Chapter 31
“I’m sorry, what? You want me to draw up a new will now?”She stared dumbfounded at Archer Gray.
“That’s exactly what I want you to do.”He was sitting at the head of the dining room table in the suite. She was sitting on his right with her back to the wall.
“Vic, may I call you that?”Hawkins said.
“Sure.”Vic stared at him. What the hell did it matter what he called her? This whole thing was surreal and getting worse by the minute.
“Vic, we need you to change your will now so that it might mitigate the danger you’re in.”His voice was gentle. He was treating her like she was fragile and about to break.
She ground her teeth.“Mr. Hawkins?—”
“Hawk, please.”
“Hawk,”she amended,“I fail to see how changing my will changes anything at this moment. Ryker said I was no longer in any danger and in point of fact, I have never been in danger. Nor has my uncle.”She turned to glare at Archer Gray. The man might scare the hell out of her, but she was pissed off, and she wanted him to know it.
“Invicta, I told you when you came to me that we would step in and do as you asked. I sent you Ryker. He has protected your uncle.”
She snorted.“The man who originally shot at Uncle Austin? The same guy who almost took him out in a hit-and-run? Right.”
Archer’s face remained impassive, but something flickered in his eyes. She had the distinct impression that she’d just landed Ryker in a huge pile of shit. Too fucking bad.
“That is beside the point. We had no idea you would approach me when we set those incidents in motion. You coming to me was serendipitous. As was Ryker stepping in because your uncle did in fact have many holes in his security. Ryker filled them. Your uncle is much safer today than he was. Ryker has done nothing to harm your uncle and I have done nothing but keep my word.”
“Nothing to harm…A guy tried to shoot my uncle. Did you guys set that up as well?”
Hawk glanced at Archer, but the other man stayed calm.“No, we did not set that up. As a matter of fact, Ryker protected your uncle by killing the man who broke in.”
Vic went lightheaded as the blood drained from her head. Her stomach rolled. She hadn’t really connected the dots before. Ryker killed a man to save her uncle. Holy shit. And she was the one who brought him into the situation. Did it matter that Archer wanted him in with her uncle? She wasn’t sure but the result was the same. Because she’d gone to Archer, Ryker killed a man. And he’d never said a word to her about it. Not one word.
“Invicta, you must focus,”Archer ground out.“Your uncle is being supported by some…powerful people. They sent the man to make an attempt on your uncle’s life to raise his profile. He wasn’t supposed to succeed. Ryker didn’t know this and took the man out. I’m telling you all of this so you will trust me when I tell you this next bit.”
Vic stared.“Oh my God. Ryker killed an innocent man?”
A flare of impatience lit Archer’s face. He started to speak but Hawk cut him off.“When a man breaks into another man’s home and points a gun at him, he’s not innocent. The people who sent the potential assassin knew Ryker was in place and so did the man in question. He knew the risks. Ryker saved your uncle’s life. Your uncle had no idea it was a set up.”
Vic stared at the table and rubbed her temples. She was heading toward information overload, and a raging headache formed at the base of her skull. Hawk placed a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin in front of her. She shot him a grateful look and took a couple of aspirin chasing them with the water.
“All of this is somewhat beside the point at the moment,”Archer began.
Hawk gave him a look and took over.“I know it’s a lot to process, and we’ll explain fully, but for now I need you to focus on what I’m about to tell you.”
She wanted to run screaming from the room, but instead, she reminded herself that she only had to be here a few more hours, and then she was home free.“Fine, I’m listening.”
Hawk gave her a quick smile.“In your current will, you leave everything to your uncle.”
He seemed to be waiting for her to confirm this, so she nodded her assent.
“That would include Buffalo Ridge, your parents’ solar farm which automatically becomes yours at the stroke of midnight.”
“That is correct.”She tried not to sigh. Was Hawk going to get to the point anytime soon?
Archer interrupted.“Have you stayed up with what’s going on with the solar farm?”
She let out a big sigh.“No, I haven’t. My parents…well, my leaving was a big dea,l and I…I just had a lot to deal with as it was. My parents and I aren’t close so I’m not sure the state it’s in currently. I am going back to Texas and taking it over after my birthday.”
Hawk and Archer shared a look, but Vic was clueless about what it meant.
“Invicta,”Archer began,“your father has been doing an amazing job of running the solar farm. He’s made some very wise decisions and happened to hit it just at the right time. Buffalo Ridge is currently estimated to be worth several hundred million dollars.”
