***thank you to the guest reviewer who pointed out how flexible Christian is (CH 21)! I was laughing for a while at that review and my mistake! As you all can tell this story needs some serious editing…

Here we go… I can't thank you all enough!

Grace was sitting quietly in the same chair, her makeup smeared down her cheeks. Taylor had appeared with two men I did not recognize who made quick work of removing Elliot's body. I couldn't get over how calm Grace seemed. When one of the men picked up the box with Linc's head, she hadn't even batted an eyelid. It seemed as though she genuinely though that this was the right thing to do- shooting Elliot in the back and killing him. I wasn't even sure what I should say to her, but I knew that I had to follow her lead until Carrick showed up.

I glanced at Christian who stood with a blank look on his face and surreptitiously blocked the doorway into the rest of the house.

"Is Carrick on his way?" Grace asked calmly. She was busily wiping her bloody hands on her shirt. She caught my gaze and shrugged. "I'll throw out this shirt anyway, a little more blood doesn't matter. I don't like the feeling of it on my hands though."

I nodded; still not sure I could control my voice. I was shocked and I had no idea what to say or how to act. I sat on my hands to try and stop them from shaking.

Taylor appeared in the doorway and Christian turned around to speak to him softly. From the other side of the expansive room I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I heard a car engine getting louder and louder as it approached the house. I glanced at Grace, and she didn't seem to worry as we all could hear the car door slam after the engine had been turned off.

Taylor had stepped into the room, effectively ending his whispered conversation with Christian. They both moved further into the room and closer to me, both avoiding eye contact. I heard another car door slam shut.

I turned to Christian, trying to meet his eyes, wondering who was with Carrick and what threat that could pose to us. Christian was deliberately avoiding my gaze.

"Christian," I head Carrick say softly, stepping past his adopted son and Taylor, walking into the room. His eyes shot down to the floor, where Elliot's body had lain. He quickly averted his gaze and looked at Grace, his eyes taking in her bloody, white shirt and stained hands. His mouth set into a hard line and I saw his eyes harden. "What the hell is going on here, Grace?"

Her eyes lost their glassiness, and I saw her eyes tighten slightly as she stood up gracefully, with the composure I had seen many times before. "Disposed of a problem, Carrick. What do you think happened here?"

"Who was this problem?" Carrick asked, slowly taking another step into the room, closer to Grace. He was approaching her like a wild animal. I was starting to get fearful.

"Your fucking son, Carrick!" she yelled suddenly, piercing the tense silence in the room.

I heard a loud slap and saw Grace on her knees on the floor, one of her hands grasping her cheek and now bleeding nose.

Carrick was standing over her menacingly. "Tell me everything. Now, Grace."

She looked up at him with such disdain, I wondered how often this happened. I glanced at Christian who was gazing at the scene completely detached as though he was a polite observer. I slowly started edging towards him across the perimeter of the room. I had my gun tucked into my waistband at my back, but I didn't want to be the closest target to Carrick right now.

I heard Grace spit some of her blood onto the carpet. "Everything? Well let's start off with the fact that Elliot was in no state to run this family. He compromised out guns, and now we have no pipeline. How long do you think we can last, Carrick? How long do you think we have before the Martinez cartel comes to hunt us down for not delivering their guns? I did him a service," Grace ranted, shakily rising to her feet. I noticed that the gun that had been lying on the floor was suddenly gone. I was slowly reaching my hand behind my back. I was terrified at the thought of shooting Grace, but if she made any move towards Christian, I wasn't going to hesitate. "Linc's head was in a fucking box!"

She took a shaky breath and continued. "Who do you think hunted him down in South Africa and killed him? Who do you think?"

Carrick stayed motionless. "Either the cartel or his suppliers, I would assume. But why did you kill Elliot?"

Grace's eye threatened to spill over with tears. "Elliot delivered the head. He was compromised. He didn't know he was meeting his death. He destroyed everything we worked for!"

Carrick suddenly lunged towards her and wrestled the gun out of her hands. Quickly, efficiently, he pressed the silencer under her chin and pulled the trigger before she could comprehend what was happening. Carrick caught her by her waist and gently lowered her to the floor. I glanced away, not wanting to look at such a private scene, or the brain matter that was splattered all over the wall and ceiling behind her.

Christian finally looked at me and held his hand out. I walked over to him and relaxed once I felt his strong arm over my shoulders.

Carrick stood up and turned to face us. "Christian, we have much to discuss. Shall I follow you back to Escala?"

Christian nodded and walked me through the front door. I thought I saw the shadow of a figure down the hallway, but brushed it off, assuming it was one of the men who had taken care of the bodies.

I climbed into the open car door besides Christian as Taylor sped off towards Escala.

"Christian," I asked softly. "Are you alright?"

He turned to me, trapping me with his steel gaze. "I'm glad she's gone, Anastasia. I am also glad I didn't have to be the one to do it."

I paused. He was so sincere, and I genuinely believed it. His relationship with Grace had shattered when he discovered that she knew about Elena years ago and had done nothing. "Okay. So does Carrick know what's going on, or do we have to kill him too?"

Christian frowned. "Carrick knows. I was forced into this power struggle with Elliot, based on Grace's insistence for an 'heir'. Carrick is ready to leave most of this life behind. He wants to focus solely on law again. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you, but things may have changed had you known."

I frowned. Why the hell didn't Christian tell me? "So, you didn't trust me?"

"No! Of course, I trust you! Carrick and I both trust you with our lives. We trust you so implicitly. But we needed certain things to happen. If you knew that Elliot had to be killed, I think things would have happened so differently. You stopped me from killing him outside of the bar that night. You are so good, so against death, but this was necessary," he explained, tightening his hold on my hand. "Carrick has something else to share with you when we get home. I didn't find out until last week, but he stopped me from telling you."

