Page 76 of Revelation (Love Isn't What It Seems 3)

“I love being right,” she beamed. My little angel was glowing with hope, and if anyone tried to extinguish it, I would kill them with my own bare hands. “Let’s get you out of your wet clothes.”

She helped me take my shirt off and pants followed. I quickly pulled on my sweatpants, leaving my upper body naked. Her eyes hazed with desire, watching me. Shit, seeing her like this, in my penthouse, wearing my shirt… I realized it felt right. She felt right.

“Come, my filthy girl,” I leaned and gently bit her earlobe. “We will do all those dirty things later. Now, we have to talk.”

She nodded, taking my hand and we headed into the kitchen. I lifted her by her slim waist and sat her on my kitchen counter. A little squeal left her lips and I grinned like a teenage boy showing off for his first girlfriend.

“We will talk while I fix dinner,” I told her.

“I can help.” She went to jump off the counter, but I stopped her.

“No, you sit there and flash me that pretty pussy of yours every so often.”

“Maxim,” she scolded with a little chuckle. But fuck, I knew she liked it.

Besides, I knew Layla was a disaster in the kitchen. Liberty warned me several times. I would teach her how to cook, but not today. Her focus would be telling me everything and me ending those people that made her hurt.

I pulled out spaghetti, tomato sauce, seasoning, and bread. It would be a spaghetti Bolognese night with some garlic bread.

“Tell me about what you said,” she asked. Her eyes observed my every move in the kitchen, all her focus on me. “About my grandparents stealing.”

“Okay, but please remember Layla,” I told her. “None of what I am about to tell you is a reflection on you.” I locked my eyes with her to ensure she understood. “None of it.”

“That bad, huh?”

“It’s not good.” And fuck, I didn’t want to upset her. “Some of it will upset you. But remember, I am here for you.”

She nodded. “And some of it will hurt. The reason Daniel and I started digging was because money wasn’t being used properly. Then once we figured out it was them, we started digging through everything.”

“And this was at Wounded Uniform?” she asked. I nodded my response. “I wonder if that was the reason my grandfather never wanted me near it,” she muttered.

“Possibly,” I admitted. “I told you how Daniel and I served together in the military,” I started. It was my turn to open up to her. “We saw some hard shit. Lost a lot of friends. And a lot of us that came back, we had scars, visible and invisible ones. There are many decisions made during combat that stay with you, make you question yourself. Did you do the right thing? Could you have saved them?” Layla’s hand reached out and took mine.

I had never spoken to anyone about this. The night of Alexander’s wedding I barely touched on it. And it was the first time I said it to anyone out loud. Daniel didn’t need to hear those words. He battled them himself too. Her fingers brushed against my pulse on the wrist, the touch calming and comforting.

“When we came back, there was guilt eating at us. We made it back, a lot of them didn’t. We came back to some resemblance of a life and had at least financial means to try and recover. A lot of them didn’t. So we started a nonprofit foundation. To ensure we keep it truly neutral, we established a board that would determine a right way to spend the funds. Neither Daniel nor I were strong in nonprofit management.” Now that we had Layla on our team, I knew Daniel and I were covered. She was the strong asset that we needed, and she had a heart for it. “We knew how to make money but not how to run a nonprofit foundation. Anyhow, your grandfather was one of those board members, and he handled finances. Truthfully, I should have paid more attention to who was being appointed. Because honestly, I wouldn’t have allowed him in if I knew. There has been contention between the Cambridge family and us for a long time, as you know.” She stiffened at my words, and I took her face between my palms. “You are not them, Layla. Those fuckers don’t deserve you.”

I watched her blink her glistening eyes several times. Her grandparents would pay for what they put her through. They had a little girl, and they abused her with words till she thought she was unworthy. And her mother. I really didn’t want to be the one to deal her that blow, but she had to know. She deserved to know. And I would be here to pick up the pieces.

“They did you wrong, Layla. There will be some stuff I will tell you that will hurt, but I am here. I won’t let them hurt you anymore.” I stared at her, hoping she could see I meant it. “Do you trust me?”

She nodded. “Yes, Maxim.” Her words and trust in her eyes meant more than anything else she could give me. And fuck, she gave me a lot. “I trust you.”

“We found out he was stealing from the foundation. He paid out barely five percent of all the funds that passed through that company. He stuffed his pockets with most of it.”

There was disbelief in her eyes. “I just don’t understand. They have so much, you know. I never saw him go without. And they gave me such a hard time when I asked for money. I assumed he was just stingy, but maybe he was struggling financially.”

“That motherfucker is stingy,” I gritted. “He most likely has a gambling problem.”

Her mouth fell open. “My grandfather?”

“Yes, we are running a few leads now.”

“That man preached at me and called me names for as long as I can remember, and he is a fucking gambler?”

I nodded in confirmation. “It gets worse,” I muttered as I continued preparing our dinner. “Once we found out he was stealing, we started looking into everyone. So naturally you came up. This was around Alexander’s wedding. When they came back from their honeymoon. Our guy dug through Henry’s family and found that about a month before your accident, that you supposedly caused according to this fucking blackmailer, he bought life insurance policies on you and your mother with him as beneficiary. Thirty million each.”

Layla’s face paled, understanding what that meant. The Cambridge family were leeches of the worst kind. I was glad now that Liberty refused to give them a chance.

---