Page 44 of Greed
Griffin could honestly say he’d not expected what they found upon entering Lilo’s father’s private den, or vault, or whatever it was. After following Renata inside, he’d been so surprised that he let go of Lilo’s hand and stood there with his jaw open, tasting the gunmetal in the air.
His magnetic ability buzzed, pushing at his skin in a way that tempted him to reach out and take hold in order to shut it off. Having never been in a room with so much metal since he’d developed his ability, his senses went haywire.
It was a war room filled with a wall-to-wall arsenal of weapons. Machine guns, automatic rifles, pistols, revolvers, close range missiles, grenades. Abhorrent. And standing in the middle of it all was the blond, skinny and big-breasted woman Griffin recognized from the photograph in the hall. She wore a hot pink stretch jumper with a logo of a black poodle over her right breast. Black pants were tucked into leather boots reaching to her calves.
Lilo’s mother packed items from her artillery into two open suitcases as though she were going on a vacation to the Third World War instead of The Menagerie up-state.
“Mom?” Lilo’s voice wavered as she stepped down into the sunken room. Her face twisted in a way that made Griffin regret letting go of her hand. She needed him.
Everything in the room went against what Griffin knew to be the north of Lilo’s moral compass. She was brave to continue.
“Sugar?” Lilo’s mother looked up from her chore. “Oh goodness. When I heard it was you, I almost couldn’t believe my ears. Is it true, are you back? And is this…” She knocked over a glass of wine in her haste to get to Lilo. Or was it Griffin she rushed to?
The woman stopped in front of him, a sly eye raking over his body. “My, my, hasn’t my daughter done well.”
“Mother,” Lilo warned. She tried to pull her back, but was refused.
“Well, sugar, aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“Mother, this is Griffin Lazarus. Griff, this is my mom.” Lilo’s lack-luster tone betrayed her reticence.
“Pleased to meet you.”
“Oh none of that.” She swatted Griffin’s outstretched hand. “Please, call me Janet.”
Janet with the Jugs immediately came to mind. It was a good association, but not quite appropriate to speak aloud. He’d have to make sure to—
Janet cupped Griffin’s face and kissed him squarely on the lips, making sure to press her breasts against him.
He jerked back, but the woman kept her grip tight. He paused, not wanting to offend, but even without opening his mouth, he tasted sour wine. The sensation made his heart rate gallop and the queasiness in his stomach drop.
“Mom! Stop. You’re embarrassing yourself.” Lilo unceremoniously removed Janet’s offensive lips from Griffin’s face, much to Janet’s enjoyment.
Wipe your mouth. Wipe your mouth.
But he didn’t. He resisted for the sake of propriety, and it killed him.
“I’m so sorry, Griffin,” Lilo said.
He couldn’t speak. Still processing.
She sighed, resigned. “Mom, why are you packing guns into a suitcase?”
“Two suitcases, sugar.” Janet winked at Griffin, then wiped her mouth suggestively before swaying back to her task.
If the taste of the wine hadn’t tipped him off, the sway in her movement indicated she was well on her way to inebriation.
“And I’m damn well taking everything he left behind because you know what that bastard did. Thirty years of marriage and he still hides his most precious items from me.”
“What do you mean?”
“What do I mean,” Janet scoffed, then pointed a manicured finger at Lilo. “You know what I mean or else you wouldn’t be here, now would you? Well, go on. Don’t dilly-daddle. Take what you want. He’s not here. And then I suggest you do what I’m doing and get the hell out of town.”
Griffin rubbed his face.Unbelievable.
His heart wrenched for Lilo. To come from a family like this. To grow up in a house filled with so much stuff at the expense of love. He slanted a look at her—and for her to come out of it all the strong woman she was. It was inspiring.
“This is Dad’s safe?” Lilo ignored her mother and began a slow walk around the room. “The one Nathanial told me to raid and hand over to Dad’s kidnappers?”
