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“Are you that much of a moron? We’re not family.”
“Well,” she blasted a sunshiny smile at him, “we’re practically family. I don’t want you to get hurt. And you know something? I might even forgive the fact that you stabbed Granger if you’ll just leave peacefully right now. Just walk away.”
“I don’t need any fucking forgiveness. I did what I had to do. He was going to shoot me.”
“So it was self-defense?”
His eyes slid from side to side. Good, she was confusing him, keeping him off-balance. “Maybe. He came at me.”
“You gotsolucky. This time Granger’s ready for you. Have you thought about that?”
In order to reach the house, she had to walk around him. Would he let her? She kept the knitting needle aimed at him as she took another step toward him. Amazingly, it wasn’t shaking. This close, she could see the sweat on his face. Desperation. That wasn’t good, not at all. Desperate people could be the most dangerous.
“You can’t go inside,” he said firmly. “I need you out here. With me. So he’ll do what I say.”
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we worked all of this out before he even got here?” When she was a few yards from him, she paused. “No one needs to get hurt here. Granger doesn’t mean you any harm. If you just told him the truth, you’d never have to see him again. Granger isn’t a threat to you. He doesn’t want your family’s money. He doesn’t want to ruin anyone. He only wants to know who his father is. Imagine if your kids didn’t know you.”
Finally, something she said seemed to sink in. He looked away, then down at the ground, then up at the sky. “Can you guarantee he won’t come after the Conover money?”
“All he wants is answers so he knows where that missing fifty percent comes from.”
“How do you know?”
“I know because I know him. I know because I love him.” She said that last part as loudly as possible—just in case.
They both jumped as Granger’s voice came through the house’s intercom system. “Bliss is right. I don’t want your money. But if you do one thing to harm her, all guarantees are off.”
Adam swung around in a circle. “Where are you?”
“It doesn’t matter where I am. What matters is that you’re surrounded. Half the Lake Bittersweet volunteer fire department is here. Some are out front, some are in the woods. If you do something stupid, there’s no way out.”
“Bullshit. I would have heard them.”
“You didn’t hear me, did you?
Adam stepped toward Bliss, who brandished her knitting needle.
“Don’t make another fucking move, asshole.” The deadly tone of Granger’s voice had Adam stopping in his tracks. “Bliss, take a few steps back, please.”
Bliss’ mouth had gone dry. Her heart pounded in her ears. She did what Granger said and took a step away from Adam. What was Granger going to do next? Was he trying to get a clear shot? Her stomach clenched and her pulse raced.
“You. Intruder.” Granger’s voice was a bark. “Do you have any weapons on you?”
“I…” His hand flew to his blazer. “A knife.”
“Drop it. Right now.”
It finally seemed to sink in that he’d made a huge mistake. He glanced at Bliss almost pleadingly. Keeping a tight grip on her knitting needle, she nodded. “You should drop it.”
A moment later, a small knife in a leather sheaf dropped onto the terracotta tiles. With it, all of Adam’s bravado leaked out of him. “Fuck,” he said. “This did not go the way I planned.”
Bliss felt almost sorry for him, except that her pulse was jumping and she really, really had to pee, and he never should have scared her like that and hedefinitelyshouldn’t have stabbed Granger.
“Sorry,” said Bliss. “But this was honestly a terrible plan. I hope I can fix this mess you made.”
Bliss Gault, fixing a mess? My, how the tables were turned.
She raised her voice. “Granger, this is your half-brother, Adam Conover. You two have the same father. I don’t believe he wants to hurt me.”
