Chapter 12 Grace #2
Maddie guides me through a narrow passageway that staff would have used to move discreetly from room to room. “We’ve still got a couple of months. Would that be long enough?”
“But I thought… From what Rory said, the birth sounded imminent. It’s why we came today. He didn’t think you’d be traveling again for a while.”
When Maddie’s frown matches mine, I connect the dots. The fake urgency was part of Rory’s scheming.
“It’s OK,” I say quickly. “I must have got it wrong.”
Maddie waggles her eyebrows. “It sounds like someone wanted to give you and Duke some alone time out of the city.”
As a Griffin, Maddie will know Duke’s engagement is a sham, but it’s no less embarrassing having yet another person in on the secret relationship Duke and I are not having. “It’s not what you think.”
“I’m not thinking anything,” Maddie says with mock innocence as she opens another door and we step into an elegant but sparsely furnished room draped in dust sheets. “I’m just happy to finally meet the girl from Philly.”
“That makes me sound so bad,” I groan.
“Far from it,” Maddie assures me. “You’re practically a legend.”
“A legend?”
Instead of answering, she points to the far end of the room where I see gilded picture frames partly covered in another dust sheet. “The painting I mentioned will be amongst those. Don’t forget to check it out.”
We leave the drawing room and enter the corridor that leads to the main entrance. I can feel a breeze that grows chillier as we approach the foyer.
“So, you and Duke…” Maddie prompts with a knowing smirk.
“There is no me and Duke,” I try. “It’s–”
“If this is where you’re about to tell me it’s complicated, you should know I’m married to a Griffin,” Maddie says. “They’re the masters at complicated when it comes to relationships. And Duke is a kindred spirit.”
“Honestly, we’re not involved,” I insist.
Our heels echo off marble tiles as we cross the foyer to the main doors that have been left ajar.
“Yeah, that’s exactly what it looked like back in the kitchen,” she says, her eyes twinkling beneath the glittering chandelier high above our heads.
“And I don’t just mean the part where you were going to describe whatever you guys did in his office. ”
“Didn’t do,” I interject. “In case you hadn’t noticed, Duke’s engaged to someone else.”
Maddie’s smile flattens. “A temporary hiccup,” she assures me. “But whether you’re ready to admit it or not, you’re already acting like a couple. You may not have noticed, but while you were telling us about your ideas for this place, you used the terms us and we an awful lot.”
I hadn’t noticed. I make a mental note to watch that as I hunch my shoulders and step out into the cold night.
Max leans against one of the giant stone columns standing like sentinels on each side of the stepped entrance. The tap of sharp heels on stone marks our approach, but he keeps his gaze fixed on the sweeping driveway.
“We brought you some food,” I say cheerily.
Max turns slowly, the permanent scowl on his face appearing even more severe in the deepening shadows. There’s another shadow on his cheek too. The burn is still healing and I don’t blame him for barely saying two words to me all day.
“I could have looked after myself,” he grumbles.
“Call it a peace offering,” I insist, pushing the plate into his hands. “I am sorry about the burn.”
“You did that?” Maddie asks. She sounds impressed rather than shocked.
Max gives her a cold stare as he takes his silverware and the beer. “Don’t let me keep you, ladies.”
“But I want to hear…”
I pull Maddie away and as we retrace our steps back through the house, I recount the tale.
“I’m sure I would have done the same if he’d chased me,” Maddie says when I’m done. “You really had no idea Duke was a Moncrief?”
“I assumed he was hotel security like Max.”
Maddie’s footsteps falter. “You really have been thrown in the deep end, haven’t you?” she says. “Max is Duke’s bodyguard.”
“The Moncriefs have bodyguards?” I shouldn’t be shocked that billionaires need protection, but panic flutters in my chest.
“It’s a way of life that takes some getting used to,” Maddie says as we pass through the drawing room again. “It took me a while, but I see Levi and Simon as part of the family now.”
I’m not surprised Maddie has bodyguards, but I’m still confused. “Why aren’t they here now?”
“Oh, we do have backup nearby, but I don’t need extra protection when I’m with Hunter,” she says simply. “And Duke will protect you the same way. He trains with Hunter and the others occasionally.”
“But he still brought Max today.”
“He’s just taking extra precautions while the Bratva are lurking around. And besides, he and Max have a closer bond.”
I ponder on that for a while. “Max was with Duke back in Philadelphia, and that was before the Bratva were on the scene, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, but…” Maddie gives me a side glance. “He needed a different kind of protection back then. Did Duke tell you about the accident?”
