by Lacey Silks
“You mean the moment you called him it and a caveman?”
“Yeah, that one. Don’t worry, Em, I think this will be good for you. Let loose, free your spirit and go au naturel in front of drooling men. Maybe you will finally find the one.” I laughed at the prospect of my friend getting a taste of her own medicine.
“Wait a minute, Grace…”
Thankfully a groomsman interrupted us, and swept Emma off her feet, right into a twirl on the dance floor. He was pretty cute, too. But he wasn’t Emma’s type by a long shot. She needed someone rougher and definitely not from the city. As I watched her dance, I noted someone sit at my side. Assuming it was another groomsman, it took a moment for me to turn toward the blue-eyed face staring right at me. And if it weren’t my own brother, I’d definitely have thought he was beyond good-looking. I shot off my chair, but Cash grasped my wrist and pulled me back down.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Grace. I just need a minute, please.” His voice was full of desperation and I wondered what had caused it.
“What do you want? Hunter will be here any moment, you know.” I moved to the side to see Hunter still talking to the barman. Cash’s ample shoulders stretched so wide, they blocked my entire view.
“I know. But my man by the bar is quite the talker.” Cash smirked, leaning casually back against the chair. In his charcoal suit he blended perfectly among the wedding crowd.
“Grace, I’m only speaking for myself now, but I want you to know that I’d really love to get to know you as my sister. It doesn’t matter what father or Axel says. And while I don’t agree with all their business ventures, I do wish we were closer.”
“You know, if you’d come to me a month or two ago, before father’s estate was in my name, I would have believed you. I would have given you a chance. But now, honestly, having been kidnapped and held at gunpoint...” I shook my head, lowering my gaze to the table. “Trust is earned. And while I want to believe you’re honorable, your actions speak much louder, Cash. I’m sorry.”
Cash sighed, “You have nothing to be sorry about. I am the one who should be sorry. I’m sorry I lost out on our years together, and I’m sorry for abducting you. But our business is different now. It’s honest. Not all of it, but I’m trying to change the way father operates. The only person standing in the way is your boyfriend. Everywhere we turn, he cuts us off. Banks, financial institutions, the government. Cross Enterprises is messing it all up. And even if he stepped aside, Hunter has a lot of crap on us that could send us to prison. I’m not saying that what he has is not true, because it is. But I promise you, Grace, that I’m clean now. I’ve been clean for over a year and father doesn’t even know it. All I need is a second chance.”
For God’s sake, why did I believe him? Why was it so easy to believe Cash? In every word he spoke, and the tone of his voice… well either he was the apprentice of Frank Abagnale, or he was telling me the truth. Within a week I’d just learned that two of my brothers weren’t as crooked as I thought—or they were really pulling a fast one on me.
“Cash, if I change my name and touch those funds… Hunter had said that the warrants had already been issued and the charges, well, they could ruin me. Father has made it his business to ensure I’m as knee deep in this shit as he is. He’s a very smart lawyer and con man and it seems that no matter what I do, he’ll take me down.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” Hunter lifted Cash by the collar. The chair my brother had been sitting on crashed to the floor. A few guests turned their heads paying us attention we didn’t need.
My brother cut through his hands with a swift move, freeing himself. “Do not touch me again. I’m talking to Grace.”
“Guys, not here,” I said.
“If you want to breathe fresh air again, you’ll leave. Now,” Hunter warned.
“Hunter, it’s okay. He didn’t do anything.”
“That’s all right, Grace. I said what needed to be said.” Cash took a step closer to Hunter. They were standing nose to nose, breathing heavily, like a couple of bulls preparing to attack each other; taunting with every word and blink of an eye. “And if you’re the one holding Scar, you’ll be sorry.”
Cash swiveled on his foot and left. I was pretty sure that Tristan Cross was right on his heels as well.
“What did he mean, ‘holding Scar’?” I asked.
“No one’s holding Scar. He chose to stay away from the Wagners on his own. Scar doesn’t want anything to do with the business either. They used him and betrayed him.”
