Chapter Six

Stephen

We pulled up to the chalets in the afternoon, ready to settle in. Clint and I had planned this getaway for the four of us, but we also wanted some alone time with our girls. So, I’d booked two chalets side by side.

As we unloaded the car, we agreed to spend some one-on-one time with our girls before meeting up for dinner and drinks later. I’d already told Clint that I wanted to spend some time alone with Trinity after dinner. The fear and anxiety from recent events were getting to her, and I needed to reassure her that she was safe.

It was time to let her in on the measures we’d taken to protect her. I also wanted to discuss our wedding plans—when and where she’d like it to happen.

Once we’d brought our suitcases in and taken a quick look around, I could tell Trinity wasn’t feeling like herself. I wanted to distract her from her worries, so I carried her up to our room and gently laid her on the bed.

“Okay, baby, talk to me,” I said softly. “I was going to wait until tonight, but it’s killing me to see you like this.”

“I’m sorry. I trust you when you say it’s going to be okay, and I’m trying not to stress about it. But I have so many ~what-ifs~ running through my mind, it’s hard to concentrate on anything else.”

“What if I give you a distraction?”

She gave me a loving smile, gently stroking my arm before laughing softly. “Daddy, I think we’ve reached a point where we don’t need excuses to have sex, don’t you think?”

“Oh, doll, you know I’d take you anytime, anywhere if I wanted you,” I winked at her. “But that’s not the distraction I was talking about.”

“That’s a first for you,” Trinity replied, clearly surprised. “What were you talking about, then?”

“Our wedding.”

“Really?”

“What do you mean ~really?~ Why wouldn’t I want to talk about marrying you? I can’t wait!”

“It’s… it’s just that…” Her voice trailed off, and she looked down at her fingers.

I sat up and cupped her chin, making her look at me again. “It’s just what, baby? Please don’t tell me you don’t want to get married yet?”

Her face softened. “Sweetheart, I’d marry you tomorrow, I love you that much. It’s just… after what I did, why would you want to marry me? I’m… Stephen, I’m a killer. I took someone’s ~life~.”

“Why would I want to marry you? Are you serious right now? I can give you many reasons, but the simplest one is that I’m in love with you.”

“I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you. I’ve never been in love until I fell in love with you.”

“The thought of waking up tomorrow without you in my life is a torture I never want to endure.”

“If you hadn’t come into my life and made me want to be a better man, I’d still be doing the same shit we were doing.”

“Honestly, I’d probably be sitting in a jail cell by now.”

“When I close my eyes, all I dream about is our future—how many kids we’ll have, where we’ll live, your career going from strength to strength.”

“I want our friends, who’ve become our family, to still be around us. I want to give you, my wife, and our children everything I can. I want to protect you and show you the love you deserve.”

“I want to worship and adore you as you should be. I want to watch you achieve things I know you’re capable of because I already see the woman you are.”

“And that’s the woman I’d be damn proud to call my wife. That’s the woman I want by my side, on my arm, ruling our kingdom together.”

“So don’t ever question why I want to marry you. Just let me honor you and love you as you deserve,” I said. “And accept my love, baby, because I’ll give you it all.”

I pulled her into my arms and kissed her with all the love I had. This kiss wasn’t urgent—it was full of passion for the woman who meant more to me than my own life.

I made love to her lips and her soul through that kiss, holding her to me, showing her the safety she’d always find in my arms.

I gently pulled back from the kiss and placed her left hand—with the ring I’d given her—over my heart. “Can you feel that, my Queen? That beats for you and you alone. I will always love you.”

Fresh tears welled up in Trinity’s eyes as I finished speaking. “Thank you, thank you for giving me everything I need. I’m sorry I ruined what should be the best time in our–”

“Stop,” I interrupted. “No more apologizing, baby. And never say you ruined anything. You couldn’t. Every moment with you is a blessing.”

I watched her take a deep breath, giving her the time she needed to express her feelings and say what she needed to say.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay, we plan our wedding,” she said, smiling.

I returned her smile, hearing those words was music to my ears.

“But… First, I need you to tell me what you did, and what the plan is moving forward,” she added.

“If we’re going to move on with our life together, I need to know that this dark cloud won’t always be hanging over my head.”

She took a deep breath before adding, “I need to be freed from my mind to enjoy our life together, and I can’t while I have so many unanswered questions.”

“Then ask away, baby.”

“Now?” she asked.

“Now seems like the perfect time,” I suggest, giving a nonchalant shrug. “Let’s address the elephant in the room so we can enjoy dinner with our friends.”

