Chapter Twenty-One
Graham stood watching his wife as he buttoned his shirt sleeves. He had tried to make the day as pleasant for her as he could. The kitchen set up a picnic for the women out in the garden, and he could hear her laughing and enjoying herself.
After dinner with the family, he’d brought her up to their room.
“Why are you getting dressed? It’s close to ten o’clock at night,” she said.
“We’ve got a meeting tonight.”
“Can I ask where?”
“Here. I won’t be leaving the house.”
She relaxed.
“I’m going to lock you in our rooms.”
“Why? Did I do something wrong?”
He bent down, placed his hands on the arms of the chair she sat in, and moved in close to her face. He thought about telling her about who was coming but decided he’d wait until after, so she didn’t stress out. There would be plenty of time later.
“Absolutely not. I’m doing it to protect you. We’ve got a few people coming that I don’t want around you.”
“Oh.”
Graham pressed a hard kiss to her lips and sighed when there was a knock on the door. He was also putting a few guards to watch over her, so there was no chance of her getting hurt.
“Hey,” he said to Alastair after he opened the door.
“I need to talk to you out here.”
Graham turned back to Faith. “I’ll be right out here.”
She nodded.
“What’s up?” Grahm said after he closed the door behind him.
“Dad talked to Legacy earlier, and she suggested that the sisters be in the office when the monsters get here.”
“Fuck. Why?”
“They don’t think the men will come in unless they are certain the women are here. We’re putting a few cameras in my office, and they’ll be shown the video of the girls.”
“No, I can’t allow that. I won’t have her in danger.”
“I know, but she won’t. Once the men are in, I’ll have several of our guys, including Tony, come get the girls and take them to Beth. They’ll wait in my suite until we’re done, and they’ll be heavily guarded.”
“This is going to terrify her.” Graham pressed his hand against the back of his neck.
“She’ll be surrounded the whole time. Blake’s not happy about it either.”
“Fuck. Okay, I’ll talk to her and be right down.”
“You’ve only got a few minutes,” Alastair said.
“That’s probably good. I don’t want her to worry any more than she has to.”
“I’ll see you down there.”
Graham nodded, took a breath, and walked back into his room. Fuck, this pissed him off, but he understood why. He had to remind himself that if everything went well, the two men would be gone forever by the end of the night.
****
“What’s wrong?” she asked when she got a look on his face.
He drew her up and toward the bed, sat, and pulled her in between his legs.
“Baby, no matter what, my first priority is to keep you safe. The meeting tonight is part of that.” He squeezed her hands, making her anxiety rise.
“We’re having your father and Rizzo over tonight.”
“Wait, why?” She tried to pull away.
“I can’t tell you a lot about the woman my dad is bringing in. All I know is she is going to take care of them for us.”
“How?”
“I’m not sure. She had a couple of guys with her last night, but I don’t know where she will take them, and my dad won’t tell us.”
“Does Hope have to be there?”
He nodded. “They set up a camera in the office so the bastards could see you guys. You won’t be in there long, and I need you not to believe anything we say. We want them to think we want to get rid of you because we don’t want trouble.”
So many conflicting thoughts ran through her head as she fought the building fear and anxiety.
“Please trust me, sweetheart. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She exhaled and nodded. “I do trust you.”
He pulled her against him. “You have no idea how much that means to me.” Graham held her for a moment. “Let’s get this done so I can make love to my wife.”
She gripped his hand tightly as he led her down the stairs and into Alastair’s office. Hope was already sitting on a sofa with Blake standing behind her, his arms crossed.
“Go sit by your sister. I won’t leave the room. A few of our men and a brother will take you up to Beth, and you’ll stay there until I come and get you.”
She nodded, walked over to her sister, and sat before taking her hand.
“I’m scared, Faith,” Hope said.
“Me, too, but I trust these guys. They won’t let anything happen to us.”