Page 85 of Saving Serena

“Impossible,” I said. “They think she’s there to put one of them in jail.”

“Work on it. Otherwise, you don’t go. That’s final.”

Mr. Grumpypants was back. But I had a different and better idea. I dialed my friend.

“Hey, girlfriend,” she answered.

“A guy at work has tickets to Disneyland. Wanna go tomorrow?”

“Disneyland?” she shrieked. “I’d love to.”

“There’s one catch. You’re going undercover as my bodyguard’s date so he can guard me without the rest of the group knowing.”

“That’s weird.”

“Gray, you’ll like him. His name is Terry Goodwin.”

“That douche? No way.”

“Wait, what? You know him?”

“Wish I didn’t. I’ll pass.”

“It’s only one day,” I argued.

“That’s one day too many with that overbearing ass.”

She’d obviously been exposed to a different Terry than I had. “Santa Monica,” I said calmly. I needed this, and I had leverage she couldn’t refuse.

She sighed. “You suck, you know that?”

“Yeah, I know. But it’ll be a fun day. We’ll pick you up in the morning.”

“Whatever.”

After I ended the call, Duke spoke. “Is there a problem?”

“It sounds like she and Terry have some history. Not the good kind.”

“Her name’s Gray?”

I nodded. “Grace Brennan.”

He made a face. “That could be an issue. This whole trip may not work.”

“What’s the problem between them?”

Duke bit his lip. “Her brother, Pete, and Terry were good friends. When Pete went missing, Terry got put in charge of the trust their parents had set up for her. It didn’t go well.”

I’d known Grace’s brother had been assumed killed, but declared MIA when they couldn’t recover Pete’s body. After also losing her parents, she’d been traumatized by it. She’d chafed against the trustee of the life insurance payout, but she’d never put a name to him. He’d always beenhis assholeness,his lordship, or merelythe tyrant.

I threw Duke’s words back at him. “Work on it. I’m going, and that’s final.”

Duke shook his head, knowing I had him. “I’ll deal with Terry. We still need you, Constance. You’re going to be a lone floater, in disguise, so they don’t recognize you.”

“No problem,” she answered.

Duke

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