Why did I get the feeling that whenever Hunter referred to “they,” he meant my father?
“What about Cash?”
“He’ll go back home. Tell your father everything that happened, and they’ll try to get you to change your name to get them the money.” Hunter sat down beside me. “Or they’ll just go with what they have, the way Scar said they would. Your father is getting desperate. He wants the money and he’ll do anything to get it.”
“Either way, I’m screwed.”
“Yeah, and that’s the last thing I want, Grace. Believe me.”
“Cash said he’s clean. He’s been clean for a year.”
Hunter regarded me for a moment before somewhat confirming what I’d been told. “We haven’t seen any activity from him in over a year. Everything I have is from before then.”
“Hunter, I think he wants to change. I think he wants another chance.”
“Please don’t ask me what I think you’re going to, Grace. Law doesn’t work that way. He’s under your father’s wing, and until he’s not, Grace, no chance will help him.”
Was there really no chance for any of my brothers? Was the way they’d been raised really their fault? He was only a product of his environment. Didn’t everyone deserve a second chance?
“Come, Grace, let’s dance. Lilly’s been looking at you funny and if you don’t start having fun she may feel offended.”
Hunter took my right hand into his, guiding my body to the dance floor, swaying to the slow motion of the music. But instead of holding my hand out like most couples were doing, he brought it to his chest, right over his heart, and pressed it there.
“Don’t worry, Grace. I’ll make everything right,” Hunter whispered, kissing the top of my head.
“How?”
He didn’t say anything, he only held me tighter to his chest. Whatever plan Hunter had, I could tell it was wearing him down.
“Do you see yourself as a bride someday, Grace?” he asked out of nowhere.
“I think so. I should hope so. You gotta find the right person though.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” He lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me. The yearning in his lips enlivened me. It made me forget about Cash and Scar and all of my family’s troubles. Tilting my head to the side, I opened for him, taking in the need and lust he offered.
“Get a room.” Emma bumped into us with her dance partner number six. I pulled away from Hunter, shaking my head.
“I need to get her a proper boyfriend. Someone quiet who can calm her down, yet satisfy her need for adventure.”
“Playing matchmaker?”
“Isn’t that what she’s done for us?”
“That’s sort of true. Do you regret it, Grace?”
I lifted myself onto the tips of my toes, kissing him. “Never.”
“Grace, I’ve been meaning to tell you something for a while now…”
“She’s gonna throw the bouquet!” Emma screamed, pulling me away from Hunter. The next thing I knew I was at one end of the dance floor, in the middle of screaming ladies, being pushed and shoved. This was so not for me! I slowly backed out of the crowd and breathed in relief, watching a field of hands wave up in front of me. At a count of three, there was a loud shriek of ladies as they seemed to all back up toward me. I guess Lilly was one of those ladies with a hard throw, because somehow the bouquet ended up in my hands. And I was definitely the most envied girl on the dance floor.
“Something you want to tell me?” Hunter asked, whisking me under his arm again, kissing me. “Good catch. Should I start planning?”
“Very funny.”
“Come here, Grace.” Hunter swept me into his arms and guided us both out to the hallway. He leaned against the wall and pulled me into his body. We stood there with our arms around each other, nose to nose.
“I’ve never met anyone like you, Grace,” he said. “You’re the one.”
I gasped, holding his gaze. Either Hunter was making fun of me, or he was also the one.
“The one what?” I asked.
“The one woman I want to love. I’m so madly in love with you, Grace Brooks, I want to shout it from the top of the world.”
I just stood there, looking at him, absolutely speechless.
“I’ve been wanting to tell you for a long time now, but it’s never been a good time. And I can’t wait anymore. I don’t know what’s going to happen tonight, but whatever it is, I want you to know that I love you, I’ll protect you, and I’ll care for you until the day I die.”
My mouth was open. I didn’t want Hunter to stop talking.
