Chapter 9 - The Last Enemy Was Closer Than They Thought
Gerard had escaped during a prison transfer.
The authorities issued a nationwide alert.
Declan locked Ashgrove down.
Rowan refused to leave.
“This is my home now.”
Declan looked at her.
“That's exactly why I need you somewhere else.”
“No.”
“Rowan.”
“You don't get to protect me by deciding my life for me.”
He exhaled.
“I know.”
“Then stop doing it.”
Their argument lasted ten minutes.
Then Finn interrupted.
“You two are terrible at timing.”
They glared at him.
Finn raised both hands.
Gerard was not coming for Declan.
He was coming for the archive.
The surviving evidence could connect him to international accounts.
He needed one final ledger.
A digital backup hidden inside the Ashgrove foundation records.
The key was the 417 code.
Gerard had never obtained it.
Rowan had.
That made her the final target.
The attack began at 2:17 a.m.
Power failure.
Cameras out.
Gate breached.
Ashgrove erupted into chaos.
Declan moved toward the archive.
Rowan stayed in the west corridor.
She heard footsteps.
Gerard appeared.
“You always were the stubborn one.”
“You always were the coward.”
He smiled.
“You sound like your brother.”
“He survived you.”
“Barely.”
Rowan stepped backward.
Gerard advanced.
“You don't understand what your family destroyed.”
“No.”
“But I understand what you're afraid of.”
He pointed his weapon.
“Losing Declan.”
Rowan shook her head.
“You're wrong.”
Gerard's smile faltered.
“Then what?”
“I'm afraid of becoming the person you wanted me to become.”
Gerard fired.
The bullet missed.
Rowan ducked behind the stone column.
Declan arrived.
Gerard ran.
This time, Rowan followed.
They reached the archive.
Gerard opened the steel door.
The backup was there.
But Patrick had already activated the system.
Every file was being transmitted to investigators.
Gerard stared at the monitors.
“No.”
Declan stood behind him.
“It's finished.”
Gerard turned.
For a moment, he looked defeated.
Then he smiled.
“Maybe.”
He pulled a detonator.
Rowan's blood froze.
There were explosives beneath the archive.
Declan rushed toward her.
“Run.”
The first blast shook the house.
Stone fell.
Smoke filled the corridor.
Rowan became separated from Declan.
She could hear him shouting.
“Rowan!”
“I'm here!”
Another explosion.
The floor collapsed.
Rowan fell into darkness.
She landed hard.
Pain surged through her side.
She looked up.
A beam had trapped her leg.
Declan appeared above.
“Don't move.”
“You're bleeding.”
“So are you.”
He climbed down.
“You need to leave.”
“No.”
“Declan.”
He lifted the beam.
Nothing.
Too heavy.
He tried again.
Nothing.
Rowan looked around.
Midnight Reel's old stable wall had collapsed nearby.
She saw a steel lever.
“Declan.”
He followed her gaze.
Together, they shifted the debris.
The beam moved enough.
She pulled free.
They crawled toward the surface.
Gerard was gone.
The archive burned.
But the evidence had transmitted.
Sirens flooded the valley.
As dawn arrived, Gerard was captured on the northern road.
He had been found because Midnight Reel's GPS monitoring tag, installed during rehabilitation, had triggered when someone tampered with the stable gate.
A horse had once again saved the Kavanaghs.
Rowan stood outside the ruined archive.
Declan came to her.
She looked at the broken house.
“It feels strange.”
“What?”
“To survive.”
He took her hand.
“You don't have to be good at it immediately.”
She turned toward him.
“I love you.”
Declan went completely still.
Then he smiled.
“I've been waiting for you to say that.”
“You knew?”
“I hoped.”
He kissed her.
Behind them, Finn made an exaggerated gagging sound.
Bridey shouted from the porch.
“Let them have five minutes!”
Everyone laughed.
May you like
The nightmare was finally over.
But Declan had one more surprise.
