Secrets & Submission

“His body will be cremated by tomorrow.” Kam stretches with his arms above his head, then cracks his neck. “You probably don’t know how this works, Zander. We decide what goes on paper. The coroner has already determined that he shot himself after receiving phone calls from both his wife and mistress. They both left him over the loss of millions of dollars in a single week. It’s not uncommon.”

I’m speechless. The ease with which the explanation leaves Kam’s mouth is unfathomable.

The coroner hasn’t decided anything. The coroner hasn’t even seen the body. Yet Kam speaks like he knows it’s a done deal. He watches me with tired eyes. This man isn’t a ruthless killer, just a realist about the world Ella comes from. He said he would do whatever it took to protect her, and he meant it.

He doesn’t do this for the adrenaline rush. There’s a limit, and Kam has reached it, appearing far more battered than I’ve ever seen him.

“We’re going to take care of one another,” he tells me. “You understand?”

“I think so,” I say.

“You need to know so. There’s no going back. I don’t enjoy this, Zander. I don’t want this. But we do what we have to. You can understand that, can’t you?”

“I can.”

“Good, then marry her,” he says. “Legally, at the very least. There needs to be that level of protection.”

“What about my brother? What about The Firm? They’re waiting for me and for … him.”

“Your brother and The Firm can never know the details. They can learn of his disappearance when it’s reported in the papers.”

That one hits differently. A chill runs through me as I glance down at the body, the rug now wrapped around it twice and firmly secured.

“I don’t like lying to my brother.”

“You have to,” Kam says easily. As if he already knows I will go ahead with it.

I don’t want to lie to Cade. I did it once before, and it ended up with me nearly getting kicked out of the goddamn group. And I don’t like lying to the rest of the team.

But if this is what it takes, I’ll do it. Anything for Ella.

I make the deal with Kam, finalizing tonight. “I’ll keep this secret, so long as after tonight I can take her away from all this. Somewhere safe.”

“Somewhere warm,” he adds, seemingly agreeing with me. “I’d like to retire from this bullshit as well. You have a deal. Take her away, protect her. Provide for her. She’ll always have a home here and that doesn’t mean we’re going away. But a bit of quiet will be good for her I think.”

“So that’s a deal.”

“It’s a deal,” he says with finality.

Kam said he brought me in because we understood each other, and it turns out he’s right. I’ll do anything when it comes to her.

Even keep this secret.

The uncertainty still plagues me. Kam must see it in my expression as we stand together, a dead body at our feet. “I can tell you don’t like this, keeping it from The Firm, but if they know, they’re a threat. That means other people might come for them.”

“I don’t want to involve them,” I admit.

“Good. Neither do I. Keep them safe. All men like us protect the ones we love. We keep the people around us safe, whether that means keeping a secret or ending a life. That’s what we do.”