“Say something,” he asked. As if on cue, the new song by A Great Big World came over the speakers.
“I… I love you too, Hunter. I think I have for a while now.”
He lifted me into his arms and covered my mouth with his. I’d never been held as tightly by anyone in my life, and for a moment I thought I’d lose the ability to breathe. When he finally set me down there was a new look in his eyes. Relief and joy, but also a hint of fear.
“What did you mean when you said you don’t know what’s going to happen tonight?”
“Oh, that. Well, Grace, it’s about time we set your life straight so that I can start planning mine with you.”
“All right, it sounds like you’ve thought this through.”
“I have.” He looked down at his watch. “In fifteen minutes we’re going to make sure your father, and all of your brothers, never bother you again.”
CHAPTER 20
When I walked into the hotel room I didn’t know whether to turn on my heel and run, or whether it’d be safer to jump out the open window. After escorting me the way Hunter had asked her too, Emma remained in the hallway. And now that I was here, I wished I’d stayed with her. The scene in front of me was definitely not my style, but Hunter appeared to be as comfortable as a polar bear in the Arctic.
My father was dressed in his black suit, as if he were going to a funeral, and sipped an orange liquor, which I assumed was scotch. He leaned against a half wall, seeming casual. Yet that twitch in his jaw betrayed him. Frank Wagner was not a man who lost his cool in a stressful situation often, and I had a feeling he was about to cross into the deepest pits of hell.
Cash, the second in line to the Wagner estate, sat on a chair with one of his legs crossed over the other. Ace was on the phone and Axel just stood, keeping his keen gaze on Hunter and my youngest brother over by the window. All of my brothers wore suits that made the lightness in their eyes stand out.
If there was one thing that hadn’t changed about this family in the past ten years, it was the way they carried themselves with confidence, as if they ruled the world. Time had only done them right by their good looks as well, from chiseled features to lean postures and that look in their eyes that said I own this room. Their sleek-cut suits and ties, most likely specifically tailored to them, added to their overpowering demeanor. To a passerby, they were the cream of the crop and people you did not cross. And while I’d already seen them this way at my father’s house, the look definitely didn’t get old—I don’t think it ever would.
And then there was Hunter, who stood behind a chair that Scar was tied to. The man who only a few minutes ago had told me that he loved me. The one who promised to protect me for the rest of his life and whose violent side I had yet to see. How was he planning to protect me here? Seeing him there with the gun pointed to the back of Scar’s lowered head made my knees weak. What were they planning? I didn’t want anyone hurt. I just wanted to go on with my life and forget about the Wagners—well, most of them at least, because now that I’d spent some time with my mother, I would have loved to see her more, and maybe Scar as well.
Hunter’s brows furrowed and jaw tightened. There wasn’t an idle muscle on his body. He’d taken off his jacket. In his white shirt and shoulder holster he looked like a pro. He didn’t budge, and I was sure he hadn’t blinked either—but that was impossible, wasn’t it? I’d never seen Hunter this stern and full of concentration. The look on his face—well, if looks could kill, his was a professional sniper. No one could move around without Hunter noticing.
My gaze drew down to where ropes weaved around my youngest brother’s torso. Each of his legs was cuffed to a side table, one on each side. His arms were tucked behind his back, and it appeared that he was falling in and out of consciousness. Scar, unlike my other brothers, wore ragged jeans, a torn t-shirt, and a jacket that looked like it had been rolled around in mud before he put it on. I wasn’t too sure why Hunter had the gun at Scar’s head, but I had a feeling this operation went beyond my grade of knowledge.
“Scar?”
When he lifted his head my knees weakened even more. His face was almost unrecognizable. Deep cuts, a bleeding nose, and a purple cheek were only a few of his injuries. His left eye was so swollen I didn’t think he could actually open it. A chunk of flesh flapped on his lower lip. Scar would definitely have some more marks on his body to add to his name. What happened to him? Who could have done this?
“Come to my side, Grace. Now, please.”
