Page 51 of Captive Lies

“Are you suggesting Val and I spend time together by ourselves?” I asked incredulously. That was a terribleidea.

“Well, not exactly. I’ll be with you at first,” Amelia said. “I’m not blind to my daughter’s shortcomings. She’s headstrong and willful, not to mention an adrenaline junkie, and has given us a heart attack one too many times. But one thing I can’t deny is how much she loves her brother. She’s convinced that no woman will be good enough for Grant. It’s unfortunate she thinks that every woman is just after her brother’smoney.”

“And you think spending time with me will convince her otherwise?” Ichallenged.

“Do you know why she’s especially hostile toyou?”

I shook myhead.

“It was her fault Grant nearly died in that snowstorm and you savedhim.”

“Shouldn’t she be thankful insteadthough?”

“Maybe she would have been if Grant had not fallen for you,” Amelia tried to explain her illogical assumption. “But Grant nearly dying because of her has righted the scales in her mind. Not that she had ever pulled that guilt card on her brother, but it has always colored the way their relationship has developed ever since her near-drowning. Now comes this woman who has saved her brother’s life. How can she compete withthat?”

“But it’s not acompetition!”

“That is why both of you need to spend time with each other withoutGrant.”

I was still doubtful, but there was a bigger priority. “I think I need to figure out my relationship with your sonfirst.”

She smiled warmly. “Of course. I do have one more question and I want you to behonest.”

“Okay.” My tone wastentative.

“Do you love myson?”

I did, but Grant deserved to know first before anyone else. The server brought out our food, which gave me some reprieve, but Amelia continued to look at me expectantly and made no move to serve, so I knew it was no emptyquestion.

“I care for Grant very much, but we haven’t discussed our feelings yet,” I replied as honestly as I could. “You see, I never thought he could be mine. I do think I love him, but whatever we feel for each other, it’s between him andme.”

Grant’s mother nodded, but there was a tightening around her lips that told me she wasn’t satisfied with my answer. “I’ve never seen my son behave this way around a woman before, so I’m very hopeful that he’s found the one.” Amelia scooped a healthy serving of pasta alla vodka onto her plate and urged me to do the same, handing me the fork. “I like you a lot, Blaire.” She sniffed. “But if you hurt him in any way, you’ll see the wrath of this southernmomma.”

I had to grin at her laststatement.

“I’m not kidding.” She glared at me, but it held no heat. She smiled and shrugged. Oh, the threat was there and I didn’t doubt it, it was only softened by her southerncharm.

The rest of our lunch progressed to less sensitive, but no less importanttopics.

Likeshoes.

19

Blaire

“Where are you?”I asked Liam when I got hold of him later thatafternoon.

“What’s going on, Blaire?” My friend ignored my question, so I knew he wasn’t comfortable revealing hislocation.

“I had to tell them about the storage unit.” I heard a muffled curse, crackling, and then sounds of shuffling like he was moving to a differentposition.

“Why?” Liam asked after a while and the signal wasclearer.

“The senator’s political advisor questioned the evidence we had and said we had to have supporting physical evidence for it tostick.”

“True, but even that’s no guarantee. A good lawyer can have all the evidence thrown out. I know the inner workings of Orlov’s mind. You killed his son. He wants you executed in front of him, which tells me the people who went after us in the motel were acting on orders of someone who didn’t want the evidence leaked. There’s also been chatter that Orlov executed one of his lieutenants for defying his orders, which supports my theory. That failed mugging of Grant had brought the Boston Russian gang unwanted scrutiny and in turn, the ROC. Either they’ll back off or movequickly.”

“Shit,” I muttered. “We need to get to that storage unitfast.”

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