“Where the hell are you, man?” he answered.
“On my way back.”
“How was it?”
“An unholy clusterfuck.”
A pause. Cooper weighing what he knew of my family and the tone in my voice. “Shit,” he said, finally. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”
“Yeah, you can join the club. No one fucking likes it.” I drew in a breath, knowing I had to get it out fast. My gut was tight as I slammed headfirst into reality. “I’m not staying in Atlanta. I have to move home, take over for my father.”
“Or what?” Cooper’s voice was flat. He knew there was a hook, knew I’d never have stayed a second longer than necessary if I hadn’t been forced to.
I gave him a quick summary, saving the best part for last. “Oh, and remember Hope Daniels?”
“The woman who came to tell you about your father? The one who threw you under the bus way back when?”
A careful glance at Hope, who appeared completely absorbed by the thick forest flashing by her window. “Yeah, that Hope. We’re married.”
A string of expletives that would have made a sailor proud came blasting through the phone. Cooper was loud enough to grab Hope’s attention. Her eyebrows shot up and the faintest smile curved her lips before it faded back to the sad, almost wistful expression she’d had since I’d picked her up at her apartment.
Knowing it might be exactly the wrong thing, I pinned the phone between my shoulder and my ear and used my now-free hand to hold hers. Her fingers were like ice. I squeezed, sending her what I hoped was a comforting smile. She squeezed back but kept her eyes on the side of the road.
When Cooper wound down, I cut in. “Chill, Coop. In this whole fucking disaster, Hope is the only thing I’m not pissed about.”
As I said the words, I realized I meant them. All the way to the bone, they were the truth.
I tried to imagine doing this alone, facing it all by myself: Harvey, that grave, my siblings, fucking Heartstone Manor. As I tried to picture it, all I felt was empty.
Hope had screwed me over. Big time. She’d ruined my life out of selfishness, and still, she was the only one I could trust. The only person in Sawyers Bend I was sure was on my side. Was she there out of guilt? Out of loyalty to our long-ago friendship? I didn’t know.
Maybe I shouldn’t trust her. I’d had a point with my bullshit accusation in the hall—Hope had what she’d wanted all those years ago when she’d tanked my engagement. But, no. No fucking way. Hope had not killed Prentice. Not in a million years. Maybe Hope was the last person I should trust, but my gut didn’t care. I trusted her anyway.
“Earth to Griffen.” Cooper sounded faintly annoyed. I realized he’d been saying my name for a while.
“Yeah, sorry. I feel like shit, dumping this on you with no notice. We have to be moved into Heartstone Manor by next week. I’d give you time to replace me if I had it to give.”
It was an empty promise. I’d been out of the field since I’d been shot by Tsepov’s goons. In essence, Cooper had already replaced me. My desk job had been little more than a time-filler, a pity job, and we all knew it.
“Fuck you,” Cooper said without heat. “We’ll figure it out. I don’t care about work. Is there any way we can get you out of this?”
“Sure. But not without sinking the town and letting my half-wit cousin walk away with everything the Sawyers have built over two fucking centuries.”
“And Hope? What does she get?”
“Not a fucking thing worth having,” I said, realizing that those words were more truth.
“Except you,” Cooper countered.
“And I come with a family of asshole siblings, a white elephant of a house that’s an abandoned mess, a business I have to remember how to run, and let’s not forget that someone murdered my father. Since we don’t know why we have to assume any one of us could be next.”
I couldn’t forget what Edgar had said about getting Hope pregnant. A baby meant security. Both Hope and our non-existent child deserved more than being used as pawns.
“Fuck. Well, that answers my next question. Now I know how we can help. What is there for security?”
“You can start salivating now because the bill is going to put Petra through college.” I wasn’t kidding. Securing Heartstone Manor would be no small project. “I have some ideas we can run through, but essentially, we need what we did for Winters House, times five.” I thought about those thousands of acres surrounding Heartstone Manor and the sheer size of the house. “Maybe times ten.”
“Are you up for a meeting tonight? Dinner at my place? I’ll get everyone in. No wives, just business—” He broke off at the sound of a smack and a feminine protest. “Except you, babe. I meant no wives except you.” Cooper gave a patient sigh.