I would have tasted blood if I bit my tongue any harder. “You might have saved money if you didn’t pay for someone to watch me and intimidate my boyfriends.”
His dark chuckle gave me hives. “That came cheap. A former FBI Special Agent I know needed a fresh start when his wife died. He wanted a place to raise his young daughter.” My skin crawled as my brain leaped to the unthinkable. “Yes. Little Jody turned out to be worth more than I could have imagined.”
“She wouldn’t!” I cried.
“She did. Unlike you and I, she respects her father. They talk about everything. And he has been there when I couldn’t to warn the little assholes to keep their hands to themselves.”
I turned away from him as my heart broke yet again. Liam was gone and now I found out my best friend was a two-faced traitor. How long had she been feeding my father information? She’d lied to my face and pretended like she understood why I hated my dad.
What a fool I’d been all around. I didn’t blame my mother. She did the best she could in a bad situation. I’d been too young for her to confess the truth about their arrangement. I couldn’t have thought of a good point in my life she could have shared with me the truth. Instead, she had warned me to steer clear of him, and I hadn’t listened. In a weak moment, I’d called him of all people for help. Look where it had gotten me.
It was too late to regret. Time for action. There was one thing I could do.
Six
Liam
Waiting was the worst. There were many times I had to fight myself from heading to Chicago ready for all-out war. I had to be convinced or convince myself that waiting was for the best even when it didn’t feel like it.
When the time came, we met Grant at a private airport in New Jersey.
“Cousin,” I said, giving him a bear hug. After, I began introductions. “Connor, you’ve met Grant.”
They traded greetings. Connor was all smiles and made a comment about their adventures months ago. I watched Grant, who looked like hell. Yet I still trusted him with my life.
“This is my brother, Kalen,” Connor said, introducing them.
I explained the plan. There were flaws. Natalie’s father had money to burn, and his reach was unclear. I had no idea how much he knew about me or if he could tap into my phone conversations. For that reason, I hadn’t told Grant when I called any more than that I wanted him to come to New York and he’d come without question.
“And you want me to leave you in Chicago?” Grant asked me after we explained it all.
“This isn’t a two-man job,” I explained.
Grant balked. “The hell it isn’t.”
Kalen cut in. “It isn’t ideal. But Connor’s wife’s brother is a cop in Chicago. Liam will have backup if necessary.”
“I don’t like it,” Grant said.
“None of us do,” Connor said. “But Liam is insistent on going. The good thing is we don’t think this Natalie is in mortal danger.”
“She’s just a pawn,” I blurted. “I need to talk to her.”
“That’s the thing,” Connor said. “He’s going in to talk, not to save her life.”
“That’s what you think,” I said.
Kalen sighed. “The point is we have no reason to believe anyone is trying to kill her. Liam is going there to have a conversation, aren’t you?”
I’d thought Grant could only give me that big brother look. Kalen had it mastered as well. I tossed up my hands. “She’ll see reason.”
“If she wants to leave, we have an extraction plan,” Kalen said.
Grant wasn’t happy, but he gave in. Connor and Kalen left as we boarded the plane Grant had flown in. It only needed one pilot, but I sat in the cockpit with him.
We’d flown together before and ran through the checklist. Once we were cleared, he said, “Dad’s going to kick my ass if anything happens to you.”
I grinned. “He always liked me better.”
Grant shook his head. “Only because he could give you back. He was stuck with me.”
Their relationship was always strained. “You know I’m joking. He’s never had a bad word to say about you,” I said.
“To me, I’m a disappointment for him. The son that doesn’t want to work in the family business.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Uncle Ted knows exactly how you feel, and he respects the hell out of you.”
Grant didn’t say any more about that, and I exhaled when he turned the conversation back on me.
“Is she worth it? This Natalie?”
I didn’t have to think. “Yes.”
“Good for you.”
“What about you? When are you going after her?” Her being the smokeshow that had been at his cabin.
“She said her goodbye and hasn’t called. Why should I chase her?”
The answer was easy. “Because no woman has made you look like shit. It could be she wants to be chased. She could want you to show you care enough to fight for her.”