Page 28

“J ust be yourself and remember that you’re telling the truth,” Grayson told Benny Kaplan. He’d suggested last night when they’d talked that Benny get an appointment at the Mayo Clinic for his wife. Benny had called them this morning and was given a consultation appointment in five weeks. It wouldn’t be a lie that he was taking his wife to the clinic, it just wasn’t this week.

“I got this, boss.”

Benny had started calling him boss as soon as Cooper had introduced them. The man wasn’t anything like what Grayson had expected. He’d visualized someone who was a lesser version of Anthony Pressley, a little arrogant and sleazy, but he was nothing like that. Probably in his forties, he was thin and on the short side with dark brown hair cut short and a craggy face. The feature that Grayson found the most interesting was his kind brown eyes. There was sadness in them, though, and Grayson attributed that to his worry over his wife. Grayson hadn’t expected to like the man, but he did.

“Do you like working for Pressley?” he asked as Benny pulled to a stop in the circular driveway of a house in a gated neighborhood of million-dollar homes. Houses that exuded a sense of opulence and grandeur.

“I’ll be honest, boss. I thought I’d won the lottery when I first landed this job. Mr. Pressley pays me good money. It wasn’t until I’d worked for him a while that I realized he was really paying me to keep my mouth shut. Lately though, I feel like I’m dancing on the edge of a knife. Like if I make one wrong move, I won’t like the consequences. Things are getting weird with these people. I’d quit, but I need the money more than ever now.”

He couldn’t tell Benny that there wasn’t going to be a job waiting for him to return to. He’d have to help the man find something else. When this was over, he’d tell the FBI that they needed to talk to Benny. He was probably a font of information on the family.

As much as Grayson would love to interrogate him now, he didn’t want Benny to start asking questions. The offer of a hundred thousand to let Grayson take his place for a week came with a don’t-ask-why rule. If Benny’s wife hadn’t been sick, he wasn’t sure the man would have jumped on the offer. Benny seemed to have integrity, another reason Grayson liked him.

“I called Mr. Pressley’s secretary this morning and told her I needed a few minutes of his time, so he’s expecting me.” Benny pushed the doorbell.

“Come in, Benny,” a voice said through the Ring camera.

Grayson followed Benny down a hallway, their shoes clicking on the brilliantly white marble floor. He cataloged the layout and the rooms they passed. Heavy furniture filled the living room. Gold and royal blue brocade upholstery, floor-to-ceiling thick gold drapes and a baby grand piano all shouted “Look at me, I’m somebody important.”

He’d have to ask Harlow who played. When he tried to imagine her living in this house… Well, he just couldn’t. Nothing about it was her. They came to a closed mahogany door, and Benny knocked once.

“Enter.”

Grayson braced himself for his first meeting with the man he was going to destroy. He had to get this right and not give Pressley any reason to be suspicious. The walls of the study were rich mahogany like the door, and shelves lined two of the walls with leather-bound books. Most likely just for show and never read. A massive desk sat at the center, meticulously organized, as if every item had its designated place, and behind it sat Pressley.

From the photos he’d studied of the man, Grayson already knew what he’d look like. In person, though, he was… Slick was the word that came to mind. His black hair was combed straight back with product to keep it perfectly styled. He was clean-shaven and his almost black eyes held no trace of warmth or emotion. He exuded an air of confidence and arrogance. From Harlow, he knew this was a man used to getting what he wanted, no matter the cost.

Pressley’s gaze shot past Benny to Grayson, and his eyes narrowed. “Who’s this, Benny?”

Benny came to a stop in front of the desk. “My cousin, Richie Kaplan. Richie, this is Mr. Pressley.”

“Sir,” was all Grayson said, instinctively knowing Pressley wouldn’t want niceties from him. He also avoided direct eye contact with the man, taking on a subservient persona.

“And he’s here because?”

“You know my Anna’s got cancer. It’s bad, sir. I’ve been trying to get her an appointment at the Mayo Clinic. They have mighty good cancer doctors there, but they got a long wait. Well, last night, they called. A time unexpectedly opened up, but it’s for tomorrow. I have to take her, Mr. Pressley. It might be her only chance.” He glanced at Gray son. “Richie here, he’s going to take my place for a few days while I’m gone.”

“You don’t think you should have asked me before you agreed to the appointment?”

What a dick. Grayson bit down on his cheek to keep from saying that out loud.

“No, Mr. Pressley, I did not. They had to have an answer right then, else they were gonna go to the next person on their wait list. I hope you can understand I have to do what’s best for my Anna. I value my job, sir, and I don’t want to lose it. That’s why I’m making sure you won’t be inconvenienced by my absence this week. Richie’s reliable and knows how to keep his mouth shut.”

“I’m a vault, sir,” Grayson said. He wanted to present Benny with an Oscar for his performance. He was playing this perfectly.

“You have a license to carry?” Pressley asked, his cold gaze on Grayson.

