aisling grimlock 03 - grim discovery (35 page)

“Okay. Cillian, I need you and Aidan to go through the back,” Griffin said. “Try to get those women out of the house – or maybe stick them in the dungeon where no one can get at them. Just do something so they can’t be used as hostages against us.”

Something occurred to me. “Where’s Jerry?”

“Don’t worry,” Aidan said. “He’s at the bakery. I called him during the drive. He shut it down and he’s hiding behind the counter. He says we owe him a spa day when this is all over.”

“I could use a spa day,” I admitted.

“You know what? If we pull this off, I’ll go with you,” Griffin offered.

“Will you get your chest waxed?” Aidan asked.

“I don’t want his chest waxed,” I argued. “I don’t want him looking like some hairless little boy. Although … .”

Griffin arched a challenging eyebrow. “Although what?”

“Just a minor trim under your arms would be great.”

“I am not shaving my armpits!”

“It makes you look more muscular, man,” Redmond offered. “You should try it.”

Griffin scowled. “Let’s focus on the important things now, people. Redmond, we need to separate into two groups. You and Braden take the front door to your dad’s office. I’ll take the back one. The most important thing is to make certain Fox Grimpond doesn’t know we’re there until we already have him under our control.”

“Agreed,” Redmond said.

“What should I do?” I asked, turning to Griffin expectantly.

“You should wait for me in the Mercedes.”

“No.”

“Aisling, you’re the one they want,” Griffin said, choosing his words carefully. “We don’t want to put you in danger or give them any opportunity to grab you. You’re safer out here.”

Like hell … . “What happens if Everett happens to be staking out the place and finds me here all by my lonesome? You know he’ll try to make me touch that tiny thing in his pants.”

Griffin shot me a murderous look. “Do you think that’s funny?”

Redmond put his hand on Griffin’s chest to still him. “Dude, she’s got a point … not about touching the tiny thing in his pants, but about leaving her alone. If Everett shows up here and sees her without protection, he may decide to take her and run instead of helping his father. We may never see her again.”

“We have to take her with us,” Braden said. “We can’t lose her, too.”

Griffin sighed, resigned. “You’re coming with me. In fact … .” Griffin reached out with his handcuffs. “Come here.”

“No way! I’m not a child. I promise to stay close to you.”

“Dammit!” Griffin rubbed the heel of his hand against his forehead. “Don’t you even think of moving out of my sight. If something happens … if we get separated by accident … tie yourself to one of your brothers. If you don’t, I’ll … .” Griffin mimed strangling me.

“That was truly terrifying,” Braden deadpanned. “The fact that you’re threatening her with interpretive dance fills me with dread. She must be shaking in her boots.”

“Shut up, Braden.”

“Let’s go,” I said. “We need to get to Dad. I have a feeling that it’s important we get to him sooner rather than later.”

“Is this like when you had a feeling that someone was peeping into your bedroom window and we found out it was only the tree brushing against the screen?” Redmond asked.

“Hey! That was totally plausible.”

Griffin grabbed my hand and forced me to keep pace with him. “You stay with me, baby. This is it.”

“This isn’t it,” I corrected. “This is it for Fox and Everett. We still have that whole back-from-the-dead mother thing looming over us when this is finished.”

“Yeah, but that might not be as bad as we originally thought,” Griffin pointed out. “If she wasn’t behind all of this … .”

“Then she might not be evil,” Braden finished, clearly wanting to believe the words.

Sadly, I wanted to believe them, too.

WE
heard talking as we approached the back door to Dad’s office. I held my phone in front of me, waiting for Redmond’s text to tell us when he was in position. I had no idea where Cillian and Aidan were, and I pushed my worry for them out of my mind. They knew what they were doing. They wouldn’t be caught off guard.

Griffin lifted his finger to his lips to remind me to keep quiet. I fought the urge to roll my eyes and instead jumped when Griffin slammed his mouth against mine, overwhelming me with a hot kiss. He held me close for a moment, running his hand down the back of my head before releasing me.

“When this is over, we’re getting that hotel room,” he whispered.

I smiled. “I want bubbles in the Jacuzzi.”

“Sold.”

Redmond’s message came through, alerting me they were about to make their entrance. I nodded at Griffin and slipped my phone in my back pocket, watching as he silently opened the door and stepped inside.

