Chapter 6 - THE BODYGUARD WITH TWO NAMES
Luke didn’t reach for his weapon.
He slowly removed it and placed it on the table.
Vincent stared at him.
“Talk.”
Luke looked older suddenly.
“My name is Lucas Mercer.”
I turned toward Charles.
His son.
Charles closed his eyes.
Vincent’s voice became dangerously quiet.
“You’ve worked for me eight years.”
“Yes.”
“Under a false identity.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
Vincent laughed once.
No humor.
“That explanation is becoming popular.”
Luke looked toward me.
“Your grandmother asked me to.”
My anger surged.
“Grandma?”
“She contacted me when I was twenty-four.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew your parents.”
Everything seemed connected to Grandma.
Every lie.
Every secret.
Every dangerous person.
“What did she want?”
Luke answered:
“To put someone near Vincent who wasn’t loyal to the Hayes name.”
Vincent’s eyes hardened.
“You were spying on me.”
“At first.”
“And later?”
Luke met his gaze.
“You became my friend.”
Vincent looked away.
That hurt him.
I could see it.
Charles spoke.
“Luke was supposed to watch for Margaret.”
Vincent turned.
“My mother.”
“Yes.”
“She’s alive?”
Charles nodded.
“At least she was three years ago.”
Luke continued.
“Eleanor believed Margaret was rebuilding the old financial network.”
“And you never told me?”
“You trusted people who would’ve reported back to her.”
Vincent stared.
“Who?”
Luke looked down.
“Your uncle Raymond.”
Vincent’s expression froze.
Raymond Hayes.
Chairman of Hayes Holdings.
The man who had raised Vincent after his father’s death.
I knew the name from newspapers.
Respected businessman.
Philanthropist.
Family patriarch.
Vincent whispered:
“No.”
Charles laughed weakly.
“Arthur discovered Margaret and Raymond were partners.”
Luke nodded.
“They used Arthur’s businesses to move money.”
I looked at Vincent.
“Your mother and uncle?”
“Yes.”
He sounded hollow.
Then Luke’s phone vibrated.
A location alert.
He checked it.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“Eleanor’s emergency tracker activated.”
I stared.
“Grandma has a tracker?”
“In her cane.”
Of course she did.
Luke showed us the map.
St. Agnes Home.
Exactly where Charles predicted.
Vincent looked at the detective.
“We’re going.”
Police coordinated with them.
I expected Vincent to order me to stay.
Instead, he looked at me.
“I want you somewhere protected.”
“Meaning?”
“Inside the command vehicle.”
“I can live with that.”
He nodded.
Progress.
Forty minutes later, police surrounded the abandoned facility.
Broken windows.
Boarded doors.
Dark corridors.
Then Luke pointed.
A light moved inside.
Second floor.
My grandmother’s tracker.
Police entered.
Ten minutes.
Fifteen.
Then the radio crackled.
“Eleanor Bennett located.”
I started crying.
“Is she okay?”
A pause.
“She’s alive.”
Relief hit so hard I nearly collapsed.
Then the officer continued.
“She’s not alone.”
Vincent leaned toward the radio.
“Who’s with her?”
The response came:
“An older woman.”
My pulse changed.
The officer read identification found in her bag.
“Margaret Hayes.”
Vincent went completely still.
May you like
His dead mother was alive.
And she was sitting beside my grandmother.
