Chapter 6 - The Boy in the Safe House
Evan hated the safe house until he discovered the basement.
Not because it contained weapons or secret tunnels.
Because it contained a recording studio.
“Your criminal boyfriend owns better microphones than our school,” he told me over the phone.
“He is not my boyfriend.”
Adrien, standing beside me, raised an eyebrow.
Evan heard the silence.
“Sure.”
Adrien had brought me to the house after Victor's arrest because police expected retaliation from Moretti loyalists.
The property sat forty minutes outside Philadelphia behind stone walls and enough surveillance equipment to monitor a small country.
Yet inside, it looked strangely ordinary.
Books.
Old photographs.
A piano nobody played.
And a kitchen that Adrien actually used.
“You cook?” I asked.
He rolled up his sleeves.
“Occasionally.”
“You barely understand a taxi heater.”
“I lied about a heater. That doesn't mean I'm incompetent.”
He cooked eggs.
They were terrible.
I ate them anyway.
For three days, something resembling peace existed.
Then Evan disappeared.
His bedroom was empty.
Window closed.
Phone left behind.
My scream brought six security guards running.
Adrien arrived barefoot.
“What happened?”
“He's gone.”
Everything changed instantly.
Adrien issued commands.
Gates locked.
Cameras checked.
Vehicles searched.
Marco ran security footage.
At 2:14 a.m., Evan appeared on camera leaving through a maintenance door.
Alone.
“Why?” I whispered.
Marco enlarged the footage.
Evan carried a backpack.
Adrien stared.
“Check his laptop.”
“I don't invade his privacy.”
“Tessa.”
“My sister trusted me with him.”
“And right now your nephew may be walking through woods at two in the morning.”
I gave permission.
They found messages.
Someone had contacted Evan through social media.
Claimed to know where Evan's father was.
My knees weakened.
“He's looking for his dad.”
Adrien cursed.
A security team spread out.
Adrien and I went together.
We found Evan two miles away near an abandoned gas station.
He stood beneath a broken light talking to a man.
When Adrien saw the man's face, he stopped.
“Daniel.”
The stranger smiled.
“Hello, brother.”
I turned.
Brother?
Adrien moved in front of me.
“What did you tell the boy?”
“The truth.”
Evan looked confused.
“He said he knows my dad.”
Daniel Vale laughed.
“I know a lot of disappointing fathers.”
Adrien's voice dropped.
“Leave.”
“You still ordering everybody around?”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked at me.
“So you're Tessa.”
“How do you know my name?”
“My brother talks.”
Adrien's face tightened.
Daniel smiled.
“Not often. Which is why I noticed.”
Evan stepped toward me.
I grabbed him.
“Don't ever do that again.”
“I thought—”
“I don't care what you thought.”
His face crumpled.
I hugged him anyway.
Behind us, the brothers stared at each other.
“What do you want?” Adrien asked.
Daniel's smile disappeared.
“Victor wasn't working alone.”
Silence.
“Who?”
“Someone inside Vale Holdings.”
Adrien went still.
“Name.”
“I don't have one.”
“Then why come here?”
“Because whoever it is knows where this house is.”
Adrien looked toward the trees.
The first explosion hit the eastern gate.
The ground shook.
Security alarms screamed.
Adrien pushed us down behind a concrete barrier.
Gunshots followed.
Not many.
Controlled bursts.
Security returned fire.
Adrien pulled me close.
“Stay with Evan.”
“What about you?”
He looked toward his brother.
Daniel already had a weapon.
For one strange second the two men became boys again, standing side by side against whatever had come through their father's world.
Adrien looked at me.
“I'll come back.”
“You better.”
He kissed me.
There was no warning.
No elegant buildup.
His hand touched my jaw and his mouth met mine in a kiss so brief and desperate that my entire body forgot the gunfire.
Then he was gone.
Evan stared.
“You're definitely dating.”
“Not now.”
The attack lasted seven minutes.
Then silence.
One security officer was wounded.
Three attackers were captured.
None carried Moretti identification.
Adrien returned with blood on his sleeve that wasn't his.
I ran to him.
He stopped, surprised.
I hugged him.
For several seconds, he simply stood there.
Then his arms closed around me.
Hard.
“I told you I'd come back.”
“You say a lot of things.”
His chest moved with quiet laughter.
Daniel approached.
“Adorable.”
Adrien released me.
“Talk.”
Daniel explained.
A senior executive inside Vale Holdings had been quietly rebuilding the old criminal network while Adrien dismantled it.
Victor had provided cover.
The attack proved the conspiracy extended deeper than expected.
“Why help now?” Adrien asked.
Daniel's face changed.
“Because Dad already destroyed one generation of this family.”
He looked toward Evan.
“We don't need another.”
Adrien studied his brother.
Then nodded.
It wasn't forgiveness.
But it was a beginning.
Later that morning, I found Adrien alone on the back steps.
Dawn spread across the wet trees.
I sat beside him.
“That kiss.”
He closed his eyes.
“I apologize.”
“I didn't say it was bad.”
His eyes opened.
I smiled slightly.
“But don't do it again.”
Pain flickered.
Then I added:
“Unless you intend to finish it.”
For once, Adrien Vale had absolutely nothing to say.
I leaned forward and kissed him.
Slower this time.
When we separated, his forehead rested against mine.
“I don't know how to do this.”
“What?”
“Normal.”
“Neither do I.”
He laughed softly.
Behind us, Evan opened the door.
“I knew it.”
May you like
I threw a cushion at him.
And for one precious morning, surrounded by guards, bulletproof windows and problems none of us understood yet, we laughed.
