FORTY
GIA PLAYED NICE all the way home from the Lawman’s Gala. As nice as the barest minimum would allow. Bram lectured her about wandering off. That was the gist. Yeah, yeah, yada, yada. She wasn’t really listening and was “ill,” right? Gave her an excuse to snub him.
Only a few miles into that return journey did she accept the future. Not the one with her all alone locked in the castle until she withered and died, one where she accepted she could only live her life for her, and for her man.
As soon as they got into the house, purpose propelled her upstairs to her bedroom.
Her mother called out to her from somewhere.
Bram probably texted ahead to say they were on their way home.
The advance warning wouldn’t erase their curiosity.
Why travel all that way into the city just to turn around and come straight back? She couldn’t slow down to explain.
Long trip for such little time, yeah, but worth every second.
It was time to change, to live her life a different way.
Life.
What life?
Until Brogan she hadn’t been living. Her father would rather she defer and comply forever. Except now she had choice.
Didn’t she?
She didn’t want to go back to the way things were. Brogan had given her the confidence to take a chance on herself.
Work. She’d need a job. Money, she’d need money and didn’t have a penny to her name. As for assets, she didn’t have anything worth anything, her mom controlled every—oh, God, her mom didn’t control everything anymore. Gia did have assets. They were piled in Brogan’s closet.
A breath escaped in a short, shallow laugh. That was Brogan’s point. The presents. Financial security.
God, she’d sneered at him. Insulted him. That’s all she’d done when, the whole time, he spoiled her to ensure her liberty. Ensure and insure, both her future and Jarrod’s freedom.
Financial independence. Why didn’t it occur to her? The jewelry, the gems, the precious metals, it was enough to keep her safe and free from anyone’s bounds.
Was she going to walk away? From her family. Start over and—yes.
That was it. Decision made.
Essentials. Purse. What else was there? Anything valuable or sentimental—how would she get to the high cabinet?
Shifting the over-stuffed ottoman wasn’t as easy as it looked.
It might not be enough. She shuffled it one side then the other across the closet.
Halfway there, she assessed the height and the—yeah, it wasn’t going to be enough.
There would be a ladder or something in the building. Going on the hunt, she got a few stairs down to the foyer when Twyla passed by.
“Twyla!” Hope! The woman stopped. “Do we have a ladder?”
“A ladder?”
No blaming the woman for being confused, that wasn’t a usual family request.
“Something so I can—”
“Gianna!”
Oh, gee, her father must’ve been in withdrawal without her around to yell at. Time to get his fix.
Still halfway down the stairs, she twirled on the spot to see him above. “Yes, Father Dearest?”
“What are you doing?”
“Standing here.”
“Ladders? Why do you need ladders? And why did you rush your brother home? What’s—”
“I’m leaving,” she said, arching her shoulders back.
Under her own steam and for her own reasons. This didn’t need to be hostile or dramatic. Brogan didn’t need to be here for her parents to blame. This was her, making a choice, asserting herself. God, it felt good.
“Leaving? You—no, you are not!”
“I am,” she said, maintaining her confidence even as he marched to her level. “You can’t hold me against my will. It’s illegal, Daddy.”
He blustered. “This is him, isn’t it? It’s because of him.”
“No,” she said. “This is because of you.”
“I’ve done nothing to—”
“I’ve found a man who makes me happy, a man I love. We’re going to have a future together.”
“Over my dead body!”
“Conway!” her mother’s exclamation was distressed enough that even she was concerned.
“What are you—Gianna has lost her mind.”
“I have not. I love Brogan and want to be with him. He’d do anything for me, including be nice to my family who’ve done nothing but be cruel and spiteful toward him.”
His father’s fury grew. “How has he done this? Influenced you like this? Whatever he said—”
“I chose you, Daddy. I came home with you and Bram. But you haven’t trusted me, you’ve kept me under tight control, and I will not live my life like this indefinitely.
Brogan will always be out there and whether it’s today, tomorrow, in six months, or six years, you’ll have to let me out without supervision eventually.
You’ll have to let me access a phone or the internet.
And whenever I’m out there, you’ll never know if I’m with him. ”
And even if she tried, she couldn’t promise to have the strength to resist temptation.
“Which is why you should stay here.”
“Forever?” she asked. “This is not The Brothers Grimm.”
Though it wasn’t far off.
Was he a father desperate not to lose his daughter or was it about winning?
