11. Hunter
Hunter
A s I wait for the meeting to start, Mace and Reid have taken similar positions at their desks. Our faces make up three of the four squares on my computer screen. The final one is blank.
While we wait for Ash to join us, my younger brothers are busying themselves with other work.
Reid is finalizing the prenup which, barring a few tweaks, is all set to be signed.
Mace is monitoring security cameras across the country, along with active links to trackers.
After confirming that Barrett hasn’t left the Bahamas, and Alice Emerson is at home in New York, he’s been casting his net wider.
I’ve told Maddie to keep out of sight until after our meeting, but I wouldn’t put it past her to sweep into the middle of the office just to say hello to Ash.
I hate to admit it, but I kind of like that I can’t predict her.
It’s possible she’s just averted a major move by Barrett – assuming we can work out what that move is.
My jaw is tense, and I’m worried my nerves are showing.
All four of us are equal partners in the company, but it was Ash who shouldered the responsibilities for making it a success in the early days.
The connections we’ve forged are through him, and some of those legacy partnerships have been a burden that he insists on carrying alone.
I’ve always looked up to Ash, and there was never any question of following his lead.
We share the same goals and beliefs, impressed upon us by our father who was a genius in his own right, but never sought to make his fortune from it.
The only other divergence between the generations is that my dad married twice, whereas our brotherhood is wedded solely to our cause. Until now.
Marrying Maddie is a good business decision, and I know I can win Ash over once he calms down.
I just have to remind myself that apathy is my best friend.
If I can convince him that I don’t particularly care whether we continue down this path, or not, there’s a good chance he’ll be the one telling me to do it.
The problem is, I do care. Mace and Reid do too. We’ve all caught a glimpse of the spark in Maddie’s eyes despite the scars Hugo left on her soul, and we want to see her shine. I made Maddie a promise that I wouldn’t leave her with her brother, and I’m going to keep it.
I’m staring through the screen, getting lost in my thoughts when I feel a set of eyes on me. The fourth square now has a face. Correction, two faces.
“I didn’t know Rory was joining us,” I say.
Mace and Reid lift their heads briefly to acknowledge the new arrivals before getting back to work.
“Nice to see you too, asshole,” Rory Moncrief hits back. “I just thought I’d hang around to say… What the fuck did you do to my hotel?”
Our friend is a titan in the hospitality industry. His family have a portfolio of over a thousand properties across international territories that range from high-end luxury resorts, to budget-friendly hotels like the one we tracked Maddie to.
I school my expression as if the chaos from our brief stay at the hotel hadn’t turned my life upside down. “In fairness, Rory. It wasn’t one of your better hotels. It could do with a refurb. And did I mention there were no bathrobes in the rooms?”
“And did I mention that I’m not in the business of picking bullets out of our furniture?”
“You do surprise me,” I say. I break into a genuine smile. “But my apologies if we got a bit too rowdy.”
“I hear you ended up with a bride,” he says.
Rory has accidentally stumbled upon my guilty secret, and although I do a good impression of hiding my reaction, it doesn’t help that Mace and Reid both snap their heads up. Mace’s eyes are narrowed. Reid’s are wide with shock. Way to go, guys.
“It’s a long story,” I say, “and I wouldn’t want to keep you from playing with your kilt, or whatever Scottish lords get up to these days.”
After splitting up with his wife of twenty years, he’s decided to reacquaint himself with his Scottish roots by purchasing a castle and the small isle it sits upon. Therapy might have been cheaper, but Rory likes to make big statements.
Ash had travelled with him to Scotland to support his friend, and to conduct a little business while he’s there.
We’ve invested in a number of distilleries over the years, and he wants to learn all he can from the Scots.
It’s an interest that he and Rory share, which has worked out well because whiskey and hotels are a perfect partnership, and we now supply all the Moncrief hotels with our Griffin label whiskey.
That being said, the discussion I need to have with Ash is a private one.
“Do you need me to piss off so you can speak to your brother?” Rory surmises.
“Piss off, Rory,” I say with a stiff smile.
“Nice to see you too, Hunter. See you, guys.” He tips a whiskey glass in cheers before disappearing off screen.
Ash has been watching the exchange in complete silence. It’s impossible to tell which of our faces he’s currently scrutinizing on screen, but Reid is the first to squirm.
