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I swallowed.
“Anything I ever do is to protect you. And anything I’ll ever do will.” He sighed. “I don’t wish to be at war with my only grandson. I merely wanted to get to know him. You may not believe it, but those last few months I had with you I enjoyed immensely. I’m getting along in years, boy. These moments are all I have, and I have no interest in harming your mother.” His head tilted. “Truly. I just wanted to get to know you.”
He made himself sound like an aging man with innocent desires, not the cruel bastard who not only threatened my mom, but used to beat my father. Where had his protection been then?
Where was it now when it came to me?
“And is using Sloane to do your dirty work part of that plan?” I asked. “She helped you with my arrest, right? Told you where I was?”
Again, my grandfather’s poker face was a great one. His cane rested against the island, and he braced it. “Why would you think that?”
This fucker was playing with me too much. I sneered. “You admitted to getting me arrested.”
“But I never said Sloane had anything to do with it,” he said, my eyes blinking. He gazed around. “Where is Sloane anyway? I’ve just come from seeing her brother. He said she’d be here…”
I had no words at the moment, completely fucking confused.
He faced me. “And why are you here, grandson? It’s very early and not exactly a decent hour. She expressed to me you’re just friends, but if my grandson is anything like his father and his father before that—” He almost laughed, arrogant about it. “Is something going on between you and Sloane? If so, this is a surprise. My grandson and my ward. Very interesting.”
None of this made sense. He had to be fucking with me, lying.
“You said I couldn’t trust her,” I forced out. “You said that at the fucking police station—”
“What I asked is how well you knew her. I asked how close you were, and that’s a question you should always be asking outside of family.”
My pulsed pounded, the blood charging through my veins.
Grandpa Prinze frowned. “I feared my son had spread more of his weakness in you, which is why I said what I had. He’s always been too trusting with his friends.” He waved that off, pulling out his phone. “Only a Prinze can truly be trusted. Family. It was merely a lesson I was trying to say, and no, Sloane wasn’t aware of your arrest. In fact, I was quite surprised when she plead to me about you the way she had. She really does seem to care about you, son.”
My throat tightened, my mind dizzy.
“Who is she to you?” I breathed out. “Sloane and her brother. Who are they to you?”
He’d been studying his phone, like this conversation was just another of many for him.
And I felt sick, so fucking sick before he gazed up.
“Sloane and Bru’s father used to work for me.” Graying eyebrows pulled in. “I mentioned that in the car.”
“And what? You’re just, out of the kindness of your heart, looking after them?”
His nod about that was casual, and my brow jumped. His head cocked. “He was a trusted associate. A good man.” He pocketed his phone. “What’s with this line of questioning?”
My questioning was that my grandfather didn’t have a kind fucking bone in his body. He was a monster. Point-blank. “You yourself said you don’t do anything unless you need to. Why would you care for a bunch of strangers to you? Orphans…”
Sloane.
My hands shook, and I steadied myself on the counter. If my grandfather noticed, he said nothing. He wet his lips. “Like I said, grandson. I knew their father and well. I was honored to watch over them. Bring them here for a new life? They’ve both had it pretty rough, and I was happy to give them an opportunity to start over.”
I said nothing, my mouth dry.
“I thought Maywood Heights would grant that opportunity for them. It’s a smaller town, and they could blend in.” His head lifted. “Unfortunately, in order to do that, I had to conceal who I really was to them. They couldn’t know. They’d be ridiculed. I’m not a favorite in this town, as you know, and I didn’t want that for them. They’d both had enough with the loss of their father.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“Though I’m sure you’ve noticed Sloane isn’t aware of who I am to this town. To you?” His eyes narrowed. “But what I don’t understand is why you haven’t told her.” He pointed a finger. “Why you lied? I figured I’d have to deal with that after you left the car that day.”
He should have had to deal with it. It should have come out.
