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“I should’ve known you’d be close by.” Granville sighed heavily, looking resigned.
“Yeah, and do you blame me? Shit keeps happening when she goes off on her own. Isn’t that right, Snowflake?”
She had the audacity to roll her eyes at me, and I really wasn’t in the fucking mood. My head was spinning with Granville’s revelation. After giving her a warning glare, to which she blew me a kiss in return, I crossed over to the railing. Pushing my feelings down, letting my face become a blank mask, I leaned against the railing, arms folded, waiting to hear what Granville had to say. Z took a seat in one of the outdoor chairs, his sharp gaze laser-focused on Granville.
“James.” Winter’s voice was soft, as she leaned forwards to touch his arm. “Ignore them. They’re just…overly protective. Please can you tell me how it all happened?”
Her hand on his arm? I dug my nails into my palms, still outwardly calm, but I was so close to storming over there and ripping her away from him. Zayde looked pointedly in my direction, his expression cautioning me, as I inwardly battled to regain control.
Why? Why did it have to be him?
Granville nodded, looking all smug. Yeah, maybe that was just me projecting, but I was still pissed off about him being the one to save my girl. “I guess since you know it was me, there’s no harm in me telling you how. Can you promise this won’t get back to my family, though? Or my cousin’s
family?”
He glanced up at me, waiting, and I nodded. Yeah, no fucking chance was I having any interaction with those assholes. I was going to have a hard time not kicking the shit out of Hyde next time I saw him. “You have my word.”
“Mine too,” Z added, and Granville gave a sigh of relief.
“Thanks. Okay. I’ll tell you how it happened.”
He sat back in his seat, looking far too fucking comfortable next to my girl, who still had her hand on his arm, and I tried to hide my irritation as he continued.
“First thing you need to know is that I’ve been looking into something for a friend. It’s nothing to do with Alstone Holdings, nothing to do with our family rivalry. I want to make that clear. I’m not working against you.”
“Except for the whole video thing, but let’s not mention that, yeah,” I growled.
“Cade! Please,” Winter hissed, frowning at me.
Granville suddenly rose to his feet and strode across the deck to me. “I let you hit me, because I know I messed up. I’m apologising. I’m sorry, okay?”
I stared at him in disbelief. “Let me get one thing clear. You didn’t ‘let’ me do anything.”
“Cade.”
Winter’s voice came from behind Granville, and I swallowed my pride for her. “I accept your apology,” I gritted out, even though the words tasted like ash in my mouth.
“Thank you.” A hesitant expression crossed his face, but he held out his hand, and I groaned. I had to shake hands with this fucker? Feeling my girlfriend’s eyes on me, I sighed and gripped his palm. For Winter’s sake.
He turned to Z, who shot him down with one look. “Don’t even think about it.”
Granville lifted his hands in surrender and sat back down next to Winter. “Back to the story. I was at the docks because I was looking into this…thing, for a friend. I overheard—”
“Wait a minute,” Winter interrupted, the wheels turning in her head. I could guarantee her thoughts were along the same line as mine. “Does this ‘thing’ have anything to do with dog fighting, by any chance? And is the friend Lena?”
Granville’s mouth fell open. “H-how did you know?” he stammered.
I rolled my eyes. “Not important at the moment. Get to the fucking point, will you?” Winter glared at me, and I added, “Please.” She blew me another kiss, then smirked at me. I’m gonna punish you later, I mouthed at her, watching a wicked gleam come into her eye.
“Yes, to both of your questions.” He met Winter’s gaze. “When Lena told me you’d caught her at the docks, I asked her to keep my name out of it. I didn’t want any more trouble, you know?”
“I knew she was hiding something,” Winter muttered under her breath, then raised her voice. “Yeah. I get that. What happened?” She cocked her head, staring intently at him.
“I was hiding round the back of one of the warehouses, waiting for the guard to finish his patrol, when I heard him on his phone. He was talking to someone, who he referred to as ‘madam,’ saying he was holding someone captive. As soon as I heard that, I moved closer so I could hear better. When he asked whoever was on the other end if he should dispose of the captive, I—”
He immediately stopped speaking when Winter gave a small, agonised whimper, the sound stabbing right through my heart. I was straight over to her, scooping her up and sitting down with her body curled up against mine. “I’ve got you, baby.” I held on to her tightly, kissing her head.
“Thanks,” she whispered, before she turned back to Granville. “What happened next?”