“He told me his friend died.”
Maddie twists a strand of her blond hair around her finger. “It was hard on him for a while,” she says quietly as if she’s sharing something she shouldn’t.
I think back to how closed off Duke had been when I met him. There was a man who couldn’t offer me a future because he didn’t see one for himself. I feel sick when I ask, “Are you saying he needed protecting from himself?”
“Look, you should talk to Duke about this, not me. I’m relatively new on the scene too,” she says, evading the question. “I only married Hunter eighteen months ago and I don’t know Duke that well. Not as well as Rory. Oh, and Calder.”
“I met him yesterday,” I reply, noting the way she grimaced when she said his name. “He’s… interesting.”
Maddie laughs. “A little too interesting. I have a brother-in-law at home just like him. Unsurprisingly, they’re friends.”
I try to smile, but I don’t have it in me. “Should I be worried?” I ask. “About Duke, I mean.”
“In spite of the complications of his engagement, Duke’s doing really well after what Rory refers to as a minor miracle.”
“What do you mean? What happened?”
“I was hoping you’d tell me,” Maddie replies. “The miracle was you, Grace. You’re the girl from Philly that the family credit with bringing Duke back to them.”
My mouth goes dry. I knew in my heart that our one-night stand wasn’t some meaningless hook up. Not for me. I’d hoped it meant something to Duke too, but this feels almost too much. And there are so many things that could still go wrong.
“What if he has to go through with the wedding, Maddie?”
“Ash won’t let that happen.”
Everyone seems to be putting an awful lot of faith in Ash Griffin. Except me. “Then why hasn’t he made her disappear yet?”
“Have you met Katarina?” Maddie asks, then reconsiders what she’s just said. “God, no, of course you haven’t. That wouldn’t be good.”
“The glimpse I had of her showing off her engagement ring was enough,” I reply. “If it was all an act, she fooled me.”
“It’s fair to say that Katarina is an enigma. She makes it almost too easy to hate her, and then she goes and does something that gives you pause,” Maddie says, her voice fading as if reminiscing about something.
“She’s stunningly beautiful, I know that,” I say with more than a hint of jealousy. “And she seems very good at wrapping men around her little finger.”
“Not our men,” Maddie says confidently, then heaves out a sigh. “I’m not saying she isn’t averse to using her looks to her advantage, but she’s also trained for combat.”
“Like self-defense?”
“Like slicing a man’s throat.”
I assume Maddie’s exaggerating, but when I meet her eye, my blood runs cold. “You’re serious?”
“Her latest victim was an ex-Bratva soldier who’d turned mercenary.
Katarina fought for the privilege of cutting his throat from ear to ear,” Maddie says, but she doesn’t look as horrified as I feel.
“The guy was known for abducting and abusing women, and I don’t doubt he deserved her version of justice. ”
Suddenly her comment about me not meeting Katarina holds more meaning. “Are you saying she’s a danger to me?”
“She needs to be handled with care, that’s all,” Maddie replies carefully as we enter the last corridor.
There are voices coming from the kitchen and goosebumps prick my skin. I’m grateful when Maddie loops her arm through mine.
“Speak of the devil,” she mutters.
The female voice we hear has a distinct Russian accent. It’s the same one I heard barking orders at her bodyguards. “I don’t like being lied to, Duke,” Katarina says, her words ricocheting down the telephone line.
“I didn’t lie,” he says, sounding tired rather than angry.
“You told me you were meeting Hunter. You told me you were flying down there with Max. You said you’d be staying overnight,” she replies, spitting out each item on her list. “What you didn’t fucking mention was the woman who’d be joining you on your little trip.
And you failed to add her name to the flight manifest. Why would you do that, Duke? Who the hell is Grace Hamel?”
“None of your fucking business,” he growls.
“Seriously, Katarina?” Hunter interjects. “You want to play the paranoid fiancée? Shouldn’t you be putting more time and effort into your exit plan? The southern hemisphere is about to enjoy a beautiful spring. Now would be the perfect time for you to fuck off to the other side of the world.”
“Never to be heard of again,” she hisses.
“Which would make us all happy,” Hunter says forcibly. “You could go this weekend. I’ll help you pack your bags.”
“How quickly you forget what your family owes me, Hunter.”
“You have a habit of draining every last ounce of goodwill from people,” he points out. “Consider this particular well dry. Any more delays and our deal is off the table, as will be your engagement.”
I’m stepping into the kitchen when Katarina replies in a low purr. “Duke won’t walk away, will you, baby?”