“I do.” When Benny had told Cooper prior to last night’s meeting that Pressley required his driver to be armed, with the help of Liam—who had scary forgery skills—he’d made up a fake carry license. He had a real one, but, of course, he couldn’t show Pressley that one. He took the fake one from his wallet and handed it to Pressley. He also had a fake driver’s license should he be asked for that.

Pressley barely glanced at it before dropping it at the end of his desk for Grayson to pick up. He lifted his chin at Grayson. “Let me see your gun.”

“It’s in the car, sir. I didn’t want to bring it in before you knew I carried.” He shrugged. “Didn’t want to make anyone nervous.”

“Go get it.”

“I’ll go,” Benny said, walking away before either of the other two men could object.

Left alone with Pressley, Grayson clasped his hands behind his back in an at-ease position and kept his gaze on the top of the desk. Not surprising, but he’d already concluded that Pressley got off on having power over those he deemed below him. He wanted to throttle the man if for no other reason than what he put Harlow through. But there were other reasons, like that he’d probably killed Veronica.

“What do you do when you’re not covering for my driver? Who I just might fire anyway for assuming he can take time off without coming to me first.”

“A little of this, a little of that.” Let Pressley use his imagination, but the implication was that he was up to no good.

“Where you in the military?”

“I was in the Navy. Got to see the world. Some of the world sucks, some’s not so bad. I have particularly fond memories of how much the ladies loved to bed a man in uniform.” He inwardly cringed at even saying that, but when Pressley chuckled, Grayson knew he was in.

Benny returned and handed Grayson the holster and gun. Grayson met Pressley’s gaze for the first time. “Did you want to see it?” Why else had Pressley wanted the weapon brought in?

“No, but if you’re going to drive for me until Benny returns, you’re to have it on you at all times.”

“Not a problem, sir.” He clipped the gun and holster to his belt. “When I’m on duty, I’ll have it in a shoulder holster under a jacket.” He wasn’t going to walk around in public with a visible gun even though he had a carry permit. Made people nervous unless they also saw a badge along with the gun.

“Be here tomorrow morning at eight sharp. I have a meeting with the mayor you’ll need to drive me to. Benny, give him my agenda for the week, and show him around the garage on your way out.”

“Thank you for understanding, Mr. Pressley,” Benny said.

Grayson gave a curt nod before following Benny out. They’d only taken a few steps when Don Delgado walked in. He glanced past Benny to Grayson, and his eyes narrowed. Grayson met the man’s stare. Looked like he was about to find out if Delgado recognized him from the diner.

“Who’s this?” Delgado said.

“Richie Kaplan, my cousin,” Benny said. “He’s covering for me this week.”

“Why?”

“Don’t worry about it, Don,” Pressley said. “Come in and close the door. We have business to discuss.”

Delgado stared hard at Grayson as he walked past. It was a twisted game he was playing with opponents who played dirty. The faster he could get into that safe, the sooner he could end this.

He and Benny had reached the living room when a little boy ran toward them. “Benny!” he yelled, his face lighting up.

Benny grinned. “Good morning, Tyler. Where are you off to?”

After glancing behind him, Tyler whispered, “I’m hiding from Ava.” He eyed Grayson. “Who are you?”

Grayson squatted, bringing himself to eye level with the boy. “I’m a friend of Benny’s. You can call me Richie.” Tyler was a cute as a button with Harlow’s unique blue eyes and blond hair, and Grayson wanted to pick him up and carry him out of this house. Take him to his mother.

“Tyler Pressley, you get your butt back here.” A beautiful woman dressed as if she was on the way to a club walked down the stairs, and when she reached them, she grabbed Tyler’s shoulder, jerking him to her. “Your father isn’t going to be pleased when I tell him you’re disobeying me.”

“Please don’t tell Daddy.”

Grayson bit down on his cheek. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn’t interfere, and he especially couldn’t pick the boy up and take him out of this damn house. The woman lifted her gaze to Grayson, and he didn’t like the interest in her eyes.

“Hello. I’m Ava Crawford.” She glanced at Benny. “Introduce me to your friend.”

“I’m Benny’s cousin,” Grayson said, cutting Benny off from answering, “and we have a meeting we need to get to.” He smiled down at Tyler. “See you around, little man.”

“Well, Benny’s cousin, don’t be a stranger.” She shot Grayson a sultry smile before marching Tyler away.

The woman was unquestionably beautiful with her long auburn hair, pouty lips and a smokin’-hot body, but her calculating eyes said she was trouble. She did nothing for him.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said, suddenly needing to breathe fresh air. This place was suffocating. He couldn’t imagine what it had been like for Harlow during her years of living here.

“That woman’s a piece of work, and I’d advise that you stay away from her,” Benny said once they were outside. “I don’t know why Mr. Pressley lets her anywhere near his son.”

“I can think of a reason why.” Was Ava the same nanny that Pressley had kissed in front of Harlow and Tyler? “And trust me, I plan to stay as far away from her as possible. She’s trouble with a capital T .”

After a tour of the garage and seeing the three cars he’d be driving—depending on Pressley’s mood—and getting his agenda for the week, he parted company with Benny. As he drove back to his temporary home, one question took over his mind.

Should he tell Harlow he’d seen Tyler?