Vic’s entire body froze, except her lungs, which purged themselves of air in a sudden whoosh. The room spun. Hundreds of millions? She slammed her hands down on the table and dragged in oxygen like she hadn’t breathed in days.“Seriously?”she squeaked.
Archer nodded. She turned to look at Hawk. He nodded as well.
“Holy shit! Holy fucking shit!”She started hyperventilating. She’d been thinking it would be broken down and that she’d be destitute when she quit, but hundreds of millions?
“Breathe.”Hawk’s instruction came from next to her, but he might as well have been in another room. Shock was making it hard to focus. Hundreds. Of. Millions. The room started to spin again.
Archer slammed the table with his open palm an inch from her face.“Focus!”he snarled.
She reared back and blinked. Her vision cleared and her breathing returned to normal.
“Sorry, but I need you to focus on what I’m telling you, Invicta.”Archer leaned forward.
“I…sorry. It was just a shock. That’s not what I had…anticipated. My uncle has made a few comments over the years, saying it was in hard shape and it would take a lot to rebuild it. I thought that was probably true so I didn’t bother checking.”
“Your uncle is a bastard,”Archer said bluntly.“A bastard who only thinks of himself.”
She was going to defend him but suddenly it hit her; she agreed with Archer Gray. God only knew she’d seen enough examples of his reprehensible behavior during her time working for him. Even before that.
Yeah, she was done defending him.“So what is it you want to tell me?”
Archer held her gaze.“When your uncle had you write a will designating him as the beneficiary, he knew the true value of the corporation. Probably to the penny. He checks up on it monthly according to your father. I’ve spoken to him. He’s very excited about your birthday by the way.”
That was a gut punch. She didn’t know what to say.“Wait, why would he tell you anything?”
“Because, Invicta, your father has never liked your uncle and has always feared for you being under his care. He agreed to go along with boarding school and university but hated that you went to work for your uncle. He’s been worried about you for a long time.”
Great. Now she felt even worse.
“But the real point here is this”—he made sure he held her gaze again—“your uncle commissioned a bomb and we believe he plans on detonating it this evening. He will, of course, be fine, but we believe he is planning that you will not survive the blast. He will announce he is running with the President as Vice President and your death will not only give him great sympathy in the public’s mind, but it will furnish him with all the money he will ever need. Your death is a win-win for him.”
Vic was numb, like seriously out-of-body numb. She understood the words Archer was saying but she just couldn’t seem to process the meaning. She blinked rapidly.“I’m sorry. Are you telling me that Austin is planning to kill me using a bomb? Here? Tonight?”
“Yes,”Archer agreed.
She turned to Hawk. He seemed quite reasonable. Surely, he would call Archer on this.
Vic’s heart stuttered when he also nodded.“Knowing all of the details of what’s going on, I’m afraid I agree with Archer.”
“But a bomb? That would kill lots of people. There’s no way he would do that.”
“Not even to become Vice President?”Archer asked.
Vic stopped. Dread filled her veins with ice and she shivered.
He was right. Her uncle was ambitious as hell. She thought back to when she’d been shot at and how he’d reveled at being the center of attention. How he made her go out to brunch the next day. This party was really about his announcement and he’d even ditched Marilee until he needed her. The son of a bitch would stop at nothing to become VP. Which meant he needed money. She knew money was tight at the moment. Hadn’t he said as much? This would fix all his problems.
She squared her shoulders.“How do we stop him?”she asked in a quiet voice.
Hawk spoke.“First, we rewrite your will. Once that’s done, we can tell him and hopefully that will dissuade him.”
Archer added,“Ryker and many others are downstairs now trying to find the bomb. We will clear the room before the deadline but we’re hoping to find the bomb before that.”
“Deadline?”
“Invicta, you inherit the solar farm at one second after midnight. He won’t do anything before that. That is our deadline.”
She glanced at her phone screen. Not long now. Her screen was filled with texts.“Sorry, my uncle and Marilee are wondering where I am.”
“Tell them you were feeling overwhelmed, and you went outside for a breather. You’ll be back in a few minutes,”Hawk suggested.
“Sure.”Vic typed but she was shocked her fingers moved and could form words. This was all so crazy. She couldn’t process it now. She decided not to try.
“Now,”Hawk pulled out the chair beside her and flipped open his laptop.“Let’s do a quick revision of your will. I would suggest doing a much more in depth version once things have settled down, but this will suit for now.”
Vic nodded. She would do something later for sure, but she already had an idea of two things she wanted to do now. It seemed the least she could do since it was her fault her uncle wanted to blow up half of Washington.