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I nodded. "It surprised me he was willing to quit the Marines," I replied. "He always talked about getting the family business out of organized crime."
"He is doing best he can," George said, his tone a bit impatient, like he resented me even questioning Hunter. I brushed it off. If George was at all involved with the Russians, he would be defensive.
"I hope so," I said. "Thanks for the fresh eggs," I didn’t want him to be mad at me so I decided to drop it.
"Is no problem," he said and waved me off. "I go do work now. You let me know when is time to go."
"I will."
I watched as George got himself a cup of coffee and then went to his little office space with the bank of video screens. After I cleaned up my dishes, I went to my own little office and sorted through my files to find the articles I needed to read before class and then tucked them away into my book bag.
I went to George. "I'm ready now," I said, checking my watch. It was almost eight. "I'll stay with Graham for an hour and then after my first class, maybe I can swing by the dorm and see if my friend Amy is there. She has class with me after. We could go together."
"Sure thing," George said and picked up his cell. "I call James. You can go right down to loading dock. He will be waiting."
"Thanks, George," I said. "See you later."
He nodded and spoke into the phone. I lugged my book bag and threw on my jacket before taking the service elevator to the main floor. I walked through the empty floor to the loading dock and sure enough, when I opened the rear exit, James and the black SUV were both waiting for me.
I could get used to having a driver.
When I got to the hospital, Graham was sitting up in his bed, sipping a bottle of Ensure.
"Is that breakfast?" I asked, horrified, putting my book bag down and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
He nodded and raised his eyebrows. "It will be until I get this jaw unwired. At least it's chocolate fudge."
"Chocolate fudge for breakfast?" I replied, making a face. "That would make me puke."
"You always liked eggs and toast for breakfast," Graham said and smiled. "When Dad used to take us out for brunch after mass, you used to have eggs and sausages and I always had pancakes."
"Mutt and Jeff," I said with a smile, remembering what our father—our real father—used to call us. I always looked up to my big brother, and always wanted to be with him and do things with him. He let me tag along most of the time when he was still young enough not to worry about his reputation with his friends. It endeared him to me in a way that could never be erased, even if he got me into all this trouble because of his bad business deals.
"How are you?" he asked. "You have a bruise on your neck. Not Spencer again?"
I reached up and felt my sore neck, rubbing it gently. "I gave him an earful. He didn’t like it. Don’t worry," I said with a laugh. "Hunter punched his lights out, apparently."
"Hunter fought Spencer?" Graham said, his eyes wide. He glanced away. "I always thought that of the three of us, Hunter would be the one to get into a fist fight with Spencer. He's the only one with the balls to face up to him. Hunter hated Spencer even before all this happened. Even before Sean died."
"I know," I said and remembered kissing Hunter's bruised and scraped knuckles the previous night and how that had turned into so much more. What would Graham think if he knew what was happening between us? He would be livid, no doubt about it.
"I'm staying at Hunter's safe house."
Graham frowned. "What?"
"After Hunter beat up Stepan, Stepan's cousin picked me up and took me to his restaurant to make a show of force to Hunter. Hunter came and rescued me, with weapons drawn. He said I was at risk and so I'm staying at this big old warehouse with 24/7 security guards and an old Russian mercenary who is providing personal security for me."
"What the fuck, Celia?" Graham said through gritted teeth. He put down his bottle of Ensure and frowned. "When did all this happen?"
"Just this week. I guess Stepan's cousin saw me with Hunter at the club and thought I could be used as leverage. These mobsters seem to be always looking at how they can get one up on each other."
Graham lay back and sighed, glancing out the window. "I'm sorry I did all this to you. It's my fault," he said and turned back. I could see real pain in his eyes.
"There's nothing we can do about it now. This will all blow over soon," I said, remembering what Hunter told me. "Hunter paid off your debt, and he's giving me back my inheritance."
"What?" Graham's eyes widened. "The entire thing?"
I nodded. "Yes. Every penny."