“Afterwards, we can unwind with them, then come back here and make love until we’re spent. We can watch the sunset from our bed while we plan our wedding.”

She rolls onto her side to face me, her hand cushioning her head on the pillow. Her other hand reaches out to hold mine.

“Tell me everything, Stephen. After you sent Mia and me back to the house, what happened? What’s next? I need to know.”

I lie down next to her, mirroring her position, and continue to hold her hand, offering comfort.

“After Clint and I sent you and Mia back, I called my warehouse crew. You’ve never met them because I’ve always kept it that way. I don’t mix business with my personal life.”

“I also called Chad and Dave. While we were waiting, Clint and I hashed out the details of our plan.”

“The plan is pretty straightforward,” I explain. “We always intended to close up shop and go legit, but I postponed the drop that night after discovering Mike was DEA.”

“Mike wasn’t thrilled about me leaving this life. I was worried he’d tip off his contacts and they’d try to intercept us that night, knowing it would be our last run.”

“I had the warehouse guys load all the stock into a truck and move it off the property to a storage yard that can’t be traced back to us.”

“How can it not be traced back?” Trinity asks.

“It technically doesn’t belong to us,” I explain. “It belongs to one of my suppliers in Barcelona. We have no other ties or any traceable connections, so the dots can’t be connected.”

“While we’re here, Dave is arranging for the warehouse guys to handle the distribution. He’s offering them a nice profit as an incentive. He’ll be in Capulet overseeing everything while we’re away.”

“CCTV gives him a solid alibi, so he can’t be linked to it either. In that truck that went to the yard was Mike. Or whatever his real name is, but for simplicity’s sake, let’s just keep calling him Mike.”

“So, you're sending his body to Barcelona?” Trinity asks.

“Initially, yes,” I respond. “But where he ends up, I won’t even know. It’s better for all of us that way.”

“But they’ll come looking for him,” Trinity points out. “He’ll miss check-ins and communication if he’s an undercover agent.”

“That’s where the next part of the plan comes in,” I tell her. “In order for them to check in with him and start looking, they’ll have to blow their cover. As far as they know, we don’t know Mike is DEA.”

“The only one who knew was Chad, and he’s the one who brought Mike into our home and put us all at risk by not covering his tracks like he was supposed to. So Chad will also be going to Barcelona.”

Trinity’s eyes widen. “What?”

“As far as Chad knows, he’s the only one going to Barcelona. He doesn’t know Mike’s body was in that truck. But we made him drive the truck in case it was intercepted.”

“So all roads lead back to him…” Trinity murmurs, piecing it together.

“That’s right, babe. If he was stopped, it would look like he had the drugs and Mike’s body, and he was the only one who knew Mike was DEA. It would look like he did it to protect himself.”

“But why Barcelona?” she asks.

“My supplier is an old family friend who didn’t approve of the way my family forced me into this life when I was a child. And yes, that’s a story I still need to tell you, and I will, another day, once we get through this.”

“So, as far as Chad knows, he’s going there to help them find new distribution routes as a favor to us since I’ve closed up shop. It also helps maintain appearances on this end.”

“If the cops start snooping around, well, Chad and Mike went off together to explore other ventures. I had my fiancée move in and we’re getting married soon and want to start a family.”

“It wasn’t ideal to have my buddies living there anymore. How long they’ll be gone or if they’re coming back… we don’t know. Ask them. They were friends, not us. Are you following, baby?”

“Yes,” she nods.

“They’ll keep an eye on Chad too. He’s their problem now. As far as we’re concerned, he’s out of our lives,” I say bluntly.

“He broke my trust and I won’t have him back. I won’t have him around you, putting you in danger, risking your life.”

“As far as the cops are concerned, if they want to try and pursue it with us, they risk blowing the cover of the operation, which we’re no longer involved in, and since they had no evidence to implicate us, all…”

“…roads lead back to Chad,” Trinity finishes my sentence.

I nod, smiling. “All roads lead back to Chad.”

I watch as she quietly absorbs all this information. She seems to be processing everything I’ve told her very carefully, looking for any loose ends or areas that could blow our cover.

“But what about the gun?”

“It’s with Mike's body. It will be disposed of separately.”

She just nods and continues to think in silence for a bit.

“And the warehouse?”

“By the time we get back, it will be fully converted into a functional space for the cocktail bar and future nightclub and bar ventures I’m currently exploring.”

“It will also serve as a storage warehouse for our cellar collections,” I add.

Several minutes pass in silence as she thinks.

“You did all this for me?” she finally asks.

“I did this for ~us~, baby,” I say. “Without you, there is no me.”