I was so conflicted. I knew that Christian trusted me and in a weird way, I was touched that Carrick trusted me that much as well. However, I was still hurt that I wasn't allowed to know. And now I was worried about the next thing that Carrick would be telling us.

I remained silent, trying to process everything that had happened in the past few hours. Christian was sneaking worried glances at me, and I squeezed his hand to try and reassure him without having to use so many words.

I hopped out of the SUV in the underground parking structure and made a beeline towards the private elevator. I was curious to hear what Carrick had to say. Christian was shifting nervously besides me and I felt myself becoming more and more anxious with each ding of the elevator.

Taylor uncharacteristically stepped out of the elevator first and Christian followed next. Christian caught my forearm as I took in the familiar figure sitting on the couch facing us. My heart dropped into my stomach. "Ray?"

I grasped Christian's arms to hold myself up as I watched him stand and walk towards me.

"Hi Annie," he said when he reached me and enveloped me in his arms for hug. I was crying into his chest, smelling his familiar smell. I felt his arm move up and heard him sniff too. I didn't register when we moved over to the couch, but I realized that Christian and Carrick were watching us with small smiles when I was finally starting to get a hold of myself.

"Where the hell have you been, Dad?" I asked, furiously.

He wiped his eyes and sighed. "With Carrick and Barney's help, I've been watching over you."

"You were behind the phone calls," I breathed. I paused and furrowed my brow. "Wait, then who blew up my apartment?"

Ray grinned sheepishly, his eyes crinkling. "That was us too. We didn't detonate until you were out of the building, but we overestimated the force of the explosion."

"You tried to blow me up?" I said, pulling away from him.

"Annie, you have to understand we needed to set some things in motion. I'll start at the beginning," he said exhaling. "I did work for the FBI. To the Grey family I was known as Stephen Morton. I was working with Luke Sawyer and providing information. That much is true. I learned that Mia and Luke were dating and that he seemed to have worked out a deal with the Italians to bring down the Grey family."

I nodded waiting for him to continue. "That was the first thing that had me worried about this operation. I approached Carrick and admitted that I knew Sawyer. Carrick threatened me and tied me up, during the conversation, but we both agreed that there was something going on. Carrick held me captive, in a guest room, and did some digging to verify what I was saying. He then offered me the chance to help him get out of this life. I hesitantly agreed, and I helped plant the seeds of doubt in Grace's mind that the Grey family needed Elliot to run all operations and cut Christian out."

I exhaled. "So how do I fit in all of this? Were you all using me?"

"No, Annie. Sawyer approaching you was not something we had anticipated. I did have to fake my death due to some trouble with the Italians, but we staged it to look like an accident. That way the FBI would cease all operations since Sawyer had nothing," he explained gently.

"I need a drink," I said standing up and walking over to the bar area. I poured myself a shot of vodka and threw it back, pouring another one and walking back over to the seating area. I sighed as I sat down. "What happened next, Dad?"

"When you walked into the bar, I let Carrick know who you were. From that moment on, you were protected by him," Ray explained.

"So, who was the other undercover agent Sawyer was talking about when we first met?" I asked. I frowned as things started to fit into place. "Oh, that was a lie. To make sure Sawyer could get me to tell as much of the truth as I could."

Ray nodded. "Yes, Sawyer had a talent for manipulation. The other piece of the puzzle was that Jose Sr. and Jose were working with me to make sure that the handoff from the Philippines to the Cartel went off without a hitch. I was traveling to Asia constantly. It was dangerous, which is why I didn't want to reveal myself until I knew it was safe to do so. Even then, I was in Africa taking care of Linc."

My eyes widened. "How did you get Elliot to drop off the head?"

Ray shrugged. "I had one of my contacts pass it to him and explain that Grace needed to see it. She was already furious that you and Christian had stolen the gun shipment and blamed it on Elliot from the beginning."

I rubbed my forehead. This was too much to take in, too many emotions were swirling around me. "Dad, I'm so happy you're alive, but I need some time to take this all on."

"Of course, Annie. Christian now has my number and you can call me when you want to talk more," he said, standing and kissing the top of my head. "I'll be staying with Carrick."

I stood up and hugged him, unsure what to do next. Ray was alive. It was every dream I had ever had, but I still had no idea who I had become in the process. I knew Ray didn't want this life for me, but I was thankful he was watching out for me. I wasn't angry at him for his deceit, I just wish I knew earlier. I missed him for two years.

Carrick and Ray left, leaving me alone with Christian.

"You said you found out last week," I said softly, placing my empty glass on the coffee table.

He nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Yes, Carrick had told me that Linc was going to be dead and how it was going to happen. He told me not to tell you. You have no idea how hard it was for me to keep it a secret from you."

I looked into his eyes and smiled. "I'm mad that I wasn't involved, of course. But I understand that everything needed to happen the way it did."

He exhaled and pulled me into his arms, whispering "I love you" into my hair over and over again. I had no idea how long we stayed like that, but I felt immense peace knowing this was all behind us.

"What should we do next?" I asked. My hand flew to my mouth. "Do I still have a job?"

Christian chuckled and stood up putting his hands in his pockets. "Gwen's maternity leave is starting soon, and I was hoping you'd take over for her. It will all be legal work this time."

I nodded shyly. "I'd like that."

Christian flashed one of his rare, dazzling smiles. He pulled his hands out of his pockets. "Now that we can live a slightly more normal life, will you, Anastasia, marry me?"

He sunk down on one knee as I started crying again. I was nodding my head stupidly up and down and pulled him into a hug. "Yes, Christian. A thousand times yes."

Thank you all for being such a patient audience! I know a bunch of you started guessing that Ray was secretly the caller, but how could he not be? This is an HEA story after all ;)