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And Grace and I were one day away from freedom and all our dreams coming true. The closing ceremonies were tonight. After everything we’d gone through, after all we’d sacrificed, Grace even more than me… What if she hated me?
I froze as I considered what I was risking.
No… I wasn’t supposed to leave… but I had to, or my father would go to jail for a very long time. Losing him in this shameful way would kill my mother. The Kingston name and legacy would be soiled forever in our social and business bubble.
Not to mention, it could ruin the business I worked so hard to build and planned to eventually take over. Everything was on the line.
If I didn’t go…
I stared at Grace for a long moment, stopped by her beauty and perfection.
Then I hurried to the desk, scribbled a note promising I’d be back in time, then I grabbed my shoes and was hurrying down the servant’s staircase.
The muggy air and the stress of trying to intercept my father before he destroyed our empire had me dripping in sweat. I was happy to see his black Escalade parked in front of our warehouse, and that it wasn’t surrounded by flashing lights and gunned law enforcement yet.
Taking the risk that I was on camera, or at least being spotted by the cops’ watch out, I casually walked into the warehouse as if it were just an ordinary day. We still had a half hour before the shipment was scheduled, and I needed to convince my father that the intel I received this morning was accurate.
As I walked into the expansive room, my entrance caught the eye of my father and his crew of men. My father’s eyes widened as he spun around to face me, and one of his security guards pulled out his gun in reaction to the surprise.
“What are you doing here?” my father asked as he motioned for the guard to put his gun down.
“We need to get out of here now. The Feds set a trap, or they got wind of what’s on that shipment.”
“What are you talking about?”
I approached closer to the reeling men, prepared to drag my father out of the warehouse if I had to. “I just got a call tipping me off to what’s about to go down. We need to get the fuck out of here and not accept the shipment. We need to act like we have no involvement in what’s arriving. Say it’s not ours. We had no idea it was arriving. Basically, say whatever we need to say, but we sure as hell can’t be here when it arrives.”
I leaned in closer. “We can deal with the aftermath later, but we need to leave before we all get arrested. No doubt the Feds are on their way, if they aren’t already surrounding us.” I looked over my shoulder, already paranoid they’d be almost on top of us any second now.
“That’s impossible. No way could they know,” my father said smugly as he crossed his arms against his chest.
“And what if they do? Are you ready to make that gamble? You want to go to jail? I sure as fuck don’t,” I said, feeling as if the timer of a bomb was dangerously close to going off.
“Why would you get an anonymous call and not me?” my father asked.
I struggled not to roll my eyes and start a tirade of curse words directed at the man for his stupidity. “How the hell am I supposed to know that? But we’re wasting time standing here.”
My father looked toward his men for answers. “How could this have happened?” He looked back at me. “How sure are you that the info you got is good?”
“Sure enough that I’m here saving your ass.”
One of my father’s men ran toward a window and looked outside. “It’s too dark out there to see if we’re being watched or surrounded.”
Another man spoke up. “Sir, I think the risk is too high. If Montgomery is right, and the police are out there, they can’t arrest us if we’ve done nothing wrong yet. I suggest we leave, regroup, and get our lawyers on this.”
My father nodded, but he looked pissed, glaring at me like it was my fault. “Fine, let’s get out of here.”
He motioned for his men to follow him but paused as he walked directly in front of me. He poked his finger hard into my chest. “You better be right about this. You’re about to cost me a lot of fucking money if you’re wrong.”
“You’re welcome,” I said through gritted teeth as I turned on my heels and charged out of the warehouse determined to never get this close to dirty dealings ever again.
23
Montgomery
It was as if the clocks had turned back time. I stood in the ballroom wearing the same tux I had worn the first night of the choosing. Grace stood beside me in her blue ballgown and her string of pearls. We were alone, but I knew it wouldn’t be for long.
