Page 18 of Red

“At least she has some grit. I suppose she’ll need that when you sell her off.” Ian’s accusatory tone hit his last nerve like a sledgehammer.

“Exactly how do you know her grandmother is gone?” Erik demanded.

“I went to talk to her,” Ian said, rolling his shoulders and setting his jaw.

“Why?”

“Because I wanted her to know Melinda was okay. She deserved that much from us.” Ian raised his chin.

“I know you don’t like what we have to do, but that doesn’t change anything.” Erik narrowed his gaze. “You need to decide which side you’re on.”

“I didn’t realize there were sides here, other than yours.”

“You don’t like the decisions I make for this family?” Erik challenged.

Nico pressed himself farther into the background.

Ian ground his teeth together, an old habit from an anxious childhood. “Melinda isn’t guilty of anything, but she’s been given a life fucking sentence. I don’t like that decision. No.”

“That wasn’t my call.”

“We can walk away from this. At least we could have. But two girls have already been sent away, haven’t they? We don’t need Kristoff’s money. We have Dad’s.”

“It’s not enough to get the land and the building contracts. You know that.”

“So? We invest what we have, or we find another way. Are those girls’ lives really less important than your fucking dream of being a big casino boss?”

“Ian,” Nico warned from behind him.

“I’m not fighting with you about this. If you want out, there’s the fucking door. I won’t stop you.” Erik’s breath came fast. He’d never shown his brother the door; it wasn’t something he thought he could do.

But since his uncle’s death, he’d been doing a lot of things he’d never thought he’d be able to stomach.

“Ian. We should find her grandmother. We’ll figure out what happened and then move on from there.” Nico placed a hand on Ian’s shoulder, pulling him away from Erik.

Ian’s nostrils flared. “Yeah. I’ll take care of that.” With a shove at his younger brother, Ian stalked off down the hall.

“I’ll talk to him.” Nico turned to go, but Erik stopped him.

“Leave him be. Just get to the bottom of her grandmother’s disappearance.”

Chapter 7

Melinda paced the bedroom, nibbling on her fingernails. Her grandmother had lived in the same house for fifty years. She wouldn’t simply abandon it now.

Not when she could still be so close to Melinda.

The door opened, and Erik stepped inside, the tension palpable the moment he closed the door.

“What did you find out?” she asked, hurrying to him.

“Nothing yet. Ian and Nico are looking into it,” Erik said with a bland expression. Maybe he couldn’t grasp the situation. Or he didn’t care. Why would he? After all, her grandmother served no purpose for him.

“Looking into it?” Melinda stopped short, and her shoulders dropped. “Right.”

“My brothers will find out what happened, and if she’s in any sort of trouble they will help her.” Erik’s tone hardened. Had she offended him by not throwing herself at his feet in gratitude?

“She wouldn’t up and leave.”

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