KEIFER POV
2 weeks later
After one fucking month, I was finally allowed to step foot outside this mansion. Jay-Jay wouldn't take any chances with my recovery, keeping me on literal lockdown. Don't get me wrong, being stuck at home with my wife and son wasn't a punishment, but I had unfinished business that had been rotting in the back of my mind for thirty days.
I leaned down and kissed Jay-Jay's cheek, lingering there for a second to breathe in her scent—vanilla and baby powder.
"Bye-bye, Teacher. See you soon," I said, kissing her forehead.
She smiled, that soft, radiating smile that still made me feel like I didn't deserve her, and kissed my cheek back. "Be careful, Keifer. Home early, okay?"
"I will." I turned to the tiny human in the bassinet. "Bye, little man. Don't give your mom too much work today—that's my job."
Kevin just giggled, kicking his small feet. I chuckled, tucked my piece into my waistband, and headed out. The moment I stepped out of the front door, the dad version of Keifer Watson stayed behind.
I got into the back of the armored black SUV. The air inside was cold and smelled of leather. My driver didn't even have to ask.
"Straight to the warehouse," I commanded.
As the car sped through the city, I checked the bandages on my side. The wound had scarred over, a permanent reminder of Yuri's betrayal. Two weeks ago, I had handed the keys to Angelo, but today, I was taking them back.
We pulled up to the abandoned industrial site. The guards at the entrance straightened up immediately, their faces tight with respect—and a bit of fear. They knew I was back.
I stepped out of the car, the gravel crunching under my boots. I could hear the muffled sounds from inside before I even reached the heavy metal doors. Angelo was standing by the entrance, smoking a cigarette, looking as bored as ever.
"He's still breathing," Angelo said, flickering the ash away. "Barely. I kept him alive just like you asked, Keifer. The coffin is ready, though. It's a bit small, but I figured we could just... fold him."
"Good," I said, my voice cold and devoid of any the warmth I'd shown Jay-Jay an hour ago.
I pushed the doors open. The smell of rust, damp concrete, and blood hit me instantly. In the center of the room, tied to a chair under a single flickering light, was Yuri. He was a mess—bruised, broken, and unrecognizable from the friend who had once been part of the circle.
He looked up as I approached, his one good eye squinting through the blood.
"Keifer..." he rasped, coughing up something dark. "Come to... finish it?"
I pulled up a chair and sat across from him, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees. I took my time, enjoying the way his breath hitched in fear.
"You touched my wife, Yuri," I said softly, my voice echoing in the hollow space. "You tried to take my son's father away before he even met me. Did you really think a month of hiding in the dark would make me forget?"
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a pair of black leather gloves, pulling them on slowly.
"Angelo says he bought you a coffin. But honestly? I think that's too much luxury for a snake like you."
I stood up, the shadow I cast swallowing him whole.
"You're gonna kill me now?" Yuri asked, his voice shaking as he looked up at me.
I smirked, but there was no humor in it. Just a cold, empty promise of pain.
"You know I don't do quick killings, Yuri. I'm going to make sure you fucking regret touching my wife, my family, and for almost killing my unborn son," I said, leaning in so close he could see his own terrified reflection in my eyes.
He looked at me, shocked, his eyes darting toward the door as if a miracle was going to happen.
"I know everything, Yuri. The only reason you wanted to be close to my wife was to remove the fetus. To take away my legacy before it even began," I said.
A little digging with Keiran had revealed the truth. Yuri wasn't just after revenge against me; he was after the future of the Watson bloodline.
"You used your own sister for that? That's low, even for a Hamachi," I spat.
Yochi and Keiran were best friends, and Keiran had found out through her. At first, she denied everything, protecting her brother like a fool. But I don't know exactly what Keiran did—he has his own ways of breaking people—but eventually, Yochi spilled the truth. She told him about Yuri's plan to get close to Jay-Jay under the guise of friendship, all while looking for a way to make sure our baby never took his first breath.
"She's crying right now, you know," I added, my voice dangerously smooth. "Yochi realizes her brother is a monster. She gave you up to save herself from the Watson wrath."
Yuri's face went pale. "Keifer, wait—"
"Wait? For what? For you to explain why you targeted a pregnant woman?" I stood up and signaled to Angelo.
Angelo stepped forward, holding a black bag filled with tools that weren't meant for construction.
"I promised Jay-Jay I'd be home early," I said, checking my watch. "So we're going to be efficient. You wanted to take my son's life? I'm going to take your freedom. Every limb, every sense… I'm going to leave you alive so you can spend the next fifty years in a dark hole, remembering why you should have never mentioned the name Watson."
"Keifer, please! Mercy!" Yuri shrieked as Angelo grabbed his jaw.
"Mercy is for the innocent," I said, turning my back on him. "And you? You're just a mistake I'm finally correcting."
As the first scream echoed through the warehouse, I walked out into the sunlight. I reached into my pocket and took out my phone, looking at the picture Jay-Jay had sent me ten minutes ago—a photo of Kevin sleeping on her chest.
I took a deep breath of the fresh air, the darkness of the warehouse fading behind me. I had a life to go back to. A wife to love and a son to protect.
"Driver," I said, stepping into the SUV. "Stop by the florist. I want the biggest bouquet of roses they have for my wife."
I stopped at the florist and picked up a massive bouquet of deep red roses.
When I walked into the house, the usual chaos greeted me. Keiran and Keigan were on the floor of the living room, hovering over Kevin like he was a sacred relic.
"Here, here! Say Tito!" Keiran was saying, shaking one of those annoying squeaky toys in front of Kevin's face.
