Virgin Bride(60)

I glance at the goons he has with him. Ivan and Igor don’t smile, they just stand there and watch blankly.

“You can’t take her,” Griffin says. “You seriously want to add kidnapping on top of everything else?”

“Everything else?” My father laughs, shaking his head. “I don’t care about anything but winning. I’m taking my daughter back. Now, get up, Erin.”

“Wait,” Griffin says. “There has to be another way.”

My father pauses, considering. “Do you have the contracts here?”

Griffin cocks his head. “What?”

“The most recent contracts. Are they here?”

“Yes,” Griffin says, watching him.

“Go get them.” Rick crosses his arms. “We’ll finish this.”

“They’re in the other room.” Griffin starts to stand.

“Slowly,” one of the goons says.

“Go with him, Igor.” Rick smiles at me wickedly. “See, honey? This is what you do to win. Absolutely anything that’s necessary.”

I feel sick and horrified. I don’t know what my father is capable of in this state. I don’t know who these two men are but they’re definitely dangerous. They have these sad blank expressions that I can’t read at all, and they only make me that much more uncomfortable.

But the worst part is, my father clearly thinks this is a good plan. He thinks that forcing Griffin to sign those contracts will somehow work. But he must know that signing them without lawyers present won’t mean a damn thing, and Griffin will dispute them as soon as my father leaves with his goons. He has to realize that in some part of his brain, but maybe he’s lost it completely.

Griffin gets up slowly. One of the goons, presumably Igor, follows him back toward his bedroom. I look at my father and he just smiles back.

“You picked the wrong team,” he says to me. “You traitor bitch.”

I don’t say a word. I hate him with every fiber of my being, and I won’t give him anything at all.

“I hoped that Ward could talk sense into you, but obviously not.” My father continues, not caring if I’m even listening. “So now I have to do this. Your husband tried to blackmail me earlier, you know that? Came to our house and threatened me.”

I sigh and look away. I know Griffin went there, he was just telling me, and I also know it wasn’t to blackmail my father. Or at least not exactly. He was trying to offer him a good deal, but of course my father has gone so far off the deep end that he won’t accept it.

Suddenly there’s a noise from the other room. A man shouts and there’s a loud crash. My father’s second goon perks up and walks toward the sound.

“Go check it out,” my father says.

The man disappears down the back hall, and I can see how nervous my father suddenly is.

A few seconds later, Ivan comes walking back down the hall with his hands up and his eyes wide, followed by Igor and Griffin. Igor has a red and puffy eye and Griffin is holding a gun pointed straight at them.

“What the fuck?” My father says. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“He got the drop on me,” Igor says.

“Shut up, all of you,” Griffin shouts. “You’re going to wake my fucking kid up.” He frowns at the three men. “Erin, go check on Lacey. I’ll handle this.”

I stand up. “Be careful,” I say.

“It’s fine. I’m just showing them out.” He gestures with the gun. “Move, motherfuckers.”

The three men file toward the door as I head back down the hall. I pause and watch as they disappear around the corner before heading into Lacey’s room.

She’s sleeping soundly, which is amazing. The kid normally wakes up for anything, but tonight she decides to be a heavy sleeper.

I hear the front door slam shut and a minute later, Griffin appears. “Are you okay?” he asks.

“I’m okay.”

He throws his arms around me and pulls me tight. “I’m so sorry about that.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” I say. “But why do you own a gun, anyway?”

He grins at me. “I had a stalker a few years ago. I took some martial arts courses and bought a gun. I guess it paid off.”

I shake my head, amazed. “You’re crazy.”

“Turns out, those two guys aren’t actually hired thugs. They’re both accountants who work for your dad.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“No,” Griffin says, laughing. “Igor practically pisssed himself when I hit him. Admitted the whole thing was just for show.”

“Oh my god.” I can’t help but laugh. “They’re insane.”