Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 146: Alec Returns Home

I planned to kill Alec the second he stepped on solid ground. Or I might just lock him in the bedroom and never let him out again. The man broke my rule. Don’t get hurt. I would never forgive myself.

The jet landed on time. I watched as CK reunited with Colby before escorting him to the waiting ambulance. I’d never seen CK cry like that before, not even when he found out Bea was dead. Colby would need a full medical check-up and a lot of therapy before he could return to his normal life. I considered relocating the family with new identities to prevent a similar incident from happening, but CK vetoed it.

I questioned the wisdom of that decision, but I couldn’t argue since I would likely have made the same decision. I didn’t want anyone to run me out of my own life, either. Even so, I suspected the boy should grow accustomed to having every move he made monitored by his big brother for the rest of his life.

Alec crossed the tarmac to me. I refused to meet him halfway. I refused to cry or smile at him. I was torn between doing both. Alec deserved to feel my wrath. He had bruises on his face, and I knew there would be more bruises beneath his clothes.

Every one of those bruises was my fault. Alec was a businessman first and a fighter second. He should never face violence.

"You’re back."

"I am back," Alec said.

Jake joined us. "Don’t give him a hard time. He did well."

"He got hurt."

"Teela, He is a grown man who is trained to fight. I’d be surprised if he hasn’t received worse at the hands of Angie since he was a toddler."

"He promised to come back unscathed."

Jake turned to Alec. "Sorry, man, I tried."

The men shook hands, and Jake took off toward the airport terminal.

"Jake, the car is here."

Jake waved me off. "Someone’s got to deal with the cops. Give you two time kiss and make up."

Alec and I gazed at each other.

"I’m willing if you are," Alec said. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"I’m mad at you."

"I know."

I also missed him. It felt like a magnet in my chest was drawing me to him, and I had to fight it as much as I was fighting the panic that had become my constant companion from when Alec entered the Bright Future compound until now.

When I read Kahlil’s background, it didn’t help that his father was not a nice man. What was it with decent people having such ethically challenged parents? Other than my mother, I couldn’t think of one parent who wasn’t an embarrassment to their children. Then again, my mother had basically sold me to King as part of a land deal, so it didn’t exactly make her innocent.

But the real point was if anything happened to Micah, it was doubtful Kahlil or his father would let it go without making someone pay. Since I was a background player, that left out Alec on the firing line.

How could I have done that to him?

Tears won the battle, and I threw myself into Alec’s arms. "I’m so sorry, Alec. I put you in the middle of this mess. Now you’ve been hurt, and you are possibly enemy number one of one of the most powerful families in the world, and all I can do is act like a petulant child because I don’t know how to accept that my man is so wonderful and caring and injured and—"

And the rest was cut off as Alec kissed the words away.

"Let’s go home. I could use a shower," Alec said.

The driver opened the car door. Alec snorted a laugh as he saw the mess I’d made of the backseat. I had two laptops set up, dozens of used tissues, and a half-empty box of tissues littering the seat and the floor.

"Give me a minute," I said as I darted by him to make room for two fully grown adults.

The driver went around to the other side with a trash bag. Together, we made short work of cleaning up the car enough to make it temporarily inhabitable. I shut down one of the laptops but kept the other one nearby. This mission wasn’t done—not by a long shot.

Stiff was working with the FBI to make sure they had the information they needed to send the rescued children home. I had lined up an emergency staff to ensure the patients who remained at the Bright Future hospital received care until they could be relocated.

Eugene and his men were scouring the compound for the last of the possible accomplices while Min and Sampson were on their way back home after giving their statements to the authorities.

I assigned two of the programmers from Crazy Code to monitor Kahlil and his family. So far, we only knew that Kahlil had contacted the embassy but was fighting extradition unless he could take his wife and sons with him. I was doing everything in my power to block it because someone needed to be responsible for the lost lives of all those kidnapped children.

I’d work on his dad later. He would be harder to prosecute. He was better off in jail, though, because I would make his life a living hell until he paid the price he owed. The only question was how much of a price did he owe. After all, Micah’s life hung in the balance. I could not imagine to what lengths I would go to save a child of my own, but I liked to think I’d stop short of murder.

"Where are we going?" Alec asked when he realized we weren’t driving home.

"Eugene thought you would be safer at his home until the dust settles. I agreed."

I waited with bated breath to see how Alec took the news.

"Teela, this is one of those things we should have discussed first."

"I know, but you weren’t answering the phone, and I was in leader mode. When I get like that, I don’t do a lot of asking for permission. Usually, I default to begging for forgiveness later."

I ducked my head and waited for the fallout.

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Where is the begging because you are going to need it if you think I’m leaving my home and running home to daddy."

"You’re really going to make me beg after scaring me half to death with those stunts you pulled today."

"I am."

I closed my eyes and counted to twenty. Fighting wasn’t going to get me my way.

"Fine, Alec, I’m concerned about your safety. Kahlil is tied to some real baddies. He will likely blame you if Micah doesn’t get a heart. I need you to be reasonable and accept your father’s protection just this once."

"Do you have any idea what it took for me to leave home to begin with? No, of course you don’t because you didn’t ask. Teela, we move in there for so much as an overnight stay, and Eugene will start looking for ways to keep me locked away. I was suffocating in that place. Now you are asking me to go back.

"No, you aren’t asking me. You are telling me. How is this different than what King tried to do with you?"

I blinked back my surprise. This was nothing like what King and the Heavenlys did to me. Lettie was a tyrant. So was Anya. I had no freedom there. I couldn’t go anywhere. I couldn’t do anything but what was required of me. I had no money. No life. Definitely no love and support.

Alec would still have his company. He still had me for love and support. His father adored him. So did Estelle, and I would never let this be more than a temporary arrangement. I just needed a little time to lock down Kahlil and his father to ensure Alec was safe.

I spoke carefully. "Alec, it isn’t the same, but even if it were, it is temporary. I’d never allow anyone to limit your freedom any longer than necessary. Second, I am going with you, and third, Eugene has assured me you will be free to come and go as you wish as long as you take along a security detail."

"Dad says a lot of things."

Alec turned to stare out the window.

"If you are so opposed to going, you don’t have to, but it will be more difficult for me to protect you."

"Everyone is always trying to protect me," Alec muttered.

I took a chance and placed a hand on his arm. "It is because we love you, Alec. It has nothing to do with your abilities as a man. Frankly, you are more than enough man to take care of me, or I wouldn’t be so concerned about you."

Alec slowly turned toward me. "You aren’t making this any better."

I knew I was handling this poorly before Alec said that. I knew it even more so when Alec called out to the driver.

"Stop the car. Pull over."