"He's two weeks old, idiot. He can't talk," Keigan muttered, though he was busy making stupid faces just to get the baby to blink.
I cleared my throat, and they both looked up. I didn't have to say a word for them to see the shift in my mood. The warehouse business was done.
"Where is Jay?" I asked, adjusting the flowers in my arm.
"She's taking a shower," Keigan said, pointing upstairs before going back to his 'Tito' duties.
This was my chance. I'd been stuck in patient mode for a month, and I was starving for some time alone with my wife without a baby crying or a brother interrupting.
"Don't disturb us," I warned them, my voice dropping into that tone that meant I wasn't joking.
Keiran looked up with a massive, annoying smirk. "Why? Already creating a sibling for Kevin, Kuya?"
I glared at him so hard he actually flinched. "One more word and I'm sending you to the Mindanao branch for a year."
"Okay, okay! Going silent!" Keiran laughed, holdng his hands up.
I turned and headed upstairs, my heart doing that annoying thudding thing it only did for her. A sibling for Kevin? It wasn't a bad idea—I wanted a house full of mini-Jays—but I'm pretty sure Jay-Jay would actually kill me if I mentioned another pregnancy while she was still healing.
I pushed the bedroom door open. The room was warm and smelled like her lavender soap. The sound of running water was coming from the bathroom.
I set the roses on the nightstand and started unbuttoning my shirt, tossing it onto the chair. I sat on the edge of the bed, waiting. My side twinged a little, but I didn't care.
The bathroom door opened, and Jay-Jay stepped out, wrapped in a fluffy white towel with her hair damp and clinging to her shoulders. She stopped when she saw me, her eyes widening.
"Keifer? You're back early," she said, her cheeks turning that pink color I loved.
"I told you I'd be home soon, Teacher," I said, standing up and walking toward her. I didn't give her a chance to look away. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her small body flush against mine.
"Did you... take care of everything?" she whispered, looking into my eyes, searching for the darkness I usually hid from her.
"Everything is settled," I murmured, leaning down to bury my face in the crook of her neck. "No more threats. Just us."
"And the flowers?" she asked, glancing at the nightstand.
"A bribe," I whispered, my lips brushing against her ear. "So you won't be too mad at me for what I'm about to do."
"What are you about to do?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly, caught between a laugh and a gasp.
"Let's find out," I murmured, my voice a low vibration against her skin.
"Keifer, wait... I need to dry my hair," she said, trying to maintain some form of order as she gently pushed against my chest. She stepped toward the vanity to reach for the hair dryer, but I wasn't about to let her go that easily.
I followed her, my shadow eclipsing her smaller frame in the mirror. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her back against me until there was no space left between us. I leaned down, trailing slow, burning kisses along the sensitive curve of her neck, right where her pulse was jumping.
"Keifer..." she breathed, her hands resting over mine at her waist. She wasn't pulling away anymore.
"The hair dryer can wait, Jay," I whispered, my hands sliding slightly lower, molding her against me. "I've spent a month being a 'patient.' I've spent a month sharing you with everyone in this house. I'm done being patient."
I shifted her damp hair to one side, my lips finding that one spot just below her ear that I knew made her knees weak. I felt her shiver, a soft moan escaping her lips that fueled the fire in my gut.
"The boys are downstairs," she whispered, though her hold on my arms was tightening, pulling me closer." and Kevin–"
"Keiran and Keigan know better than to come up here," I said, turning her around in my arms so I could look into her eyes. They were hazy with the same hunger I felt. "And our son is a Watson. He knows his dad needs this more than he does right now."
I cupped her face, my thumb tracing the swell of her lower lip. "I missed you, Teacher. Even when I was in the same room as you, I missed this."
Before she could respond with another one of her feisty retorts, I leaned down and captured her lips with mine. It wasn't the soft, comforting kiss of a husband greeting his wife. It was the kiss of a man who had walked through hell to get back to his queen—possessive, hungry, and demanding.
She melted into me, her hands tangling in my hair, the hair dryer forgotten on the counter.
There was only the scent of lavender, the heat of her skin, and the silent promise that from now on, nothing was ever going to take us apart again.
I broke the kiss, moving my lips down to her jawline, my breath hitching as I felt her heart racing against my own.
"I missed you so fucking much," I growled
. I peppered her skin with kisses, moving lower and lower, marking her as mine all over again. I wanted to erase every trace of the last month, every memory of that warehouse, and replace it with just this.
"Keifer, I need to…" Jay started, her voice airy and weak, but I didn't let her finish.
I cut her off by capturing her lips again, harder this time, as I felt the knot of her towel loosening. It started riding lower and lower, slipping against her skin, but she didn't try to pull it up. Instead, her small hands traveled up my bare chest, her fingers digging into my skin, anchoring her to me.
I groaned into the kiss, the feel of her palms against my chest making my blood boil. The pain in my side was a distant memory, completely drowned out by the sheer need to have her closer.
"Jay-Jay," I whispered against her lips, my hands sliding down to the small of her back, pressing her body firmly against mine. "Tell me to stop. Tell me now, or I'm never letting you out of this room."
She looked up at me, her eyes dark with the same fire that was consuming me. She didn't say a word. She just reached up, her fingers tangling in my hair, and pulled my head back down to hers.
That was all the permission I needed
I lifted her effortlessly, her legs instinctively wrapping around my waist as the towel finally hit the floor. I carried her toward the bed, the red roses on the nightstand the only witnesses to the way I was about to show her exactly how much she meant to me.
"You're mine, Jay-Jay," I whispered, hovering over her. "Always."
"Always, Keifer," she echoed, and this time, the silence was broken only by the sound of us finally becoming one again.
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