Page 132 of The Devil’s Lair

“They contained a form of rat poison that’s illegal in this country.”

Her hand flies to her mouth with a muffled, “Oh, my God.”

I grimace. “Right? Not enough to kill, but more than enough to make Isla very poorly.”

“But… why? Why would Felicity want to poison Isla?”

I run a hand through my hair. “Stab in the dark? Leverage. If she could paint you as a neglectful mother then she might stand a chance of getting custody.”

“Good God. If you hadn’t…” She breaks off, squeezing her eyes closed. “What do we do, Tobias? How can we stop her from coming for Isla again and again?”

I run my tongue along the inside of my cheek. Wonder how she’ll take this? “I called in a few favors. Earlier this evening, the police raided the La Salle residence and found the poison. Felicity will be charged with possession of an illegal substance, and she will be found guilty, which means she’ll have a criminal record. I should imagine her arrest will be all over the news by now.”

She ponders for a second. “How can you be sure she’ll get found guilty?”

I grin and wink. “Sometimes it pays to be a De Vil.” I squeeze her hand. “And even though there isn’t a judge in the country who would take Isla from this house, it seems Felicity had some trouble accepting that. A criminal record will put paid to her ever trying again. And if she still comes at you or Isla, I’ll take care of it the De Vil way.”

She steeples her hands over her nose and mouth and shakes her head. “You fixed all my problems,” she whispers. “You took care of every single person who hurt me.”

“I did, and I’d do it again.” I bring her hands to my lips and kiss them. “But I need to know one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Does it scare you? That I’ll do anything to keep you and Isla safe.”

“No.”

The way she answers immediately reassures me she isn’t saying what she thinks I want to hear. She believes it.

“It doesn’t scare me. It makes me feel loved and protected.”

I pull her close, and we lapse into a comfortable silence. The credits roll on the movie neither of us was all that interested in, so I reach for the remote to turn it off.

Rebecca wraps her arms around my neck. “Kiss me.”

I don’t need asking twice.

My lips touch hers, soft, slow, languid. Her fingers entwine in my hair, tightening slightly. I deepen the kiss, unhurried, content to stay right here and make out with my wife. I missed this part as a teenager. I’m making up for it now.

She stands, holding out her hand to me. “Let’s go to bed.”

I rise and follow her without hesitation. She knows who I am, what I’m capable of, what lines I’m willing to cross in the name of protecting our family, and she doesn’t flinch. That knowledge settles into my bones. I regret nothing, not when it comes to my family’s safety and happiness. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them, and that truth doesn’t scare me.

Whatever was broken in me began to heal the moment I realized I loved them both.

Chapter Forty

REBECCA

The Southalls were arrested a couple of days ago and charged with multiple counts of child abuse after several men and women came forward to report what was done to them in the Southalls’ care. It didn’t make splashy headline news like Felicity La Salle’s arrest did, but for Tobias, that doesn’t matter. He got the closure he needed. Now, we wait to see if justice is served. If the courts don’t handle it, my husband will.

That fact doesn’t scare me; it makes me proud. He has a dark side, but it’s directed at bad people. And, let’s face it, sometimes the justice system lets down victims. Vigilante justice, while not morally right, is sometimes what’s needed. I hold no guilt for thinking that.

These last couple of days, creativity has flowed out of me, and I’ve been writing and illustrating like a demon. I estimate another couple of weeks, and I’ll have a draft of my very first children’s book finished. Even if I never publish it, or I do publish and it sinks to the bottom of the bestseller ranks like a lump of concrete tossed into the sea, I’m proud of myself. It’s the first step on a path I feel confident will lead to a fulfilling career.

“This is odd.”

I glance up from my tablet, where I’m putting the finishing touches to a drawing. Tobias is sprawled on the couch, scrolling his phone, his bare feet resting on the arm. There’s something about Tobias’s feet that does things to me, beaten only into second place by his hands. He has the sexiest hands. Oh, and forearms, too. Those veins. And his abs…