The Distance Between Us

2

Present Day — Louisiana

The air inside Laurent’s plantation house was thick with heat and history.

Louisiana humidity clung to the windows, Spanish moss swaying lazily outside as if time itself moved slower here. But inside the study, nothing was slow.

Klaus Moreno sat at the head of the long mahogany desk, posture relaxed but eyes sharp. Six years had carved something harder into him—polished the edges into something controlled and lethal.

Across from him, Mateo Laurent leaned back in his chair, sleeves rolled, tie loosened. Business papers were spread between them—territory maps, shipping routes, numbers that meant power.

Laurent Plantation had been in Mateo’s family for generations. It was legacy and leverage wrapped in white columns and iron gates.

“You expand through Gulf access,” Mateo was saying, tapping a document, “you control more than trade. You control timing.”

Klaus nodded once. “Timing is everything.”

Their conversation was calm, measured. Two men who understood what it meant to inherit blood-soaked responsibility.

Then—

The study door flew open.

Heavy little footsteps thundered across polished wood.

“UNCLE MATEO!”

Both men looked up.

A small, dark-haired boy barreled into the room at full speed, panic written all over his face.

“Hide me!” he demanded breathlessly. “Mama’s mad! I got in trouble at school!”

Before Mateo could react, the child dove under the massive desk, attempting to wedge himself between Klaus’s legs and the carved wood panel.

Klaus went very, very still.

The boy froze too.

Slowly, wide hazel eyes lifted.

For a split second, the world tilted.

The resemblance hit like a gunshot.

Same dark hair. Same sharp cheekbones. Same defiant mouth.

Mini Klaus.

Mateo dragged a hand down his face. “Nash.”

From under the desk, the boy shook his head violently. “Nope. Not here. I don’t exist.”

Klaus’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.

“Nash,” Mateo repeated, firmer. “Get out from under there.”

Small arms crossed. “She said I was ‘reckless and disruptive.’ That’s dramatic.”

Klaus blinked once.

Mateo leaned forward. “You were disruptive.”

“I was conducting an experiment,” Nash argued defensively. “Mrs. Hebert just doesn’t appreciate innovation.”

Klaus’s lips twitched before he could stop it.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway.

Measured. Controlled. Approaching.

Nash whispered urgently, “You have to help me. She’s in that voice.”

Klaus glanced toward the door just as a shadow stretched across the frame.

And then she appeared.

Kaci.

Older. Sharper. Controlled in a way that mirrored him far too perfectly.

Her eyes went straight to Mateo first.

“Where is he?”

Mateo exhaled slowly. “Under the desk.”

A beat.

Kaci’s gaze shifted.

And landed on Klaus.

Six years disappeared in one brutal second.

Recognition flared. Shock followed. Then something colder.

Neither of them spoke.

Under the desk, Nash peeked out, oblivious to the tension detonating above him.

“Uncle Mateo betrayed me,” he muttered.

Kaci didn’t look away from Klaus.

“Get out,” she said calmly.

Nash hesitated. “Are you still mad?”

“Yes.”

He crawled out slowly, dusting off his shorts with exaggerated dignity. Only then did he look up fully at the stranger in the chair.

He studied Klaus with open curiosity.

Klaus studied him back.

The room went impossibly quiet.

Mateo cleared his throat. “Nash. Apologize to your mother.”

“For what?” he asked automatically.

“For whatever you did,” Kaci answered without missing a beat.

Nash sighed dramatically. “Fine. I’m sorry I attempted structural engineering with cafeteria trays.”

Kaci pinched the bridge of her nose.

Klaus finally spoke, voice smooth and unreadable.

“Ambitious.”

Kaci’s eyes snapped back to him.

Dangerous territory.

Mateo straightened slightly, tension creeping in. “We were in the middle of something.”

“So I can see,” Kaci replied coolly.

Nash looked between them, then back at Klaus again.

“You look like me,” he said bluntly.

The words hung in the air.

Klaus didn’t blink.

“And you,” Klaus replied slowly, “look like trouble.”

Nash grinned.

Kaci’s jaw tightened.

Mateo muttered under his breath, “This is going to be a long afternoon.”