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“What kind of proposition?” My jaw clenched, heat rising up my neck.
“Nothing for you to worry about, dear.” She patted the bed, and I sat back down.
Nothing to worry about? Was she kidding me? What kind of business proposition could Cian possibly offer her? It made no sense. He was up to something. Something bad.
“I’ll cut to the chase, because we don’t have much time.” She pulled a car key out of her purse and laid it in my palm.
I scrunched up my nose. “Grams, what’s this?”
“Honey, something is not right about this. I don’t know what you’ve got yourself into, but I’ll be damned if I let my granddaughter marry a man she doesn’t love.”
Oh, fuck. She was on to me. Was it that obvious? “Grams, I, uh…”
She held her hand up, and I stopped talking. “Us La Roux women have a strong intuition, Nova. And mine is telling me there is danger here.” She looked out the window towards the barn. “He’s no good, Nova. You have a choice in this, and I’m giving you a way out.”
“What do you mean?” I swallowed the lump in my throat, my stomach making an obnoxious growling sound.
“The key is to my Mercedes. I had them park it right out back, Nova, away from the other guests. In the trunk is a bag of cash and a gun. I want you to take it and leave. Now, while there is still time.”
My mouth fell open as I processed what she was saying. Oh, crap. This was it. The moment I had been worried about happening. She was going senile. Completely losing her marbles. I shook my head and laughed, a nervous tickle in my throat. “Grams, you’re kidding, right? Why would I ever need a gun? You know how I feel about that.”
She squeezed my hand tightly, my fingers squished together. “I’m not joking, Nova. This is serious.”
“Oh, Grams, I know you mean well, but really he’s not—he’s not bad. Everything is OK. I would never need a gun.” I stood and tugged my hand out of hers. “Are you feeling OK? Should I get you some water?”
There was a loud knock at the door, and we both jerked our heads around.
“Ladies, I need you downstairs in ten minutes. The show is about to begin,” Fidora barked. “Make that nine minutes and fifty seconds.”
Grams grabbed her purse, her fingers shaking slightly. “Trust me on this. Take the car and cash and go. I’ll handle everything else.”
I pulled her tight against me, her body more frail than usual as I wrapped my arms around her. She had always been a light in the darkness for me. My number one supporter. To see her begin to deteriorate right before my eyes was enough to crack my heart completely in half. I couldn’t lose her. Not now. Maybe I would skip the honeymoon so I could spend time with her, make sure she was OK. Yeah, that was a good idea. I would talk to Ryzen after the ceremony. He would understand.
She kissed me on the cheek and squeezed my hand again, ensuring the key was still there. I didn’t say anything else as she left. There was nothing more to say after that weird outburst of hers. I looked around the room for my purse, and, when I didn’t find it, stuffed the key in my garter. I didn’t want someone to find the key and steal her car. That would be a terrible way to end a wedding.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror one more time and breathed deeply.OK. We’re doing this. We’re getting married. I’ll just grab Juliet. We’ll head to the barn and in a few minutes I will be Mrs. Nova Blackwood.
Crap. Nova Goodacre. Goodacre!
I walked carefully down the steps, trying not to step on my dress or miss a step and break my neck. Fidora passed by and looked at her watch. “I want you outside in five minutes and thirty seconds, got it? I’ll go grab your bouquet from the refrigerator and be back in a jiffy.”
I found Juliet in the living room, the news on TV. I plopped down next to her, my dress poofing out. “Almost time.”
“Look at this.” She reached for the remote and turned the volume up. “There’s a helicopter over a huge fire. It said it’s on Waveland and Ash.” There was a hint of fear in her voice and I turned all my attention to the TV. Waveland and Ash—that was where our new warehouse was. There was a news chopper trying to get footage of the fire, but so far, all you could see was black smoke on camera. After a moment, the chopper changed angles and you got a clear picture of what was happening.
We both stood up at the same time. My hand rushed to my mouth to cover it, my fingers trembling. The chopper circled as the view cleared and you could see the building. Our building—our warehouse—was on fire. And not just a little fire, a complete inferno with smoke billowing into the sky for miles.
“Oh, my God.” My breath caught, and I grabbed Juliet’s hand.
“Oh, my God, Nova. It’s our warehouse. All of our stuff is in there. It’s—burning! Completely burned up!” Her voice was shaking, Juliet unable to take her eyes off the train wreck unfolding right before us.
The news anchor hooted when a window exploded, glass flying everywhere. “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re on Waveland and Ash in Chicago, where this five-alarm fire broke out over thirty minutes ago. The fire department is doing the best they can to control the flames, but it looks like a complete disaster. Andy, back to you at the station.”
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. It was like I couldn’t comprehend what I had just seen. And based on the look on Juliet’s face, neither could she. How could this be possible? Everything had just been moved in there. Owen, Juliet and I had shared a bottle of champagne in that exact building just two days ago. And now—now it was being all burned up. I took short, fast breaths, a tingling sensation running up my spine.
Don’t panic. Don’t you panic.
Fidora buzzed back in the living room, one hand pressed to her ear, the other holding the bouquet. She handed it to me, barking into her earpiece, “What do you mean, the barn doors are chained shut? I was just out there five minutes ago.”
