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“What the hell does that mean?”
I swirled my drink, angry that I’d kept the secret for so long. “Pops was dying of lung cancer. He had maybe three months to live. Instead of facing his demise through the illness, he chose to go out in the way his father did, in honorable terms.”
“Jesus. Christ. Does your mother know?”
“No, and no one is going to tell her.”
He took a deep breath. “Yes, sir. Not a word.”
The moment of admittance wasn’t cathartic by any means. And his suicide by assassin wasn’t something I could confirm given the number of hits placed on my father’s life over the years. He’d been a target of everyone from the Bratva to the cartels as well as powerful corporate America. My deductions were based on my almost never wrong instincts and the exhaustion on his face that day.
“How’s Marcus?”
“He’s fine. Why don’t you give him a call and ask him yourself?”
Yeah, I knew I should. Marcus and I had never been close. With my father’s death, it felt like I needed to make amends for not being a better big brother.
“After the wedding,” I told him.
“Your call, but I think he could use a good word from you.”
His sudden silence meant he had something else on his mind.
“What is it, Grayson? You’ve never shied away from chastising me before.”
“No, and I’ve paid the price for what you called my insolence.”
The fact was that the two of us shared a history that would be called brutal at best. It was long, violent, bloody, and encouraged by my father. Grayson had been a counterpoint to the savage I’d become as a teenager, the only son of a man who’d been killed in my father’s line of duty. His mother had been ill, leaving him to fend for himself. My father had seen promise in him, recruiting him to become my shadow.
I’d made certain he knew early on I had no desire to consider him a friend. We’d sparred. We’d fought. We’d almost killed each other. He was the only person reckless enough to speak out of turn or with any hint of disrespect, something that had earned him an atrocious scar on his chest from one of my vicious tirades. The truth was Grayson was as close to a friend as I’d ever had in my life.
“Speak your mind. I have a date. Remember?” I threw back the rest of my drink, slamming the dense tumbler on the table. I was surprised to see fingerprints remaining on the glass given housekeeping had already been in hours earlier. I fingered the marks, my cock immediately twitching.
“How does it feel to suddenly ask a woman to marry you?”
“You do remember this is nothing more than a business arrangement. Right?”
“Need I remind you that those are famous last words?”
“Very funny.”
“Who said I’m kidding?”
“I’m ending the call now,” I told him after walking to the table, smiling as he waved me off, pressing the cancel button first on the call. It was time to collect my prize.
And to help her further understand my rules.
The timing of the out of the blue call meant I’d been right in my assumptions. At least the girl was a creature of habit. “Kendrick Gregory.”
“Mr. Gregory. It’s Shane at the front desk. Ms. Caffrey has checked out and is headed for the parking garage.”
“Where is her rental car located?”
“Bay seven fifteen, sir. I did as you asked. She’ll be stopped at the gate given its sudden malfunction, but I can’t guarantee she won’t attempt to bypass it.”
I chuckled and headed toward the door. “I’ll take it from here, Shane. I appreciate your help and I’ll make certain you’re well taken care of.”
“Thank you, sir. Let me know if I can do anything else for you.”
