoke slowly, enunciating each word as if talking to a small child. "If you even have one."

"You know he doesn't," Samuel goaded. "He never does."

Klausen turned to Ben. "Mr. McIntyre is the son of one of your biggest competitors, is he not?"

"He is," Ben replied, not at all impressed by the questions. "But that doesn't matter."

Klausen huffed. "Oh, I beg to differ." Snapping the folder shut, he pointed it at Rowan. "This man could be the one who let them in. This could all be a ruse by a competitor and have nothing to do with Tobias Miller."

"Excuse the fuck out of you," Rowan snarled. His family and the Fairweathers might be at odds ninety percent of the time, but he wasn't about to stand here and listen to bullshit. "Who in the hell—"

"We were having sex!"

The shouted statement came from Annabeth, who swiftly covered her mouth as if she could shove the words back in. Every pair of eyes in the room swung toward her. Some wide. Some laughing. Some confused.

Removing her hands for a split second, she spoke again, the words tumbling out so fast Rowan could actually feel his soul leaving his body. "We have sex on Friday nights via the security system. He's usually in Texas, so we do this whole voyeuristic thing where he watches while I... uh… take care of myself as he does the same."

Yep.

That was most definitely his soul leaving his body.

All attention shifted to him, with only one person remaining unfazed by Annabeth's confession. Lifting on her toes, Evangeline Fairweather whispered loudly to her husband. "You owe me fifty dollars."

Harper's hand shot up. "What does voyeuristic mean?"

"I'll explain in the kitchen." Taking the girls by the hand, Evie led them out. "We can have ice cream while we talk."

Theo squealed, doing some sort of gyrating dance as she went. "Ice cream breakiefast!"

The girls and Evie left, and silence blanketed the room until Selah's voice shouted from Abe's phone. "Damn it, Abe! Turn me around so I can see him."

"I think that clears up that, Klausen." Ben was the first to compose himself. "Congratulations on embarrassing someone who went through hell last night."

"I'm sorry." Annabeth hid her blushing cheeks behind her hands, and Rowan forced himself to stay where he was. She might appear small and vulnerable right now, but he knew better. That inner strength would get her past this. "I just don't want Rowan in trouble."

"He's not in trouble," Liam cut in. "Klausen is grasping at straws because he doesn't want this to be connected to Toby."

Klausen chuckled. "Thank you for your input, Mr. Cohen, but unlike other agency members, I do this job without bias hanging over my head and attempt to look at the big picture."

Taking a few steps, Liam opened his mouth to reply, but Jamison interrupted him. "Can we stop the pissing contest?" Pushing off the couch, she marched to stand between the men. "Three people attacked us and tried to kidnap me. That's not how corporate warfare works, Klausen."

On the couch, Simone clapped, and Rowan held back a grin. He never doubted that his woman got her resilience from her mother, and while Simone might not like him, he sure as hell liked her.

Samuel remained as he was, clenching his jaw tightly. "Don't use words Klausen doesn't understand, Jamison. The basics of business are likely above his pay grade."

With an exaggerated eye roll, Klausen produced a phone from his pocket. Tapping at the screen, he shoved it in Jamison's face. "Please provide me with a statement regarding the events of last night."

What in the holy hell was up with this guy? Rowan met Annabeth's gaze, and she only offered him a shrug as if to say, yeah, we know he's awful.

Spine straight and head high, Jamison relayed everything quickly and concisely. Klausen didn't ask any questions, only stopping her occasionally to insert a comment.

"The man named Bruce moved like, I don't know how to say it, but it was as if he knew what he was doing," Jamison said. "And he wore expensive cologne."

"He wore expensive cologne?" Klausen heaved out a sigh. "Because he stopped to tell you this in the middle of a kidnapping?"

"I know what expensive smells like."

"Military," Rowan said before Klausen spat out another condescending remark. "I'd bet my money on current or ex-military for both men."

Klausen leaned to the side, peering around Jamison at Liam, who stood at her back. "Which one did you shoot?"

Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Jamison looked back at her ex, and Liam spared her a glance before answering. According to the gossip he'd obtained from Annabeth, this was the first time the two of them had seen each other since the break-up, and Rowan couldn't imagine a more awkward timing for a reunion.

"From what I could see in the dark, I hit the smaller of the two men," Liam told Klausen. "But I have no idea what took out the woman."

"There was something in the woods. It freaked them out." Jamison visibly shivered. "And the man you shot said his name was Michael Sinclair."

The moment the name crossed her lips, Liam was spinning Jamison around. "Give me the stats."

"Six foot two, deep brown hair, blue eyes. Very attractive. Muscular build, and in command of the other two." Jamison recited the information as if it had been waiting to explode out of her. "I agree with Rowan now that I'm stopping to think it through. He had an authoritative tone. It made you feel like there would be severe consequences if you didn't listen."

Liam and Klausen went utterly still, with Klausen's mouth opening and closing in shock.

"It's not him, Cohen. It can't be," Klausen stammered out finally. "Michael Sinclair is dead."