Page 100 of Blackmail of a Billionaire

She offered Sierra a slight smile. “I’m not leaving, Sierra. But there is something I have to deal with. Stay here.”

Grant sucked in a breath, his worst fears dismissed. What was it she needed to discuss? She offered him a glance, worry and something else clouding her eyes as she reached for his hand.

He slipped his into hers, pulling her closer to him as they strode from the room. “Any hints?”

She stopped in the foyer, facing him. “It’s about Kyle.”

His heart pounded at the mention of the man’s name, and his fingers curled into fists. Horrific thoughts raced through his mind about what had happened when Kyle Carter had driven off with her. “Did he hurt you?”

She shook her head, her lips pressed into a tight line. “No. But I know why he’s doing what he’s doing.”

His mind spun at the words. What had Kyle told her, and what had she been reluctant to bring up in front of his daughter?

“It’s not mine to tell. Please promise me you won’t overreact.”

“Julia…you’re not making sense.” He gently gripped her arms, wondering if she was confused. “Let’s just go sit down, okay?”

She shook her head again before she led him toward the closed doors of his study. With a glance over her shoulder at him, she pushed them open and stepped inside.

Grant kept his eyes trained on her until movement across the room caught his eye. His eyes went wide and anger burned through him at the sight of Kyle Carter standing in the center of the room.

Fury drove him toward the man. “You bastard.”

Julia raced in front of him, placing herself between them. “No, Grant.”

“Julia, get away from him.”

Kyle wrapped his fingers around her shoulder. “Don’t move, Julia. He’ll kill me if you do.”

Grant lifted his chin to peer around her. “Oh, what a real man, hiding behind an innocent woman. Stop using her as a shield, Carter.”

“Grant, stop,” she pleaded.

“I told you he’d be like this,” Kyle said. “I told you he wouldn’t listen. Now, do you believe me?”

“No,” she growled at him. “Just…everyone needs to take a breath.”

She kept her eyes trained on Grant as she placed a hand on his chest. “Please, listen to him.”

Grant wrapped his hand around hers before he tugged her closer to him, wrapping an arm around her. If Julia requested this of him, he would oblige. She must have a reason. “All right. Talk, Carter.”

The man glanced at Julia first, infuriating him again. She offered him a subtle nod.

He swallowed hard, and Grant caught sight of fear shifting in the shadows of his eyes. “Does the name Laura Michaels mean anything to you?”

Grant’s forehead creased as he searched his memory. He didn’t recall anyone by that name. “No,” he answered, trying to keep his voice even and measured for Julia’s sake.

Kyle slid his eyes closed, his jaw flexing. “Of course, it doesn’t. This is useless.”

“It’s not,” Julia said. “Explain. At least give him that.”

Kyle’s nostrils flared as he shot Julia a frustrated glance, his chest heaving with heated breaths. He shifted his gaze to the floor. “Well, thirty-three years ago, she meant something to you.”

“Thirty-three years ago?”

“Yes, Grant,” he growled. “Thirty-three years ago, when you spent some time with Laura Michaels. And she ended up pregnant.”

Julia’s hand twisted to intertwine her fingers with his as the words sank in. A vague recollection of a drunken night floated through his memory. He’d never imagined that forgotten moment would circle back to him now.

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