Bram was easy to anticipate; she could read him like a book.
Her mother fell into the perplexed and flabbergasted bracket, that wasn’t difficult to see.
She and her friends liked to gossip about drama happening to other people, but it happening in her own home was a different story. Gia almost felt sorry for her.
“I… I don’t—”
“I came with you from Gault’s because I thought I could stop a feud, but the truth is, there was a feud before me. I didn’t start this. You threatened war, but war was declared long ago. This last week has proved I can’t stop it.”
“You’re going to him?” he said. “He’s ruined you! Can’t you see that? And where is he? He doesn’t love you. He doesn’t face your father like a man.” Because she wouldn’t let him. “Do you plan to show up on his doorstep? He won’t have you! This is what he wants. He wants to ruin you!”
“Let me worry about that,” she said. Even if she had to walk every step, she’d find her way.
Brogan wouldn’t reject her, he wouldn’t.
Regardless of him, she’d accepted this setup was not living.
“I love you, Daddy.” She looked at her mother.
“I love you all, but this is no way for any of us to live. If you truly love me, you should be happy he makes me happy.”
Waiting, her father’s scrutiny spoke more to strategizing than accepting. What a sad state. It was what it was.
“Gianna,” he said. “You can’t undo this. Leave now and we won’t have you back.”
Nice. That wasn’t a choice, it was an ultimatum.
One she’d rather have avoided, but here it was.
She wasn’t shocked, this was a sacrifice she was prepared to make.
That was how much faith she had in Brogan.
When she thought it best to keep the peace, she’d sacrificed the man she loved.
A fool’s errand that hurt them both. If she couldn’t keep everyone’s interests safe, why shouldn’t she and Brogan be together?
The war was on no matter which bed she slept in.
Struggle without him or thrive with him? She was no martyr, not anymore.
Her family weren’t being rational. Maybe if she showed them the relationship was serious, they’d reconsider their position. Maybe, in time, they’d accept her and Brogan together. Na?ve? Yes, she could hear her guy’s voice in her head.
“We’re being invaded.” Bram materialized from the hallway to hurry past them down the stairs, keeping a manic pace, for some reason. Her brother had really lost it. As she turned, Twyla was on her way to the front door. “Don’t open that!”
Her brother’s demand fell on deaf ears. Twyla must’ve heard him; the space was too big and empty for her to miss it.
Still, Twyla went to open the door, maybe even picking up the pace a little to get there before Bram.
Light flashed from outside and a breath later, a woman pounced to a stop just on the other side of the threshold.
Roxie. Oh, beautiful, incredible, somehow-psychic Roxie.
“Good evening, Mr. And Mrs. Sear,” Roxie said, focusing past Twyla and Bram. “Can Gianna come out to play?”
“No!” Bram exclaimed, trying to wrestle the door from Twyla. “How did you get past our security?” When Roxie’s growling companion, Ballard, appeared to put himself between it and Roxie, Bram gave up the struggle. Ha! “You and your hoards—”
“Our hoards are not going anywhere, Little Man,” Roxie said. “And we’re bigger than you. If you don’t relinquish the princess to me, you’ll find yourself in a world of hurt.”
“Was that a threat? You’re threatening us?”
“No!” Roxie scoffed and arched to emphasize her cleavage.
“I’m miked and our legal team taught me better than that.
That’s me simply saying you should be grateful I’m the one doing the negotiating because the guy with me, the guy with something to say, he doesn’t negotiate with hostage takers.
” Her friend’s smile grew to a grin when she extended an arm past Bram toward her.
“You’re late to the party and this is one you don’t want to miss. Come see.”
Whatever was going on out there, the lights hadn’t faded and there were definitely voices. Brogan? Could he be out there with the melee?
Ballard extended an arm to block her brother while guiding her outside. Oh good…
People, a lot of people, noise of feet on the ground, voices overlapping, lights, cameras, the press gathered behind a barrier of security men and metal barriers.
Backs to the rest of their men, Carver and two others faced the house at regular intervals.
More… BKS. Was that BKS security? With numbers like that, they’d have overtaken sparse Sear security efforts.
The calls for Roxie mixed with calls of her name from the baying mob. How could anyone know her? Security controlled the hoard Bram spoke of, it was really there, he wasn’t wrong.
A figure moved into the light between the Sear stairs and the moving mass fifty feet away. She held up a hand but already knew his shape: Brogan.