Dad sat behind his desk, elbows resting on the top as he chatted with Fox. All outward appearances showed a calm and rational man. I knew he was anything but what he projected. He caught sight of us, pausing in the middle of a sentence and furrowing his brow. Before Fox had a chance to follow Dad’s gaze, Redmond and Braden strode in through the other door and placed themselves between our newly sworn enemy and father.

“Mr. Grimpond, so good to see you,” Redmond said. “I hoped we’d catch you before … lunch.”

“What’s going on?” Dad asked, climbing to his feet. “I … why are you all here?”

“Because Fox plans to murder you,” I answered, moving toward Fox from the other side. He jumped when he realized we were in the room as well.

“That’s preposterous,” Fox scoffed, rubbing his palms against his knees. “I thought you told me she was past the dramatic histrionics of her youth, Cormack.”

“She is,” Dad said, narrowing his eyes. “Why do you think Fox is going to kill me?”

“Because he and Everett are behind the attempts on my life,” I said. “They’re controlling the wraiths and gargoyles. I have no idea where the wraiths and gargoyles are, but I have a sneaking suspicion they’re somewhere close, and that Everett will be moving on the house any second.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because Everett stabbed his sister in the chest at a Detroit warehouse and left her for dead an hour ago,” I answered. “Before Amber died, she told us everything she knew, and that everything included the fact that Fox took Mom from the fire ten years ago.”

Dad’s expression was truly terrifying. It was one thing to suspect a business associate of doing something heinous. It was quite another to have those suspicions proved. “Is that so?”

“She’s lying, Cormack,” Fox said, hopping to his feet. “She’s disturbed and crazy. You can’t seriously believe that I would do anything to harm Lily or your family.”

“You sit your ass down,” Griffin warned.

Fox’s eyebrows shot up when he saw Griffin was armed. “You can’t shoot me. You’re a police officer.”

“No one here is going to testify against him,” Braden countered. “We’d actually really appreciate it if he did shoot you.”

“I want him to shoot you in the balls,” I suggested.

“Aisling, don’t be crass,” Dad snapped. “If he’s going to be shot anywhere it will be the face … or ass.”

Fox blanched. “You can’t threaten me, Cormack. This whole thing is absurd. I don’t have to stand here and take this.”

“If you try leaving this room I’ll shoot you in the knee,” Griffin threatened. “Mr. Grimlock won’t be thrilled when I ruin his rug, but something tells me he’ll get over it.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” Fox spat. “You’re a simple man. You can’t possibly know the power I wield.”

“You don’t wield anything any longer,” Dad said. “In fact, I’ve been on the phone with the main office three times today. It seems they’ve been looking into your actions regarding other matters for years. This little manipulation will be your last.”

“You called the main office?” I was surprised.

“After you all left this morning I realized that we were in a vulnerable position,” Dad replied, his eyes never leaving Fox’s ashen face. “Even with all of us working together, there are just too many wraiths and gargoyles to fight. We needed help and I knew I would have to own up to everything to get it … so I did. Barbara helped me get the right people on the phone, and I told them … everything.”

“What did you own up to?” Redmond asked, confused.

“I told the front office every single thing we’ve been up to for the past two months,” Dad said. “I told them what Genevieve Toth told Aisling, which is something I left out of my initial report. I told them about the continued wraith attacks. I told them about the gargoyles. I told them about Griffin knowing our secret. I made sure we were completely covered.”

“Are you in trouble?”

“They’re taking it under advisement,” Dad replied. “I don’t care whether I am in trouble. It’s worth it to keep my family safe. Even as we speak, an army of reapers is moving into this neighborhood. They’re here to fight the wraiths and gargoyles when they attack. When are they coming, Fox?”

“I … have no idea what you’re talking about.” Fox wasn’t ready to concede.

“Don’t you even care that Amber’s dead?” I asked.

“Amber has been a waste of space since she was born.”

“She was out of your family and you dragged her back in,” I argued, moving closer. “She changed her name and left your filthy family behind. You brought her back because you wanted her to go after Griffin.”

Dad balked. “Why?”

“Do you want to tell him or should I?” I challenged, narrowing my eyes as Fox shifted to face me.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Fox answered. “You’ve always had a vivid imagination.”

