Page 88 of Wicked Heiress

Cole hooked his arm through mine and led me over to the couch. We sat across from Bastian, Alex, and Damian.

Damian had his eyes on his drink, which he barely touched. Something was off about him. Bastian kept glancing over at him as if checking on his mental well-being. They had a strange dynamic, a bond they didn't seem to share with the other Salvatores.

Marcello bent over the back of the couch and handed Alex a bottle of water. She took it from him, and he kissed her cheek. I couldn’t understand how four men could share one woman until I saw how much they loved her.

Fitzy sat in the armchair at the center of us, tipping a glass of amber liquid to his mouth. “Viktor is on the move. And since he’s trying to get in my way, I’m expediting the wedding to draw him out of hiding. He won’t stay away from his daughter’s wedding.”

Now it all made sense. This wedding was never about Rhys. Grandfather only wanted to marry me to that lunatic to find my father. And he was right. This was the perfect way to do it.

“With that said,” my grandfather continued, “I expect all of you to be on high alert at the event. Be prepared to take Viktor out by any means necessary. He’s been a thorn in my side for too long.”

I gulped down the nerves clawing at my insides. The thought of seeing my biological father again made me sick to my stomach.

Grandfather crossed his legs at his ankles and sat back in the oversized chair that made him look regal, like a king. With his finger pointed at me, he said, “And you better be on your best behavior, silly girl. You’re so much like your mother. It didn’t take much convincing for you to hop into bed with Rhys Vanderbilt. And you will not fuck with my plans. Do you understand me?”

I nodded.

Everyone was tense, especially Damian and Bastian, who seemed the most affected by my grandfather. It was easy to understand why he bothered them so much. They lived with him briefly after their parents’ tragic deaths. Fitzy had tortured both of them for the month they lived in this house. He locked them in his basement without food and water and treated them like animals.

Alex sat between them and stared across the room at Luca as if she were waiting for him to take charge. Because he always knew what to do, no matter the situation. He was the leader of The Devil’s Knights.

“Have you given any thought to how vulnerable this makes Grace?” Bastian interjected. “We’ve been hiding her for years to keep her away from Viktor Romanov. If you plan to drag her in front of the media, it will put her back on the radar of The Lucaya Group.”

An evil grin tugged at Fitzy’s mouth. “I’m counting on it.”

“But why now?” Luca cut in with the million-dollar question.

“Why not?” Fitzy rested his expensive, shiny dress shoe on his knee and scanned the room with a hunter’s look in his eyes. “It’s time for Viktor to show his face. And until now, he hasn’t been properly motivated to do so.”

“Are you going to kill him?” I asked, my voice sounding small. “He’s my father. From what I remember, he wasn’t always bad.”

“You didn’t know any better,” Fitzy fired back. “But I can assure you the man you hold dear in your heart is a cold-blooded killer. He killed your mother right in front of you. He murdered Bastian and Damian’s parents. And he will kill you if I don’t dispose of him.”

I gasped. “He killed their parents?”

I couldn’t even bring myself to look at them.

How could I?

Bastian had been so nice to me. Damian, not so much, but I got the sense that he wasn’t a big talker. At least now I understood why Damian glared at me the entire time we were forced to live at the safe house.

“Viktor is also a problem for The Knights,” Luca chimed.

Mark turned to look at me. “We kept you from Viktor because he’s a dangerous man. Even if he got you back, he wouldn’t have put you above his interests. He’s the leader of a terrorist organization, Grace. Colonel Hale and other men and women who serve in the armed forces have fought for the same thing. To keep men like Viktor from hurting others.”

His words sank deep into my skin like a bullet piercing my heart. Because he was right. I’d spent years living on military bases around the world. Even if he wasn’t my biological father, Colonel Jonathan Hale was still my dad in every way that counted. He risked his life to save me.

“Okay,” I whispered. “Do what you have to do. But I’d rather not see another parent killed in front of me.”

“So it’s settled,” Grandfather said with a victorious smirk. “You’ll marry Rhys Vanderbilt this weekend. And then we’ll be done with The Lucaya Group once and for all.”

This weekend?

Fuck.

Chapter Fifty

GRACE

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