“Any developments on Barrett?” Ash asks, giving us a temporary reprieve.
Mace chimes in with an update. I’d already told Ash that we suspect the paper mill is a diversion tactic, and he listens intently as Mace goes through the growing list of targets he’s tracking.
Barrett’s people are spread thinly over multiple states.
He’s left one of his associates close to Brimstage, presumably to monitor what we’re doing, but as far as the others are concerned, there doesn’t seem to be a discernible pattern yet.
“If Barrett is pulling a move, having everyone spread out could be another attempt at misdirection,” Ash says. “One of them will be planting the proverbial bomb Barrett wants to put under us. We just need to work out who.”
“Agreed,” I say.
“Do you think Alice will know?” asks Reid.
I tip my head to look past the screen to catch Reid’s eye. “If your next suggestion is to pay her a visit, please don’t.”
Reid shrugs. “Just a thought,” he says. “I wouldn’t mind volunteering. If we made some sort of veiled threat about Barrett overstepping, she might be able to get him to back off from whatever he’s planning.”
“Thanks for the offer, Reid,” says Ash diplomatically. “But she won’t rat on her golden child, and it just forewarns Barrett that we’re on to him.”
I hear a dull tapping sound and realize it’s my foot. I still my legs. “I’m going to reach out to our wider network. We’re assuming this is a move on us, but it could be an ally. We’re the guardians, and distracting us doesn’t just make us vulnerable.”
“Fair point,” Ash concedes. “I’ll brief Rory.”
“And I can speak to our friends in Vegas,” I say, relaxing. Even if Ash goes apeshit when I tell him I’m planning on marrying Maddie, hopefully he won’t question the trip to Las Vegas.
“Call me if you need back up.”
“I will,” I say.
“I’ll keep lurking in the shadows to see if anything changes,” Mace adds, eager to pursue his favorite hobby. He’s already turned his attention to one of the multiple screens on his desk.
Reid straightens a stack of documents. “And I’ll go through the paper trails,” he says vaguely. He picks up a file and makes a good show of being completely absorbed in his task.
I’d asked them both to step back from the discussion. This next part is for me to navigate, and I’m going to be walking a thin line between truth and omissions. It’s safer if the others don’t speak up and accidentally contradict me.
“So, that long story,” Ash prompts me. He reaches out of sight and picks up a tumbler. “Why the hell has Maddison Corbyn taken up residence over there with you? ”
I sit back in my chair, my lip quirking as if I’ve barely given Maddie a thought. “A couple of reasons.”
I’d spent the night rehearsing this, and I’m still not sure which of my arguments to open with first. Her vulnerability, or her usefulness. I doubt it matters once I reach the punchline.
“Firstly, Hugo Corbyn is more of a prick in real life than he was on paper,” I say.
“You’ve seen their father’s codicil. The women in the family don’t have a voice, which is a shame because Maddie has a lot to say.
Not that anyone would have known that while her brother was busy controlling her with his fists. ”
“And his foot,” Reid interrupts. “She had a bruise the shape of a boot on her back. On her fucking wedding day.”
I’d been about to shoot Reid down, but the venom in his voice stops me.
It felt good hearing my youngest brother speak up for Maddie.
And it serves a purpose too. Reid is the one Griffin who hasn’t yet developed a hardened shell around his heart.
If Ash were to mistakenly assume Reid is the one driven by something other than logic, it might take the heat away from the fool who’s decided to marry her.
“She’s terrified of her brother, Ash,” I explain. “But she’s the one who’s been keeping the mill going, despite not having a say over Hugo’s disastrous business decisions.”
“And she’s smart,” adds Reid. “It was Maddie who figured out that Barrett was using the wedding as bait to draw us in. We were talking about the prenup, trying to understand why Barrett would expose himself to a potential future claim.”
“Thanks, Reid,” I say pointedly, needing to shut down the conversation before he gives away that it wasn’t Barrett’s prenup we were talking about .
“Oh, yeah,” he says, grimacing. “Sorry, you carry on. I have work to do.”
Ash tilts his head and I can almost hear his brain whirring. He knows I’m deliberately keeping the others quiet, and I’m preparing for the onslaught of questions, when Mace looks over at me. His usual cool composure has been replaced by a look of… Is that panic?
“What’s wrong?” Ash asks. He can only see Mace’s face in profile, but he notices the change too.