“Amber said Fox took Mom because he’s always had a thing for her,” I explained. “She said that Mom was burned in the fire. She never saw her. Everett and Fox kept Mom’s location a secret while they had her.

“At some point, Mom was taken from them,” I continued. “I think we can all guess who took her.”

“Genevieve,” Dad muttered.

“I think Fox needed help keeping Mom alive,” I said. “Genevieve survived for centuries by absorbing the life force of others. I think that’s what she did to keep Mom alive. Amber said her father was making deals with the wraiths and gargoyles. He promised them homes and open feeding grounds to do his bidding. That probably appealed to Genevieve – at least at first.

“At some point, Genevieve either grew tired of Fox’s plan or decided to embark on her own, and she took Mom from Fox,” I continued. “He’s been looking for her ever since. He hasn’t had any luck finding her.”

“I don’t understand how you play into this,” Dad pressed. “Why does he want you?”

“The Grimponds believe breeding should be relegated to pure reaper lines,” I said, my stomach twisting. “That’s why he originally wanted Mom. He didn’t get the chance to fulfill his nasty plan with her, so they decided to move on to someone else.”

Dad’s face flushed with fury as realization washed over him. “You were going to take my daughter from me to … breed her?”

“He wanted to marry me off to Everett,” I corrected, wrinkling my nose. “He wanted to kill you, Redmond, Aidan, Cillian and Braden, and then swoop in to offer me help. Everett thought he would take over our territory if he married me.”

“I will kill you,” Dad seethed, jerking his hands toward Fox’s neck. Redmond caught him before he could make contact.

“Not yet, Dad.”

“The girl is obviously delusional,” Fox said, turning to glare at me. “She’s always lied to get attention.”

“Don’t you even look at her!” Dad raged.

“You can’t believe any of this,” Fox said. “She’s making it all up.”

Dad’s desk phone rang. He didn’t even glance at it. Braden moved behind the desk and answered, tilting his head to the side as he listened. “Okay,” he said finally. “When you guys are done out there, we have a situation with Mr. Grimpond in here.”

Dad turned on Braden once the phone was back in its cradle. “Why did you tell them that? Now we can’t kill him.”

“You’re my father,” Braden replied simply. “I won’t let you become a murderer, no matter how heinous these people are.”

“Do you know what they wanted to do to your sister?”

“Do you know what she would’ve done to them instead?” Braden challenged. “She would’ve burned their house to the ground. She never would’ve aligned with that family.”

“They were still going to … .”

“They’re never going to touch her,” Griffin interjected. “Who was on the phone?”

“Wraiths and gargoyles have been sighted, and they’re moving toward the house,” Braden said. “I’m guessing Fox wanted to be the inside man for the offensive. Tolliver Ward is leading the group outside. He says the wraiths and gargoyles appear to be in a holding pattern – as if awaiting orders.”

“Oh, really?” Dad asked, arching an eyebrow. He moved in front of Fox and started running his hands through the inside of his enemy’s jacket pockets. “Let’s see if we can find a phone, shall we?”

Griffin raised his gun when Fox’s hands twitched. “I’ll blow your head off. Don’t doubt it for a second. You tried to take my girl … and you wanted to kill her family … and you wanted to leave her all alone. I won’t feel a stitch of remorse for killing you. Go ahead and tempt me.”

Dad collected Fox’s phone and started scrolling through the contacts. Fox must have decided he was a goner, because he changed tactics. “If you turn me over to the main office you’ll never find Lily, Cormack. You know that.”

“You don’t have Lily,” Dad said. “You haven’t for a long time. I’m guessing you used her as a convenient scapegoat in hopes of drawing her out. You wanted Aisling to believe her mother was trying to grab her, when it was you all along. If Lily is alive, she never was working against us. For all we know, she’s dead … again.” Dad met my gaze. “If she’s alive, we’ll find her. I have faith that my children can do whatever they set their minds to.”

Tears stung my eyes. “I want to be the one to call Everett,” I announced.

“Why?” Griffin asked.

Dad snorted and handed the phone to me. “Watch and learn, boy. You’re going to find out how Aisling managed to derange each and every one of her brothers a hundred times over while growing up.”

“Oh, well good,” Griffin deadpanned. “I haven’t heard her be really mean in almost two weeks.”