Page 110 of Undertow

“Came right to the bar where the Hartfords had me working and laid into me about the engagement. It’s a miracle no one heard her.”

“Shit… You’re sure no one heard?”

“Would we be having this conversation if the Hartfords knew I worked for McArthur?”

His sigh leaks through the phone. “Sorry, man. I’ll rein her in. I didn’t realize she’d even left the resort.”

“Well, she did, and her obsession is going to get me killed. She can torment me all she wants after the bullshit wedding, but I’m a free man for another few weeks. Keep her the hell away from me.”

“I will.”

“Oh, and you can tell McArthur I have confirmation the Dylans will be at the wedding. They want to get this deal done.”

The other end of the line goes silent. My heart rate picks up as three sets of eyes lock on me.

“Good,” Merrick says finally. “Hey, while I’ve got you on the phone, catering wants to know if you still want sprinkles on your wedding cake.”

A strange mix of relief and dread run through me. I force a grin for my audience. “Hilarious. You worried about the glitter as well?”

His quick laugh would sound genuine to anyone else. My pulse slams a chaotic rhythm through my veins.

“I’ll tell them to go with teal.”

“Nah. Let’s do silver.”

“Silver it is. Talk soon. And don’t call me again.”

With my fake smile still engaged, I hang up the phone and stare at Mama H.

“We good?” I ask.

Her hard stare scours me for several long seconds.

After an interminable silence, she relaxes and addresses her children. “Clean him up but keep a tight leash on him. He doesn’t even take a piss without someone watching him.”

A weight lifts from my shoulders as she retreats from the room.

Once she’s gone, Adrian’s glare slices into me before landing on Julia. “I’ll help you move this bastard to your place, so he doesn’t get away, but you’re taking it from there. If it was up to me, we’d be putting a bullet in his head, not playing nursemaid.”

Julia meets his glare. “And that’s exactly why Mama H chose me over you to succeed her. If you can’t see how valuable he is for our family’s positioning, then you’re even more clueless than I thought.”

“He betrayed us! Weaseled his way into your pants and gave our enemies god knows how much information!”

“Which is why we get revenge by using him to turn the tables on McArthur, not waste this incredible opportunity on playground grudges. What does killing him get us but another headache?”

Adrian’s glare turns hostile as he stalks forward and yanks me up from the chair. With my wrist still attached, the seat lifts in a painful jerk. He curses and shoves me to my knees beside it.

Within seconds a gun is at my forehead.

“Adrian…” Julia warns in a cool tone.

His hand shakes, rage building.

“Adrian! Enough,” Julia snaps.

Time stops.

My shallow breaths echo through the stale air.