Page 124 of Between Desire and Denial

“Knox was in the hospital because of my father, because of them. You get that right?”

Jameson pinched the bridge of his nose. “Let’s talk in the morning, okay?” he whispered.

I knew he was asking me to trust him and the syndicate right then. So I took a deep breath, thinking of Knox, thinking of what could be with Dimitri. I stepped back but not before I said, “You need to make sure you’re righting the wrongs, Jameson. Otherwise, there’s no hope for Paradise Grove.”

I spun on a heel and went back inside where I was met with Dimitri rushing down the stairs. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I… felt like a walk.”

He frowned and glanced outside, his jaw going up and down, up and down. “Since I just saw the headlights of the car, why don’t you try again?”

I sighed and closed my eyes. “All I know is that maybe Earl hasn’t been out of town, Dimitri. I happen to think he’s gone.”

“Gone how?”

I chewed on my cheek. “They put something very large in that car,” I whispered.

“You’re kidding me?” His eyes widened. “And they saw you watching?”

“I… Well, Jameson said we would talk in the morning.”

That’s when Dimitri really started moving. “Wake your brother up and tell him to watch the house. We’re leaving.”

“Leaving for where?” I shrieked. “I am not leaving.”

“Oh. You are,” he grumbled as he stomped up the stairs. “Pack a suitcase or you’ll be on vacation with nothing but the clothes on your back.”

“This is silly, Dimitri.”

He whipped around. “I’m trying to protect you, Olive.”

“I don’t want protection,” I told him. “We need to know what was going on.”

“You need to stop putting yourself in harm’s way.”

“That’s what you wanted. That’s how all this started,” I screamed. “You wanted information on Paradise Grove.”

He punched his fist into the wall. “Not at the expense of you,” he bellowed. And then he looked at me with true fear in his eyes. “Never at the expense of you.”

“Let’s just go to bed and we can discuss it in the morning.”

Morning came though and Dimitri was still adamant. Agreeing to a vacation for a few days after Knox sided with him was really all I could do to smooth the waters.

Dimitri even called Jameson and put him on speaker phone to let him know. “My brothers and I are pulling out of the investment here. We can’t endanger ourselves with the Irish.”

Jameson responded, “The Diamond Syndicate is still going to vote for the offices. We’re going to establish a line in the sand that we won’t work with the Irish.”

“We’re establishing our line too. We’re not working with any of you. My family doesn’t like it.”

“You’ll take a huge hit monetarily, but I understand. Still best for you to get out of harm’s way with Knox and Olive. Their father wronged the Irish. They’ll be looking to make an example.”

Dimitri gave me a look, and I finally sighed and nodded toward his phone.

I agreed to leave for a week and Dimitri wasted no time getting me packed and getting us to the airport. Yet, as I was walking through the airport, I got a text.

Unknown: Go to the bathroom. Make it believable if you want everyone to be safe.

I glanced up, heart thumping as I looked around fast. I told Dimitri I was running to the bathroom before our flight. I had a few minutes to spare and wanted to take a few deep breaths to settle my nerves about leaving.