They turned. Arianna’s mother gave him a haughty look. Her father appeared furious. But Larry blanched, looking worried.
“Mr. Grady, I can assure you that every word we said up there is the truth,” her mother said coldly. “If you would like to consult with Doctor Jones, we can arrange that.”
Bain folded his arms over his chest. “Is that so?”
“Yes, of course. I’m sure he’ll see us straight away.”
Oh, so not only would he willingly break patient-doctor confidentiality, but he could fit them in immediately? He wondered how much of Arianna’s cash was being used to grease the doctor’s palms.
He turned to Larry, watching the other man until he started fidgeting. “You know making false reports to the police is an offense, right?”
The other man swallowed. “Yes, but I was trying to help Arianna. And if I get into trouble so will she. Surely you won’t be taking that further.”
Bain raised his eyebrows. “But according to you all, Arianna has delusions. I’m sure the police wouldn’t hold her accountable.”
Larry started sweating. So he should.
“Didn’t come down here for proof or because I believe any of you. You’re all miserable excuses for human beings. Arianna would never make up such a hoax like that. She isn’t a liar. She doesn’t have delusions. She’s honest and kind. Nothing you jerks would know anything about.”
“Well, really,” her mother huffed.
“Yeah, really.” And he realized he believed every word. He hadn’t believed them. Not for a minute. She was nothing like Jillian. “Ari is worth a million of you. She’s finally doing what she wants. Not your bidding.”
“And what she wants is to move with the backwoods with you?” her mother sneered.
“Yes,” he said firmly. “If you’re all wise, you’ll leave without making a fuss. But from now on, you stay away from Arianna. You don’t call her. You don’t message her. You don’t do anything to hurt her. Or I will come after you. And it won’t be pretty. Any secrets, anything you’ve been hiding, I will hunt them down and expose them. Hurt Arianna and I will destroy you.”
Her mother just sniffed, looking undaunted. But the other three all appeared worried. Good. Maybe now they would behave themselves. If not, he would be watching. He’d have Corbin start looking into their backgrounds now in preparation.
“You can leave now. Might want to go home and start on your resumes.”
“Well, I never—” her mother began to say, but Arianna’s father grabbed hold of her arm, tugging her away.
Fuckers.
He waited until they left, before turning around. He needed to get back to Arianna. He hated having to leave her immediately, but he needed to make sure her parents knew exactly how he felt. He hadn’t wanted to threaten them in front of her.
“Hey, um, Mr. Grady.”
He looked over as Rob, the head of security approached him. He sighed. “What?”
“Can you come into my office? Found something on the camera feed you might find interesting.”
Bain eyed him. He’d never been useful before. But then, it wasn’t going to hurt to look.
“Sure. I only have a minute, though.”
He followed Rob into his office, moving towards his desk.
“What is it?”
Too late, he sensed the attack coming in from behind him as something landed on his head.
Then he knew nothing.
Bain woke up with a splitting headache.
Instead of immediately opening his eyes, he took a moment to figure out his surroundings. His instincts screamed at him that something was wrong.