Page 115 of Betrayal of a Billionaire

GRANT

Grant stared at Sierra’s sleeping form as he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. With every beat of his heart, he was grateful to have her back, but he couldn’t stop the ache that also echoed there from the loss of Julia.

It had been hours since he’d talked to Kyle. The sun had slid below the horizon and night had taken over. There had been no progress.

He felt helpless. He could do nothing to save her. Just like he could do nothing to repair their relationship.

Doubt crept into his mind again. The rain-soaked moments before she’d gone over the cliff for Sierra had been harrowing enough, but as he sat in the quiet hospital room going over them again, he’d found new reasons to detest them.

The way Luke had adjusted her harness, then kissed her forehead had spoken volumes. The man obviously still had feelings for her. He couldn’t blame Luke. He’d fallen for her, too.

And he felt inadequate competing against the decades of history Luke and Julia had. He couldn’t measure up. He couldn’t be the man who soothed her to sleep when she’d had a difficult time.

She’d struggled since they’d gotten to town and when she’d sought help, it hadn’t been from him. Their relationship was a lie based on nothing more than a flimsy piece of paper.

Even if they managed to rescue Julia, it wouldn’t change anything for him. She wasn’t his.

His mind wandered back to the night he’d come home to a near-empty house. His daughter had stood alone in their foyer, clutching her teddy bear. “Mommy left.”

He’d wrapped Sierra in his arms as he’d faced the reality that his marriage had crumbled. The emptiness that night mirrored his current fear as he recognized the pattern of loss repeating in his life.

But she had been there when he needed her. She’d come from wherever she’d been to help. He clung to that. Maybe once they put this nightmare behind them he could find a way to turn the tides.

Next to him, Sierra stirred, yawning and rubbing her eyes before she fixed a sleepy gaze on him. “Anything?”

He shook his head, his features pinched. “No, baby. Nothing yet.”

Sierra’s forehead creased as she fidgeted. “Why? Are they waiting for something?”

“A plan that works,” he answered.

“Call Crazy Kyle again and see if there’s anything new.”

“If there was, he probably would have called us.”

“I doubt it. Knowing Kyle, he’ll dig her out himself and then take her somewhere to try to convince her he loves her more than any of us andthat’swhy he saved her.”

The comment brought a weak chuckle from him as it didn’t hit far from the truth with his son. He sobered after a moment and leaned closer to his daughter. “Sierra, I think we need to talk about what happened earlier.”

“Daddy, I get it, okay? I was stupid when I got too close to the edge. I don’t need a lecture after I almost died. Lesson learned.”

He shook his head. “Not about that. About what happened with your mother.”

“What about it?”

Grant searched his mind for a way to say what he needed to say. He didn’t want to risk angering Lydia, and Sierra’s outburst had probably done that. He’d spent the hours she’d slept checking news outlets for any hint of the scandal Lydia threatened to unleash.

Nothing so far. But if Lydia had any inkling that Sierra really wanted her gone, he worried about how she may retaliate. “Maybe you were a little harsh.”

“Daddy! Are you joking?”

“No. I–“

“Daddy! Mom is a total bitch. And she’s ruining my life. Every chance she gets, she tells me how awful I am. My mental health is suffering.”

Her mental health would really suffer if the photos Julia’d seen got into the public.

“I know, but…”