CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT #2
“But what people do talk about is the Grayson–Turner rivalry,” he goes on, cocking his head to the side.
“About their bloody history, how for years they have been at each other’s throats, trying to steal each other’s land.
Trying to hurt each other. Which is how we came to work together, your father and I.
The enemy of your enemy is your friend; isn’t that how it goes? ”
Anger is making my chest tight as I ask, “So what’s the plan?”
“The plan was simple,” he says, putting his elbows on the table, threading his fingers together.
“Pick a man from the Grayson clan who has the best motive to hurt the Turners. Force him to steal the Turner Princess. Make it look like a Grayson-instigated kidnapping that the Turners will have to retaliate against. Sort of like throwing gasoline on an already burning fire. Escalating the situation so they fight among themselves while someone else swoops in and takes advantage of it, buys their land out from under them.”
Then he explains in a casual tone as if giving a lesson, “It’s the oldest play in the book. It’s called a hostile takeover. It’s how mergers happen. Or how a rich government takes control of a poor country. By destabilizing it.”
My heart is slamming in my chest; my skin is at once both sweaty and chilled. “So then… then why shoot at me?”
At this, a wheezing sound fills the room and my eyes skitter over to my father.
Believe it or not, I completely forgot he was in the same room with us.
But he looks… afraid. It’s not an expression I’ve seen on his face before.
His eyes are still locked with mine and are wide.
And his face is red, the tendons of his neck standing out as his chest jerks up and down.
I realize why. It’s because the man beside my dad is squeezing his breathing tube.
“What… what are you—”
He lets it go and throws me a smile. “It’s just something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.”
“I don’t—”
“Your father’s a horrible man. I hope you don’t mind me saying that,” he says, putting a hand on his chest. “He just is. He’s done a lot of bad shit in his life for money, for land, and while I understand that, there’s some stuff he’s done that I draw the line at.
Befriending him was more out of necessity than a choice. I don’t really like him all that much.”
I look at my dad again. He’s breathing normally, but I understand why he’s been sitting there so rigid, his spine straight. It’s because he’s petrified. It’s not his formidable persona that’s making him look like that; it’s fear.
“Anyway, kidnapping you was your father’s idea,” he begins, and I look back at him, shaking.
“Picking Radisson King was your father’s idea too.
He told me it’s his most famous crime. The whole town knew who was behind that accident sixteen years ago, but no charges were ever brought.
There was some retaliation from the Grayson clan but nothing to match the severity of what he’d done.
Personally, I’d think murdering your father in a similar fashion would’ve been a nice gesture, but”—he shrugs—“anyway, he thought if Radisson kidnapped you, everyone would believe it. It would look the most convincing, given the history. I, however, had a different idea.”
He smiles and continues, “Kidnapping doesn’t have quite the same ring to it as murder.
Murder raises eyebrows, turns heads. Murder creates complex court cases with tons of media attention.
You play your cards right, it gets attention from the government too.
But mostly, murder brings down the value of the land.
Drastically. The land that I was ready to pay upwards of ten million dollars for, if they were nice, would go for only a quarter of that.
And if you ask me, murder makes the most sense.
Hank Turner killed Radisson’s parents, made him an outcast, silent and scarred.
Someone everyone’s afraid of and rightly so.
It was no surprise that his mind snapped one day and he killed the Turner Princess in revenge.
Much better than kidnapping, any day of the week.
” Then, “Oh, and I hope it’s clear by now that I was just using your father.
I wasn’t going to give him any percentage of that land whatsoever. ”
“You’re a…” My throat is dry. “A psychopath.”
“I’m just a businessman,” he corrects me. “But I will say I underestimated your boyfriend. He is your boyfriend, isn’t he?”
My heart slams in my chest, but I keep quiet.
“Instead of handing you over, he double-crossed me.” He keeps going, his eyes harsh, “I counted on his hate, his anger, his drive for revenge. It was a perfect opportunity for him. But he chose to protect you. He ruined my entire plan. I should kill him for that. I should kill his sister for that.” My mouth falls open and I lean forward in my chair so fast, it squeaks.
He smiles and continues, “And judging by your reaction and the fact we found you wandering alone in the woods, I’m guessing you were the one who messaged me tonight, not him.
Why? Because you wanted to help him get his sister back?
” He looks at me like he’s trying to crack a code. “You could’ve died.”
I swallow and stay silent. He’ll not get a word from me.
Even though he’s right. I knew there was a chance they would kill me on sight.
Especially when Radisson didn’t go for my plan and I had no defense against them.
But I had to do it. I had to. If there was even a little chance that I could help him get Lynnie back, I was going to take it.
Only I don’t know if what I did helped or not.
If Radisson would be able to find me and Lynnie in time.
He chuckles, shaking his head. “You should be thankful that I’m able to see the humor in this situation, your need to protect each other.
Or I would have killed you as soon as you arrived.
Because I don’t like ruined plans. I had my heart set on the whole murder thing.
I had my friends in the media on standby to cover the story, make the biggest splash in the state of Montana, giving Radisson the most sensational trial this state has seen in a decade.
But that’s no use anymore. So we’ll just make the best of the situation since you walked into the lion’s den on your own: I’ll let you and his sister go if the Graysons agree to sell their ranch to me.
Their whole ranch, not just the little piece I wanted before.
Given how much your boyfriend loves you, I’m sure he’ll be able to convince his family to do the right thing here.
And if your brother agrees to throw in the Turner ranch too. For all my trouble, of course.”
This makes my father wheeze again, but this time it’s not his air that’s bothering him but the fact that his precious land is being threatened.
“Until then, you’ll stay here,” he says as I look back at him. “It won’t be long. I’ve been waiting for this for a year now, and I don’t really like your town. I’d like to go back to California as soon as possible. So maybe a few days tops, just until everything is finalized.”