I was jolted by Hunter’s commanding tone and hurried over to the window. Hunter’s muscles flexed with each step I took toward him. And that’s when I noticed the open door to the other room. Julian and Tristan Cross stood with their guns in their hands, nodding to me to go on. And if there was anyone I trusted in my life, it was Emma’s family—more than my own.
“Are you all right?” Hunter asked.
“Yes, Emma’s just outside.”
“Stay close,” he whispered.
The subway stairwell smell of my beat-up brother turned my stomach. What the hell had happened to him? Five days ago at the restaurant he was fine, and now this?
“If it weren’t for your boyfriend, Scar would be dead,” Cash said.
“What happened?”
“Drugs, money owed, Mafia. I’m sorry he went after you, Gracie.” Ace finally got off his phone.
“You don’t get to talk to me like I’m part of this. Let’s make this clear. I’m not part of anything this family does…”
“Grace, we want you back. If we were closer we could have stopped Scar from destroying your salon.”
“I told you before, and I’ll say it once again. I will have nothing to do with you until you know how to run a clean business. And from the looks and sounds of it, you’re still as shady as Al Capone,” I spat back.
“But we are clean, Gracie. We’re just a bunch of silly lawyers,” Ace shrugged. Each time any of them called me Gracie my skin crawled. I wasn’t some kind of kid or idiot unable to see a lie. They were making it sound like Scar’s attack was his idea alone, and I knew better than that.
I thought I saw Axel and Cash actually roll their eyes at Ace. If he was trying to convince me, he’d have to do much better than that.
I looked over at Hunter, whose attention didn’t waver by a fraction. His full concentration was on my youngest brother. “Is that true?” I asked.
Hunter shook his head.
“Fuck you, asshole. You don’t know anything!” Ace spat out. Hunter lifted his hand and pressed the barrel to Scar’s temple. Cash and Axel shifted, straightening their bac
ks, wiggling their twitchy fingers.
“I may have saved him, but I won’t hesitate,” Hunter warned.
I held my breath. He wouldn’t, would he? Knowing what Hunter had gone through in his life and the fact that he’d been working on my family’s case for three long years was enough for me to question Hunter’s intentions. While Scar was the one to attack me, I still trusted him the most and something told me that Hunter was playing one of the biggest poker games of his life.
Without a warning Hunter’s focus shifted to my father. He lifted the gun, pointing it right at him. “I swear to God I will shoot you, but not kill you, then get you and all the papers I have into the hands of the police so that you can rot in jail. Scar has been this family’s victim as well.”
And in that moment, Scar untied his hands, crossed them over his chest, and stretched out his legs, smiling. If I were to bet, I’d say that Hunter and Scar had set this up, and his beat-up body was a masterful art rendition.
“What the fuck is this, Scar? You betray your family?”
“Stand back Ace. We don’t want any blood shed,” Cash warned.
My father finally set his drink down and cleared his throat. My brothers’ attention turned to him as if he were at least a godfather. “All right, you’ve got my attention.”
“You will leave Grace alone.”
“But she’s family. Blood will be blood.”
“Let me make this offer a bit sweeter, then.”
Julian walked out of the adjoining bedroom and dropped a stack of papers on the table.
“What’s this?” my father asked. All my curious brothers slowly sat down on the couch and started flipping the pages. A low hiss and a fuck later, they nodded toward my father.
“All the files I have on the Wagners. Three years of my work in exchange for all of you leaving Grace alone. No more transferring properties, no money of yours touches her—you stay the fuck away from her and anyone she knows. She’ll render the trust account back to you. No one will come after the funds.”
I felt my mouth open. I wanted to ask him not to do this. Three years of his work would flow down the drain. Hunter gave it all up for me to keep me safe and so that I could keep my own name. I knew that once my father had the funds he’d let me be. He couldn’t care less that I was family. And he was mistaken: family wasn’t about blood relations, and I knew this because I’d been part of one of the best families in the world, who had taken me in like their own.